Zbigniew « Gutek » Gutkowski is the first Polish sailor ever to race solo around the world. He finished two races round the globe, one crewed (The Race, 2000) and one solo (VELUX 5 Oceans 2010-11). His outstanding performance in the latter, when he came second after overcoming keel damage and two serious injuries, made him known worldwide. He was awarded Poland's Sailor of the Year trophy for his achievement.

He is one of Poland's best known and most experienced sailors with a wealth of offshore and inshore racing. The 39-yearold skipper first honed his talents as a member of the Polish national sailing team, representing his nation in the 470 dinghy class from 1987 to 1995. He also spent several years campaigning state of the art 49er dinghies and was one of the most successful crews in Poland. In 2000 Gutek turned his hand to offshore sailing and that year he was watch captain onboard WARTA-POLPHARMA in The Race, the non-stop race around the world for multihulls. In 2005 he skippered the ORMA 60 Bonduelle in the Nokia Oops Cup. He also attempted to break the monohull record for a non-stop circumnavigation onboard the Volvo 60 Bank BPH (formerly ASSA ABLOY), but damage forced the crew to give up at Cape Town after 9,500 miles.
Gutkowski lives in his native city of Gdansk, Poland, where he was born in 1973. Sailing was his first and favourite sport since he was 10 and nothing changed so far. Taking on the challenge of Vendee Globe is a next step in his sailing career. He knows the game of solo racing; he knows the seamanship and his boat.