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Around the world Single-handed Non-stop By the three great capes With a unique format Budget friendly Environmentally conscious Starts in A Coruña from August 2023

Around the world Single-handed Non-stop By the three great capes With a unique format Budget friendly Environmentally conscious In A Coruña from August 2023

Latest updates

Sailing on a direct course to A Coruna, David Linger is quickly reducing his distance to go towards the finish line of his circumnavigation. I have to say that the forecast looked a lot better yesterday than it does today. We saw in our update I posted just 24 hours ago that the high pressure of the Azores was displaced to the east and was leaving a very inviting corridor to sail directly towards the Iberian peninsula. Today the models show how the high pressure is forecast to regain its seasonal position on the homonymous archipelago creating a vast area of light winds that may slow David down considerably. We will have to wait a couple of days to see if this new output of the weather models will be confirmed. Meanwhile David will be happy to have cover some good fast miles and will be eagerly awaiting for developments.

The latest tracker position confirms the message relayed by Cross Griz Nez a couple of hours back, Louis Robein and Le Souffle de la Mer are safely in Ushuaia. We don’t have any fresh information other than the incident is closed by the rescue authorities and we look forward to learn from Louis what his plans are going forward. I would imagine he will need some much deserved and needed rest first. We were all apprehensive but all is well in the end. Bon courage Louis.

We have seen, with every competitor approaching the Iberian peninsula that each skipper has the Azores high pressure system as the last hurdle to negotiate before being able point towards A Coruna. Luckily for David, the Azores high is currently displaced to the east giving an unexpected opportunity to find winds to head north east without having to sail as far north as the Azores archipelago. This translates into several days saved, certainly a welcome development for the American skipper of Koloa Maoli who must be glad to start seeing the end at the end of his circumnavigation. Currently, I’d say David’s arrival will probably be between the 18th and 20th of April, but it’s a little earlier to firm up a forecast ETA.

On April 5th, Louis Robein celebrated his successful rounding of Cape Horn, overcoming numerous challenges. He was heading to Ushuaia for rest and repairs, looking for the shelter of the Tierra del Fuego. With land around him and the traffic of fishing boats he can’t have been able to catch much sleep. Nearing land under engine as the sun was setting Louis thought he was following the coastline into the Beagle channel. The area is uninhabited with no shore lights. A moonless night and fatigue must have added to the challenges making distinguishing headlands impossible. Steering by hand in the cockpit and with a paper chart below, Louis mistakenly entered Bahía Aguirre marked by the San Gonzalo lighthouse on its western entrance. The lighthouse however is not functional leading Louis to carry on motoring along the northern shore in what he thought were the waters of the channel. The sea was flat and before he could make sense of the darkness ahead of him, Louis run aground in the sandy bottom the bay. Despite efforts, the boat remained stuck and Louis was forced to ask for help. A tugboat was deployed from RCC Ushuaia eventually pulling him free. The boat

This morning I received a message from Louis Robein, he was heaving-to, drifting slowly, waiting for daylight to round Cape Horn. After sailing more than 21500 miles, of which 1500 with no autopilot in the treacherous waters of the South Pacific, he was there, waiting to see with his own eyes the legendary Cape Horn and the magnitude of his achievement to get there. I contacted José Luarte Sepulveda, the guardian of the lighthouse on the Isla de Hornos who reported winds blowing around 35 knots gusting to nearly 60, with the worst of the expected storm still due to arrive. The wind was blowing from the North West and Louis would find himself in protected waters in the lee of the Island on passing the longitude of the cape. A few minutes past 16:00 UTC, 1pm local time, I received a message back from José and there was Le Souffle de La Mer III, a little speck over windswept waters, Louis has achieved the unthinkable, he was rounding Cape Horn. He can now focus on getting safely to Ushuaia, he will probably experience very harsh conditions imminently as the forecast front sweeps by, after which he should be able

Many of us are following Louis Robein with apprehension, his voyage to round Cape Horn has been nothing short of incredible, with no autopilot he has navigated nearly half of the Pacific Ocean, week after week in incredibly difficult circumstances. When he approached the Chilean coast yesterday we were probably all convinced he’d stop to look for shelter, he had the option to reach the Magellan Strait or the Beagle Channel to Ushuaia, where he could rest and effect repairs. MRCC Chile wrote an email, seeing him so close to the coast wondering if the time to provide assistance had arrived. It is always difficult as organisers to standby and respect the principle that the decision to continue or stop in the event lies with the skipper who is the only person in charge. I have exchanged daily messages with Louis and he knows what his options are but he feels he can reach the cover of southern Chile and round Cape Horn safely and has decided to press on. We follow with a mixture of amazement, apprehension and hope that Louis will once again surprise us with his unwavering determination and seamanship and that man and boat once again

At 11:09 am on April 4th, after 158 days and 44 minutes at sea, Francois Gouin raised his arms in triumph, taking 5th place in the Global Solo Challenge but most importantly completing his solo nonstop circumnavigation by the three great capes. Francois looked extremely happy and deservedly proud for his immense achievement which didn’t come without difficulties. Challenging weather in the navigation up the south Atlantic were cause of much frustration and damage to the mainsail tracks forced Francois to complete his voyage with the main with permanently set with three reefs. Today is a day for celebration and we will get back as usual with a longer article about his arrival soon. What a fantastic achievement.

Francois Gouin, as anticipated, has been sailing in favourable winds towards A Coruna which has allowed him make some time on his expected time of arrival, which is now likely to be tomorrow Thursday April 4th in the early afternoon. Sailing his final 150 miles, Francois will have to deal with strong winds accelerating by Finisterre. That should be his last true challenge as after finding cover from the Iberian peninsula the sea state should improve considerably and Francois should be able to reach on a straight line to the finish line. As usual we will be broadcasting his arrival live on Facebook at Instagram, probably in the early afternoon. We’ll post an update on this.

News Articles

Louis Robein successfully assisted by Argentinian Navy after running aground in remote bay

Louis Robein – Le Souffle de la Mer III @Ministerio de Defensa Argentina   Yesterday Louis Robein arrived safely in Ushuaia after his unfortunate ordeal, running aground in Bahia Aguirre,

François Gouin takes 5th place in the Global Solo Challenge

François Gouin – Kawan3 Unicancer @globalsolochallenge   A Coruña – Thursday April 4th. At 11:09 am local time, after 158 days and 44 minutes at sea, François Gouin crossed the

François Gouin expected thursday April 4th in A Coruña on Kawan3 Unicancer

François Gouin – Kawan3 Unicancer @GSC / Pep Portas   With 400 miles to go, French skipper François Gouin on Kawan3 Unicancer must certainly feel he has had to earn

Riccardo Tosetto makes sailing history: the 6th Italian ever to complete a solo non-stop circumnavigation

Riccardo Tosetto – Obportus @globalsolochallenge   Riccardo Tosetto made history today as the sixth Italian to have completed a solo and non-stop around-the-world sailing circumnavigation. Riccardo left A Coruña on

Skippers' Blogs

Louis Robein is working to continue his voyage

Many of you are awaiting news from Louis Robein. Extraordinary messages are coming from all over the world, praising his achievement, his bravery, his persistence,

The food supply is holding out well but I’m running out of candy!

Greetings everyone from the duck boat Koloa! A nice day of sailing here with a big lift coming pretty early in the day and pointing the

The Return of Kawan3 Unicancer

The arrival is close, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, we should reach La Corogne, which is less than 400 nm away, by the end of

To “The Equator and Beyond”

Good day from the Duck Boat Koloa! The trusty duck and I are on the way to “The Equator and Beyond”. Progress has indeed been a

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Full circumnavigation.

It is one of the biggest challenges of the natural world and the supreme endurance test; 40,000 miles on an ocean racing yacht, circumnavigating the globe.

You will have sailed in all conditions from warm trade winds, through winter storms, tropical heat of the Doldrums, traversing the Equator twice and crossing the International Date Line.

You will have been becalmed, battled through 100-knot gales, struggled through squalls of stinging rain, snow flurries, sleet and fog. You will have experienced the emotions of untying your lines and saying goodbye to loved ones as you head to the drama of your first race start in front of the world’s media and tens of thousands of spectators.

You will have learnt to live life at a permanent angle, cooked meals to keep up morale when the going got tough, seen wildlife that few are privileged to see, sailed under a canopy of stars that took your breath away and watched dawns and sunsets that revealed our planet at its most beautiful.

You will have visited a number of different countries and been welcomed ashore with all the fervour deserving of long distance sporting champions. You will have celebrated at prize-givings, shaken hands with the great and the good, made friendships that will last a lifetime and achieved things that you never thought possible.

You will be fitter, healthier and more alive than you can imagine. You will have joined an elite club and, as you return to the point of departure and cross your outward track in the world’s longest yacht race, you’ll head home with a set of experiences that will live with you forever.

You will have become a circumnavigator.

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is the only event of its type. Anyone, even if they have never stepped on a boat before, can join the adventure.

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Kirsten Neuschafer wins 2022 Golden Globe Race and makes history

• Katy Stickland
• April 27, 2023

Kirsten Neuschafer has become the first woman to win a solo, round the world yacht race after winning the 2022 Golden Globe Race

Kirsten Neuschafer made it very clear from the start that she was aiming to win the 2022 Golden Globe Race . And now the South African skipper has achieved her goal, and made history in the process.

After just over 235 days at sea, the sailor crossed the finish line off Les Sables d’Olonne in France at 9pm CEST on 27 April 2023 and became the first woman to win a solo, round the world yacht race.

After a painfully slow final few miles as she ghosted towards the finish, Neuschafer actually crossed the finish line around 10 hours behind competitor, Simon Curwen, but a previous stop for repairs for the British sailor had already relegated him to the Chichester class (for those who make a single landfall).

No wind, meant it took hours for Kirsten Neuschafer to sail the Minnehaha over the finish line. Credit: Katy Stickland

Second-time Golden Globe Race competitor, Abhilash Tomy will be the next boat across the finish line, lying some 100nm astern of Neuschafer. That these three will finish within the space of a couple of days after 235 days at sea speaks to the high level of competition between these front runners.

Tired but jubilant, the focussed 39-year-old, who throughout much of the race had no idea she was leading, celebrated a hard-fought victory. Her Cape George 36 cutter, Minnehaha was then towed up the channel to the pontoon as thousands of people cheered and applauded her incredible achievement.

Among them were 2022 Golden Globe Race skippers Ian Herbert-Jones, who had just arrived from Cape Town, having been rescued from his dismasted boat just weeks before, and French sailor Damien Guillou , whose race ended after windvane steering failure on approach to Cape Town.

‘I feel very emotional and honoured,’ said Neuschafer after finishing the race. ‘I am never going to forget the welcome. I want to thank my fellow skippers as without them, there would have been no race. Simon was very difficult as he was always in front of me and I knew Abhilash was close, and this encouraged me to navigate as quickly as possible.’

Kirsten Neuschafer – the winner of the 2022 Golden Globe Race and the first woman to win a solo round the world yacht race. Credit: Katy Stickland

1997 Vendée Globe veteran Catherine Chabaud, the first female sailor to race solo non stop around the world without assistance, and the winner of the 2018 Golden Globe Race, Jean-Luc van den Heede, were there to greet Neuschafer as she stepped off her boat after nearly 8 months at sea.

Her official finishing time was 233 days, 20 hours, 43 minutes and 47 seconds. This takes into account the 35 hour time compensation and 30 litre fuel allowance given to her following her role in the rescue of fellow race skipper, Tapio Lehtinen,

Neuschafer said she was driven to keep going, even in calms and the doldrums on the way up the Atlantic, where she regularly went swimming to deal with the frustration.

‘I never thought I would give up; there was no reason to think this as I had full confidence in the boat. I never doubted I would get to the finish line.’

Catherine Chabaud, the first female sailor to race solo non stop around the world without assistance was there to greet Kirsten Neuschafter on. her arrival. Credit: Katy Stickland

Throughout the 2022 Golden Globe Race , Kirsten Neuschafer has fought to be at the front of the fleet, her ambition to win driving her more than many of the other entrants.

She deliberately chose a boat that she believed could win the race and survive the Southern Ocean.

Speaking to Yachting Monthly from Prince Edward Island, where she was refitting the boat, she said: ‘From the outset it wasn’t a question of taking any boat that was available and in my price range; it was to choose a boat that I believe can win and can survive the Southern Ocean , and then get that boat at any cost, no matter how much work.’

Kirsten Neuschafer in the lead, in early March 2023. Credit: Kirsten Neuschafer/GGR 2022

Her choice of the Cape George 36 paid off. Minnehaha has the longest LWL in the fleet, and with a generous cutter rigged 806sq ft sail plan, the boat achieved slightly higher speeds than her counterparts.

As a result, she holds the 2022 Golden Globe Race records for the best 4 hour speed average (9.80 knots), best 24 hour distance (218.9nm) and best 7 day distance (1,216.2nm).

The boat’s performance was evident after her average start in the race, but she constantly pushed, choosing to hand steer the boat rather than just rely on her Hydrovane windvane steering to make up for lost ground. Her disappointment coming 6th through the first race gate at Lanzarote was evident, but her motivation was stronger.

Kirsten Neuschafer prepared Minnehaha on Prince Edward Island. Credit: Patricia Richard

Having exited the Bay of Biscay in 10th place, she was soon climbing the leader board. Coming down the Atlantic, she chose a more coastal route to keep the island of Trinidade to port; a strategy to make the most of the current and receive weather information via her weather fax so she could identify the location of the South Atlantic High.

She took the longer, southern route with a more comfortable point of sail to reach the race’s second gate at Cape Town; a strategy that paid off when she was second through the gate behind the then race leader Simon Curwen .

Article continues below…

Kirsten Neuschafer: Golden Globe Race 2022 skipper

Kirsten Neuschafer has plenty of Southern Ocean experience, which she hopes will be an advantage as she takes part in…

Golden Globe Race: Kirsten Neuschafer: ‘I’ll give it my best shot but I’m pretty disillusioned’

Third place Golden Globe Race skipper Kirsten Neuschafer has been left frustrated by the lack of wind, which has also…

By this time, Curwen was extending his lead as he began crossing the Indian Ocean. Days after leaving Cape Town, Kirsten Neuschafer diverted from her race route to rescue fellow entrant Tapio Lehtinen, after his Gaia 36, Asteria sank around 450 miles south east of South Africa.

At the time, Neuschafer was 105 miles from Lehtinen’s position; she hand steered through the night, posting speeds of 7 knots to reach him the following morning. Once safely onboard, they waited for the arrival of the Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier Darya Gayatri , which would take Lehtinen to port.

Kirsten Neuschafer and Tapio Lehtinen share rum after the rescue of the Finnish skipper from his liferaft. Credit: Kirsten Nesuchafer/GGR 2022

Neuschafer was awarded a 35 hour time compensation and a 30 litre fuel allowance by the Golden Globe Race organisers.

Back in race mode, she pushed hard across the Indian Ocean, gaining 500 miles on Curwen and arrived just 29.5 hours behind him in Hobart. She briefly took first place when passing through Tasmania but then became trapped in no wind zones around New Zealand for several days.

This allowed Curwen to extend his lead by 900 miles; by this time, he was also sailing in a different weather system to Neuschafer and her nearest rival, Abhilash Tomy .

Neuschafer and Tomy swapped second and third place positions across the South Pacific, Neuschafer often frustrated by the calms, and her inability to find the better wind, which was often in the race’s Pacific exclusion zone.

She dived for 8 hours to remove the barnacles from the boat’s hull to improve her speed.

Kirsten Neuschafer/ rounded Cape Horn on Day 164 of the race. Credit: Kirsten Neuschafer/GGR 2022

Curwen, who had a 1,200 mile lead, then reported the failure of his Hydrovane self-steering gear , which forced him to make a 1,000 mile detour to Chile to make repairs; this also put him in the Chichester Class for entrants who make one stop.

This meant both Neuschafer and Tomy were back in the race for first place.

After 150 days of racing, Neuschafer took the lead and was the first to round Cape Horn on 15 February 2023.

But her routing decision up the Atlantic allowed Tomy to make gains in his Rustler 36, Bayanat , despite battling problems with his Wind Pilot windvane steering, his rig, rigging, and having to hand-stitch his mainsail after it ripped in two.

Kirsten Neuschafer took a more easterly route up the Atlantic. Credit: Kirsten Neuschäfer/GGR2022

Unlike Tomy, who stayed close to the rhumb line, Kirsten Neuschafer, who was sailing more conservatively due to a bend in Minehaha’s bowsprit, decided to take a more easterly route.

At the time she said: ‘I read up in  Ocean Passages for the World what is the best route for this time of year and the route is to pass 80 miles south of the Falklands and make for a point to the east of 35°S and 30°W at this time of year, and this is what I’ve been doing. I don’t know if it was a good idea to follow the suggestions or not.’

Doubting her easterly route, she took a more northerly route; it was a decision which would prove incredibly frustrating for Kirsten Neuschafer, who sailed through more light winds than any other 2022 Golden Globe Race sailor while sailing up the Atlantic, and meant she crossed a very wide doldrums.

This allowed both Tomy and Curwen to make gains on her position before Curwen in his Biscay 36, Clara , took the lead and become the first of the 2022 Golden Globe Race fleet to cross the finish line.

Positions of the Golden Globe Race 2022 skippers on 27 April 2022 at 2100 CEST

Kirsten Neuschafer, (South Africa), Cape George 36 cutter, Minnehaha – FINISHED 1st Abhilash Tomy , (India), Rustler 36, Bayanat – 100nm to the finish Michael Guggenberger , (Austria), Biscay 36, Nuri – 1800nm to the finish

Chichester Class:

Simon Curwen , (UK), Biscay 36, Clara – FINISHED 1st (Chichester Class) Jeremy Bagshaw , (South Africa), OE32, Olleanna – 2600nm to the finish

Edward Walentynowicz , (Canada), Rustler 36, Noah’s Jest Guy deBoer , (USA), Tashiba 36, Spirit Mark Sinclair (Australia), Lello 34, Coconut Pat Lawless , (Ireland), Saltram Saga 36 , Green Rebel Damien Guillou , (France), Rustler 36, PRB Ertan Beskardes , (UK), Rustler 36, Lazy Otter Tapio Lehtinen , (Finland), Gaia 36, Asteria Arnaud Gaist , (France), Barbican 33 Mk 2, Hermes Phoning Elliot Smith ,  (USA), Gale Force 34, Second Wind Guy Waites (UK), Tradewind 35, Sagarmatha Ian Herbert-Jones (UK), Tradewind 35, Puffin

Enjoyed reading Kirsten Neuschafer wins 2022 Golden Globe Race and makes history?

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Icebergs, navigation and sea level

How do skippers deal with the notion of time on a round the world race, how does the weather forecast work.

One globe, one ocean

The Vendée Globe aims to use the media impact of the event to raise public awareness of ocean conservation throughout the round-the-world race. By sailing around the world, the Vendée Globe sailors are highlighting the fragility of our oceans faced with global warming. They are direct witnesses to the changes underway, particularly around Antarctica, a region that is under particular threat.

Soft mobility

The Vendée Globe adventure doesn't start in Les Sables d'Olonne! It starts from home, by using a low-carbon mode of transport to get to the race village. The organisers have set up a mobility committee to bring together all the public and private players involved and propose soft mobility solutions for getting to the village.

44 candidates

Fabrice Amedeo

Romain Attanasio

Éric Bellion

Yannick Bestaven

Jérémie Beyou

Arnaud Boissières

Louis Burton

Conrad Colman

Antoine Cornic

Manuel Cousin

Clarisse Crémer

Charlie Dalin

Samantha Davies

Violette Dorange

Benjamin Dutreux

Benjamin Ferré

Sam Goodchild

François Guiffant

James Harayda

Oliver Heer

Boris Herrmann

Isabelle Joschke

Jean Le Cam

Tanguy Le Turquais

Nicolas Lunven

Sébastien Marsset

Paul Meilhat

Justine Mettraux

Giancarlo Pedote

Yoann Richomme

Thomas Ruyant

Damien Seguin

Kojiro Shiraishi

Sébastien Simon

Maxime Sorel

Guirec Soudée

Nicolas Troussel

Denis Van Weynbergh

Szabolcs Weöres

What is the Vendée Globe?

The Vendée Globe is a single-handed, non-stop, non-assisted round-the-world sailing race that takes place every four years. It is contested on IMOCA monohulls, which are 18 metres long. The skippers set off from Les Sables-d'Olonne in Vendée and sail around 45,000 kilometres around the globe, rounding the three legendary capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and finally Cape Horn) before returning to Les Sables d'Olonne. The race has acquired an international reputation, attracting skippers from all over the world. Beyond the competition, it is above all an incredible human adventure.

Stay tuned #VG2024

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Latest News: FRENCH SAILORS MAKING HISTORY – 2027 OCEAN GLOBE ANNOUNCED

days hrs mins secs

2023 Ocean Globe Race announces Ocean Village Southampton UK as start port

• UK start for the 50th anniversary celebration of the first 1973 Whitbread Race saved by anonymous corporate partner and MDL Marinas bringing this iconic sailing race home to Southampton
• Tracy Edwards and her Maiden team, the only UK entrant in the OGR, are excited to relive their Whitbread dream once again and race around the world
• 15 yachts including six previous Whitbread entrants and one Whitbread winner confirmed for the September 10th OGR start

When Don McIntyre decided in 2015 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first ever Whitbread crewed race around the world, it had to start in the UK. That’s where the Whitbread story began.

He did the same thing when deciding to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race which also started from the UK. Sadly no support came from British ports so the 2018 GGR went to Les Sables d’Olonne in France (home of the Vendee Globe) where it was welcomed with open arms and strong investment that generated US$185m in media returns. The third edition GGR2022 is due to finish there in a few weeks.

Until now it looked like the Ocean Globe Race was going the same way. In an October 2022 press release announcing Cape Town, Auckland and Punta Del Este as the OGR stopover ports and after years of trying, OGR announced that ‘sadly UK ports are not interested in hosting the start and finish of this epic adventure and historic occasion’. Final discussions were underway with European ports for the hosting rights.

Fortunately that statement was picked up by a large corporate entity with UK connections. They felt strongly that the OGR should stay in the UK. At the same time MDL Marinas wanted to save the event for the UK as a celebration of their own 50th anniversary. They were passionate about bringing this iconic sailing race back to Southampton and their Ocean Village Marina , the home of so many previous Whitbread races. A deal was struck with both parties and now Ocean Village Southampton is the home of the OGR! This is a huge win for the UK that has seen other significant events move to Europe.

I am absolutely thrilled to have MDL onboard for the 2023 Ocean Globe Race and starting from Ocean Village in Southampton is a personal dream for me. Now, in September, the UK public and sailors everywhere will be able to celebrate an important part of their maritime culture with a true recreation of those first amateur sailors racing into the unknown! Don McIntyre, Ocean Globe Race Founder & Owner of McIntyre Adventure

On 10 September 2023, over 160 sailors will depart Ocean Village onboard the 15 yachts to complete the four leg, 30,000 mile race around the world via the three great capes; Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, Australia’s Cape Leeuwin, and South America’s notorious Cape Horn. Onboard the privately-owned, pre-1988 classic sailing boats, the international, mixed-gender crews will have no GPS, no high-tech equipment and no computers. They will navigate using only a sextant, paper charts and the stars with all communications by HF SSB radios. They will return in April 2024.

Six of the yachts competing have taken part in one or more of the Whitbread races (including the first French yacht to ever win the Whitbread) to which they are now paying homage. One of the most notable is Tracy Edwards ’ Farr 58 Maiden . In 1990, Tracy triumphantly brought home the first ever all-female Whitbread crew onboard Maiden to Ocean Village Marina. At the time, it was estimated that almost 50,000 people came to witness this momentous event, which helped to turn the tide on women’s participation in sailing.

What better way to celebrate MDL Marina’s 50th anniversary than to join forces with Don McIntyre to bring the Ocean Globe Race to life to celebrate the iconic Whitbread Round the World race as it also turns 50. By hosting the start of this retro edition of the historic race at our Ocean Village Marina, we’re hoping to recreate the jubilant atmosphere of the early races, welcoming crowds of supporters, capturing the imagination of visitors and inspiring the next generation of round the world sailors. Working closely with Southampton City Council and McIntyre Adventure it’s an honor and privilege to be part of this event, building on Southampton’s already proud maritime heritage. And there’s plenty of opportunities for businesses, both marine and non-marine, to be front and centre of all the action at the Race Village. Tim Mayer, Sales and Marketing Director at MDL Marinas

The Race Village at Ocean Village Marina will open on 26 August 2023, two weeks prior to the start of the race on 10 September. During the run up to the start, the Race Village will host speakers, pre-race activities, past race screenings, hospitality and entertainment as well as the media centre and sailors’ briefing area.

This is very good news indeed! I am delighted to hear that the 50th anniversary celebration of the first Whitbread is starting out of Ocean Village. This OGR will be a great race and huge adventure and tribute to all those original Whitbread sailors. Sir Chay Blyth OGR Patron and Official Starter

This is a chance for all UK sailors and yacht clubs to show they want and support these major events by heading out to the start, visiting the race village or volunteering to help the organisers make the event even bigger!

Any business interested in getting involved and partnering with this historic event in Ocean Village should contact Tim Mayer via [email protected] . For more information on the Ocean Globe Race visit https://oceangloberace.com . For more information on MDL and its marinas visit www.mdlmarinas.co.uk .

Don McIntyre OGR Chairman and Founder

Don McIntyre is the founder and underwriter of the goldengloberace.com the oceangloberace.com and the minigloberace.com . Follow him at mcintyreadventure.com .

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Latest News: €213 Million Golden Globe Race 2022 Media Value

days hrs mins secs

GGR winner Kirsten Neuschäfer named female 2023 Rolex World Sailor of the Year

The Race Returns.

6 september 2026, sailing like it's 1968, follow the race.

Featured Video

GGR 2026 Trailer

The Golden Globe Race remains totally unique in the world of sailing and stands alone as the longest, loneliest, slowest, most daring challenge for an individual in any sport.

2026 Skippers

Pat Lawless

• Nationality: Irish
• Country of Entry: IRELAND
• Boat: Saltram Saga 36

Matthew Wright

• Nationality: Australian
• Country of Entry: AUSTRALIA
• Boat: Rustler 36 Masthead Sloop

Guido Cantini

• Nationality: Italian
• Country of Entry: ITALY
• Boat: Vancouver 34 Classic

Edward Walentynowicz

• Nationality: Canadian
• Country of Entry: CANADA

• Nationality: German
• Country of Entry: GERMANY

Piotr Czarniecki

• Nationality: Polish
• Country of Entry: POLAND
• Boat: Rustler 36

Daniel Alfredsson

• Nationality: Swedish
• Country of Entry: NORWAY
• Boat: OE 32

Andrea Lodolo

Arriën Lekkerkerker

• Nationality: Dutch
• Country of Entry: NETHERLANDS

Craig Matt Woodside

• Nationality:
• Country of Entry: USA
• Boat: Cape George 36

Andrew Ritchie

• Country of Entry: UNITED KINGDOM

Olivia Wyatt

• Boat: Ta Shing Panda 34

Javier Lapresa

• Country of Entry: SPAIN
• Boat: Endurance 35 (proposed)

• Country of Entry: TURKEY
• Boat: Biscay 36

• Boat: Endurance 35

Stephen Wraith

• Boat: Cape George 36 (Proposed)

Confidential Entry

Special invitation entry.

• Country of Entry: TBA
• Country of Entry: EU

Alan Lillywhite

• Nationality: British
• Boat: Biscay 36 Sloop

Joel Harkimo

• Nationality: Finnish
• Country of Entry: FINLAND

The Race in Numbers

"When I first heard about the 2018 GGR I thought it was a great idea, why not do it, reach out to people who have the ambition to do something special with their lives." Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Patron of the Golden Globe Race

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7 Global Sailing Races to Follow

By: Zeke Quezada, ASA Destinations , Event , Inside Sailing , Sailing Fun

As American Sailing evolves our curriculum to offer more racing options through North U, I am attempting to learn more about sailboat racing. If you are following along with my journey to become a racer, you know that I am a neophyte when it comes to racing. I am a cruiser. I am a self-described “lazy sailor” that does not focus on trimming my sails and instead works on not dropping my chips and salsa while sailing.

You can get an idea of my journey in my last two pieces on sailing and racing:

SAIL TRIM FOR CRUISERS: WHY TRIM YOUR SAILS?

HOW TO GRADUATE FROM CRUISER TO RACER — STEPS TO START RACING SAILBOATS

I plan to find out more about the serious and not-so-serious side of sailboat racing. Many people, even non-sailors, know what the America’s Cup is, and may have even turned on a sports network to catch a SailGP race. But there is far more to sailing races than those two.

Here’s an overview of seven of the big races, regattas, and race series that occur regularly around the world. These are iconic events, both old and new, that shape the world of racing and have inspired sailors for generations to challenge themselves to new heights, both on and off the water.

Cowes Week is one of the oldest and most prestigious sailing regattas in the world, held every August in the Solent waters off Cowes, UK. The event has been around since 1826, and it’s known for attracting some of the best sailors from around the globe. It’s the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world, with up to 1,000 boats and 8,000 competitors taking part in the 40 daily sailing races.

Whether you’re an Olympic or world-class pro, or just a weekend sailor, Cowes Week is an event that has something for everyone. And even if you’re not into sailing, the regatta is still a spectacle to behold – with stunning views of the coastline and plenty of festivities both on and off the water. 

Once you discover the allure of racing it appears that Cowes Week might be worthy of a sailing vacation that includes either participating in a race or just being involved as a spectator. I am not there yet, but it could happen.

Next Race Date: July 29 – Aug 4, 2023 Cowes Week Website

The Ocean Race

I do know about The Ocean Race only because prior to the new owner taking over, it was the Volvo Ocean Race for twenty years and that is how they got me to buy a Volvo. I walked into the dealership and saw some mesmerizing sailboat pictures and I signed the contract and drove away.  I am a sucker.

The Ocean Race is a round-the-world yacht race that occurs every three years. It’s known as one of the most challenging sailing races globally, spanning over 45,000 nautical miles. The race consists of multiple legs and lasts about nine months. The race starts in Europe and ends in Asia or Oceania. The exact route changes with each edition of the race.

Both professional sailors and amateur sailors can participate in this race. The teams are composed of eight sailors, all racing on the same boats. These boats are specially designed to be fast and robust, capable of enduring the tough conditions of the open ocean.

This race used to be known as the Whitbread Round the World Race until it was renamed the Volvo Ocean Race and now is known as The Ocean Race.

Next Race Date: Currently in progress at the time of the post! The Ocean Race Website

America’s Cup 

My first foray into sailing racing was when Dennis Conner won the America’s Cup.  I was a kid watching the news and learned about sailing through this huge event on the vessel, Stars and Stripes. Years later I took a ride on what I was told was the same boat. I was skeptical about the origin of the vessel I was on but that day I learned a lot about how much I loved the idea of sailing. A couple of years later I bought a boat.

The America’s Cup is held every few years on dates agreed between the defender and the challenger. There is no fixed schedule, but the races have generally been held every three to four years. The most recent America’s Cup match took place in March 2021. 

The 37th America’s Cup Official Opening Ceremony will be held in Barcelona on 22 August 2024. The Final Preliminary Event and the Challenger Selection Series will follow, leading up to the America’s Cup Match that will start on 12 October 2024. During 2023/early 2024, there is potential for up to three preliminary events. By June 2023, all the teams will have their base set up and be training in Barcelona.

The competition takes place between teams representing different countries or yacht clubs. The event involves a series of races where high-tech racing yachts, known as America’s Cup Class boats, compete in head-to-head races that test their speed, agility, and teamwork.

The competition dates back to 1851 when a schooner called America won a race around the Isle of Wight. The trophy, now known as the America’s Cup, was donated to the New York Yacht Club and has since become one of the most prestigious prizes in sailing.

Next Race Date: October 12, 2024 The America’s Cup Website

Vendée Globe

If I was a racer I am sure that The Vendée Globe would be the race that would inspire me to go hard into this type of adventure. The Vendée Globe is a single-handed (solo) non-stop yacht race around the world without assistance. It takes place every four years and is an extreme form of sailing.  It is said that more people have been into space than have finished the Vendee Globe. First held in 1989, the race starts and ends in Les Sables-d’Olonne, a small town on the west coast of France, and covers a distance of approximately 45,000 km.

Sailors must navigate their way through some of the most treacherous waters on the planet, including the Southern Ocean and the Cape Horn. Sailors must rely solely on their own skills, knowledge, and experience to complete the race. They face extreme weather conditions, sleep deprivation, and the constant threat of danger as they navigate their way around the world. 

The boats are designed specifically for the event and are some of the most advanced sailing vessels in the world, capable of speeds of up to 30 knots.

Next Race Date: November 10, 2024 The Vend é e Globe Website

St. Maarten Heineken Regatta

I must confess that I had a very nice t-shirt from this regatta that I purchased at the St. Maarten airport. I was leaving the country and realized that I had not bought any souvenirs so I found this shirt in the terminal and wore it like a proud sailboat racer. I was an imposter, I had never even seen any of the race and I did not know it existed.

The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta is a massive sailing event that takes place on the island of Sint Maarten in the Caribbean. It’s actually the biggest regatta in the Caribbean and the largest warm water regatta in the world.

The event attracts top sailors from 37 countries, who compete in a series of races over four days. The competition draws in sailors that are both professionals and passionate amateurs who just love to sail.

Next Race Date: Feb 29 – Mar 3, 2024 St. Maarten Regatta Website

Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac)

If you live and sail in Southern California, you will hear about Transpac. I have heard about it, and I did not realize it was a race. I always figured it was a group of sailors who sailed across the Pacific to Hawaii in a large caravan, like a large flotilla, without any daily stops. I will confess that when I sailed my Catalina 27 five times a week, I had a few fantasies about tagging along in my boat and stopping over in Hawaii with the Transpac crowd. But, unfortunately, I was misguided.

The Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac) is a biennial offshore yacht race held in odd-numbered years starting off the Pt. Fermin buoy in San Pedro, California, and ending off Diamond Head in Hawaii, a distance of around 2,225 nautical miles (2,560 mi; 4,121 km). It is one of the world’s oldest major ocean races for sailing yachts. The race was first held in 1906 and made a biennial event in 1939 to alternate with the Bermuda Race.

Next Race Date: June 27, 2023 TransPac Website

Now in its 4th season, SailGP is a newer series race held as a competition between nations on identical F50 catamarans. Currently the nations competing include Australia, New Zealand, Emirates Great Britain, France, Canada, Denmark, United States, Switzerland, and Spain. The race is held on weekends in iconic locations around the world modeled in a grand prix format similar to Formula 1 in which points accumulate throughout the season based on winnings from each race and contribute toward a championship. 

The race series has a really great app you can use to follow along and watch live, or on YouTube, and they are doing wonderful work expanding the sport’s impact initiatives through their second championship leaderboard that tracks the positive actions the teams make to reduce their overall carbon footprint and help accelerate inclusivity in sailing. The coverage of this series is great to watch – it has a high production value including live mics on the sailors and post race interviews with the sailors. The commentators do a good job educating the audience as to the basics of sailboat racing as well as explaining the racing rules.

Season 4 Opening Race: June 16-17, 2023 Chicago Sail GP Website

So which race strikes your fancy? Here’s hoping you enjoy some of these and find some new inspiration in your sailing journey!

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Meet the First Woman to Sail the ‘Voyage for Madmen’

Kirsten Neuschäfer talks about winning the nonstop, round-the-world Golden Globe race and the possibility of another circumnavigation.

By Lauren Sloss

Lauren Sloss, based in San Francisco, has sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, around Indonesia and on the San Francisco Bay aboard a 32-foot sailboat.

The nonstop, round-the-world Golden Globe Race has become a banner of “ retro sailing ,” or “sailing like it’s 1968.” Entrants for the competition, which begins and ends in Les Sables d’Olonne, France, are required to sail small boats alone, using only pre-1960s-era technology — no satellite communication, autopilot, cellphones or radar. Courses are plotted using celestial navigation and a sextant.

The champion this year was 40-year-old Kirsten Neuschäfer who, after 235 days at sea aboard Minnehaha, her 36-foot Cape George sailboat, became the first woman to both complete and win the race.

But Ms. Neuschäfer is quick to state that being a figurehead was never the point.

“I did want to win, but not because I’m a woman, or because I wanted to set a record as being the first woman,” she said. “I wanted to be there as a sailor and as an equal.”

Her accomplishments — not only completing and winning the race, but also rescuing a fellow sailor — certainly promise to raise her profile. The Golden Globe, which debuted in 1968, looms large in sailor’s lore — much of the competition takes place in the high latitudes of the Southern Ocean, circling between South Africa and South America, around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, an area known for punishing winds and towering waves. The race has been referred to , aptly, as “ a voyage for madmen .”

Growing up in Pretoria, South Africa, Ms. Neuschäfer was always drawn to the outdoors, and to epic experiences.

“I loved reading accounts of adventures — Scott and Shackleton and Amundsen,” she said of the famed 20th-century polar explorers. “It certainly planted the seed in my mind.”

After cycling solo from Europe to South Africa at 22, Ms. Neuschäfer began crewing on sailboats in pursuit of her skipper’s license, and later, at the helm, she sailed research and film crews around the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Georgia and Falkland Islands. In preparation for the Golden Globe, her first race, she purchased and refitted Minnehaha in Canada, then sailed the boat solo to South Africa and to France for the race’s start.

Ms. Neuschäfer recently spoke about the voyage, the challenges of the doldrums — an area near the Equator plagued by light winds — and the possibility of another circumnavigation. This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Despite all of your experience and preparation, was there an extra degree of intimidation around this race?

I definitely had moments when I thought: “This could be quite scary.” Before the race, I was visiting my parents in Port Elizabeth, which is known as the Windy City, and it was a night when it was really windy. I was lying in my bed in the house without any danger, but I could hear the trees bending. I was thinking, “Well, in the Southern Ocean, you’re going to experience winds that are much stronger that these winds, and on a 36-foot boat.”

Did you have any moments where you were actively afraid or simply disheartened?

I did. But ironically, those moments weren’t because of heavy weather, they were because of a total lack of wind. I got stuck in the doldrums just south of the Equator for the best part of two weeks. It’s often said by sailors that the most difficult moments are the calms, because when you are experiencing heavy weather, you’ve got something to keep you busy. There’s a bit of adrenaline. When you’ve got absolutely no wind at all, it’s incredibly frustrating.

Did you get bored or lonely? I assume that was more challenging during the calm periods, but in general, it’s a long time to be alone.

I didn’t often get bored. I made sure that I took lots of reading material. It’s the only mental escape; you read a book and you just submerge yourself into the world of whatever this book is describing. And there’s always something to fix on the boat. There were times when I would have liked to speak to a friend, to hear them tell me to just keep going. Eight months is a very long time to be in one place — you’re moving, but the place you’re in is the same. In the doldrums, I’d go for nice swims, which would help me de-stress a little.

Was there anything that you ate on the trip that you’d be happy to never consume again?

Two-minute noodles. They’re not that great to begin with, but after a few months, I could almost taste the plastic flavor of the wrapper.

How did you mark major moments in the trip?

I would have a glass of wine or maybe a little sip of rum. Those rituals were quite important. It was very important for me in general to set milestones and not just focus on the end of the race.

How did you feel as you approached the end?

There was kind of a sadness once I rounded Cape Horn. It felt like trying to summit a mountain: This is the summit and from here on it’s the descent. There was joy and happiness and relief. But this had become a lifestyle, and it would be ending soon. I had some trepidation about arriving in a place where I was expected. I had moments where I thought, “You know, I’ve still got plenty of food and water. I’m still enjoying myself.” I’d have no issue to just keep sailing.

What’s next for you and for Minnehaha?

That’s one question I haven’t been able to answer just yet. I’ve put so much focus and energy toward the Golden Globe Race since 2019. And now it’s all come to quite an abrupt ending. I bought Minnehaha on debt, and I always planned to sell her after the race. But it’s hard because I’ve done so much with this boat. I’d like to do a little trip to get a bit of closure, and I’ll probably take a bit of a break just to digest this amazing experience.

What adventures or destinations, land or sea, are high on your list of places to go?

I’d like to spend time in my own country of South Africa, particularly Transkei, or the Eastern Cape — it’s a place that’s just paradise to me. I’d like to master the language, Xhosa. I’d love to go back to the Antarctic and the Falkland Islands. There are a lot of places that I have been, but then again, there are also a lot of places I’ve never explored. There’s still a lot to do in this lifetime. And I think at some stage, though not anytime soon, I might want to do another circumnavigation. It would be totally different, because the seas are forever changing.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2023 .

Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai:  Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city  by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto:  The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation  in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland:  The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas:  Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .

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This race is a nonstop sail around the world. Cassette tapes are allowed, but no GPS

Scott Neuman

South African sailor Kirsten Neuschafer, the only woman in the 2022 Golden Globe Race. All but three of her 15 competitors in the grueling months-long competition have been forced to drop out. Aida Valceanu/GGR/2022 hide caption

South African sailor Kirsten Neuschafer, the only woman in the 2022 Golden Globe Race. All but three of her 15 competitors in the grueling months-long competition have been forced to drop out.

Somewhere in the Southern Pacific Ocean, Kirsten Neuschafer is alone on her boat, Minnehaha, as she tries to outmaneuver the latest storm to cross her path as she approaches Cape Horn.

Instead of sailing directly for the tip of South America, she's spent the past day heading north in an effort to skirt the worst of the oncoming weather. The storm is threatening wind gusts up to 55 miles per hour and seas building to 25 feet.

Her plan, she explains over a scratchy satellite phone connection, is to get away from the eye of the storm. "The closer I get to the Horn," she says, "the more serious things become, the windier it becomes."

But there's no turning back. That's because Neuschafer is battling to win what is possibly the most challenging competition the sailing world has to offer — the Golden Globe Race. Since setting off from the coast of France in September, Neuschafer, the only woman competing, has left all rivals in her wake. Of the 16 entrants who departed five months ago, only four are still in the race, and for the moment at least, she's leading.

The race is a solo, nonstop, unassisted circumnavigation, a feat first accomplished in 1969, the same year that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon. Since then, more people have traveled to space than have done what Neuschafer is hoping to accomplish.

The race is a throwback in most every way. Unlike its more famous cousin, the Vendée Globe solo nonstop race with its purpose-built vessels made for speed, Golden Globe entrants sail low-tech boats that wouldn't look out of place in any coastal marina. And they do so without modern electronic aids — no laptops or electronic charts, radar or sophisticated weather routing. To find their position at sea, participants instead rely on navigating by the sun and stars and simple speed calculations.

Racers don't do it for the money. The prize of 5,000 pounds (about $6,045) is the same as it was in the 1960s and is not even enough to cover entry fees. The real lure is the challenge.

"The single-handed aspect was the one that drew me," Neuschafer, who is from South Africa, says of her decision to enter.

"I really like the aspect of sailing by celestial navigation, sailing old school," she says, adding that she's always wanted to know "what it would have been like back then when you didn't have all the modern technology at your fingertips."

Satellite phones are allowed, but only for communication with race officials and the occasional media interview. Each boat has collision-avoidance alarms and a GPS tracker, but entrants can't view their position data. There's a separate GPS for navigation, but it's sealed and only for emergencies. Its use can lead to disqualification. Entrants are permitted to use radios to communicate with each other and with passing ships. They're allowed to briefly anchor, but not get off the boat nor have anyone aboard. And no one is allowed to give them supplies or assistance.

The race motto, "Sailing like it's 1968," alludes to the fact that it's essentially a reboot of a competition first put on that year by the British Sunday Times newspaper. In it, nine sailors started, and only one, Britain's Robin Knox-Johnston , managed to complete the first-ever nonstop, solo circumnavigation, finishing in 312 days. Despite leading at one point, French sailor Bernard Moitessier elected to abandon the race in an effort, he said, to "save my soul." Yet another, British sailor Donald Crowhurst , died by suicide after apparently stepping off his boat.

Bringing the race back in 2018 for its 50th anniversary was the brainchild of Australian sailor and adventurer Don McIntyre, who describes the competition as "an absolute extreme mind game that entails total isolation, physical effort ... skill, experience and sheer guts."

"That sets it apart from everything," he says.

For sailors, it's the Mount Everest of the sea

Neuschafer, 40, is a veteran of the stormy waters she's presently sailing, having worked as a charter skipper in Patagonia, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica. Although she's been around Cape Horn before, this time is different, she says.

Previously she's been around "the Horn" when she could choose the conditions. But nonstop from the Pacific, with limited weather information, "I'd say, it's a notch up on anxiety. It's almost like ... trying to reach the peak of Everest," she says.

Finnish sailor Tapio Lehtinen's boat sank in November off the southern tip of Africa. He was rescued with the help of fellow racer Kirsten Neuschafer. Aida Valceanu/GGR2022 hide caption

Finnish sailor Tapio Lehtinen's boat sank in November off the southern tip of Africa. He was rescued with the help of fellow racer Kirsten Neuschafer.

Probably the most harrowing moment so far in this year's race came in November, when Neuschafer sailed 100 miles, staying at Minnehaha's helm through the night to rescue Finland's Tapio Lehtinen — one of the finishers in the 2018 race. She plucked him from a life raft some 24 hours after his boat, Asteria, sank in the southern Indian Ocean.

For the rescue, race officials broke protocol and allowed her to use GPS and gave her a time credit on the race. "I basically sailed throughout the night and by morning I got within range of him," she says.

Spotting Lehtinen's tiny life raft amid 10-foot waves was far from easy, Neuschafer says. "He could see ... my sail [but] I couldn't see him, not for the life of me." She later managed to transfer him to a freighter.

That incident reinforced for her how things could change at any moment. In the Golden Globe, she says, "a large proponent of it is luck."

The days can be serene, but also isolating

The drama of such days at sea is offset by others spent in relative peace. A typical day, if there is such a thing, starts just before sunrise, she says, "a good time to get the time signal on the radio so that I can synchronize my watches," which she needs for accurate celestial navigation.

"Then ... I'll have a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal, and then I'll wait for the sun to be high enough that I can take a reasonable [sextant] sight." A walk around the deck to see if anything is amiss and perhaps a bit of reading — currently it's The Bookseller of Kabul by Norwegian journalist and author Asne Seierstad — before another sight at noon to check her position.

Or perhaps some music. It's all on cassette, since competitors aren't allowed a computer of any kind. As a result, she's listening to a lot of '80s artists, "good music that I ordinarily wouldn't listen to," she says.

The isolation was more difficult for American Elliott Smith, who at 27 was the youngest entrant in this year's race. He dropped out in Australia due to rigging failure.

Elliott Smith, a 27-year-old originally from Tampa, Fla. A rigging failure forced him to quit in Australia. Simon McDonnell/FBYC hide caption

Elliott Smith, a 27-year-old originally from Tampa, Fla. A rigging failure forced him to quit in Australia.

Reached in the Australian port city of Fremantle, the surfer-turned-sailor from Florida says he doesn't entirely rule out another try at the race in four years. But for now, he's put his boat, Second Wind, up for sale. He seems circumspect about the future.

"It was really obvious that I stopped enjoying the sailing at some point," he confides about the rigors of the race. "There were moments ... where I found myself never going outside unless I had to. I was like, 'I'm just staying in the cabin. I'm just reading. I'm miserable.' "

Smith says there were days when he would see an albatross, but was too mentally exhausted to appreciate the beauty of it. "I was like, 'This is so sad, you know?' Like, I've become complacent [about] something that most people would never even try, you know?"

Neuschafer, too, has had her share of frustrations. The latest was a broken spinnaker pole, which keeps her from setting twin forward sails on the 36-foot-long Minnehaha — her preferred setup for running downwind.

She's looking forward to finishing in early spring. But first, she still has to traverse the entire Atlantic Ocean from south to north.

"I'll get off and enjoy feeling the land beneath my feet." After that, she says, "the first thing I'd like to do is eat ice cream."

• around the world

Published on January 15th, 2023 | by Editor

The Ocean Race 2023 gets underway

Published on January 15th, 2023 by Editor -->

Alicante, Spain (January 15, 2023) – The 14th edition of The Ocean Race, the fully-crewed, around the world yacht race, got underway today for the 32,000 nm course that will take six months to finish in Genova, Italy.

Five IMOCA class yachts – the high-tech, foiling, flying race boats that are in The Ocean Race for the first time – started in glamour conditions on the waters off Alicante’s Ocean Live Park just after 16:00 local time.

Two hours earlier, a fleet of six VO65 one-design yachts set off on the first stage of their shorter, European-focused event, The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint, which features three stages of competition.

While both fleets are now racing on Leg 1 to Cabo Verde, some 1900 nautical miles away, the IMOCAs continue their race around the world, while the VO65s will pause in Cabo Verde, before rejoining the IMOCA fleet in Europe in the spring for the final two legs of their race.

While the Alicante start period featured perfect January weather with warm temperatures under sunny skies, the sailors are expecting gale force westerlies overnight, with a forecast for gale-force westerlies to build overnight, with a heavy sea state making the passage to Gibraltar and the trade winds in the Atlantic a treacherous one.

With the weak weather front having passed through the race area earlier in the afternoon, the wind conditions settled at WNW 12-14 knots for the start of the five IMOCAs.

Nevertheless, as the race got under way two hours after the start of the VO65s, it was clear from the aerial view that there were still some shifts and puffs to be had.

On the water and as the start gun went it was Paul Meilhat’s brand new Biotherm (FRA) that was to set the pace, on time, at speed and on the foils. It was an impressive display, not least because last week was the first time that this crew had sailed together aboard a boat that has only recently been launched.

After a few unstable moments on the fast reach to the first mark, when the boat leaped into the air, it was clear that while the French team were fast they were not yet properly trimmed.

Behind them, hot on their heels, Kevin Escoffier’s Team Holcim-PRB (SUI) was also leaping into the air from time to time as both boats set a blistering pace.

The second leg of the inshore lap saw the fleet sail downwind. With the boats now under less load, teams were able to re-trim and re-set before the next fast leg. Seconds after Biotherm had rounded mark 3 it was clear that they had made some essential trim changes.

This time the boat was faster and better trimmed as Biotherm accelerated away on the third leg and extended their advantage over the rest of the fleet.

Meanwhile, after a disappointing start, 11th Hour Racing Team (USA) skippered by Charlie Enright hauled themselves back from last to third. Experience was showing already from a team that many have considered as the favorites.

As 11th Hour Racing Team made their charge towards the front of the fleet, Boris Herrmann’s Team Malizia (GER) had slipped out to the back but were able to pass GUYOT environnement – Team Europe (FRA/GER), skippered by Benjamin Dutreux after the French/German team had a problem with their code zero sail which forced them to press pause as they sorted the issue.

As the leaders passed through the final gate, Biotherm was hitting 29 knots in the flat water. Their advantage had already stretched out to 500m over second placed Holcim-PRB. After just 40 minutes of sailing it was an impressive performance.

Before the start, skipper Meilhat had explained how comfortable he and his crew would be with sailing the boat in a manual mode if required. Now, having performed a blistering lap of the inshore course with the tiller in his hand and sailing outside for the entire period, this was a good example of what he had meant.

Others had explained the importance of taking things carefully. But if the inshore lap had revealed anything, boat speeds regularly exceeding 30-knots as the fleet moved away from the shore and into the stronger breeze illustrated what the new world of fully crewed IMOCA racing means along with a demonstration of the relentless pace that is in store for this 1900 nm leg to Cabo Verde.

Race details – Route – Tracker – Teams – Facebook – YouTube

IMOCA: Boat, Design, Skipper, Launch date • Guyot Environnement – Team Europe (VPLP Verdier); Benjamin Dutreux (FRA)/Robert Stanjek (GER); September 1, 2015 • 11th Hour Racing Team (Guillaume Verdier); Charlie Enright (USA); August 24, 2021 • Holcim-PRB (Guillaume Verdier); Kevin Escoffier (FRA); May 8, 2022 • Team Malizia (VPLP); Boris Herrmann (GER); July 19, 2022 • Biotherm (Guillaume Verdier); Paul Meilhat (FRA); August 31 2022

The Ocean Race 2022-23 Race Schedule: Alicante, Spain – Leg 1 start: January 15, 2023 Cabo Verde – ETA: January 22; Leg 2 start: January 25 Cape Town, South Africa – ETA: February 9; Leg 3 start: February 26 or 27 (TBC) Itajaí, Brazil – ETA: April 1; Leg 4 start: April 23 Newport, RI, USA – ETA: May 10; Leg 5 start: May 21 Aarhus, Denmark – ETA: May 30; Leg 6 start: June 8 Kiel, Germany (Fly-By) – June 9 The Hague, The Netherlands – ETA: June 11; Leg 7 start: June 15 Genova, Italy – The Grand Finale – ETA: June 25, 2023; Final In-Port Race: July 1, 2023

The Ocean Race (formerly Volvo Ocean Race and Whitbread Round the World Race) was initially to be raced in two classes of boats: the high-performance, foiling, IMOCA 60 class and the one-design VO65 class which has been used for the last two editions of the race.

However, only the IMOCAs will be racing round the world while the VO65s will race in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint which competes in Legs 1, 6, and 7 of The Ocean Race course.

Additionally, The Ocean Race also features the In-Port Series with races at seven of the course’s stopover cities around the world which allow local fans to get up close and personal to the teams as they battle it out around a short inshore course.

Although in-port races do not count towards a team’s overall points score, they do play an important part in the overall rankings as the In-Port Race Series standings are used to break any points ties that occur during the race around the world.

The 14th edition of The Ocean Race was originally planned for 2021-22 but was postponed one year due to the pandemic, with the first leg starting on January 15, 2023.

Source: The Ocean Race

Tags: The Ocean Race , TOR23-Leg 1

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Trofeo Princesa Sofía 2024 sailing: Australia’s Breiana Whitehead wins gold medal; Zoe Thomson bags silver

Whitehead topped the women’s kite event while Thomson came second in women’s dinghy. Olympic and world champion Matthew Wearn finished fifth in men’s dinghy. 

Australian sailor Breiana Whitehead won the gold medal in women’s formula kite while Zoe Thomson clinched the silver medal in the women’s dinghy at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía 2024 sailing event in Spain on Saturday.

Competing at the Bay of Palma, the 23-year-old Whitehead claimed the top spot with a net total of 42. USA’s Daniela Moroz, a five-time world champion and the overwhelming favourite at the meet, false started twice and claimed silver. Germany’s Leonie Meyer, with a net total of 56, won the bronze medal.

Whitehead secured a quota for Australia in sailing for the Paris 2024 Olympics at the World Championships last year and was selected in the Australian sailing team that will compete at the Marseille Marina when the Summer Games begin.

In the women’s dinghy (ILCA 6 class), Zoe Thomson was the runner-up with 97 net points. Hungary’s Maria Erdi (90 net points) won the gold medal while Great Britain’s Matilda Nicholls (100 net points), settled for bronze. Lower net points are better in sailing.

Meanwhile, Olympic and world champion Matthew Wearn, who is also in Australia’s Paris Olympics-bound sailing team, missed out on a medal in the men’s dinghy (ILCA 7 class) after finishing fifth.

Trofeo Princesa Sofía is a part of the sailing World Cup Series. Competitions in all 10 Olympic events were held during the week-long sailing meet. Over 1100 sailors from 76 nations, including 46 from Australia, took part in the Trofeo Princesa Sofía.

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