Around ten crews have already taken the first important step of officially filing their entries for the second edition. Boasting a strong international contingent and a mixture of experienced amateurs and professionals, the current line-up is an illustration of the event’s identity as it continues to build on the success of the inaugural edition of the race, whilst also opening itself up to further innovation and evolution. The organisation team is very much on track with a target of 15 teams on the start line and a year and a half to go until the race start. The competitive appeal of the race has increased too, with the first scow bows and the most high-performance sharp bows among the entries. The event also inspired naval architects for 2 new Class40 projects.Having set out the framework for the 6 legs course in the Notice of Race, several stopovers are now official and the countries have been chosen from a selection of different options. The full presentation of the stopovers is due to be revealed by late June 2024.
Around ten projects already signed up.
The main takeaway from the first ‘early-bird’ registration slot of 31 December 2023 is that 7 projects have formally signed up for the race, 2 new designs have been created especially for the GLOBE40 with one in build and the second progressing very well, and the purchase of at least 2 other Class40s are due to complete over the coming weeks with well advanced projects. Furthermore, at least a dozen crews familiar to the European circuit have been in talks for several months, a number of whom intend to sign up for the race. The official objective is still geared around hosting fifteen teams at the race start in the late summer of 2025.
The registered projects are presented on the website : Click Here !
The GLOBE40 will feature both an overall ranking and a ranking for the sharp bows.
In order of registration:
VOLVO-CURIUM with the Class40 No.187 (LIFT V2) skippered by Jonas Gerckens is treating us to a top-flight Belgian project, which will bring together experienced amateurs and professionals (Renaud Dehareng – Djemila Tassin – Benoit Hantzberg) on a very modern Class40 scow bow (2022). “A round the world yacht race is the holy grail for any skipper. The GLOBE40 makes it possible to combine competition and adventure; the perfect mix. Our challenge has a strong Belgian connotation, geared towards playing around at the front of the fleet and enriching our lives through the human encounters and fantastic landscapes experienced throughout this fabulous journey.”
JANGADA 40 is a project based on UK waters with a crew of highly experienced amateurs. In fact, Richard Palmer and Rupert Holmes’ steed was crowned YACHT OF THE YEAR 2022 by the celebrated British racing club, RORC, and they also won the RORC Transatlantic Race 2019 and the Round Britain and Ireland Race 2022. Their recently acquired Class40 No.152 (TIZH40) is one of the latest ‘sharp bows’ to be built (2017). “We have multiple objectives: to circumnavigate the globe via the 3 capes, to raise our game, to experience the challenge of close-contact racing, to build new friendships and to make the most of the stopovers.”
FREEDOM will fly the flag of Reunion Island, a GLOBE40 stopover, via a partnership with the island’s leading radio station. Led by Thibaut Lefevere, with a Transat Jacques Vabre, 2 CIC Normandy Channel Races and 45,000 miles on the clock in a variety of oceans, this team will gather together the island’s local athletes like Aurélien Barthelemy and Maxime Bourcier. The Class40 No.123 (PROTO BOTIN) a former winner of the Route du Rhum and won it all from 2014 to 2017: “Organising and participating in a round the world yacht race is kind of a childhood dream come true. To see the boat FREEDOM arrive in Reunion will be a very proud moment.”
MUSSULO 40 brings a Brazilian vibe to the GLOBE 40 and this time there will be a Brazilian crew led by José Guilherme Caldas, a brilliant neurosurgeon living in Sao Paulo. A double champion of the Cape2Rio, a 7-time winner of the Refeno Regatta and a competitor in the Transat Jacques Vabre 2017 and 2023, José has developed a passion for competition having raced his Farr 107 design for several years. In preparation for this race, he’s just purchased boat No.151 (MACH 40.3), a very high-performance sharp bow, which was 2nd in the Route du Rhum 2018 and winner of the CIC NCR in 2019.” Taking on a round the world yacht race is something many people dream about… to be at the start of the GLOBE40 well-prepared will be a victory in itself… we will be on the start line!”
VOGUE LE MONDE is a project launched by Stéphane Hunot in 2022 with a view to participating in the GLOBE40. An experienced amateur, he has just completed the Transat Jacques Vabre 2023 with Benoit Lequin, a professional sailor with 30 years of vast experience centring on multihull and others classes sailing. Initially the owners of Class40 No.101 (ex MILAI from the 1st edition), the 2 skippers really have the bit between their teeth since they’ve just decided to sell the latter and purchase a new latest generation Class40. “Every sailor, whether or not they’re experienced, dreams of one day circumnavigating the globe. Few pull it off. We’re going to try to realise our dream by participating in the Globe 40, with its dreams of maritime adventure, its dreams of human adventure, its dreams of voyaging and its dreams of discovery.”
INTERACTION is a new development by the company of the same name that heads up a racing stable on the Figaro and Mini 6.50 circuit (Louise Comont) with 4,500 miles on the racetrack in 2023. Indeed, it is now expanding into the Class40 circuit with a participation in the GLOBE40. Yannig Livory, former president of the Figaro Class with 5 Solitaire du Figaros to his credit, together with his brother Erwan, have amassed some 20 transatlantic races between them. The Class40 No.164 (MAX 40 ) is a modern scow bow (2021) purchased at the end of last year with a view to the GLOBE40. “The aim is to combine the competitive aspect with adventure and exploration and to share our journey by extending Interaction’s influence around the world… Beyond the sports results, we intend to write a whole new chapter in our story, filled with meaning and values.”
NG GRAND LARGE is the last team to benefit from the early bird slot. Skipper Nicolas Guibal is currently putting together his project, but he already has a number of assets in his favour to get it up and running as he looks to purchase a Class40 over the short term. With a background in the Mini 6.50, he participated in the 2021 edition of the circuit and in all the preparation races (Mini en Mai, Transgascogne and the Mini Fastnet 2018 to 2021), plus he is devoting all his time to preparing his Class40 project.” Since I competed in the Mini-Transat 2021, I’ve been working on my Class40 project. As is the case with racing, there have been obstacles along the way and every day holds something new so you really have to dig deep and persevere… It will be a great adventure and a chance to push back the boundaries.”
A further indication of the appeal of the GLOBE40 is that over the past few months two new designs have been devised specially for the race by naval architects associated with yards.
The GREENSCOW 40 race version complies with the Class40 measurement rule and is an innovative project, which aims to considerably reduce the carbon footprint and the cost of building a Class40. A Gildas Plessis design associated with the KAORI CONCEPT yard, construction involves a birch plywood sandwich.
The SCIRON 40 created by naval architects Guillaume Dupont and Augustin Lefebvre, associated with the Portuguese yard TRIMARINE, is offering up an original new covered cockpit concept for long-haul offshore sea passages such as those developed in Imoca, with a scow bow, compliant with the Class40 rule.
To sum up the situation then, there are two naval architects’ projects with build slots scheduled for the first half of this year, 7 projects officially registered, several short-term Class40 purchases, 7 craft which have changed hands in recent months, plus a number of requests for information from the circuit’s skippers, which is a sure sign that the GLOBE40 2025/2006 is on the right track with its sporting objectives for a scheduled start in just 18 months’ time.
COURSE CONSTRUCTION PROGRESSING WELL
Having set out the overall framework for the event in the Notice of Race issued on 1 September 2023, the map below presents the course for the GLOBE40 2025/ 2026 as it currently stands. The complete and final version of the stopovers is due to be unveiled step by step and at least by June 2024.