Golden Globe Race Latest: Everything you missed in the first month of the ‘Voyage of Madmen’

Viveka Herzum

Damien Guillou and Pat Lawless ahead, Selim Yalcin out, Guy deBoer in the Chichester Class, and the controversy around Mara Lovenskiold's livestreams. Here's everything you need to know

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In the month since we saw the Golden Globe Race fleet off from the pontoons in Les Sables d’Olonne, the Atlantic has already yielded its share of frustrations, along with two clear frontrunners: Damien Guillou and Pat Lawless.

With a proliferation of clips, commentaries, updates from race organisers, and direct livestreams through the GGR Live Window, there are more ways to keep up with the action than ever.

We’re cutting through the noise to give you the essential updates from the first chunk of this 8 month long, 30,000 adventure.

At a glance:

  • Damien Guillou and Pat Lawless lead the fleet
  • Selim Yalcin retired from the race, and Guy deBoer in the Chichester Class
  • An impressive recovery from Pär Nyman after his delayed start
  • Drama around livestream confessions

Guillou and Lawless ahead

Photo by Rob Havill

Damien Guillou and Pat Lawless have remained ahead of the fleet since departure.

They were first into the Marina Rubicón film drop in Lanzarote on 16 September and reached the Southeast trade winds on 28 September, leaving behind the unstable conditions around the Doldrums.

Guillou was confirmed to have passed the equator on 1 October, soon followed by Lawless.

Both are now closing on the region of Trindade, where the South Atlantic High weather transition could provide Lawless with an opportunity to catch the front-runner.

In the meantime, Guillou is considering a brief pause on anchor to make minor repairs.

Photo by Rob Havill

Though it’s hardly a surprise to see IMOCA-bred Guillou charging ahead on his swanky Rustler 36, Solarem, in a livestream race organiser Don McIntyre has admitted that when it comes to the Southern Ocean he prefers Lawless’ setup.

‘Pat is set up really well. He has multiple reefing gears up there,’ says McIntyre. ‘With two separate ones there’s lots of things you can do, especially with poles. You don’t have to worry about those bloody spinnakers.’

Both skippers are returning entrants, back to address unfinished business after retiring from the 2022 edition due to self-steering failure.

Lawless has already reported a problem with the steering lines on his Aries windvane self-steering system. Repairs took 90 minutes hanging off the stern.

Where is everyone else?

Ertan Beskardes (United Kingdom) sails into the Marina Rubicón film drop at 0200 UTC on the 18th September 2026. Photo by Rob Havill / GGR2026

Double GGR veteran Ertan Beskardes, who withdrew from both the 2018 and 2022 editions due to homesickness, is chasing the top two on his Rustler 36, Miss Beagle, previously Jean Luc Van Den Heede‘s winning Matmut.

Much like Jean-Luc in 2018 and Simon Curwen in 2022, Beskardes has held the eastern side of the fleet and opted for a straight-line sailing plan.

While he occasionally seemed to be sailing too high to make the most of the unstable conditions, at the start of October the weather finally turned in his favour.

He is now the first skipper from the main chasing group to reach the southeast trades.

Live tracker display at 1530 UTC on October 2026. Photo from YB Tracker / GGR 2026

Competitors further North remained trapped in the unstable Doldrums, chugging along in two loose groupings.

Mara Lovenskiøld, Andrea Lodolo, Etienne Messikommer, and Daniel Pinsky are following behind Beskardes, opting for similar eastern trajectories.

Henry Wootton, Guido Cantini, Isa Rosli, Gunnar Christensen, and Pär Nyman, who made an impressive recovery to 11th place after delaying his start by three days, cluster further Northwest, still in the Doldrums.

Louis Kerdelhué, who raised concerns after missing daily safety messages, has now established contact with race organisers and faces a small penalty for his lack of communication.

Minus one: Selim Yalcin retires

Turkish skipper Selim Yalcin at the start of the 2026 Golden Globe Race. Photo by Viveka Herzum

On 19 September, Turkish skipper Selim Yalcin headed for mainland Spain after the failure of his HF radio.

While he originally planned to make repairs in Cadiz before continuing on in the Chichester class, transporting, installing, testing, and waterproofing the necessary replacement radio, an Icom 801 located by Selim’s team manager and wife Nadire, would have required at least an additional four days.

Facing a growing gap with the fleet, Selim opted to withdraw rather than continue in the Chichester Class.

He announced on 26 September his decision to officially retire.

‘This is a hard decision for me, after all the preparations, time, effort & money spent,’ Selim wrote to his race team. He is not ruling out a possible return in 2030.

Minus two: Faulty chainplate drops deBoer to Chichester Class

Guy deBoer arriving in Lanzarote on Spirit during the 2026 Golden Globe Race. Photo by Ocean Frontiers GGR/OGR/CG580 Image Suppliers

As of 5 October, American skipper Guy deBoer is finally underway again after stopping in Lanzarote to make essential structural repairs to his chainplate and hull.

In Lanzarote, DeBoer and his team had to purchase new running rigging and reassemble a Hydrovane bracket that had come apart.

Testing under rig load revealed significant hull deformation near the mast, adding to the repair work already required.

‘I’m very happy with how everybody has stepped up. It’s been really cool,’ deBoer says in a video update. ‘I truly am grateful for all the support and friendship.’

Guy deBoer (USA) stops at Marina Rubicón on 20th September to carry out repairs, moving him into Chichester Class. Photo by Rob Havill

Though the stop put two weeks and a 1,500 mile gap between him and rest of the fleet, he will continue in the Chichester Class, making him ineligible for the trophy.

However, ‘It’s my goal to finish what I set out to do when I started this thing in 2019,’ he says.

His plan is to, ‘shove off and whittle away the miles with the fleet in front. Only time will tell if I will be successful in catching anybody.’

With the exception of deBoer and Yalcin, the fleet has reported no other major failures so far, though skippers have already had to fend off barnacles (Rosli, Christensen), faced radio problems (Cantini), and lost equipment to Storm Gonzalo (Christensen).

Surviving Storm Gonzalo

Heavy seas aboard Gunnar Christensen’s POMPOEN. This GGR Window LIVE still from 26 September captures the conditions facing American skipper Gunnar Christensen aboard his Hans Christian 34 cutter. Credit: GGR2026

Tropical Storm Gonzalo disrupted the fleet’s passage south in the first weeks of the race.

Thanks to their more westerly routes, Henry Wootton and Mara Lovenskiold managed to avoid the worst of the system.

Louis Kerdelhué, Gunnar Christensen, and Matt Woodside were among those left most exposed.

Gunnar Christensen below deck aboard POMPOEN, still wearing his foul-weather gear and lifejacket, during GGR Window LIVE on 26 September. Photo: GGR2026

Facing 50 knot winds and five-metre seas, Christensen sustained damages to his solar panels and trouble with his windvane self-steering.

On the livestream, he shared a raw account of his frustration with being forced to sail two days 180 degrees in the wrong direction for two days.

Matt Woodside rode it out hove-to, resting and dosing his energies.

Matt Woodside (USA) sails into the Marina Rubicón film drop on the 19th September 2026. Photo by Rob Havill

Mara and *that* livestream

Mara Lovenskiøld, the only woman in the race, has drawn fire after during a livestream she revealed she was considering dropping out unless her shore team increased coverage across her social media channels.

After she asked a passing vessel to check her social channels, ‘I was very disappointed in hearing […] there’s basically nothing being posted,’ she said.

‘It’s something that is worrying me a lot. Every day I’m out here that I should spend thinking about other things, I am thinking about that.’

Mara Lovenskiøld at the 2026 Golden Globe Race start in Les Sables d’Olonne. Photo by Viveka Herzum

While she doesn’t want to get disqualified for contacting her team,

‘It is more important for me that this story is being told than that I am in the race. And if this [lack of posting] is going to continue, it is removing all sense of purpose for me in doing this.

I don’t have a super strong need to sail solo around the world. I don’t need to see the Southern Ocean. I’m good.

I want to do this for something bigger than me, and right now I am not. Right now it’s just me being out here, and it doesn’t matter.

I will not finish this race if that’s how I’m going to feel.’

Mara Lovenskiold arriving in Lanzarote on her Saga 36, Showgirl. Photo by Ocean Frontiers GGR/OGR/CG580 Image Suppliers

Clips of the livestream soon circulated on social media, prompting criticism of her motivations for racing and of how the Live Window fits into the GGR ethos.

Lovenskiøld’s team has since increased posting frequency on her channels.

She has received a penalty for communicating directly with them via the livestream, which is strictly prohibited under Race Rules.

Of the seven other skippers equipped with the TriPeak system, only five have remained regular contributors.

Lodolo, Kerdelhué, and Nyman have often opted privacy, skipping their scheduled livestreams.

Damien Guillou is first to arrive at the Lanzarote Film Gate at approximately 12:15 local time at the Marina Rubicón buoy. Photo by Rob Havill / GGR 2026

Though by now Guillou and Lawless seem to be engaged in a personal race while the main fleet inches towards the Southeast Trades, one thing is clear.

With three capes and seven months still to go, anything can happen.

How to follow the Golden Globe Race

Keep an eye on our Golden Globe Race hub for the latest news.

Additionally, you can follow selected skippers’ livestreams through the GGR Live Window according to this schedule.

The fleet’s positions update every four hours on the Live Tracker, and Daily Reports are available through the GGR Website.

On the freshly launched GGR Stats platform, fans of the race can also now track everything from sailor’s average speeds, how the boats sail on all points of sail and each model’s cross-edition performance history, construction, and strengths and weaknesses.

It’s a goldmine for GGR fans, not to mention for those sailors looking ahead to 2030. 

For those who want to participate in the action themselves, this year there is a Virtual GGR running in partnership with FairWinds.

 

 

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