My long overdue update

My last update which I posted after arriving at Fuerteventura with John Climaco was dated February 2nd. After returning to Lagos on the 24th of March, I posted an update on my Golden Globe Race page. Going forward, I will attempt to post more regularly now that I have just under a year before the race launches on 6 September 2026 from Les Sables-d’Olonne.

I chose Gran Tarajal on Fuerteventura as a stopover to meet fellow GGR skipper Pat Lawless from Dingle in Ireland. He had to bring his boat there to take advantage of their sun in winter while he worked on his good vessel GREEN REBEL. After John took his flight, it was a joy to have Pat’s company who remained there with his wife and daughter.

Pat was kind to untie me and to provide encouragement from the dock at Gran Tarajal.

I stayed on Fuerteventura for a week then launched solo from Gran Tarajal to route clockwise around Cape Verde Islands, later passing south of the Azores. My original plan was to pass north of Azores however observing the weather patterns in March, I chose to maintain a safer latitude staying south of that archipelago. For the same reason, I passed south of Madeira before returning to Lagos. By the time that I returned there, I had spent 39 days on my own and covered 4,732 nautical miles.

I followed my 2,257M solo track from Lorient to Lagos with a 4,732M solo sail from Fuerteventura back to Lagos. The right margin above is the prime meridian passing through Greenwich, UK and the bottom margin is the Equator.

The goal of my journey from Fuerteventura back to Lagos was to satisfy the GGR qualification requirement of a minimum of 4000M sailed solo and nonstop using wind vane and celestial navigation on the same vessel that I registered, namely on S/V CLARA. I was allowed to check my work using GPS which will not be allowed during the actual race.

I was prepared to demonstrate my celestial navigation skills.

Star Finder is a wonderful tool to plan in advance celestial sights primarily of stars. Having a few star sights worked in advance helps to locate them quickly in the sky, so that the task will be complete during limited twilight period at dawn or dusk. To measure the altitude of a star, I have to be able to see the horizon and the same star; twilight allows both. Calculations follow inside the cabin.

When land was within sight just 7M away, Lagos was engulfed in a squall with heavy rains. I had just passed the busy shipping channels at one point my AIS indicating 42 vessels within range traveling east and west. I decided to reduce sail to fore reach so that I could stall for time for the squall to move on, when I noticed my damaged chainplate for the port side aft diagonal.

My routine rig check consisted of inspecting what was outside. I did not see this broken screw until I was 7M south of Lagos when I noticed the skewed chainplate above deck. While rounding Madeira earlier, I had encountered 45 knot winds in an easterly moving low pressure system which created steep cross seas, straining the standing rigging and possibly causing this damage.

When I saw the squall resting above Lagos, I reduced sail to fore reach. I then noticed the skewed port side aft diagonal chainplate. It turned out that one of its welded screws was broken. I immediately dropped all sails, then motored the rest of the way into the marina. The welded design of the chainplates was a serious problem. We will redesign each with four bolts which I can either tighten or replace as necessary.

After the mast was removed, we placed it on the ground next to CLARA to be serviced. I pulled all chainplates, three per side and sealed the holes on the deck before I left Lagos.

CLARA is now awaiting my return at Lagos. I will fly there mid October then spend a few weeks to coordinate the work with the boatyard technicians. While the mast is down, I would like to take advantage and demonstrate my jury rig setup to satisfy another race requirement. The skippers will take along as a kit all the lines, blocks and shackles necessary to set this up in case of dismasting. We are supposed to use two identical spinnaker poles to rig an A-frame then sail a preapproved triangular course for five hours in winds of 15 knots or higher to qualify. Simon Curwen lost his second pole in rough seas on the south Pacific Ocean during the 2022 GGR, so CLARA has only one pole at this time. I have on order a duplicate spinnaker pole to the one already onboard.

On Nov 3rd, I have an STCW Medical First Aid course to attend at Southampton in UK. A skippers meeting is scheduled at Les Sables-d’Olonne on Nov 22-23 before I return home.

I will fully commit to the race calendar starting in February 2026. My hope is that all six chain plates will by then have been redesigned and replaced. The genoa halyard was chafing at the masthead during Simon’s race as well, which still needs to be addressed. Then we will step the mast. This will also be a good opportunity to apply a fresh coat of hull paint and antifouling.

I intend to relaunch from Lagos in April to reach Southampton in UK in early May. I will meet an RYA Examiner while there for an oral exam to finalize my Yachtmaster Ocean certification. I also need to schedule my course for STCW Proficiency in Medical Care, also in Southampton once the 2026 offerings are announced. My Hydrovane will be serviced at their shop near Nottingham and my YB Trackers in Whiteley closeby. I will also find a technician to certify my HF radio setup. I will delay applying an extra coat of antifouling until just before departure. By the end of June, my wife Nancy will join me to move CLARA to the French coast. We will take my life raft to the Plastimo shop at Lorient where the enclosed EPIRB, PLB and the raft itself will be serviced. This cannot be done earlier to make sure that the service dates remain valid past June 2027.

Once the tasks at Lorient are complete, we will move CLARA to Les Sables-d’Olonne. That will be the port to host our Prologue Race and the actual GGR. All GGR skippers will gather there on August 10th and submit to safety and compliance checks. We will have a short race scheduled to start on Aug 15th out to a waypoint and back in order to test onboard communication and tracking systems. Once back at Les Sables-d’Olonne, access to CLARA will be restricted to remain in compliance. All of my summer sailing should be in Nancy’s company.

The actual GGR will start on 6 September 2026. If all goes well, I will complete the race sometime in the April of 2027. The closing and award ceremonies will take place toward the end of June 2027.

It is imperative that I solve the funding shortfall in the remaining 12 months. This journey has tasked our family budget with Nancy. We even setup a home equity line of credit just in case we need to borrow against our home as a last resort. Losing our home for this race would be my worst nightmare.