First navigation in the Golden Globe Race fleet, comparing speeds across the Gulf of Vizcaya (Photo: Paco Hispana Miranda)

The Golden Globe Race is a return to the original sailing world... in 1968, as man was preparing to take his first steps on the moon, a modest young man in soft ways took his own journey of discovery to beat records.

The high seas races changed forever with adventurers and navigators, inspired by Sir Robin Knox- Johnston, who followed his pioneering stele... nine men started the first solo race without scales around the world... only one ended... it became history... sailing with a sextant, paper letters and a precise and reliable watch, Sir Robin turned the world around.

In 2018, to celebrate the 50 years of that first feat that beat the record, the Golden Globe Race was resurrected... immediately caught the attention of the world's media, as well as the adventurers, captivated by the spirit and opportunity: The original race has returned.

The 15 ships of the Golden Globe Race Fleet sail for the first time in a fleet and measure each other in this 240-mile race towards the Sables d'Olonne with a pleasant west breeze, under the Asturian sun.

The SITRAN Challenge has no sailing rules and allows ships to sail alone or with full crew, with friends and family, spending time together before the Race Village Golden Globe Race and the exit around the world leaving in three weeks.

It also allows organizers to check and validate critical security and communication systems during this high seas journey, including Yellow Brick and bidirectional satellite communications beacons, before turning around the world. All this before the participants receive in Les Sables d'Olonne the long-awaited "Green Letter" which allows them to finally take the exit.

The 15 ships participating in the Golden Globe Race, which compete from Gijón to Les Sables d'Olonne in the SITRAN Challenge, are as follows:

1. Abhilash Tomy (43) / India / Rustler 36
2. Arnaud Gaist (50) / France / Barbican 33 MKII
3. Damien Guillou (39) / France / Rustler 36
4. Edward Waltiynowicz (68) / Canada / Rustler 36
5. Ertan Bessardes (60) / UK / Rustler 36
6. Guy deBoer (66) / USA / Tashiba 36
7. Guy Waites (54) / UK / Tradewind 35
8. Ian Herbert Jones (52) / UK / Tradewind 35
9. Jeremy Bagshaw (59) / South Africa / OE32
10. Kirsten Neuschäfer (39) / South Africa / Cape George 36
11. Mark Sinclair (63) / Australia / Lello 34
12. Michael Guggenberger (44) / Austria / Biscay 36
13. Pat Lawless (66) / Ireland / Saga 36
14. Simon Curwen (63) / UK / Biscay 36
15. Tapio Lehtinen (64) / Finland / Gaia 36 Masthead sloop