He built a 19-foot boat in his driveway - Then sailed it around the world
by Dan Turner 9 Mar 23:16 PDT
Dan Turner – Crossing the finish line after 28,000NM in Antigua aboard home-built, Immortal Game © Dan Turner
What started as a driveway boat-building project has turned into one of the most remarkable sailing achievements by an Australian in recent years. Daniel Turner, a proud South Australian originally from Port Lincoln and now living in Adelaide, has sailed more than 28,000 nautical miles around the world alone, finishing second overall in the brutal McIntyre Mini Globe Race 2025 in his self-built 19-foot yacht Immortal Game.
Sailing solo across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, Turner spent more than a year at sea battling storms, isolation, equipment failures and the relentless physical and mental challenge of navigating the world's oceans alone in a boat barely six metres long.
His yacht, Immortal Game, is a Class Globe 580 — one of the smallest classes of yachts ever used to race around the world. What makes Turner's achievement even more remarkable is that he built the boat himself, making him the highest-placed amateur boat builder in the race and the only sailor on the podium to have both built and raced his own yacht.
The historic inaugural race was won by Swiss sailor Renaud Stitelmann, while Spanish skipper Pilar Pasanau also made history as the first woman to circumnavigate the globe in a Class Globe 580 yacht.
For Turner, the journey began long before the start line. With little formal boat-building experience, he spent countless hours constructing Immortal Game himself before launching into the global challenge. What followed was a journey of more than 28,000 nautical miles, crossing multiple oceans and enduring everything the sea could throw at a solo sailor in a 19-foot boat.
Throughout the race Turner remained consistently among the leading competitors, demonstrating remarkable seamanship, resilience and determination as he pushed his small yacht across some of the most remote stretches of ocean on the planet.
Turner has been quick to acknowledge that his achievement was not a solo effort on land. He has expressed heartfelt thanks to his family, friends, sponsors, and the wider Immortal Game community, who provided support, encouragement, and guidance when the seas got rough and the challenges felt overwhelming. Their messages, advice, and unwavering belief helped Turner stay focused and motivated through some of the toughest moments of the race.
From humble beginnings building a boat by hand to standing on the podium of a global ocean race, Turner's journey is a story of grit, resilience and belief in an impossible dream. For South Australians watching from home — especially those from the tight-knit coastal community of Port Lincoln — his finish is more than just a sailing result. It is proof that with determination, courage, a strong support network, and a little bit of madness, someone from a small town on the edge of the Southern Ocean can quite literally sail around the world.