Posted by Graham Cox
The longest and most challenging leg of the 2025 Mini Globe Race, 10,000 nautical miles from Fiji to Cape Town, is now officially over, with all 11 ALMA Class Globe 580s safely moored at the V & A Waterfront Marina complex in Cape Town Harbour.
The final stage of Leg 3, from Durban to Cape Town, was potentially the toughest, and one that occupied the imagination of MGR skippers for a long time, perhaps even before the start in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua, on February 23, 2025.
Although there are still several thousand miles of Atlantic Ocean ahead of them before crossing the finish line off Falmouth Harbour, Antigua, in March 2026, it can be said, categorically, that the 2025 Mini Globe Race has been an outstanding success.
A number of micro-yachts have circumnavigated, starting with John Guzzwell’s TREKKA, which did it twice, the first time between 1955-59, her sistership THLALOCA, with Hein and Siggi Zenker, Shane Acton’s 18ft plywood sloop, SUPER SHRIMP, not to mention Serge Testa’s 11ft 5in ACROHC, but to have a fleet of eleven 19ft plywood sloops, mostly homebuilt, racing each other around the world in 14 months, come hell or high water, is a first.
The skippers have documented their experiences on social media via blogs, posts, photos and videos, creating a comprehensive record of small-boat ocean voyaging never before catalogued, which adds yet another dimension to the success of this event.
There are two schools of thought about the best way to make the passage from Durban to Cape Town, either inshore, picking the best weather windows and hopping from port to port, or nonstop, sailing well offshore, in the heart of the Agulhas Current, before crossing over onto the Agulhas Bank when far enough south to sail west towards Cape Agulhas.
With access to Starlink, and enhanced computer-modelled weather forecasting services, the former course can be finessed these days to avoid severe weather conditions, although it is still likely to be a bouncy ride. The latter course is too far offshore to seek shelter if a nasty blow develops, and requires confidence in oneself and the ship. On the other hand, it is the fastest way to complete the passage, and if things turn to mud, you have plenty of water under your lee.
As it happens, both strategies were used in the 2025 MGR, and each showcased to perfection the advantages of the chosen course.
Most of the fleet took the inshore route. The first to depart Durban was Eric on SUNBEAR, at 0045 local time on 17 November, with a 15-knot breeze carrying him out to the Agulhas Current. Renaud (CAPUCINETTE), Dan (IMMORTAL GAME), Pilar (PETER PUNK), and Ertan (TREKKA), followed shortly after. Next came Adam (LITTLE WREN) in the early hours, and, at dawn, Jakub on BIBI. By noon, the rest of them, Christian (ARGO), Jasmine (NUMBATOU), and Josh (SKOOKUM) were also riding the NE wind south.
The only 580 not to depart on the 17th was Keri on ORIGAMI. His mother’s funeral was happening that day and he chose to wait until the next good window. Whatever came his way, Keri was up for the adventure. He has a track record of going off on his own, tacking away from the fleet if ORIGAMI is not in front. As he once said, there is little to be gained from following the leaders when racing in a one-design class, and the delay in Durban afforded him a perfect opportunity to plough his own furrow.
With a fresh NE wind and a well-established Agulhas current ravishing their keels, the rest of the fleet almost aquaplaned south. It was not long before CAPUCINETTE took the lead, followed by IMMORTAL GAME, PETER PUNK, TREKKA, LITTLE WREN, SUNBEAR and BIBI. Soon Renaud was averaging 8.6 knots over the ground, with Dan managing 8.2, and the rest doing 7-something.
They went so fast that Renaud, Dan and Pilar were snugged up in the Buffalo River at East London, enjoying the hospitality of the Buffalo River Yacht Club, before I had time to record their best speeds, but on the 18th, Adam recorded 167nm, Jakub 176, Ertan 157, Eric, 164, Josh 173, Christian 172, and Jasmine a whopping 181 miles!
The tail end of the fleet had to beat their way against a SW change for the last few hours. Eric said the last 5 miles were very challenging. He arrived at 0400, 2.3 days after departing Durban. Ertan, who said that he was very well-rested because he had just poled out TREKKA’s jib and slept for 24 hours on the way down from Durban, stayed up to welcome Eric in.
Here is a report posted by Jasmine’s mum and manager, Susan Harrison. ‘Parts of the journey were fast, furious, cold and very uncomfortable but Jasmine broke another Mini Globe Race 24-hour record, with 181 miles sailed! The record had been briefly snatched from Jasmine (179) by Renaud (180) the previous day.
‘There was quite a lot of shipping around to contend with, too. On the last morning, the wind started to die, then turned into a head wind, but with fairly calm seas. Then the wind decided to drop completely for the final 20 miles into East London, which made progress very slow. Two miles from port, Jasmine went to start her electric outboard motor and it failed.
‘Fortunately, she got the motor working intermittently and was able to complete the pitstop without assistance. The fabulous NSRI (South African sea rescue) and Harbour Master were aware, and able to offer help if it had been needed. Tomorrow’s job is trying to source the part from anywhere in the world that has it in order to repair the motor. It’s the same part which failed and was replaced in Lanzarote.’
Jasmine later reported that a full day was spent fixing the outboard motor, with help from Skooks (Josh), Adam and the mysterious Rob (he is not on my list of entrants, but Jasmine often mentions him). Other than that, Jasmine ate lots of food and caught up on sleep.
Christian had earlier reported he was having difficulty finding his rhythm and hooking into the current. He said the seas were uncomfortable and his shoulder was hurting from the motion. Later things settled down and he began trucking south. Unfortunately, his tired sails once again began tearing and he spent time in East London patching them.
On 21 November, he posted: ‘Again, lots of sail repairs to be done on our boats. Not a nice feeling when the sailmaker looks at you and starts laughing when you tell him that you have to go another 8000 miles with these sails. I repaired my jib with sticky-back (sail repair material) and was able to sew it with a professional machine at Paradise Falls.’
In an update on 21 November, Eric wrote, ‘Having a wonderful time at East London. The Buffalo River Yacht Club have really looked after the MGR Fleet. I’ve had plenty of sleep, after feeling quite tired. SUNBEAR’s mainsail sustained two more splits at the top during the strong wind in the last 5 nm coming in. Most of our mainsails (talking about the fleet in general) have UV damage after 10 months at sea.’
Jakub wrote, ‘Good life in Buffalo River Yacht Club. Nice and quiet place among local sailors who are the real friends and super nice people. Looks like South Africa is the proper sailor’s home. No snobbery, no “big head yachties”, just down-to-earth people, honest and helpful.’
On 22 November, this motley crew were off again. BIBI, PETER PUNK, IMMORTAL GAME, TREKKA, SUNBEAR, and CAPUCINETTE all left East London within 20 minutes of each other. Jasmine reported she was a bit nervous leaving, due to the swell at the breakwater (the pictures looked horrible), but once outside, zipping south, she was happy to be back at sea.
On 22 November, Adam’s partner and manager, Kerry Waugh, reported, ‘Adam slipped the lines this morning and departed East London with the fleet. NE winds and a favourable SW current are giving an average of 8 knots this afternoon. Lighter winds are forecast, so it’s difficult to determine an ETA for Mossel Bay.’
Although the fleet was averaging less than 5 knots over the ground at times, the current was still giving them a boost, with Dan recording 137nm, Renaud 136, Pilar, 133, Jasmine 131, etc. Eric reported taking 3.5 days to complete this 323 nm passage on SUNBEAR.
The light winds and heavy shipping traffic took their toll on sleep as well as ETAs. This may have accounted for the following post from Pilar. ‘Sometimes it’s hard for me to know what day of the week it is… To remember how many nights I’ve been sailing… Things just disappear… I even imagine nonsensical things that affect me. I should sleep more… sleep… just sleep…!!
Nikki Jade, Dan’s partner and manager, reported, ‘Dan is working hard through the night to try and stay towards the front of the pack. It is tricky navigating due to the strong currents and awkward seas, and with upcoming light conditions, anything can happen. Wind has recently dropped out! Stay tuned.’
Jasmine’s mum posted, ‘Jasmine is now into her third sleepless night since leaving East London. The conditions have been very mixed, from a speedy 8 knots on the edge of the Agulhas Current to headwinds (again), and lots of squalls stealing the wind. It means quite a lot of hand-steering, countless sail adjustments, all with incessant beeping from the AIS, alerting her that there are some extremely big boats passing her way. One was a 360-metre long container ship, stacked high with 40’ containers, each of which could fit 2 x 580s in them!
‘Jasmine is now waiting for some wind to come in to get the last 70 miles to Mossel Bay. In the meantime, the sea is calm, she’s had dolphins and a seal nearby. Hopefully she’ll be in tomorrow afternoon for a well-deserved sleep.’
Later, Susan wrote, ‘Jasmine got in at dusk last night having finally picked up some wind. She reckoned it must have been the slowest journey that anyone’s ever done from East London, and it would have been faster to swim or kayak it. She had a huge whale rise near the boat on her approach to the bay.’
Jasmine, like the others, loved her time in Mossel Bay, with welcoming locals, good security, clean streets and good food. She wrote, ‘Love Mossel Bay, done so much walking I actually feel like a human again, really nice place with amazing food and the best biltong shop.’
Josh ended up in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth). On 24 November, he reported, ‘Had to pull into Port Elizabeth because I went too far north when rounding the corner. The wind yesterday was supposed to be 10-15 kts from behind or on the beam, but it ended up being 5-8kts of headwind. The current was carrying me towards the land and it was really my only option to wait for better wind. Hoping I can sneak out and make it to Mossel Bay before the heavy winds later this week.
As a consolation, he received a warm welcome from members of the Nelson Mandela Yacht Bay Yacht Club. He reported, ‘John at the Nelson Mandela Bay Yacht Club was so kind and helpful, even staying up late to help me come in when I arrived. I was then graciously welcomed by local sailors; Shane, Gordon, and Marcel, who took me out to a local brewery for some craft beers then back to Shane’s house for some dinner. Classy, genuine people well met. Thanks PE and the NMBYC!
Christian, also facing light headwinds, chose to go into a private marina at Cape St Francis. On 25 November, he wrote, ‘All good on board, was close to St Francis with very light headwind and took the opportunity to stop here. Arrived in the middle of the night at a private marina, nobody available on the phone or VHF. Got everything sorted out the next morning with harbour master and berthing.
‘I’m enjoying the hospitality of NSRI 21, and had a very warm welcome by local people who are following the MGR since Portugal. I need a calendar to organize all the invitations. I’m waiting for the weather window on Thursday that will be long enough to get me all the way to Mossel Bay without headwinds or calms.’
Christian later posted, ‘The highs and lows on this journey are so close to each other. Best sailing conditions during the day, a tough night with terrible sea state and winds up to 40 knots. The arrival in Mossel Bay was quite slow, with the wind dying down in the morning. Now, enjoying the time with the MGR family and the good food.’
Josh also eventually joined the fun in Mossel Bay.
Keri finally left Durban on 25November. Taking ORIGAMI well offshore into the heart of the Agulhas current, his speed down the coast was phenomenal. By the 26th he was off East London, well offshore, and by the 28th he was 50 miles offshore of Cape St Francis. That day he ran 217 miles in 24 hours, a record that might be hard to beat!
He reported, ‘ORIGAMI was going really fast. I just had a poled-out jib flying at times. It was blowing 35 knots of wind, gusting 40. Takes a lot, that jib. The Aries windvane was doing a lot of the steering, sailing deep, almost dead running, and she was just surfing every time we were hit by a wave. The waves were hitting her really quickly, and there was no resistance. There was no point trying to slow the boat down. It felt like there was no real risk of broaching.’
Before he could get out of the Agulhas Current, he encountered a SW gale that threw up some nasty seas for a few hours. This meant that he couldn’t get as far west on the Agulhas Bank as he would have liked before angling up towards Cape Town. When he eventually skipped out of the current onto the bank on 29 November, ORIGAMI was 100 nm south of Still Bay, with the Cape of Good Hope another 200 nm ahead of the bows to the NW.
He was later slowed by a calm patch that he had to wriggle around, but crossed the finish line off Cape Town Harbour at 0859, Cape Town time, on 01 December, the first 580 to arrive after an astonishing nonstop passage of 6 days.
His comments about ORIGAMI’s performance in the SW gale, which threw up nasty, breaking seas on the beam, were interesting. He said that the 580’s lack of lateral resistance, which is sometimes frustrating when trying to beat to windward, allowed the boat to slide sideways rather than get knocked down by the crests. His passage lays to rest any lingering questions about the 580’s ultimate seaworthiness. Take a bow, Janusz Maderski (the boat’s designer).
TREKKA was the first out of Mossel Bay, early morning on 30 November, taking a long board out of the bay before falling off towards Cape Agulhas. Winds were light and the seas smooth, though there was a long southerly swell. He wrote, ‘TREKKA sailed out of Mossel bay this morning, gentle sailing at 3 to 4 knots currently. Beautiful day, with seals having a party around the boat.’
When Ertan called for some Facetime, TREKKA was sailing under main and A5, while he relaxed below watching an Amazon program, eating breakfast and appeared very relaxed, as usual. He was looking forward to getting to Cape Town. He planned to slip TREKKA for antifouling as soon as he arrived, before flying to Istanbul to visit his mother, then on to England before returning to the boat late January. Skippers have to be back in Cape Town by 23 December for their final briefing.
Most of the passage was unremarkable. The ultimate test came as he approached Cape Town Harbour entrance in the pre-dawn hours. Just after crossing the finish line at 0559 local time on 03 December, TREKKA was struck by katabatic winds rushing down off the heights of Table Mountain. After tacking again and again, his mainsail split, depriving TREKKA of motive power to windward. He tried anchoring, but the boat kept dragging, and at one point he feared for the safety of the vessel. He therefore called for assistance and was towed in by the NSRI, though he’d drifted clear of danger, north into Table Bay, by the time they arrived.
This phenomenon is well known. John Guzzell experienced it on the original TREKKA in 1959, when a sudden blast lay his boat flat. Crawling along the near-vertical deck, he clawed the mainsail down and beat into the harbour under jib and mizzen, with spray flying. ‘This was the famous Cape southeaster sweeping around the end of Devil’s Peak,’ he wrote. ‘During the summer months it blows almost continuously, often with great velocity; one gust at Table Bay Docks was recorded at 102 miles an hour.’
Jasmine left Mossel Bay not long after Ertan. Susan reported that NUMBATOU had an escort of seals on the way out of the bay. ‘It’s a total of around 250 miles to Cape Town, and the weather window looks favourable for a steady passage (with a bit of calm thrown in). She hopes to arrive at the V &A waterfront on Tuesday late afternoon. Most of the rest of the fleet have opted to wait until Tuesday for a potentially faster passage.’
On 02 December, Susan reported, ‘Jasmine is now flying at over 6 knots towards Cape Town, with only another 35 miles to go, and she’s currently passing the Cape of Good Hope. She passed the most southerly point of her voyage earlier today, Cape Agulhas.
‘At that point, she had zero wind and many cargo ships around NUMBATOU. One was on a direct collision course, going full speed due-south, and didn’t see or respond to her. Jasmine had to start her outboard, using another precious 10% of battery, to get out of its way. It passed within 80 metres. 20,000+ miles sailed, and nearly wiped out approaching the end of Leg 3!
‘She’s had another seal rolling around next to the boat, and her current view is of the Cape of Good Hope in the moonlight. Arrival will be in the early hours of the morning. Very exciting!’
It might have been a bit too exciting, as it turned out.
Susan later reported, ‘Jasmine has arrived in Cape Town. True to form, the weather and conditions conspired to make the last few miles into Cape Town amongst the hardest, slowest, impossible, testing, backwards and forwards miles possible.
‘After no wind during the evening yesterday, by 0330 local time this morning, with only 6 miles to go, NUMBATOU was getting battered by 50-knot winds roaring down from Table Mountain, pushing her offshore. She knew at that point that she wouldn’t be able to turn the corner into Cape Town, even assuming she got there. She was getting overpowered, but needed to keep a little bit of sail up to maintain some control.
‘Within a couple of hours, the wind turned into a 30-knot headwind, the boat was severely heeled over, with fully-reefed sails, and she kept going backwards and forwards over the same stretch of water for a couple more hours. Intense frustration mixed with overwhelming tiredness. There was no chance of trying to use the engine as it was nowhere near the water, and the wind and waves were too strong anyway. Options were to head further south and try to anchor, call for help, or just keep trying to gain forward miles.
‘Then the conditions changed again, the sun came out, allowing her to come further inshore and gradually complete the last few miles to the finish line. At 0945 local time on 03 December, NUMBATOU was 1.5 miles from the finish line, and crossed at 1031. Even then, she still had to battle to get into safe harbour at the V & A waterfront. The hot chocolate handed to her on arrival was very welcome!’
Eric departed Mossel Bay, at 1000 local time on 02 December. He said he had an amazing sail at the start, with light breezes from the SW, and enjoyed the beautiful coastline rolling past. The decent weather lasted until he rounded Cape Agulhas. He wrote, ‘The forecast for that evening was 25-30 knots, predicted to get stronger as I approached the Cape of Good Hope. I went conservatively, with just a headsail poled out. As I went around Good Hope, the wind jumped to 45+ knots. Two hours later, SUNBEAR had zero knots over the deck! I was becalmed for several hours before crossing the finish line at Cape Town.
‘Once again, I had challenging conditions getting into the port. SUNBEAR went from motoring in calm water to suddenly facing 30 knots on the nose. I needed to launch my headsail again to have enough power to get in.’ He crossed the line at 1517 local time on 04 December.
By 2200 local time on 02 December, the rest of the fleet were at sea. The last to leave were Dan, Pilar, and finally Renaud, after casting the former two off. Christian, who had left a few hours earlier, was sailing at 2.2 knots in light airs, with 221 nm to go to Cape Town, while Jakub, Adam and Josh were near ARGO.
Despite leaving last, Renaud and Dan finished a short time after Eric, with CAPUCINETTE crossing the line at 1557 on 04 December, while IMMORTAL GAME was just 2 minutes astern, having started around 10-15 minutes ahead of Renaud. They lost a few hours getting out of the bay at the start due to light breezes, and again later, but the rest of the time enjoyed fresh winds, and were close-racing each other all the way.
On that final morning, Renaud posted, ‘What a beautiful day to arrive in Cape Town, bright sunshine, windy but not too much, waves but not too many, cold yes, much too cold last night…. Come on, just a few more miles to go.’
The welcome committee at the V & A marina were puzzled to see Renaud and Dan go off on an apparent jaunt around the bay after crossing the line, instead of entering the harbour. It turned out that they, too, had been blasted by the katabatic mountain winds, and took some time to set their boats up for a stiff beat into the harbour.
Renaud, who had earlier posted an exuberant video of CAPUCINETTE rounding Cape Agulhas, was visibly relieved to leave “the ‘bloody Indian Ocean’, as he described it, in his wake. He mentioned that, as much as he admired Keri’s nonstop passage from Durban, there was no way he would choose that course. “This is not a boat for the Southern Ocean,” he said. CAPUCINETTE, as usual, needed very little work to prepare for Leg 4, just a general check over of the gear and an antifoul.
Dan was ecstatic to finally be in Cape Town. He’d always seen that as the pinnacle of the MGR, despite the final leg up the Atlantic, and sailing around the Cape had been a long-held dream. He said that even when he was in Mossel Bay, he found it hard to realise that the bottom of Africa was just around the corner. By the time they left for the last sprint, he was getting itchy feet. He shed a tear when IMMORTAL GAME rounded Cape Agulhas. Shortly after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, he posted, ‘Hard to believe the adventure this little boat has taken me on.’
He also enjoyed being just in front of Renaud for most of the way, to the extent that he hung onto his A7 in 30 knots going up the Cape Peninsular, while Renaud went down to a jib. But Renaud, that wily old fox, chose his moment, cut the corner, sneaked past, and beat Dan across the line by two minutes.
These two really love duelling with each other, though Dan is quick to point out that he has learned a lot of tricks from Renaud. Dan’s performance has steadily improved over the course of this event. A number of MGR skippers have remarked on how generous Renaud is with advice.
Apart from overhauling IMMORTAL GAME’s sails and antifouling the hull, there is nothing much for Dan to do. He did mention that Nikki was bringing him his 5th replacement electronic autopilot. He said they steer a better course in following winds of less than 10-15 knots, and he needed to keep up the pressure on Renaud!
ARGO was next over the line, an hour later, despite starting earlier than CAPUCINETTE and IMMORTAL GAME. Christian had a fast sail from Mossel Bay, mostly in glorious, sunny weather during the day, although the nights were cold. He was not fast enough to stay ahead of Renaud and Dan, however!
On arrival in Cape Town, he said, “This morning I was right next to Pilar – the alarm woke me up when I was 200 metres away from PETER PUNK. I was like, okay, what’s going to happen here? So I put the second A5 up and got going.
‘But then the wind died down. When I was 15 miles out, I saw some wind coming from behind. It was like 25 maybe, but I thought it would be increasing even more. I was struggling too hard with the two A 5s, so I got one of them down, then took the second one down, continuing with just the jib.
‘But nothing happened. The wind died down again, and from there on it was a bit difficult. Then headwinds after the finish line. But I’m happy to be here. My shoulder is sometimes pretty sore. I was lucky to work with only small passages on this stage. I had two very long and good massages in Mossel Bay. Sailing in the trade winds meant sitting always on the same side and looking in the same direction and hand steering. That was not so good.
‘But with the speed, the conditions today, I like it pretty much. When the wind is coming straight from the back, I can fly my two A5s and I can hand-steer. I had a good sleep last night, because it was not so rough and the night was calm. This morning when I woke up, I said, ‘Okay, during daytime until my arrival, I can stay awake, I can hand-steer all day. So I pulled the second A5 up and I enjoyed steering and going fast. This is not possible using the wind vane or electronic tiller pilot because they just don’t do it.
‘I still got 140 litres of water left aboard. I didn’t take a shower on this passage. It was only two days, but I still got the water for it. I don’t dump the water usually.
‘I have to see a sailmaker here. As I told you when we were talking on the phone, the sailmaker in East London laughed at us when we said we had to go 8,000 miles more. Some doubled up their mainsails completely. I didn’t do that so far. Because the mainsail leech was fluttering a bit, the sailmaker in Mauritius put some heavy tabling on.
This is okay for the mainsail, but he also put the heavy stuff on the jib, and also on one of my A5s. So, performance is not that good anymore. And the jib is getting really thin as well, because the hanked-on jib is out all the time. If it’s not hoisted, it’s lying on the deck.’
Speaking about the interior, he said, ‘On this last passage from Mossel Bay, my bunk stayed dry. I had a fast passage from St. Francis to Mossel Bay, and that was a little bit wet because I had 40 knots of wind right from behind. When I opened the hatch, the spray was just flying right into everything. In Mossel Bay I had to clean everything and wash it with fresh water.
‘I’m happy to be here on the dock today, because I had a bad moment last night when I was putting away a spinnaker pole. I had two A5s up, and the wind was getting too strong – maybe gusting 35. I was on the foredeck taking the pole down when the boat rounded up, but in an unexpected direction. As a consequence, I slipped on the deck, which usually, with this foam covering, is really, really good. But I was already standing on the rail there in front, and I fell right through it, with my leg wrapped around the middle railing.
‘I was on top of the railing, right in the water. I could grab the shrouds, but had the spinnaker pole in the other hand. My leg is a bit thick and swollen, but it’s not too painful. I was scared but recovered pretty quickly, so it was okay. As I said, the night after that was pretty calm. I was only going with the jib after that.’
As Don McIntyre pointed out, this was interesting, as originally the 580 never had that middle rail. Without it, the outcome might have been different. It provides another example of how this inaugural MGR is a pioneering event, with boats, skippers, and gear evolving as the race progresses.
Reflecting on the passage from Durban, Christian continued, ‘There were many good things. I could go pretty fast most of the time, straight downwind. That was fun. And steering. And yeah, of course, the southernmost part of the journey has been right south of Africa. It’s not so far south compared to where I live up in the north, but it’s still a difference.’
He said he was amazed and delighted to be in Cape Town. ‘I still say that the hardest part for me was the passage from Lagos to Lanzarote, because I had never sailed single-handed on my own. Never sailed an ocean before. I had never even sailed the boat before. And that’s why I said it might happen that I just step off the boat in Lanzarote and say, okay, that was it. But I still feel comfortable and so here we are. Life will be completely differently after the MGR, that’s for sure.’
Pilar Passanau was the next to finish, with PETER PUNK crossing the line at 1831 local time the same day. She arrived ahead of Jakub and Adam, but all three experienced the same boisterous conditions that prevented them from beating up into Cape Town Harbour.
Speaking on arrival, she said, “Last night I tried to enter in the harbour two times but it was very, very, windy. I don’t know how much, but I think more than 30 knots, sure.
“I tried this two times, but I desisted. I go to find another solution for sleep this night. I am happy because I am finished with the Indian Ocean. It’s not an easy ocean. It’s very hard, it’s complicated, the sea is confused. The wind may be the same as in any other ocean, but the long swell from the south is always present.”
Asked if she thought she would make it as far as Cape Town when she set off from Lagos, Portugal, on 28 December 2024, she said, “When I was in Portugal, my only intention was to finish the Transat. But when I arrived in Antigua, Caribbean, I thought, why not race around the world? And now here I am.”
Asked about her relationship with PETER PUNK, she said, “Every day is better. We are a couple, Peter Punk and me.” During the Transat, she famously said, “This boat is a snake!” Since then, she has learned to manage the boat better. “I talk with my boat now. In the beginning I don’t talk too much. Now I am talking with my boat because we have a good relationship. Now I understand my boat. I hope he understands me. Now I got to take a flight to go to Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, to see my family, because it is one year without seeing them.”
She is in good physical health and spirits, and is looking forward to Leg 4, which she righty predicts should be easier, both because it is a famously agreeable passage and also because they all know their boat so well by now.
Jakub crossed the line at 1946 local time on 04 December in light winds, though a short time earlier he’d experience a fierce blast that lasted 20 minutes, and had reduced sail to just the jib. He started his outboard motor to travel the last few miles, before seeing white water ahead. BIBI was laid flat by a tremendous blast and he was unable to make to weather. He then saw Pilar and PETER PUNK heading back towards him, after failing to beat in through the breakwaters. Adam and LITTLE WREN arrived soon after.
There was a private marina close under their lee, so they decided to slip into it for the night. The next morning, they safely made it to the V & A Waterfront Marina, the official host for the Cape Town stopover, although not without further difficulty. At one point, Jakub was wondering whether to put out fenders to cushion BIBI’s crash into the rocks, but chose instead to put up a bit of mainsail and managed to claw his way clear. He said his knees were still shaking when he arrived at the V & A Marina.
He has a reputation for wearing amusing hats. Sometimes it has been a pirate hat; in Fiji he sported a green, Leprechaun one. This time he was wearing a black ‘Snoopy’ hat, if you remember the Charlie Brown cartoon character, resembling a World War One fighter pilot’s flying helmet, complete with ear flaps. Blame it on the cold temperatures in this region!
On his way from Mossel Bay to Cape Town, Adam reported, ‘I’m nearly at Cape Agulhas, which is the southernmost point of Africa. I’ll be rounding that in a couple of hours, and then it’s about a hundred miles up to Cape Point, which is, I think, where the Indian Ocean becomes the Atlantic, and then from Cape Point there’s about 20 miles to go to Cape Town.
‘I expect to get there sometime tomorrow evening. Strong winds, rolling seas. The main feature of this passage has just been the lack of sleep. We’re quite close to the coast, I have been doing lots of hand-steering, but look forward to arriving in Cape Town tomorrow.’
He mentioned, after his arrival, that he knew he was back in the Atlantic when the temperature of the ocean dropped, initially from 22°C before Cape Agulhas to 17°C, afterwards, then to 12°C after passing the Cape of Good Hope.
He said he never thought he’d manage to get this far, especially when he was struggling a bit during the Transatlantic Qualifier and in the early days of the Pacific Crossing. He also mentioned that he felt a bit washed out in Cocos, especially knowing how many miles of wild Indian Ocean lay ahead. Passing Cape Agulhas was an emotional milestone, and he hoped that his voyage might inspire some of his sailing students to believe they could achieve similar challenges.
He also mentioned that supporting the Ella Dawson Foundation, who had just asked him to become an ambassador, helped motivate him, along with the desire to circumnavigate.
Josh reported, “I had two spectacular days of sailing from Mossel Bay to Cape Town. Rounded the Cape in perfect weather, sunny skies, good breeze, and following seas. The wind died about five miles from the finish line and I had to motor the last bit. When I arrived at the harbour, there was nearly 35-45kts blowing straight out of it, which made entry into the basin impossible. I tried again the next morning but did not have enough engine battery power to make it around the breakwater in the ripping wind. I returned to the little bay outside the harbor and waited for my battery to recharge.” Finally, a friendly local towed him in.
Asked if he thought he’d finish the MGR when SKOOKUM sailed out of Falmouth Harbour on 23 February, he said, “Yes. I did. I didn’t see any reason why not – the little boat is so capable. It takes such good care of me.” His only moment of doubt came during the first days out of the USA, beating to windward to get to the start in Antigua. Unfamiliar with the boat and new to ocean sailing, the noise from the rudder pintles unsettled him.
But once he realised there was nothing wrong, he regained perspective and has never looked back. As an experienced mountaineer, he often compares sailing SKOOKUM to bivouacking on the side of a mountain, and considers himself to be living in relative luxury!
He is still in awe of what the MGR fleet has achieved. “I can’t believe that we did 40-day passages, all the time in the South Pacific and everything. It seems like yesterday, and it also seems like 10 years ago. So much has happened, and you’re always focused on the next bit. I think it’ll take some time to process once it’s over to like realize what happened.”
Asked about the highlight of the passage from Durban, he said, “Oh gosh, the last two days. If somebody had told me that two of the best days of sailing in the entire circumnavigation were going to be Cape Agulhas and the Cape of Good Hope, I would have been like, no way. But it was absolutely brilliant – 15 to 18 knots of breeze, a 1m swell, sunny skies. I was just like, am I in Florida right now, or am I off the Cape of Good Hope?”
This is undoubtedly the major benefit of choosing the inshore route from Durban to Cape Town, hopping from port to port during good weather windows. The excellent South African weather forecasts, plus access to Starlink and WINDY, can transform the experience.
Another highlight was the stopover at Mossel Bay, an opinion shared by all the skippers who stopped there. “It was just a beautiful little town. The people were really friendly, the streets were clean, it was safe. You could walk around at night. It had a real beach town feel to it.”
SKOOKUM remains in immaculate condition, and Josh has absolutely no work to do aboard while in Cape Town, including sail repairs. He might be at the back of the fleet (not that far back), but he nurtures the boat and it shows. “It’s like my little snail shell,” he jokes.
The boat is bone dry below, though he mentioned one wave that sneaked aboard. “There was one wave, let’s see, where was I? It must have been between East London and Port Elizabeth when a big wave broke over the side – I had the hatch shut, but not dogged closed. It was enough to come underneath the open lower edge and get on the bunk a little bit.”
He was really looking forward to the last leg. “From what I’ve heard, that part of the Atlantic is just pristine sailing. Maybe here to St. Helena will be a little rough, but then after that, it’s supposed to just be barefoot, downwind, sunny skies. There are no major tropical storms or anything.”
With all the fleet gathered in Cape Town, and Leg 3 done and dusted, the only thing left is for them to document their elapsed times for the various stages, and then for the rankings to be announced. This scribe predicts that Renaud will win the leg, followed by Dan, Keri and Pilar. As for the rest of them, you will have to wait until they have done their homework!
