A summary of the start and early days of the 2025 Class Globe 580 Transatlantic Race.
At 1400 local time (2pm), on 11 January, 12 Class Globe 580 yachts set out from Marina Rubicon, Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, bound for the Caribbean island nation of Antigua, on the third edition of the Class Globe Transat Race. This year, the race also serves as the qualifier for the 2025-6 Mini Globe Race (MGR).
After each yacht was farewelled by race founder, Don McIntyre, and his team, they putted out to the start line off the marina breakwater under their electric outboard motors, all except Keri Harris on ORIGAMI, who chose to sail off the dock. Keri, a retired British naval officer, is a veteran sailor, both in cruising and racing, and treats ORIGAMI like a big dinghy. He has set up the boat’s running gear accordingly, with hanked headsails and very simple systems. All control lines lead aft.
Once again, as in the start from Lagos, there was very little wind, though the day was bright and sunny. There was no two-metre swell rolling through the start line this time, but capriciousness can take various forms, and a light but steady breeze tempted some entrants to sail further out while waiting for the 10-minute gun. The wind then deserted them, and they struggled to get back onto the right side of the start line.
Repeating his start from Lagos, Keri Harris on ORIGAMI was nowhere to be seen initially. Niels Kamphuis, on BIGGEST MONKEY, seemed to be well-positioned, jilling around inside the line, near the yellow buoy, while it was no surprise to see Renaud Stitelmann slowly jogging towards the line on CAPUCINETTE, flying his white A 3. Dan Turk was working his way back from seaward on LITTLE BEA, as were several others, including DELJA 99 and DELJA 100, father and son team, Mike and John Blenkinsop, ARGO, sailed by Christian Sauer, and Dan Turner on IMMORTAL GAME. Most of them made it back onto the right side of the starting line just before or after the final gun (in this case a foghorn). However, there were great holes in the breeze, and everybody who sailed deeper into the bay ended up drifting around.
Just after the start signal, Dan Turner, on IMMORTAL GAME, came barrelling down from seaward on the breeze, no doubt intending to dip the line (round the buoy and cross the line from the right side), but BIGGEST MONKEY, who was just barely maintaining steerage way near the buoy, was in his way. Dan was forced to go under Niels’s stern and then under the stern of CAPUCINETTE, who was steadily closing the line. Renaud was the first over the line then bore off, and away he went out into the bay, footing smartly.
Poor Niels got stuck, and drifted onto the buoy while others sailed around him. It took him quite some time to extract himself. Dan Turk, on LITTLE BEA, meanwhile, had dipped the line at the other end, where apparently there was more breeze, and was sailing smartly under his big blue A 3 as he crossed the line, sailing full and by. This was certainly not an occasion when pinching up near the leeward mark paid dividends. LITTLE BEA was second over the line. Dan Turner and IMMORTAL GAME were next over the line, sailing between Niels, who was still pinching and lacking hull speed, and the buoy. It was close-quarters sailing, but Dan made it through to be third over the line.
Dan reported later that he was happy with his start, and with getting away at 4.4 knots fairly quickly, but that he was suffering from a gastro problem that left him feeling weak and enervated. Luckily, he had some Hydrolight in his medical kit, and was able to maintain his electrolytes by sipping fluids throughout the night, reporting later that he was beginning to recover. He may have earned the nickname ‘Dan the Holiday man’, for his unscheduled pitstop en route from Lagos to Lanzarote, but he is, after all, an endurance athlete. A little stomach bug would not be enough to stop him.
Pilar Pasanau, on PETER PUNK, and John Blenkinsop, on DELJA 100 approached the line simultaneously, with Christian Sauer on ARGO not far behind, but John was pinching a little too high to clear the other boats, and fell behind. The breeze was filling in a little by now up near the line, and the boats who had sailed out of the hole further inshore were managing about 3 knots through the water. DELJA 100 and ARGO were soon caught in another wind hole, though, flopping around near the buoy. PETER PUNK, while clear of the start line, was also parking up. Jakub Ziemkiewicz sailed up on BIBI and also parked in the hole near the line.
Further back, Adam Waugh, aboard LITTLE WREN, was going nowhere fast, as was Jasmine Harrison on NUMBATOU, not to mention Keri Harris on ORIGAMI. They were 300-400 metres to leeward of the start line. Mike Blenkinsop’s DELJA 99 barely had steerage way and was heading in the wrong direction. The committee boat zoomed over and reminded him where the start line was. For some reason Mike, or Popeye, as he is known in the fleet, also had a reef in the mainsail, which wasn’t helping in these light airs.
It wasn’t long, thankfully, before the breeze filled in again, at least near the start line. PETER PUNK, being best placed among that group, was first away, chasing IMMORTAL GAME, which was just ahead. Just then, BIGGEST MONKEY, having obviously jumped on a wayward breeze, came charging through, leaving others like ARGO, and the two DELJAs well astern. Finally, DELJA 100, ARGO, and BIBI also took off on the breeze.
It soon became obvious that DELJA 100 and BIBI were heading down the east side of Fuerteventura, the island just to the south of Lanzarote, while the rest of the fleet seemed to be heading for the west coast. There had been some discussion before the start about which side would be most advantageous. DELJA 99 also headed east once Popeye got away.
Adam Waugh, fourth-last over the line, made it across before shortly before Popeye, but LITTLE WREN, looking beautiful under its white A 5, was really flying as Adam came past the committee boat. ‘About time,’ Don joked, but Adam was looking relaxed and in good humour. He knows there is a long way to go to Antigua, plus he was obviously enjoying himself. Meanwhile, Popeye was jogging towards the buoy, still to leeward of it. He had taken down his A5 and was now flying a partially-furled jib. It was beginning to look like he might have enjoyed his stay in Rubicon Marina too much and was in no hurry to leave.
Finally, Keri managed to extract himself from the wind hole and came zipping along towards the line, although to leeward of the buoy, setting his rose-hued A 5 spinnaker as he approached. Unfortunately, he fell into a hole again, in which Jasmine on NUMBATOU was also struggling. Popeye was also slowing down, but he got over the line and set his A 5, which gradually drew him out into the breeze. The committee boat went over to bid farewell, and reminded him that he was still dragging his outboard motor, in case he forgot about it and left it there all the way to Antigua.
Keri finally got the breeze and crossed the line, after briefly dropping the A 5 and working to windward under jib. He rehoisted the A 5 as soon as he was over the line and could crack the sheets. As fate would have it, the breeze then freshened a little, and ORIGAMI began to look a little over-pressed. However, Keri likes to hand-steer, which is something you have to do on these boats if you drive them hard. He looked like he was having fun as he scooted off after the fleet. As Don remarked, ORIGAMI was unlikely to stay at the back for long. Along with Renaud Stielmann, Adam Waugh, Dan Turner and Pilar Pasanau, Keri is one of the most skilled racers in this group of sailors.
Jasmine was still struggling, with a bad spinnaker wrap to add to her woes, as the committee boat turned back to Marina Rubicon, but sailors soon become philosophers, if they aren’t already before they start in this game. Nothing lasts forever, and by midnight she was well up with the fleet, sailing well, on the west side of Fuerteventura Island.
By this time the fleet had split into three distinct groups. Sailing closest to the west coast of Fuerteventura, the leading pack, sailing on a SSW course, were led by CAPACINETTE, sailing at 4.9 knots, with a distance to the finish (DTF) of 28879nm. ARGO was close behind, sailing at 5.6 knots, with a DTF of 2879.8nm. Next was IMMORTAL GAME, making good 5.3 knots, then PETER PUNK sailing at 5.5 knots, BIGGEST MONKEY doing 4.9 knots and NUMBATOU making 4 knots. Only seven miles separated the first from the last of this leading pack.
Further west, ORIGAMI was leading LITTLE WREN by a mile or two, heading more SW than the leading pack, with LITTLE BEA a little further east. These three boats were officially behind the leading pack, but it was only by a few miles, and anything could, and is likely to, happen by the time they get further south into the heart of the tradewinds west of the Cape Verde Islands. They have a perfect weather window, and the forecast is promising ideal conditions to slingshot them into the tradewind zone, promising a fast passage to Antigua.
ON the east coast of Fuerteventura, to windward of the archipelago, where the winds should have been more stable, the boats were moving slower than might be expected, with BIBI leading DELJA 100, followed by Popeye on DELJA 99, who had 2900nm to the finish. John seemed relaxed, from a post he made to his social media page, munching on the peanut-butter sandwiches and boiled eggs he had made before departure. Further west, Dan Turk posted an image of his tinned sardine dinner, which he enjoyed while watching the sunset. Unfortunately, he capsized the tin and ended up with fishy-smelling olive oil all over LITTLE BEA’s cockpit floor. It is unlikely to be the last thing that gets spilled before the boats reach Antigua.
By noon on the first day out, ARGO was officially leading the pack, though CAPICINETTE was marginally further south. The boats that came down the east coast of Fuerteventura were beginning to merge with the leading pack, though Popeye, on DELJA 99, was trailing the others. BIBI was sailing fast, and while a little further east than the main pack, it looked like Jakub could well take the lead in coming hours. PETER PUNK, making more than 6 knots, was the fastest in the fleet.
The three boats that chose the most westerly course, ORIGAMI, LITTLE WREN and LITTLE BEA, were now sailing between Gran Canaria and Tenerife Islands, well to the north of the rest, and were trailing in the placings. Dan Turk mentioned that he had a strategy for choosing this course, but would only reveal it later, when he saw how things panned out. ‘Things’ got pretty hairy for Dan at 0300, as the A 3 spinnaker roller-furling unit jammed in strong winds, and he had to drop the sail into the water, where it threatened to tangle with his rudder. Luckily, he dragged it all aboard without damage to the boat or sail, and without going overboard – as he commented – obviously feeling a little vulnerable on deck as LITTLE BEA charged along at 6 knots in the dark. The old sailor’s advice to keep one hand for the ship and one for yourself is not always possible to adhere to in these circumstances. At the time of posting, Dan was enjoying the sunrise and breakfast, only lamenting that his placing in the fleet had taken a hammering.
Adam Waugh on LITTLE WREN also had his dramas, posting on social media that he experienced 11 hours of high winds with the wrong sail plan hoisted. With the wind funnelling down between the islands and gusting to 35 knots, he had a long struggle to take his A 3 down. For a while there, he feared he might lose the sail, but a lull allowed him to retrieve it in one piece. Relieved, he celebrated dawn with a breakfast of fried eggs and onions, and all was well once more in his world.
Dan Turner also reported struggling with IMMORTAL GAME’s spinnaker in squalls during the night, and said that the boat’s motion made him feel like he was inside a washing machine set to the spin cycle. These conditions continued into the second night, with Jasmine on NUMBATOU also suffering a knockdown, despite only sailing under jib at the time. But things calmed down in the morning, and she was delighted to see a turtle, noting that during her entire Atlantic row she had not been visited by one.
All of these dramas were caused by sailing through the wind acceleration zones between the islands, a well-known phenomenon, in order to steer a more direct course for Antigua. Before the start, Don McIntyre indicated that his choice would be to avoid this situation by sailing to the east of the islands, as BIBI, DELJA 100 & DELJA 99 did. BIBI, in particular has shown that there was not much disadvantage in doing so. In fact, as Don McIntyre pointed out in one of his tracker updates, all the boats were pretty much in a line abreast, spread out from NW to SE, showing the sort of close-quarters sailing possible with one-design racing. This promises to offer exciting duels in the days and months ahead.
In Don’s tracker update on 12 January, he mentioned that the reason why ORIGAMI, LITTLE WREN and LITTLE BEA had chosen the most westerly course was that they were sailing as close as possible to the rhumb line to Antigua (I assume this was Dan Turk’s secret). Usually, the wisdom is to sail south until the butter melts, or you are close to the Cape Verde Islands, before turning west, to avoid a well-established light weather area SW of the Canary Islands, but in the pioneer days they were relying on information from tomes like Ocean Passages of the World, and Pilot books. They did not have services like Windy or PredictWind to assist them.
This year, most computer-generated weather predictions suggest that the boats can cut the corner and head more directly to Antigua, although the best course is still south of the Great Circle route. At 0230 on the 13th, the YB tracker shows that the decision to head west is already paying dividends for these ‘renegade’ boats, with ORIGAMI leading the fleet, making good 6.7 knots, followed closely by LITTLE WREN and LITTLE BEA. ORIGAMI had almost certainly hooked into the favourable ocean current show on Windy’s forecast. Suddenly, these guys were looking good.
ARGO seemed to have come to the same conclusion and had peeled off from the middle group, on a course that merged with the leading three, placing Christian Sauer in 4th place. PETER PUNK, in 5th place, followed closely by CAPUCINETTE, IMMORTAL GAME and BIBI, all sailing at more than 5 knots, were also trending further west. Renaud Stitelmann, meanwhile, was maintaining his reputation as gourmand of the fleet, posting pictures of a hearty stew he was preparing on CAPUCINETTE’s tiny stove. Once things settle down, he will no doubt start baking cakes again.
NUMBATOU was astern of ARGO, also heading more westerly, but sailing slower, at 3.8 knots, no doubt having found a patch of lighter winds. Although the leading three appeared to have a commanding lead, it will all depend on who holds the breeze and who sails into a lighter patch in the hours and days to come. It seems as if the front half of the fleet are in for some close quarters racing in the days ahead, but there is nothing as yet to say the trailing boats might not close up the gap between them and the leaders.
Further east, Niels Kamphuis on BIGGEST MONKEY was doing his own thing, heading SSW and holding good speed at 5.4 knots. He may have been hoping to hook into stronger winds and currents, at the expense of distance to the finish. It was too early to call his decision, but one thing is for sure – despite the name of his boat, Niels is no monkey. Further north, DELJA 100 and DELJA 99 are trailing the fleet, with POPEYE further south than his son, John Blenkinsop, and sailing a little faster, but also more to the east of the course, maintaining his tradition of holding 12th position, but no doubt enjoying life, reading books and contemplating the ocean.
Mike Blenkinsop (Popeye) reminds me a little of Mike Richey, famed skipper of the junk-rigged Folkboat, JESTER, who famously came last in every OSTAR he entered, but who nonetheless completed more OSTARs than anyone else in history, aboard his engineless, electricity-free boat. In his later passages, he conceded to carry a hand-held GPS that ran on AA batteries, switching it on once a day at noon to give him a latitude and longitude thayt he transferred to his paper chart. Having briefly considered the priesthood in his youth, he joked that JESTER’s cabin was similar to a monk’s cell, and equally effective as a prompt to contemplation. He sailed with a fine cellar of red wine, a library of classic books, and the ingredients to concoct simple yet elegant meals.
Sailors like Mike Richey, along with the likes of John Guzzwell, laid the foundations for today’s generation of small-boat ocean voyagers like the ALMA Class Globe 580 skippers. It may seem to some that there is little comparison between the yachts and experiences of those early voyagers and today’s superbly fitted-out ALMA Class Globe 580s, whose crews can chat with their shore base any time they wish, and who always know exactly where they are, but at 0300 on a dark, squally night, battling with a recalcitrant spinnaker on a heaving deck, these solo sailors are still very much alone. The sea remains the same.
In the early hours of 14 January, during the fleet’s third night at sea, things had settled down a little, as the boats sailed clear of the squalls surrounding the Canary Islands, though the swell was building from a low to the NW, and fresh NE winds were promising to give the skippers a wild ride. ORIGAMI was leading the fleet, with LITTLE BEA coming up strongly behind. LITTLE WREN was trending further west, which placed Adam in 4th position behind CAPUCINETTE. Baking cakes isn’t slowing Renaud down much. BIGGEST MONKEY had altered course to the SW and come back into 5th position. They were followed by PETER PUNK, sailing fast at 5 knots, then IMMORTAL GAME, and BIBI in 8thposition. ARGO was trending almost WSW in 9th position, to the north of LITTLE WREN, while DELJA 100 and DELJA 99 held 10th and 11th position further east. Jasmine, on NUMBATOU, was sailing slowly, further north, in 12thposition, having fallen into lighter winds. At this stage, they are all within striking distance of ORIGAMI, should conditions favour them.
On Monday, 20 January, half of the skippers will make their first mandatory sat-phone calls to the MGR team, sharing their stories, which will be recorded and posted on the MGR website, with a weekly written update posted each Tuesday, first on Facebook’s MGR site, then on the MGR website. These calls will allow followers a glimpse into the personal stories of the skippers, along with any stories that followers can glean for the skippers’ personal social media posts. Followers can also keep an eye on Don’s tracker updates on the Globe 580 Transat website and Facebook pages, and on the live tracker on the MGR website.
