John Guzzwell is most famed for his 1955-1959 singlehanded circumnavigation of the world on Trekka, the 20ft 6in (6.25m) timber yawl he built in a shed behind a fish and chip shop in Victoria BC, Canada. Trekka held the record for the smallest yacht to circumnavigate for many years. He is also known as one of the world’s finest timber shipwrights.

In the early 1960s, he built the 45ft (13.7m) cutter, Treasure, aboard which he and his family voyaged widely, and which he still owns. In the mid-1990s, he built the 30ft (9.1m) fractionally-rigged sloop, Endangered Species, which he campaigned in the 1998 and 2002 Singlehanded Transpac Races from San Francisco to Hawaii. 

He is equally well-known for the brilliant book he wrote after his circumnavigation, Trekka Round the World, the book that launched a thousand dreams, as well as the highly-regarded technical book, Modern Wood Yacht Construction.

We were advised on 23 August 2024 that John had passed away a couple of days earlier at the age of 94. The McIntyre MGR team were honoured that he accepted the role of Race Patron for the 2025-2026 McIntyre Mini Globe Race before his passing. His legacy will continue to inspire sailors and dreamers around the world.

Don McIntyre is the founder and Race Chairman of the Golden Globe Race, Ocean Globe Race and the Mini Globe Race. All three round-the-world races are unique in the sailing industry, focusing on human values and real challenges to create inspiring stories. He is also founder of the new Class Globe 5.80 one design plywood mini ocean racing yacht.

He has been organising sailing events and ocean adventures since 1984. Don is an experienced circumnavigator and seen as one of Australia’s great explorers. In 2012, the Australian Geographic Society, recognising his many diverse expeditions over the years and his ongoing efforts to promote adventure, presented him with it’s highest accolade, a Gold Medal for a “Lifetime of Adventure”. This was only the 12th time it had been presented in the history of the Society. The inscription on it simply read “For a life spent encouraging Adventure and Discovery”.

In October 2014, He received the prestigious “Emerald Award” from the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) The inscription read “In Honor of a lifetime of adventures that have done much to raise awareness of the marine environment and the need to protect it”.

Passionate about all forms of adventure and inspiring others, the Ocean Globe Race and the Golden Globe Race were born from his desire to recreate the Golden Age of fully crewed and solo around-the-world racing. Don finished 2nd in class in the 1990-91 BOC Challenge solo around-the-world yacht race and twice attempted unsuccessfully to become involved with the Whitbread Race.

“Jane Jane” manages all financial affairs of Class Globe 5.80, OGR and GGR, all Facebook live feeds, assists with race photography and never stops smiling. She is a qualified charter skipper, whale swim guide, diver and Antarctic zodiac driver who originally trained as an air traffic controller. She met Don in 2005 as a project manager/Chinese interpreter on a boat building project from Zhuhai, China.

Graham Cox has been enthusiastic about small-boat adventuring since the age of 15, when Robin Lee Graham sailed his 24ft sloop, Dove, into Durban, South Africa, Graham’s hometown, on 21 October 1967.

A few months later, he read John Guzzwell’s timeless classic, Trekka Round the World (for the first time), and decided that all he needed was the smallest sloop he could squeeze himself into, two bunks (one for each tack), two buckets (don’t mix them up), a chart table capable of holding a folded Admiralty chart, and a single-burner stove.

Since migrating to Sydney, Australia, in 1972, he has made passages in everything from 19ft sloops to 60ft gaff schooners, but his heart has always been taken by little boats, including the 22ft Mudshark, which he rebuilt from a wreck, and Arion, his 24ft Tom Thumb sloop, on which he lived and cruised for 23 years.

He has a degree in English from James Cook University, Townsville, is the author of The Junk Rig Hall of Fame, and a memoir / selective history of cruising under sail since the 1960s, Last Days of the Slocum Era. He is enthralled by the Mini Globe Race, and delighted to join the team.

Rob has 20 years’ experience in managing creative and digital design projects. From brand design to film production, his interests and skills are wide ranging.

Originally a graduate of design engineering, he has captained his own design company since the early days of digital marketing.

Passionate about telling the deeper human stories that inspire others to pursue their own dreams.

Aïda Valceanu is an experienced journalist and public relations expert with a wide range of skills and a multicultural background. Originally from Romania, she has been living in France for the past 20 years. Aïda has worked for Romanian Public Television, newspapers and TV stations in France as well as book festivals in France and Switzerland as a journalist. She spent several years working as a PR professional in the French Parliament. In 2018, Aida joined the GGR (Golden Globe Race) as the manager of One and All, skippered by Estonian sailor Uku Randmaa. She also published her logbook titled “20 000 lieues au-délà des mers” in France.

We’re excited to welcome Stephane Edy to the team as our French Press Translator. Stephane’s expertise in language and passion for sailing will ensure our French-speaking audience stays connected to the race’s adventures.