At an early age I discovered my passion for sailing and the sea. From the first day I sailed, I wanted to spend more hours in the water. In my early twenties I was already sailing from Monday to Sunday every week, mostly inshore sailing.

From the mid twenties I’ve been more focused in my work as a Naval Architect while I’ve been sailing a few more miles offshore.

To participate in the Golden Globe Race 2022 was a desire that came from deep inside me: it felt natural and the right race to sail.

Sailing around the world single-handed has always been a dream for me. When I discovered the GGR and what it means returning to the basics, my dream just became stronger and I have found a clear path.

I’m one of the latest skippers to enroll into this adventure and with less experience offshore. But I’m confident that working hard with a great team of people in Venturi Projects I will be well prepared on the starting line.

I hope you can all join me in the journey starting today up to the end of the race. Make sure you visit VenturiProjects.xyz and participate in our social platforms.

Links

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter

Retired: 1 December 2022 – rigging issue
Arnaud had been facing severe barnacle and rigging issues for several days that hampered his sailing to weather. Not being able to go upwind because of mast compression made it impossible to reach Cape Town on time to repair and continue to Hobart before the gate closing on 31st January 2023.

From Blois, France

Arnaud Gaist discovered sailing in the Paris underground where he immerses himself in the works of Moitessier, Slocum, Vito Dumas etc.

At the age of 23, he decided to leave his photography career behind to buy a 25ft sailboat (7.6m), learned to sail and leaves for a trip that will last 3 years.

At 25 years old, he crossed the atlantic self-handed and in rough conditions, without an engine without any communication, without a lifeboat, without a radar, using maps sometimes hand-traced, without a bathroom, insurance or a planned budget.

He shares Moitessier’s view that by waiting to be fully prepared before leaving, one risks not leaving at all.

Today, at 48 years of age, though he now sails in a more comfortable and safe boat, he has not lost his appetite for long solitary crossings, fluorescent plankton in the trails behind the sailboat on moonless nights, long swelling waves, the sound of water on the bow. To him, the rhythm and the approach to the crossing are as important as the arrival. In 2018, when he first heard about the 2018 GGR, it was obvious that this race was made for him and his boat – a Barbican 33 mk2 keel version. Commited and driven to give his all to lead this journey to its end and close the loop.

His motto: ‘It’s not because it’s impossible that we should not do it!’

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arnaudgaistggr/

The Boat

Technical Boat Photos

Videos

Retired: 14 November 2022 – mechanical failure
Two days after leaving the Cape Town photo gate, Damien’s windvane failed again, as he was in 3^rd position. This time he did not have the spares to repair at sea as he had done before and had to stop. PRB stopped in Cape Town on 14 November and Damien would not continue in Chichester Class, without the motivation to sail his way up the rankings.

From South Finistere, France

Born on 20th February 1983 in Moëlan-sur-Mer, Damien is a renowned sailor, ocean racer and boat captain. He prepared Jean Le Cam’s boat for the 2016 Vendée Globe and Kevin Escoffier’s Imoca PRB for the 2020 Vendée Globe.

Damien has competed in the Tour de France à la Voile with Bernard Stamm in 2015, participated for 7 year in the Figaro Bénéteau Class with several stages ranked in the Top 10, and sailed many Imoca boats with Bertrand de Broc, Bernard Stamm, Jean Le Cam and Kevin Escoffier.

I have participated in the Solitaire du Figaro seven times. The average distance of an edition is 1700 miles, which is about 12 000 miles in total. I also participated in the 2013 Bretagne Martinique transatlantic race in a Figaro 2 solo, with a distance of 3500 miles, as well as the 2012 AG2R transatlantic race in double-handed. I plan to do a qualifier with my GGR boat this summer.

The Boat

Technical Boat Photos

Videos

Facebook: facebook.com/damien.g.damien.7

Country of Entry: Maltese. Nationality: Maltese.

Daniel was brought up on the water having spent most of his younger years exploring the Mediterranean each summer aboard his families yacht. Fascinated by the stories of the original Golden Globe race and other historical sailors, he realised that his future career was within the yachting industry and quickly sought to pave a way to into the super yacht world. Committing himself to the industry, Daniel travelled to the UK to study at one of the world’s top yachting schools.

Daniel has held numerous Captain positions aboard many types of yachts both motor and sail having over 50,000 nm under his belt with many more unrecorded miles. He has taken his knowledge of the industry and set up a yacht agency and refit company in Malta. With a true passion for adventure sailing, fulfilling a life long dream of following in the wakes of some of the giants within sailing and adventure, is one that he could only ever dream of. The re-enactment of the 1968 Golden Globe Race in 2018 allowed many peoples dreams become a possibility, GGR2022 is when it finally becomes his reality.

Born in 1942, David Cowper was educated at Stowe School and lives and works in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Although he is a Chartered Building Surveyor and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, sailing was his passion from an early age.

In 1974, Cowper participated and successfully completed The Observer Around Britain Race in his Wanderer-class sailboat, Airedale. In 1976, he successfully completed The Observer Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race, again in his boat Airedale.In 1980, Cowper completed the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe via Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin in Ocean Bound, a W. Huisman 41 ft sloop designed by Sparkman & Stephens, beating Francis Chichester’s 53 ft Gypsy Moth IV, record of 226 days by one day.

Two years later, he repeated the feat, sailing against the prevailing westerly winds and rounding all five capes in 237 days, beating Chay Blyth’s 59′ British Steel record by 72 days and becoming the first person to circumnavigate Cape Horn in both directions single-handed and also holds the record for the fastest single handed time in each direction.

In 1980, the city of Newcastle, celebrating its 900th anniversary, recognized his feats and awarded him honorary Freedom of the City. Cowper then switched to motorboats, and in 1984–1985 he sailed westwards round the globe in a converted ex-Royal National Lifeboat Institution Watson 42-foot wooden lifeboat, the Mabel E. Holland, via the Panama Canal, becoming the first person to circumnavigate solo in a motor boat.

More info at Wikipedia.

The Boat

I grew up on a cattle ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska which is a vast sea of sand covered in grass horses and black cattle.

As a true renaissance man I left the ranch at an early age seeking adventures and broader horizons on air land and sea. In the late 1980’s I spent a few years at sea with the US Navy. Since then boats have been apart of daily life even when far inland. I became a commercial pilot in the mid 1990s and have accumulated some 11000 hours of flight time since then. Most of that is in single engine air tanker aircraft operating at low levels doing aerial applications for fire fighting and crop protection operations. I’ve also been an amateur photographer in many different formats since my early teenage years and have most recently worked on several aerial photography and film projects throughout the US. I was barely a year old when the first GGR contestants set off in 1968 and only became aware of the race a dozen or more years later when reading ‘A World of My Own’ as a young boy barely old enough to imagine. Then in 2016 as a spectator at the 2016 Vendee Globe learned the GGR was being resurrected and from there the torch was lit.

The Boat

Doug Dean made the decision to buy Uku Randmaa’s Rustler 36 One and All.

Why the GGR?

It’s been a dream I dreamt before I knew it even was. I read A World Of My Own at the age of ten and had the idea in my mind ever since. Would love to be the first American to win this race. It’s the only sailing race I ever dreamt of competing in.

Best and worst aspects

The recreation of a classic retro race and the ‘family’ of contestants. The worst might be all the social media business.

Links

Website: www.dougdean.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ddggr2022

Instagram: www.instagram.com/dougdeanggr/

From southern England, UK (grew up in Leicestershire; brought up children in Buckinghamshire, and now in between Weymouth and Dorchester)

Childhood of Mirror Dinghy sailing on the Solent. 1975 RN Midshipman @ BRNC Dartmouth. 1977 Lymington to Alicante in 45’ wooden sloop (Zest). 1980’s onwards Multiple cross Channel ‘weekend’ trips. 2005-06 circumnavigation with Clipper Ventures(via Panama).2006 delivery from Bilbao to UK. 2006-2015 Lake Leman(Geneva, Switzerland).2014 Winter expedition to South Georgia (with Skip Novak). From Uruguay/Falkland Islands/South Georgia/Stanley. 2016-2017 skippered our timeshared Legend 33 out of Poole. 2018 Return trip aboard GypsyMoth IV, Bucklers Hard to Les Sables. 2020 Purchase of Border Reiver, delivery to Weymouth, and not much more because of (bloody) Covid19!
Qualifications: 43,000nm logged sea miles.

The Boat

Retired GGR 2022: 8 September 2022 – personal reasons
Edward retired on the 8th of September and headed back to Les Sables-d’Olonne after 4 days of racing. Noah’s Jest and her skipper were both in good shape. He retired for personal reasons and is preparing for 2026.

From Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Edward Walentynowicz fell in love with sea adventures as a young university student in Poland, where he started sailing on the Baltic Sea. What followed was training programs, ocean sailing, Polish Yacht Master Ocean, and Sailing Instructor certifications. Edward is not a professional sailor; he is a marine and industrial automation professional electrical engineer. Sailing is his life long hobby which started in 1974. He is entering GGR 2022 with over 80,000 nm ocean sailing experience including 45,000 nm open ocean sailing and nine Atlantic crossings (3 solo).

In Canada, Edward has sailed Acapella IV (29.5ft, Express 30M he owns for last 27 years) out of Armdale Yacht Club, travelling over 40,000 nm. He holds RYA (UK) Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate, and he participated in sailing programs in Nova Scotia. Additionally, he enjoyed sailing in Patagonia, French Polynesia, Canaries Islands, Azores Islands, Bay of Biscay, and other places.

He has been inspired by footprints of Joshua Slocum in Nova Scotia. As Joshua’s first solo voyage started with a farewell from Sambro Light at Halifax approaches, Edward is frequently reminded of his idol, when he too sails out of Halifax Harbour. He always finds time to help sailors visiting Halifax by offering his advice and expertise and has assisted numerous skippers with weather routing.

His heavy weather sailing experience comes from several North Atlantic crossings on 30ft to 60ft sailboats, with two crossings accomplished without use of GPS. The two handed, nonstop North Atlantic double-crossing adventure, with rounding Eddystone Lighthouse on Acapella IV, was awarded ‘Recreational Event of The Year’ by the Canadian Yachting Association.

This avid sailor is always very professional, well prepared and possesses great planning skills. Edward hopes that taking on the GGR will be his next big challenge, and by employing his vast experience over the months of the race, he will grow both spiritually and mentally. His competitive nature, coupled with his hard-working attitude will make him a formidable challenger.

Sailing Experience

Over 80,000 miles including 9 Atlantic crossings, three solo aboard Noah’s Jest.

Why the GGR?

Sailing is my passion for over 40 years. Solo, nonstop circumnavigation is my dream for almost 40 years as well, since I read ‘A World of My Own‘, ‘The Long Way‘ and ‘Sailing Around The Word‘ before my first Atlantic Ocean double crossing in 1984. Joshua Slocum was born in Nova Scotia. He started the around the around world voyage from Westport, Brier Island, Bay of Fundy – Island of the Digby Neck, Nova Scotia, Canada. His first ‘Spray’ Atlantic Crossing started from Halifax approaches. We are visting Brier Island every year. The visits to Brier Island and sailing around Halifax are an additional inspiration for solo circumnavigation. 

I know that working alone, solving problems alone and hands on, sailing alone for long time is not a problem for me. I am very interested in spiritual aspects of our life on Earth, and I hope to have excellent time for spiritual growth during the GGR 2026.

Best and worst aspects

The best: People participating, organisers, Les Sables d’Olonne public and safest way to turn solo nonstop circumnavigation dreams into reality.

The worst: No family and no friends for good part of the year. Organising family life without my participation.

The Boat

Edward purchased ‘Noah’s Jest’, 1990 Rustler 36 and hopes that previous owners’ good memories of fun and safe voyages will happily stay with NJ.

In the spring 2020 the boat started it’s first refit at Rustler Yachts Ltd. Falmouth, UK to be ready for her trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Unfortunately, it took much longer then planned.
Noah’s Jest was trapped in UK for over 14 months, due to Edward’s inability to retrieve her because of covid-19 travel restrictions. 

Finally on April 11th, 2021, he had first opportunity to travel to UK to London and after, quarantine to Falmouth (UK).

Noah’s Jest was launched 2 weeks later and after short preparation Edward sailed to France arriving at Les Sables-d’Olonne on May 21st, 2021, after 378 miles solo trip on new for him Noah’s Jest.

In France he continued to prepare the boat for the return home, Atlantic crossing. New sails, which waited for a year, were delivered along with help from Jerome, the owner of Voilier Tarot, with whom Edward was able to install a new mast and rigging. 

On the 16th of July he finally started on his trip home. It went on for several weeks in generally good weather and light winds. The weather pattern took him on southern route slightly below Azores islands. While he was sailing there, he was watching hurricane Henry’s development and he chose to stay South until Henry declared his pathway. It took seven more days before it was obvious that hurricane would make landfall on the US territory, and Edward was able to take path to Nova Scotia without meeting with Henry. He only hit remnants of the hurricane, with a 40 plus knots wind.

On August 30th, 2021, finally, his solo nonstop trip from Les Sables-d’Olonne, France to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada was accomplished, covering 3,850 nautical miles. This was a qualifier for GGR 2022. Edward retired from GGR2022 after 4 days of race due to personal reasons.

Technical Boat Photos

Facebook: www.facebook.com/edward.walentynowicz

Retired: January 19 2023 – rig failure
Elliott Smith landed in Fremantle on 19 January after 5000 miles under jury rig. He had broken his bowsprit off the South African coast and lost his spare forestay overboard after trying to repair at sea. He continued under staysail and double-reefed main, with the rig supported by the inner forestay and backstay, but did not have time to repair and get through the Hobart gate closing before 31st January.

From Jacksonville Beach, Florida, USA

It seems that the universe has put it in my path to circumnavigate and I have become increasingly aware I must do it solo. My whole life I have read and listened to countless inspiring stories of beauty, adventure, sorrow, and hardships.

Often, I have found myself privileged enough with the opportunities to have my own epic stories and tales. I am grateful for this. I feel that this race will push me to great extremes of the human spirit, which I hope will help me give back to my inspirations, and even continue the wonderful stories of adventure and seeking truth in oneself.

The ocean has brought me so many wonderful truths and I feel the style and ruggedness of the race will help me cut away the millions of distractions that the world now throws in our face. I am looking forward to ‘un-connecting’ and connecting to the real world without screens and GPS and the hard lessons of solo ocean experience.

Two years of sailing as a first mate in the chartering company San Francisco Sailing Co (6 days a week 2017-2019). Sailing my own boat Nortena (1963 Pearson Triton) around the East Coast of the USA and island hopping in the Bahamas in winters of 2018-2020.

The Boat

Technical Boat Photos

Elliott’s Website: https://www.elliottskipper.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElliottSkipperSmith/