It’s the first time we have used the sub-category “Global” in the thirty years and more of the Sailor of the Month rankings, but it most appropriately captures the very special mood at Antigua in English Harbour on 9th March, when Jakub Ziemkiewicz had brought his 19ft own-built Bibi into port to take sixth place in the Mini Globe Race.
The vast majority of keelboat sailors in Ireland – whether inshore or offshore – do their sailing in boats very significantly longer than just 19ft overall. Yet Jakub had done the world circuit in this tiny craft, and done it with a steadily improving performance which saw him placing sixth overall at the finish - an outstanding showing.
Out of the “organised mayhem” of the building shed in Cork emerges the neatly-finished Bibi – all 19ft of her……..
