Update (2330 UTC, 8/11/26): Mara Løvenskiold is out of the 2026 Golden Globe Race. The skipper says she withdrew, race organisers say she’s disqualified. 

Hours after the publication of this article, race organisers posted a statement stating that Løvenskiold was ‘penalised and disqualified from the 2026 Golden Globe Race’ due to repeated breaches of media rules. 

‘The Race Organisation considers that these actions undermine the fundamental principles and ethos of the Golden Globe Race, including fairness, agreed restricted communications and equal treatment of all entrants.’ 

A document provided to Løvenskiold and her team on 6 November suggested that the two disqualifying penalties could’ve been suspended,’In recognition of the spirit and ethos of the McIntyre Golden Globe Race.’

The skipper could have continued racing as a full entrant, accepted the 16-day time penalty and suspension from the the GGR Window Live. 

Mara Løvenskiold formally resigned on 7 November. 9 November will be her last day on the GGR Live tracker. 

The original article continues below. 

After weeks of suspension from the GGR Window Live broadcasts, Mara Loveskiold has officially withdrawn from the 2026 Golden Globe Race.

Her team made the announcement via a social media post on Sunday 8 November. Race Management has yet to issue a statement or acknowledge the retirement.

Earlier the same day, American skipper Guy deBoer was rescued by the Brazilian Coast Guard, and Italian skipper Andrea Lodolo retired due to a severe knee injury.

Mara explains her retirement on socials

In an infographic statement, Løvenskiold explains that her voyage is far from over.

‘I will continue sailing solo around the world, along the same route, completely unassisted and without modern technology– but entirely outside of the official organization. […] The GGR is an extraordinary achievement, but as time has gone on, it has simply become clear that it isn’t the right fit for me.’

She goes on to invoke Bernard Moitessier’s decision to abandon the original Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1969.

‘Out here on the water, I finally understand his choice,’ she writes.

‘I realized I was becoming deeply afraid that the strict racing framework and everything that happens behind the scenes would turn my deepest passion into a chore – something I have to do under an unpredictable spotlight, rather than something I get to do for the love of the ocean. It simply doesn’t feel right anymore.

I love the challenge, I love the solitude, and I deeply love the ocean. To protect that love, I am choosing to answer the call of the sea as an independent voyage, not a competitor.

I’d like to think I am unofficially inaugurating a new category: the Moitessier Class– reserved for those who choose to step away from the official narrative to protect their own peace of mind.’

Controversy over outside contact

Lovenskiøld’s references to the ‘strict racing framework’ and ‘behind the scenes’ dynamics come following conflict between the skipper and race organisers around gendered criticism and outside communications.

Løvenskiold first drew fire after stating in a livestream on 27 September that she was considering dropping out unless her shore team increased coverage across her social media channels.

Via radio, she had asked a passing vessel to check her social channels, and was ‘very disappointed in hearing […] there’s basically nothing being posted.’

She went on to say that, ‘It is more important for me that this story is being told than that I am in the race. And if this [lack of posting] is going to continue, it is removing all sense of purpose for me in doing this.

I don’t have a super strong need to sail solo around the world. I don’t need to see the Southern Ocean. I’m good.

I want to do this for something bigger than me, and right now I am not. Right now it’s just me being out here, and it doesn’t matter. I will not finish this race if that’s how I’m going to feel.’

Løvenskiold is sailing to raise support for a new foundation she has created to support women in sailing.

Clips of the livestream soon circulated on social media, prompting criticism of her motivations for entering the GGR and debate around how the Live Window fits into the GGR ethos.

Løvenskiold received an initial penalty for communicating directly with her shore team via the livestream, strictly prohibited under Race Rules.

Phone calls prompt further conflict

On 11 October, further issues arose after Løvenskiold made unauthorised phone calls to her team.

In a post listing recent penalties for outside communication, GGR official channels stated that Louis Kerdelhué and Guido Cantini had made one authorised call each, for which they received a 24 hour penalty, regarding a failed radio and boat issues respectively.

Løvenskiold was listed as having made six unauthorised calls, ‘to manager, multiple subjects, sponsors; networking; staff issues; radio technology, performance social media; Board of Directors; Team Strategy, GGR issues’.

The calls were made during the skipper’s scheduled Live Window livestream. The line dropped repeatedly during the communications. Each dial was counted as a separate call.

Some of these calls were simultaneously streamed via Mara’s own social media channels.

In one exchange, Løvenskiold’s team manager read out a prepared letter describing his interpretation of the dispute with GGR Race Organisers.

While Løvenskiold’s team claimed the call was streamed publicly to offer evidence that the skipper was not receiving tactical information, race organisers deemed the public nature of these conversations ‘highly inappropriate,’ and potentially damaging.

Lovenskiøld received a 16-day time penalty, later reduced to 10, and was provisionally suspended from further livestreams.

Online backlash

Løvenskiold has received heavy criticism across her social channels for her perceived focus on her online platforms, some of which were reflected in sailing media.

In an op-ed in Giornale della Vella, David Ingiosi suggests that, ‘supporting women’s causes and promoting a charitable foundation are noble and worthy goals.

But using the nobility of a cause as a shield to justify a thirst for the spotlight is a move that deserves to be criticized without reservation.’

Another article in Sail World argued that, ‘The spirit of these live shows is to showcase round-the-world solo sailing, not to create a one-way communications stream to a specific audience.’

Public support for Mara Løvenskiold

Many commentators instead came out in support of the Norwegian skipper, stressing the significance of her participation in the race and the likely mental toll of sailing in isolation.

Through Par Nyman‘s channels, Nyman’s daughter and team manager expressed support for Løvenskiold, labelling her a ‘trailblazer’ and suggesting that she is subject to undue scrutiny.

‘Mara’s visibility online has a big purpose. It’s not simply about being seen. It’s about who is being seen, and by whom […] Caring about this does not make someone shallow or less of a sailor.’

‘There is no “correct” reason to sail around the world […],’ the post reads, calling it ‘absurd’ that ‘some people seem to believe that their personal opinion on why a skipper should do the GGR […] somehow correlates with whether that skipper is qualified to participate.’

In a livestream, Nyman himself called the comments ‘disgusting and horrible,’ and called the controversy ‘a gender issue. We need to speak up about that.’

Mara vs GGR

Race Organisers subsequently published statements which questioned whether in making their discussions public, Løvenskiold had intentionally acted to bring the organisation ‘into disrepute’.

The statement details that on 8 October, race organisers received a proposal from Løvenksiold’s social media management ‘strongly requesting’ that her Live Window broadcasts be moved from the GGR YouTube platform onto her own social media platform.

The request had been previously raised, discussed and rejected ahead of the race start.

Løvenskiold had then agreed to participate in the livestreams under the existing terms.

The statement also addresses tension around a post from official GGR channels, which reproduced comments from Ingiosi’s Vela article.

The original post, now deleted, read:

‘WINDOW LIVE Chat BOX UPDATE — GGR is shutting down any and all gender comments, good, bad or indifferent, about Classic Mara, or her WINDOW LIVE comments about not needing the GGR. She is one of 15 sailors in the GGR. Thank you — Don.

This action is because the conversation and issue is being hijacked by women’s interest groups. Personally I support women in sailing. By way of an example, here is an article from an influential Italian magazine discussing Mara’s LIVE comments. NOTE: Never once is her gender even referred to. It simply questions what she said, not about being a woman. Similar comments were construed to be only because she was a woman. This is incorrect. Here is the Giornale della Vela article of October 3rd 2026. You can decide.’ 

The post was removed on 14 October after the skipper and her team requested a public apology.

A statement from 15 October reads, ‘The race organiser has legitimate reasons to moderate hostile, abusive, repetitive or irrelevant discussion on official GGR platforms.

Sharing or referring to outside media commentary does not automatically mean that GGR endorses every opinion or conclusion expressed by the independent writer.’

They did, however, acknowledge that although it was not their intention, sharing the article ‘may have led some readers to believe that the organisers endorsed all of the article’s negative assumptions or conclusions about Mara.’

The editors note that the majority of information about the past month’s disagreements have been issued by the GGR organisers.

Yachting Monthly looks forward to hearing Mara Løvenskiold’s perspective.

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