Golden Globe Race: Abhilash Tomy sails into second position

Kollam: Former Indian Navy commander Abhilash Tomy has come second in the ongoing Golden Globe Race (GRR), a single-handed, non-stop, round the world yacht race, sailing 14,000 miles in 127 days.

Tomy, who had been in third position, overtook South African skipper Kirsten Neuschäfer on the Cape Town-Australia-Cape Horn route. Simon Curwen, a British native, occupies the top spot at present.

The goal is to sail 28,000 miles in 300 days. However, the number of days and distance can differ based on the direction of the winds.

Reportedly, Curwen has 11,002 nautical miles left to cover in order to win the race. Meanwhile, the target remains 11,830 and 11,866 nautical miles for Tomy and Neuschäfer respectively.

In the beginning, there were a total of 17 skippers in the race. However, many left midway and only seven remain now.

According to GRR rules, participants can make a 10-minute stopover in the Canary Islands (Spain), Cape Town (South Africa) and Humboldt (Australia) for handing over photographs and videos.

However, they are not permitted to get off their yachts. The race, which began from France on September 4, 2022, will come to a close in June 2023.

What makes the GRR daunting is that it does not allow the participants to use any modern technology, such as GPS mobile phones or iPads.

All entrants who complete the race will be awarded the Golden Globe plaque and the Golden Globe perpetual trophy.

In 2018, Abhilash Tomy sustained a severe back injury after participating in GRR. Following this, he sent distress messages from his vessel and was traced by Indian Navy reconnaissance aircraft.