Cape Horners recognise six more names into the Cape Horn Hall of Fame

by Barry Pickthall for IACH 6 Sep 16:45 BST

As the 16 skippers competing in the Golden Globe Race were making their final preparations for the start of their solo round the world race, Les Sables d'Olonne welcomed another group of famous circumnavigators for the annual Cape Horn Hall of Fame awards, hosted by the Int. Assoc. of Cape Horners.

Sailing pioneer Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to complete a solo circumnavigation and Frenchman Jean-luc van den Heede, the Father figure in French sailing circles with 10 Cape Horn roundings to his credit were joined on stage by Nicolas Chénéchaud, the Mayor of Les Sables d'Olonne, who welcomed everyone to this temple town of solo circumnavigations, and home to the Cape Horn Hall of Fame.

The 6 inductees to join the 46 current names on the board are:

Commodore George Anson - GBR (1697 - 1762) who joined the British Royal Navy at 15 and rose through the ranks to become First Lord of the Admiralty. As a Commodore, he led an 8-strong Squadron of ships around Cape Horn and into the Pacific to harass and capture Spanish treasure galleons. His fleet of ships was separated during a violent storm off Cape Horn which led to some sinkings and considerable loss of life. By the time they reached the Pacific islands of Juan Fernandez in June 1741 there were just two ships left, and one was in such bad repair, that her crew boarded Anson's 60-gun HMS Centurion for the remainder of their circumnavigation. Enroute, they captured the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga carrying a huge treasure horde thought to be the largest treasure ever captured at sea. Indeed, 1/3 of the bullion in the Bank of England today is said to have come from Anson's voyage - 14 wagon loads!

Alexia Barrier - FRA DOB: 1979

A 2-time circumnavigator Alexia founded the programme 4myplanet in 2009, becoming the first woman to attempt a solo round-the-world voyage in the name of science. On November 8, 2020, Alexia set off on the 2020/1 Vendée Globe aboard her IMOCA 60 4myplanet. Despite suffering a fractured vertebrae, she completed this solo circumnavigation in 111 days at sea to finish in 24th place.

She then launched "The Famous Project" CIC bringing together an international crew of exceptional women sailors, determined to break the Jules Verne Trophy record aboard the maxi-trimaran "IDEC SPORT". They did that in January 2026, setting an all-female record of 57 days 21 hours and 20 minutes and leave a positive legacy for future generations.

Thomas Coville - FRA

A veteran of 15 Cape Horn roundings, Thomas Coville capped a remarkable career to date in January 2026, by skippering the trimaran Sodebo Ultim 3 to win the Jules Verne trophy, breaking the outright circumnavigation record that had stood for 9 years, by a 12-hour margin.

Returning to Ushant on 25th January, Coville and his 6-man crew of Frédéric Denis, Pierre Leboucher, Léonard Legrand, Guillaume Pirouelle, Benjamin Schwartz, and Nicolas Troussel, completed their 28,315-mile circumnavigation in 40 days 10 hours 45 minutes 50 seconds - an average of 29.17 knots!

Coville made an impassioned speech via internet saying that he has lost count how many times he has rounded the Horn. "The Rock comes at the end of a lot of effort, energy and emotions; the end of icebergs, strong winds and big winds - It is what I sail for. I can't imagine what it was like for the seamen on square riggers and fishermen before us. I just have a lot of respect for everyone who has rounded the Horn."

Guirec Soudée

Guirec Soudée was born to be an adventurer. At 18, he travelled to Australia unable to speak English and with just 200 Euros in his pocket. He has twice rowed across the Atlantic, and was best known until now for his 5-year solo north/south voyage around the world accompanied by his hen Monique.

Guirec has been inducted into the Cape Horn Hall of Fame for that voyage and for breaking Jean-Luc van den Heede's 22-year record for sailing solo east-west around the globe against the prevailing winds and currents. Sailing the multihull MACSF, the Frenchman completed the 37,000-mile circumnavigation last January in 94 days, 21 hours, 58 minutes - an average of 16.5 knots.

"Guirec, who had broken a cruise to the Arctic to fly back from Greenland specifically for these Awards, gave an emotional speech saying: "I am very honoured to be inducted into the Cape Horn Hall of Fame and join so many famous names, and it is great to now be a member of this Club."

Brian Thompson - GBR DoB: 1962

Brian Thompson is the first British sailor with four non-stop circumnavigations, his earliest aboard Steve Fosset's American catamaran Cheyenne/Playstation, setting a 58-day non-stop circumnavigation record. A year later, Brian had command of his own winning catamaran, Doha 2006 (ex-Club Med), in the Oryx Quest round-the-world race with fellow Cape Horn Hall of Fame inductee Thomas Coville aboard.

In 2006, he joined the Volvo Ocean Race yacht ABN AMRO I, skippered by Mike Sanderson, as stand-in helm for a southern ocean leg that proved pivotal to the team's overall race win.

Another circumnavigation followed in 2008/9, this time singlehanded when he finished 5th in the Vendée Globe aboard the IMOCA 60 Bahrain Team Pindar. Four years later, Brian joined Loïck Peyron aboard the maxi-multihull Banque Populaire 5 to win the Jules Verne Trophy, in a time of 45 days. In 2017 Brian was navigator on Turn the Tide on Plastics skippered by Dee Caffari, and rounded the Horn for a 5th time.

"My circumnavigation aboard Banque Populaire 5 was the most outstanding experience I've ever had" Brian told his audience, adding: "It's a great honour to now have my name on the Cape Horn Hall of Fame."

Paul Cayard - USA DoB: 1959

Paul Cayard is one of the USA's most successful sailors. The current Star class world champion, he has competed in multiple Olympic Games and America's Cup. He has also excelled in ocean racing, notably winning the 1997/8 Whitbread round-the-world race as skipper of EF Language.

Paul Cayard rounded Cape Horn again in the 2002 Volvo Ocean Race aboard the winning yacht AmerSports 1 in 2005, skippered of The Black Pearl, an entry in the 2005-2006 Volvo Ocean Race and finished second He rounded Cape Horn one more time aboard the cruising yacht Rosehearty in 2019 enroute to explore Antarctica.

Paul said: "Sailing around the world has given me the richest experience of my life. Nothing, not even two Olympic campaigns and seven America's Cups, compares. I have great admiration for all those that have sailed around Cape Horn and it is a great honour to now included in the this Hall of Fame."

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, President of the Cape Horners Association said, "It may surprise many of you that more people have climbed Everest than have sailed round Cape Horn - many more. Latest figures show the number of people who have made it to the summit now exceeds 13,700 - 270 of them in one day earlier this year! That's just 7 short of the number who have sailed solo non-stop around the world (227). Another 158 soloists have competed in circumnavigations via Cape Horn with stops. And just 1,985 have done the same on multi-crewed yachts. It is easy to work out which is the harder challenge - and you don't have a queue up to round Cape Horn."

View full biographies of the 6 inductees