The Mini Globe Race is a single-handed around the world race in home-built plywood yachts, for a new class designed specifically for the race: the Globe 5.80. Additional reporting by David Harding\u201cGo small, go cheap, go now,\u201d famously said Lin and Larry Pardy, who sailed for decades aboard small engineless yachts they built themselves. For Don McIntyre, the restless mind behind the Globe 5.80, his newest race is an idea with simplicity and accessibility at its core.
\nAnd while his previous events \u2013 the Golden Globe Race and Ocean Globe Race \u2013 were \u2018revival\u2019 events that specified vintage designs to race in modern recreations of races from the 1960s and 1970s, the Mini Globe Race is an all-new concept that called for an all-new design.
\n\u201cI just love little boats and big adventures,\u201d he explained. \u201cI\u2019m not doing it for money. There is none! It will be a low impact and sustainable adventure for all those who choose to take up the challenge. Perhaps, where the comfort of a high standard of living we all aspire to is flat-lining, the Mini Globe will be a chance for individuals to define who they really are.\u201d
\nWhile established rallies and races offer a high level of support, and boats can be built with an abundance of comfort and greatly increased levels of safety, the uptake of the Globe 5.80 challenge would suggest many are seeking out something more pared back to bare essentials.
\nDownwind the 5.80 can carry a 25.6m2 A3, or a 19.3m2 A5 asymmetric. Photo: MGR2025
\nThe Mini Globe Race promises an adventure that will not only connect each participant \u2013 15 skippers are currently bidding to qualify \u2013 with the challenge of ocean sailing, but also the experience of living very simply on each passage.
\nMany participants are not only racing, but have also built their 5.80s from a series of licenced plans and kits, adding another dimension to the challenge and a unique sense of satisfaction to each project.
\nHuman scale
\nIn a yacht that was created for single-handing from day one, there is a rare singularity to the design of the 5.80 that is striking as soon as you step on board. The rigging is slight, the sails small, the overall scale diminutive. Despite this, it works elegantly, and it\u2019s not a huge leap to imagine a long ocean passage aboard.
\nArticle continues below\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExtraordinary boats: The Yachting World Diamond from design to deck<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDuring the post-World War II boom years of small-boat sailing, Yachting World promoted some 30 designs, most of which allowed\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExtraordinary boats: Scow-bowed Ace 30<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tScow bow designs are still very rare in the UK and mostly elsewhere in northern Europe. The exception is France,\u2026<\/p>\n
At the helm, with the tiller extension in hand, skippers\u2019 shoulders will still sit below the doghouse and there\u2019s a surprisingly high freeboard relative to the length of the boat. Aft, one part of the yacht that appears almost overbuilt is the wind vane self-steering gear, the primary autopilot.
\nHowever, it\u2019s when stepping down into the yacht \u2013 a surprisingly long way down \u2013 that you feel most at home. There are two well-sized bench berths, a navigation station, and a single burner. Forward, beyond a watertight bulkhead, is a large storage area.
\nJack Johnson, winner of the 2023 Globe 5.80 Transat, hand steering at the Lanzarote start (without wind blade fitted and with servo pendulum blade out of the water). Photo: MGR2025
\nUnlike the Mini Transat 6.50 designs or other modern ocean racers, it doesn\u2019t have a canting keel or even water ballast. Instead, it has a simple bulbed fin keel, a single, transom-hung rudder and
\na standard aluminium rig of modest proportions.
\nHome built
\nWhile some yachts have been professionally built, a condition of the race is that all home-built yachts must document their build on a blog with photographs. \u201cIt\u2019s important that the fun of the build can be seen, but more importantly it\u2019s a mechanism to ensure yachts are being built safely, that\u2019s why we\u2019ve made it mandatory,\u201d explains McIntyre.
\nA Globe 5.80 can be built from a set of plans available for a few hundred pounds, or from a plywood kit, which makes the project significantly simpler, while also reducing the number of tools the builder needs. In the UK the kits are supplied by Fyne Boat Kits in Cumbria. \u201cStandardising the design, the components, and build process has many advantages. The cost is reduced and more easily estimated, but it\u2019s also safer because at each stage we can ensure that the boat is built with sufficient strength,\u201d McIntyre says.
\nHigh-visibility paint on the cabin sides and a raised coachroof (or observation dome) are specified in the 5.80 class rules. Photo: David Harding
\nBuild times were estimated at around 500 hours when the kit was designed, and completed boats are matching up to that estimate. Most builders are outsourcing the build of metal parts and the keel, while some components, including the chain plates and stainless steel rudder fittings, must be ordered from the approved supplier for safety reasons.
\nThere are component packages on offer, including spars from Seld\u00e9n, though you can buy from elsewhere or even make your own rig if you prefer; a deck-hardware package (excluding winches) is available from Blue Shark in China, and a sail package by Quantum. The mast and boom can be home built (using extrusions of a specified size), along with the self-steering gear, though it\u2019s envisaged most will use ready-built servo pendulum systems.
\nWatertight bulkheads and forward bulkhead hatches are a mandatory part of the design, along with a brightly coloured doghouse, which must have 360\u00b0 vision.
\nGrab handles have to be fitted in specific places, but most of the rest of the deck hardware choices are down to the builder. Photo: David Harding
\nThe three watertight areas of the 5.80 are designed to protect it in the event of a collision, and race organisers claim it is better placed in such an event than almost every other yacht ever built of its size. Additionally, builders can choose to add removable foam pieces to the hull with buoyancy in excess of the total weight to make the yacht \u2018unsinkable\u2019.
\nPersonal goals
\n\u201cI started building during lockdown and began by building a tent on my driveway,\u201d explains home builder Peter Bumby.
\n\u201cInitially some neighbours thought I was putting up some kind of Covid test centre on the driveway \u2013 since learning what I was really doing they have shown a lot of interest.\u201d
\nA crew member on the 2013 Clipper Round the World Race, Bumby\u2019s 5.80 build is not entered in the 2025 Mini Globe Race, but he has ambitions for his small yacht.
\nAccess to the cabin is via a watertight hatch. It doesn\u2019t make for easy entry or exit, but is one of many features designed to maximise safety. Photo: David Harding
\n\u201cA really good friend I met on the Clipper was trying to persuade me to buy a boat with him, but sadly he passed away, so this is also a mechanism to have those big sailing adventures in his memory,\u201d he explains.
\n\u201cThere was a lot that appealed about the design, it was obviously incredibly strong, something that\u2019s become even clearer as it has come together. I\u2019d say that I have average DIY skills and the learning part of building her has been tremendous. The 5.80 builder\u2019s group on Facebook is a source of a lot of help and there is a great sense of community between builders across the world.
\n\u201cMy build has slowed, as I went back to work, but this year she will be completely watertight, at which point I can take the tent down.\u201d
\nBuilding the 5.80 from plywood, Bumby explains, has also been a journey of discovery into the realities of home boatbuilding with only a basic level of skills and equipment. \u201cYou start off aiming for perfection, but as it progresses you realise that you are ultimately aiming to build something strong, then add strength with the fibreglass. It\u2019s an exercise in building a tough boat to do a job, rather than something perfect.
\nAccommodation is basic and functional; raised coachroof aft gives good visibility from below decks; watertight hatch to forward compartment. Photo: David Harding
\n\u201cBuilding the 5.80, as I move towards middle age, was an answer to feeling that I needed a project to get stuck into. I\u2019m really glad I did it.\u201d
\nThe Globe 5.80 specifications
\nHull length: 5.70m \/ 18ft 4in
\nBeam: 2.27m \/ 7ft 5in
\nDraught: 1.40m \/ 4ft 7in
\nWeight: 700kg \/ 1,543lb
\nBallast: 220kg \/ 485lb
\nSail area (main & jib): 20.1m2 \/ 216ft2
\nKit price: From \u00a34,145 (basic ply) to \u00a39,115 (CNC\u2019d sapele)
\nDesigner: Janusz Maderski
\nTypical cost for a basic home-built boat (plans, hull kit, materials): \u00a325,000\u2013\u00a330,000
\nMore: classglobe580.com<\/p>\n
If you enjoyed this\u2026.<\/p>\n
Yachting World is the world\u2019s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.<\/p>\n
Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.<\/p>\n
The post Extraordinary boats: The Mini Globe Race Globe 5.80 appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Mini Globe Race is a single-handed around the world race in home-built plywood yachts, for a new class designed specifically for the race: the Globe 5.80. Additional reporting by David Harding\u201cGo small, go cheap, go now,\u201d famously said Lin … <\/p>\n