Hold on to your hats, Dutch people! It’s time to fly the orange flags and put on your best sailing jacket because Dutch sailing team Sec Hayai has won the GLOBE40 – one of the biggest sailing races in the world! On 15 March, the team finished second in the last leg of the 8 in Lorient, France, from nine to nineteen minutes. But because of their previous successes at other levels, captains Franz Budel and Ysbrand End are now the proud winners of this unique global race. With this they put themselves and the Netherlands on the map as true sailing champions!

Exceptional performance
The Globe40 is a race that has been described as a ‘dream of a lifetime’ and is the most accessible of the world’s three toughest sailing races. It is fantastic to see a Dutch team winning this race and competing with the best sailors in the world.

Frans and Ysbrand have been leaders of the general classification since October of last year, covering more than 33,000 nautical miles (more than 61,000 (!) km). They left the other participants behind and proved that Dutch sailors are top notch. This feat was only matched by Connie van Ridgshoten, who won the Whitbread Round the World Race (now The Ocean Race).

Route/Levels
Globe40’s trajectory and levels are impressive and arguably cross-border. From Morocco to Cape Verde, then to Mauritius, Auckland in New Zealand, Papeete in Tahiti, Ushuaia in Argentina, Recife in Brazil, Grenada and finally Lorient in France. Team Sec Hayai has successfully completed all these stages and now come home as winners!

It was even more exciting during the last leg of the race, where one more boat could win from Czech Hai. But the captains of the American boat Amhas, Craig Horsfield and Oliver Bond, could no longer hold off the Dutch, so Franz and Ysbrandt won. They will be given a hero’s welcome in their home port of Jacht Club Scheveningen on March 25. We warmly welcome them all and congratulate them on their amazing achievement!