The Voyage of Madmen showcases solo yacht race
2018 Golden Globe Race start showing Sir Robin Knox-Johnston aboard Suhaili with Les Sables d’olonne mayor, Yannick Moreau and GGR Founder Don McIntyre. Image courtesy of Nick Jaffe / GGR2018
The Voyage of Madmen – a documentary about 2018’s golden globe – has been released on YouTube. It’s an independent production funded entirely and produced by Don McIntyre – ‘McIntyre Adventure’.
In 1968, the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race was the first ever around-the-world solo yacht race.
Known at the time as a voyage for madmen, only one man finished – Sir Robin Knox-Johnston – who became the first person ever to sail solo, nonstop and unassisted around the globe.
As to the other entrants? Some yachts sank, and one committed suicide.
This self-funded documentary tells the story of Don McIntyre’s 50 year anniversary recreation of the infamous race and his quest to attract amateur sailors to compete in small boats, taking on the perils of the sea entirely against the odds.
Of the 18 solo sailors to depart France in 2018, five solitary skippers crossed the finish line. The final finisher spent 322 days alone at sea. Thus the documentary is the story of the longest sporting event in history. It’s said to be ‘a display of brutal individualism by characters longing for a by-gone era who are hell-bent on recreating the longest, loneliest and most gruelling sports event on the planet.’ The race took place without modern tech, so surviving a solo non-stop lap of the world is seen as the achievement.
Over the past ten years, McIntyre says he has organised three around the world races – the Golden Globe Race, Ocean Globe Race and Mini Globe Race (currently underway). This has been done without major sponsors. Solo sailor Jesse Martin directed the film and was primary cameraman.
Unpaid berthing fees add sour touch to 2025
Earlier this year, McIntyre found himself in trouble over unpaid berthing fees for MDL. The dispute arose over the Ocean Globe Race 2023, which set sail from Ocean Village in Southampton.
According to an Admiralty Court transcript, there were 14 vessels involved, including McIntyre’s vessel SY Explorer. The vessels arrived on dates between 22 and 28 August 2023 and departed on 10 September 2023. On departure, MDL refused to provide clearance forms because the berthing fees, amounting to some £25,830 (according to the transcript), had not been paid. That marked the beginning of a ‘disputatious correspondence’, in the end leading to the arrest of the defendant’s vessel in May 2024. MDL subsequently welcomed the Admiralty Court judgement which called parts of McIntyre’s defence ‘scarcely arguable’.
The fourth edition of the McIntyre Golden Globe Race starts on 6 September 2026 from Les Sables d’Olonne. In the past three editions of the Golden Globe only nine sailors have finished, 43 tried. In 2026, 28 sailors are lining up for the start.
A fully reviewed Notice of Race, an increased following, new approved designs and a limit of seven boats of the same type will make the GGR 2026 even more interesting. Information about the 2026 skippers is available on the race’s website.
