Posted by Graham Cox
After four weeks in Cape Town, the MGR fleet set sail on 28 December for the first stage of Leg 4, or Leg 3.5 according to the Mad Bastard, Don McIntyre, MGR founder and extraordinary adventurer in his own right. They are bound for Saint Helena Island, 1700 nm to the NW. From there, it is on to Recife in Brazil, where they will stay for the famous Carnivale, before the final sprint back to Antigua. They should be back in Antigua by the second week of March 2026. They had better be, as the prizegiving is on 20 March.
28 December was another bright, sunny, summer day, so common in the Cape Province at this time of year, although the lack of a skerrick of cloud on Table Mountain did not bode well for a fast getaway. Local weather lore indicates that no cloud on the mountain equals no wind!
The skippers were farewelled dockside by family, friends and MGR followers, along with an exuberant Zulu dance troupe / choir, who put on a colourful performance to cheer them on their way. This troupe donate any fees earned to homeless South African youth, so their presence was a fitting touch for an event with a history of outreach to youth and local people, as well as for supporting various charities.
The scene dockside during this farewell performance was reminiscent of the Fijian choir that serenaded MGR skippers when they left Vuda Marina the previous July – African rhythms versus South Pacific harmonies. One of the notable features of this tradewind circumnavigation race is the kaleidoscope of social influences the sailors have experienced in each port, with meaningful cultural exchanges taking place between skippers and locals. Besides leaving a tangible international goodwill behind them, the MGR fleet have left a meticulously clean wake astern, both ecologically and psychologically.
It was amusing to see that the fleet was still securely tied up to the pontoons, contrary to intentions, at the end of the Zulu dancers’ farewell. Were the skippers perhaps just a little reluctant to go? With around 21,000 nm under their keels, they only have 6000 nm to sail to the finish in Antigua, mostly through the fabled SE trade winds of the South Atlantic Ocean, followed by a beam reach across the NE trade winds beyond the equator – after wriggling through the doldrums.
None of the skippers were feeling complacent, however, as they cast off the dock-lines at the V&A Waterfront complex. Several admitted to feeling a little nervous, although they knew that these emotions quickly settle down once underway. They are old salts by now. However, everyone was aware that anything can happen on a long solo ocean passage, from broken gear to more serious setbacks. One of the beautiful things about the ocean – and the most unsettling – is that it is the last great unknown territory on the planet.
I remember a conversation I had with my friend, the late Sir Henry Pigott, English baronet and solo circumnavigator, about an incident that occurred aboard his 5.8m junk-rigged sloop, GLORY II, enroute from Cape Town to Saint Helena Island in early 1986. He was sitting in his hatch one beautiful morning, sipping a cup of tea, as was his wont, looking ahead and contemplating what a wonderful life this was.
After a while, he saw a flock of seabirds about 300m ahead, just off his bow. ‘Oh, good,’ he thought, a school of mackerel perhaps.’ Putting his tea aside for a moment, he hurried to rig his fishing line, then altered course to steer directly towards the disturbance.
To his horror, when he arrived, the birds were flocking around a barely-afloat shipping container. One corner of the container was lurching upward out of the sea as each swell passed, and he reckoned it would have sliced poor GLORY II’s bilge like a can-opener. By the time he had navigated clear of danger, his tea was cold, and he had little appetite for food all the way to Saint Helena!
Jasmine said her biggest fear was getting out of the harbour and surviving the start unscathed. Given the fierce winds she’d experienced on arrival, and quite often during the stopover, that is understandable. She took no chances, crossing the start line with NUMBATOU’s mainsail triple-reefed. It was somewhat ironic that there was more risk of a collision by drifting into danger, given the windless conditions that prevailed after the 10-minute signal (foghorn) sounded!
Adam said that it had not sunk in yet that they were three-quarters of the way around the course – it still felt to him like there was half a world to traverse. But he was glad to be back aboard LITTLE WREN and underway. Whatever his doubts, he always presents a calm, cheerful front, and waved gaily to the committee boat as he chugged off NW.
Jakub‘s fear was that this was the last leg, and soon it would all be over. He was not looking forward to the end of BIBI’s adventure, though was keen to reunite with his 15-year-old son, Tymon, back in Ireland. Jakub’s dream now is to build a bigger boat so that his family and friends can join him on future adventures. Since boyhood, he had dreamed of this solo circumnavigation, eagerly reading all the classic sailing classic books he could find, even though such a dream seemed impossible in 1980s Poland.
Christian obviously shared Jakub’s trepidation, but his solution was to declare that he was not going back to Germany! He has decided that he and ARGO will sail on, seeking new adventures, new horizons. He is on record as saying that the MGR has been a transformative experience for him, and it has been interesting to watch his transformation.
Initially, he was uncertain as to whether or not he would even cross the Atlantic. It would all depend on how his trial sail from Lagos to Lanzarote went. It was his first offshore passage, he was still working on ARGO, and had not yet mastered the operation of his self-steering gear. But he persevered, even when injuries to his shoulders and knees forced him to push through the pain, discovering that he loved everything about ocean voyaging.
I am not sure whether Jasmine will spend the rest of her life crossing oceans under sail, but seeing her progress from neophyte sailor to seasoned ocean voyager has been inspiring. She has a phalanx of followers – at one stage she had more than the event itself – and between her being a role model for women aspiring to extend themselves, to her support for Rotary International, she has been a fine ambassador for the sport. Whatever she does, we can be assured that it will be both adventurous and physically demanding. She loves a good workout!
It is almost certainly true that for most MGR skippers this has been a transformative experience. Many of them did not expect to find themselves in Cape Town. They assumed, along with the general public, that a significant number of skippers would drop out of the race, whether for personal or technical reasons – and that they might be one of them. To find themselves standing on the dock in Cape Town beneath the iconic mountain, about to embark on the final leg of their circumnavigation, was awe-inspiring. They are not quite the same people who set sail from Antigua on 23 February 2025, let alone from Lagos a couple of months earlier.
As with the 1968 Golden Globe Race (GGR), something like this had not been attempted before. Racing around the world, pushing a boat to the maximum for 28,000 miles, with all the extra stresses that this entails, is a very different activity to cruising across oceans. And yet here they all are, 11 ALMA Class Globe 580s, setting off on the final leg of the MGR to Antigua, where they will be anointed with the coveted crown of singlehanded circumnavigator.
They all love their boats, are bonded to them, the way you become with yachts that have carried you through thick and thin. Even Pilar, who once said that PETER PUNK sailed like a snake, now talks to her boat affectionately. Many would love to keep their little sloops. Some skippers, however, have commitments that require them to be pragmatic. Dan has put IMMORTAL GAME on the market, as he needs to resume familial responsibilities. His family have been amazingly supportive – he and Nikki even sold their house so that he could compete in this event – and he says that the experience has brought the entire family closer together.
Josh will sell the immaculate SKOOKUM as well, after his return to the USA, though he’d love to keep the boat if finances permitted. He was one of the skippers who always thought he had a good chance of completing the race, after brief doubts about the rudder pintles during his qualifying sail. He approached the circumnavigation the same way he has all his expeditions – with meticulous preparation, skill and courage. SKOOKUM is the best bivouacking tent he has ever owned!
Eric wants to ship SUNBEAR back to Coffs Harbour in Australia, to use for local sailing, with the possibility that the boat will return to the MGR in 2029 with a younger member of the clan at the helm. Ertan will sell TREKKA but is already planning another adventure, currently under wraps. Gary Swindail, who retired in Darwin, Australia, wants to return for MGR 2029. Renaud’s CAPUCINETTE is on the market, but it seems only a matter of time before we see this extraordinarily successful racing sailor back in his element.
After sailing off the dock, Keri was the first over the line on ORIGAMI, though he wasn’t exactly streaking away – it was little more than a drift. Renaud soon followed with CAPUCINETTE. His keen rival, Dan – best of friends ashore – crossed the line almost at the same time, though well to leeward. Pilar was not far behind Renaud, even though she was flying PETER PUNK’s jib, as opposed to Renaud’s A5.
The majority of the fleet soon unfurled an A sail, but even then they barely had steerage way. Once five minutes had passed after the start signal, they were permitted under race rules to use their electric outboard motors. Most of them eventually resorted to doing so, and chugged out of the bay towards the west, where it was obvious that there was more wind beyond the lee of Table Mountain, and where they could hook into the favourable Benguela Current that had been running NW for several days. Yet again, access to STARLINK and WINDY made a significant contribution to strategy.
Although Jakub jokingly rebuked his fellow skippers who started their motors, it seems obvious that he eventually did so as well, because by the end of the first night he was well out into the wind and current, sitting in the middle of the fleet in 6th place, averaging 6.2 knots. Dan was leading the fleet, averaging 8.6 knots, with Renaud close behind at 8 knots. Pilar, in 3rd place, was averaging 8.6 knots, and briefly took the lead a few hours later, before IMMORTAL GAME, CAPUCINETTE and PETER PUNK reverted to their original rankings. They were all benefitting from fresh SE winds and around 2 knots of favourable current.
Adam was in 4th place, also sailing well, taking advantage of better weather to the west of the rhumbline, along with most of the other skippers. Josh and Ertan, staying close to the direct route, were on the edge of the good winds, and eventually slipped into the lighter airs of a low to their east, with consequent loss of speed.
Keri, unfortunately, paid a high price for his decision to remain true to his principles and not use his motor, as well as choosing to pass between Robben Island and the mainland. He knows these waters, and probably remembered that when SE winds are developed, a good breeze whips through this channel. However, as the lack of cloud on Table Mountain indicated, there was no developed wind working around the mountain to the east – probably because of a mild low situated to the north – and he fell into an extensive wind hole. The forecast 20-30 knots of SE wind was well out to the west.
18 hours after departure, he was still only 17 nm NW of Cape Town Harbour, and had fallen over 100 nm behind the leaders. This will be hard to make up, though one would be foolish to write Keri off too soon! He is a wily sailor, and as his 6-day passage from Durban to Cape Town indicates, he has the courage and ability to seize an opportunity when it comes his way.
The day after leaving Cape Town, Jakub sent the following message. ‘Now it’s Monday, and after a rough night and lack of sleep, I’m slowly getting my sea legs back. It’s beautiful weather this morning – slight sea and steady breeze, with 15 knots on my port beam. BIBI goes 7 knots on full main and jib, and I’m trying to catch up with things.’
Renaud posted, ‘Hello, fantastic atmosphere leaving Cape Town, light breezes… then copious South East winds, along with the Benguela Current, all with a beautiful half-moon. Nice entry into the subject. All ok on board CAPUCINETTE. I’m picking up my marks after this long layover.’
To which Dan added, ‘Still getting back into the rhythm of things after an amazing time in Africa. All is well out here out here though and looking forward to the sail up towards St. Helena!’
Once again, it will be interesting to compare the fleet’s performance on this leg of the MGR with that of John Guzzwell, as they will be sailing almost identical courses to TREKKA all the way to the Caribbean. John left Cape Town on 14 February 1959, shooting down the harbour and out to sea past Robben Island, with a fine, blustery, SE wind up the tail. Once offshore, he set TREKKA’s twin jibs and barely touched the rig for the rest of this 1700 nm passage.
Weather conditions were so easy that one day John was able to varnish the cockpit cleats, which were not in use since the twin jib sheets were fastened directly to the tiller, while TREKKA waltzed along unassisted. It was during this passage that he thought up another way to make the boat go faster. Whenever the wind eased a little, he set his small spinnaker above the twin jibs, with the sheets led aft through blocks at the end of the jib poles. He also noted that this cut down on the rolling.
TREKKA completed the passage in 16 days. Let’s see what the 580s can do!
