Successful rescue in Golden Globe Race

(April 11, 2023) – Ian Herbert Jones (GBR), competing in the 2022-23 Golden Globe Race, was successfully rescued today after his Tradewind 35 Puffin had become disabled northeast of Cape Horn.

It was 1740 UTC when Jones first saw the Taiwanese Fishing Vessel ZI DA WANG arriving from the North. Twenty-six hours earlier, he was unable to make contact by sat phone, and set off his EPIRB to make sure the Search and Rescue chain of his zone – NAVAREA 6 – knew where he was, and that he was facing a bad situation.

He had been in heavy weather for a full day already but was unable to deploy his drogue as the wind intensified. Not trailing a drogue or warps made it difficult to keep Puffins stern into the waves and avoid being rolled by the building sea.

The condition soon became overwhelming as the boat could not be held direct downwind. Two hours later, in a SW wind of 55 knots, gusting 75 knots and 8-metre sea, Jones manually lifted the safety cover of his YB3 Satellite tracking and texting device and pressed the distress alert button. This is recognized GGR distress protocol for all entrants, suggesting something more serious had happened.

In fact, at 1930 UTC Puffin had been rolled and dismasted, and Jones had hurt his back and gashed his head in the ordeal. He tried to get out and cut the rig to avoid the mast opening a hole in the hull but conditions were too dire to finish the job. So he went inside, sorted the water ingress through a cabin hatch and proceeded to pump the water out before resting.

Meanwhile, the GGR Crisis Management Team had made contact with the MRCC Argentina and later with the SAR Puerto Belgrano to coordinate rescue with commercial traffic in the vicinity. It proved a challenge in the extreme conditions as commercial ships in the vicinity could not safely make way towards Puffin at the time.

The UK Fisheries Patrol boat Lilibet was the first responder, before concerted efforts from the Argentinian SAR Puerto Belgrano and MRCC Taiwan contacted a fleet of fishing vessels closer to Puffin’s position and able to get to Jones off in a safe and timely manner. Soon there were three fishing vessels routing towards Puffin – the ZI DA WANG, FA DA CAI, and YUH SHENG N°1.

At 1815 UTC, the ZI DA WANG arrived first on the rescue site and positioned herself to the west of Puffin to windward, in order to cut the wind and flatten the sea for Jones, enabling him to maneuver at close quarters, while discussing on the VHF the best way to transfer from the injured Puffin to the rescue vessel.

At 19:30, the GGR were informed by the SAR Puerto Belgrano that Jones was on the ZI DA WANG, bruised, cut, scraped, still suffering from his back injury, but safe. They are believed to be bound for Cape Town, South Africa where he will be put ashore.

Puffin completed a first circumnavigation with Istvan Köpar in the GGR 2018, nearly completed a second one with Jones after covering 79.4% of the round the world course with one stop in Tierra del Fuego to repair the Hydrovane. Alas, the brave Tradewind 35 was a hazard to safety and had to be scuttled before he left his home for the last seven months to board the ZI DA WANG.

Event details – Entry list – Tracker – Facebook

Finish times will be adjusted as race organizers have issued credit for helping with the rescue of Tapio Lehtinen:
• Kirsten Neuschäfer: 35 hours + 30 litres of fuel
• Abhilash Tomy: 12hrs

2022 GGR Class:
1. Kirsten Neuschäfer (39) / South Africa / Cape George 36 – “MINNEHAHA”
2. Abhilash Tomy (43) / India / Rustler 36 – “BAYANAT”
3. Michael Guggenberger (44) / Austria / Biscay 36 – “NURI”

2022 GGR Chichester Class:*
1. Simon Curwen (63) / UK / Biscay 36 – “CLARA” (will stop to repair windvane)
2. Jeremy Bagshaw (59) / South Africa / OE32 – “OLLEANNA” (stopped in Hobart to clean hull)
* Competitors shift to this class by making one stop.

Retired
Edward Walentynowicz (68) / Canada / Rustler 36 (dropped out, Sept. 8)
Guy deBoer (66) / USA / Tashiba 36 (ran aground, Sept. 16)
Mark Sinclair (63) / Australia / Lello 34 (retired in Lanzarote, Sept. 22)
Pat Lawless (66) / Ireland / Saga 36 (retired in Cape Town, Nov. 9)
Damien Guillou (39) / France / Rustler 36 (retired in Cape Town, Nov. 14)
Ertan Beskardes (60) / UK / Rustler 36 (retired in Cape Town, Nov. 16)
Tapio Lehtinen (64) / Finland / Gaia 36 Masthead sloop (sank off Cape Town, Nov. 18)
Arnaud Gaist (50) / France / BARBICAN 33 MKII-long keel version (retired near Saint Helena, Dec. 9)
Elliott Smith (27) / USA / Gale Force 34 (retired, Dec. 20)
Guy Waites (54) / UK / Tradewind 35 (stopped in Cape Town to clean/paint hull; retired in Hobart after losing his liferaft, Feb. 10)
Ian Herbert Jones (52) / UK / Tradewind 35 – “PUFFIN” (rolled/dismasted northeast of Cape Horn, April 10)

About the 2022 Golden Globe Race
On September 4, 2022, the third edition of the Golden Globe Race started from Les Sables d’Olonne, France. Sixteen skippers will face eight months of isolation sailing 30,000 miles before finishing in Les Sables d’Olonne. Along the route there are several marks of the course and media requirements.

In 1968, while man was preparing to take his first steps on the moon, a mild mannered and modest young man was setting out on his own record breaking voyage of discovery. He had entered the original Golden Globe. Nine men started that first solo non-stop sailing race around the World. Only one finished. He was 29 year old Sir Robin Knox Johnston. History was made. Navigating only with a sextant, paper charts and an accurate and reliable time piece, Sir Robin navigated around the world.

In 2018, to celebrate 50 years since that first record breaking achievement, the Golden Globe Race was resurrected. It instantly gained traction with adventurers, captivated by the spirit and opportunity. Eighteen started with five finishers.

To embrace the original race, competitors must sail in production boats between 32 and 36 feet overall and designed prior to 1988 that have a full-length keel with rudder attached to their trailing edge. Additionally, sailors have limited communication equipment and can use only sextants, paper charts, wind up clocks, and cassette tapes for music.

Source: GGR