First boat home in Ocean Globe Race

Pen Duick VI, skippered by Marie Tabarly, has taken provisional line honours in the final leg of the inaugural McIntyre Ocean Globe Race, and in the days ahead could potentially win the OGR overall.

The black-hulled, 73-foot Bermudan Ketch, crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron finish line in Cowes, UK, late evening on 11 April. With almost a two-day lead on nearest rival L’Esprit d’équipe for line honours, Tabarly (helming the yacht sailed by her father Éric in the 1973 Whitbread Round-the-World Race) finished in 12 knots of wind and strong tidal currents, enduring a ‘difficult docking’ at Trinity Landing.

“There were so many stand-out moments,” says Tabarly. “I remember we were going fast, in 55 knots of wind and there were dolphins just jumping on the waves. In 55 knots! Crazy. I remember racing very close with Translated 9 and Maiden and being able to see them. Then all the buddy chats, four times a day on the radio, I’m going to miss them. There are way too many moments, so many amazing moments.

“Translated 9 . . . were my best enemies. I told them in the beginning I would be their worst nightmare and it turned out they were my worst nightmare.

“There were four of us, between Spirit of Helsinki, Maiden and Translated 9 that we had a very good fight with,” says Tabarly. “It was an honour and a pleasure to sail against these. But tonight, I’m thinking of Translated 9.” The latter was forced to divert to Madeira to repair cracks in its hull. “I have connected with the people in this race, it’s extraordinary. I still don’t realise it’s over. I’m thinking there is another leg.

“I’m very, very proud of my crew. I’ve got 21 amazing people, good human beings, that you want to spend time with. It was exactly what I planned with them, no surprises, everything was perfect.”

In a marked difference from a release of September 2023, which had the race arriving back at MDL‘s Ocean Village Marina (from whence it departed) a spokesperson says: “Once crossing the finish line, the fleet will dock at Trinity Landing, West Cowes, for the traditional champagne reception and welcome by family and friends. The yachts are required to stay in Trinity Landing for 48hrs.”

Pen Duick VI currently sits in second place on the overall race IRC leaderboard, just 19 hours behind Triana.

“The boat that wins this round-the-world voyage will be the one that arrives safely in port, having found the right balance between pulling on the equipment and the crew, and preserving them. In other words, being on the brakes and the accelerator at the same time. For the first time, I admit to feeling a certain relief at the idea of arriving. I think I’m physically, emotionally and nervously exhausted. There’s still time, but Pen Duick VI is clearly in better shape than I am,” says Tabarly.

Challenges for Pen Duick VI

The round-the-world OGR race, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Whitbread race, has proved challenging for both yacht, skipper and crew. And it has not always gone Pen Duick VI’s way.

Setting sail last September from Southampton to Cape Town, the first leg proved difficult for the historic yacht. An investigation revealed a broken security seal on a crew phone bag, resulting in a 72hr time penalty being applied to Pen Duick VI‘s results. After this adjustment, the yacht ranked 4th in line honours and 7th in IRC.

Leg two, Cape Town to Auckland, proved more successful, ranking 2nd in line honours and 5th in IRC. It was during the third that Pen Duick VI barrelled into Punta del Este, first across the line and second in IRC.

The boat experienced a man overboard at the start of leg four. The crew member involved was recovered within minutes with no injuries were reported. To date this is the only man overboard situation throughout the OGR.

Who will win the OGR?

Triana still has 1320nm until crossing the finish line and is now racing the clock. The forecast suggests light winds ahead which will slow the average speed . . . that needs to be 4.9kt all the way to the finish to hold the IRC lead.

A second former Whitbread yacht and winner of the 1985 race, L’Esprit d’équipe, is 360nm miles behind and is expected to take second-in-line honours, arriving in Cowes within 48 hours. Third place in line honours, another 100 miles back and gaining fast, is Spirit of Helsinki followed by Neptune – 200 miles further back – and then Maiden.

The remainder of the fleet are heading into light winds which will complicate progress. The next 48 hours are going to prove extremely challenging for crews already frustrated with the slow progress.

All results are provisional and do not become official until after all compliance checks are complete, skipper and crew declarations are signed and Notice of Race obligations are met.

Fourteen yachts set sail on the Ocean Globe Race in September 2023. It’s a 27,000-mile circumnavigation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Whitbread Round the World Race in a retro edition of the iconic race. The competitors have no GPS, no high-tech equipment, and no computers onboard. The crews are navigating using only a sextant, charts and the stars, as the competitors did in the early Whitbread races.

Six of the boats competing have taken part in one or more of the past Whitbread races, the most notable being Tracy Edwards’ Farr 58 Maiden. In 1990, Edwards triumphantly brought home the first ever all-female Whitbread crew onboard Maiden to Ocean Village Marina.

The Royal Yacht Squadron welcomes the OGR fleet

“The Royal Yacht Squadron is delighted to support the McIntyre Ocean Globe round the world race at its important 50th anniversary, and to welcome finishers off our Solent battlements in April 2024,” says Rear Commodore Yachting Bruce Huber. “We celebrate the achievement of the diverse 218 male and female competitors from 23 countries who, in the spirit of the original Whitbread Round the World Race and squadron round-the-world yachting pioneers Francis Chichester, Alex Rose and Robin Knox-Johnson, are circumnavigating the globe without electronic communications, computers, satellites, GPS, or high-tech materials.”

Unless otherwise stated, all images courtesy of Tim Bishop PPL.