‘I thought it was all over’: man overboard drama hits Mini Globe Race 2025

A man overboard incident involving Mini Globe Race 2025's oldest skipper, 72-year-old Eric Marsh, has sparked a debate over safety regulations, auto-inflating lifejackets, and the weight of personal choice in solo racing.

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Overnight (17 October), Eric Marsh of Sunbear took a chilling tumble. It was the first man overboard in the Mini Globe Race 2025, the adventurous solo circumnavigation on the homebuilt Globe 5.80 ALMA plywood yachts.

At 72, Marsh is the race’s oldest skipper. At the time of the incident, he was tethered and managed to re-board.

Eric Marsh on Sunbear. Photo: Mini Globe Race 2025.

Race organiser Don McIntyre shared the shocking news on the Mini Globe Race 2025 tracker update. By then, Marsh was around 70 nm from the finish line, and had faced rain squalls in the morning.

In his entrant report, Marsh writes:

‘The most dreaded thing that can happen to a sailor is going overboard at night.

Last night, when I was on the bow putting a spinnaker away, a big wave hit the boat. Next thing I knew, I was in the water being dragged by my tether.

I honestly thought it was all over for me. After many attempts, I finally dragged myself back on board over the port quarter. Wet and still very shaken, I’m very thankful I’m ok.’

He was able to contact his safety team soon after.

Sunbear’s position around the time of the man overboard incident. Photo: Mini Globe Race 2025.

‘That’s the biggest risk with all of this,’ McIntyre commented in a Mini Globe Race 2025 update. ‘The whole challenge of sailing around the world is being left hanging over the side. It has happened many times.’

He adds, ‘If the tether is going over the rail, it sags on the lifeline. It’s very hard to drag yourself back.’

Race organisers have cautioned Marsh to monitor his condition, in case the adrenaline from the incident may have hidden possible resulting injuries.

They anticipate a full debrief with additional details and key safety learnings when Marsh has had a chance to recover.

Race regulations and safety

Eric Marsh on Sunbear. Photo: Mini Globe Race 2025.

Additional details from Marsh’s report and safety team indicate that he was significantly ‘hampered’ by the automatic inflation of his lifejacket, raising questions around safety regulations and best man overboard practice while at sea.

Following the incident, race organisers intend to conduct a full report on how many in the fleet are using automatic versus manual fire lifejackets. Race regulations do not require an automatic lifejacket, and leave individual skippers the choice between the two.

The incident raises other questions about safety regulations.

Mini Globe Race rules have various safety requirements, such as requiring a ladder on the transom, yet they run counter to other widely accepted regulations.

At issue, in particular, is the two-way safety hook required by World Sailing.

Eric Marsh on Sunbear. Photo: Mini Globe Race 2025.

‘With a two way safety hook, if it’s under load, you may not be able to pull yourself up a line to get enough load off the hook to let go,’ says the race’s ideator and organiser Don McIntyre. It would also be more challenging to activate your PLB (personal locator beacon) while hanging from the boat, he points out.

Mini Globe Race regulations therefore, allow just a snap shackle on the chest, arguing that this solution allows wearers to disconnect from the boat more easily, minimising risk of drowning while attached or making impact with the front of the boat and risking cranial trauma.

In his report following the incident, McIntyre also revealed that the race nearly made an entry in the regulations requiring a single-rope bridle along the Mini Globe’s hulls.

However, ‘I didn’t make that strop compulsory is because I didn’t want to mandate anything that’s personal choice, and everyone’s got a different opinion on safety. At the end of the day, the ultimate safety is that you’re left up to your own choices and that you can decide what is best for you and your boat,’ he says.

He adds, ‘It’s very much a case of assessing the risks and making your own decisions.’

Don McIntyre onboard his Class Globe 580 Trekka in Antigua, after a 3,500 mile Alantic crossing. Credit: @jankaslphoto

Don McIntyre onboard his Class Globe 580 Trekka in Antigua, after a 3,500-mile Atlantic crossing. Credit: @jankaslphoto

The incident raises questions about what responsibility, if any, race coordinators have for participant safety, and what duty they have to impose specific safety requirements.

In the McIntyre portfolio of events, these questions acquire even greater salience, as event regulations are largely dependent upon the discretion of an individual organiser.

The debate will continue to feature ahead of the upcoming Golden Globe Race, whose strict limits on onboard technology have sparked parallel debates about individual responsibility and the complicated nature of race organising.

Ultimately, in McIntyre’s events, he says, ‘Personal choice is the bottom line.’

Where is the rest of the Mini Globe Race 2025 fleet?

Renauld Stitelmann, maintaining his lead on Capucinette, was the first to arrive on the Island of Rodrigues on 2 October. He was followed by Dan Turner, Immortal Game, and Keri Harris, Origami. 

Most of the fleet has now arrived in Mauritius, which they will begin departing on 24 October.

Still to arrive are Eric Marsh (Sunbear), Jasmine Harrison (Numbatou) and Josh Kali (Skookum), trailing behind with a weather and sun-damaged mainsail. Jasmine is expected to pass him a replacement upon his arrival.

What’s next for the Mini Globe Race 2025?

Next up, the fleet will face a 1,000 nm passage from Mauritius to Durban before making to Cape Town for the end of Leg 3.

Want to read more articles about the Mini Globe Race 2025?

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