SIR ROBIN KNOX JOHNSTON TO RACE DEREK HATFIELD AND JOHN HUGHES IN CANADA

VELUX 5 OCEANS veterans Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Derek Hatfield and John Hughes are to do battle in Canadian waters as part of a week-long sailing festival. The three renowned solo sailors will go head to head in the Clash of the Legends race today, just one of the many events organised for the Cape Breton stopover of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race.

Canadians Hatfield and Hughes will have the upper hand over the UK’s Sir Robin, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world, when they race around their home turf of Cape Breton Island’s Sydney Harbour at 10am local time. The presentation race falls in the middle of a week of festivities to welcome the ten Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race boats. The yachts, crewed mostly by amateurs, are on the seventh and final leg of their 35,000-mile circumnavigation.

Sir Robin, founder of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and chairman of the VELUX 5 OCEANS race, said: “It is wonderful to be sailing against Derek and John in the Clash of the Legends race as part of the Clipper fleet’s Cape Breton stopover. They are Canada’s most respected ocean sailors and all three of us have competed in the VELUX 5 OCEANS. It is great to be able to bring three veterans of the race together to help celebrate the arrival of the ten Clipper yachts to Cape Breton.”

Hatfield is a veteran of the 2002/3 VELUX 5 OCEANS race in which he came third in Class Two. He will be flying the flag for Canada again this year when he returns to the race with his Eco 60 yacht Spirit of Canada, which he has just delivered across the Atlantic from France. Hughes raced in the 1986/7 edition of the race, completing the circumnavigation in 189 days to finish eight in Class Two.

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.

For Immediate Release: [25.03.10]

DEREK HATFIELD BUYS VETERAN US SAILOR RICH WILSON’S ECO 60 YACHT

CANADA’S most experienced round the world yachtsman can today announce the purchase of a yacht to race in the VELUX 5 OCEANS. Derek Hatfield and Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges has bought the Eco 60 yacht Great America III (formerly Solidaires) from veteran American solo sailor Rich Wilson.

The boat will now be renamed Spirit of Canada ahead of the 30,000-mile VELUX 5 OCEANS race which starts from La Rochelle in France in October. It will be the second time Derek, a native of New Brunswick, has competed in the VELUX 5 OCEANS after finishing third in Class II in the 2002/03 race.

Derek, the 2003 Canadian Rolex Sailor of the Year, said: “The new Spirit of Canada has a fantastic pedigree for round the world races and I know the boat well. The boat is in perfect condition and Rich spared no expense in getting ready for the last Vendée Globe and it is ready to go again with very little preparation. We are very excited about the new ECO 60 class and the new Spirit of Canada.”

Designed by famous naval architect Bernard Nivelt for French single hander Thierry Dubois, the new Spirit of Canada was launched in 1999 before being raced in the 2000 Vendée Globe. She was then entered in the 2002/03 edition of the VELUX 5 OCEANS finishing second in Class I. In both the 2004 and 2008 Vendée Globe races she was skippered to a credible seventh position.

Derek will now race her in the Eco 60 class in the VELUX 5 OCEANS race, dubbed the Ultimate Solo Challenge. The Eco 60 class is for Open 60 yachts launched before 2003, taking away the emphasis on money and putting it back on the skill, seamanship and determination of each sailor. Derek plans to be the first person in history to race around the world without the use of fossil fuels to operate the boat.

He added: “The VELUX 5 OCEANS is all about ‘Inspiring by Leading’, showing as many people as possible that everyone can make a difference and collectively we can make a big difference to future generations.”

Derek will start training in early May sailing the boat from its current berth in France to Nova Scotia where it will begin its transformation into Spirit of Canada. The yacht will adopt the instantly recognisable Spirit of Canada red colours as well as the familiar boat number 84, proudly placed on her bows. The names of 7,000 supporters will also be transported across from Derek’s last Open 60 Spirit of Canada. The names, collected during Derek’s eight-year-campaign, will serve as ‘virtual crew’ during the long solitary passages at sea.

For further information on Spirit of Canada, please contact Patianne Verburgh:

Office: +1.647.288.7342
Mobile: +1.902.529.2626

www.spiritofcanada.ne
patianne@spiritofcanada.ne

For further information on the VELUX 5 OCEANS, please contact Tim Kelly, Race Director of Communications:

T: + 44 7773 325 533
E: tkelly@velux5oceans.com
W: www.velux5oceans.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Derek Hatfield and Spirit of Canada

Derek Hatfield was the 2003 Canadian Rolex Sailor of the Year and the 126th person in history to finish a single-handed race around the world. Derek is the first to ever fly the Canadian flag as a competitor in the grueling Vendee Globe single handed around the world race. The VELUX 5 OCEANS will be Derek’s third race around the world and another first in Canadian sailing history.

Key Partner

Spirit of Canada is still looking for a Key Partner to take advantage of this great marketing opportunity. The Key Partner will receive a return on investment of approx 25 million in EVA (equivalent advertising value). The cost of the Key Partnership is a small fraction of this amount. For more information on a Key Partnership or any other multi-faceted sponsorship opportunity with Spirit of Canada, please contact Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges at 647.288.7342

VELUX 5 OCEANS – The Ultimate Solo Challenge

The VELUX 5 OCEANS is the oldest single-handed round the world yacht race. Run every 4 years since 1982, the race is the longest and toughest event for any individual in any sport. The VELUX 5 OCEANS is a series of five high-pressure ocean sprints within a marathon circumnavigation. In the course of the 30,000 mile race, the skippers cross five oceans alone. The VELUX 5 OCEANS will start in October 2010 and promises to reach a global audience as the dramatic stories are followed live across TV, radio, print, Internet and via mobile technology.

www.velux5oceans.com

About VELUX

VELUX creates better living environments with daylight and fresh air through the roof. Our product range contains a wide assortment of roof windows and skylights, as well as systems for flat roofs. In addition, VELUX offers many types of decoration and sun screening, roller shutters, installation products, products for remote control and thermal solar panels for roof installation. With manufacturing companies in ten countries and sales companies in approx. 40, VELUX is one of the strongest brands in the global building materials sector and its products are sold in most parts of the world. The VELUX Group has around 10,000 employees and is owned by VKR Holding A/S, a limited company wholly owned by foundations and family.

www.velux.com

About Clipper Ventures Plc

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s historic solo and non-stop circumnavigation in 1970. Now, as Chairman of Clipper Ventures PLC, he is at the forefront of promoting round the world yacht racing. Clipper Ventures, the marine sports company founded in 1995, is focused on developing and promoting major events capable of attracting significant participation, income, media coverage and associated sponsorship revenue. The company owns the rights to the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and the VELUX 5 OCEANS.

www.clipper-ventures.com

About La Rochelle

For 1,000 years, La Rochelle has been known as France’s “rebel city”. Democratic a long time before the rest of France, it is Protestant when the whole France is Catholic; it always innovates and disrupts commonplaces and the city is a pioneer when it comes to urban ecology. Throughout history, La Rochelle has proven its difference. It has always been turned toward the sea and has a rich and turbulent past. Boating and sailing races are deeply rooted in La Rochelle’s culture and it has played host to many of the world’s biggest sailing events including the Volvo Ocean Race, Global Challenge and Clipper Round the World Race.

www.ville-larochelle.fr

www.agglo-larochelle.fr

Marine Rescue Technologies, Inc of Florida today announced its continued support of Spirit of Canada and the next race around the world, the Velux 5 Oceans starting on October 17^th, 2010.

Derek Hatfield, Skipper of Spirit of Canada comments; “I have been carrying the Sea Marshall Man overboard System for years now and I would not leave the dock without it being installed on Spirit of Canada”

For more about Marine Rescue Technologies, and Sea Marshall Man Overboard Systems, please visit:  www.seamarshall-us.com

Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges today announced that a number of training sessions with Derek Hatfield on the ECO 60 Spirit of Canada will be offered to individual crewmembers during the summer of 2010 as Derek trains for the upcoming Velux 5 Oceans starting in October 2010. Crewmembers will be able to experience a full blown Open 60 first hand in open ocean conditions. The sessions will include transatlantic voyages between France and Canada, offshore training and racing between Halifax and St. Pierre Miquelon; a French island off the coast of Newfoundland; and Bermuda.

The training sessions are planned in 3 separate duration categories; 15 day, 7 day and 3 day periods and are for individuals of all levels of sailing skills. Crewmembers can expect to learn about aspects of preparing for shorthanded cruising and racing including the setup of the boat, nutrition, sleep patterns, weather analysis, safety at sea, shorthanded sail selection, medical emergency procedures, navigation and communications.

For further information regarding booking an offshore training session on Spirit of Canada, please contact Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges at: info@spiritofcanada.net or call 647-288-7342.

Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges Offshore Training Schedule 2010

1. France to Halifax – May 1st to May 15th – 15 days
2. Halifax to Saint-Pierre Miquelon – June 5th to 7th – 3 days
3. Saint-Pierre Miquelon to Halifax – June 9th to 11th – 3 days
4. Halifax to Bermuda – June 20th to 27th – 7 days
5. Bermuda to Halifax – July 1st to 7th – 7 days
6. Route Halifax Saint Pierre – Race – July 10th – 3 days
7. Saint-Pierre Miquelon to Halifax – July 15th – 3 days
8. Halifax to La Rochelle France – Sept 12th – 26th – 15 days

Full day and half day sailing sessions on the ECO 60 are also available in France and in Halifax, contact us for more details.