Three weeks into the McIntyre Golden Globe Race, the toughest moments for two competitors have had nothing to do with wind speed or boat position.
American skipper Gunnar Christensen, sailing the Hans Christian 34 cutter POMPOEN, fronted up on GGR Window Live still visibly shaken after riding out 50-knot winds and 5-metre seas. He lost equipment from the stern and was forced to sail directly away from his intended course for two days, at one stage heading 180 degrees in the wrong direction. Race founder Don McIntyre described it as "an honest and raw appraisal" of the emotional toll of the conditions.
By the 08:00 UTC update on 28 September, the wind had eased and Gunnar was heading east again, but making just 2.6 knots, and clearly frustrated at how slowly he was rebuilding lost ground.
A different kind of strain surfaced aboard SHOWGIRL, the Saltram Saga 36 sailed by Norway's Helga Marie "Mara" Løvenskiold Kveseth. In her own Window Live appearance, Mara openly questioned whether she would continue in the race unless her shore team lifted the social media coverage of her campaign.
She said sailing alone around the world was not enough justification on its own. Her real ambition, she explained, was promoting her foundation and women's causes, and she was worried the message wasn't reaching people ashore, particularly on YouTube and Instagram.
"Now it appears the GGR is not the main game for Mara, social media is when most thought she was telling her GGR story," McIntyre said. "The GGR is a mind game before anything else and focus is the only thing that will get you to the finish."
Her comments raised the possibility of withdrawal rather than confirming it. Organisers have separately asked her shore team to have a third-party website taken down after it published recordings of her radio traffic, and flagged concerns about messages relayed from shore via amateur radio.
Mara also used part of her broadcast to pass logistical instructions about social media posting to her team, which organisers say breaches the Window Live code of conduct. The system, a one-way broadcast platform built with Swedish partner TriPeak, deliberately gives skippers no internet access or two-way link.
On the water, France's Damien Guillou aboard SOLAREM and Ireland's Pat Lawless on SILVERMINES HYDRO have pushed into the southeast trade winds, 550 miles clear of the main fleet still fighting the doldrums. Guillou was making 6 knots, Lawless 5.
Behind them, Andrea Lodolo (BIBI) and Etienne Messikommer (BERNARD) were separated by just a few miles, both around five knots, with Ertan Beskardes (MISS BEAGLE) making 4.6 knots. Isa Rosli, Matt Woodside and Louis Kerdelhué were grinding out two to three knots apiece, while Daniel Pinsky and Henry Wootton battled near-zero wind further west.
Forecasters noted the doldrums appeared to be weakening rather than shutting the fleet down completely. For a fleet strung out and worn down in equal measure, that alone counts as good news.
