GOLDEN GLOBE RACE

The McIntyre GGR embraces satellites for the audience, while keeping entrants behind with 1968 radios, sextants and paper charts.

• A custom-built “MAGIC BLACK BOX” will open a one-way LIVE WINDOW into the lives of seven 2026 McIntyre Golden Globe Race entrants, controlled only by an ON/OFF command from the sailor.
• For eight months, followers will be able to open the YouTube “GGR Window” 24 hours a day to watch scheduled 2–3 hour daily live transmissions, breaking news interruptions and the latest fleet news scrolling across the bottom of the screen.
• The system is designed to dramatically increase the reach of the world’s original solo race around the world, starting September 6, 2026 from Les Sables d’Olonne, France, while protecting the race’s strict 1968 ethos.

Les Sables d’Olonne, France — The 2026 McIntyre Golden Globe Race will give followers something never before seen in solo around-the-world racing: a 24/7 one-way live window into selected yachts racing around the world, without giving sailors any modern communication or navigation advantage.

The “GGR Window” will stream live video, boat movement and selected onboard data from seven of the 23 entrants on a rotating daily schedule. Each participating skipper will be able to go live during a two or three hour time slot by pressing one button, choosing one of three cameras, and transmitting. From that moment, GGR control takes over the production.

Breaking news or dramatic incidents can interrupt normal programming at any time, while a scrolling news footer will keep followers updated on the rest of the fleet. The result is simple for viewers: open the YouTube “GGR Window” and step onboard with the sailors, live, as the race unfolds.

For the sailors, nothing changes. They cannot see the data being sent, cannot receive information back, and cannot access satellite communications, computers, GPS or modern navigation aids. The system sends information out, but sends nothing in.

The GGR Window automatically displays skipper heart rate, yacht pitch and roll, apparent wind speed and direction, speed and course over the ground. This information is for the audience and race production only. It is invisible to the entrant.

Seven skippers join the first GGR Window schedule

The seven participating skippers are Ertan Beskardes (UK, 65), Stephen Wraith (USA, 65), Gunnar Christensen (USA, 60), Etienne Messikommer (CH, 38), Louis Kerdelhué (FRA, 21), Helga Marie “Mara” Løvenskiold Kveseth (NOR, 35), and Pär Nyman (SWE, 57).

This LIVE WINDOW isn’t just a wild way of showing what’s actually going on inside the GGR, but it also motivates me to keep pushing on through the hard times.

MARA KVESETH (NOR, 35) – GGR 2026 ENTRANT, SY SHOWGIRL, SAGA 36

Most people spend their lives trying to escape uncertainty. I’ve chosen to sail directly into it, alone, around the world, with nothing but wind, judgment, and whatever version of myself comes back. I hope the audience can come with me through the GGR live stream.

GUNNAR CHRISTENSEN (USA, 60) – GGR 2026 ENTRANT, SY POMPOEN, HANS CHRISTIAN 34

1968 sailing, 2026 audience access

The ethos of the Golden Globe Race remains clear: entrants sail like 1968, in the spirit of the original Sunday Times Golden Globe Race won by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in SUHAILI. Fifty-eight years later, the 2026 entrants still race with paper charts, sextant, wind-up clocks and towing logs. HF SSB radio remains their only link to the outside world.

That is what makes the GGR Window unusual. The audience is invited in, but the sailor is not connected out. There are no screens, no computers and no incoming data for the entrant. The black box is a one-way broadcast device, not a communication tool.

The black box that did not exist

With no computers or satellite access allowed for entrants, the GGR Window required custom-built electronics, circuit boards, hardware and management software. Don McIntyre teamed with Swedish technology company TriPeak to develop a compact marine-hardened black box with six buttons, built for an eight-month ocean adventure and designed to use minimal power, averaging around 4 amps.

This is a game changer for the GGR, with absolutely zero entrant impact on the 1968 ethos. Our experience in the McIntyre Mini Globe Race, where all but one entrant was using Starlink and computers, made us think. But GGR could not use any components currently available, so we built our own thanks to TriPeak. It costs a lot, but the reason we invest in adventure, even without major partners, is to inspire people. This will shoot the numbers through the roof for mums and dads and sailors alike, inspiring many more than we ever have in the past. It’s truly exciting.

DON MCINTYRE,GGR FOUNDER AND RACE DIRECTOR.

TriPeak joins as streaming platform partner

TriPeak is the streaming platform partner for the GGR Window. The company builds purpose-built product solutions for demanding operating environments and delivers complete systems end to end, including hardware design, embedded software, systems integration, cloud platform and field operations, rather than handing separate components to integrators.

A major investment in audience growth

The total investment in prototype hardware, software, production units and eight months of management is around €300,000. It is a major commitment for McIntyre Adventure and the participating sailors, especially as the 2026 McIntyre GGR again has no major sponsor and, in fact, less sponsor support than ever before.

The same system is planned for the 2027 McIntyre Ocean Globe Race, the fully crewed four-leg race around the world run in the spirit of the original 1973 Whitbread Race. The 2022 McIntyre GGR recorded a total Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE) of €165 million, excluding social media and YouTube. With the GGR Window, the 2026 edition has the potential to be significantly larger. McIntyre Adventure continues to seek partners and sponsors for the project.

First live test begins August 16

The first three-day live test of the GGR Window will begin on August 16, 2026 during the SITraN Challenge Prologue Race from Les Sables d’Olonne. A camera will also be set up in the McIntyre GGR office to occasionally share operations with followers. The 2026 McIntyre Golden Globe Race starts on September 6, 2026 from Les Sables d’Olonne, France.

Check out the Lead-up events click here