After the leading trio in the Golden Globe Race - Simon Curwen, Kirsten Neuschäfer and Tapio Lehtinen - passed Cape Town a week ago, four other skippers in the non-stop round-the-world race made the obligatory turning mark. They provided some emotional and dramatic moments in this remarkable race.
Damien Guillou with a new break: now he's giving up
The passage of the South African Cape was particularly devastating for Frenchman Damien Guillou, who has now given up the race and sailed his Rustler 36 "PRB" into the marina in Cape Town. Right from the start, he had problems with his Hydrovane self-steering system, which is why he even sailed back to Les Sables-d'Olonne shortly after the start to have it repaired. He then sailed a remarkable race to catch up across the Atlantic. There, however, the problem with the shaft of the system, which had broken, reappeared. And now the 39-year-old professional sailor has even lost the rudder blade of the Hydrovane.
It was particularly bitter that Guillou had initially passed the stopover successfully and had started the long journey across the Indian Ocean with great optimism. Shortly afterwards, however, it apparently happened, whereupon the "PRB" skipper turned round and sailed back to Cape Town.
The highly sponsored Frenchman's disappointment and frustration were clear to see when he was asked about his decision on the mainland. Guillou, who is the father of two small children, said he would not continue sailing. Three times the same problem was too often and he did not want to tempt fate. Apparently, in preparation for the race, he modified the shaft of the rig with more holes, which could be the cause of the persistent problems.
Pat Lawless cancels the sails in Cape Town
One tiny consolation for the Frenchman with ambitions of winning could be that he is not the only one to have finished the Golden Globe Race in Cape Town. Pat Lawless actually wanted to become the first Irish single-handed non-stop circumnavigator. However, he also stated that he was unable to continue sailing due to problems with his self-steering system. He reached Cape Town in fourth place on 9 November.
Frustration and criticism from Abhilash Tomy
He was followed the next day by Indian skipper Abhilash Tomy on his Rustler 36 "Bayanat". Each Golden Globe participant is personally received by the organiser in an inflatable boat, accompanied to the imaginary turning point and then interviewed for 20 minutes about the race so far. Tomy gave Don McIntyre and his assistant Aïda Valceanu the cold shoulder and criticised the race on several points.
It's not a real regatta, at most a rally, as you don't know the positions of your opponents. In addition, hardly any boats respond to his radio requests for weather information, so it is purely a matter of luck which skipper sails in front. Don McIntyre replied that all these special rules of the race had been known beforehand.
"It's definitely not for everyone," said Tomy. "It's certainly a challenge, yes, but it's not a regatta." Asked how he felt about sailing into the Indian Ocean - where he had to be rescued after capsizing four years ago in the Golden Globe - Tomy replied gruffly that McIntyre wouldn't really be interested and that he wouldn't say anything about it. The organiser was only interested in good video material from on board the boats. Nevertheless, he wanted to complete the circumnavigation.
Tomy Abhilash then resumed his course. The published video of its stopovers is the only one that has been cut so far.
High spirits and fresh bread at "Captain Gugg"
Michael Guggenberger was in a completely different mood when he reached Granger Bay off Cape Town two days later, on 12 November. The Austrian was in a good mood, waving a home-baked loaf of bread and toasting the GGR team. He had actually expected to arrive earlier and had therefore shaved and freshened up days before. Then it took longer, but now the beard is back. Everything is fine on board his Biscay 36 "Nuri". He would only decide on a different headsail configuration next time.
Rough reception in the Indian Ocean
With Guggenberger, five of the 16 boats that started are now sailing in the Indian Ocean. Simon Curwen in particular, who is several hundred nautical miles behind Tapio Lehtinen, who is currently in second place, has already had a taste of the harsh weather conditions in the southern Indian Ocean.
Curwen has currently travelled almost exactly a third of the total distance of a good 26,800 nautical miles. He still has around 4,500 to go before the next stopover off Hobart in Tasmania.
Time is running out
All participants in the race must have arrived there by 31 January 2023, otherwise they will not be allowed to continue the race to Cape Horn until 1 December 2023. This is another of the many special rules of this particular race. It is designed to prevent the skippers from travelling at the wrong time of year and having a high probability of running into severe storms.
For some skippers at the back of the field, however, this time target will already be difficult to meet. Five still have Cape Town ahead of them - and it is highly likely that not all of them will continue the trip afterwards.
More on the topic
- Golden Globe Update 6: Cape Town in the wake, Neuschäfer in second place
- Golden Globe Update 5: New breach on board the "PRB"
- Golden Globe Update 4: Three new videos from the high seas
- Golden Globe Update 3: Sailors reach first media stop
- Golden Globe Update 2: Shipwreck at Guy de Boer in the Canary Islands
- Golden Globe Update 1: Break, comeback and the first task
- Start at the beginning of September, all race info here
- Last Golden Globe sailor to finish after almost four years
- Lutz Kohne, the German member of the Golden Globe team
- A portrait of Rustler 36
