Back the boat
An independent, self-funded campaign: one owner-built boat and one sailor, heading for a solo Atlantic race. Partners help turn a pile of plywood into a boat that reaches the finish.
Request the partner pack →One small boat, a very big test
Nobody needs to sail a 5.8-metre plywood boat alone across an ocean. That is the point. The things worth doing are rarely the easy ones; they are chosen because they are hard, and because hard is the only honest measure of what a boat, its gear and the person sailing it can do.
The hardest product test there is
Around 3,650 nautical miles of open Atlantic, sailed alone, with no routing and no outside help. Gear that comes through that has nothing left to prove.
A story that runs for years
From a pile of plywood in 2026 to the finish in Antigua in 2029, told post by post. Partners are part of the story from the first glue-up, not just the finish photo.
Built by an ordinary person
No boatyard and no professional crew: a first-time builder in a tent. The people who follow it are builders, sailors and dreamers, and the people who buy your gear.
In the spirit of 1977
Small, simple, affordable ocean racing, in the tradition of the original Mini Transat. Near-identical, owner-built boats, and a fleet capped at 20.
What the boat needs
We are starting with in-kind partners: gear and materials, put to work and documented from first glue-up to the finish line.
Epoxy, glass & fairing
Resin, hardeners, cloth and fillers for roughly 750 hours of build: the single biggest consumable.
Marine fasteners & hardware
A4/316 stainless screws, fittings, blocks and deck hardware that stay in the boat for good.
Safety & survival
Liferaft, PLB/EPIRB, harness and tethers, radar transponder, first-aid kit: the gear that brings a solo sailor home.
Sails & rigging
Running rigging, lines and covers that will see a month of open Atlantic.
Power & communications
Solar, batteries and satellite communications for an ocean with no shore support.
Foul-weather & personal kit
High-visibility offshore clothing, boots and a good knife. Predominantly black, grey or white foul-weather gear is not allowed on this race.
What partners get
Real-world testing
Your product used, photographed and written about through a full owner-build and an ocean race. Honest notes, not adverts.
Credit where it is used
Named and linked in every build post that features your product, and listed on this page.
Field reports
An honest write-up of how your product performed, what wore, what failed and what we would change, sent back to you. The kind of feedback a test lab cannot give.
Content you can use
Build and offshore photos and short write-ups you can share on your own channels.
On the boat
Logo placement on the boat for lead partners, subject to Class Globe 5.80 approval.
Partner with Project Transat 2028
The partner pack covers the campaign, the audience, the timeline and the options in detail.
On board so far
Project Transat 2028 is entering the McIntyre Globe 5.80 Transat 2028 as an independent, owner-funded campaign.