The Mini Globe Race 2025 is drawing closer to the end of Leg 3, with solo skippers rapidly approaching Durban on their homebuilt, 19ft plywood ALMA Globe 5.80 micro-yachts.

Here is the latest from the fleet after 255 days (and counting!) of intense solo sailing.

Mini Globe Race Leg 3 at a glance:

• Eric Marsh becomes the Mini Globe Race’s first man overboard; his re-boarding prompts wider questions about safety and self-recovery
• Renauld Stitelmann remains the race leader, with Dan Turk and Keri Harris close behind
• The fleet faces strong currents and confusing sea states. The final approach to Durban, South Africa will require the skippers to sail 70 miles across the treacherous Agulhas Currents
• Across the fleet, wear and tear from a long year of sailing begins to reflect in sun-cooked sails and Hydrovane problems

Man overboard incident prompts safety review in Mini Globe Race

The running bridle that helped Eric Marsh re-board is visible on Sunbear. Photo: Mini Globe Race 2025.

The race saw its first man overboard incident in the night of 17 October.

70 miles from finishing in Mauritius, 72 year old Eric Marsh fell overboard on Sunbear while putting away his spinnaker pole.

He was tethered and managed to re-board after several attempts, which he says were hampered by the automatic inflation of his lifejacket.

‘I honestly thought it was all over for me. After many attempts, I finally dragged myself back on board over the port quarter. Wet and still very shaken, I’m very thankful I’m ok,’ he told race organisers soon after the incident.

Successful Self-Recovery in the Mini Globe Race

In the Mini Globe Race, contestants determine their own safety measures.

‘The ultimate safety is that you’re left up to your own choices and that you can decide what is best for you and your boat,’ McIntyre reasons. ‘Personal choice is the bottom line.’

Marsh attributes his own successful self recovery to three elements: a running bridle along the hull from bow to stern, an extra short strop separate from his safety harness tether, and a chest snap shackle on that tether.

Eric Marsh on Sunbear. Photo: Mini Globe Race 2025.

Though World Sailing has banned the quick release snap shackle used by Marsh and other contestants, race organiser Don McIntyre maintains that, ‘With a two way safety hook,’ like the kind favoured by World Sailing, ‘If it’s under load, you may not be able to pull yourself up a line to get enough load off the hook to let go.’

A full report on safety measures in the Mini Globe Race is expected in the coming weeks, which will include a survey of class safety and an enquiry into the use of automatic lifejackets.

The latest: Navigating the unpredictable Agulhas Currents

On 25 October, the Mini Globe Race 2025 fleet left Mauritius for the 1,500 nm sail to Durban.

For the first few days, the boats remained close together, with the first seven spread over just 20 nm. The fleet soon settled into its usual formation, with Renauld Stitelmann (Capucinette) retaining his lead, followed by Dan Turner (Immortal Game) and Keri Harris (Origami).

As the Mini Globe Race fleet now makes for Durban, the unpredictable Mozambique Channel has been giving skippers a run for their money. The final approach will require skippers to sail 70 miles across the treacherous Agulhas Currents before they can moor up for a well-deserved rest.

Some have been able to take advantage of the currents and hitch a ride on the stretch known as ‘Magic Carpet’ for its fast-flowing southbound currents. On Numbatou, Jasmine Harrison has even reached a speed record of 179 miles a day.

Yet strategising for the currents remains challenging, and their force remains unpredictable.

In a 4 Nov update, race leader Renauld Stitelmann reported North winds and an out of the ordinary, confused sea state a hundred miles out of Durban.

With the wind and current going the same direction, the sea should be flat; instead the waves were short, and very nervous, he said.

This graphic from MGR race organisers shows the challenge of transiting the current zones through their circular rotation and speeds up to 3kts, based on the wind direction forecast on Nov 2. Photo: Mini Globe Race 2025.

Skippers are adopting different approaches to face these challenging conditions.

Josh Kali intends to sail over the top of the problem area on Skookum.

Eric Marsh (Sunbear) and Pilar Pasanau (Peter Punk) are instead opting to skirt outside of the swirl. Pasanau opted for a more westerly route, keeping Reunion Island to port. The gamble dropped her from 4th to 11th place.

Christian Sauer (Argo) and Ertan Beskardes (Trekka) plan to cut through the middle of the currents, risking getting pushed down on the other side of it.

Regardless of their strategy, ‘[There’s] no easy answer,’ McIntyre has said in a Youtube race update. ‘It really comes down to the currents.’

Mauritius rewind: Sun damage and tugboat woes during the stopover

Not long after Eric Marsh went overboard, the Mini Globe Race fleet paused for a stopover in Mauritius.

In a historical Mini Globe Race first, Eric Marsh (Sunbear) and Jasmine Harrison (Numbatou) arrived in Rodrigues side-by-side.

The #MGR2025 Fleet Embracing Mauritian hospitality at Grand Baie YC before the Durban leg. Credit: Christine Turner / Mini Globe Race 2025.

While in Mauritus, skippers were able to undertake necessary repairs and maintenance to prepare for the challenging stretch to Durban.

The wear and tear of over 250 days of sustained sailing was already starting to show. Many reported sun-damage to their sails, and sough repairs from local sailmakers before setting off again.

Adam Waugh’s main tore right where Joshua Kali’s had, just under the class logo. Waugh was able to replace his tattered main with a spare he bought off Jasmine Harrison, at the additional cost of a time penalty.

Josh Kali at the Customs Dock in Mauritius Port Louis on 19 October 2025, pointed out his torn mainsail. Credit: Christine Turner / Mini Globe Race 2025.

The stopover came with its own damages.

Jasmine Harrison’s Numbatou had its bowsprit ripped off by a wake that sent the boat against the concrete wharf.  her sponsors were able to quickly send her a suitable oak replacement.

Solar panels on Keri Harris’ Origami also sustained wall damage that caused them to fail once the skipper left Mauritius. The resulting power shortage left Harris unable to consistently run Starlink.

Without his plotter and regular weather updates, Harris has now resorted to sailing by sextant.

‘I’m running a bit blind,’ he comments.

Keri Harris has raced offshore in the Pacific, Mediterranean and South China Seas. Credit: Keri Harris

On Jasmine Harrison’s Numbatou, her Hydrovane’s tendency to overcorrect in bigger seas requires her to hand-steer for long stretches, which makes for particularly tiring sailing in the currents the fleet now faces. 

Ertan Beskardes has also had to rethink his cruising style due to a broken Hydrovane on Trekka.

The culprit? A single dropped screw.

With his wind-vane now out of action, Beskardes will have to use his two small autopilots in light winds and switch to hand steering for anything over 15-20 knots. He expects his sleep to suffer.

Ertan Beskardes faces 1,000 miles to Durban after a single screw dropped, disabling his critical self-steering gear. Credit: Ertan Beskardes / Mini Globe Race 2025.

Next up for the Mini Globe Race 2025

After the Mini Globe Race 2025 fleet stops in Durban, the solo skippers will sail another 1,000 nautical miles to Cape Town for the end of Leg 3.

In Leg 4, they’ll face the infamous Southern Ocean.

With 4,600 miles to go, the Mini Globe Race 2025 fleet is drawing closer and closer to the end of this extraordinary adventure.

‘I thought it was all over’: man overboard drama hits Mini Globe Race 2025

Overnight (17 October), Eric Marsh of Sunbear took a chilling tumble. It was the first man overboard in the Mini…

Stitelmann keeps the lead as Mini Globe Race 2025 leaves for Mauritius

Spirits high and water-tanks freshly topped up, the last of the Mini Globe Race 2025 fleet is setting off for…

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