Newcastle-based Mike Smith is hoping that the third time is a charm, and his family, friends and supporters are behind him all the way in his quest to compete in the 2026 Golden Globe Race.
While he remains determined to complete his boat ahead of the race deadline, Smith admits it may just be too tight this time for the build to be completed before the long delivery halfway around the world to the starting line in France.
The Golden Globe Race continues the spirit of the 1968-69 Sunday Times Golden Globe Yacht Race. Sailor and adventurer, Don McIntyre revived the modern Golden Globe Race in 2015, with the first edition of his re-imagined solo around-the-world race held in 2018 as a 50th-anniversary celebration of the original 1968-69 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race.
Scheduled for every four years, the non-stop, solo, round-the-world yacht race, requires sailors to circumnavigate south of the great capes roughly 30,000 nautical miles alone without modern technology. It bans GPS, satellite navigation, and modern materials, and sailors must rely solely on sextants and paper charts.
The 2026 edition starts 6 September in Les Sables d’Olonne, on the Atlantic coast of western France, and Mike Smith is aiming to be on the starting line.
Smith has entered two previous editions, but due to complications with his boat and commitments, he didn’t finish the build in time.
“Part of the problem is I’m getting slower as I get older,” he said from his shed in Newcastle. “It gets harder each year, and the heat at the moment is terrible in NSW – it’s 36C today.”
Originally from South Africa, Smith said his first word was “boat”. He grew up sailing in his father’s folding canoe, then Sprog dinghies with the Sea Scouts, before moving up into catamarans and windsurfers.
“My father was an engineer and he loved boats,” Smith recalled. “He was always trying to improve designs, make them lighter and faster. He built a beach cat, a precursor to the Hobie cat, and that’s how I was introduced to boat building.”
While on school holidays in Morgan Bay in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, Smith visited a local library and came upon Sir Francis Chichester’s book, Lonely Sea and the Sky, the legendary sailor’s autobiography which outlined his solo circumnavigation which sought to beat Clipper Ship times.
“The adventure, the daring and the thrill of the open sea – it really influenced me a lot. I thought ‘Wow, that sounds cool! One day, I’ll do that.’
In the intervening years, Smith built a house in Cape Town, bought and rebuilt a 23-foot yacht and sailed up and down the coast with just a radio on board. “The Cape waters can be quite rough, and that gave me real-life experience in single-handed sailing and boat repairs.”
20 years ago, Smith, his wife, Lyndsay and three daughters came to Australia, intending to stay for a couple of years. The lifestyle grew on them, he obtained a working visa and applied to stay.
A marine surveyor by trade, Smith worked with Boatspeed near Gosford, building trimarans, most notably, a 23-metre trimaran for Dame Ellen MacArthur who broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe in 2005.
The modern Golden Globe Race evoked in Smith a determination to try his hand at a circumnavigation. “In the Golden Globe Race framework, Don McIntyre has put together a program that requires ingenuity, self-sufficiency, risk management and a passion for adventure.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’m very happy with my own company, which suits solo sailing.”
In 2017, he set about designing and building his yacht, a replica of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s Suhaili, 32-foot Bermudan ketch in which the British sailor completed the 312-day, 30,000-mile journey in the 1968-69 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race – the only competitor to finish the race out of nine yachts.
Smith chose to build a replica of Suhaili because of the creative and technical parameters.
“This is where I can play around with it. I have come up with a design that pushes the boundaries, and it’s interesting from a technical standpoint. It shares a lot of features with multihulls. It’s strong and light and I expect it will do well.”
He has named the 42-foot ketch “Pingo”, after a character in the beloved children’s series, Pingu, a stop-motion, claymation children’s television series about a penguin and his escapades.
“Pingo is one of Pingu’s friends, and he has a funny beak, is a bit awkward, mischievous and likes to do wild and crazy thing,” Smith explained. “I thought naming it after a kooky penguin was appropriate because they’re not up in the air, penguins are entirely home on the water.”
Built of Western Red Cedar with plywood frames, Pingo uses the salvaged planking from a Volvo 70 Movistar mock-up built at Boatspeed.
“I’ve reused a lot of things on this boat, which is another satisfying aspect of the project.”
Smith has relied on a “truck load” of ATL Composites, having come to know and trust the range over many years building boats.
“The Kinetix laminating epoxy range is ideal because I’m relatively slow and work on my own, and it performs well in hot and cold.
“Kinetix R246 is such a hard resin, which is vital for a wooden boat, but you want to sand it within two weeks, or it’s as hard as anything!
“I use the WEST SYSTEM 413 Microfibre Blend, Techniglue, ATL structural adhesive, fabrics, fillers – everything. And whenever I call ATL, Pauline and the team are wonderful. I put in my order and within a couple of days, the products arrive. Their knowledge is extensive, they’re always helpful with technical advice and very supportive.
“Most importantly, ATL products are top quality and suit everybody, from amateur to professional.”
After an epic eight-year build, the end is in sight.
“I keep saying I’m a month from launch, but now I really have to be!” Smith said.
“I’ve kept pushing it back. The last step is the sails, which need the dimension of the rig, and the mast is still being built. We made a few changes. I need to measure the finished product, and the sails take eight weeks, at best.”
The ever-resourceful Smith has a plan to ensure he gets underway, custom sails or not.
“It’s a 14,000 nautical mile journey from Newcastle to the start line,” he outlined. “That’s at least 1,000 miles a week, non-stop, sailing south via Eden, Perth, Durban, Cape Town and then on to France.
“The reason I chose this route is that there are options to pull up for pit-stop. I’m hoping I can push this to make the deadline by the end of March, then I’m in with a chance.”
“I ordered sails from Rolly Tasker, who are international. They make them in Thailand and will deliver anywhere in the world. So, I can use delivery sails to get underway, and then they can send the custom sails to Cape Town or wherever I am.”
It’s all systems go, now, and his family are rallying behind him. “They know I love sailing and that I am very stubborn. Yes, they’re worried, but they believe in me.”
As the days fly by, Smith can be found in his shed, working diligently towards the March cutoff date, harnessing that dogged determination.
“I hope I make it. But if not, there is a plan B – my own journey. Or wait another four years until the Golden Globe Race swings around again. I’ll be ancient by then!”
