The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site

The Golden Globe Race—The Boats and the Refits

The original Golden Globe was not a “race” in the conventional sense, as none of the boats left at the same time and the winner would be the first one to complete the circumnavigation without stopping.

The boats were extremely varied, too, ranging from production Westerly GRP (fibreglass) yachts, through early plywood trimarans, to Joshua, Bernard Moitessier’s 39-ft Jean Knocker-designed steel ketch.

That the “race” was won by Robin Knox-Johnston’s relatively small (32 ft) wooden ketch Suhaili, a rather old-fashioned William Atkin ‘Eric’ design (which was not even his first choice of boat for the race), was a truly Corinthian surprise.

But somehow that victory embodied the spirit of inspired amateur endeavour that was so appealing to the audience then, and apparently remains so, as it is this boat that provides the broad template for the yachts permitted to enter this version of the Golden Globe Race in 2018.

A Budget Event?

On the face of it, this resurrection of the Golden Globe seems like a real low-cost opportunity to take part in an extraordinary event, and certainly the way that a cadre of entrants signed up in no time at all spoke of it touching a nerve amongst adventurous sailors around the world.

But now that the initial enthusiasm has died down, a more realistic view appears to have settled in, as the realities of what remains a super-human challenge have begun to sink in. One man in a small traditional boat versus the oceans it might still be on paper, but the parameters have changed considerably as reality has encroached on this event, as it was always bound to do.

It’s a Race Now

There are perhaps two main reasons for this.


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Dick Stevenson

Hi Colin,
Again, thanks for bringing the details of this competition to my attention. It is refreshing to read about these boats, the refit, the challenges and the expenses and feel like I can relate to it all: that it is in my ballpark of experience. I look forward to further reports.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Colin Speedie

A pleasure, as always, Dick.
These are the boats that I grew up around, so I, too, can relate to them and the endeavour involved. But the cost of the re-fits is extraordinary. No wonder you see so many (basically) abandoned boats in boatyards around the world.
Whilst looking a boat in the USA on behalf of a client, I made the remark to the broker that maybe some of those owners should just accept their boats were worthless and give them to some sailing mad youngsters. His reply was salutary; ‘they’ve tried that, but the kids won’t accept them because they can’t afford the slips or the upkeep!’
Best wishes
Colin

Steve Holloway

Hi Colin, yes I’m sure that you’re right about there being more competitors having to drop out due to lack of money, I know several are struggling. Lack of sponsorship has been a real problem for many we just hope that there will be a serge in public interest with the Hollywood film ‘The Mercy’ coming out soon and the possibility of a series of TV documentaries following the race might peak some interest in potential sponsors.
Getting sponsorship in the sailing world has never been easy though, Sir Robin couldn’t find a sponsor for the original race which is why he used the boat he already had, Suhaili, rather than the purpose built yacht he had planned. At least in those days the Sunday Times had money and could support the race itself. Today News Corp is broke and have no involvement in the race, so getting money to even run the race is difficult.
The latest development partly down to lack of money, is that the race will not now start from Plymouth, but from Les Sables d’Olonne. A shame for us Brits, but the competitors will still gather in Falmouth 2 weeks before the race start for the ‘parade of sail’ which should be a fabulous event with Sir RK-J and Sir Chay Blyth in attendance.
Steve

Colin Speedie

Hi Steve
sponsorship was always going to be tough for individuals partly due to restrictions on who much ‘logo’ could be displayed, the number of entrants and, I’d have to guess, the sheer risk (real or perceived) of being part of such an endeavour. And as we can see, it’s not a ‘budget’ race, so the money won’t go far.
And it’s a shame that first Falmouth, then Plymouth lost the hosting package for the event. Good luck to Les Sables D’Olonne who will no doubt do a great job, but I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that it should have stayed in the UK.
Best wishes
Colin

RDE

Ironic that all of the boats that contested the original 1968 Golden Globe race would be prohibited from entering according to the initial regulations for the 2018 reenactment. But that said, the choice of regulations is very much an effort to maintain the spirit of the original adventure.

Joshua tales:
Back in the day when I was starting out as a wooden boat builder I met a sailor girl from California. She had crewed on board a 62′ S & S from Costa Rica to the South Pacific. When they anchored at one of the Tuamotos, there was a red ketch in the lagoon with rust streaking down the sides and a Frenchman occasionally listlessly chipping away at it. My friend rowed over and soon became acquainted with its owner, Bernard Moitessier. He had ended up there “to save his soul”, but the quest had deteriorated to a simple maintenance nightmare as has happened to so many other cruising boats who’ve grown barnacles on their anchor chain. My girlfriend invited him to sail up to San Francisco for a change of scenery, and was instrumental in securing a series of seminars and teaching gigs when he arrived.

Fast forward a few years, and a battered red-hulled steel boat arrived in my marina in Port Townsend WA. Moitessier had grown weary of San Francisco society, and sailed back toward the South Pacific with paying guests/students on board. Perhaps his seamanship had atrophied from too much time on land, but he made the fatal error of anchoring too close to the beach, surrounded by too many other boats. (and of course a CQR was involved!) Joshua was driven ashore and filled with sand during the 1982 Cabo hurricane. Penniless, Moitessier sold the remains for $20 to a couple of guys walking on the beach who shoveled the sand out, rebuilt the motor and nursed her the 2000 miles to windward to the Pacific Northwest.

How times have changed! The Joshua I knew had telephone poles for masts that had originally been “liberated” from a construction site in the middle of the night. The rigging was hand spliced from galvanized steel, and covered with oiled serving to prevent rust. And had been the godfather of all the French adventurers who followed in her wake.

Somewhat later I met Rolf Bjelde & Debora Shapiro from their Joshua “Northern Light” Their dream had always been to visit Antarctica, and when they stopped in Chile before starting across the Drake passage they came across a spare alternator that could be a life or death item in the unpredictable anchoring conditions of Antarctica. However it cost $16, and they had to forgo it because they only had $36 to their name. With that in hand they crossed to Antarctica and spent the summer season exploring, then sailed 7,000 miles non-stop back to Sweden where Rolf had relatives with a dock.

But we’ve made incredible progress. In 2018 it only costs $355,000 to have an adventure. And like the old truism about a tree falling in the woods not happening if nobody is there to hear it, for an additional $500 you can buy a Go-Pro Hero and make sure the adventure is real.

Colin Speedie

Hi Richard
good point about the make-up of the original entrants. It will be interesting, nonetheless, to see how the two ‘Suhaili/Eric’ replicas perform.
Bernard Moitessier was a remarkable character. As you say, he fetched up in quite a number of places with the boat falling to bits, but such was his charm and charisma he always found loyal acolytes (including friends of mine) to help him back on his way (eventually!).
And there’s a niggling nerve in the back of my head that keeps asking ‘what would Bernard have made of this race’? Given the way he withdrew from the original.
Best wishes
Colin

Svein Lamark

Colin, this is interesting. I now follow daily a local sailor, Are Wiig, training for this big race. Are is sailing his OE32 fram Lindesnes (South Cape of Norway) to North Cape. I enjoy to sit at home and read his daily report (Are sailing on Facebook). Are is trying to brake the record between the Capes. Are is sailing along a coast line, so it is not so difficult to make radio contact. I wonder if we old boys can sit at home and follow the big race when it starts? A tracking system is one thing, but to see videos and hear them talk is wonderful.

steve holloway

Hi Svein,
Well I’m very glad to hear you say that. I’m involved with the GGR in so much as I’m planning to produce a series for broadcast that will follow the race from beginning to end. The proposal is for a 6-8 part, hour long episodes that will show on board footage as the race progresses along with all the usual background stuff.
There are 4 ‘gates’ that the competitors must pass though on the voyage and we will be picking up cards from the onboard cameras on each one so we can update the race while its in action. We will also have news from race control which will include audio from the sailors. (they cannot use satellite communication to call anything other than race control)
Getting a commission for main stream broadcast on sailing is not easy, but we are a long way down the road with this proposal now and there has been a lot of interest, so fingers crossed. If it happens it will be commissioned by a UK broadcaster but sold worldwide in various languages. I will also be posting latest information on a web site and feeding the news networks with any noteworthy incidents so hopefully we can get some wider public interest in sailing and expand to other areas. I still find it shocking that Alex Thompson could get so close to being the first Brit to win the Vendee Globe this year and get zero TV coverage in the UK!
Steve