Hello from Spirit of Canada

Hurricane Earl rolled over Nova Scotia this past weekend bringing winds up to 70 knots. The storm came ashore not far from where Spirit of Canada is undergoing final preparations for the Velux 5 Oceans race. The boat is currently on the hard at East River Marine with the keel hanging in a ten foot well that was dug so the bottom of the boat could be brought down to ground level to put on the racing bottom. “It’s a great way to work on the boat and the well kept the boat and mast out of harm’s way” commented the skipper.

The team are working away fervently to get the boat ready for departure on Sunday morning, the list is getting shorter every morning. He and the crew will sail the boat off from Nova Scotia to arrive in La Rochelle and they can be followed on the website position plotter.

Stay tuned for a major announcement later this week.

Team Spirit of Canada

Up and coming French solo sailor Louis Duc today announced his withdrawal from the 2010/11 VELUX 5 OCEANS. Constrained by a lack of time and struggling to find sufficient financial support, the 26-year-old from was left with no choice but to concentrate on the 2014/15 edition of the race.

Race director David Adams said: “Louis is a promising solo sailor with lots of talent and it is a shame he will not be joining us for the 2010/11 edition of the VELUX 5 OCEANS. We sincerely hope to see Louis on the start line of the 2014/15 race and wish him the best of luck in the meantime. I am confident Louis will go on to become a prominent name in solo ocean racing.”

Eight ocean racers from seven nations are now set to be on the start line of the gruelling 30,000-mile round the world race, dubbed the Ultimate Solo Challenge. They are:

The eight ocean racers are now entering the final preparation stage before assembling in La Rochelle, France, on September 26 ahead of the race start on October 17. Each skipper will shortly be setting off on their qualification passages before making last minute modifications to their Eco 60 yachts. A system of high-spec video and still-image cameras along with a satellite broadband link-up are also being installed on each yacht by onboard media specialists Marine Camera Solutions.

The VELUX 5 OCEANS, run by Clipper Ventures PLC, is the longest running solo round the world race, and has 28 years of rich heritage as the BOC Challenge and then the Around Alone. This edition features five ocean sprints over nine months. After setting off  from La Rochelle to Cape Town, the race will then take in Wellington in New Zealand, Salvador in Brazil and Charleston in the US before returning back across the Atlantic to France.

The Eco 60 Class of ocean racing yachts today launches its own dedicated website. The new class – which currently makes use of Open 60 yachts launched before 2003 – was created as an ecological, sustainable and affordable ocean racing yacht still capable of blistering speeds and top performance, with a proven track record of reliability and safety.

The Eco 60 Class website – www.eco60.org or www.eco60.net – goes live today with detailed information about the yachts and the background to the class, as well as a section devoted to Eco 60s for sale.

The class is all about allowing enthusiastic sailors with limited funds to make their mark on the world of ocean racing, and will be premiered in the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010. The Eco 60 Class takes advantage of the large market of third generation Open 60 yachts for sale, effectively recycling them back into the world they were built for – solo ocean racing.

As the ever increasing costs of the new Open 60s puts them beyond the reach of all but the few very big sponsors, there is a need to produce a class that is affordable to more sailors with the spirit of adventure and keep around the world solo sailing accessible. These tried and tested racing machines, proven in the toughest oceans around the world with a pedigree of success, are lying unused. However, their potential remains and can be harnessed as Eco 60s.

Reliable and safe, these racing yachts also come at a fraction of the cost of their newer counterparts, making ocean racing more affordable and accessible.

Race rules will set limitations on the number of sails, the size of shore crews and the extent of refit work permitted in order to further reduce budgets. But it’s not just about money – the Eco 60 Class will also be governed by a framework designed to improve the ecological and environmental impact on the planet. This includes a limit on the use of fossil fuels to encourage sailors to use more sustainable methods such as wind, solar and hydro power.

VELUX 5 OCEANS chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has been a pioneer of the Eco 60 Class after sailing one to glory in the 2007 edition of the VELUX 5 OCEANS. He said: “In ocean racing, to finish first you first have to finish. For my 2006/07 VELUX 5 OCEANS campaign I chose an older boat, strong and well tested. Of seven starters, four of us finished. In the 2008 Vendée Globe, only five out of the twenty one new generation yachts completed the course, compared to six out of the nine ‘Eco 60’ yachts which successfully returned to Les Sables D’Olonne after circumnavigating the planet.”

“The 28-year history of the VELUX 5 OCEANS is peppered with stories of unknown sailors of limited means who emerged to make their mark on ocean racing. Some became famous; others simply achieved their life’s dream of a solo circumnavigation. The Eco 60 Class continues that tradition.”

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Nine months of offshore racing action between five continents

The VELUX 5 OCEANS today announces the dates of the starts of the five ocean sprints in the 2010/11 edition of the race. The race will start and end in the French port of La Rochelle, in between visiting Cape Town in South Africa, Wellington in New Zealand, Salvador in Brazil and Charleston in the USA.

Ocean Sprint 1: La Rochelle to Cape Town – 7,500 nautical miles
Start date: October 17
The first ocean sprint will see the fleet battle through the notorious Bay of Biscay before pushing hard through the Atlantic and the frustrating calm of the Doldrums to their destination of Cape Town, South Africa, where the two great oceans meet.

Ocean Sprint 2: Cape Town to Wellington – 7,000 nautical miles
Start date: December 12
This ocean sprint sees the race returning to New Zealand for the third time, having previously visited Auckland in 1998 and Tauranga in 2002. New Zealand’s capital city will host the race for the first time and will be the ideal venue for the competitors to recover from the long leg from Cape Town before preparing for the treacherous Southern Ocean Sprint around Cape Horn to Brazil.

Ocean Sprint 3: Wellington to Salvador – 7,400 nautical miles
Start date: February 6
The party spirit will be in the air for the start day of Ocean Sprint 3 – it falls on Waitangi Day, a public holiday commemorating the founding of New Zealand in 1840. This sprint is all about the Southern Ocean: freezing temperatures, mountainous seas and howling winds and the feared Cape Horn. The fleet will have to survive all Mother Earth throws at them before arriving in Brazil for the first time since the inaugural race in 1982. The fleet will arrive just in time for the Salvador Carnival, the biggest in Brazil, the perfect remedy after the hardships of this ocean sprint.

Ocean Sprint 4: Salvador to Charleston – 4,000 nautical miles
Start date: April 10
Another battle with the light, unpredictable airs of the Doldrums and the heavy weather of the North Atlantic face the fleet on ocean sprint four, as they make their way up the coast of South and Central America. Their destination is the historic city of Charleston in South Carolina, welcoming the race into its waters for the third time. The skippers’ departure will coincide with Charleston HarborFest, a four-day maritime festival celebrating the sea, that attracts over 100,000 visitors each year to the Charleston waterfront.

Ocean Sprint 5: Charleston to La Rochelle – 3,600 nautical miles
Start date: May 14
‘Sprint’ really encapsulates what the finale to the VELUX 5 OCEANS will be: an all out adrenaline-fuelled race across the North Atlantic and back into the Bay of Biscay, where La Rochelle will celebrate the unique achievements of the skippers in completing The Ultimate Solo Challenge. They are expected to arrive in La Rochelle in early June 2011 with prize giving on June 11.

The race has been billed as The Ultimate Solo Challenge since 1982 because of the stop-start nature of the high speed racing over the Ocean Sprints, covering the greatest distance and time alone at sea of any race around the world. It is also a truly international ocean race, visiting five continents and offering a worldwide media profile over an eight month period.

VELUX 5 OCEANS race director David Adams said: “With five ocean sprints, the racing itself will be closer with the fleet tightly bunched from each restart. And if a yacht breaks down, there’s a chance to demonstrate the seamanship necessary to get to the next port, repair and restart.

“For sailors, there’s also the strong camaraderie that develops among the skippers and their teams ashore, as well as interacting with locals in each port. For sponsors, there are opportunities for international media, hospitality and promotions in some of the world’s most spectacular harbour cities. For spectators, there are more opportunities to meet the inspirational skippers at the various ports, and to watch the spectacular Sprint starts and finishes, whether ‘live’ or via the media or internet.”

“The VELUX 5 OCEANS race management team is working with our city partners to deliver high quality stopovers for skippers, providing world class services, global media coverage and reducing costs as much as possible across the board.”

The VELUX 5 OCEANS, run by Clipper Ventures PLC, starts from La Rochelle in France on October 17 and features five ocean sprints. After heading from La Rochelle to Cape Town, the race will then take in Wellington in New Zealand, Salvador in Brazil and Charleston in the US before returning back across the Atlantic to France.

Please visit www.velux5oceans.com

If you would like to support a stopover, please contact
partners@velux5oceans.com