Originally from Sweden, lives in Norway. Works as a commercial diver. Sailed as a cruiser between 2008 and 2012. Read “A World of my Own” by Robin Knox-Johnston and one thing lead to another.

Sailing Experience

About 35,000 nm in total. On August, 2008 at 14:00 hours I left Bergen, Norway. I returned in July 2012 after sailing solo around the world through Panama, around South Africa in a Alo 33.

Why the GGR?

I love adventures, sailing and being alone at the sea for long periods. I learned that between 2008-2012. In September of 2008 I set out to cross the North Sea on my Alo 33. It was the first time being at sea in a sailboat as all my previous sails was just a handful of day sails inshore sailing. The learning curve was steep. The North Sea, Gulf of Corryvreckan and the Bay of Biscay quickly humbled and cured me from a previous kind of cocky attitude. At this time sailing was just a means of transportation on my travels. Fast forward to 2012 and I was on my the homestretch of my solo around the world trip. Crossing from the Azores to Ireland. By now my reason for sailing had changed. I now found myself not stopping at places just to get a longer time at sea. Not stopping in the Galapagos when crossing the Pacific. Sailing nonstop from Malaysia to Mauritius. South Africa to Brazil. Brasil to the Azores.

I now really loved to sail and to be at sea. In July of 2012 I returned to Bergen with empty fuel tanks, a few tins, an empty bank account and two new dreams. To sail around the world non stop and to design/build a boat. Now 11 years later I hope I can get the opportunity to make one of those dreams come true.

Best and worst aspects

Best: To be alone in a race at sea for a long time. And at the same time be together with likeminded people in a great adventure. To learn new things and being part of something really big.

Worst: The fear that after years of planning, refitting, investing and money, losing the possibility to race due to some minor thing out of your control.

The Boat

Pale Blue Dot is a cutter rigged OE32 with a bowsprit. Designed By Olle Enderlin in 1973, she has lately been sailed in Norway, mostly around Bergen where I live. A major refit will start this winter 2023. 

Links

Website: sailingdaniel.com (under construction)

Facebook: facebook.com/daniel.alfredsson.182

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sailingdaniel

From Milan, Italy

Andrea Lodolo: whose very name is synonymous with unyielding determination and vocation for new ventures. Andrea’s journey from young sailing enthusiast to seasoned maritime CEO and investor, reads like a seafarer’s tale penned for the modern age.

As a young child, Andrea was captivated by the allure of open water, mesmerised by the diverse watercrafts he saw. This started with a sailing dinghy as a kid, followed by venturing into windsurfing as a teenager, all laying the groundwork for him to undertake formal maritime education at the prestigious Warsash Maritime Academy. While attending Warsash, Andrea participated in numerous sailing events as crew and skipper which laid the foundation to his continuous interest in sailing.

His career since has been highlighted by innovative entrepreneurial ventures helping to digitise and modernise the maritime industry. Andrea has carved out a reputation as a highly revered figure, respected for his business acumen and for challenging the norm to make a significant impact within maritime as it progresses to meet its new challenges.

The Challenge of the Golden Globe Race

Accepting the challenge thrown down by the Golden Globe Race, Andrea has rededicated himself to the elemental joys of sailing. Aboard his cherished Rustler 36, Bibi, which has undergone a professional retrofit with this race in mind, Andrea is diligently refining his seafaring skills to face the trials that lie ahead. Come the starting gun, Andrea’s singular ambition is to be irrefutably “fit for duties.”

For Andrea, the GGR is more than just a race; it is a transformative journey, an expedition back to the rudiments of life and sailing. Through this endeavour, he wants to inspire others through a legacy which will serve as a testament to the power of passion, perseverance and the enduring connection between humanity and the sea.

Sailing Experience

Over the years, Andrea’s maritime journey has amassed 10,000 nautical miles in offshore sailing, which includes one solo transatlantic crossing.

Best and Worst Aspects

The lure of the open sea offers Andrea an intoxicating disconnection from our technologically tethered world. He cherishes the liberating detoxification from the unceasing digital noise and the constant connectivity of modern communication. Yet, the seclusion of the sea carries its own burdens: the prolonged detachment from loved ones, coupled with the inability to share or partake in their lives. It’s a poignant sacrifice, but one that Andrea accepts as part and parcel of this monumental journey.

Andrea envisions this race as a profound journey for himself and for those he inspires. As he sails into the great blue yonder, Andrea aims not only to connect to the sea himself but also to be an inspiration for others to elevate their human spirit and embolden them to undertake their own life-altering journeys.

The Boat

Social Links

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sailingyachtbibi

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sailingyachtbibi/

Sailing Experience

About 15.000 nm. Major passages: Atlantic crossing, Caribbean Sea south to north, south to west, Mediterranean east to west and sailing Lazy Otter from Lanzarote to The Netherlands in 2023.

Why the GGR?

I got hooked on the online coverage of the GGR 2022 after seeing the Lanzarote gate interviews. It was around the Cape Town gate coverage that it suddenly became clear to me that I could do this and especially that I wanted to do this. I think my main reason for signing up is that I’m looking for meaning and purpose while at the same time doing something really exciting. Although returning to the same place after circumventing the globe might be as pointless as life itself, it gives me the direction that I need at this stage in my life. It’s also about the challenge of course. Not only in competition or with respect to others but to myself.

Solitude is also something I want to explore. I have a wonderful and supportive wife and three beautiful sons. I’m surrounded by them most of the time and until recently also by my hotel guests. I used to own and manage a small hotel, which was also our home. I loved doing that but I am in for a change. Doing this project is great. I’m already enjoying preparing and working on Lazy Otter, a Rustler 36. She was GGR 2022 entrant Ertan Beskardes‘ boat. In preparation for 2026 we plan to participate together in the Twostar Plymouth to Newport race. Twostar is the double handed version of the original Ostar single handed race. Sailing back solo should give me my qualifying miles for the GGR.

Best and worst aspects

The things I can think of are both the best and worst. Very little communication: nice, quiet and simple but also frighteningly lonely. The obligation to have to pass through the gates: longing for contact but knowing it will be short and that I will miss my loved ones even more.

The Boat

Sailing Experience

Approx. 6,000 nm.

Why the GGR?

I have wanted to solo sail around the world for as long as I can remember. I was visiting with my mum in
New Zealand last month (where I went to Intermediate and High School) and found my dog-eared copy of Sir Francis Chichester’s “Gipsy Moth Circles The World” which I took as a further sign to act. After helping to raise two children, retiring from a 29 year career in the US Navy in 2015, and buying the perfect boat for the sailing Luddite that I am, I nearly signed up for GGR 2022. The stars and my competitive nature seem aligned for GGR 2026.

Best and worst aspects

Best: sailing offshore, largely disconnected from the greater world and being able to push the boat while
secure in the knowledge that the GGR race organisation has your back.

Worst: AIS has spoiled me. I will miss having that situational awareness when crossing shipping lanes. But at least I will be transmitting, right?

The Boat

Links

Facebook: www.facebook.com/matt.woodside/

Sailing Experience

20,000 nm.

Why the GGR?

I remember seeing the GGR2018 race in progress and made a wish to enter GGR2022 but financially and
mentally not ready. Now I’m ready to compete in GGR2026. I’ve always wanted to sail ever since I was in
lower grade school, but the cost was very prohibitive to my parent. After my 2nd job, I joined a local race
team in LaSalle, Ontario for round-the-can race along Detroit River. I got hooked since then. I’ve wanted to do sailing around the world since moving to Vancouver, Canada about 15 years ago before joining GGR
idea. That desire grew stronger during my ocean racing with 4 separate teams in the last 6+ years. There are many cues that had fallen in-line leading up to this decision, but the biggest few factors to give it a go are while I’m physically capable to do something great for myself, and to give hope to families, friends, co-workers, strangers around me and around the world to dream big and go for it! One shot to the greatness and it’s GGR2026!

Best and worst aspects

The best is the dream of completing it. I will be the 1st Canadian Melayu to complete a single handed non-stop unassisted race around the world. The worst part is the financial commitment for an individual without sponsorship backing which can be very daunting.

The Boat

Isa will be sailing Olleanna, Jeremy Bagshaw‘s OE32 from the 2022/23 GGR. Olleanna was also skippered by Are Wiig in the 2018/19 GGR.

Sailing Experience

45,000 nm (Yachtmaster Ocean)

Why the GGR?

Competing in the GGR 2026 at the age of 70 holds profound significance in my sailing career as an Ocean Yacht Master. To me the race represents the pinnacle of offshore single-handed racing and offers me the opportunity to test the skills and knowledge I have gained over a lifetime of sailing. The GGR is a true test of seamanship and self-reliance, it is an event which attracts like minded adventurous competitors from around the globe.

I am committed to environmental issues and education. The GGR’s minimalistic approach to avoiding using modern technologies and embracing traditional sailing expertise inherently reduces the ecological footprint of sailing around the globe. I have spent the past 20 years running an outdoor adventure education centre educating children about nature and ecology and I feel that by taking part in this adventure will enable me to bring the message to more school children and help build a sense of adventure and resilience in a future generation.

Best and worst aspects

Worst – Inability to communicate with family.
Best – Inability to communicate with family.

The Boat

Links

Instagram: www.instagram.com/papaskip23 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sailandseascotland

Sailing Experience

Hi y’all, I am an award-winning filmmaker, TV producer, writer and USCG certified Captain. I have over 11,000 nautical miles of Pacific Ocean beneath my boat and I sailed more than 9,000 of those miles solo. I didn’t grow up sailing, I grew up landlocked in Little Rock, Arkansas, but after college I moved to Rockaway Beach, NY and got turned on to sailing. I fell madly and deeply in love with it to the point of obsession. I started sailing every chance I got; delivering boats, racing boats, and I became a skipper for an international charter company. I eventually bought my own boat, Juniper. She’s a 34 ft. Ta Shing Panda and she’s haunted by a dead man’s ghost. 

For the past four years I’ve been sailing Juniper across the Pacific. I started my voyage in San Diego and sailed solo to Hawaii. It took me 23.5 days to get there. Prior to that journey I had only sailed solo for 6 hours and I’d never been alone in the ocean at night. In Hawaii I picked up two mermen and together we sailed down the Hawaiian chain and onward to French Polynesia. From there I sailed solo to Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands. 

Beyond sailing, I am also an ethnographic filmmaker. My last film, Sailing A Sinking Sea, is about the mythology of a nomadic seafaring community in Thailand and Myanmar that all survived the Indian Ocean Tsunami. It premiered at SXSW, won the Singapore Film Festival and screened at the Smithsonian Institute. I am racing to raise awareness about indigenous communities whose homes are in jeopardy due to rising sea levels. 

I love the sea because she keeps me wide-eyed, honeycombed and wild and I am excited to be a part of the 2026 Golden Globe Race! 

Why the GGR?

Why on earth did man want to walk on the moon? Why does a bird have wings? Why does grass grow green? The answer is not simple. Because this race sounds really romantic to me. Because solo sailing is the dreamiest. Because I like to push myself inside the depths of my soul. Because I need a new challenge. Because the race is all I have thought about and dreamt about since I first learned about the race – it’s like I’m possessed. Because I love to have some big adventure to sink myself into. Because I like to feel my fate in the teeth of every known and unknown God. Because I like to push myself beyond my current limits until I can grow tree high. Because the heart of nature is my greatest teacher. Because I am on a never-ending hunt for self-reliance. Because I love to get lost and found in the wilderness of waves. Because I can’t think of anything more poetic I’d rather do. Because I’ve always wanted to sail around the world guided only by the sun and stars. Because I grew up landlocked and the sea has always been a mythical thing for me. Because the thought of the race is simultaneously electrifying and terrifying. Because crossing the finish line would feel like a fairytale. Because the idea of this race was like some song stuck in my head that wouldn’t shut up until I sang along.

Best and worst aspects

Best = The challenge of it 
Worst = Not being able to write regularly to my sailing blog

The Boat

Links

Website: www.wildernessofwaves.com / www.oliviaowenswyatt.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/olivia.o.wyatt

Instagram: www.instagram.com/wildernessofwaves/

Sailing Experience

Around 40,000 miles in all kind of boats.

Why the GGR?

This is the most demanding race and is the only one where you are really sailing by yourself. No electronics, no GPS and no celular phones make this challenge totally different than the rest of the sailing races. This is real sailing where you decide everything without any external help

Due to slow boat speed and celestial navigation this is the longest sailing race ever. Modernity and technology are out of this event and this is why everything depends of you and your ability to know the limits of you and your boat. 

Best and worst aspects

I cannot find any bad aspect to this race. Sailing for seven or eight months will be an absolute delight. It doesn’t mean that I won’t feel any solitude. 

Breakages are just the consequence of bad decisions or bad luck. They are just stumbling blocks that you have to accept.

The Boat

I am looking for an Endurance 35 because I really think is the best boat of all the boats that are allowed  in the GGR. It is not the fastest one, but in this race speed is not the most important aspect. 

Endurance is a fantastic and very strong boat. I will bring it to Mallorca to work on her during 3-4 months to get her ready to sail. Belliure and Stratimer are the two options I want to choose. 

Hydrovane self-steering, eolic generators and solar panels will be my choice.

Technical specifications here: sailboatdata.com/sailboat/endurance-35-belliure/

Sailing Experience

10,000 sailing miles plus 26,705 solo rowing miles (Guinness World Record!).

Why the GGR?

Throughout my life, the slower that I covered a given distance, the more joy and wisdom that I gained from that experience. Walking or running instead of driving the same, gave me satisfaction. Completing a solo circumnavigation by human power was a life changing experience. Bicycling across continents or rowing across the oceans meant foregoing engines and sails, relying on commitment and brawn as much as proper preparation. It was a life lesson to find myself surrounded by caring individuals who upheld my journey as they appreciated the commitment and the sweat equity that it took for me to reach their community. Had I arrived in a fast vehicle or on a fancy yacht, I would have been just another tourist.

I find it meaningful to turn long journeys into pilgrimages toward wisdom. Golden Globe Race offers me the opportunity to challenge myself by giving up modern conveniences while facing the immense power of the southern oceans. When we strive to sail in the manner as had Sir Robin, peeling away modern crutches including GPS, chart plotter or water maker, what remain are the seamanship and the desire to prove worthy of this extraordinary challenge to sail nonstop around Antarctica before returning to the welcoming community of Les Sables d’Olonne. This arduous and self-imposed path will test me and require me to grow into the worthy sailor that the ocean will grant passage.

Best and worst aspects

The best part is the hope and anticipation of being part of something larger than life. The worst part is the possibility that I may be biased and alone in this excitement, falling short of making the start line.

The Boat

Clara is a Biscay 36, originally Sloop rigger but now cutter, built in 1976 at Emsworth Yacht Harbour from moulds by Robert Ives, to the design of Alan Hill. Acquired in the spring of 2019 in good cruising condition, the rig was changed from Sloop to Cutter, the wheel steering replaced with tiller steering and the structure substantially reinforced. Clara was sailed by Simon Curwen in the 2022/23 GGR.

Links

Website: www.erdeneruc.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/erden.eruc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erdeneruc

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erdeneruc/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/erdeneruc

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@erdeneruc