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Cdr Abhilash Tomy (Retd) finishes second in Golden Globe 2022-23 Race

Cdr Abhilash Tomy crossed the finish line of the Golden Globe Race (GGR) at Les Sables-d’Olonne (LSO) in France at 0446 hrs UTC on 29th April and finished second to Kirsten Neuschafer of South Africa who took the overall victory. With this, Abhilash has completed a second solo, nonstop circumnavigation of the globe. The number of sailors who have done a solo circumnavigation is much less than those who have ventured into space or climbed Everest. The handful who have done it twice (or more) are amongst the elite of offshore sailing.

Cdr Abhilash Tomy crossed the finish line of the Golden Globe Race (GGR) at Les Sables-d’Olonne (LSO) in France at 0446 hrs UTC on 29th April and finished second to Kirsten Neuschafer of South Africa who took the overall victory. With this, Abhilash has completed a second solo, nonstop circumnavigation of the globe. The number of sailors who have done a solo circumnavigation is much less than those who have ventured into space or climbed Everest. The handful who have done it twice (or more) are amongst the elite of offshore sailing.

More than simply completing the race, Abilash has had to deal with challenges and adversity even before the race started, as well as having to overcome a host of equipment failures during the race itself. The fact that he has come through it all is a testament to his courage, resilience, innovative ability and most of all his never say die attitude. We at the IMF congratulate Abhilash on his monumental achievement. He is truly a legend and role model for millions of Indians.

Just 33 hours earlier, Kirsten Neuschafer of South Africa won the Golden Globe race, crossing the finishing line at 1944 hrs UTC on 27th April. Finishing ahead of Abhilash has also meant that the time compensations – described later in this post – did not have to be factored, to decide the winner. She is the first woman sailor to win a major solo, round-the-world race and in doing so has inspired many more aspiring women to take up the sport of offshore sailing. We congratulate Kirsten too on her incredible and well-deserved win.

Through most of April, both Abhilash and Kirsten had been in a see saw battle to be the first to cross the finishing line at LSO as they approached the notoriously stormy and fickle Bay of Biscay. Just when one thought that the wind conditions favoured one sailor, they changed around and started favouring the other. However, both Kirsten and Abhilash were pipped to the line by Simon Curwen of the UK, who finished the race in the early afternoon of the 27th. Simon, who at one time was leading the race, suffered major damage to his wind vane in the Southern Ocean as a result of which he had to stop off the coast of Chile to effect repairs before he could proceed again – though his forced stop resulted in him having to move to the ’Chichester class’ and consequently not being eligible for the win. During his stop, he was overtaken by both Kirsten and Abhilash, but remarkably, after resuming the race, he not only caught up with these two (who had a lead of some 1500 miles at one time) but overtook them and was the first to cross the finish line. Considering the overall distance and the fact that the competitors were not kept informed of each others’ positions, it is also quite remarkable that they finished so close to each other. It was also a very stressful passage during the last few days through the Bay of Biscay for the competitors with them having to negotiate heavy ship traffic through some very poor visibility. There are two other competitors still sailing in the race: Michael Guggenberger, around 1620 miles from the finish and Jeremy Bagshaw who is in Chichester class and about 2500 miles from the finish at present (29th April).

One of the most daring and intrepid sailors that India has produced, Cdr Abhilash Tomy (Retd) was the first Indian to sail solo and non-stop around the world in 2012-13 onboard INSV Mhadei in 2012-13. Following this, Abhilash had attempted another solo non-stop circumnavigation onboard Thuriya during the previous Golden Globe Race in 2018. This race is unique in that it requires sailors to carry out the circumnavigation in boats between 32 and 36 ft overall (9.75 – 10.97m) designed prior to 1988 that have a full-length keel with a rudder attached to their trailing edge. These yachts are heavily built, strong and sturdy, similar in concept to the ‘Suhaili‘ – the boat used by Sir Robin Knox, who was the first man to carry out a solo, non-stop circumnavigation in 1969. Competitors also cannot use modern position fixing aids and communications; only traditional navigation instruments such as sextants, chronometers, paper charts and a magnetic compass as were used in the old days. They also are not permitted to get assistance from any other person or authority during their voyage, but if they do due to an emergency or as a precautionary measure, then they are shifted to a category called the ‘Chichester class’ (named after Sir Francis Chichester who had done a circumnavigation in 1966-67 with one stop at Sydney) and not eligible for the win.

Unfortunately, Abhilash’s boat was caught in a huge storm in the Southern Indian Ocean, capsized and was dismasted during the 2018 race. He also suffered four injuries to his spine as a result of this accident, which left him immobilised. A massive multi-national effort was launched to rescue him, which succeeded in doing so and bringing him to the hospital after 17 days. Normally, someone experiencing a traumatic disaster such as this would have thought twice about sailing again, let alone taking part in GGR 2022. But for long we have known that Abhilash is no ordinary sailor. Well over a year before the GGR was to start, he had already initiated the process to obtain a boat and raise the funding required for taking part. Ultimately, he was sponsored by the Govt of UAE, which procured for him a boat ‘Bayanat’ a Rustler-36 class. His preparations were almost scuppered when his boat suffered a collision with a merchant ship less than a month before the planned start of the race. His prospects had then looked bleak, but miraculously the boat was patched back into shape by a team led by a renowned Dutch boat builder Dick Koopman, with other sailors pitching in to provide financial assistance.

His troubles didn’t end there. While Abhilash consistently remained amongst the leaders, his boat was caught in a series of storms of unusual intensity in the Southern Ocean while approaching Cape Horn, severely damaging his wind vane, which controls the auto pilot – essential for solo sailors as they cannot be expected to manually steer all 24 hours. The GGR has always been a race of attrition and this year has been no different. Of the 16 original entrants, only five were left sailing for the finish, of which only three – Abhilash, Kirsten and Michael – were eligible for the victory since they had not stopped or sought assistance on their route. The boat of one of the entrants, Tapio Lehtinen sank on the 9th of November 2022 and both Abhilash and Kirsten had diverted to rescue him. However, Kirsten being closer was the first to reach Tapio and rescue him from his liferaft before transferring him to an Indian merchant ship. Consequently, for their actions, both Abhilash and Kirsten received time compensation of 12 and 35 hours respectively. This gave Kirsten a 23-hour advantage over Abhilash, which essentially meant that he had to finish earlier than her by 23 hours to win. Another sailor, Ian Herbert Jones, was caught near the eye of a cyclone in the Southern Indian Ocean resulting in his boat, Puffin, being dismasted and Ian himself suffering fortunately minor injuries. He was rescued two days later by a Taiwanese fishing vessel and transported to Cape Town.

The GGR is one of the toughest and most demanding races in the world where competitors having to go through the gamut of physical and psychological challenges, while dealing with ferocious weather conditions, damage to equipment and rigging, shortage of water and lack of sleep. Abhilash, in particular, has displayed enormous courage in dealing with adversity, amazing innovative skills in fashioning makeshift replacements for damaged equipment and above all the desire to remain in the race and not quit, despite all the ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ that have been thrown at him. He is truly a modern maritime hero.