Golden Globe interview

What took you so long?

The Golden Globe Race is back, and the award for the slowest passage goes to… Mark Sinclair. Sam Jefferson talks to him about what took him so long in 2018 and aspirations for 2022

It seems strangely fitting that when previewing the 2022 Golden Globe Race I should chat to a 2018 entrant who has only just completed the course… just in time to take part in the 2022 edition of the race. After all, the whole point of the Golden Globe is that you are looking backwards to go forward. This is a ‘race’ around the world that pays homage to the original iteration of this competition when, in 1968-69, Sir Robin Knox-

Johnston, Bernard Moitessier and many others vied to be the first person to sail singlehanded, nonstop around the world. The race was already somewhat retro, given that in 1969 the Americans would put a man on the moon. Now, it is even more so. The rules pay further homage to the mythical nature of the sport and the rules are very simple: Like the original Sunday Times event, the 2022 Golden Globe Race is as follows: Depart from Les Sablesd’Olonne, France on 4 September, 2022 and sail solo, non-stop around the world, via the five Great Capes and return to Les Sables-d’Olonne. Entrants are limited to sailing similar yachts and equipment to what was available to Sir Robin in that first race. That means sailing without modern technology or the benefit of satellite-based navigation aids.

As you can imagine, it is a race that attracts a fair amount of interesting characters. No more so than Australian sailor Mark Sinclair. Sinclair’s story is a colourful one. Having entered the 2018 edition of the race, he was doing reasonably well but had sufficient problems to stop off in Australia. Having made the stop, he decided to remain there for three years before continuing the race – with the aim of getting to Les Sables d’Olonne in time to take part in the 2022 edition.

I caught up with Mark as he frantically prepared his boat for the start line with the simple question... what took you so long?

ABOVE

Mark at the helm during the 2018 edition of the race

The 2018 race

“In the 2018 race I was at the back end of the fleet but as attrition occurred I moved up the rankings until I was in seventh,” he explains: “unfortunately, by the time I was in the Indian Ocean I had water shortages and a problem with barnacles so I decided to pull into Port Adelaide and, to be honest, it was hard to leave!

“In the end it was a three-year break and I ended up thinking ‘well, if you’re going to break the trip, it doesn’t really matter how long that break is – might as well make it a long one!’”

“Then I spoke to Don McIntyre (the race organiser) and asked if it would be okay to continue and he said it was fine and they would organise a reception in Les Sables for me. Three years to the day after I stopped, I was back up and running and eventually made it to Les Sables in 174 days from Adelaide – not terribly quick but once I’d started, I wasn’t going to stop. The trip took 330 days in total – not counting the stop. I figured that Slocum took four years so what was the problem!”

ABOVE LEFT

Coconut at the start of the 2022 prologue in Gijon

ABOVE RIGHT

Sailing through the Sargasso Sea

BELOW

Running in the Southern Ocean

Why do it?

the Golden Globe is an incredibly challenging and at times dangerous race. Yet the list of people (almost all of them men over 60) lining up to take part is staggering. Mark explained his route to the event: “I was actually born in Manchester and came over to Australia with my parents at a young age. I’m a 10 pound Pom in fact. I was brought up in Melbourne and we were always down by the beach and I learnt to sail in a Hartley TS 16 that my dad bought.

“I joined the navy out of school and became a hydrographer. At the same time my dad bought a 39ft yacht and we sort of shared that between us until it was sold. Then my dad bought a trailersailer and when he died I inherited it and sailed all over the place.

“All the time I was thinking, this boat is going to kill me at some point if I’m not careful, so I upgraded to a Sparkman & Stephens 41 and started cruising that when I had the time but it all felt a bit aimless and I kept wondering, well, what next? In the end I signed up for the Trans Tasman race but then I

heard about the Golden Globe and that was all I could think about.

“As a kid I had read about KnoxJohnston and the Ostar and it had always appealed to me. So when I heard about the Golden Globe I just thought, 'well, that’s my race!' I just couldn’t get it out of my head. When that idea came a reality it really was a dream come true for me.

“I found 'Coconut' (his Lello 34 yacht) here in Australia and discovered she was eligible so I had the boat shipped over for the 2018 event.”

2022 – Let’s go round again

The rest is history. Yet the story of the second leg of Sinclair’s 2018 race is a tough one – the route from Adelaide to Les Sables via Cape Horn is an uncompromising one and Don had his fair share of dramas. “I got to Les Sables and the boat was trashed,” he explains: “I’d damaged the toerail, the twin forestays were a mess, and the engine was a wreck. I’m not keen on engines but it’s a piece of safety equipment and it needs to work.

“At present (15 July) I’m therefore in the process of replacing the old one and have the engine half in, half out. I’ve been in Les Sables five weeks now moving heaven and earth to get the boat ready, racing around chasing my tail but I think things are just about under control.

“I’m in the Corinthian Class, so no sponsors and therefore I’m doing all the grunt work myself. Will I be at the start line? You bet I will. I’ve sailed around the world to get here and I’m quite pleased with that. I am on a journey and it’s full of adventure.”

Why do it again?

“The question I keep asking myself is what I would be doing if I wasn’t doing this?” Sinclair muses: “Would it be more interesting? You’re a long time dead after all and I’m about to turn 64. I could be back at work I guess and I could do with the money but the most compelling thing for me at this present moment is getting the boat ready for the race, and I’m moving heaven and earth to do that.

“I guess the last trip was my training run. I don’t think I’m going to win, in part because I’m a great collector of stuff and I find it hard to get rid of things to lighten the boat.”

How do you cope with solo sailing

“I’m okay with my own company. I’ve spent a lot of my life at sea and the being alone thing just seems to come naturally to me. I’m comfortable with my own company. I can live with the solitude. I’m also very risk averse so I’m not pushing it when I’m out there.

“I’ll do the whole thing 'Coconut Style'. That basically means I’ll do things at my own pace, get somewhere, it’ll be interesting and I’ll have fun along the way.”

ABOVE

Hauled out in Les Sables d'Olonne after a 174 day trip

BELOW

Assessing the possibility of repairing a very damaged headsail

Were you ever scared during the 2018 race?

“I think in most circumstances you can overcome a problem with seamanship so I don’t tend to panic. But there is one scenario I hate and that is if you have a breaking sea on the beam. I really hate that and it is at that moment that I feel vulnerable. I can’t say I like Force 10s – it’s not nice being beaten up – but if you can keep control of the boat, you feel okay.”

Golden Globe 2022

What’s it all about?

Competitors must sail in production boats between 32ft and 36ft overall (9.75 – 10.97m) designed prior to 1988 that have a full-length keel with rudder attached to their trailing edge. These yachts are heavily built, strong and sturdy, similar in concept to Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s 32ft vessel 'Suhaili'.

The Rules:

The race clock starts with the start gun on 4 September, 2022. If an entrant does not start within fi ve days of the start, he or she is deemed to have withdrawn from the race. Entrants may seek shelter and anchor (using the engine if needed) to make repairs, but may not enter the port and no person may give any materiel assistance at any time during the race.

The Route:

The race course is an east-about circumnavigation starting and fi nishing in Les Sables-d’Olonne, France.

Competitors will sail down the Atlantic from North to South leaving: ● An inshore Canary Island mark to starboard ● Trindade to port. ● Cape of Good Hope to port. ● Prince Edward Island to starboard. ● The Crozet Islands to starboard. ● The Kerguelen Islands to starboard. ● 45°S latitude to starboard ● Cape Leeuwin to port. ● To a Gate in Storm Bay Tasmania. Entrants sail over a line and must drop sails and drift, or anchor for 90 minutes. ● Snares Islands to starboard. ● Bounty Islands to starboard. ● Waypoint 46°S, 174°W to starboard. ● Cape Horn to port. ● Sail up the Atlantic from South to North. ● Then to the Sables-d’Olonne fi nish line

The entrants

Nb, this is a rolling entry list. The maximum entants is 30 and there is a waiting list. Therefore, if someone drops out, a new skipper is put on the provisional list

Tapio Lehtinen (Finland, 64) Yacht: Gaia 36 The 5th and last fi nisher of the 2018 GGR

Mark Sinclair (Australia, 63) Yacht: Lello 34 See interview for full profi le

Ertan Beskardes (UK, 60) Yacht: Rustler 36 Retired just fi ve days into the 2018 race, Beskardes is back for another crack

Abilhash Tomy (India, 43) Yacht: Rustler 36 Tomy was subject to a dramatic rescue in the 2018 edition and is now back with a new boat

Simon Curwen (UK, 62) Yacht: Biscay 36 Emsworth-born but based in Brittany, Curwen is an ex Mini Transat sailor Pat Lawless (Rep of Ireland, 65) Yacht: Saltram Saga 36 Retired cabinet maker from Limerick who turned his hand to fi shing – and solo sailing

Michael Guggenberger (44, Austria) Yacht: Biscay 36 Originally entered the 2018 event but realised he needed more experience, which he has been gathering ever since Kirsten Neuschäfer (39, South Africa) Yacht: Cape George Cutter Experienced sailor who works for Skip Novak’s Pelagic Expedition yacht

Ian Herbert Jones (52, UK) Yacht: Tradewind 35 Ex-army o cer who took part in the Clipper Race in 2007-8

Guy Waites (54, UK) Yacht: Tradewind 35 Experiences solo sailor who has taken a Contessa 26 across the Atlantic and back

Edward Walentynowicz (68, Canada) Yacht: Rustler 36 Hugely experienced sailor with over 67,000nm under his belt

Damien Guillou (39, France) Yacht: Rustler 36 Experienced racer who has participated for many years in the Figaro Bénéteau Class with several stages ranked in the Top 10. Also sailed many Imoca boats with Bertrand de Broc, Bernard Stamm, Jean Le Cam and Kevin Esco er.