McIntyre Mini Globe Race fleet battles Pacific in historic 4,300-mile test of endurance
by McIntyre Mini Globe Race 30 Apr 2025 20:34 BST
30 April 2025
Jasmine called to report that it hadn't stopped raining (a lot) all day, she was absolutely soaked, her skin was all wrinkled and she was cold (and fed up with the incessant rain). So, she sent us this photo from a few days before.. © Jasmine Harrison / MGR
Solo Sailors Face Doldrums, Equipment Failures and Avian Invaders in Unprecedented Small Boat Challenge - week five of leg 2
It's fair to say the world first McIntyre Mini Globe Race is well on its way to proving a point. You do not need huge budgets to chase dreams, or race solo around the world and that " SMALL BOAT - HUGE ADVENTURE" is an apt motto ! The 15 strong fleet of ALMA Globe 580's has now completed a 3600 mile Transatlantic qualifier from Marina De Lagos in Portugal to the National Sailing Academy in Antigua. They then set off on a 24,400mile solo race around the world in five legs. Leg one, 1200 miles to Panama and then leg two, 7300 miles to Fiji. Right now all 15 skippers are living life large!! What follows is a small piece of their amazing story, five weeks from Panama as they arrive in the Marquesas 4300 miles out!
Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands - The second leg of the Mini Globe Race (MGR) from Panama to Fiji has evolved into one of the most extraordinary small boat sailing challenges ever undertaken, with the international fleet of identical 19-foot plywood ALMA Globe 580 yachts now generally spread across 1000 nautical miles of Pacific Ocean. As the lead boats arrive in the Marquesas after 34 grueling days at sea, their stories reveal a tapestry of human resilience, ingenuity and occasional absurdity against the vast Pacific backdrop.
The Doldrums Crucible
The initial challenge came not long after leaving Panama, as competitors faced the windless purgatory of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Canadian sailor Dan Turk aboard LITTLE BEA reported: "Five sail changes in four hours - that was my personal hell. The squalls would hit like clockwork at 2am, with winds shifting 180 degrees in seconds."
Irish competitor Jakub Ziemkiewicz on BIBI described the psychological toll: "In the doldrums, your world shrinks to this tiny, sweltering box. The boat doesn't move, your skin erupts in rashes, and time stretches endlessly." Ziemkiewicz resorted to garlic poultices to treat his festering saltwater sores, a remedy learned from his grandmother.
American Josh Kali on SKOOKUM took a philosophical approach: "After being storm-bound for weeks in the Alaska Range, this was just another form of confinement. At least here I could see the horizon." Kali entertained himself by initiating the traditional "crossing the line" ceremony when he passed the equator, complete with underpants on his head in naval tradition.
Tradewind Breakthrough: The Fleet Fractures
As boats broke into the southeast trades, dramatic gaps emerged in the fleet:
Renaud Stitelmann (#28 CAPUCINETTE / CH) transformed into a sailing automaton, surviving on 45-minute naps while maintaining a brutal pace. "I dream of trimming sails," the Swedish admitted in a rare unguarded moment. His secret weapon? A pressure cooker lashed to the cabin sole that produces "coq au vin that would shame a Parisian bistro." While Christian Sauer (#103 Argo / DE) was forced into an emergency 36 hour stop at a Galapagos Islands hospital for strong drugs to ease serious skin problems.
The Blenkinsop duo POPEYE and John (DELJA 99 & 100 / AU) finally cleared Panama three weeks behind the fleet, but immediately began chipping away at the deficit. Their daily radio check-ins have become a fleet favorite, mixing tactical discussions with heated debates about cricket statistics all thanks to Starlink. "Dad thinks Bradman was overrated," John complained. "It's like sailing with a heretic."
Equipment Nightmares
The extreme contrasting conditions exposed weaknesses in even the best-prepared boats:
- Adam Waugh (#170 LITTLE WREN / UK) discovered his windvane frame had cracked completely through. His jury-rig solution - two hose clamps joined together - became the talk of the fleet. "It looks like something from Mad Max," Waugh admitted, "but it's held for 2,000 miles so far."
- Christian Sauer (#103 Argo / DE) battled multiple system failures simultaneously: "First the Windpilot clamp slipped, then my solar panels stopped working, then my skin infections returned. Some days the Pacific feels like it's testing me personally." Now his batteries are failing, unable to take a charge from the solar panels and now close to DARK SHIP turning everything off including Starlink and only using NAV lights when sleeping.!
- Eric Marsh (#79 SUNBEAR / AU) lost all battery power for 36 hours after an electrical fault. "I was navigating by sextant like it was Golden Globe 1968 again," Marsh reported. "Thank God overcast days turn to clear nights - at least I could see some stars."
- Pilar Pasanau (#98 PETER PUNK / ESP) faced her own crisis when her autopilot failed, forcing her to hand-steer for 36 hours straight through challenging changing weather. "I tied the tiller to my leg so I could doze off for minutes at a time," the Spanish sailor revealed. "Now I have the tan lines of a striped hyena."
- Gary Swindial (#111 Question 2 / AU) Shipping delays from Australia meant he did not have time to antifoul in Antigua and arrived in Panama with just days to spare, so again no time in Panama either. Now five weeks later at the back of the fleet, he gets slower every day. He has a barnacle infestation!
The Great Booby War
As the fleet headed toward the Marquesas, an unexpected adversary emerged in greater than usual numbers. Red-footed boobies began treating the small yachts as personal rest stops, with Jasmine Harrison on NUMBATOU documenting the escalating conflict:
"At first it was just one bird - cute even. Then came his friends. Soon I had a rotating cast of feathered squatters covering every horizontal surface with guano." Harrison's attempts at diplomacy failed when the birds began pecking at her during sail changes. They would sit on my windvane and I would turn, of course! Her solution - waving a frying pan while screaming like a banshee - became legendary in fleet communications."
Not all wildlife encounters were hostile. Dan Turner (#05 IMMORTAL GAME / AU) reported dolphins playing in his bow wave at sunset, while Ertan Beskardes (#01 TREKKA / UK) was visited by an exhausted barn swallow that rode in his cabin for a full day before flying off and Gary Swindial (#111 Question 2 / AU) is attempting to train them as lookouts with fish bribes.
Gourmet in the Abyss
With freeze-dried meals growing tiresome, competitors got creative:
Josh Kali (#157 SKOOKUM / US) elevated canned tuna to haute cuisine with his "Five-Star Tuna Surprise" - a mix of instant rice, sun-dried tomatoes, and the last precious drops of his Sriracha. "Presentation is everything," he insisted, serving it on a beach combing salvaged Frisbee.
Jakub Ziemkiewicz 's (#185 BIBI / IE) pancake experiments reached new heights when he began using Polish honey as both ingredient and plate adhesive. "Now my pancakes stay put during 30-degree rolls," he boasted.
Pilar Pasanau (#98 Peter Punk / ESP) sustained herself on Spanish delicacies including tinned octopus and paprika-spiked beans. Dan Turk (#20 LITTLE BEA / CA) admitted to "eating sardines until I started dreaming about them"
The most surprising culinary star proved to be Eric Marsh (#79 SUNBEAR / AU), who transformed his boat into a floating bakery. "Turns out yeast still rises in 90% humidity," he reported, showing off surprisingly fluffy dinner rolls baked in his jury-rigged oven.
Mind Games at Sea
The mental challenge of 40+ days alone at sea manifested in different ways. For the 11 sailors with STARLINK in the MIX of emotions it is a game changer. Isolation?: Is that good or bad?
Christian Sauer (#103 Argo / DE) reported profound moments of clarity: "Sometimes at night, with the boat surfing down waves, I feel completely connected to something greater. Then a squall hits and I'm back to swearing in German."
Jasmine Harrison (#88 NUMBATOU / UK) struggled with sleep deprivation: "You start hallucinating. I once had a full conversation with my Hydrovane before realizing it wasn't talking back."
For Ertan Beskardes (#01 TREKKA / UK), the challenge was monotonous: "I shower twice daily just to feel human. Sometimes I dress for dinner - why not? The fish don't care if I'm wearing my good shirt." His Starlink runs HOT every day, catching world news, reading papers, magazines, whatsapp video calls to family and monitoring his business interests...life on the ocean waves is changing!
For Dan Turner (#05 IMMORTAL GAME / AU) each day no matter how hard, he remembers the dream of never having built anything in his life before, not knowing how to use a plane, yet he did build his boat and now he was sailing solo around the world. " Some days I was brought to tears just remembering so many things about how I got here, how stunning it is, a dream no longer, but it still is! " But his big buzz is "DATE NIGHTS!" using Starlink with his " Sexy Wife" (his words!)on video Whatsapp calls watching movies! Like many entrants he also ran LIVE video Q&A sessions to fans and sponsors on social media, a big hit with followers.
The Final Approach
As Renaud Stitelmann (#28 CAPUCINETTE / CH) sailed into the anchorage at Hiva On dropping anchor on April 28, he was leading the fleet by just 15 hours after 4300 miles. The remaining competitors pushed through their final days at sea:
- 2nd arrival Dan Turner (#05 IMMORTAL GAME / AU) reported sighting land during a scheduled satellite call to Race control: "There's an island! Right there! Sorry, I got a bit excited..."
- 3rd arrival Keri Harris (#47 ORIGAMI / UK) was missing a critical downwind sail which cost him dearly in boat speed.
- 4th to anchor Pilar Pasanau (#98 Peter Punk / ESP) only hours behind Keri was sailing well and happy to be in!
- The Blenkinsop duo continued their synchronized sailing, maintaining visual contact with Panama and are now 3000 miles behind the leaders hoping to meet the fleet in FIJI!
- Gary Swindial (#111 Question 2 / AU), the fleet's tail ender, finally found consistent winds and began making up lost ground.
Historical Context
McIntyre MGR Historian, scribe and author, Graham Cox is writing the official MGR book. He also writes a 5-6000 word "Weekly MGR summary" after regular satellite calls to entrants. He noted the significance of this passage: "John Guzzwell's original TREKKA made this same crossing in 1955, logging a phenomenal run of 198-mile day.
"Today's sailors have better weather data and communications, but the fundamental challenge remains unchanged - man against the greatest ocean on Earth in the smallest viable boat "
Graham Cox, MGR's official reporter, and author of the acclaimed sailing memoir, Last Days of the Slocum Era.
Event Founder Don McIntyre was full of praise for Graham's unique reports "No other race around the world has ever done anything like this. It offers a level of detail which is incredibly interesting, especially if you are into reading and stimulating your own imagination. They are all indexed on the MGR website for future reference. There is something very special about these colourful and engaging works of literature in contrast to rushing for the video clips. The written word is beautiful! "
What's Next
After the mandatory 8-day Pitstop, competitors face the treacherous Tuamotu Archipelago - a 750-mile gauntlet of coral atolls before Tahiti where navigational errors prove catastrophic. Race veterans call it "the Shipwreck Isles" for good reason. After a seven day pitstop in Papeete they race 1500 miles to TONGA for an eight day stop, before a final 500 mile sprint to VUDA MARINA Fiji and the finish of leg 2.
"So far this leg has shown what these sailors - and these remarkable little boats - are capable of. When we launched the Mini Globe Race in 2020 there were quite a few people scratching their heads and thinking?! They can stop scratching now. The number of ALMA Globe 580 builders around the world is heading toward 300 in 37 countries and growing rapidly as the McIntyre MGR dream inspires and spreads. But the Pacific isn't done with them yet. Every true adventure has an unknown outcome. Watch this space.", Don McIntyre, Race Director and ALMA Globe 580 founder reflected.
Follow the race at minigloberace.com/tracker