French sailor Damien Guillou has become the first competitor in the 2026 Golden Globe Race to pass the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope, as severe storms, damaged equipment and the demands of solo sailing take their toll on the fleet.
Guillou, sailing the Rustler 36 Solarem, reached the milestone on 3rd November, nearly two months after 16 competitors departed Les Sables-d’Olonne on 6 September. The race organiser's 4 November report said 12 skippers remained in the main contest, with the Southern Ocean still ahead.
Celestial navigation: Golden Globe Race leader Damien Guillou prepares to take a sextant sight aboard Solarem, relying on traditional seamanship as he leads the 2026 fleet towards the Southern Ocean. Photo: GGR 2026
Storms Test Solo Skippers
Three major weather systems had affected different sections of the fleet over the preceding ten days, with winds reported above 60 knots and damage to steering and sail-handling equipment.
Israeli skipper Daniel Pinsky, aboard the Baba 35 Exodus, described hand-steering under bare poles in winds exceeding 60 knots while breaking seas swept over his yacht.
“I have been through storms like that before. Nevertheless, I was afraid,” he told race organisers. He subsequently climbed the mast to recover a lost storm-jib halyard and reported that Exodus was sailing again.
British skipper Henry Wootton, sailing Privateer, also encountered heavy following seas, including a wave that sent water through the companionway. Swiss sailor Etienne Messikommer reported winds above 40 knots and the biggest seas he had experienced.
Irish Challenge Already Ended
The fleet's progress follows the retirement of Irish skipper Pat Lawless, whose strong second-place challenge aboard Silvermines Hydro ended after a Solent stay failure in October.
Lawless had been Guillou's closest challenger during the Atlantic stage, at one point closing to less than 50 nautical miles behind the French leader. His withdrawal ended a promising second attempt at the solo circumnavigation.
Injuries and Isolation
American skipper Guy deBoer was another casualty of the race's punishing conditions after suffering serious injuries in a fall aboard Spirit. The organiser's 4 November report said he could not continue racing. In a subsequent development, the Brazilian Navy rescued deBoer on 8 November after his condition worsened.
Beyond the storms, competitors have described the psychological demands of months alone at sea. The race's Window LIVE recordings offer occasional glimpses of sailors coping with fatigue, uncertainty, repairs and the isolation of a voyage without ordinary contact with home.
Southern Ocean Challenge Ahead
Guillou's passage beyond the Cape of Good Hope longitude marks an important stage, not the end of the danger. Behind him, competitors continue to contend with difficult weather and boat maintenance. Canadian Isa Rosli has spent hours removing barnacles from Olleanna's hull, while Italian Andrea Lodolo has had to alter course in severe conditions.
Barnacle battle: Isa Rosli aboard Olleanna faces a frustrating setback in the 2026 Golden Globe Race after spending hours in cold water scraping severe hull fouling in an effort to restore boat speed and keep his solo circumnavigation hopes alive. Photo: GGR 2026
The Golden Globe Race recreates the demands of traditional solo ocean racing, with long-keel yachts, paper charts, celestial navigation and windvane steering rather than modern electronic navigation aids. For much of the fleet, around 20,000 nautical miles of the circumnavigation remained at the time of the organiser's early-November report.
With the Indian Ocean, Pacific, and Cape Horn still to come, the remaining sailors face months of difficult decisions and unpredictable weather before any can contemplate finishing back in France.
