Yachting World — February 2018

Organisers of the Golden Globe Race

2018 are in negotiations with the

Fédération Française de Voile (FFV) after

France’s governing body for sailing stated

that the world race does not meet their

regulations and could not start and finish

from France.

Organiser Don McIntyre, the Australian

round the world sailor and adventurer,

announced in October that the race would

start in July from Les Sables d’Olonne in

France, home of the Vendée Globe, after

councils in the UK sought to charge large

sums for hosting the race.

But after moving the race on the

promise of funding and support from the

French town, the FFV said that it didn’t

meet their rules.

“We have opened discussions with the

FFV and already changed some critical

elements of the rules,” said McIntyre.

Round the world sailor Jean Luc Van

Den Heede, who has completed five solo

circumnavigations and is a competitor

in the Golden Globe Race, commented:

“I have some experience with races that

everyone predicted would be impossible,

dangerous, suicidal, etc. During the build-

up to the first Mini Transat race, which

started from England in 1977, French

skippers were very much targeted by the

French Maritime Affairs, which wanted

to prevent us from competing. It was

hardly better in the second edition ...

until the race became French and, a few

years later, the French minister of the sea

started the race.”

McIntyre is still in negotiations to allow

the race to go ahead as an event ‘in the

footsteps of history’, to be raced under

international collision regulations. The

race is open to solo skippers of long-

keeled yachts of under 36ft, and skippers

are not allowed to use modern navigation

or electronics, though they will have GPS

and satphones on board for emergencies.

The FFV has indicated that it may

consider it as historical re-enactment

rather than a regatta.

Meanwhile Falmouth, one of the ports

McIntyre hoped might host the race, has

risen to criticism that they let a famous

British race slip away by creating a special

‘Suhaili Falmouth 50 Parade of Sail’ on

14 June next year. This will celebrate the

50th anniversary of the return of Robin

Knox-Johnston in his yacht Suhaili to win

the 1968/9 Sunday Times Golden Globe

Race and become the first person to sail

single-handed non-stop round the world.

The Clipper Race is supporting the Invictus Games
Sydney 2018 by providing two Clipper 68 yachts for
the 73rd Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. The Invictus
Games is an international adaptive sporting event for
active duty and veteran servicemen and women, which
is incorporating sailing for the first time next year.
In what is tipped to be an ‘Ashes on the Water’ event,
Invictus Games Sydney 2018 GAME ON will be crewed
by British wounded, injured and ill defence veterans,
and will take on the Australian crewed Invictus Games
Sydney 2018 DOWN UNDER.
“Clipper Ventures is thrilled to be supporting Invictus
Games Sydney 2018 as it prepares to introduce sailing
to its event line-up,” said Clipper Ventures founder Sir
Robin Knox-Johnston.
Sir Robin will join the UK crew aboard Invictus Games
Sydney 2018 GAME ON as navigator.
http://www.invictusgames2018.org

French sailing authority

thwarts Golden Globe Race

Race supports

Invictus Games

Could foiling be the next trend

in powerboating too? SEAir, the

Lorient-based company that

produced a foiling Mini 6.50,

has been awarded the 2017

Innovation Award at the Paris

Boat Show for transforming the

Zodiac Pro 550 into the world’s

first foiling RIB.

Foil power

Sébastien Véronèse

onEdition

Christophe Favreau / PPL / GGR

Competitors

for the 2018

Golden Globe

Race

February 2018 13