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• After 23 days of continuous headwinds approaching Les Sables d’Olonne Jeremy Bagshaw (South Africa) in Chichester Class is on his final approach. ETA 1700 UTC on  1900 hours French time
• Storms, barnacles, water shortages and a broken forestay in the last run to the finish, nothing was spared to Olleanna’s skipper in the GGR2022
• Guy Waites(GBR) out of the GGR but continuing his two-stop circumnavigation is 1000 miles behind and expected in 10 days just in time for the GGR official Prize Giving ceremony on June 24th !
• GGR 2018 Film “The Voyage of Madmen” available Free to Accredited Media for review

Things were looking good onboard Olleanna last month on the 19th of May. After nine months at sea, Olleanna was 500 miles West of Cape Finisterre and 820 miles from Les Sables d’Olonnes, about a week away from finishing his circumnavigation after nearly 30000 miles and many adventures along the way. Jeremy had run out of coffee and sweets and was keen for a quick landing back to where he started! But then it all changed!

Alas, on that day at 1900 UTC, Jeremy called the GGR Race Office to report the failure of the stainless plate holding the forestay, meaning he no longer had a usable forestay. His call is HERE. He was able to secure the reefing gear and removed the sail. The mast was not damaged, and all other standing rigging was fine including the outer forestay connected to the end of the bowsprit, the inner forestay and the two running backstays.

This meant he could only use his staysail on the inner forestay and the light genoa on the outer forestay, taking longer to complete the course. However, adding insult to injury, the wind soon veered East making it harder and longer for Oleanna to point towards Les Sables d’Olonne, instead pointing towards Ireland or Gijon in Spain, two places he visited prior to the GGR start in September 2022. Unbelievably this headwind has not veered for 23 days straight dragging that one week to go, into another 23 days! He tweeted

I’m trying to remember what wind & sea from aft of the beam feels like. It must be nice?

Low on water, slowed down by barnacles, and sailing in storms, a round-the-world odyssey

Two days later, he called GGR control running low on water with only 7 litres of freshwater only, using 500 ml a day, having lost his emergency water in a leaking container. He started drinking the fluid from canned vegetables as the slow days of sailing to windward with a damaged boat continued on and on as the wind remained from dead ahead. Finally he decided to use his emergency manual Survivor 06 watermaker, producing 250ml per hour of pumping.

It was not the first time he was low on water, as he was in the same situation in the Indian Ocean after being slowed down by barnacle growth. After a good start-mid fleet despite sailing the smallest boat in the GGR 2022, Jeremy was soon plagued by a barnacle infestation that slowed him down enough that he moored several days in South Africa to scrape Olleana’s hull. The dreaded shells came back with a vengeance in the Indian Ocean forcing him to stop several days in Hobart, lift the boat, before continuing in Chichester Class.

Hero’s welcome in Les Sables d’Olonne on the 9th of June

Jeremy faced several severe storms on his way to Cape Horn making him the record-holder of foul weather days in the GGR, and some more in the Southern Atlantic where he encountered the worst conditions of his round-the-world voyage.

None of the hurdles Jeremy faced, from storms, breakage, barnacles or water-shortage deterred him from completing his voyage around the world. Never did he depart himself from his sense of humour and his entertaining tweets.

Against tides, winds and overwhelming odds, Jeremy is planned to be in the channel of Les Sables d’Olonne tomorrow Friday 9th of June at 1900hrs local (UTC+2). Come and give him the hero’s welcome he deserves!

One more Sailor expected in LSO before the June 24 prize giving.

Guy Waites (GBR) is no longer in the GGR after he did not make the Hobart Gate before the time limit, but for him either this was not enough to deter him from his dream to solo-circumnavigate the planet. He too was slowed down by barnacles, having to lift Sagarmatha in Cape Town, therefore going in Chichester Class and later stopping in Hobart to replace his liferaft, lost overboard in a severe storm in the Indian Ocean.

Guy is around 1000 miles behind Jeremy and should arrive in Les Sables d’Olonne on time for the Golden Globe Race 2022 Prize Giving ceremony planned on Saturday 24th of June at 18:00 local on the Place du Tribunal, followed by a concert and festivities. All the GGR 2022 skippers will be there, come and join them for this great closing event for the Golden Globe Race 2022!

FREE REVIEW Copy of the GGR 2022 Documentary “The Voyage Of Madmen” available to Accredited Media.  If you would like to write a review of this outstanding film released NOW please contact us. 

• Michael Guggenberger 3^rd across the line with Provisional time of 249 days, 17 hours, 42 minutes and 24 seconds the last ranked sailor in the GGR out of 16 entrants.
• Nuri Sardine’s preparation was second to none, no major breakage or repairs in 30.000 miles.
• Captain Gugg joins Norbert Sedlacek in Les Sables d’olonne as the most famous Austrian round-the-world sailors!

Michael Guggenberger (AUT) started the race with a few impediments compared to other entrants in the GGR. First, he is coming from land-locked Austria when most of the other entrants grew up on the seaside. Second, he started sailing only 12 years ago when most other GGR competitors started sailing at an early age from dinghies, going into keelboats later, some raking up significant mileage on the way.

He did however compensate for his relative inexperience with inextinguishable passion and dedication to make it to the GGR start line, and  complete his race in 249 days. He was welcomed in Les Sables d’Olonne by Kirsten Neuschäfer (ZAF), Abhilash Tomy (IND), Simon Curwen (GBR) and Ertan Beskardes (GBR) as well as hundreds of enthusiasts on the channel and the stage.

Nuri Sardines, the artisanal campaign of the indestructible Biscay

Originally planning to enter the 2018 GGR on an endurance 35, he later switched rides and bought a ketch-rigged Biscay 36 from Antoine Cousot (FRA), who raced  later rebuilding and preparing it with his Team Manager Stefan Weigel, turning the graceful cruiser into a bullet-proof yacht that could weather the worst conditions.

Nuri round the world voyage with no major issue is due to the structured preparation of Michael and our concept of enabling him to cope with all possible problems. When he reached out for an electric refit, we decided it made more sense to teach him how to do it rather than doing the job for him. It proved a good idea, especially during Covid travel restrictions and worked all the way through Gijon in Spain for the boat’s final preparation.

Stefan Weigel, Michael’s team manager and Nuri Sardines boat captain.

Nuri Sardines, an artisanal Sardine factory based in Matosinhos, Portugal, liked the artisanal feel of the race and Michael’s campaign, and joined Michael’s campaigns at a timely moment, providing him with welcome support to make the start line in good conditions. Michael may have been short on water in the Pacific, wondering if he could finish his round the world trip without stopping for water, but never ran out of Sardines!

Everyone at NURI has been closely following Michael over the last eight months. We are in awe of his achievement and are incredibly proud of him. Just to witness him starting in this group of highly experienced sailors last September was a great moment. That he was able to finish as one of only three out of 16 starters is almost unbelievable. We are truly honoured that we could be part of his journey.

Jakob Glatz, Glatz&Co / Nuri Sardines

Michael’s objective was reached 250 times over, or the number of days at sea around the world with no major breakage or repair. This is a testament of both the preparatory work done on Nuri Sardines, but also the conservative way of sailing of Michael. The Austrian adventurer made good use of the ketch-rig to always have the right canvas for the weather encountered on his position, which he finally mastered in the south Atlantic, significantly improving his daily averages by sailing with less sail area and not overly pushing the boat.

Dance floor therapy.

All sailors had their own way of dealing with isolation and the lack of exercise on board, some read books, others played games or went swimming. Michael was dancing every time he could, taking the disco ball out and playing his favourite tunes on tape, which is probably the largest (if not the only) collection of Electro and techno music ever recorded on tapes!

Michael also managed the long pacific crossing and the 100 degrees of latitude up the Atlantic from Cape Horn to Les Sables d’Olonne through regular HF contact with the other sailors around him, including long-lasting friendships with  Kirsten Neuschäfer, Abhilash Tomy, and Jeremy Bagshaw.

The GGR has been an incredible voyage, I had already changed me in the preparation leading to the start, and changed me in more ways than I had imagined during the 249 days at sea.

Michael Gugg, Skipper, Nuri Sardines

3^rd place for a never seen before ocean race podium.

By defying the odds and surviving the gruelling race with the biggest attrition rate in the world, Michael has made it to the 3^rd and last ranked position in the GGR, completing a podium never seen before in a ocean race, let alone a solo, non-stop, race around the world. India and Austria may not be known for their importance in the sailing world but have found themselves true Ambassadors of the sport. South Africa is a well-known sailing nation but never reached the winning stage of round the world racing.

While we had a big attrition rate again, the finish proved exciting. We have the first woman to win a solo round the world race, a competitor coming back after nearly losing his life 4 years ago and a sailor from a land-locked country who started sailing 10 years ago. All of it for a never seen before podium of South Africa, India, and Austria.

Don McIntyre, GGR Founder and Chairman

Still at sea…

With Michael Guggenberger on land, there is still One Chichester sailor at sea. Jeremy Bagshaw who is around 1300 miles from the finish. The second South African in the race lost ground when plagued by barnacles in the Atlantic and decided to manually scrape his hull in South Africa. Alas, the dreaded shells came back with a vengeance in the Indian Ocean, and he was obliged to lift Olleanna and provision on water in Hobart.

Guy Waites (GBR) who stopped in Cape Town to lift Sagarmatha   and a second time in Hobart to get a new life raft, has just entered the Northern hemisphere. No longer in the GGR he courageously decided to continue his round the world adventure and is heading to Les Sables d’Olonne. He sent a message via his sat phone congratulating Michael for his finish as he did for Kirsten, Abhilash and Simon.

Welcome Northern Hemisphere, Cape Horn to Equator in 36 days, soon in LSO. My congratulations to Michael when he arrives!

Guy Waites, Sagarmatha