I will join the 2026 Golden Globe Race (1)

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

After it became clear that I was not going to be able to resume my westward journey from the Philippines, I returned home mid-April. My rowboat was in good hands at the Frabelle Shipyard in Navotas at the Metro Manila waterfront. Friends in Turkey were already arranging presentations. Çağrı Özpideciler, the author of our book made sure in advance that there would also be book signings.

There was relief in closure to my human powered expeditions for the time being. Nancy and I caught up for a few weeks then I flew to Turkey mid-May. We would later meet in Lisbon over the first week of June. We had been discussing Portugal as an option to settle in our retirement for good reason; I had received such warmth and hospitality leading up to launching by rowboat from Lisbon back in 2005. The same friends from then, greeted us with open arms as if I had never left. We will certainly feel at home in Portugal if we ever make the move.

For a long time, I had been contemplating offshore yacht racing. To excel in this endeavor, one either had to join existing race teams or had to pay for a berth on a professional yacht to gather experience and skills in a hurry — the former was not going to happen without the latter. I was absent on expeditions for so long that acquiring additional time and experience in offshore sailing, let alone networking to join a race team seemed unattainable. After my two decades of expeditions, burning through what little family savings remaining for individual races with the elusive goal of earning a spot on an offshore team seemed irresponsible…

On and off, the news of 2022 Golden Globe Race came across my social media feed so I kept an eye on their Live Tracker. Out of the 31 skippers announced, only 17 had started and their numbers kept dwindling as the race progressed. In the end, only three would finish nonstop for official ranking and two with one stop to be ranked in the Chichester Class.

The social media feed by the race organizers included a YouTube Channel with videos using footage that the skippers delivered at their designated film gates where they were also interviewed. In these videos, the race chairman Don McIntyre offered a running commentary on the unfolding drama of individuals pitted against fate and nature, which I found captivating.

Stories of the Golden Age of Sailing and the original 1968 Golden Globe Race are intertwined. The modern GGR was organized for the first time in 2018 on the 50th anniversary of the same by Don McIntyre, an established adventurer in his own right. Don is the founder and Race Chairman of the Golden Globe Race. He is an experienced circumnavigator and recognized as one of Australia’s greatest explorers. In 2012, the Australian Geographic Society, presented him with its highest accolade, a “Gold Medal” for a “Lifetime of Adventure.” Based out of Les Sables d’Olonne and organized every four years, the next race will start on Sept 6th, 2026.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the winner and the only finisher out of nine captains who had participated in the original 1968 GGR, is the race patron. Since 1968, he deservedly became a legend and an inspiration to generations of sailors. In 2008 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his record setting 1968 non-stop circumnavigation, when Sir Robin Knox-Johnston was asked: “What would you say to sailors thinking of circumnavigating?” His response was: “My advice to them would be quite simply this. If you’ve got the idea, and you want to do it, then do it. Don’t let ANYTHING get in the way. Far too many people sit in yacht clubs talking about it but then never do it. DO IT! You’ll never regret it.” Well, perhaps he was speaking to me then and I was yet to hear him!

Sir Robin later established the Clipper Around The World Race to provide amateur sailors a way to experience the world of professional racing on large yachts. I was briefly introduced to Sir Robin when the 2015-2016 edition of the Clipper race visited Seattle, one of the host cities at that time. I couldn’t have been more excited…

(To be continued)