Uku finishes 3rd in GGR 2018 sailboat race after 252 days at sea sailing alone

Low on food after 252 days at sea Estonian solo-sailor Uku Randmaa finished the GGR 2018 sailing race on March 10, 2019, in Les Sables D'Lonne, France. He was the third solo-sailor to finish the toughest race in sailing.
The 2018 Golden Globe Race (GGR 2018) podium is filled by skippers of the Rustler 36 sailboat, 3rd Uku Randmaa, 2nd Mark Slats, and 1st Jean-Luc Van Den Heede.
Randmaa had a 65 hour and 40 minute time penalty added to his time for violating the rule of accepting weather routing. The race is based on the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe race. Only 32-to-36 foot sailboats can participate. Skippers cannot use computers or satellite technology. The first three competitors to finish have violated the retro rules against satellite communication. The 4th placed Istavan Kopar also was sanctioned for a satellite phone call.
Video from AMSA and Indian Navy about the Gregor McGuckin and Abhilash Tomy rescues. Chilean Navy footage of Susie Goodall.
"The Rustler 36 yacht ONE AND ALL will be sailng in the 2018 Golden Globe Race by Estonian skipper Uku Randmaa. The yacht was originally entered by Frenchman Lionel Regnier who retired from the GGR after competing in the 2017 Original singlehanded transatlantic race OSTAR and sold the boat to Randmaa in December 2017"
"2018 Golden Globe Race - GGR skippers congregate in Les Sables d'Olonne. Back row left to right: Uku Randmaa (EST), Jean-Luc Van Den Heede (FRA), Loic Lepage (FRA), Mark Slats (NED), Gregor McGuckin (IRE), Igor Zarertsjiy (RUS), Mark Sinclair (AUS),Tapio Lehtinen (FIN), Ertan Beskardes (GBR), Abhilash Tomy (Ind), Susie Goodall (GBR) Front row: Istvan Kopar (USA), Are Wiig (NOR), Kevin Farebrother (AUS), Antoine Cousot (FRA), Nabil Amra (PAL)"
Christophe Favreau/PPL/GGR
"2018 Golden Globe Race: American/Hungarian skipper Istvan Kopar and his Tradewind 35 yacht PUFFIN arrival at the Boatshed.com Hobart Film gate in 5th place in the Golden Globe Race"
Jessie Martin/PPL/GGR
Pedro Rodriguez/GGR/PPL
Randmaa’s bio is from
goldengloberac...
“Uku Randmaa began sailing at the age of 3 aboard his father’s yacht, then graduated through the junior ranks sailing Optimist, Cadet, OK, Laser and 420 dinghy classes. After leaving Tallinn Marine University with a Master’s ticket in 1984, he got back to competing in regattas at a serious level, then graduated to offshore sailing with his Hanse 430 yacht Temptation, completing a solo voyage to Iceland and back prior to sailing solo around the world with stops between 2011 and 2012.
Uku says of the GGR: ‘This is a dream event - a round the world race for real gladiators. For me, the best is to take part; the worst - not to finish. If I’m not going to win, then simply finishing will fulfill my dreams.’”
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[@SlowBoatSailing]

See how JL Van Den Heede won the 2018 GGR:
th-cam.com/video/u3NM1Ox7Nt0/w-d-xo.html

[@SailingLiberty]

I started to sail because I always looked up to uncle Uku. He is an awesome person!:)

[@mboyer68]

Awesome channel!! Thank you:)

[@CheersWarren]

Linus, There are other retro rules races , Iditarod sled dog race for one, ( and log races), getting the right balance of rules and safety is tricky. There are lots of competitor looking to race in the next one 2022?. Theses small boats actually were not really the problem. Sure they got into trouble but they did not break like many of the modern race boats. Some silly mistakes like wrong / bad antifouling and the limitations of old design windvane self steering gear will be addressed in the next race.
I think a follow up interview with Don Mc. Of the GGR will be interesting. He has already spoken about what might be changed and what will stay the same. I think this sprit of adventure away from the nanny state is very refreshing.
Thanks for posting. cheers Warren

[@SlowBoatSailing]

Oh, we have had Don several times. His love of re-enactments are well known. I hope he sails in the next race, but his love of the retro rules are an obstacle to that because he cannot be the racer and the decider at the same time. I have an extended interview with Slats I’ll edit at some point. Too busy with other projects.:)

[@phillycheesetake]

One thing that pisses me off about this class race is how woefully stupid the rationale behind the classifying boats are. There's absolutely no evidence to suggest a full-keel yacht is any safer than an encapsulated keel with a low-aspect bulbous fin. It's just a load of fisherman's tales.
If these boats were so great, why does half of the bloody fleet abandon ship? I know people who have been caught in massive seas, with gale-force winds, in sub-25ft light-displacement yachts, and none of them were worse for wear. Their modest rigs weren't snapped because they don't have a massive keel forcing it into a gust.

[@harrisonmccallop1312]

I agree....! Unnecessary machismo...?

[@SlowBoatSailing]

The guy paying the bills likes re-enactments no matter how impossible it is to turn back time.