In the latest from the Mini Globe Race, long-running leader Renauld Stitelmann (Capucinette) is only a few days out from his arrival in Fiji.

At last update, he was just over 200 nm from Fiji, cruising at a neat 6 knots under full main and A3, with a 15 kts SE wind. He plans to sail around the south coast of Viti Levu and up into Vuda Point Marina on the island’s NW side, where he will officially finish Leg 2 of his Mini Globe Race.

Dan Turner (Immortal Game) is now also bound for Fiji, with 700nm to go.

“Excited to get there, see family, have a break, and see where we go from there,” he says in a short Facebook video.

Both skippers are hoping to come in ahead of the bout of calm forecasted for 14 June.

Renaud Stitelmann (Capucinette) and Dan Turner (Immortal Game). Credit: Frieda Fennell

Stietlmann was the first to set off from Pangai late in the morning of 9 June.

He first reached Vava’u, Tonga, on 1 June 2025, followed by Dan Turner (Immortal Game) on the same day. The two caught up and shared a cool drink while they waited for customs to open.

The rest of the Mini Globe Race Skippers weren’t far behind. Pilar Pasanau (Peter Punk) anchored soon after, with Dan Turk (Little Bea) in hot pursuit. They were tailed by Christian Sauer (Argo), Jakub Ziemkiewicz (Bibi), and Adam Waugh (Little Wren).

Ertan Beskardes (Trekka) made a tidy entry into the Port of Refuge on the weekend, coming in with day break. He was followed by Jasmine Harrison (Numbatou) just hours later, though she wasn’t quite as lucky with the wind.

Renaud Stitelmann (first), Dan Turk (third) and Keri Harris (second). Photo credit: Dan Turk/MGR2025.

In Tonga, the Mini Globe Race fleet enjoyed a warm welcome and the opportunity to relax, regroup, recharge– and explore! Off they went running, bike riding, swimming in caves, and sitting down to barbecues with the locals.

“Everyone has been so friendly and inviting here that it has become one of my favourite stops of the adventure so far,’ Dan Turner comments. “What a cool night hanging out and drinking Kava with the Police department and community from the local town hall.”

The Mini Globe Race skippers. Credit: Mini Globe Race.

As of 10 June 2025, four of the Mini Globe Race fleet are still at sea.

Among them is Gary Swindail (Question 2), who has been given dispensation to skip the 8-day stop over in Tonga and make straight for Fiji. He was slowed down by his boat’s late arrival at the start of the race. As he inches his way through a windless hole, he’s cracking good natured jokes about being a tortoise in a race of hares.

But he may have some tricks up his sleeve yet. Following a much-needed antifouling, Question 2 has gained an average of 1.5kts.

Still, far from the fleet and surrounded by frustratingly calm waters, Swindail reports struggling with solitude. “Every day’s the same. Wake up, sail, sleep, repeat,” he says. “I call my wife on Starlink, but it’s not the same as seeing people.”

The Mini Globe Race 2025 fleet left for the first leg from Antigua to Panama. Credit: Rob Havill/MGR 2025

Fleet-mate Joshua Skali (Skookum) has instead been enjoying a more relaxing, even meditative passage. He sailed to the Marquesas on a broad reach under mainsail and jib with a friendly 15 knot wind, no swell, and negligible wind waves.

He has elected to sail so as to avoid hand-steering as much as possible, mastering the windvane in the process. He reports enjoying the nighttime starlit skies and quiet days, cooking, occasionally watching films, and strumming his trusty ukulele.

Once a mountaineer, Skali is unfazed by the lack of connection (or company) on board. He has encountered the need for self-reliance on his many expeditions. He stays in touch with the fleet and his family through whatsapp and the onboard satellite phone, and occasionally records video content to upload when he returns ashore, otherwise opting to enjoy his Mini Globe Race off-the-grid.

Still far off are the the father-and-son Blenkinsop duo, Mike and John, now cruising along on their own terms on their way to Tahiti. They have adopted an easterly course around the atolls of the Tuamotu Archipelago and are no longer racing this leg.

Australian John Blenkinsop built both his Globe 5.80 and the yacht his father, Mike, is racing in the Mini Globe Race 2025. Credit: Rob Havill/MGR2025.

A quick recap of what you might have missed:

We last left our brave solo skippers in the Marquesas, where Stietlmann was (once again!) the first to arrive.

The end of May then saw the Mini Globe Race fleet sailing through French Polynesia after a much needed rest.

Joshua Skali (Skookum) maintained his trademark good humour, and kept a steady rhythm to his days. “I’d get up, make coffee, choose my sails, put on music, and steer for 10-12 hours. At dusk, I’d reef down and listen to audiobooks while checking the boat every 40 minutes.”

But it wasn’t such smooth sailing for everyone.

Immortal Game is the first boat Dan Turner has ever built. Credit: Dan Turner.

Dan Turner (Immortal Game) faced sudden squalls with, “50-60 gusting70 knots from the wrong direction and going on for hours as the sea built in freezing rain, Immortal Game flying under bare poles at 6 knots,” he said. “I lay in my bunk locked inside listening to the mast shake. Not fun.”

Christian Sauer (Argo) is still battling the undiagnosed skin condition he developed early in Leg 2. On Origami, Keri Herris sustained a back injury while braving rough seas off the Cook islands.

“This isn’t a race—” Herris comments. “It’s a glorified survival exercise with better scenery.”

Having followed along throughout the race’s first two legs, we can’t help but agree!

Credit: Mini Globe Race.

But what’s next for the Mini Globe Race skippers? Once they reach Fiji, the fleet will take a four week regroup.

Leg 3 will start on 26 July 2025, when the Mini Globe Race fleet will set off for Cape Town, South Africa.

And the best is yet to come in this historic adventure race around the globe. The Mini Globe Race fleet may have already come 10,000 miles, but they have another 18,000 to go.

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