A Portland-based sailor and yacht broker has launched a campaign to compete in the Global Solo Challenge race in 2027. The singlehanded, non-stop ocean race will begin and end in Vigo, Spain.
It will be Ronnie Simpson’s second time participating in the grueling event.
In the 2023-24 edition of the Global Solo Challenge, Simpson sailed a racing yacht named Shipyard Brewing named in honor of the Portland-based sponsor.
After 106 days at sea, sailing more than 20,000 miles and rounding all three great capes including the infamous Cape Horn, his boat dismasted some 700 miles offshore of Argentina and he was forced to retire from the race.
He returned to Maine and in June opened a Portland brokerage office for Thomaston boatbuilder Lyman-Morse.
He said he will remain as a yacht broker with Lyman-Morse until he takes a sabbatical for the race in late 2027 and early 2028.
Sea trials are underway
A combat-wounded and medically retired U.S. Marine and Iraq war veteran who has sailed over 175,000 nautical miles, the 40-year-old’s sailing experience includes six transpacific races, extensive cruising throughout the Pacific and professional work as a delivery and charter captain.
In late June, the Portland resident launched his latest racing yacht, named Koloa Maoli, at the Maine Yacht Center in Portland. He and his team conducted a round of sea trials off of Portland the past couple of weeks.
His goal is to become the first American to win a singlehanded, non-stop around the world race, according to a news release.
Koloa Maoli, which raced with another competitor in the 2023-24 Global Solo Challenge, is a good platform for the competitive campaign, he said.
“I feel really good about the boat, and how she has performed during our first sea trials over the course of the past week and a half,” Simpson said.
Simpson said he plans to conduct more sea trials and offshore training before sailing in the Monhegan Island Race in early August. In mid-August, the plan is to embark on a Maine-based and then an East Coast tour to spread awareness for his Global Solo Challenge campaign and to find commercial sponsors.
“It was great to work with an iconic Maine brand like Shipyard Brewing during my last campaign, and I’m truly excited to see how this campaign develops over the next two years as I make the long journey from Portland to Spain, and all the way to Cape Horn and back,” Simpson said.