Sixteen sailors are now alone on the open ocean, and for the first time since preparations began four years ago, there is no more waiting. The 2026 McIntyre Golden Globe Race got underway on Sunday, 6 September, with the fleet departing Les Sables-d'Olonne to a cheering send-off from thousands of supporters lining the harbour channel.
The race is a solo, non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation using nothing but 1968-era technology: sextant, paper charts, and no GPS. Competitors face seven to eight months alone at sea over roughly 30,000 nautical miles, rounding the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn. Of the last two editions, only five of 18 starters finished non-stop in 2018, and three of 16 in 2022.
The final farewell carried real weight. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the only finisher of the original 1968-69 Sunday Times Golden Globe aboard Suhaili, shook the hand of every departing skipper at the dock. The race also honoured Donald Crowhurst, whose tragic 1969 disappearance remains part of its history, with son Simon Crowhurst presenting the official commemorative coin to this year's entrants.
Sunday's parade of sail drew boats with genuine pedigree, including the Swan 57 Explorer from the 2023-24 Ocean Globe Race and Bernard Moitessier's ketch Joshua, alongside around 25 traditional wooden Olonnois boats for local flavour.
Once clear of the breakwater, the fleet found little wind to work with. Britain's Henry Wootton, aboard the Cape George 36 Privateer, was first around the final mark. Conditions did not stay gentle for long: by Tuesday morning a front had brought 25 to 35 knot headwinds and three-metre seas, along with seasickness and leaks discovered above bunks and chart tables.
France's Damien Guillou, sailing the Rustler 36 Solarem, led the fleet at 12:00 UTC on Tuesday after taking a southerly route, with a forecast high-pressure system threatening to reshuffle positions near Cape Finisterre. "Getting out of the Bay of Biscay is always a struggle," said race founder and chairman Don McIntyre. "The first boats around may suddenly jump ahead of the fleet by a day or two."
Not everyone made a clean getaway. Sweden's Pär Nyman, on the Rustler 36 Lazy Otter, returned to port after losing rigging gear before the start and then finding a rudder problem at sea, with 2018 GGR winner Jean-Luc Van den Heede helping source parts for repairs. France's Louis Kerdelhué, the fleet's youngest skipper, reported a Hydrovane fault aboard his Biscay 36 IE Charge but managed a temporary fix and continued on.
Interest in the race has been strong, with more than 40,000 unique website visitors and over 500,000 Facebook views recorded on start day. The new GGR Window Live channel is already drawing 600 to 1000 viewers, giving followers a direct look at life aboard for sailors including Britain's Ertan Beskardes and Norway's Helga Marie Løvenskiold Kveseth, both open about the physical toll of the opening days.
The Southern Ocean remains roughly two months away. For now, the fleet's real contest is simply escaping Biscay.
