Round the world Globe40 gets underway

The first edition of the Globe40 got underway June 26 in the Bay of Tangier, with the seven doublehanded teams setting off on the round the world race for Class40 yachts from this Moroccan port.

Before leaving the Strait of Gibraltar, the competitors completed a 7-mile coastal course in sunshine and a W/NW’ly breeze of around fifteen knots. The fleet than commences with the first of eight legs, starting with the 1,740 mile course to Cape Verde.

An early accident involved the Canadian team of Mélodie Schaffer and Gary Jacques on Whiskey Jack which crossed tacks with the French Team The Globe en Solidaire, with the latter forced to return to port to repair a damaged bowsprit.

Along with the Canadians, North America is also represented by two USA entries: Amhas with Micah Davis and Brian Harris and Gryphon Solo II with Joe Harris and Roger Junet.

Once in the Atlantic, sailors will latch onto the well-established trade winds which will propel them along towards Madeira and then on to the Canaries archipelago, both of them course marks in this first leg.

The latter will largely feature downwind conditions, which should enable the sailors to gently pick up the pace on what is set to be a week-long passage in a steady breeze.

Race details – Entries – Tracker

Starting on June 26, the eight leg course will finish on March 2023, with all legs counting toward the cumulative score with the longer distances more heavily weighted.

Start: Tangier, Morocco

Stopovers:
Sao Vincente, Cape Verde Islands
Port Louis, Mauritius
Auckland, New Zealand
Papeete, French Polynesia
Ushuaia, Argentina
Recife, Brazil
St Georges, Grenada

Finish: Finish: Lorient, France