For sailors of a certain age, the name Sir Robin Knox Johnston holds a special place in the pantheon of famous sailors. On April 22, 1969, Johnston sailed his 32-foot ketch Suhaili into Falmouth, England to complete and win the first non-stop, singlehanded sailboat race around the world. He had been at sea for 312 days.
The race was called the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Nine adventurous sailors entered and each had harrowing and often strange stories emerge from the race. Those were the days before satellite navigation or sophisticated communications. They navigated with sextants and reported their status, when possible, via ham or SSB radios.
Since then, round the world racing has been transformed by technology, sponsorship and professionalism. Today’s Vendee Globe underscores the dramatic difference in eras. In 2025, Charlie Dalin won the race and set a new record of 64 days,19 hours.
Modern offshore solo racing is out of reach or mere mortals due to costs and the time required. Australian Don MacIntyre had long admired Knox-Johnston’s feat and decided to create an around the world race accessible to men and women of ordinary means. Thus was born the new era Golden Globe Race.
The 2026 edition has 12 provisional entries and is set to start from Les Sables-d’ OLonne, France on September 6. Based on the first Globe race, entrants must sail in conventional cruising boats from 30 to 36 feet, with full keels and simple, old-fashion sail plans. Wind vane self-steering will be the only “autopilot” on board.
They must navigate with a sextant only as marine electronics are not allowed. And, unlike the first Globe skippers, their communication will be via short text satellite devices such as a SPOT or a sat phone with texting. Each boat will be fitted with a satellite tracker which the skippers can’t see. And, each boat will have a sealed box containing two hand-held GPS chart plotters for use only in emergencies.
Read more, meet the 2026 skippers and watch the award-winning movie The Voyage of Madmen here.
