Photo Credit: Maud Helfgott / polaRYSE / 11th Hour RacingThe Volvo 65s are boats we have gotten comfortable watching sail around the world. We have seen them in light and heavy conditions, and their crews both laughing and crying. We know many sailors who still look up the last two editions on YouTube and watch the VO65s compete in previous legs.
When Erik Brockmann and his Mexican team Viva México arrived on the start line of The Ocean Race Europe aboard their VO65 in 2021 they drew plenty of attention. Not since the very first Whitbread race in 1973-74, when Ramón Carlin’s Sayula II took the overall win, had a Mexican team taken part. Their arrival at the start in Lorient was a big deal.
Two days before last weekend’s In-Port Race in Alicante, skipper Paul Meilhat had yet to sail with his entire crew on board Biotherm. Compare and contrast that with the three years of build-up to this race by Charlie Enright and 11th Hour Racing.
Ahead of the start of the first offshore leg of The Ocean Race this weekend, the dockside at Alicante is busy with IMOCA technical teams making last minute adjustments and improvements to what are highly complex machines.
The Ocean Race 2023 is set to begin on January 15 and for the 50th anniversary of the world’s toughest round-the-world crewed sailing race, B&G® is back at the start line as the Official Technical Supplier for the 14th edition as it sets off from Alicante, Spain headed for the finish in Genova, Italy in July.
A last minute scramble for new foils has Team Malizia flying high
A light wind day in Alicante proved testing for both fleets on the first day of competition in The Ocean Race.
In barely a breath of wind, WindWhisper Racing Team ghosted across the finishing line the VO65 In-Port Race Alicante by a comfortable margin. Such was the lead established by skipper Pablo Arrarte (ESP) and his predominantly Polish and Spanish crew, the other five boats failed to finish inside the 15-minute time limit which started ticking the moment WindWhisper had slipped across the finish line.
The opening shots will be fired in The Ocean Race 2023 on Sunday with the start of the In-Port Race Series
It has been a long wait, but the 14th edition of The Ocean Race is finally upon us and this time – for the first time – the IMOCA Class is the pre-eminent feature of what has always been known as the world championship of fully-crewed offshore ocean racing.
Going into The Ocean Race, there are many unknowns, even for a two-race veteran like Annie Lush. The British sailor is preparing to step on board GUYOT environnement, the IMOCA skippered by French offshore sailor Benjamin Dutreux with Olympian and Star class World Champion Robert Stanjek. She has some concerns.
The round-the-world sailing race will measure microplastic pollution, gather information about the impact of climate change on the ocean and collect data to improve global weather forecasting
Although The Ocean Race has always been very much about the thrill and skill of crossing open oceans, the In-Port Race Series has long been a popular and an integral part of the race’s DNA.
New year, new foils, new round-the-world challenge: we have relaunched our Malizia – Seaexplorer IMOCA yacht after an intense three-week refit. In that short period of time, the technical team was confronted with major challenges and, pulling off a tremendous effort, managed to turn the situation around to finish the boat in time for The Ocean Race
The American-flagged team has arrived to the marina off Ocean Live Park ahead of the New Year
It came down to the final moments, but the Austrian Ocean Racing team has partnered with Genova to become the sixth and final entry in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint.
11 boats are assembling in Alicante, Spain this week in final preparation for the start of The Ocean Race 2022-23. And the activity on shore is ramping up as well, with Alicante’s Ocean Live Park opening on Saturday 7 January.
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