Having arrived on the island last week after her first solo transatlantic sailing voyage, Mara Løvenskiold is preparing to head back to Europe. Her goal: to participate in the Golden Globe Race (GGR), a non-stop, unassisted round-the-world race with equipment limited to that of 1968. The Norwegian sailor is currently the only woman registered for the 2026 edition.
To set sail on September 6th from Les Sables d’Olonne in the Vendée region of France, Mara must have logged 8,000 miles offshore and 4,000 miles solo (1 mile = 1.6 km). The 24-year-old sailor, who had never sailed solo before, documented her transatlantic voyage with a 24/7 live stream, followed by over 1.5 million people. “I’m probably the first solo sailor to have lost my voice after two weeks because I talked too much,” the young woman recounted with a laugh during a conference at the Lagoonies. While the live stream helped alleviate her loneliness somewhat during the 35 days of her crossing, this virtual comfort will not be available during the GGR.
Aboard her Saltram Saga 36, christened “Showgirl,” Mara will have to sail for 6 to 9 months in conditions similar to those of 1968: no GPS, a sextant for navigation, paper charts, a daily weather report by fax, and no drinking water on board except rainwater. A sealed bag of modern equipment is present, but reserved for extreme emergencies. This race, described as particularly “long, slow, and solitary,” puts sailors to the test: in the last edition in 2022, 16 boats started, and only 3 crossed the finish line while adhering to the original rules. After Susie Goodall ‘s participation in 2018 and Kristen Neuschäfer ‘s victory in 2022, Mara will be the third woman to attempt the GGR, and perhaps the second to add her name to the list of winners.
Follow Mara’s adventures on classicmara.com
Source: Faxinfo https://faxinfo.fr/en/sport-mara-lovenskiold-a-saint-martin-seule-femme-en-lice-pour-la-golden-globe-race-2026/
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