First Globe40 pre-registered entries: Competitive aims and world stories

The GLOBE40 © Jean-Marie Liot

The first pre-registrations soon started rolling in upon publication on 10 October 2019 of the Notice of Race for the Globe40 round the world race and the opening of pre-registration (1st phase of registration through until 30 June 2020 - refundable in the event of non-participation).

Six teams and 12 skippers, pioneers of this event, have already presented themselves to date and this is set to quickly stretch to around ten teams in the coming weeks.

Half the candidates are international, the other half French, they are experienced with some very fine offshore track records, they are 20 to 60 years of age, they are a combination of well-informed and professional skippers and, above all, they are very committed and passionate about the project, the course, the race and the great adventure to come.

Let's discover who they are, with each team also presented on the Globe40 FB page.

Eora Racing - Rupert Henry and Greg O'Shea: an experienced crew from the southern hemisphere and a homage to indigenous populations.

The first pre-registration for the debut edition of the Globe40 came from Rupert Henry, who is at an advanced stage of preparation with the scheduled launch of a new Lombard design Class40 in 2020.

This will be the third racing yacht for the Australian skipper after a Sydney 38, with which he finished the particularly tough 2004 edition of the Sydney Hobart, and a 62-foot Judel-Vrolijk "Chinese Whisper" with which he won the Sydney Hobart 2015.

With Chinese Whisper, Rupert and Greg O'Shea went on to take line honours in the double-handed Melbourne-Osaka race in 2018, a 5,500-mile passage at the heart of the Pacific, completed in 21 days.

The team is reforming for the Globe40, which is "the perfect new challenge" for them. They've called their new boat EORA as a mark of recognition of the indigenous people of the Sydney basin, whose waters they've sailed throughout their life.

Nicolas Magnan and Nicolas Pichelin: Two sailors from Marseille with a wealth of offshore experience to vie for victory whilst promoting universal values.

Nicolas Magnan, a naval architect by trade, boasts considerable offshore racing experience, the highlight being a participation in the last Route du Rhum in the Rhum Class, 5 transatlantic passages, a Sydney Hobart and one season on the VOR70 VFS.

Nicolas Pichelin meantime is a professional skipper who's taken some time out for family and the pursuit of a career in design and is now making his return to offshore racing to flesh out an already plump track record in this domain: circumnavigation of the globe in The Race with Club Med, America's Cup, Jules Verne Trophy, Orma championship, team manager of the MOD 70 Race for Water, as well as a polar expedition leader in the Antarctic.

With a long history crewing together, Nicolas Magnan and Nicolas Pichelin are joining forces to form an ambitious team at the start of the Globe40. On a technical and sporting level, they're keen to take on the challenge of posting crew performances that improve with every leg until they secure victory in this round the world.

Beyond this competitive aspect, their biggest driver is to give meaning to their actions, notably through notions of sharing and the consideration of cross-disciplinary human matters, which have a preponderant influence on any culture and nation, such as the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by all the United Nations Member States".

Segel Welt Racing Team - Andreas Hanakamp and Marcel Schwager: Austria and Switzerland joining forces around the world.

Following 2 participations in the Olympic Games in the Star class, Austrian Andreas Hanakamp also has vast amounts of experience racing offshore having skippered Team Russia in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008 and a Class 40 in the Transat Jacques Vabre 2013, racking up around 30,000 miles on the offshore racing circuit. A professional skipper, Andreas is also the manager of the maritime services company SEGEL WELT.

Andreas is teaming up with the Swiss sailor Marcel Schwager, a Mini sailor who participated in the 2017 edition of the Mini Transat in the Prototype category.

Their comments on the race are as laconic as they are eloquent: "Great route - Great boats - a race for sailors".

Gryphon Solo 2: Joe Harris and Rob Windsor (USA): Another round the world for Joe!

Well-versed in offshore racing, with an especially notable participation in 2015/ 2016 of a non-stop (aside from 2 pit stops) singlehanded round the world race on his Class40 No.106 with 152 days at sea, Joe Harris was finally longing for some calmer sailing. However, the call of the open ocean and the launch of a new round the world race pulled at his heartstrings.

Co-skipper and professional sailor Rob Windsor also has a long history intertwined with a whole host of races and the Class 40 in particular. He has 11 transatlantic passages to his credit.

Their intention is to "enjoy a fierce competition and why not go for the win. We're itching to find out who our rival playmates will be and to discover each of the areas we navigate".

Leo and Éric Grosclaude: "The Long Way Made for two": Father and son circumnavigating the globe

Éric Grosclaude and his son Léo, 27, based in Seine-et-Marne near Paris, are setting sail on the round the world race with a major joint project "A deux sur la Grande Route" (The Long Way made for two) - its provisional name. Léo already has his nose to the grindstone as he makes his way around the planet in a 3-year westabout circumnavigation from Italy as the skipper of a 64-foot Briand design.

Éric is a familiar face on the offshore racing circuits of the Atlantic having crewed on the VOR60 (former Djuice Dragons that competed in the Volvo Ocean Race) campaigned by TEAM JOLOKIA, an association which promotes diversity.

Éric and Léo's Globe40 project is about two sailing fanatics from the same family passing on the baton from one generation to the next. Indeed the son lives for the ocean and the father dreams of racing and offshore sailing. They are teaming up together in the greatest adventure of them all, with one goal, to race right around the globe on a Class40!

Kieran and Jean-Jacques Le Borgne: Father and son (2) around the world

Kieran Le Borgne is a well-known top-level kitefoil specialist, French Espoir champion and world No.2 at 21 years of age.

His father Jean-Jacques, owner of a 12m yacht for the past 10 years, has been sailing for more than 40 years, whilst fulfilling the role of professional sailor within the merchant navy.

"It is a family-based offshore racing project, which will utilise the experience of the father, the energy of the son and the support of the whole family. Communication about the project will showcase the passing on of knowledge and mutual aid between generations. Respect for the environment is also very much at the heart of the project and the boat will serve as a medium for communication about sustainable development and protection of the planet. An ancillary social project is being finalised with a study into the difficulties of the local populations at the various stopover ports".

For more information visit www.globe40.com and/or the facebook page: Globe 40.