I will join the 2026 Golden Globe Race (2)

Please also see the detailed page about my Golden Globe Race campaign.

Compared to other professionally organized races, Golden Globe Race appeared financially more accessible and at the same time the most meaningful. Yet I was hesitant to commit without a clear understanding of associated costs, since our family budget had taken a big hit with my human powered journeys over the last two decades. When I arrived at Turkey in May, my conversations seemed to reveal that sailing was a more relatable topic than anything human powered…

I told about my interest in GGR to the author of our book in Turkish, Çağrı Özpideciler and his sailing partner Sertaç Tulpar. I had brought an information brief with me which lacked details. I had no idea what a reasonable budget would be for a GGR campaign nor did I know where to find an approved vessel let alone refitting one.

While they hosted me over dinner at the İstanbul Yacht Club, they shared with me how GGR had also captivated them and how they still tracked the last arrivals at Les Sables d’Olonne. When I voiced my hesitations they ganged up on me… The closing and award ceremonies were to take place at Les Sables d’Olonne in France on June 24th, a Saturday. What better way to help make a decision than to see the race fleet all together in one place and to meet the skippers who participated, they argued. I could introduce myself to the organizing committee in person and ask all my questions, they said.

Before the dinner was over, Sertaç informed me that he had made a hotel reservation for me at Les Sables within walking distance of the marina. I relented and that night, I bought the roundtrip airline ticket from İstanbul to Nantes which was just a 90-minute train ride away from the hotel.

Together with Çağrı Özpideciler and Sertaç & Zeynep Tulpar.

Arrival at the hotel could not have been easier. The efficient train system made it a breeze to reach Les Sables, then just as I exited the train station there, I could see the hotel entrance across the plaza. I was finally at the Mecca of offshore sailing in Les Sables, the home of Vendée Globe, Vendée Arctique, Mini-Transat, Solo Maître CoQ, Les Sables-Les Açores, Les Sables-Horta, and of course lately that of the Golden Globe Race. I dropped my luggage and took the short walk to their famous marina. It was 6 p.m. on Thursday with the summer sun casting long shadows.

Wall of Vendée Globe heroes at Les Sables d’Olonne

Everywhere I turned, I saw a celebration of offshore sailing. The walls of buildings were adorned by portraits of famous sailors. The entire town was preparing for the GGR award ceremonies. Posters announcing the weekend’s celebrations featuring Kirsten Neuschäfer, were on light posts, street corners, buildings and bus stops. The booths for the closing day at the marina were almost complete. Rows of Class 40 racing yachts were stern tied, a few IMOCAs were scattered in the marina, some with foils, all leaning against their docklines until their next offshore battle. The GGR veteran vessels were tied in a row one after the other like a string of pearls alongside the full length of the dock.

The signs all read: “Let’s celebrate Kirsten’s achievement!”

I had been in touch with Ertan Beşkardeş and Tolga Pamir to find each other at the marina. Ertan started sailing on the Bosphorus in İstanbul when he was young then settled in United Kingdom. He entered both the 2018 and the 2022 editions of GGR but did not finish either for different reasons. He was now getting ready to take on the Mini Globe Race via the Panama Canal in 2025, using Don McIntyre’s TREKKA, Hull #01 of Class Globe 5.80 sailing vessels. Tolga is a Turkish sailor now settled in La Rochelle in order to methodically pursue his Vendée Globe aspirations. We were thrilled to find each other at last, a small tribe of passionate sailors away from home. We spent some time on Ertan’s GGR yacht LAZY OTTER, a Rustler 36 to see how he refit it for the race.

Ertan Beşkardeş in striped t-shirt, Tolga Pamir with glasses

All the skippers knew Ertan and he made sure that I was included in their evening plans until my departure that Sunday. On Thursday evening, he introduced me to Kirsten Neuschäfer, the winner of 2022 GGR. With her 235-day performance in the 2022 GGR, she became the first woman ever to win a solo nonstop sailing race rounding the major capes. As such, she recently collected World Sailor of the Year and Ourstanding Achievement awards from Rolex and British Yachting, respectively.

Kirsten couldn’t have been nicer; kind and approachable, she was already a well accomplished captain, experienced in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic shores before taking on the Golden Globe Race.

Don McIntyre knew how to motivate an aspiring GGR Entrant.

On Friday, I made sure to visit the GGR office to meet Don McIntyre and his team. He was expecting me and joyously greeted me with his Australian accent. All I could express was my intention to join the race, but I hardly knew where to start. I wondered how many prospects such as me contacted him, seeking guidance. He loaned me one of the trophies that each participating skipper would receive, perhaps to help me touch the race somehow while we took a photo together.

Outside, the GGR veteran vessels were mostly deserted with skippers out in town, spending time with family and friends until the formal Skippers’ Dinner that evening. Only GGR Skipper Guy Waites was available and he was kind to spend a great deal of time with me to show his vessel SAGARMATHA, a Tradewind 35.

A lifelong sailor experienced already as a mate then a skipper in the Clipper Around the World Race, his GGR race ended on the Indian Ocean, due to chronic barnacle growth on his hull. Guy noticed his boat already slowing down on the Atlantic and when he could not remove them with a scraper, he diverted to Cape Town to clean the hull and to replace the original antifouling. With that one stop, he was taken out of the race and demoted to Chichester Class. He then pushed towards the Hobart gate but was unable to reach it before the deadline of 31 January 2023. He was thus disqualified from the 2022 Golden Globe Race. Yet he still continued his journey, finishing at Les Sables in 287 days. By the time he crossed the finish line on June 18th, he had been out of food and with barely enough water on board. He had not gained back his lost weight in the week since arrival, he still looked very lean when I saw him.

Then Ertan talked to Don at some point and I was informed that I too could be part of the formal skippers’ dinner, with the Mayor of Les Sables and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in attendance.

Before dinner, the GGR skippers Pat Lawless (Ireland) and Ian Herbert-Jones (UK) flanked Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.

(To be Continued)