What has got to be one of the coolest, if not the coolest race of the year is set to kickoff this weekend—on Halloween no less. Known as the Globe 5.80 Transat, the race is the brainchild of veteran adventurer and creator of the 2018 Golden Globe Race, Don McIntyre.
The race will feature a half-dozen solo-sailors—including McIntyre—all sailing a fleet of plywood Class Globe 5.80 meter amateur-built ocean racers. The race will consist of two legs: a 600-mile leg from southern Portugal to Lanzarote, in the Canaries; and a 3,000-mile leg, set to start Nov. 18, from Lanzarote to Antigua. The entire race is also serving as a kind of warmup/proof of concept exercise in anticipation of an upcoming solo circumnavigation of the globe. At press time dozens of other Class Globe 5.80 boats were reportedly already in-build in anticipation of the latter event…