The Sailor and the Showgirl: How solo skipper Mara Løvenskiold is preparing for her 2026 Golden Globe Race

Mara Løvenskiold is currently livestreaming her Atlantic crossing.

She’s just over a week into her qualifying passage for the 2026 Golden Globe Race, during which she and 23 other skippers will undertake a solo, nonstop, and unassisted east-about circumnavigation by sextant.

She hopes the crossing will highlight any adjustments she still needs to make before September, help her fine-tune her celestial navigation, and get into the swing of things onboard Showgirl, the Saltram Saga 36 that will be her home for the better part of a year.

For an event characterised by its use of traditional navigation techniques, Løvenskiold’s approach to funding her GGR campaign is remarkably 21st century.

Her website describes her as a sailor (she’s a Licensed Captain with over 25,000 miles of sailing experience), a former athlete (competitive cross-fit), and ‘someone who has never been very good at staying inside boxes.’

She left ‘social media star and master of personal branding’ off the list, but it only takes a quick scroll to see that it’s implied.

Løvenskiold maintains a curated, multi-platform social media presence, regularly publishing videos on everything from cruising budget breakdowns to refit updates to onboard workouts to engage with a community of just shy of 80k followers.

Social media, ‘Has played a huge role for me,’ she explains. ‘I am paying everything out of my own pocket, so having a following makes it easier to get sponsorship.’

Her investment in her online presence is both practical and purpose-driven. ‘One of my biggest motivations for doing the Golden Globe Race is to inspire other girls and women to go for their dreams,’ Løvenskiold explains.

As the only woman in the 2026 Golden Globe Race after fellow entrant Olivia Wyatt retired at the start of the year, she says she’s motivated by, ‘Any woman sailing really – they are fighting for their place every single day, and they are all amazing.’ She specifically names Elizabeth Tucker as an inspiration, together with an uncle who first took her sailing and the elderly King of Norway, who she considers a ‘badass’ for still sailing.

Løvenskiold started sailing around the world with the Sailing Ripple Effect project, which brings novice crews onto a catamaran for vlog-style adventures with impact. She describes the fours spent four years she spent on Ripple Effect, as ‘an absolute dream’.

The GGR appeared on the horizon when she had already started wondering: what’s next?

In the lead up to the 2026 Golden Globe Race’s departure from Les Sables d’Olonnes in September, Løvenskiold has been busy preparing her boat and refining necessary skills.

‘I have to prepare in so many ways, from learning about weather patterns, and survival skills, to working on the refit of the boat and sailing as much as I can,’ she says. ‘I try to soak up everything I can, and then filter out what I think I will need.’

So far, she has added a second roller furler on the bow, to be able to run twin sails.

‘I am testing and breaking every system, so I know what breaks, where the limits are and how to fix it. I am working with Voiliere Tarot with my sails, they have been super helpful, they have a lot of experience with Golden Globe Race sails, which is just gold for me.’

She chose Showgirl, originally called Talisman of Portsmouth, for its stability, she explains. Entrants Pat Lawless and Andrew Ritchie will also sail on Sagas in the 2026 GGR.

At 10.6m LOA, with a full keel and a displacement of 11.4 tons, ‘The Saga is a sturdy, heavy boat. I wanted a boat where I felt safe in the Southern Ocean. You won’t win if you don’t make it to the finish line!’

Not all of Løvenskiold’s interventions on Showgirl are immediately practical. She has an onboard camera setup for the live-streamed crossing, and has made more personal modifications.

‘I am also making sure that the boat feels like a home. For a place that will be my home for 2 years, and 7-9 months without a break, it’s very important to feel good where you are. I do not want to strip it down, I want pictures of my family and the walls and a nice blanket to cuddle up in. Sometimes it’s the small things that make a difference.’

She explains, ‘I am very focused on mental health, so I prioritise things that I know will make me feel good, like prepping good food and making sure I can get some training in. Basic things, but for me it’s a game-changer.’

Wellbeing onboard is a priority, but Løvenskiold’s not too worried about coping with isolation.

‘In general I am pretty good at being alone, I get very creative. I will bake, write songs, make videos, maybe knit a sweater, learn french, and work out,’ she says. ‘Filming everything I do, actually talking out loud to the camera, will make things easier to deal with. Something changes when you say things out loud, rather than keep it in your own head.’