Meet the Man Sailing Solo Around the World On a Self-Built Boat
Adam Waugh, from Bolam, has set sail on an epic mission - sailing solo around the world on a boat he built himself
As former stockbroker Adam reached his late 50s he was looking for a challenge. He’d been sailing for the past five years but says; ‘I’ve always been involved in boating, from a young age, and I was always fascinated by sailing but felt it was a bit beyond me. When I had time, I was able to focus on it, and my first experience on a proper sailing boat was sailing from Oban on the west coast of Scotland to Iceland. It was, I guess, throwing me in at the deep end a bit, but I absolutely loved it. From that moment, back in 2019, I’ve spent a lot of time at sea.’
In 2021, a friend told Adam about the Mini Globe Race, a challenge to sail solo around the world. ‘He alerted me to the fact that there was this opportunity where you could build your own boat and you didn’t have to have too much experience – and it was within a budget that I could afford,’ says Adam. ‘I read more about it and waited for the first trials of these boats. Five of the exact same boats crossed the Atlantic and they all seemed to get on well and it was a very successful first race. Off the back of that, I decided to go ahead and buy some timber to build one of the boats myself!’
Adam has now set off from Portugal in the inaugural Mini Globe Race, covering 28,000 nautical miles around the globe, on a trip he believes will take around 14 months. He’s part of a group of sailors taking part with identical boats and the Mini Globe Race will see a world first as the Class Globe 5.80 will be the smallest boats ever to race around the world.
Adam’s adventure began with the construction of his 19ft boat Little Wren, which he built with absolutely no experience. ‘It’s a timber-framed boat with frames made of soft wood,’ he explains. ‘You buy the timber and start by making the frames, which are the bits that run from side to side. There’s about eight of them. Then you join them together with longitudinal pieces of wood, and then you’ve got the sort of “rib cage” finished. That process took a couple of months. Then you put on the marine ply wood – and it starts looking like a boat. Then you clad that in a thin layer of fibre glass which seals it all, strengthens it, and makes it watertight.’
Adam first thought the build would take around six months. The process actually lasted nearly two years. ‘It was probably 25 percent above my expected budget,’ he adds. ‘I was unable to heat my workshop and it became difficult working conditions. Every different phase was new to me so it took a lot of research, which is why it took so long. Having not really built something by hand before, I did have to go back to learning some basic joinery skills which took a while. It taught me an awful lot of patience, which is something that isn’t naturally in my armoury. You can’t rush these things. Anytime I tried to cut corners or rush, I had to redo stuff. I probably ended up redoing 10 to 20 percent all the way through.
‘Because it took a long time, and because I was building it on my own, it’s maybe prepared me mentally for the challenge ahead. Spending so long on my own and in difficult circumstances – I hope I can draw a bit from that. I’m really pleased that I’ve got to the start line. I was determined to get there because a lot of these types of projects can get left in your garden shed and never get finished.
‘I’m taking this stage by stage now. My intention is to sail around the world and if myself and my boat hold up to it, we’ll do that. There’s a long time between now and 2026 and we’ve got a lot of miles to cover.’
On 28th December, Adam set off from Portugal to Lanzarote, and then will travel to Antigua. The race itself begins on 23rd February, and covers from Antigua to Panama. Leg two goes from Panama to Fiji via Mystery Island, Tahiti and Tonga. Leg three goes from Fiji to Cape Town via Darwin, Mauritius and Durban, and leg four will see Adam head from Cape Town back to Antigua via St Helena and Recife.
‘I think at any stage, the elements could throw all sorts of stuff at us,’ he says. ‘We’re likely to come across some very challenging sailing conditions, in terms of wave height and not so much cold temperatures but very hot temperatures. The boat is very small so it will be a bit like being in a washing machine at times! The downside of these boats is that they are small, and they don’t have an engine. If you go into the doldrums and there’s no wind you just have to wait for conditions to change. That’s going to be quite a challenge – particularly mentally I think. The discomfort because of the size will be difficult, but the one big positive, and perhaps the reason I’m doing something that some people might consider to be a bit foolhardy, is that these are very well designed boats with only three hatches that open to the outside elements. As long as those three hatches are closed, there can’t be any water ingress. Whatever happens, if you’re prepared, then small can be quite good in that respect.’
And Adam is certainly prepared. ‘I got [the boat] launched in March of this year and spent the summer sailing on the North Sea,’ he says. ‘I was pleased with the sea trials. Aside from the sailing, I’ve been getting help from a sports psychologist and a personal trainer in terms of how to try and keep fit on the boat. There’s a huge amount of detail that you need to demonstrate to the race organisers about your preparedness and that goes from things like the correct documentation on your boat through to all the safety equipment, satellite equipment and making sure your race manager is up to speed. Perhaps before all of that, it’s a very selfish thing to do to [go away] for a year and a quarter, so before I did it, I had long conversations with my loved ones, making sure they were happy and were going to allow me to do what I wanted to do.’
Adam’s sailing is also helping to raise money for the Ella Dawson Foundation, a family-run charity dedicated to supporting young adults (and their families) diagnosed with cancer, set up in memory of Newcastle University student Ella Dawson. Adam met Jane and Kevin Dawson, Ella’s parents, when skippering a boat taking part in the Foundation’s annual fundraiser sail around Britain. In 2021, Ella passed away at the age of 24 from a rare form of blood cancer, something which resonated with Adam, whose mum lost her brother to leukaemia aged seven. Adam has set up at GoFundMe page and more than £13,000 of Adam’s £100,000 target has already been raised, with at least 50 percent of all donations going to the Ella Dawson Foundation.
‘There was no long-term burning desire to sail around the world. It wasn’t a childhood thing. But when this opportunity came up, given the stage in life I was at, it seemed to be a worthwhile thing to do,’ Adam concludes, ‘and if I achieve it, it’ll be a great thing for me to leave to my kids – that somebody in their 60s can achieve. It just seemed worthwhile and I’ll be doing my very best.’
