Like the original Sunday Times event, the 2018 Golden Globe Race is very simple. Depart Falmouth, England on June 14th 2018 and sail solo, non-stop around the world, via the five Great Capes and return to Falmouth. Entrants are limited to use the same type of yachts and equipment that were available to Robin Knox-Johnston in that first race. That means sailing without modern technology or benefit of satellite based navigation aids. Competitors must sail in production boats between 32ft and 36ft overall (9.75 â 10.97m) designed prior to 1988 and having a full-length keel with rudder attached to their trailing edge. These yachts will be heavily built, strong and steady, similar in concept to Robin's 32ft vessel Suhaili.
In contrast to the current professional world of elite ocean racing, this edition travels back to a time known as the 'Golden Age' of solo sailing. Suhaili was a slow and steady 32ft double-ended ketch based on a William Atkins ERIC design. She is heavily built of teak and carried no computers, GPS, satellite phone nor water-maker, and Robin completed the challenge without the aid of modern day shore-based weather routing advice. He had only a wind-up chronometer and a barograph to face the world alone, and caught rainwater to survive, but was at one with the ocean, able to contemplate and absorb all that this epic voyage had to offer.
This anniversary edition of the Golden Globe Race is a celebration of the original event, the winner, his boat and that significant world-first achievement. Competitors in this race will be sailing simple boats using basic equipment to guarantee a satisfying and personal experience. The challenge is pure and very raw, placing the adventure ahead of winning at all costs. It is for 'those who dare', just as it was for Knox-Johnston. They will be navigating with sextant on paper charts, without electronic instruments or autopilots. They will handâwrite their logs and determine the weather for themselves. Only occasionally will they talk to loved ones and the outside world when long-range high frequency and ham radios allow.
It is now possible to race a monohull solo around the world in under 80 days, but sailors entered in this race will spend around 300 days at sea, challenging themselves and each other. The 2018 Golden Globe Race will be a fitting tribute to the first edition and it's winner, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.
The yachts will be tracked 24/7 by satellite, but competitors will not be able to interrogate this information unless an emergency arises and they break open containing a GPS and satellite phone. Doing this however, has consequences. By breaking the seal, competitors will be deemed to have retired from the Golden Globe Race, and instead will be relegated to the Gipsy Moth Class as if they had made a stop.
For these 25 sailors, this marks the initial stage towards completing all the entry requirements, which include gaining further sailing experience and preparing their boat to meet all the qualifications. Only when these hoops have been jumped will the provisional entrant become an official entry in the Race. Just prior to the start when final scrutineering and certification has been completed, will the sailor and boat together become an official competitor. Then and only then are they absolutely assured of starting in the Golden Globe Race.
Prior to this, should any sailor miss a deadline, they may be relegated to the Golden Globe Race Wait list and the first Qualified Wait listed sailor will move into that vacated entry position.
Coverage for the Golden Globe Race has been massive, yet each day more sailors are finding out about this 'Real Solo Race' around the world. Some cannot sleep! The pull is irresistible. What can they do? A dream is born and now the entry list is nearly full. For those with passion and commitment to compete, the path is clear. They must join the WAIT LIST. There will only be a maximum of 15 on this list. It is the last chance. The organisers expect some of the current provisional entries will not make it to the start line. That is the way with history for any great endeavour, but when one drops out, this gives a chance for another to join.
There are currently 3 entries on the GGR Wait List. The third is from New Zealand who wishes to remain anonymous until later.
1. Graham Applin - Britain (52) Graham from Addlestone, Surrey is an international architect specialising in designing hotels, resorts and spectacular shopping precincts across the Globe. His signature work includes the Ritz Carlton hotel in Dubai, the Festival Walk Retail Centre, Hong Kong, and Plantation Island Resort, Fiji. He has had a life-long interest in sailing and a string of cruising boats starting with Westerly Renown, a Jeanneau Sunlight 30, Bavaria 38, an Oceanis 46 and a Swan 57.
2. Francesco Cappelletti - Italy (37) graduated from Nottingham Trent University after spending 6 years working in the Italian shoe industry, the pull of the sea led him to working as a charter/delivery skipper and teaching others to sail. Francesco hails from Montevarchi, Italy and has two transatlantic crossings to his credit plus several thousand miles cruising and racing around the Mediterranean and Aegean seas.
3. Loïc Lepage - France (59) Loïc has more than 20,000 miles of solo sailing under his belt including three trans-Biscay and four transatlantic crossings. In 2011, he set out on a non-stop circumnavigation record attempt but collided with a container ship and was shipwrecked of Madeira.
4. Anonymous - New Zealand
In addition, five Special Invitations will be offered to deserving sailors nearer to the start. The first of these has been awarded to French yachtsman Eric Loizeau. Those still on the wait list will be remembered closer to the start. We may eventually see a fleet of 30 sailors set out from Falmouth on June 14 2018.