Stitelmann takes the 2025 Mini Globe Race crown

Katy Stickland

Swiss sailor Renaud Stitelmann has won the 2025 Mini Globe Race, having sailed his 19ft plywood boat around the world via the Panama Canal

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From the start of the 2025 Mini Globe Race, one skipper dominated the leaderboard – Renaud Stitelmann.

The seasoned racer crossed the finish line at Falmouth Harbour, Antigua, just after 0100 UTC, having sailed his 19ft plywood Globe 5.80, Capucinette 24,000 miles solo around the world.

Stitelmann had left the harbour in February 2025, having already won the 2024 Globe 5.80 Transat from Lanzarote to Antigua, and then went on to lead almost every leg of the race.

“It is unbelievable. I can not realise what I have done this last year,” he said moments after crossing the line.

“I am tired and this (leg 4 from Cape Town to Falmouth Harbour, Antigua via Recife, Brazil) was quite difficult; the trip from Recife and then from Guyana to find these currents and to sail with the currents against the waves and wind, and the other night we had so many dark clouds with no light with big rain and big wind (40 knots) and before it was 5 knots. It (squalls) happened 15 times during the night and you have the Sargassum; every half an hour, you need to reverse the boat and start again (to clear the seaweed from the windvane self-steering gear). (You) never sleep long. But I am so happy; this is something amazing.”

Stitelmann is no stranger to racing, having competed in the International Moth 505, M2-Catamaran circuit, and several Tour de France à la voile.

A man on his Globe 5.80 yacht during the Mini Globe Race 2025

Renaud Stitelmann sailed his Globe 5.80 extensively before the start of the race, spending the winter months honing handling and heavy weather tactics. Credit: Rob Havill/Don McIntyre/MGR 25

He was also the équipier for the Mini 6.50 skipper, Valentin Gautier.

His Mini Globe Race boat, Capucinette, was part professionally built, part homebuilt, with Multiboats in Poland completing the hull, keel and painting the boat and installing the stainless steel fittings before Stitelmann built the inside, fitted out the electrics and designed and constructed the deck.

“Round the world is something, but round the world on a small boat is something else,” commented Stitelmann. “12 months of no comfort, and it is hard to be on a small boat with the wind and waves; everything is hard on a small boat, but it was very pleasant and I really enjoyed all of this.”

The 2025 Mini Globe Race winner now plans to rest for a few months. “I think I need it. I can see my body is really asking me to slow down,” he said.

How did Stitelmann win the 2025 Mini Globe Race

Renaud Stitelmann shed some light on his race-winning tactics during an interview with Mini Globe Race founder, Don McIntyre.

To remain at the top of the leaderboard, he consistently pushed his Globe 5.80, averaging 5.49 knots over the race, tactically choosing routes to keep the course as straight as possible and changing sails up to 15 times a day.

He used shock cord to minimise the movement of the boat’s rudder and the rudder of his Hydrovane windvane self-steering system, reducing zig-zagging during each leg. He also used his electric autopilot to keep the boat moving in a straight direction, especially when he needed to catch up on sleep, or would simply hand steer the boat for hours at a time.

Downloading GRIB files and comparing them to his actual sailing conditions, to see if he was ahead or behind the weather system, also helped him to adapt quickly to conditions, so he could maintain his lead advantage.

Before the race, he sailed Capucinette extensively, honing his boat handling and heavy weather tactics during the winter on Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland. Stitelmann also handled all the repairs and maintenance on the boat himself.

The Mini Globe Race 2025 had 4 legs: Antigua to Panama; Panama to Fiji; Fiji to Cape Town; Cape Town to Antigua via Recife, Brazil.

Out of the 15 entrants who started, only three have retired during the race, due to financial problems and health concerns.

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