Allspice Yachting is a purveyor of sailing adventures along the Cape of Good Hope and on the high seas.
It was co-founded by Dr. Gerrit Louw in 2018 and has, since then, facilitated unique sailing adventures and commercial expeditions covering more than 20,000 nm of southern Atlantic blue-water. Inspired by the 2018 Golden Globe Race, Gerrit applied for an Ocean Globe Race invitation believing that the retro round the world race concept is a logical progression of Allspice Yachting’s achievements. While their campaign is principally funded by amateur crew, they are actively collaborating with commercial partners to construct a shared narrative at sea.
Crew
Skipper
Mark grew up in Durban, where he learned to sail on various dinghies such as optimists, dabchicks and mirrors in the 1970s.
After a voyage to Madagascar with friends in the 1990s, he sailed his 27ft monohull from Cape Town to the Caribbean, where he lived for 5 years. He did a number of deliveries to the United States and even one voyage from the Caribbean to South Africa and back.
After getting his RYA Yachtmaster and Instructor qualifications, he skippered mileage building voyages between Cape Town and Mauritius on a 50ft monohull for 8 years. Mark joined Allspice Yachting in 2018 and sailed extensively onboard their 44ft catamaran Ronin. During this time, Mark crossed the Atlantic four times, skippered two offshore yacht races and did multiple voyages to remote southern Atlantic islands such as Tristan da Cunha and Inaccessible Island.
When the Ocean Globe Race starts in September 2023, Mark will have sailed well over 150,000 nm and crossed the Atlantic Ocean 12 times.
| No. | Name, Nationality | Sex, Age | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Wannenburg, South African | Male, 63 | ||||
| 2 | Gerrit Louw, South African | Male, 33 | ||||
| 3 | Brittany Mauer, American | Female, 35 | ||||
| 4 | Justin Schmidt, American | Male, 44 | ||||
| 5 | Ben Lam, Australian | Male, 54 | ||||
| 6 | Jem O’Callaghan, Australian | Male, 20 | ||||
| 7 | Robbie Louw, South African | Male, 63 | Apply | Apply | Apply | |
| 8 | Maarten Raemakers, Dutch | Male, 65 | Apply | Apply | Apply | |
| 9 | APPLY if interested | |||||
| 10 | APPLY if interested |
Sterna of Allspice Yachting
Sterna of Allspice Yachting is a modified Swan 53 commissioned in 1988 by an experienced Danish yachtsman who wanted a true regatta racing yacht that can accommodate large crews comfortably.
She was built with a multitude of unique features, including: a custom keel with an improved righting moment, aft companionway, a modified bridge deck and an expanded aft cabin with two single berths. Further changes from the original design includes the installation of a 135 hp engine (instead of the normal 85hp) and expanded water and diesel tanks to enable longer periods of off-grid self-reliance.
The boat was sold in 1994 and continued to cruise the Mediterranean and Adriatic before sailing to the Caribbean with her third owner in 2001. Allspice Yachting specifically bought her in 2021 for the Ocean Globe Race and sailed her from Grenada to her new home port in Cape Town.
| LOA | 53.00 ft / 16.15 m |
| LWL | 43.06 ft / 13.12 m |
| Beam | 15.51 ft / 4.73 m |
| Draft | 10.20 ft / 3.11 m |
| Displacement | 20 to |
| Designer | German Frers |
| Shipyard | Nautor |
Why do you want to compete in the Ocean Globe Race?
Gerrit Louw: Ever since I have discovered sailing I have been inspired by sailors such as H.W Tilman (Mischief), Robin Knox-Johnson (Suhaili), Bernard Moitessier (Joshua), Blondie Hasler (Jester), Trevor Robertson (Iron Bark), Tania Aebi (Varuna) and Roger Taylor (Ming Ming), to name only a few.
These sailors have all pushed the boundaries of what was perceived possible during their time. The same is true for The Whitbread sailors, such as Conny van Rietschoten and Peter Blake.
With the advent of the Ocean Race the dynamics of the race changed and a new type of sailor evolved. Corinthian adventure took a back seat to professional athleticism. The Ocean Globe Race reintroduces the sense of amateur adventure lost during the evolution of modern-day round the world yacht races. It brings to life aspirational characters in a format where it is as much about the story as the final leaderboard.
The values of the Ocean Globe Race resonate strongly with my own approach to adventure and that is what attracts me the most.
