Global Class 5.80

Global Class 5.80 – Don McIntyre
BIG STICK MARKETING – AND THE CONSEQUENCES BE DAMNED
Sailors need a little ornamentation on the transom to spare them the drudgery of non-stop driving and afford them the pleasure of sweet dreams as their vessel of choice chases the far horizon. Mechanical steering slaves, the design, construction and sale of which has largely dominated my life over the past 50+ years, play an absolutely critical role in singlehanded long-distance races like the GGR, which treats the use of autopilots as a punishable offence (demotion to the Chichester Class).
Denying skippers the autopilot option is really nothing more than a way to sharpen the event’s media appeal, as the boats carry multiple GPS units and communication tools to ensure the adventures of the fleet’s heroes can be shared with the hoped-for media audience quickly and as vividly as possible, but as everybody knows, drama sells! The rules being what they are, access to reliable mechanical self-steering assumes existential significance. A man who (not without justification) preaches the mantra of personal responsibility at every turn could (not to mention ought) surely have convinced himself to leave the choice of self-steering system entirely to his competitors’ discretion. Don McIntyre though chose to go in a different direction. I am convinced his event has suffered as a consequence: the unhappy incidents that have ensued, details of which are out there for all to read, have become one of the defining features of the race. Events like the GGR cannot remain blind to commercial considerations, of course, and it is undoubtedly the most hair-raising incidents that generate the most clicks, but how is a race organiser to square this premium on excitement with his duty to his proteges and their safety (a duty implicitly acknowledged in the extensive GGR rules, which presumably serve to relieve some of the burden of the organiser’s own sense of responsibility as well as to help competitors stay out of trouble).
The GGR organiser’s decision to favour – indeed actively to promote – one particular auxiliary rudder system for his event, namely the auxiliary rudder system manufactured by the event’s main financial sponsor, could be written off as just one of those somewhat unseemly things that happens in marketing. Add in the fact that the event rules require competitors to carry an emergency rudder, however, and it begins to become clear that despite all the urging to exercise personal responsibility, the skippers are being firmly pointed in one specific direction. The story of the two editions of the GGR so far tells us those skippers who took the hint have not necessarily been overjoyed with the consequences.A number of sailors contemplating a GGR have approached me about using my Pacific Plus double rudder system, and I have consistently and clearly advised them against the idea. A rigid auxiliary rudder perched at the back of a sailing boat is very vulnerable at extreme latitudes and all but impossible for the skipper to reach in the event of damage or failure. It can also bring enormous forces to bear on the boat’s transom, which will not necessarily have been designed for the job. A transom that does lack the necessary strength will tend to experience vibration on a scale that can only be tolerated for so long before something breaks. Boats like the Rustler 36 that have a flat transom, which will inevitably have less local strength unless it has been expressly reinforced inside the hull, are at particular risk.

How this has played out over two editions of the GGR and the outcomes for the sailors affected have been well documented:

Don’s Pyrrhic Victory

The Royal Road

We should also not forget in all of this that the boats racing in the GGR are long-keelers and thus inherently very well protected against the risk of rudder damage or loss. Is it any coincidence that despite all the carnage, not one of them has yet had cause to break out that emergency rudder?


Don McIntyre

Perhaps it’s just the way he’s made, but the organiser of the GGR seems to be rather short on objectivity and fairness in responding to his critics, not least those who have happened to remark on the incongruity of a self-professed expert in the field omitting to spot glaring errors of understanding and prevent them escaping into the wild via event press releases. And what about conspicuously mis-spelling the name of one of the most prominent windvane self-steering brands: accident suggestive of a lack of due diligence or something more calculated (suggestive of an ulterior motive)? Knowledgeable sailors see through it all in an instant, I trust, but those with less first-hand experience to draw on may well just lap it up unquestioningly. Disguising a marketing pitch as factual information is likely to have real-world consequences too, especially when supposedly professional magazines are happy simply to cut and paste and leave their poor readers to sort the wheat from the chaff. 

I made a conscious and well-reasoned decision several decades ago to focus my efforts on developing and manufacturing mechanical steering slaves and entrust the promotion and marketing of my transom ornaments to sailors around the world.

I have discussed my experiences with my competitors in the market and the journalists striving to make a living reselling information in the marine industry in some depth elsewhere. Suffice it to say they have left me strongly inclined to communicate with sailors directly and provide them with the information they need free from misunderstandings and fake news. And yes, I do realise that in an age of influencers, I make myself something of an outlier by trusting in the ability of my customers, once properly informed, to make wise decisions (wise customer decisions quite possibly being kryptonite for the whole influencer business model).
And now there is a new event looming on the horizon! The Global Class 5.80 provides a way for those so inclined to build their own boat (having paid the organiser for the privilege) and then (having again paid the organiser for the privilege) ride to fame and fortune on the wave of publicity a slow solo race around the world in tiny home-built boats is bound to generate. Or could well generate. Or might generate, if something goes wrong in a way that creates drama. Perhaps I’ve misunderstood that bit, but they do definitely get to race around the world. Why? Everyone will have their own reasons and backstory, of course, and many – if not all – will now have a website or bio page on which to share them. However sound these reasons might be, the mini matadors will have to accept whatever comes their way once racing – even if they have no knowledge of what that might mean prior to the start. The organiser returns to the theme of personal responsibility at every opportunity, his role after all presumably being no more than to report on newsworthy events as they happen.

Why does any of this matter to me? Well, he has remained stoically true to himself with this new venture and once again leveraged the indispensability of windvane self-steering to line his own pocket. If only he had allowed the awful experiences of the GGR to change his mind! Or is that all part of the deal? The events he has concocted have become something of a treat for “media partners” struggling to stay afloat themselves: tales of ordinary people facing extraordinary (!) challenges represent attractive content, especially when they are dished up ready to use in print and online by the organiser. The question has to be asked though, are his gladiators of interest primary for their racing skills or primarily as fodder for the lions? Make of it what you will, but I am certainly not the only critic expressing doubts as to the unlimited seaworthiness of these colourful water fleas.Now that the skippers have begun to gain some experience with their plywood micro-palaces, I have noticed a sharp uptick in the urgency of those contacting me to talk self-steering. Word must have got out, at least I assume that’s what persuaded the organiser to publish his long article on the race website explaining how windvane self-steering systems are like helicopters in terms of the vital importance of regular inspection and maintenance and how he apparently enjoyed nothing but sparkling performance from his chosen steering slave on his own Class Globe 580 TREKKA, self-steering and boat (and I quote)

“FLYING together as one … over 3,000 miles”.

McIntyre Mini Globe Race! Dreams can become nightmares!

First the part about helicopters: designing and building a robust windvane self-steering system is neither rocket science nor aeronautical engineering and it astonishes me that after all we have learned from the GGR, he would be prepared to take the same course again. Whose interests come first for the race organiser: those of the courageous Class Global 580 skippers or those of his sponsors? Perhaps more importantly for me, how can he put himself in a position (again) where that is even a reasonable question? Conflicts of interest are be to avoided rather than actively embraced, especially when the direct consequences fall to others – his proteges, the paying customers who have put their faith in his design and event – to bear. People should be able to know where they stand.

Ertan Beskardes (ex GGR participant) and buyer of TREKKA wrote on 4 January 2024:

Hello Peter,
I have recently sailed a globe 5.80 to Antigua with South Atlantic wind vane , where until now every owner has had problems including me. I will be replacing the unit like others. Not sure if you have sold one to 5.80 owner yet. As I have an around the world trip with this boat. Don McIntyre has sold 240 of his plans and many built or being built.
During its stay in Antigua, I will be replacing the wind vane, only ever wind vane I have ever used is several Hydronanes . As you know I lost one in a storm 2021. Though I like the simplicity And easy use, weight of it is a concern on a 1 ton boat.
So I need to know if you have any install information for this boat and cost of the unit for these light weight boats.
Kind regards
Ertan Beskardes

The following e-mail from down under arrived a few days ago

Hi there Peter, Myself and my father have previously been in touch about the windpilot self steering gear. we have now purchased 4 separate units and haven’t been happy with them. I was wondering if you can PLEASE consider coming to the table to sell us 2 x windpilots for our 19 foot yachts? 
Mike and John Blenkinsop

Now I find myself in the ridiculous situation of having to write to would-be customers to explain that I have no interest in defending myself against an organiser who, for reasons it might not be too difficult to guess, appears only too willing to forego fairness and objectivity and to do damage to a harmless manufacturer of windvane self-steering systems if he believes it will help his sponsor. Before long, he will presumably be wishing his proteges “bon voyage!” knowing full-well they are about to learn some hard truths – in the public eye – that he prefers for the time being to keep to himself.

Reading the Globe 5.80 Forumis very revealing..

This comment particularly caught my eye:

…if you need to buy a windpilot you will have to go onto the black market … lol … poor Peter … he so hates competition lol … and does not like me … never mind, his gears are ok … and you cannot please anyone all the time … good luck!

Obviously the organiser cannot really be in the dark as to my reasons for removing myself from the firing line, for refusing to take another chance in an arena in which respectful disagreement plays second fiddle to the imperative of satisfying his sponsor – and to his penchant for playing the fount of all knowledge in the field of mechanical steering slaves. I have publicised my decision openly to all. The organiser, his media partners and any sailor with even a passing interest in the matter should be familiar with my stance by now. The response has been remarkable.

I am most concerned for the sailors and feel obliged to give them the best explanation I can. Reactions understandably vary when they find out that I have resolved, for very personal reasons, to risk no more conflicts with a man who runs a very different operating system – and has a very different attitude to respect (not to mention the benefits of learning from experience) – to my own. Whether the man genuinely respects the interests of the sailors prepared to pay for entry into his unique world is not a question I would attempt to answer. Again though, that things he has said and done make this a valid question to ask in the first place should be enough to set the alarm bells ringing, especially given that the interests of his proteges apparently do not always necessarily align with those of his sponsor or his own bottom line.

My decision has not gone down well in the USA:

Jack Johnson:
Not interested in politics. Not interested in hurt feelings. Not interested in who copied who. Not interested in who likes who and who dislikes who.
I’m only interested in a good sailor (me) trying to buy a good autopilot (yours).
I don’t know why it has to be more complicated than that.
I’ll keep trying to buy a Pacific Light secondhand.
Sure would be easier to buy one directly from you..
Interested in buying if you’re interested in selling an autopilot.
Thanks,
Jack

The whole sorry impasse has resulted in plenty of understanding e-mails, a few successful “black market” purchases and a number of attempts to obtain one of my units by the back door, for example to fit “on a different boat“. It is a bizarre situation in which to find oneself, and all the fault of an event organiser’s decision to go with a big-stick approach to marketing the self-steering product to which he has lashed himself – and the consequences be damned. He needs his show to be a media success, he needs his sponsor (which is trying to make inroads into a tough market and by now presumably has at least some inkling of the difficulties that await) to be satisfied and he also has a duty to the intrepid adventurers who represent the grist to his mill. Are these three objectives even half-way reconcilable?

An event that would send a fleet of sailors off around the world on the back of such a profound conflict of interests appears to me inevitably, fundamentally and dangerously flawed – and I will not willingly have anything to do with it!

Peter Foerthmann

Hamburg, 10 November 2024