Alone around the world.
Solo, non-stop, by the three great capes. In 2027 Joel sets off from Vigo, Spain, to sail around the planet without a single stop. This is the story of why.
Sailing my whole life
I'm a Finn, an entrepreneur and a media personality, but before any of that I'm a sailor. Sailing has been part of my whole life, and it has shaped almost everything about who I am.
I've crossed the Atlantic three times filming the reality series Atlantin yli, and I've shared the raw, unfiltered reality of life at sea with hundreds of thousands of people.
It runs in the family
My father, Hjallis Harkimo, was the first Finn to competitively sail solo around the world. I grew up on his stories, and on the water, learning the ropes before I could properly tie them.
Those early years on deck set the course for everything that came after.
Now I know I'm ready
It has always been my dream to sail around the world. My father always told me I would do it one day. For years I knew it was coming, but I never quite felt ready. Now I am.
The Global Solo Challenge is the most demanding and purest kind of adventure sailing there is: solo, non-stop, all the way around. That's the one I'm taking on.
What is the Global Solo Challenge?
A solo, non-stop circumnavigation by the three great capes: Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn. The boats leave Vigo, Spain in staggered departures from August 2027, and the format is unlike any other round-the-world event.
- 01Grouped by performanceBoats are grouped by how fast they are and set off in successive departures between August and December 2027.
- 02No classes at seaOnce at sea there are no classes. Every boat is sailing the same event, and the faster boats have to catch the slower ones.
- 03First to finish winsThe first boat across the finish line wins. The staggered starts already account for the differences between boats, so there is no corrected time.
Vigo to Vigo, the long way
South down the Atlantic, east through the Southern Ocean under the three capes, and back up the Atlantic to where it began. Around 26,000 nautical miles, about 48,000 kilometres, without touching land.
A year to get ready
Months alone at sea ask everything of a body. That's why the year before departure is a health project: training, food, sleep and recovery, all measured and shared in the open.
Read the storyAround the world, together
Before Joel leaves, the run club covers the same 48,000 kilometres on foot, and every kilometre supports the Baltic Sea.
Join the run club