History of the GYC
The genesis of the GLOBE YACHT CLUB started in 2014 in the South Pacific when Australian adventurer Don McIntyre decided to organise the 50th Anniversary edition of the Golden Globe Race. At the time, he was onboard his expedition yacht “ICE” in the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific, diving for ancient wrecks. He had permission from HRH the Crown Prince of Tonga to use the island of Nomuka Iki in the Ha’apai Group as a support base of operations for five years. A base camp was established on the island as the centre of all logistics.
In 2015, following discussions on the idea of forming a Tongan yacht club to train Tonga’s youth in sailing and to act as the host yacht club for the upcoming Golden Globe Race, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala gave “Royal Assent” for Don McIntyre and Joshua Tia to form the Royal Nomuka Yacht Club (RNYC) on Nomuka Iki. Over the next few years, two cabins were built, and a fleet of Optimist dinghies, rescue boats, and all the materials and support infrastructure/logistics to build the yacht club were delivered to the island. The 2018 50th Anniversary Golden Globe Race was run under the auspices of the Royal Nomuka Yacht Club. All was well.
Sadly, on 15th January 2022, a massive volcanic explosion on Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai and a subsequent tsunami a few days later completely wiped out everything on the island, which was just 35km away. The devastation was stunning, hard to comprehend, and complete. Nothing was left to clean up or show for nearly AU$750,000 invested, which was uninsured. Even the topography and shape of the island were completely changed—massive trees and jungle disappeared with centuries of topsoil, such that there was no point in even considering a rebuild. That precipitated the end of the Royal Nomuka Yacht Club.
The GYC is formed
Later that year, in 2022, Don McIntyre decided to form the Globe Yacht Club (GYC) as an exclusive club for entrants in the GGR, OGR, and MGR events. The 2022 Golden Globe Race and 2023 Ocean Globe Race sailed under the burgee of the GYC. Sailors and the public would often want to know more about this burgee and club. Other sailors wanted to join the GYC. To facilitate this and further the aims of financially supporting adventure, decisions were made to officially establish the GYC as an exclusive club, open to like-minded sailors who have completed a circumnavigation independently or in organised events.
The Globe 580 Transat and the 2025 Mini Globe Race are both sailing under the burgee of the GYC. The rules of the club and membership categories have been set. Membership can officially be offered to those who qualify. The official opening and launch of the GYC will take place in ANTIGUA a few days before the start of the Mini Globe Race.
