Globe 580 Transat makes waves with record run – McIntyre Mini Globe set to make history!
by McIntyre Mini Globe Race 12 Feb 09:12 GMT
Niels Kamphuis (#163 Biggest Monkey) met up mid ocean 1500 miles from Antigua with the world's toughest Row support team so they took some happy snaps in the 4-5mtr swells and 25-30 knt tradewinds © World's Toughest Row / MGR2025
- Third running of the 2025 Globe 580 Transat: Thrills, Spills, and Plenty of High-Seas Shenanigans in record time! Woop Woop!
- Solid tradewinds and solid ALMA GLobe 580s produced high daily averages, with the leader crossing 3000 miles from Rubicon Marina, Canaries to National Sailing Academy, Antigua, in 22 days and 5 hours, an average speed of 5.62kts and 135 miles a day! Not too bad for 12 little home built plywood shoe boxes about to take on the world.
- Then 15 solo sailors will qualify to take the start of the world’s first ever McIntyre Mini Globe Race on February 23rd. YES ! you do not need an IMOCA to race solo around the world…it just takes a lot longer…
If there's one thing the 2025 McIntyre Globe 580 Transat proved, it's that sailing a tiny boat across the Atlantic is anything but boring! With heart-stopping rivalries, unexpected ocean visitors, body bruises and breaks and a surprising amount of gourmet cooking, this year's adventure race had it all. As the first skippers tumbled onto the dock in English Harbour, they had more than just sunburn and salt in their hair—they had real stories to tell! and a whole world to look forward to.
Game On: The Early Battles
From the moment the fleet departed from Marina Rubicon in Lanzarote on 11th January, competition was fierce. Keri Harris on ORIGAMI shot ahead like a caffeine-fueled dolphin, while Renaud Stitelmann on CAPUCINETTE was hot on his heels with both selecting the wind squeeze zone between two islands delivering serious turbulence and squalls —when he wasn't baking banana cake, that is. Meanwhile, Dan Turk on LITTLE BEA caught some gnarly waves, surfing at 8 knots (big deal at the time, but later would see 16kts!) and proving that 19-foot boats can, in fact, have a need for speed.
Further back, Niels Kamphuis (BIGGEST MONKEY) quietly reeled in the frontrunners while John Blenkinsop (DELJA 100) and Dan Turner (IMMORTAL GAME) settled into a game of tactical leapfrog. Sleep? Optional. Excitement? Guaranteed. After the squeeze zone came the wind shadow extending south nearly 200 miles which saw the fleet scatter in all directions coming to terms with the ocean and their 580's. Settling in for some took longer than planned and Jasmine Harison (NUMBATOU) and Mike Blenkinsop, Aka POPEYE (Delja99) brought up the rear.
The Highs, the Lows, and the LOLs
The long range forecast suggested consistent strong Trade winds bouncing off huge storms in the mid Atlantic for the first few weeks and the possibility of cutting the corner instead of heading south until your butter melts and only then turning left by the Cape Verde on to Antigua. So that is what the fleet did but for the first week some stayed south others South east and a couple went to the rhumb line direct to Antigua.
By mid-race, the weather gods threw in some curveballs. One moment, skippers were becalmed, considering whether reading Catcher in the Rye counted as race strategy; the next, they were dodging squalls pushing 50kts with 4-5mtr seas and hanging on for dear life. Adam Waugh (LITTLE WREN) learned the hard way that falling on deck is a poor life choice (cracked 2 ribs = not fun), while Christian Sauer (ARGO) found himself wrestling with sleep deprivation, an uncooperative alarm clock, and an exercise routine that mostly involved holding onto things for dear life. Next day Adam's cracked ribs popped and became displaced, potentially a real worry, but after consulting MSOS 24h race doctor he continued on as a drug user.
Back in the fun zone, Jasmine (NUMBATOU) continued perfecting the art of not stressing, not fast, practicing celestial navigation, and dreaming about future dogs she may like to own giving live video reports thanks to MiniStar link on a mini 580! If it was not for one solar panel not working she could have been streaming Youtube movies. Meanwhile, Mike 'Popeye' Blenkinsop (DELJA 99) kept things light with his usual humor, successfully filming the inside of his belly button (inverted camera) instead of real action intended on the foredeck while struggling with a spinnaker. Later he was battling wayward food cans that tried to stage a mutiny below deck as he was thrown out of his bunk and across to the deck head, out cold for a few seconds, landing on kneck and head too scared to move...more spinach please..he survived!...shaken.
"Dan Dan (Turner) the holiday man" decides to get sea sick halfway across, takes a big knockdown and loses his two dagger boards, misses his wife on her birthday, and carries on philosophically about the mind game of solo sailing. All the while, working on a new plan for Antigua to refit the main 580 rudder (removed but stored in the foc'sle for a central Hydrovane) and moving the hydrovane to an offsets mount. Self steering is a HUGE issue for all 580 sailors. Some are doing better than others. They are little boats, fast, but you must keep the sails balanced and pull from the front. Surprisingly the human factor is as big an issue as the vanes themselves.
The learning curve on how to make windvanes FLY is big for many. Even the leader's reaction is completely individual. Every sailor is different. Front runner Renaud virtually never hand steers. He leaves it to his Hydrovane and he would rather cook! While number two in the rankings Keri Harris on ORIGAMI is struggling with his South Atlantic as he powers the boat up for speed and then handsteering is faster...but it is a long way around the world?? For many of the skippers, this is the first time they have used a windvane!
Food, in fact, became a major theme of the race. Renaud's galley experiments ranged from 'Michelin-star worthy' to 'I should not have done that,' to sending regular pictures via satellite of the best looking round cakes! on a mini ! mid Atlantic solo?? (Class 650 guys would cringe!!) and not just once!! while Jakub Ziemkiewicz (BIBI) lamented the lack of Irish butter and had to improvise with baby diapers (don't ask). Meanwhile, Dan Turk was living his best life, alternating between oatmeal, freeze-dried Mediterranean pork, and just enough sardines all this while working out how to manage his quite severe sciatic nerve pain that kept him low for many days. POPEYE being an Aussie has a gas barbie onboard, so that was a good look when conditions allowed...including on his 70th birthday!!
Full Throttle to Antigua
As the boats neared the finish line, the competition hit a fever pitch. The constant 25-30kt trades with 3-4mtr seas finally backed off. The lead pack—CAPUCINETTE, ORIGAMI, and BIGGEST MONKEY—barrelled towards Antigua at full tilt, but not without drama. Renaud discovered a cracked spreader mid-ocean (yikes), while Keri survived an unprovoked attack from a flying fish (it launched itself through the hatch and landed on his chest while asleep!). Adam on LITTLE WREN was working on the end of his Spinnaker pole down below, he was knocked down and it slid straight out the companion way hatch and over the side. Adam kept looking for it down below not wanting to believe what just happened!
Finally, CAPUCINETTE stole the show, finishing in an impressive 22 days, 5 hours, and 26 minutes, with Renaud probably still licking cake batter off his fingers. ORIGAMI followed four hours later, with Keri grinning like a man who'd just survived an oceanic game of dodgeball. BIGGEST MONKEY rounded out the podium, with Niels proudly hoisting his monkey flag and dreaming of proper food and new adventures. His best memories after building his 580 are surfing down 6mtr waves for 30 second rides at 16kts. But he also provided some comic relief, learning the ocean's "final lesson" when a huge wave tossed him into and half through the lifelines, face-first and underwater. "It's not over till the fat lady sings," he quipped, happy to be clipped on. He is the only sailor who entered only the Transat. For him it was huge fun, job done. His 580 is for sale as he has two bigger boats at home.
Dan Turk on LITTLE BEA rolled in fourth, looking leaner but in high spirits after a diet of tinned sardines and a few celebratory sips of champagne. Meanwhile, Pilar Pasanau on PETER PUNK claimed fifth place, declaring this her toughest crossing yet—no small feat for a Class Mini 650 two times transatlantic veteran.
The camaraderie among the skippers is as strong as the tradewinds, with Renaud Stitelmann whipping up pasta and cakes for his fellow sailors. Aussies John Blenkinsop (DELJA 100) and Dan Turner (IMMORTAL GAME) celebrated their twin arrivals after days of chasing each other across the Atlantic, while crazy polish Irishman Jakub Ziemkiewicz on BIBI, "the happy shark" arrived dressed as a pirate, complete with a cutlass and an Irish flag the size of a spinnaker.
From cracked spreaders and bones to lost spinnaker poles, the fleet faced its share of challenges, but the skippers handled them with grit and humor. Popeye, the 70-year-old skipper of DELJA 99, celebrated his arrival with a banana—his first fresh food in weeks—while Jasmine on NUMBATOU crossed the finish line dreaming of fried chicken and her dogs back home.
The Globe 580 Transat has proven these tiny yachts are more than capable of taking on the world.
From the BOSS!
"So here we are after six years of planning and preparation. It's as exciting to look back, as it is to look forward. 265 potential ALMA Globe 580 builders in 37 countries, 90 active builders and maybe 55 boats sailing this year. 25 successful transatlantic crossings and serious ocean voyages in all weathers to 70kts and huge seas and today 15 amazing sailors are about to sail solo around the world. WOW! This is all about dreams, adventure and inspiration, but above everything it is honest to goodness fun and living life to the max! I am seriously happy for everyone involved.
No one knows what will happen now...the McIntyre Mini Globe Race is as much an adventure today as it was for John Guzzwell in TREKKA 75 years ago. So to the people out there who say our around the world events are crazy, dangerous and should never happen, or worse...Well sometimes life happens...hey!
So take a good look and hang onto your hats. I am so proud of everyone of these sailors and what they are doing and how they are doing it. For me personally and Jane too, this is the culmination of a 20 year journey supporting adventure with every bit of energy we have and this one is a BLAST! This one is for me! I love MGR...I hope you do too!..and thanks to all the people and supporters who have brought us this far together." - Don Mcintyre, Alma Globe 5.80 Class Founder & Event Organiser
What's Next? More McIntyre Madness!
With celebrations (and rum-fueled storytelling) in full swing, skippers now turn their sights to the McIntyre Mini Globe Race (MGR), an even crazier adventure around the world. After all, why stop at one ridiculous solo ocean crossing when you can just keep going? The 2025 Globe 580 Transat has officially wrapped up, and what a ride it was! After nearly a month of battling waves, winds, and the occasional rogue sardine tin, all entrants have safely made landfall at the National Sailing Academy in Antigua. This fleet of plucky 5.8m yachts has proven once again that big adventures come in small packages. Now, the skippers are dreaming big, patching up their boats, and prepping for the next chapter: the MGR, kicking off on 23 February.
The McIntyre Mini Globe Race is a world first event and has never been attempted by Mini Ocean racers. The course around the world celebrates the 75th Anniversary and follows in the footsteps of John Guzzwell, who in 1955 set off in his home built 20ft timber yacht TREKKA to become the first ever "Mini Yacht" to sail around the world.
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