Leg One of McIntyre Mini Globe Race Concludes in Panama

Naysayers be damned. A fleet of 15 19-ft mostly homebuilt, plywood ocean racers have completed Leg One of the Mini Globe race from Antigua to Panama. Fourteen of the 15-boat fleet departed Antigua on February 23 for the 1200-mile downwind leg to Panama. Amazingly, these little boats averaged over 100 miles per day, with the winner, Renaud Stitelmann, finishing in 8 days and 18 hours. All boats finished in under 12 days, with the top day’s run being 160 miles! While it’s a friendly competition, the first four boats finished within 10 hours of one another.

The last-place boat, Question 2, was arriving late in Antigua due to shipping delays and a qualifying sail, but as we write, it’s now just 12 miles from the finish line, bringing the whole fleet together in Panama. The 14 boats that started on the 23rd left Antigua in perfect 15-knot trade-wind conditions, which carried them quickly across the Caribbean to Panama. The leg was mostly drama free without any major gear failures, though sargasso weed slowed the boats down. Skipper Jasmine Harrison (the youngest competitor) on Nombatou reported the common challenge of clearing the weed collection off her rudder. In another incident, Dan Turk on Little Bea had a close encounter with what could have been a small whale, bringing his boat to a sudden halt from 6 knots and sending him flying into the galley bulkhead.

The boats also face strong adverse currents, especially near Colombia, where the wind against current kicked up tumultuous seas, keeping everyone alert aboard their small vessels. Staying out of the sun and weather meant staying below in a very warm, small cabin.

We caught up with the only American in the fleet, former mountain climber and now West Coast sailor Josh Kali, while he was resting up in Panama. In his typical upbeat manner he reported a great first leg, which started only six days after the completion of his qualifying sail from North Carolina to the starting line in Antigua. When asked how his boat, Skookum, performed, he said, “The boat’s in great shape, I just needed to wash the salt off; it’s really me that needs the rest.” Since his leg from North Carolina to Antigua was all upwind, the race from Antigua to Panama was the first time he sailed his boat downwind with spinnakers and rigging the poles, etc. It turned out to be a perfect shakedown sail.

Josh reports that most boats made it without too much gear failure, but while they’re all gathered in Colón, the group is collectively working on whatever issues need to be resolved on each of the boats. Many of the competitors had met in advance of the start as they raced from the Cape Verde Islands to Antigua for their qualifying run. Josh caught up with them for his six days in Antigua before the start and is now connecting again in Panama. The skippers had shared information online while building and outfitting their boats in advance of the race, but the brief shore time together has demonstrated the kindred spirit among the 15 sailors (crazies?) who want to race around the world together for 400 days on 19-ft boats.

Josh says the next challenge in the event is crossing Panama. Because of the small size of the vessels, they are not using the canal but are crossing overland on trailers. This requires dropping the spars and rerigging on the other side. The goal is to hit the starting line for Leg Two to Fiji (with required stops in the Marquesas and Tonga) on March 23, though some trailering issues might delay the departure. For the sailors, the 50 miles across Panama on land may be more worrisome than crossing the open ocean.

Josh now has the rhythm of sailing his boat downwind and is looking forward to the next approximately 40-50-day leg across the Pacific to the Marquesas. You can hear more from Josh in our Good Jibes podcast with him while he was preparing for the race in North Carolina. Follow the Mini Globe Race here.