15 intrepid sailors to race around the world in Mini Globe Race

Fifteen intrepid and rather brave sailors will set off from Antigua on Sunday in home-built, 19-foot Class Globe 5.80 yachts to sail 28,000 miles around the world in the inaugural McIntyre Mini Globe Race.

The race marks the 75th anniversary of John Guzzwell’s four-year circumnavigation in his self-built 20ft wooden yawl Trekka, made famous by his book Trekka around the World which became a classic of seafaring literature.

The Mini Globe Race starts on 23 February in Antigua and ends at the same place approximately 13 months later.

The entrants have completed a qualifier race, the Globe 580 Transat, racing across the Atlantic from Lanzarote to Antigua. Earlier Transat races in 2021 and 2023 that have already demonstrated the capabilities of the plywood-built Class Globe 5.80 design.

The first leg of the Mini Globe Race takes sailors to Shelter Bay Marina, Panama, where yachts will be transported overland to the Pacific Ocean.

The second leg, starting on March 23, 2025, covers 6,500 miles to VUDA Marina in Fiji, with mandatory pit stops in the Marquesas, Tahiti, and Tonga. Each pit stop requires an eight-day minimum stay, allowing sailors to rest and make repairs.

The third leg spans 10,000 miles to Cape Town, South Africa, with stops in Darwin, Mauritius, and Durban.

Given the challenging weather conditions and the notorious Agulhas current, an additional 10 days of pit stops are allowed.

The fourth and final leg of 7,000 miles begins on December 22, 2025, with stops in St. Helena and Recife, Brazil, before the final sprint back to Antigua, with the first boat expected to cross the line by late March 2026.

 

Mini Globe Race 2025 skippers

Ertan Beskardes (UK) Trekka
Turkish-British sailor Ertan Beskarde bought Trekka, hull number one, from Don McIntyre to enter the race. Beskardes took part in the Transat 2023 and the 2018 and 2022 Golden Globe Races.

John and Mike Blenkinsop (Australia) Delja 99 and Delja 100
A father and son duo taking on the world! Mike found the passion for sailing through his father and has sailed all his life.Mike will be turning 70, entering the seniors division.
Son John gained his RYA Yachtmaster age 20 and entered into the world ARC the following year, where he had a serious accident in the Tasman sea. After recovering, John sailed the Australian coast for over 15 years before he settled in Noosa, Australia. John is sailing Delja 100 and Mike is sailing Delja 99. delja580.com

Jasmine Harrison (UK) Numbatou,
Jasmine is a world record holder, having become the youngest solo female to row across the Atlantic in 2021, aged 21, and is the first woman to swim the full length of the British Isles,

Keri Harris (UK) Origami
A retired British Naval Captain, he has been sailing since early childhood. He completed his first trans-Atlantic race in the 1993 Cape to Rio Race and has since raced offshore in the Pacific, Mediterranean, and South China Seas.

Josh Kali (USA), Skookum
Josh is a lifelong boater, and has spent years sailing on the Great Lakes, as well as tuna fishing hundreds of miles offshore. For 20 years, he was also a high-level expedition Alpine climber. www.joshkalioceanracing.com

Eric Marsh (Australia) SunBear
Eric is the oldest competitor at age 71, but has no worries about this, sailing over 55,000 miles offshore in numerous Sydney-Hobart and Melbourne to Hobart races, among others.

Pilar Pasanau (Spain) Peter Punk
Pilar is an experienced sailor from Catalonia, with over 25,000 ocean miles. She has crossed the Atlantic several times.

Dan Turk (Canada) Little Bea
Dan from Thunder Bay, Ontario discovered his love for sailing at the age of 24 on Lake Superior before progressing to longer and offshore races. Dan sailed Little Bea around Lake Superior and then from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Portimao, Portugal in preparation.

Daniel Turner (Australia) Immortal Game
Daniel grew up in Port Lincoln, South Australia and has sailed for most of his life. He spent four years in the Australian Army before leaving and racing keelboats and has done some endurance running including across the Sahara desert.

Christian Sauer (Germany) Argo
Sailing has been a big part of Christian’s family life. His father built all his boats himself, and his uncle was a sailor and naval engineer. During his studies, he also worked as a sailing teacher for his coastal sailing license.

Gary Swindail (Australia) Question 2
Gary is a boatbuilder from North Narrabeen, NSW, Australia. He is looking forward to the challenge of sailing around the world.

Renaud Stitelmann (Switzerland) Capucinette
Renaud’s sailing journey began in childhood, voyaging the globe with his family aboard their steel ketch. Departing southern France in 1973, the family spent eight years exploring the Antilles, Panama, and Polynesia before reaching Papua New Guinea. He was first to finish in the 2024 Globe 5.80 Transat.

Adam Waugh (UK) Little Wren
Yachtmaster Offshore and RYA Cruising Instructor, Adam Waugh has spent three years building his boat. Little Wren – named after the wren that kept him company in his workshop – was launched from his home port of Amble in March 2024. clearbluesea.co.uk.

Jakub Ziemkiewicz (Ireland) Bibi
Jakub sailed with his father from aged two in Poland and on the Baltic. He and his wife later moved to Ireland, where he worked as a fisherman, amongst other jobs including yacht deliveries. svbibi.com

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