round the world solo yacht race

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Kirsten Neuschafer wins 2022 Golden Globe Race and makes history

• Katy Stickland
• April 27, 2023

Kirsten Neuschafer has become the first woman to win a solo, round the world yacht race after winning the 2022 Golden Globe Race

Kirsten Neuschafer made it very clear from the start that she was aiming to win the 2022 Golden Globe Race . And now the South African skipper has achieved her goal, and made history in the process.

After just over 235 days at sea, the sailor crossed the finish line off Les Sables d’Olonne in France at 9pm CEST on 27 April 2023 and became the first woman to win a solo, round the world yacht race.

After a painfully slow final few miles as she ghosted towards the finish, Neuschafer actually crossed the finish line around 10 hours behind competitor, Simon Curwen, but a previous stop for repairs for the British sailor had already relegated him to the Chichester class (for those who make a single landfall).

No wind, meant it took hours for Kirsten Neuschafer to sail the Minnehaha over the finish line. Credit: Katy Stickland

Second-time Golden Globe Race competitor, Abhilash Tomy will be the next boat across the finish line, lying some 100nm astern of Neuschafer. That these three will finish within the space of a couple of days after 235 days at sea speaks to the high level of competition between these front runners.

Tired but jubilant, the focussed 39-year-old, who throughout much of the race had no idea she was leading, celebrated a hard-fought victory. Her Cape George 36 cutter, Minnehaha was then towed up the channel to the pontoon as thousands of people cheered and applauded her incredible achievement.

Among them were 2022 Golden Globe Race skippers Ian Herbert-Jones, who had just arrived from Cape Town, having been rescued from his dismasted boat just weeks before, and French sailor Damien Guillou , whose race ended after windvane steering failure on approach to Cape Town.

‘I feel very emotional and honoured,’ said Neuschafer after finishing the race. ‘I am never going to forget the welcome. I want to thank my fellow skippers as without them, there would have been no race. Simon was very difficult as he was always in front of me and I knew Abhilash was close, and this encouraged me to navigate as quickly as possible.’

Kirsten Neuschafer – the winner of the 2022 Golden Globe Race and the first woman to win a solo round the world yacht race. Credit: Katy Stickland

1997 Vendée Globe veteran Catherine Chabaud, the first female sailor to race solo non stop around the world without assistance, and the winner of the 2018 Golden Globe Race, Jean-Luc van den Heede, were there to greet Neuschafer as she stepped off her boat after nearly 8 months at sea.

Her official finishing time was 233 days, 20 hours, 43 minutes and 47 seconds. This takes into account the 35 hour time compensation and 30 litre fuel allowance given to her following her role in the rescue of fellow race skipper, Tapio Lehtinen,

Neuschafer said she was driven to keep going, even in calms and the doldrums on the way up the Atlantic, where she regularly went swimming to deal with the frustration.

‘I never thought I would give up; there was no reason to think this as I had full confidence in the boat. I never doubted I would get to the finish line.’

Catherine Chabaud, the first female sailor to race solo non stop around the world without assistance was there to greet Kirsten Neuschafter on. her arrival. Credit: Katy Stickland

Throughout the 2022 Golden Globe Race , Kirsten Neuschafer has fought to be at the front of the fleet, her ambition to win driving her more than many of the other entrants.

She deliberately chose a boat that she believed could win the race and survive the Southern Ocean.

Speaking to Yachting Monthly from Prince Edward Island, where she was refitting the boat, she said: ‘From the outset it wasn’t a question of taking any boat that was available and in my price range; it was to choose a boat that I believe can win and can survive the Southern Ocean , and then get that boat at any cost, no matter how much work.’

Kirsten Neuschafer in the lead, in early March 2023. Credit: Kirsten Neuschafer/GGR 2022

Her choice of the Cape George 36 paid off. Minnehaha has the longest LWL in the fleet, and with a generous cutter rigged 806sq ft sail plan, the boat achieved slightly higher speeds than her counterparts.

As a result, she holds the 2022 Golden Globe Race records for the best 4 hour speed average (9.80 knots), best 24 hour distance (218.9nm) and best 7 day distance (1,216.2nm).

The boat’s performance was evident after her average start in the race, but she constantly pushed, choosing to hand steer the boat rather than just rely on her Hydrovane windvane steering to make up for lost ground. Her disappointment coming 6th through the first race gate at Lanzarote was evident, but her motivation was stronger.

Kirsten Neuschafer prepared Minnehaha on Prince Edward Island. Credit: Patricia Richard

Having exited the Bay of Biscay in 10th place, she was soon climbing the leader board. Coming down the Atlantic, she chose a more coastal route to keep the island of Trinidade to port; a strategy to make the most of the current and receive weather information via her weather fax so she could identify the location of the South Atlantic High.

She took the longer, southern route with a more comfortable point of sail to reach the race’s second gate at Cape Town; a strategy that paid off when she was second through the gate behind the then race leader Simon Curwen .

Article continues below…

Kirsten Neuschafer: Golden Globe Race 2022 skipper

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Golden Globe Race: Kirsten Neuschafer: ‘I’ll give it my best shot but I’m pretty disillusioned’

Third place Golden Globe Race skipper Kirsten Neuschafer has been left frustrated by the lack of wind, which has also…

By this time, Curwen was extending his lead as he began crossing the Indian Ocean. Days after leaving Cape Town, Kirsten Neuschafer diverted from her race route to rescue fellow entrant Tapio Lehtinen, after his Gaia 36, Asteria sank around 450 miles south east of South Africa.

At the time, Neuschafer was 105 miles from Lehtinen’s position; she hand steered through the night, posting speeds of 7 knots to reach him the following morning. Once safely onboard, they waited for the arrival of the Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier Darya Gayatri , which would take Lehtinen to port.

Kirsten Neuschafer and Tapio Lehtinen share rum after the rescue of the Finnish skipper from his liferaft. Credit: Kirsten Nesuchafer/GGR 2022

Neuschafer was awarded a 35 hour time compensation and a 30 litre fuel allowance by the Golden Globe Race organisers.

Back in race mode, she pushed hard across the Indian Ocean, gaining 500 miles on Curwen and arrived just 29.5 hours behind him in Hobart. She briefly took first place when passing through Tasmania but then became trapped in no wind zones around New Zealand for several days.

This allowed Curwen to extend his lead by 900 miles; by this time, he was also sailing in a different weather system to Neuschafer and her nearest rival, Abhilash Tomy .

Neuschafer and Tomy swapped second and third place positions across the South Pacific, Neuschafer often frustrated by the calms, and her inability to find the better wind, which was often in the race’s Pacific exclusion zone.

She dived for 8 hours to remove the barnacles from the boat’s hull to improve her speed.

Kirsten Neuschafer/ rounded Cape Horn on Day 164 of the race. Credit: Kirsten Neuschafer/GGR 2022

Curwen, who had a 1,200 mile lead, then reported the failure of his Hydrovane self-steering gear , which forced him to make a 1,000 mile detour to Chile to make repairs; this also put him in the Chichester Class for entrants who make one stop.

This meant both Neuschafer and Tomy were back in the race for first place.

After 150 days of racing, Neuschafer took the lead and was the first to round Cape Horn on 15 February 2023.

But her routing decision up the Atlantic allowed Tomy to make gains in his Rustler 36, Bayanat , despite battling problems with his Wind Pilot windvane steering, his rig, rigging, and having to hand-stitch his mainsail after it ripped in two.

Kirsten Neuschafer took a more easterly route up the Atlantic. Credit: Kirsten Neuschäfer/GGR2022

Unlike Tomy, who stayed close to the rhumb line, Kirsten Neuschafer, who was sailing more conservatively due to a bend in Minehaha’s bowsprit, decided to take a more easterly route.

At the time she said: ‘I read up in  Ocean Passages for the World what is the best route for this time of year and the route is to pass 80 miles south of the Falklands and make for a point to the east of 35°S and 30°W at this time of year, and this is what I’ve been doing. I don’t know if it was a good idea to follow the suggestions or not.’

Doubting her easterly route, she took a more northerly route; it was a decision which would prove incredibly frustrating for Kirsten Neuschafer, who sailed through more light winds than any other 2022 Golden Globe Race sailor while sailing up the Atlantic, and meant she crossed a very wide doldrums.

This allowed both Tomy and Curwen to make gains on her position before Curwen in his Biscay 36, Clara , took the lead and become the first of the 2022 Golden Globe Race fleet to cross the finish line.

Positions of the Golden Globe Race 2022 skippers on 27 April 2022 at 2100 CEST

Kirsten Neuschafer, (South Africa), Cape George 36 cutter, Minnehaha – FINISHED 1st Abhilash Tomy , (India), Rustler 36, Bayanat – 100nm to the finish Michael Guggenberger , (Austria), Biscay 36, Nuri – 1800nm to the finish

Chichester Class:

Simon Curwen , (UK), Biscay 36, Clara – FINISHED 1st (Chichester Class) Jeremy Bagshaw , (South Africa), OE32, Olleanna – 2600nm to the finish

Edward Walentynowicz , (Canada), Rustler 36, Noah’s Jest Guy deBoer , (USA), Tashiba 36, Spirit Mark Sinclair (Australia), Lello 34, Coconut Pat Lawless , (Ireland), Saltram Saga 36 , Green Rebel Damien Guillou , (France), Rustler 36, PRB Ertan Beskardes , (UK), Rustler 36, Lazy Otter Tapio Lehtinen , (Finland), Gaia 36, Asteria Arnaud Gaist , (France), Barbican 33 Mk 2, Hermes Phoning Elliot Smith ,  (USA), Gale Force 34, Second Wind Guy Waites (UK), Tradewind 35, Sagarmatha Ian Herbert-Jones (UK), Tradewind 35, Puffin

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Latest News: 2023 McIntyre Ocean Globe Prize giving!

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The Ocean Globe Race (OGR) is a fully crewed retro race in the spirit of the 1973 Whitbread Round the World Race. It marks the 50th anniversary of the original event.

It’s an eight-month adventure around the world for ordinary sailors on normal yachts. Racing ocean-going GRP production yachts designed before 1988, there will be no computers, no satellites, no GPS, and no high-tech materials. Sextants, team spirit and raw determination alone in the great traditions of ocean racing are allowed on this truly human endeavor. These will be real heroes pushing each other to the limit and beyond – in a real race!

Following the success of the 2018 Golden Globe Race , the concept of retro, fully crewed, traditional ocean racing around the globe has returned.

Don McIntyre – 8 minutes on ‘Who What How When Where and Why of the OGR’

Yesterday and Today

The 1968 sunday times golden globe race was the first ever around-the-world yacht race..

It was an adventure to determine who could be the first to circumnavigate the globe solo, nonstop without assistance. Nine sailors started, only one finished. It was an epic tale won by the least expected to win – Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in the 32ft timber ketch  Suhaili . He established a world record in the same year that footsteps first appeared on the surface of the Moon. A few years later, the British yachting establishment organised the first ever fully crewed yacht race around the world. With backing from  Whitbread Breweries  and following in the wake of the great clipper ships, the legend that became known simply as ‘The Whitbread’ was born in 1973.

18 yachts lined up for the start on a sunny Saturday morning in Portsmouth England on 8 September 1973. Two more would join for later legs. It was an adventure, a family affair even, in yachts from 45ft to 74ft.

The race would take them first to Cape Town, South Africa and on to Sydney Australia, before heading deep south around the infamous Cape Horn to Rio de Janeiro and finally back up to Portsmouth – 27,000 miles later. A total of 324 crew were involved. Sadly, three would never return; lost overboard during Southern Ocean storms. Five yachts retired and three were dismasted. This race was also won by the least expected to win; a family crew with friends, sailing a standard production Swan 65 yacht,  Sayula II , skippered by Mexican Ramón Carlin.

It was a fantastic race. A true adventure filled with real stories of human endeavour, colour and challenges on the high seas.

For the next 20 years the adventure continued with a  Whitbread Round the World Race  staged every four years. Sailors of all levels, ages and backgrounds were able to follow their dreams. They signed on and circumnavigated the globe – in a race.

Yachts became steadily faster, and costs began to climb. The fifth edition in 1989 saw one entry spend £6million in an unsuccessful bid to win. The 6th edition in 1993 brought huge change and sadly the end for most sailors hoping to be part of this ultimate challenge. By then, the  Whitbread Race  had evolved into a fully professional event. In the words of the organisers, it was now the Formula 1 of Grand Prix ocean yacht racing. Ordinary sailors with their dreams could only spectate.

A growing international audience, advancing technology and huge budgets led eventually to Volvo taking over the race. They transformed the event into a nautical extravaganza of stunning proportions with elite sailors that we have all grown to respect. Peak athletes all, sailing a few grand prix, state of the art, one-design yachts, driven by computers, all with comprehensive shore support ready to pick up the pieces. These spectacular Volvo yachts left the clipper ships in their wake in every sense!

Today, these high budget boats chase records across the planet to dazzle at race villages and big budget spectacles. Currently in a state of transition, the newly renamed Ocean Race is stepping up again, reinventing itself in exciting ways with IMOCA 60 yachts sailed by just five elite crew and autopilots now helming for the first time.

On the 50th anniversary of the original Whitbread Round the World Race,  McIntyre Adventure (organisers of the Golden Globe Race ) and the  Globe Yacht Club  are proud to announce, that after 30 years of spectating, ordinary yacht club sailors and owners everywhere, once again have a chance to race around the globe! We are going back to that first great Whitbread Race and sailing like it’s 1973. The Ocean Globe Race (OGR) is for sailors with a dream and a sense of adventure – pure and simple! Is it YOU?

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The Vendée Globe is a legendary race which is celebrating its 10th edition in 2024!

The Vendée Globe is a single-handed, non-stop, non-assisted round-the-world sailing race that takes place every four years. It is contested on IMOCA monohulls, which are 18 metres long. The skippers set off from Les Sables-d'Olonne in Vendée and sail around 45,000 kilometres around the globe, rounding the three legendary capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and finally Cape Horn) before returning to Les Sables d'Olonne. The race has acquired an international reputation, attracting skippers from all over the world. Beyond the competition, it is above all an incredible human adventure.

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In 2024, the race celebrates its 10th edition! Each edition has been marked by unique stories that have shaped the legend of this race. Edition by edition, relive the great moments of the Vendée Globe since its creation.

The last edition

An unprecedented health context, some fog on the line, Kevin Escoffier’s rescue, an unfavorable weather system for speed, the panache of daggerboard boats, close racing conditions on the three oceans, the game of compensated time … The 9th edition of the Vendée Globe followed an unusual and captivating scenario!

The boats of the Vendée Globe all measure 18,28 m long (60 feet) for a 4,50 draught. With a large sail area, they are the most powerful monohulls of the planet led by a solo skipper. They can nearly reach 40 knots downwind at top speed. The gauge of these racing machines is defined by the IMOCA class (International Monohull Open Class Association), founded in 1991 and supported by World Sailing, the International Sailing Federation.

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The 10th edition of the Vendée Globe promises to be exceptional. In 2024, 40 skippers are expected to take the start of this solo, non-stop, unassisted round the world race.

Stay tuned #VG2024

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Kirsten Neuschäfer makes history in toughest global solo yacht race

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The world’s toughest round-the-world solo yacht race has been won by a woman for the first time. Kirsten Neuschäfer, a 40-year-old skipper from South Africa, took 233 days to complete the Golden Globe Race. Participants (who were all male apart from Neuschäfer) set off from the west coast of France in September, and were due to sail non-stop around the world via the five Great Capes. By the time Neuschäfer got back to France last week, she was one of just three sailors left from the starting 16. “I’m very happy,” she said, “but I entered as a sailor and being a woman is just secondary.”

Swimmers back pop-up pool scheme

Olympian swimmers including Ellie Simmonds and Adam Peaty are backing a new pop-up pool scheme designed to help more children learn to swim. Starting in the West Midlands, the temporary pools will be installed in marquees in the grounds of selected primary schools, many of them in areas where there are no public pools within easy striking distance. The aim is to teach pupils to swim 25 metres. Currently, almost a third of Year 6 children are unable to swim.

RHS adds treasures to digital archive

The Royal Horticultural Society is offering free digital access to 10,000 treasures from its archive. The items in its new online library, many of which are too fragile to handle, include books, photographs and herbarium specimens spanning 500 years of gardening history. Among the highlights are an 1876 seed book containing prints of rare vegetable varieties, and Capability Brown’s account book, which reveals in elegant handwriting that the king paid him £500 on 26 April 1765, but notes that it had been “due in March”.

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Published on January 2nd, 2024 | by Editor

Countdown to the Ultimate race

Published on January 2nd, 2024 by Editor -->

The ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE – Brest starts from Brest, France on January 7 and will be the first ever solo race round the world on giant Ultim trimarans, the biggest and fastest ocean-going sailboats in the world.

Unlike speed records which depart in ideal weather windows for a race against the clock, six solo skippers will push the boundaries of singlehanded racing with class boats that are a maximum length of 32 meters and a maximum width of 23 meters.

Entrants: • Charles Caudrelier (FRA), Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (2017 Verdier 32/23) • Thomas Coville (FRA), Sodebo Ultim 3 (2019 VPLP/others 32/23) • Tom Laperche (FRA), Trimaran SVR-Lazartigue (2021 VPLP 32/23) • Armel Le Cléac’h (FRA), Maxi Banque Populaire XI (2021 VPLP 32/23) • Anthony Marchand (FRA), Actual Ultim 3 (2015 VPLP 30/22) • Éric Péron (FRA), Trimaran Adagio (2014 VPLP 31/21)

As a reference, the solo speed record was set in 2017 by François Gabart (FRA) on the 30m Macif trimaran in a time of 42d 14h 40m 15s for an average speed of 21.08 knots. This yacht has been rebranded and will be raced by Marchand.

Coville is the skipper who has completed the most round-the-world passages on a multihull. He competed in five, completed the loop three times and was once the record holder around the world (49 days and 3 hours in 2016).

“We need to find the right approach to sustain the right level on this unique and singular challenge,” noted Coville. “There is a very big psychological dimension. We are constantly seeking to work at or near our limits, to go beyond normal effort levels despite the accumulated lack of sleep, the risk, the frustrations, the anxiety, the ice.

“I like to tell myself that we are not racing but that we are on a tough expedition. There are days when you burst into tears, days when you scream, days when you go crazy. You end up being a mix between euphoria, exhaustion, and elation.”

Details: https://arkeaultimchallengebrest.com/en

Five rules from the Sailing Instructions: • The start line is kept open for 168 hours and the finish line is closed after an elapsed time of 100 days after the start time, that is to say 16th April 2024.

• The skippers can communicate and exchange with their teams on shore, so they have the freedom to get weather information and be routed by their team on shore and get technical help and advice to help with technical problems.

• The solo skippers can stop but there are two distinct operations. A technical stop is unassisted and requires the sailor to drop anchor, take a mooring, or tie up alongside an anchored or moored boat with no external help. There is no time penalty for a technical stop. But for a technical stopover (escale technique) where one or more crew or technical team come on board to help, there is a mandatory 24 hours minimum. This does not apply to the start port of Brest where all means are authorized to reach or leave the port within a radius of 50 miles.

• For the first time in ocean racing, zones where there are known to be a high concentration of whales and sea mammals are determined. Establishing these zones should both protect the marine wildlife and reduce the chance of a collision. These zones are around the Azores, the Canaries, south of South Africa, the Kerguelens, and parts of the Antarctic.

• There are ice exclusion zones to protect the skippers and their boats.

Tags: ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE – Brest

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Golden Globe: Kirsten Neuschäfer becomes first woman to win solo round the world race

• Helen Fretter
• April 27, 2023

Kirsten Neuschäfer has become the first woman ever to win a solo around the world race, finishing first in the Golden Globe Race, having successfully rescued a fellow competitor from his liferaft on the way.

South African solo skipper Kirsten Neuschäfer has won the Golden Globe Race , crossing the finish line off Les Sables d’Olonne at around 2100hrs today after 235 days of racing. In doing so Neuschäfer has become the first woman ever to win a solo around the world race, and she does so having successfully rescued a fellow competitor from his liferaft off South Africa.

She drifted over the line in zephyr light winds this evening in the evening light, having contended with racing through the Southern Ocean, around the three Great Capes, in her Cape George 36, Minnehaha , with huge spectator fleet welcoming her.

“This is amazing, it’s a once in a lifetime experience,” she said on the dock.

“I didn’t know if I’d win it. I was convinced I’d finish it, but after the Doldrums I thought that’s finished [the chance of winning] for me. I was quite overwhelmed [to learn I’d won] I thought I was going to come in 3rd after Simon [Curwen] and Abhilash [Tomy].”

On being the first woman ever to win a solo around the world race, she said: “I’m very happy, but I entered as a sailor and being a woman is just secondary.”

Kirsten Neuschäfer on her Cape George 36 Minnehaha” Credit: Kirsten Neuschäfer / GGR2022

Neuschäfer went into the race as one of the hotly tipped skippers to watch, and has either held – or duelled for – the lead since Simon Curwen pulled into Chile in late January.

Her nearest competitor, Abhilash Tomy, is some 100 miles behind her, the pair having raced up the Atlantic in a remarkably close match – all the more remarkable given that neither knew each other’s position. In fact, until she saw the large spectator fleet welcoming her outside Les Sables d’Olonne, Neuschäfer did not even know she was in the lead.

Neuschäfer is one of just three skippers racing around the world solo, two more – including Simon Curwen, who crossed the line earlier today – were in ‘Chichester ‘ division (named after Sir Francis Chichester’s 1966-67 solo circumnavigation which included a stopover in Sydney).

Before entering the Golden Globe Race, Neuschäfer worked for legendary skipper Skip Novak , both crewing and skippering his expedition yachts in high latitudes. This gave her invaluable experience of sailing in the deepest Southern Oceans.

Kirsten Neuschäfer arriving in Les Sables d’Olonne as winner of the Golden Globe Race 2022/23. Photo: GGR2022

Her preparation for the race was complicated by covid lockdown, and having bought her 1988 Cape George cutter in Newfoundland she spent a winter in Prince Edward Island near Nova Scotia putting the boat through a thorough refit. 

She then delivered it solo home to Cape Town, practising her celestial navigation on the way, and then to France. Once gathered alongside the other Golden Globe Race competitors, Minnehaha quickly proved itself as one of the fastest boats in the fleet.

While Simon Curwen stole an early lead on the fleet, Neuschäfer, along with Tomy and Finnish skipper Tapio Lehtinen became a pack of three as they entered the Southern Indian Ocean. Then, on November 19, Lehtinen notified race control that his boat had suddenly sunk, and he was in a liferaft. Race organisers raised the alarm with fellow competitors and Kirsten Neuschafer, then in 3rd place, was nearest, around 105 miles south-west.

Neuschäfer made best speed to Lehtinen’s last known position, hand-steering through the night, and 24 hours after he abandoned ship Minnehaha arrived at his position. She executed a textbook solo recovery, 

Lehtinen described the manoeuvre: “She furled in the genoa, lowered the main, started the engine and approached the raft to windward of me so I could throw the throwing line to her, which she put around a winch and pulled me alongside.

“I was able to climb onboard Minnehaha with her help. It was great!”

Fellow Golden Globe Race skipper Kirsten Neuschafer was the first on the scene, rescuing Tapio Lehtinen from his liferaft before he was transferred to the Darya Gayatri. Credit: Anglo Eastern

The pair shared a hug, chocolate and a tot of rum, meanwhile a bulk carrier, the Darya Gayatri approached. Neuschäfer then manoeuvred Minnehaha into the lee of the carrier ship – an incredibly skilful piece of positioning with the ever present risk of clattering her own rig into the ship’s high sides. Once throwing lines were secured, Lehtinen got back into the liferaft and transferred to the ship. Neuschäfer continued on with her race. She was awarded 35 hours of redress for the rescue. 

The remainder of Neuschäfer’s race was not without drama – damage to her spinnaker pole meant she was limited in her headsail selection, and with very limited weather data she had a grindingly slow passage north through the Atlantic. 

However, her win today makes history as the first female skipper ever to win a solo round the world race. Women have won in crewed around the world races – in the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, two female crew, Caroline Brouwer and Marie Riou were part of the winning Dongfeng Race Team. In the 2017/18 Clipper Round the World Race Wendy Tuck skippered the winning boat, while Nikki Henderson skippered the boat in 2nd.

Most famously, Ellen MacArthur set a solo non-stop around the world record in 2004, having finished 2nd in 2000/01 Vendée Globe – a finish place yet to be matched by another female skipper. Clarisse Cremer currently holds the record for the fastest solo non-stop around the world time for a female sailor, completing the last Vendée Globe in 87 days, 2 hours and 24 minutes. But none have won a solo around the world race.

Neuschaffer’s time may be considerably slower, but the Golden Globe Race is inarguably one of the toughest sporting events in existence and the skill she demonstrated throughout places her name firmly alongside the greats of ocean racing.

Neuschafer was greeted by Catherine Chabaud, the first female sailor to race solo non stop around the world without assistance. Credit: GGR2022

As Samantha Davies, Vendée Globe and Ocean Race sailor posted: “This is just amazing! So happy to have followed this crazy race and see an incredibly talented female skipper come in to win overall, with a 24h time bonus for having saved a fellow competitor during the race. Just incredible seamanship! I am in awe.”

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This race is a nonstop sail around the world. Cassette tapes are allowed, but no GPS

Scott Neuman

South African sailor Kirsten Neuschafer, the only woman in the 2022 Golden Globe Race. All but three of her 15 competitors in the grueling months-long competition have been forced to drop out. Aida Valceanu/GGR/2022 hide caption

South African sailor Kirsten Neuschafer, the only woman in the 2022 Golden Globe Race. All but three of her 15 competitors in the grueling months-long competition have been forced to drop out.

Somewhere in the Southern Pacific Ocean, Kirsten Neuschafer is alone on her boat, Minnehaha, as she tries to outmaneuver the latest storm to cross her path as she approaches Cape Horn.

Instead of sailing directly for the tip of South America, she's spent the past day heading north in an effort to skirt the worst of the oncoming weather. The storm is threatening wind gusts up to 55 miles per hour and seas building to 25 feet.

Her plan, she explains over a scratchy satellite phone connection, is to get away from the eye of the storm. "The closer I get to the Horn," she says, "the more serious things become, the windier it becomes."

But there's no turning back. That's because Neuschafer is battling to win what is possibly the most challenging competition the sailing world has to offer — the Golden Globe Race. Since setting off from the coast of France in September, Neuschafer, the only woman competing, has left all rivals in her wake. Of the 16 entrants who departed five months ago, only four are still in the race, and for the moment at least, she's leading.

The race is a solo, nonstop, unassisted circumnavigation, a feat first accomplished in 1969, the same year that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon. Since then, more people have traveled to space than have done what Neuschafer is hoping to accomplish.

The race is a throwback in most every way. Unlike its more famous cousin, the Vendée Globe solo nonstop race with its purpose-built vessels made for speed, Golden Globe entrants sail low-tech boats that wouldn't look out of place in any coastal marina. And they do so without modern electronic aids — no laptops or electronic charts, radar or sophisticated weather routing. To find their position at sea, participants instead rely on navigating by the sun and stars and simple speed calculations.

Racers don't do it for the money. The prize of 5,000 pounds (about $6,045) is the same as it was in the 1960s and is not even enough to cover entry fees. The real lure is the challenge.

"The single-handed aspect was the one that drew me," Neuschafer, who is from South Africa, says of her decision to enter.

"I really like the aspect of sailing by celestial navigation, sailing old school," she says, adding that she's always wanted to know "what it would have been like back then when you didn't have all the modern technology at your fingertips."

Satellite phones are allowed, but only for communication with race officials and the occasional media interview. Each boat has collision-avoidance alarms and a GPS tracker, but entrants can't view their position data. There's a separate GPS for navigation, but it's sealed and only for emergencies. Its use can lead to disqualification. Entrants are permitted to use radios to communicate with each other and with passing ships. They're allowed to briefly anchor, but not get off the boat nor have anyone aboard. And no one is allowed to give them supplies or assistance.

The race motto, "Sailing like it's 1968," alludes to the fact that it's essentially a reboot of a competition first put on that year by the British Sunday Times newspaper. In it, nine sailors started, and only one, Britain's Robin Knox-Johnston , managed to complete the first-ever nonstop, solo circumnavigation, finishing in 312 days. Despite leading at one point, French sailor Bernard Moitessier elected to abandon the race in an effort, he said, to "save my soul." Yet another, British sailor Donald Crowhurst , died by suicide after apparently stepping off his boat.

Bringing the race back in 2018 for its 50th anniversary was the brainchild of Australian sailor and adventurer Don McIntyre, who describes the competition as "an absolute extreme mind game that entails total isolation, physical effort ... skill, experience and sheer guts."

"That sets it apart from everything," he says.

For sailors, it's the Mount Everest of the sea

Neuschafer, 40, is a veteran of the stormy waters she's presently sailing, having worked as a charter skipper in Patagonia, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica. Although she's been around Cape Horn before, this time is different, she says.

Previously she's been around "the Horn" when she could choose the conditions. But nonstop from the Pacific, with limited weather information, "I'd say, it's a notch up on anxiety. It's almost like ... trying to reach the peak of Everest," she says.

Finnish sailor Tapio Lehtinen's boat sank in November off the southern tip of Africa. He was rescued with the help of fellow racer Kirsten Neuschafer. Aida Valceanu/GGR2022 hide caption

Finnish sailor Tapio Lehtinen's boat sank in November off the southern tip of Africa. He was rescued with the help of fellow racer Kirsten Neuschafer.

Probably the most harrowing moment so far in this year's race came in November, when Neuschafer sailed 100 miles, staying at Minnehaha's helm through the night to rescue Finland's Tapio Lehtinen — one of the finishers in the 2018 race. She plucked him from a life raft some 24 hours after his boat, Asteria, sank in the southern Indian Ocean.

For the rescue, race officials broke protocol and allowed her to use GPS and gave her a time credit on the race. "I basically sailed throughout the night and by morning I got within range of him," she says.

Spotting Lehtinen's tiny life raft amid 10-foot waves was far from easy, Neuschafer says. "He could see ... my sail [but] I couldn't see him, not for the life of me." She later managed to transfer him to a freighter.

That incident reinforced for her how things could change at any moment. In the Golden Globe, she says, "a large proponent of it is luck."

The days can be serene, but also isolating

The drama of such days at sea is offset by others spent in relative peace. A typical day, if there is such a thing, starts just before sunrise, she says, "a good time to get the time signal on the radio so that I can synchronize my watches," which she needs for accurate celestial navigation.

"Then ... I'll have a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal, and then I'll wait for the sun to be high enough that I can take a reasonable [sextant] sight." A walk around the deck to see if anything is amiss and perhaps a bit of reading — currently it's The Bookseller of Kabul by Norwegian journalist and author Asne Seierstad — before another sight at noon to check her position.

Or perhaps some music. It's all on cassette, since competitors aren't allowed a computer of any kind. As a result, she's listening to a lot of '80s artists, "good music that I ordinarily wouldn't listen to," she says.

The isolation was more difficult for American Elliott Smith, who at 27 was the youngest entrant in this year's race. He dropped out in Australia due to rigging failure.

Elliott Smith, a 27-year-old originally from Tampa, Fla. A rigging failure forced him to quit in Australia. Simon McDonnell/FBYC hide caption

Elliott Smith, a 27-year-old originally from Tampa, Fla. A rigging failure forced him to quit in Australia.

Reached in the Australian port city of Fremantle, the surfer-turned-sailor from Florida says he doesn't entirely rule out another try at the race in four years. But for now, he's put his boat, Second Wind, up for sale. He seems circumspect about the future.

"It was really obvious that I stopped enjoying the sailing at some point," he confides about the rigors of the race. "There were moments ... where I found myself never going outside unless I had to. I was like, 'I'm just staying in the cabin. I'm just reading. I'm miserable.' "

Smith says there were days when he would see an albatross, but was too mentally exhausted to appreciate the beauty of it. "I was like, 'This is so sad, you know?' Like, I've become complacent [about] something that most people would never even try, you know?"

Neuschafer, too, has had her share of frustrations. The latest was a broken spinnaker pole, which keeps her from setting twin forward sails on the 36-foot-long Minnehaha — her preferred setup for running downwind.

She's looking forward to finishing in early spring. But first, she still has to traverse the entire Atlantic Ocean from south to north.

"I'll get off and enjoy feeling the land beneath my feet." After that, she says, "the first thing I'd like to do is eat ice cream."

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Who is Kirsten Neuschäfer and Where is She Sailing?

By: Zeke Quezada, ASA women on the water

The Golden Globe Race is currently winding down, and the sailors are headed back to Les Sables-d’Olonne, France. In fact, they are a few days out from returning.  The race is fairly basic in nature as it began in  Les Sables-d’Olonne, France, on September 4th, 2022, and the contestants sail solo, non-stop, around the world, via the five Great Capes and return to Les Sables-d’Olonne.  The Golden Globe Race is a true test of endurance, skill, and courage.  The challenges faced by the sailors are what make this race so unique and revered. 

16 sailors began and currently, 3 are left.

One of them is Kirsten Neuschäfer.

Who is Kirsten Neuschäfer?

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kirsten Neuschafer (@kirstenggr)

Kirsten has been a sailor since childhood, but turned it into a profession in 2006. From boat deliveries to crewing she built a diverse set of skills in the sailing arena.  Before the Golden Globe Race in 2018, Kirsten’s longest solo sailing trip was a delivery from Portugal to South Africa on an old and maintenance-intensive 32-foot ferro-cement sloop, using only a wind-vane for self-steering.

She joined Skip Novak’s Pelagic Expeditions and sailed the crew to South Georgia, the Antarctic Peninsula, Patagonia, and the Falklands, to capture the beauty of the Antarctic for National Geographic and the BBC. Kirsten has also embarked on other solo adventures, such as cycling from Europe back home to South Africa. Her current challenge is the Golden Globe Race 2022.

Kirsten Neuschäfer was awarded the Rod Stephens Seamanship Trophy for playing a pivotal role in the successful rescue of a fellow 2022 Golden Globe Race competitor, Tapio Lehtinen.

Find out more about Kirsten on her website: https://kirstenggr.com/

What is The Golden Globe Race

The Golden Globe Race is a solo, nonstop yacht race around the world with no assistance and without the use of modern technology. The original Golden Globe Race was the first race around the world solo without stops or any outside assistance. The race was organized by the Sunday Times newspaper in Great Britain and was held in 1968. The race was inspired by Sir Francis Chichester’s successful single-handed circumnavigation of the globe in his yacht Gipsy Moth IV.

A Few Facts About The Golden Globe Race:

• Entrants are limited to sailing similar yachts and equipment to what was available to Sir Robin in that first race.
• Competitors must sail in production boats between 32ft and 36ft overall (9.75 – 10.97m) designed prior to 1988 that have a full-length keel with a rudder attached to their trailing edge.
• The challenge is pure and very raw, placing adventure ahead of winning at all costs.
• Competitors will be navigating with sextant only.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Golden Globe Race (@goldengloberace)

The 1968 Golden Globe Race was won by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who completed the race in just over 312 days. The race has been reborn with a round-the-world race held in 2018, attempting to capture the nature of those early intrepid sailors. The 2018 event was a success, inspiring the current edition in September 2022.

The Golden Globe Race is one of the most challenging sailing races in the world. The sailors must navigate their way around the world without any outside assistance and without using modern technology such as GPS or satellite phones. They must rely on traditional navigation methods such as sextants and paper charts. The sailors must also deal with extreme weather conditions such as storms and high seas. They must be self-sufficient for months at a time, carrying all their food and supplies on board their yachts.

Track the race at their website: https://goldengloberace.com/

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Clipper Race Grand Finale Suhaili Experience

17 July 2024

Want to experience the Clipper 2023-24 Race Grand Finale with the first man to sail solo around the world, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston?

As the fleet returns to Gunwharf Quays on 27 July, the highest bidder will have the opportunity to sail out to the Finish Line with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and his crew.

The highest bidder will win this once in a lifetime opportunity for themselves and a plus one, as you get to witness what is set to be a lively finish up close as a VIP Spectator on board Suhaili - Sir Robin’s personal yacht that he sailed around the world solo non-stop in from 1968-69.

The full winning bid will go towards the Clipper Race’s UNICEF fundraising for the 2023-24 edition.

More details and auction here: GalaBid

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‘Spectacular’ welcome into Scotland for round the world yacht crews

Crews taking part in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race arrived in Oban on Friday – the first time the race has come to Scotland.

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• Argyll and Bute

A Scot taking part in a gruelling round the world yacht race told how arriving in her home country was “really special”.

Vicki Leslie spoke after boats in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race arrived in Oban on Friday night – the first time the race has ever come to Scotland.

The event sees people from different countries who have no previous experience of sailing take part in the 40,000 nautical mile race around the world, after first completing an intensive course to gain the necessary skills for life on board.

This year’s contest saw them set off from Portsmouth on September 3, 2023, with this penultimate leg of the challenge seeing them cross the Atlantic, sailing from Washington DC to Oban.

Ms Leslie, who is part of the crew on board the Ha Long Viet Nam boat said that coming into Scotland was “really special for me”.

She added: “It’s amazing to be back here, and thankfully it’s not raining.”

The final leg of the race will see the crews sail back to Portsmouth, with Ms Leslie adding: “It doesn’t feel real that it’s almost over – it’s bittersweet.

“It’s amazing to have done it, but it’s sad it’s almost over.”

The penultimate leg of the race was won by the Perserverance team, led by Dutch skipper Ineke van der Weijden, who said: “To arrive here tonight was spectacular, it’s so amazing here in Scotland.

“We had a plane fly over, sail boats come out to meet us, RIBs (rigid inflatable boats) come out to meet us, it was such a fantastic thing.”

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We are sailing! We are sailing! Mail Sport takes to the sea for a taste of the incredible Clipper Round the World race as it returns to the UK

T he flags are unmistakable in the grey Oban skies. They flutter extravagantly in the wind; a symbol of joy, endeavour and high-spirited adventure.

Attached to show-stopping yachts, they burst through the horizon, a smorgasbord of colour.

Locals are lining up to get sight of them as I arrive at the marina. Like me, they’re here to see the spectacular boats of the Clipper Round the World race, which have docked briefly in the Scottish town before heading off for their final race.

I’m being given an added bonus, however - a sail on one of these beautiful giants. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime, and one I’ve dreamed of for a very long time.

This, you see, really is a race like no other. Eleven teams, eight legs, circumnavigating five oceans, across 40,000 nautical miles. What makes it particularly special, however, are the crew. Amateurs, with no previous experience, all eager to be a part of this hugely challenging experience. The end result is more than 20 crew members per yacht, with a mix of talent and abilities. It is a multi-cultural melting pot. All nations, all ages, all with different reasons for wanting to be part of this incredible journey.

Boarding the boat, I’m hugely aware of the significance. After a safety demonstration and being kitted out in full-on sailing gear, we set off for a few hours on the water. Rain begins to fall as we hoist the main sail. Perseverance is aptly named. Currently leading the race standings, it is skippered by Dutch former businesswoman Ineke Van Der Weijden.

‘I used to sail as a kid in dinghies, and kind of lost touch with it,’ she explains.

‘I had no experience of sailing like this. I signed up as crew member for the 2017-18 edition of the Clipper, and went around the world and when I came back, I realised how much I liked offshore sailing. I got all my qualifications and have been working professionally ever since. My total crew consists of around 60 people, but they’re not all on the boat at the same time. ‘Some people only sign up for one leg, some for multiple legs, or all of it. They range from 19 years old to 72 years old. Fifteen nationalities, from nurses, to dentists, to engineers, lawyers, pilots. What they have in common is not necessarily sailing, but a sense of adventure.

‘People can find themselves and grow a little and be proud of themselves and this race does that, in a very well thought out way.

‘Coming up to the end of this, it is bitter sweet. On the one hand, I can’t believe we’re already here and it’s almost over. On the other hand, I think everyone is tired and it’s time to come home as well. However, I’m sure that, when I walk away, it will be difficult. ‘

The wind picks up as we head out towards the island of Kerrera. I take the helm for a short period of time - as Van Der Weijden talks me through our route. It’s a strange experience, steering a boat of this size, but also incredibly powerful and rewarding.

As voices chat happily in the background, I’m aware of a fin in the water. I train my eyes on the dancing waves for a few moments, before a dolphin emerges and jumps happily into its expansive playground.

It is a wonderful moment; the first time I’ve ever seen such a mammal in its most natural surroundings.

Cups of tea and coffee are handed out as the boat continues to heel. We’re at an incline, but never does it feel unsafe or unwieldy. Cake, made by chef Vicki, is given out at will, as she reminisces about her time on the boat.

You get the sense that for most on this journey, there’s a deeper meaning behind their sense of adventure.

Mum and daughter Amanda Shehab and Megan Allpress are a perfect example of this emotive dynamic. As part of the boat - Dare To Lead - they’re here for the memories that will, undoubtedly, last a lifetime.

‘It’s a sad, but happy story,’ Shehab told me, as we sit in the confines of their cabin.

‘My husband, Ali, was into sailing and we went to Liverpool to see the clipper boats in the 1718 race. I looked at it and thought it just looked amazing. My husband said he would never do it and I would never have left him to do it. He then got ill in 2020 and in September 2021, died of a brain tumour. He was only 51. It was a devastating time. He was my best friend as well as my husband, and I wondered how I was going to get through it. I decided then to sign up to Clipper, and sail around the world.

‘It has been an incredible experience.’

For daughter Megan, 27, the opportunity to sail around the world with her mother, was overwhelming. It took less than an hour for her to sign up and follow suit.

‘I was sitting in the kitchen working from home at the time and started Googling and watching the videos. I decided I was going to do it as well - with my mum. I knew that if I was going to do it, I had to do it with her.

‘On the boat, we are mother and daughter and have special moments along the way, but we’re just part of the crew. We muck in and everyone has to get involved - there’s no special treatment.’

It’s easy to understand how memories such as these are created. It’s not just about the sailing. It’s about learning to live with others, and being part of a team that is en route to something remarkable. The cabins - made up of tiny bunks and a kitchen area which is filled with treats and freshly baked bread - is compact. Crew members are literally on top of each other 24 hours a day, with little to no privacy, no morning shower routine, and work shifts which are carried out with military precision. There are hard times, sure, but there are also moments along the route that are other-worldly and which may never be experienced again; working under the stars, spotting whales, making friendships that will last a lifetime.

‘It’s hard to put into words,’ admitted Allpress

‘I always come back to Christmas Eve. Christmas was amazing on the boat, being able to share it with mum and the crew. It was a beautiful day and the spinnaker was flying. However, the night before was like Armageddon. We had three spinakkers on the floor at once. At the time when you’re doing it, you just think: “I can’t do this anymore, it’s one sail evolution after another”. You’re tired and everything seems to be going wrong. But looking back on that night, it was actually incredible. In some ways, the bad bits are the bits we look back on and think: “We did it”!

‘It’s really difficult to explain to someone what this is like. You try and do so when you meet friends and family, but it’s not easy to express the amazing things we have done and seen together. I now get to go home with someone who understands that fully.’

As we spin around to head back to Oban, we are battered by torrential rain. Clothes sodden and hair dripping, I’m afforded a tiny glimpse into what life must be like on Perseverance when the going gets tough. You can’t help but feel a sense of awe for those taking part. Tomorrow, they’ll set off to Portsmouth, with victory in their sights. What a privilege to be a tiny part of this life-changing journey.