Katherine Urpani has crossed the Atlantic seven times as professional crew. On 31 October 2026 the 58-year-old from Malta set out to do it alone for the first time, racing the Globe 5.80 Transat in Capucinette, winner of the 2024 Transat and the inaugural Mini Globe Race.
The six-boat fleet is sailing from Lagos in Portugal to Lanzarote on the 600 nautical mile qualifier. The crossing to Antigua starts on 14 November.
A life spent at sea
Born in Malta, Katherine grew up in the United States, Switzerland, Dubai and Doha. In the late 1980s she discovered yacht chartering in the Caribbean, and she has worked as professional crew since 1989.
Alongside the seven Atlantic crossings she has delivered boats to the US East Coast, Annapolis, the Caribbean and the Galapagos. In the Pacific she has sailed from Vanuatu to Australia, worked a season in Tahiti and carried on to Hawaii, and she has done several Mediterranean seasons as well.
She has sailed for herself too. She once restored her own yacht and spent a year cruising Mexico's Pacific coast, mostly single-handed, playing music in local bars to pay her way. Ashore, she built an off-grid home in the remote desert of southern Utah, and she still heads to the Caribbean each winter to work and sail.
Hooked in Antigua
Katherine came across the Globe 5.80 in Antigua, where she was based as the Mini Globe Race fleet prepared to set off around the world. She toured the boats, met the skippers and was taken with the simplicity of the class. She says she had wanted to sail a solo Transat for a very long time, and these boats and the spirit of the event made it seem more achievable.
A Transat and Mini Globe Race winner
Capucinette, hull 28, carries the best record in the class. Swiss sailor Renaud Stitelmann won the 2024 Transat in her, reaching Antigua in a corrected time of 22 days, 5 hours and 26 minutes.
Stitelmann then won every leg of the inaugural Mini Globe Race and the overall title, setting the race record of 180 days, 11 hours, 25 minutes and 57 seconds.
Asked about the event, Katherine says the best part is the support and the worst is the self-promotion it requires.
Katherine Urpani at a glance
Nationality: Malta
Age: 58
Yacht: Capucinette, ALMA Class Globe 5.80, hull 28
Sailing career: professional yacht crew since 1989, seven Atlantic crossings
This race: her first solo Atlantic crossing
More: her official entrant page
Meet the rest of the 2026 fleet
Dean Frost and Lee McCarthy, Origami (United Kingdom)
Yi Qun Liu (Yves), Trekka (China)
Bruce Payne, Meraki (Australia)
Matthew Freestone, Inimini (United Kingdom)
Follow every boat on the official Globe 5.80 Transat live tracker.
