Louis Robein, the 70-year-old skipper of the 37-foot cruiser Le Souffle de la Mer III, is among the sailors still navigating their way around the three great capes in the Global Solo Challenge yacht race. Robein has covered 21,000 miles since he left Spain, with just 7,000 miles left to the finish line, despite facing severe setbacks and difficult conditions.
After rounding the Cape Horn on April 5th, Robein faced severe weather while trying to round the southern cape of Argentina to the east of Cape Horn. Winds were gusting up to 60 knots, which forced him to wait for two days for better conditions. However, when Robein decided to motor to Ushuaia for boat repairs, he made a navigational error that caused him to run aground. Despite Robein’s attempts to free his vessel, he was forced to contact the Argentine Navy who towed him to Ushuaia.
There, Robein came face to face with the bill for his tow, approximately $15,000, a sum of money far out of reach and not covered by insurance. Robein is a pensioner with a very limited budget, so his friends began a fundraiser while other skippers in the race launched appeals on their respective social media accounts. Within two days Robein’s fundraiser received $16,000 from 500 donors.
Robein was told he could continue his journey, thanks to a following of supporters he had inspired. Contributions to his stopover and repairs costs can still be made at the link below.
https://globalsolochallenge.com/product/louis-robein-fundraiser-en/
