149 days ago, on Sept 4th 2022, 15 men and one woman set out from Les Sables d’Olonne. Their dreams and aspirations were to circumnavigate solo in the extreme Golden Globe Race.
- Simon Curwen (GBR) HOWDENS, declares Chichester Class unable to repair his Hydrovane and sailing to Chile for repairs.
- Kirsten Neuschäfer (ZAF) MINNEHAHA now leads the GGR, next out of the Exclusion zone, to dive south toward Cape Horn and home to Les Sables d’Olonne.
- Abhilash Tomy, (IND) Bayanat, 2018 GGR back injuries appear causing pain and slow sailing to assist recovery. How fast and when can he go after Minnehaha?
- Captain Gugg steady as she goes and Ian Herbert Jones 4th in this cruel game of attrition.
- In Depth report and tech analysis on the sinking of ASTERIA from Tapio Lehtinen.
In 1968, nine set out on the first such mission and only one finished. In 2018, 18 sailors set out and just five sailed home. Today only four of the original 2022 sailors are still racing the GGR towards Cape Horn, the most infamous of all Capes. They have over 9,000 miles and many months still to go to Les Sables d’Olonne. Anything can happen.
Out front is an extraordinary solo woman sailor quite unlike any other. Behind her are 15 extraordinary men who have either given up, or struggle to keep up. The GGR is a mind game, so phiysically and mentally tough, relentless and unforgiving, it sometimes beggars belief. They are, or were all volunteers. They are all dreamers, adventurers and passionate about life, giving it their all to achieve something even they may not fully understand. The GGR is an amazing human story of courage and determination unfolding before our eyes.
Unable to repair his Hydrovane self-steering system damaged at sea during a knock-down, race leader Simon Curwen has retired from the GGR into Chichester Class and is heading North East for a Chilean Port to effect repairs.
With 70% of the total distance under his belt and a thousand-mile gap with his closest rivals, Simon Curwen (GBR) seemed untouchable last week as he was screaming down the 50s on his way to Cape Horn, to the point that his runners-up had given-up hope of catching-up! Alas, cruel is the game of the GGR, and a crucial piece of his hydrovane broke when the boat was knocked-down last Friday 27 of January. Listen to his report here.
Simon tried to emulate his hero Sir Robin Knox Johnston who steered Suhaili to the finish, and to victory in the original 1968 GGR, without a windvane for the last stretch of that voyage. Balancing sails, however, proved harder on his cutter rigged Biscay 36 than on the ketch rigged Suhaili and Simon was making slow progress. This would potentially expose himself to future storms in the weeks ahead while attempting to round Cape Horn under duress.
