First-Ever McIntyre Mini Globe Race Completed by 15 Home-Built Yacht Skippers

Building a yacht in your garage to race around the world sounds like a fever dream, but that's exactly what 15 solo skippers did. On March 7, 2026, Renaud Stitelmann crossed the finish line aboard CAPUCINETTE, setting the inaugural record time of 180 days, 11 hours, 25 minutes, and 57 seconds to win the first-ever McIntyre Mini Globe Race.

The first around-the-world yacht race sailed in "mini" yachts, an idea conceived by Australian adventurer Don McIntyre in 2020, sailed into the history books as finishers arrived in Antigua having raced 24,000 miles solo around the globe in the past 13 months. The 15 sailors, 13 men and two women from eight countries, set out from the National Sailing Academy in Antigua on September 23, 2025, aboard ALMA Class Globe 580 home-built 19ft plywood yachts, racing west about via all the oceans of the world.

Stitelmann's dominance was total. He won every leg of the race, averaging 5.54 knots, or 133 miles a day. His boat CAPUCINETTE was part professionally built, part home-built, with Multiboats in Poland completing the hull, keel, and paintwork before Stitelmann built the interior, fitted the electrics, and designed and constructed the deck himself. "Round the world is something, but round the world on a small boat is something else," Stitelmann said. "12 months of no comfort, and it is hard to be on a small boat with the wind and waves; everything is hard on a small boat, but it was very pleasant and I really enjoyed all of this."

The rest of the podium was hard-fought. Dan Turner aboard IMMORTAL GAME (AUS) made a historic second-place finish, stopping the clock at 184 days, 1 hour, 20 minutes, and 42 seconds. Keri Harris aboard ORIGAMI (UK) made a remarkable third-place finish, stopping the clock at 190 days, 21 hours, 4 minutes, and 45 seconds. Spanish skipper Pilar Pasanau aboard PETER PUNK finished fourth overall in 191 days, 16 hours, 10 minutes, and 4 seconds, becoming the first Spanish woman to complete a solo circumnavigation, and in the smallest yacht ever to achieve it.

The race tested both sailors and their builds at the sharpest possible edge. The fleet's statistics are impressive for such small yachts, sailed under windvane self-steering or by hand virtually all the way. Top speed hit 17 knots, with Keri Harris in ORIGAMI posting the best 24-hour run at 219 miles. Extreme conditions in the Southern Ocean delivered six-to-seven metre seas. While most entrants experienced knockdowns at some point, the one-design ALMA Globe 580s proved themselves: none suffered structural damage, rudder, or keel issues.

Not one of the 15 starters abandoned the race because of boat or challenge issues. Of the four retirements, one was due to a health issue and the three Australians who retired were simply short of money to continue after reaching Australia.

For the home-build community, the numbers behind the class are arguably the bigger story. Race founder Don McIntyre said the ALMA Class Globe 580 one-design concept starts with €350 construction plans and has now proven itself. "Together with Polish yacht designer Janusz Maderski, we have created the perfect little dream boat," McIntyre said. "Now we have active builders in 37 countries and will have hundreds sailing very soon."

Jasmine Harrison aboard NUMBATOU is set to become the first British woman to circumnavigate the globe solo in the smallest yacht, while Josh Kali stands to set a record for the smallest American-flagged yacht to circumnavigate solo. All of this follows in the footsteps of the late John Guzzwell, who in 1955, exactly 70 years before the race, set off in his home-built 20ft timber yacht TREKKA to sail solo around the world, returning three years later as the first ever to do so. Guzzwell passed away in 2024 at the age of 94, just weeks after accepting the role of Patron of the ALMA Globe Class.

The official prize giving was held on March 20 at the National Sailing Academy, with support from the Falmouth Ocean Club. For anyone who has ever looked at a sheet of marine plywood and wondered how far it could really take them, the Globe 580 fleet just answered that question in the most decisive terms imaginable.