So you want to race around the world?

Meet Global Solo Challange participant number 21: Australian Willi Fantom and his live-aboard dog Captain Mistchief


Solo Sailor For The Disabled

Australian Willi Fantom from Hobart is currently circumnavigating Australia promoting his campaign Solo Sailor For The Disabled in the faithful company of his live-aboard dog Captain Mistchief. They have been at sea together for the last three years becoming inseparable. After this charitable tour of Australia Willi will start preparations for the Global Solo Challenge by modifying the boat as required by the regulations and setting off from Western Australia bound for Cape of Good Hope then Europe to be at the departure of the GSC in September 2023. A plan which will require extensive studying of prevailing winds and seasonal weather patterns to sail half the distance in reverse towards La Coruña.

Live-aboard dog Captain Mistchief of SV Skeese

Sailing experience

Three years of self sailing and never raced apart for himself.

About the boat

SV Skeese owned by Willi Fantom

Boat name: SV Skeese
Boat model: Colvic Countess 37 Cutter Rig Sloop
Boat designer: Colvic Craft England
LOA: 37ft
Displacement (kgs): 3700kgs

Cover photo: Global Solo Challenge participant number 21: Australian Willi Fantom


In the news

United Kingdom – 6/12/2021 – by Elaine Bunting – Yachting World

Excerpts To read the full article you can purchase the latest edition of Yachting World July 2021 here. Single issues can be purchased here.

Another on the “accessible and affordable” recipe is a new non-stop round the world pursuit race launched by Italian solo sailor Marco Nannini. The Global Solo Challenge will have a rolling series of starts over eight weeks between September and October 2023.

Nannini began his solo racing in a sigma 36 in the 2009 OSTAR and went on to race in a Class40 in Josh Hall’s Global Ocean Race in 2011/2012. He says that experience was hard and he wanted to turn away from a format that you either have the fastest boat or there was nothing on earth you could do to win – it was like cycling on bikes with two different size wheels.

“I never wanted to do that again, it was a horrible feeling that you were part of a race… but not.”

His race is open to approved yachts of between 32-55ft with a maximum IRC rating of 1.25, “so it effectively cuts out the very latest Class40s”.

Nannini says his race, with a pursuit style format, will instead feel like “the tortoise and the hare, David and Goliath, this is very easy for the public to understand: first to arrive wins.”