‘Tis the Season for Circumnavigations
As we head for New Year’s Day, we call attention to four circumnavigations that will be underway at the start of the New Year. There are two Jules Verne fastest-around-the-world record attempts currently underway. The 11 remaining boats in the McIntyre Mini Globe Race just left Cape Town for the last leg across the Atlantic to Antigua to finish their almost 400-day circumnavigation, and if they brave the local weather here tomorrow, some sailors will join the annual “Around the Island” event, circumnavigating Alameda.
The Famous Project left the starting line between the Créac’h lighthouse (Ouessant) in France and Cape Lizard (UK) for the Jules Verne Trophy on November 29. The Jules Verne Trophy was started in the early ’90s to create an opportunity for boats to set the fastest elapsed time around the world, with no rules or restrictions. The goal was to beat the mythical “around the world in 80 days” mark, and in the first attempt, Bruno Peyron and crew beat it by just about 18 hours, getting around in 79 days 6 hours 15 minutes 56 seconds. The Famous Project is the first record attempt by an all-female crew. Learn more here and follow them on their tracker here. They have been blasting around the planet for 32 days.
You can follow Thomas Coville and his speedster, Sodebo, on their tracker here. They are currently ahead of the IDEC’s 2017 record-setting reference time of 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds. They left the starting line on December 15, so they are just 16 days into their oceanic blitzkrieg.
Another circumnavigation currently underway is the McIntyre Mini Globe Race, which started with 14 homebuilt plywood boats on February 23 in Antigua. Though at a much slower pace, they have been racing around the world ever since, crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific via the Panama Canal. There are 11 rugged boats and competitors remaining in the race. They’ve sailed 21,000 miles so far to make it to Cape Town, South Africa, and left on December 28 for the last 6,000-mile sail back to Antigua. West Coast sailor Josh Kali is part of the fleet and is currently running in 11th place. You can follow the fleet here.
All Alameda yacht clubs participate and offer hospitality for the annual New Years Day ‘Around the Island’ circumnavigation of Alameda. There are no live trackers following the Around the Island event; you have to be there live and in person to participate! You can visit the clubs as follows:
– Aeolian YC, 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. — serving their famous gin fizzes and breakfast burritos
– Alameda YC, 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. — serving chili and cornbread with drink specials
– Encinal YC — TBD
– Island Yacht Club — 12 p.m.–4 p.m.
– Oakland YC, 12 p.m.–4:00 p.m. — serving clam chowder bread bowls and bloody Marys
– Ballena Bay — TBD
There are lots of sailors starting the year sailing in circles around the planet, or around the island. How will you start sailing this year?