After several days of calm weather that tested everybody’s nerves, the fleet has finally caught the trade winds. The four leading boats are currently leaving the Cabo Verde Islands in their wake while Jim Schofield (Ireland) in his Molly Claire, who took a more conservative start and missed the first weather system, is crossing the latitude of Nouadhibou in Mauritania.

Globe 580 Transat Race Director Lutz Kohne is relieved to see his sailors finally getting some wind! “After a week of patchy winds, we are happy to see that our old friend, the Azores High, settled in again this weekend, giving the guys steady trades and boat speeds above 5 knots. Being becalmed in the middle of the ocean is one of the significant mental challenges of solo sailing, and I am impressed how well the Globe 5.80 Transat skippers have sat it out and enjoyed the beautiful nature around them!"

With less than 2000 NM to go, the sailors have completed one-third of the voyage. Picture taken on the first leg start day in Lagos. Credit: G580T

Fleet finally catching trade winds after 12 days of patchy winds along the African coast. Sailors now sailing west in tropical weather and steady winds, leaving Cabo Verde and Jim Schofield (Ireland) with his Molly Claire behind.

The southern group of Etienne Messikommer (Switzerland) in his Numbatou and Michal Krysta (Czech Republic) in his Menawan have just passed Mindelo in Cabo Verde, which Michal chose to round south. Shadowed by the island for most of Sunday with less wind, he let Etienne increase the gap between them through better speed, but as always between those two, this is far from over!

Meanwhile, 100 nm north of them, Peter Kenyon (UK) whose Origami and Don McIntyre (Australia) whose Trekka are still battling it out on a parallel route on the same longitude. Don is thrilled to finally cross the 20° north latitude, enabling a more direct route towards Antigua.

With less than 2000 nm to go, the sailors have completed one-third of the voyage, and the most challenging part of it, with elusive winds and heavy traffic. They are all shirtless, in good spirits, with the boats in perfect condition for the last part of this inaugural 580 voyage from Lagos to Antigua.

You could feel their spirits were high through their tweets on Nov 26 ( DAY 9):

N°01 DON MCINTYRE (AUSTRALIA): great night give me wind i go fast give me blue i go happy give me warm i go naked give me trekka i go to antigua happy naked sailor
N°07 MICHAL KRYSTA (CZECH): Perfect wind condition today. Menawan is flying to south-west as fast as she can. Klárce hubana, zítrasivoláme ?.
N°88 ETIENNE MESSIKOMMER (SWITZERLAND): YO. flying fish all around and the tipical tropial heat fill with moister. yes in the tropics we are. best option naked live.
N°47 PETER KENYON (UK): Found my second flying fish of the journey in the corner of the cockpit this morning. Been watching some live ones do some huge leaps across the wake this pm.
Nº57 JIM SCHOFIELD (IRELAND) : Still moving! Spirits good.

Globe 580 founder and Transat competitor Don McIntyre is especially pleased with the boat, and he always compared this small boat journey with his 2010 Bounty Boat Expedition which with very little food and no toilet paper. And this time he has plenty.

Globe 580 founder and Transat competitor Don McIntyre is especially pleased with the boat, and his sailing time is giving him even more ideas for the class. “We are learning as we go but now have significant mileage in the fleet in wind conditions ranging from 0 to 50 knots with no damage.” Don said over the weekend, “The design is excellent, the boat is strong and can carry weight. This gives me several ideas about the future of the class for the less experienced or the more social sailors. Expect big news in Boot Dusseldorf!”

Severin Hummer will bring his race-ready 5.80 #98 on display on the McIntyre Adventure stand in Boot Dusseldorf. The 25-year-old from Switzerland decided not to participate in the 3000 nm leg after successfully completing the 600 nm qualifier, and will trailer his Shrimp back to continental Europe before taking her to Dusseldorf for the boat show from January 22 to 30. Picture Credit: Aïda Valceanu/ G580T

The McIntyre Adventure team will be participating in Boot Dusseldorf from January 22 to 30 and invites builders to come and see for themselves a race-ready, rigged Globe 580 boat exhibited on the stand. They will meet fellow builders and Transat 580 competitors and learn about the latest developments of this fast-growing fleet with more than 150 plans been sold and more than 50 currently being built.

If you are looking for a winter project and want to build your ocean capable racing yacht, visit www.classglobe580.com, and the builders’ blog page