South Australian sailor Dan Turner prepares for third leg of the Mini Globe Race 2025
by Dan Turner 29 Jun 08:08 PDT
Immortal Game © Dan Turner
After eight months at sea and more than 16,000 nautical miles under his belt (including the Atlantic qualifying leg), South Australian sailor Dan Turner finished in 2nd place and is now preparing to embark on the third leg of the Mini Globe Race 2025 — a gruelling solo circumnavigation challenge for sailors in compact 5.8-metre yachts.
Sailing aboard his homebuilt yacht, Immortal Game, Dan has already navigated treacherous ocean conditions, including powerful storms, squalls, torrential downpours, near hits from lightning, a close encounter with two orcas, and an unnerving brush with an unidentified vessel. He is currently docked at Vuda Marina, Fiji, following the completion of Leg 2, and is preparing Immortal Game for the next leg — a westward passage across the Indian Ocean toward Cape Town.
Dan is the only South Australian competing in the Mini Globe Race and has proven himself a formidable contender, moving up from fourth to now second overall in the international fleet of 15 competitors only behind Renaud Stitelmann from Switzerland. With his characteristic grit and determination together with his always positive mindset, he now sets his sights on the upcoming back half of the race and a further 8-months away from Australia to finish off this first-of-its-kind extraordinary global challenge. This next leg through to Cape Town is considered to be the toughest of the race and he knows the biggest challenges are yet to come.
"This race is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one," Dan shared before departing. "Every day out there is unpredictable. But I built Immortal Game for this moment, and I'm proud to represent South Australia on this world stage." To date, Dan is extremely happy with how both himself and the boat are going having built the boat himself with no prior building experience and taking to the ocean with very limited solo sailing experience. After coming in 7th in the Transatlantic qualifier, 4th in Leg 1 of the Mini Globe Race and now 2nd in Leg 2 and overall, Dan says Immortal Game continues to exceed his expectations in every way and notes that winning is not his primary goal in the race. He just wants to sail safe, have fun and continue to learn and compete to the best of his ability.
Battling the elements
Leg 2 of the race — from Panama to Fiji via Tahiti, the Marquesas Islands and Tonga — brought with it some of the most testing conditions Dan has faced. While sailing under spinnaker, Dan encountered a powerful storm cell with increasing wind speeds off of the Tuamotu Islands. He quickly required lowering all sails and encountered wind strengths in excess of 60 knots for several hours before continuously battling winds between 40-50 knots for 10 hours.
"The sea was completely white," Dan recounts. "Immortal Game was completely knocked down and side-on to the waves, moving downwind at a strong rate of knots — and I was actually being pushed back toward where I had come from." Worried about running into reefs and losing miles again the fleet, Dan deployed a drogue during this time to help slow the boat down.
The sea state continued to build rapidly, and after approximately four hours battling the storm, Dan managed to contact his Campaign Manager to report the situation. As lightning began to strike nearby, Dan made the critical decision to shut down all electronics onboard to protect the systems from damage.
Along with having a separate moment where a lightning strike came within 100-200 metres, Dan describes the storm as a defining moment of the journey so far:
"It was a true test between myself and Immortal Game. The boat held up well — and it's been character-building." Immortal Game has proven itself to be a strong and reliable vessel.
Moments of connection and culture
After a 33-day passage from Panama to Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands through the doldrums and across the equator and a further 14 days to Papeete, Dan found a welcome reprieve in Tahiti, where he was warmly greeted by his parents who had flown in from Australia. They arrived with a new anchor delivered via airfreight following the loss of his previous one in the Marquesas after getting tangled with an underwater mooring. Dan also made the decision to replace Immortal Game's furler in Tahiti to best position the boat for Leg 3 after his forestay detached in Leg 1 of the race and a near loss of his rigging during this time. He had since been using a different method of using his headsail via a 'hanked' system.
From Tahiti, Dan sailed on to Tonga, where he experienced the rich local culture and world-renowned hospitality — calling it one of the highlights of his journey so far. This included drinking Kava with the local police, eating amazing food and exploring caves, beaches and mountains with friendly locals.
Continuing west, Dan made his way to Fiji, staying connected with his Campaign Manager and immediate family using Starlink satellite internet installed onboard Immortal Game. The day before his arrival, Dan celebrated a small victory at sea — catching a skipjack tuna, which he presented to the local customs team. Now, Dan is taking several weeks break and is currently visiting family back home until the restart in late July.The Challenge Continues
The Mini Globe Race is known for its unforgiving format, designed to test the endurance, seamanship, and resilience of solo sailors as they navigate some of the world's most remote and hazardous waters. Being in 19-foot boats, never before has the world seen such a challenge and is likely one of the longest, if not longest race of any sport in history. Dan himself left Australia back in November of 2024 with a qualification leg across the Pacific starting in December 2024 and is not anticipated to finally come home to Australia again until April 2026.
As Dan prepares for the next leg of this extraordinary challenge, he welcomes sponsorship partners who share his spirit of adventure and commitment to continue pushing boundaries. Joining the Immortal Game campaign offers a unique opportunity to align with a powerful story of courage, innovation, and Australian tenacity on the global stage.
Dan has also written a book about his previous adventures called 'From Sands to Sea,' which can be purchased at danturneradventure.com