Damien Guillou leads the Golden Globe Race 2026 by 1,288 miles at the 20:00 UTC tracker update on Thursday 12 November (Day 68), with Solarem 17,444 miles from the finish and Ertan Beskardes' Miss Beagle second on 18,732. Behind them, Etienne Messikommer's Bernard is third on the latest tracker, 12 miles clear of Henry Wootton's Privateer, although his position had been flagged as out of date at the previous update. Daniel Pinsky's Exodus is fifth and closing after the longest run of the day. Stronger wind is forecast south of the Cape of Good Hope over the next few days.
Who is leading the Golden Globe Race?
Here is the tracker order at 20:00 UTC on 12 November, with nautical miles to go and the distance each boat covered in the previous 24 hours:
1. Damien Guillou, Solarem: 17,444 miles to go, 117 miles in 24 hours
2. Ertan Beskardes, Miss Beagle: 18,732 to go, 113 miles
3. Etienne Messikommer, Bernard: 19,018 to go (run not comparable after a stale position)
4. Henry Wootton, Privateer: 19,030 to go, 163 miles
5. Daniel Pinsky, Exodus: 19,128 to go, 191 miles, the best run of the day
6. Guido Cantini, Hannah of Cowes: 19,405 to go, 135 miles
7. Par Nyman, Lazy Otter: 19,477 to go, 147 miles
8. Isa Rosli, Olleanna: 19,757 to go, 119 miles
9. Christensen, Pompoen: 19,891 to go (the tracker flags his position as out of date)
10. Matt Woodside, Tipi Haere: 20,001 to go, 96 miles
Guillou's lead over Beskardes grew by 3 miles in the day, from 1,285 to 1,288.
Golden Globe Race 2026: distance sailed
Tracker snapshots, start to Day 68
Source: Golden Globe Race live tracker (Yellow Brick)
Is the fight for third really settled?
No. The latest tracker puts Bernard 12 miles ahead of Privateer. At the previous update Messikommer's position was flagged as out of date and Wootton showed ahead, so part of the swing is the tracker catching up rather than a confirmed overtake. Wootton's 163-mile run was a strong one, and a 12-mile gap is thin enough to change again at any update. Our Day 67 report had Wootton nosing ahead, and this earlier piece on Messikommer explains why he is hard to shake. Wootton also had a lost halyard to deal with earlier in the day.
Pinsky is the bigger mover. His 191 miles cut his deficit to Wootton from 126 miles to 98, and he now sits 110 miles behind Messikommer. Just 110 miles separate third and fifth, with a long way still to go. The race office has even dug out old Atlantic footage in which Cantini cheerfully calls Messikommer a sneaky little rascal for slipping ahead of him.
How did Messikommer mark the Cape of Good Hope?
With a coffee and a splash of rum. In a recording made around 14:07 UTC on 12 November, with Bernard near 40.15S 20.53E and doing 6.4 knots, he describes passing the Cape in the night and pouring a little glass of rum for Neptune, calling it a memory-making moment. He is saving the champagne until he is clear of what he calls the long arm of the Cape, somewhere around 30 degrees east.
He remains wary of the sea. Currents off the Cape can lift big waves, so he is heading south, with 25 to 40 knots of wind and a rough sea. A sail change overnight left him soaked in the cockpit.
What is life like aboard Solarem in the Southern Ocean?
Damien Guillou's noon sight puts Solarem near 43.5S 49.5E, though he reckons the swell leaves him on the margin of error compared with the tracker. Yesterday's deluge meant the solar panels gave nothing, but they are charging again, and the laundry is now hanging out on what he cheerfully calls the veranda, with a joke about the dryer.
Guillou also found time for repairs. He patched a torn jacket sleeve, then listed three essentials for any boat, including a Leatherman and a can of WD-40, adding that with those you can fix anything. And he sailed past what he described as a pile of floating islands, which is not a sentence you hear every day.
What are Nyman and Beskardes up to?
Par Nyman spent the day on his sextant, trying a series of sun sights through filters. He missed several and wants at least five good ones, with the sun sitting low near the horizon. Lazy Otter is surrounded by so many birds he calls the place a bird museum, though there is still no albatross. He also heard a sound he said was like a monster, before deciding it probably was not. A solar regulator on the roof burned out, so he cut away the black part, and it works again. He has also found a new sail setting that gives more speed, and while it sometimes broaches the boat, it works well on Lazy Otter.
Beskardes, meanwhile, was only making about 4 knots for an hour after gybing three times in the afternoon. He prefers a deep-reefed main and a safe speed near 7 knots to chasing every mile. He talked of pushing on towards 43S. His morning started with pancakes, he reports washing up three times in the day and not minding it, and his radio check-in has moved an hour earlier. If you enjoy his birdwatching, you might like this earlier story on Beskardes.
Where is the weather risk for the fleet?
This is our own reading of the PredictWind forecast, not routing advice, as entrants are not given weather routing under the race rules. Around 20:00 UTC our wind map shows the pack near 41S 20E with about 24 knots of wind from the west and pressure near 1012 hPa. Near Guillou the wind is about 25 knots from the west-south-west. Further south, close to 49.6S 26E and near a 976 hPa low, we found about 35 knots.
Looking at the forecast models for the next few days, we see a broad area of 30 to 35 knots south and south-east of the Cape on Friday, with the pack on its north-western edge at 20 to 25 knots. The strongest wind then moves east and south on Saturday, and by Monday a 30 to 35 knot band sits well south of the pack's line with 15 to 25 knots along it. The two models broadly agree, with GFS a touch stronger. It is a rough read from a few screenshots, so treat it as a guide only. For a reminder of what the ocean can do, see After 8,000 miles, the Southern Ocean bares its teeth.
What to watch next
Keep an eye on the third-place gap between Bernard and Privateer, and whether Pinsky can keep up a run near 190 miles. The race office also plans to announce, on 15 November, a list of more than 30 prospective entrants for the next Golden Globe Race in 2030. Wootton's recent form is worth a look in this piece on his 156-mile day.
Follow the whole race on our dedicated Golden Globe Race 2026 page.
