59° North Sailingvideo
Gunnar Christensen // From Yacht Captain to Golden Globe Sailor
June 16, 2026 · 1h 32m · 148 views
What this video covers
Gunnar Kristiansen, a career yacht captain and racing sailor from New England, describes his preparation for the Golden Globe Race aboard a Hans Christian 34 he purchased in Trinidad in June 2024 — the start of hurricane season — after a tip from Mary South, editor of Yachting and Soundings magazines.0:04 The boat is a heavy displacement design that Kristiansen acknowledges is not the fastest on paper but argues is competitive, citing Kirsten Neuschaffer's Cape George 36 as a precedent.32:05 Kristiansen's sailing career began at age 12–13 racing a CNC 40 in the Gulf of Maine ocean racing series with his uncle, included the Marblehead-to-Halifax race at 16, a stint on a Baltic Yachts 51 in the Caribbean, and captaining a Ted Hood 43 for Hinckley Yachts while completing a political science degree.11:27 He later project-managed new boat builds and skippered the Farr 60 Venomous on the UK south coast.10:47 He discusses the cultural gap between offshore sailors and inshore racing crews — specifically the failure to anticipate sail changes — and reflects on how a Swan 80 captain's brief hospitality in Newport shaped his own approach to dock-walking job seekers.20:31 The Golden Globe Race starts from Les Sables d'Olonne, France; Kristiansen's campaign can be followed at gunnarsails.com.3:10
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