A tribute race
The Golden Globe Race is a solo round the world race in the"old fashioned" way. That is, the participants sail on boats 32 to 36 feet (9.75 - 10.97 m) designed before 1988, and having a long keel with a rudder attached. On board, no computers, GPS, satellite phone, or watermaker.
The skippers sail in sextant on paper maps, determine their weather forecasts, keep their logbook in hand and inform the outside world of their progress via the propagation of short waves and the global network of radio amateurs when they can... In short, a real return to the"golden age" of solo sailing, in tribute to the Golden Globe of the Sunday Times in 1968/69 won by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who then became the first sailor to sail around the world in 312 days..
Technical and emotional difficulties
Left on the 1st e july 2018 in Les Sables-d'Olonne, the 18 skippers who took the plunge! After 25 days at sea, 3 of them have already given up, 2 are racing in the Chichester category and 1 has retired from the race to take part independently in the"Carozzo" category.
Two"Chichester"
Skippers who break the race rules once: without assistance, without electronics and without stopovers continue their circumnavigation of the globe, but will be included in the ranking "Chichester" in the final standings, as if they had, in the end, made a stop during their round the world trip.
This category includes American Istvan Kopar and Frenchman Antoine Cousot, who quickly encountered windvane steering problems. Too impacted by this technical problem, he decided to stop at the Rubicon Marina to make repairs.
"I needed a break just to relieve the pressure. It was important to me to make sure everything worked mentally... And it was nice to have a hamburger and a beer! It's a personal challenge - a great adventure. You have no idea, even reading Moitessier's book and those of other solo sailors, what it's like to be alone. They talk about the sea and the environment, but they don't talk about what's going on inside." explained the Frenchman during his stopover.
On 23 July, the Hungarian-American Istvan Kopar changed category, stopping in Sao Vincente, Cape Verde Islands, to repair or replace the windvane steering system on his Tradewind 35 Puffin.
Tradewind 35, Istvan Kopar's Shearwater
A"Carozzo"
Those who break the rules twice have forced to withdraw from the race, no longer having any obligation to respect the race rules and continue to race in the category "Carozzo." They can carry modern navigation tools including GPS and satellite phone.
The Italian Francesco Cappelletti who still had to pass the safety checks and perform 3 days of solo sailing on the start day of the race finally announced his withdrawal from the race on July 5. He therefore took the start of the race in the"Carozzo" category on 23 July.
Three Abandons
The first abandonment was announced on 6 July by the Turkish-born English skipper Ertan Beskardes, who was too affected by the lack of family communication, as he explained shortly afterwards on social networks.
"Not talking to my family regularly to share my daily experiences unfortunately made this experience empty of joy and happiness. Those feelings got worse until nothing mattered but talking to them. I wasn't ready for that experience and that was the hardest decision I've ever made in my life. I like sailing alone, but I felt really alone without contact."
Kopar
On July 15, Australian mountaineer and adventurer Kevin Farebrother retired from the race, disillusioned by the solo sailing and lack of sleep.
"I'm not cut out for solo sailing." He told the organizers that he could not consider going down to sleep in the cockpit "For me, it's like getting in the back of a moving car to sleep when nobody's driving. As a result, I've slept very little in the last two weeks... My boat is now for sale!"
Nabil Amra, the American-Palestinian competitor aboard the Biscay 36 Liberty II which broke its guidance system was obliged to stop over to repair. As he was making his way through the 35 knot winds en route to Tenerife, the Palestinian explained "Wind and waves in the teeth... sailing is more pleasant with friends." Before continuing "Violently ill now." He made the decision not to continue.
