Golden Globe Race update

The Golden Globe Race is now in its third week since leaving France on 4 September. Thanks to the interviews, journalists and camera crews who have been getting close to some of the locations, we have an update on how this exciting race is going.

There has been plenty of drama as boats and sailors had their first shake-down in the Bay of Biscay a steadfast Pat Lawless (IRL) leading the way, Ertan Beskardes (UK) had an electrical short and later knocked himself out falling into the cockpit, Guy deBoer (USA) got seasick for the first time and lost all radio contact, race-favourite Damien Guillou (FR) was headed back to Les Sables d’Olonne with a broken windvane, unsure he could make the start line in time and Edward Walentynowicz (CAN) decided to retire for the race, pondering another participation in 2026.

Simon Curwen (UK) and Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) are now in a solid lead of the fleet, sailing close and emulating each other on the high daily mileage, Pat Lawless (IRL), who made a fantastic start, got lost on his East option, letting the leaders escape, and allowing the western group of Abhilash Tomy (IND), Guy deBoer (USA) and Kirsten Neuschäfer (SA) to close in as the routes converged 100 miles from Lanzarote harbour.

The sailors faced a wind hole between the Azores and Lisbon this past weekend. It is forecast to gradually drop over the Canary Islands. This may create a first weather gate between the leaders and the chasing pack. And then they will be on their way to the next stop: the island of Trindade in Brazil. The skippers, in addition to their daily tweets and weekly recorded safety calls for race control, will be able to share their stories in real time with the start of weekly 20-minute satellite phone interviews exclusively for accredited media from next week (week four).

On Sunday, arriving in the Canary Islands, skipper Guy DeBoer and "spirit" hit the rocks 50 metres off the beach on the north coast of Fuerteventura. The "spirit" crawled over the rocks for some distance and then local rescue coastguards jumped through the swell towards him and helped him off the boat. A local salvage company was already considering trying to save the boat in daylight if possible.

Simon Curwen (United Kingdom) , Tapio Lehtinen (Finland) , Pat Lawless (Ireland) and Abhilash Tomy (India) are the first to pass through the Marina Rubicon harbour, Lanzarote.

Pat Lawless is suffering from a knee infection, is running out of antibiotics, but is still going ahead. The whole fleet is at risk of being parked up without wind around the Canaries and a hurricane could form ahead of the fleet at the end of next week. What will happen over the next few days?

We will keep you posted on our website and on Nautical Channel's social media.