| Year: | 2022 Golden Globe Race |
| Edition: | 3rd |
| Venue: | Les Sables-d'Olonne |
| Dates: | 4 September 2022 |
| Key People: | Don McIntyre (race chairman)[1] |
| Competitors: | 16 |
| Yachts: | 'Retro' fibreglass 32-36ft |
| Gold: | Kirsten Neuschäfer[2] |
| Silver: | Abhilash Tomy[3] |
| Bronze: | Michael Guggenberger |
| Prev: | 2018 |
The 2022 Golden Globe Race was the third edition of the original Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. The race, a solo around-the-world sailing race, started on 4 September 2022 from Les Sables-d'Olonne in France. Similar to the 2018 event, the solo-sailors gathered for the SITraN Prologue in Gijón (Spain) on 14 August 2022, before sailing to Les Sables-d'Olonne for the GGR Race Village, which opened on 21 August 2022.[4] The race was won by South African Kirsten Neuschäfer, who returned to Les Sables-d'Olonne on 27 April 2023, after an official time of 233 days, 20 hours, 43 minutes and 47 seconds at sea, approximately one day ahead of her closest rival.[5] [2]
The race set a number of records: Neuschäfer was the first woman to win any round-the-world race via the three great capes, including solo and fully crewed races, whether non-stop or with stops. She was the first South African sailor (male or female) to win a round-the-world event.[6] [7] She was also the first woman to complete the GGR in the race's history, the first woman to win the GGR, and the only woman skipper who participated in the 2022 GGR.[8]
As with the 2018 Golden Globe Race, entrants were limited to sailing similar yachts and equipment to what was available to Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the winner of the original race in 1968–69. That means sailing without the use of modern technology such as satellite-based navigation aids.[9] Safety equipment such as EPIRBs and AIS were carried, however the competitors were only allowed to use the technology in an emergency.
Competitors could apply to have their class of boat approved, providing it complied with the following rules:[10]
The race started on 4 September 2022 in Les Sables-d'Olonne and leads around the world eastward, leaving Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn to port. There were four "film gates" along the route - Lanzarote, Cape Town, Hobart and Punta del Este - where the skippers could be interviewed as they sail past without stopping and where they passed over films and letters.[4]
The following 16 skippers started the race:[11]
| 1 |  Arnaud Gaist | Feï of Shanghaï | Barbican 33 MKII (Long Keel Version) | |
| 2 | Damien Guillou | PRB | Rustler 36 | |
| 3 |  Abhilash Tomy | Bayanat[12] | Rustler 36 | |
| 4 |  Edward Walentynowicz | Noah's Jest | Rustler 36 | |
| 5 |  Elliott Smith | Second Wind | GaleForce 34 | |
| 6 |  Ertan Beskardes | Lazy Otter | Rustler 36 | |
| 7 | Guy deBoer | Spirit | Tashiba 36 | |
| 8 | Guy Waites | Sagarmatha | Tradewind 35 | |
| 9 | Ian Herbert-Jones | Puffin | Tradewind 35 | |
| 10 | Jeremy Bagshaw | Olleanna | OE32 | |
| 11 | Kirsten Neuschäfer | Minnehaha | Cape George Cutter, CG36 | |
| 12 |  Mark Sinclair | Coconut[13] | Lello 34 | |
| 13 |  Michael Guggenberger | Nuri | Biscay 36 | |
| 14 |  Pat Lawless | Green Rebel[14] | Saltram Saga 36 | |
| 15 | Simon Curwen | Clara | Biscay 36 | |
| 16 |  Tapio Lehtinen | Asteria | Gaia 36 |
The race started on 4 September 2022, with the competitors passing a rolling gate between the yachts Galiana and L’Esprit d’Equipe. The official starter was Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the winner of the original Golden Globe Race.[15] The race concluded on 15 June 2023 with the last competitor, Jeremy Bagshaw, arriving back at Les Sables d’Olonne.[16]
| Competitor | Cape Town gate | Storm Bay Tasmania gate | Cape Horn | Finish | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirsten Neuschäfer | 8 November | 25 December | 15 February | 27 April | ||||||
| Abhilash Tomy | 10 November | 27 December | 18 February | 28 April | ||||||
| Michael Guggenberger | 12 November | 3 January | 26 February | 12 May[17] | ||||||
| Chichester class (one stop) | ||||||||||
| Simon Curwen | 6 November | 24 December | 25 February | 27 April[18] | ||||||
| Jeremy Bagshaw | 17 November | 16 January | 14 March | 15 June | ||||||
| Retired (in order of retirement) | + | Competitor | Date | Details | ||||||
| Edward Walentynowicz | 9 September 2022 | Retired "due to personal reasons".[19] | ||||||||
| Guy de Boer | 18 September 2022 | Hit a rock north off Fuertaventura.[20] [21] | ||||||||
| Mark Sinclair | 23 September 2022 | Retired near Lanzarote, citing "family reasons".[22] | ||||||||
| Pat Lawless | 9 November 2022 | Retired, after reaching Cape Town gate, due to failure of self-steering system[23] | ||||||||
| Damien Guillou | 14 November 2022 | Retired, after reaching Cape Town gate, also due to failure of self-steering system[24] [25] | ||||||||
| Ertan Beskardes | 16 November 2022 | Retired in Cape Town, explaining "I was looking for the unknown, and I found it,”[26] | ||||||||
| Tapio Lehtinen | 18 November 2022 | Boat sank in the Southern Indian Ocean, sailor was rescued by Kirsten Neuschäfer.[27] | ||||||||
| Arnaud Gaist | 2 December 2022 | Retired due to barnacles and rigging issues.[28] | ||||||||
| Elliott Smith | 19 January 2023 | Retired in Australia after breaking the bowsprit.[29] | ||||||||
| Guy Waites | 10 February 2023 | Retired in Hobart after losing the life raft during a knock-down (in Chichester class since Cape Town).[30] | ||||||||
| Ian Herbert-Jones | 11 April 2023 | Rolled and dismasted in the Southern Atlantic (in Chichester class since Cape Horn).[31] | ||||||||