Simon Curwen

After Sir Francis Chichester completed a solo circumnavigation of the globe in 1967 with a single stop in Australia for repairs and modifications to Gipsy Moth IV, the challenge was set for the first non-stop solo circumnavigation of the world. 

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Nine adventurers answered that challenge in 1968, with the Sunday Times stepping in to create the the Golden Globe Race. Sir Robin Knox Johnston triumphed in his boat Suhaili, and was the sole finisher of the punishing circumnavigation. 

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In subsequent decades the emphasis was inevitably on bettering the record for the fastest single-handed circumnavigation using advances in technology. The current record now stands at an amazing 42 days and 16 hours, at an extraordinary average speed of 27 knots (50km/hr)! Such records demonstrate the advances in technology over the last 50 years, but at the same time mean that the emphasis changes from one of human endeavour to one of technological advance, with the associated costs and environmental consequences. 

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The Golden Globe Race was reinvented by McIntyre Adventures in 2018 for the 50th anniversary of the original event to celebrate that epic adventure with a return to the origins of the event. Only boats of classical design and equipped with navigational equipment available at that time were permitted. Sextants in the place of GPS, no electronics, no autopilots as used 98% of the time in current circumnavigations. It creates a very human, affordable and environmentally respectful reincarnation of the original event.

 

With only 5 finishers and 13 abandonments from a starting fleet of 18, the event reaffirms the challenges of solo-circumnavigation via the great capes.