The tropical low influencing the McIntyre Golden Globe Race fleet over the past 24 hours has developed into Tropical Storm Gonzalo, setting up a demanding test of seamanship.

Race control reports four skippers already experiencing winds of 30-35 knots, with seas building and the most exposed boats potentially facing waves of five metres.

The National Hurricane Center’s 03:00 UTC advisory on Friday confirmed Gonzalo moving north-northwest at seven knots, with maximum sustained winds of 40 knots. Its forecast calls for strengthening to 45 knots, with gusts to 55 knots, during Friday and into the night. Conditions at individual boats will depend on their position relative to the storm’s track.

A shifting danger zone

Among those race control considers most exposed are Louis Kerdelhué (France, 21), aboard the Biscay 36 ketch IE Charge; Gunnar Christensen (USA, 60), sailing the Hans Christian 34 cutter Pompoen; and Matt Woodside (USA, 68), aboard the Cape George 36 Tipi Haere.

As they work southwest, these sailors could encounter more than powerful gusts. The race team’s assessment warns of strong southerly winds swinging rapidly through east towards north within a matter of hours as the system passes. Those changes could leave a confused sea, with waves arriving from competing directions. For a lone sailor managing sails, self-steering and fatigue, that is an exhausting combination that demands good control.

Westing could make the difference

Farther west, Henry Wootton (United Kingdom, 35), aboard the Cape George 36 cutter Privateer, and Helga Marie (Mara) Løvenskiold Kveseth (Norway, 35), sailing the Saltram Saga 36 Showgirl, may avoid the worst if they can maintain their progress through Friday. Their westward positioning over the past 24hrs could prove crucial.

Guido Cantini (Italy, 58), aboard the Vancouver 34 Classic Hannah of Cowes, is approaching a passage through the Cabo Verde islands. Race control reports Daniel Pinsky (Israel, 35), sailing the Baba 35 Exodus, in the vicinity of Santo Antão overnight making a night landfall at the township before rounding the NW tip and making progress towards the Doldrums just missing the big winds.

Isa Rosli (Canada, 51), aboard the OE 32 Olleanna, has taken a more southerly course over the past 12 hours contrary to Rae control weather warnings suggesting he may not have received the weather alert. He will now experience strong westerly winds, later turning northwesterly, but will run a fast track that may keep him clear of the centre.

Approaching from the north, Pär Nyman (Sweden, 56), sailing the Rustler 36 Lazy Otter, is expected to miss the worst of the system. In this encounter, arriving later could offer a welcome advantage. These assessments remain subject to changes in the storm’s track and each yacht’s progress.

Repairs hold up two skippers

At Marina Rubicón in Lanzarote, Guy deBoer (USA, 70) remains alongside with his Tashiba 36 Spirit. Organisers are awaiting a critical surveyor’s report to establish the required structural work. Chainplate and structural hull repairs must be assessed and approved before work begins and one completed and approved before a new green card can be issued for him to continue in Chichester Class.

Selim Yalcin (Turkey, 65), aboard the Endurance 35 sloop Help Disabled Children, remains in Cádiz seeking to resolve his radio problems. At the time of this update, organisers have no confirmed plan for his return to the race in Chichester Class.

GGR Window Live: the drama at deck level

As the sun set on Thursday, 24 September, the Starlink-powered GGR Window Live gave YouTube viewers a compelling glimpse of life in the thick of it. Etienne Messikommer (Switzerland, 38), aboard his Tradewind 35 cutter Bernard, was seen reducing sail and setting a reefed staysail as the wind pressed harder and seas built to around three metres.

This was not a highlights package assembled after the event. It was a solo sailor working his boat in real time, with night approaching and the weather deteriorating: a striking foretaste of the scenes followers may witness in the Southern Ocean and around Cape Horn.

Developed with Swedish technology partner TriPeak, the one-way streaming system preserves the race’s isolation: it allows spectators to watch without giving skippers access to outside information through the equipment. The audience can look in; the sailor still has to meet the challenge alone.

Organisers estimate that the race’s overall social-media impact has increased by 400-500% compared with the 2022 edition, and report growing interest in the YB Race Tracker updates. Watch GGR Window Live on YouTube, or revisit earlier broadcasts in the GGR Window Archive.

Launching Saturday: GGR Stats opens up the numbers

Now for the big news. Organisers have announced that “GGR Stats” launches on Saturday, 26 September 2026, bringing together detailed race statistics from the 2018, 2022 and 2026 Golden Globe Races. Keep an eye HERE for the full detail.

For followers who have always wanted to look beyond the dots on the tracker, the new platform promises a much deeper view: average speeds, total distances sailed, 24-hour runs, first arrivals at key marks and detailed comparisons between boats and skippers.

Who is consistently delivering the strongest daily runs? How do different boats compare across the fleet? How does the latest edition measure up against its predecessors? GGR Stats is designed to put those questions at the heart of following the race, opening up the numbers behind the stories.

Organisers are billing the project as another world first for the GGR, with a level of detail intended to surprise seasoned yacht-racing followers as well as newcomers.

“We are absolutely convinced that keen followers will love the outcome,” says Don McIntyre, Golden Globe Race founder.

Comprehensive, detailed and built to be explored, GGR Stats promises a new dimension to the adventure. At sea, the immediate challenge is Gonzalo. Ashore, followers are about to get closer than ever to the performance behind the passage.

Daily messages from aboard — 24 September 2026

GGR entrants must send one daily “tweet” as a safety check-in. Here is a selection of their messages from 24 September, sharing the challenges, routines and humour of life at sea.

• Isa Rosli — Olleanna
  “Stuck in pretty much no wind:-(A bird landed for a rest.:)”
• Ertan Beskardes — Miss Beagle
  “Good morning. Overcast, lightning, thunder and rain. Now running with three reefs in the main, half the genoa and the staysail. After the rain, fresh clothes and sleep. Ready for the next one.” Later: “Little birds on her deck. Three reefs in the main, small staysail.” “Weather worse than forecast. Sprayhood moved to cockpit. Heavy rain for hours. All OK.”
• Matt Woodside — Tipi Haere
  “WOW! Just weathered a 36-knot squall as the wind shifted from northeast to southeast. All good. Wind now eight knots.”
• Daniel Pinsky — Exodus
  “Maybe the decision to go west was not great after all. It is getting hot. Health not 100%, but better.”Good to hear Daniel is feeling better.
• Mara Løvenskiold Kveseth — Showgirl
  “Hey Siri, how can I build a computer from a paper clip, silver tape, an apple and a battery?”
• Pat Lawless — Silvermines Hydro
  “There is a new storm forming southeast of me. I can see the clouds passing the moon. Need to keep ahead of it if possible.”
• Gunnar Christensen — Pompoen
  “Wind now to southwest at 08:00 UTC. First hint of approaching low pressure.”
• Henry Wootton — Privateer
  “Pushing southwest at pace to get around the top of the low-pressure system and ride its western side into the Intertropical Convergence Zone.”
• Guido Cantini — Hannah of Cowes
  “All good on HOC. ‘Caught’ eight flying fish last night. Tonight again!”Dinner delivering itself?
• Etienne Messikommer — Bernard
  “BERNARD all good onboard. First front over. A lot of rain and wind. Shower and laundry. Bisou, love Elo.”

Track the fleet at goldengloberace.com/live-tracker

by Golden Global Race