One-time mechanic, commercial diver, and solo skipper Daniel Alfredsson reflects on taking the adventure off the page and onto the water, and the gap between theory and practice. He shares how he's preparing to sail around the world solo, nonstop, and unassisted for the 2026 Golden Globe Race
Swedish/Norwegian sailor Daniel Alfredsson is getting ready to sail around the world (again), and it’s a book that’s made him do it.
He’ll set off from Les Sables d’Olonne in September for the Golden Globe Race, a solo, nonstop, and unassisted circumnavigation by sextant that has been called both ‘the Voyage of Madmen’ and ‘the Loneliest Race in the World.’
Reading his way to the race start
Skipper Daniel Alfredsson’s OE32, Pale Blue Dot, with which he will enter the 2026 Golden Globe Race. Photo by Daniel Alfredsson.
Alfredsson’s Golden Globe Race journey started like many of his adventures: on the page.
Originally a mechanic, then a commercial diver, Alfredsson was working on a dive boat off Norway’s west coast when he started started reading books about cruising around the world. Two years later he bought his first sailboat, an Alo 33, and left Bergen, Norway to cruise around the world solo.
With only a handful of inshore experience to his name, he faced a steep learning curve.
By the time he returned to Norway four years later with empty fuel tanks, an empty bank account, and a taste for adventure, he had 35,000 miles under his belt and a newfound motivation for being at sea.
Over the course of his circumnavigation, Alfredsson says he found himself increasingly skipping stopovers, inventing ways to prolong his time in the open ocean. Sailing became an end in of itself, not just a means of transportation.
It was around this time that he read Sir Robin Knox-Johnston‘s classic account A World of My Own, and promptly set his sights on the Golden Globe Race.
On the page vs on the water
‘I really got pulled in while following the 2018 and 2022 races,’ Alfredsson explains. ‘[The 2026] edition came up at the right time, and it was a kick in the butt to get going. When the application opened, I jumped on the gun and signed up. I remember sitting up all night writing. I thought it would fill up in the first few days!’
The pool of people willing and able to face the undertaking turned out to be smaller than he expected. 24 provisional entrants are currently preparing to depart from Les Sables D’Olonne in September.
Still, ‘It’s inspiring to share the adventure with likeminded people,’ Alfredsson says. The cohort is, ‘A very interesting group, full of cool people from all walks of life. I hope we all make it to the start. Several have already retired so far. Getting to the start is no walk in the park.’
His biggest concern is missing it by a small margin, due to illness or a minor failure.
Daniel Alfredsson with project managers Simon Møllerstrøm and Stina Melin and audio visual agent Malin Moldeklev Meinhold beside Pale Blue Dot. Photo by Daniel Alfredsson.
Over a year ago, he started learning celestial navigation with the help of YouTube and – of course – lots of reading.
‘Once I cracked the code, I made my own step by step procedure. I’m doing ok, but it remains to be seen how that will translate to real navigation in the GGR.’
Across the board, he’s keenly aware of the potential gap between theory and practice.
‘I’m self taught, so I don’t know what I don’t know. My guess is that my sail trimming skills is kind of average at best. I will do my very best to sail well without risking too much,’ he says.
As something he’s only read about, the Southern Ocean is one of his biggest concerns. He hopes his background as a commercial diver will help him manage and minimise risk, and come in handy when facing all kinds of challenges alone at sea.
How Daniel Alfredsson is getting his Golden Globe boat race ready
Skipper Daniel Alfredsson’s OE32, Pale Blue Dot, with which he will enter the 2026 Golden Globe Race. Photo by Daniel Alfredsson.
At the moment, reading has fallen by the wayside. Preparing his Olle Enderlein 32 gets most of Alfredsson’s attention.
‘Then I have just enough energy left over to do my job without getting fired. I do remember one afternoon in the beginning of last year that I had all to myself, sadly I fell asleep and missed it!’ he jokes.
The boat is called Pale Blue Dot after a speech by American astronomer Carl Sagan by the same title.
‘In that speech he takes a zoomed out look at all humans (sometimes troublesome) activities here on Earth,’ Alfredsson writes in a Facebook post. His own boat, with its hull of the same hue, ‘Will be like a speck of dust on the vast ocean. A pale blue dot.’
At 9.89m LOA, the OE32 is the smallest allowed in the race, though with 45.8 square metres of sail area, ‘For its size, it’s also the fastest.’
Designed by Olle Enderline in 1973 and built by Sundsörs Ship Yard in Oxelösund, Sweden in 1988, the boat is a classic Swedish double-ender with a cutter rig and a bowsprit.
Her long-keel design trades upwind performance for extra stability, but Alfredsson doesn’t mind. ‘I’ll gladly trade a bit of performance for seakeeping abilities in the middle of a gale in the Southern Ocean,’ he says.
In the 2026 Golden Globe, entrants Oleg Schmidt (Mootje), Arsène Ledertheil, Christopher Langham (Savoir Vivre Liberte), and Isa Rosli will also be on OE32s.
Olleanna is a long keeled OE32, and was the smallest boat in the 2022 Golden Globe Race fleet. Credit: D&JJ/GGR 2022.
Alfredsson started a major refit in the winter of 2023. He replaced the engine and strengthened some parts of the boat by fully glassing it in a thicker plywood sheet and tabbing the interior to the hull.
He also added the collision bulkhead to the bow required by Golden Globe Race regulations, which he plans to fill with bottles and foam, and divided Pale Blue Dot into seven watertight areas, including a partial wall well above the waterline between the bow, where he will store his sails, the main cabin, and multiple sections within the saloon itself. Some seal completely, while others sit about 50-80 cm above the waterline.
He has also added a 360 degree lookout bubble, improved the washboards, and strengthened the windows by adding layers of fibreglass to the surrounding area, replacing the panes with 10mm plexiglass, and sealing them with a combination of 3m VHB tape and Dow silicon.
Waterproof curtains fashioned from an old cockpit tent now isolate the companionway to keep foul weather gear, rain, and spray away from the chart table.
‘I hope to keep my bed dry,’ Alfredsson pans. ‘That would be a race first.’
In other areas, however, he refuses to compromise. In a video tour of his onboard modifications, Alfredsson shows off the full porcelain toilet installed in his head.
Some race-focused entrants adopt the bucket-and-chuck-it method to save weight, but the spartan solution isn’t to his taste.
‘People have asked if I’m competitive, or if I’m just looking to get around,’ he smiles, holding up a bucket. ‘I’m not this competitive. I can guarantee you that.’
Quick facts: Daniel Alfredsson / Pale Blue Dot (OE32)
Sail plan?
Upwind sails for both upwind and downwind. Asymetric spinnaker and gennaker for reaching, all from Rolly Tasker Sails.
Furler or hank on?
Both. Furlers in front and on staysail. Solent hank on stay behind the furling genoa.
Self-steering set up?
Hydrovane, and I’m also working on my own DIY trimtab windvane system as a backup.
Antifouling?
Coppercoat.
Three unexpected items you’ll take onboard:
- Sports tape to tape my mouth shut while sleeping.
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
- Wavebreaker 2000 (top secret of course!)
Enjoyed reading this profile of Golden Globe Race skipper Daniel Afredsson?
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