Globe40: High-fives and big hugs

American Joe Harris along with Roger Junet are competing in the Globe40, a multi-leg doublehanded round the world race in Class40s. The second leg started July 17, taking the five-boat fleet along the 7000nm course from Cape Verde Islands to Mauritius, with the duo on GryphonSolo2 finishing on August 26. Here’s his arrival update:

(August 28, 2022) – Well… we finally made it to Mauritius! Nearly 40 days from Cabo Verde. That was a work-out. About as varied a set of conditions as possible. The last 700 miles were hard on the wind or tight reaching through constantly changing wind and sea conditions. At times the slamming was reminiscent of our delivery from Portland to Lorient when we nearly lost our minds.

But we were finally rewarded by a beautiful sail once we sighted the volcanic peaks of the southern tip of Mauritius and sailed all day in beautiful conditions up to the finish in Port Louis. The race management team carrying GS2 family and friends came way out to meet us along with the photo-boat so we were accompanied the last two hours before a sunset finish. Very satisfying!

And when we got to the dock, my wife Kim, son Emmett, and daughter Sophie were all there as well as all our fellow co- skippers from the other four boats, so we had a small party on the pier with lots of high-fiving and hugging.

After dinner and many drinks we crashed at a hotel near the boat and slept in a bed that wasn’t moving for the first time in 40 days. Blissful. Yesterday we got up late and had a huge brunch and got to work cleaning the boat with a team of six who did an incredible job of removing all the wet gear, drying in the hot sun, thoroughly cleaning and re-loading the boat before we headed off to a beachfront hotel. Awesome efficiency!

So now we de-compress and chill heavily for a week. We plan to explore and hike all over this amazing island and then return September 5 to get the boat ready for the September 11 start of Leg 3 from Mauritius to Auckland, NZL – another really long voyage.

So, thanks to all who are following and I hope these last days of August are relaxing for everyone. If you want to chat, just reply to this email and I will get back to you while onshore.

Race details – Entries – Tracker

Leg Two Results:

Leg One Results:

The inaugural Globe40 is an eight leg round the world race for doublehanded Class40 teams. As all legs count toward the cumulative score, the longer distances more heavily weighted. The first leg, which took seven to eight days to complete, had a coefficient 1 while the second leg is ranked as a coefficient 3 leg. The race is expected to finish March 2023. Seven teams were ready to compete, but a Leg 1 start line collision eliminated The Globe En Solidaire with Eric and Léo Grosclaude (FRA) while the Moroccan team of Simon and Omar Bensenddik on IBN BATTOUTA retired before the Leg 2 start.

Start:
Tangier, Morocco – June 26

Stopovers:
Leg 2 start: Sao Vincente, Cape Verde Islands – July 17
Leg 3 start: Port Louis, Mauritius – September 11
Leg 4 start: Auckland, New Zealand
Leg 5 start: Papeete, French Polynesia
Leg 6 start: Ushuaia, Argentina
Leg 7 start: Recife, Brazil
Leg 8 start: St Georges, Grenada

Finish:
Lorient, France