The doors to the carbon neutral VELUX House were today thrown open to the public in the French port of La Rochelle. The official opening of the eco-friendly building, which was moved from Copenhagen (Denmark) where it was used as part of the COP 15 Climate Conference in December 2009, marks 100 days to the start of the VELUX 5 OCEANS round the world yacht race which sets out from the city on October 17.

Maxime Bono, Mayor of La Rochelle, was joined by solo sailing legend Sir Robin Knox Johnston, Chairman of the VELUX 5 OCEANS, and by Michel Langrand, President of VELUX France, to celebrate the opening of the VELUX House, whose message of sustainable living is shared by all stakeholders.

Sir Robin Knox Johnston said: “There are now less than 100 days to go until the start of the VELUX 5 OCEANS and things are really starting to get exciting. The opening of the VELUX House in La Rochelle marks the race’s commitment to sustainability and will be a fantastic centrepiece of our environmentally friendly race village.”

Located at the centre of La Rochelle’s maritime district on Esplanade Eric Tabarly in the Bassin des Chalutiers, the VELUX House will showcase to the public how it is possible to build carbon-neutral homes by using the abundance of passive thermal solar energy coming through the roof windows while also creating a healthy indoor climate.

The VELUX House will remain for one year in La Rochelle, serving as a point of information on the race for the visiting public and people of La Rochelle, updating them on news from the ocean sprints, skippers and stopovers. It will equally be used as a venue to showcase sustainability exhibitions and educational seminars on climate change, inviting personalities such as Jean-Louis Etienne and Catherine Chabaud to present their activities. Isabelle Autissier, confirmed as Godmother for the race in La Rochelle, sent a video message of support and will be invited to use the House to promote her various programmes at sea and with WWF.

M. Langrand, President of VELUX France, commented: “I am very happy to open the VELUX House that the people of La Rochelle will host in their port for an entire year. This CO2 neutral building is a new way of living within which, alongside its energy performance, interior comfort is delivered thanks to the maximum use of natural light and optimal ventilation.”

The VELUX House will form the centrepiece of the VELUX 5 OCEANS race village, overlooking the pontoons which will host the competing Eco 60s. The race village will be open to the public from October 9 and will carry the message of TAKING ON THE ELEMENTS, the race’s sustainability mission, supported by an exposition from race transport partner Maersk Line and other local eco exhibitors from the La Rochelle region. During the weekend of the race start, October 15 to 17, the International VELUX Award for Students of Architecture will be hosted in La Rochelle, centred round the theme of sustainable living, and the VELUX House will be a showpiece for the winners and 600 attending guests from around the world.

Members of the public can visit the VELUX House as of today however to see for themselves how eco-friendly architecture and design along with solar energy and 0% emissions can combine to create a sustainable home for the future. The VELUX House is full of fresh air and light thanks to VELUX’s strategically-placed roof and façade windows. Because of the large amount of natural light entering the building, the need to use electricity to run lighting is reduced. The VELUX House’s construction is such that its three modules can be combined to create solutions to suit differing needs for space and facilities. In industrialised countries 40% of the energy consumption is used in buildings – the VELUX House shines as an example of maximised energy efficiency, minimised emissions and visionary architecture.

Despite being placed at ground level while being used as a demonstration building, the VELUX House is actually designed to be mounted on top of multi-storey buildings to replace former closed roof constructions and revolutionise the roof landscape.

The VELUX House is a building experiment that demonstrates how a conscious combination of sustainable architecture, carefully selected components and the building’s surroundings can play a role in tackling some of the major climate and population challenges faced by urban areas all over the world.

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.

MEDIA ALERT

10 June, 2010

This afternoon Derek Hatfield will sail into Lunenburg with the new ECO 60 Spirit of Canada. He will arrive with a crew of 3 as part of his first training session in preparation for his 3^rd single handed race around the world beginning in France later this year.

After 14 days of sailing from France to Lunenburg the crew and skipper can almost smell the coast and look forward to being on shore with the comforts of home rather than the sparse out-fittings of this ocean racing boat.

For updates on arrival visit us on Facebook by linking on the Facebook icon at www.spiritofcanada.net

Notes to Editor:

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 is the next challenge, he will compete in the Eco 60 class, a revolutionary fleet aimed at opening up ocean racing by making it more affordable as well as eco-friendly. The fleet makes it’s première in the 2010 VELUX 5 OCEANS and is for Open 60 yachts launched before 2003 and will be governed by a number of rules and regulations designed to limit costs and encourage positive environmental practices. Derek plans to be the first person in history to race around the world without the use of fossil fuels to operate the boat.

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

For further information on Spirit of Canada, please contact Patianne Verburgh:
Office: +1.647.288.7342
Mobile: +1.902.529.2626
www.spiritofcanada.net
patianne@spiritofcanada.net

Hello from Spirit of Canada

The crew and I are settling in nicely on day four of the transatlantic from Port La Foret to Lunenburg, NS. The SW wind that we are experiencing is helping us to make some good headway, the crew are very surprised as to how much of the sailing is upwind work. We have hit all the conditions in the last four days, big wind and waves, no wind, rain and like today; beautiful sunshine.

The boat is performing very well, it’s great to be back at sea. Though with 4 people aboard the space below is unbelievably small but we are getting along well. We can already see ways to lighten the boat and look forward to working on it.

It usually takes 3 or 4 days at sea to get used to the routine and movements and to get your appetite back, the crew and I are just about to have our first single pot meal: Tuna, noodles and corn.

Check out the new position plotter on the website, you can follow us during all the training sessions this summer at:

http://spiritofcanada.net/wordpress2/spirit-of-canada-position-plotter/

Take care,

Derek

FYI Radio update tomorrow on CBC’s “Information Morning” here in Nova Scotia.

Thanks to GMN for making this update possible.

If you would like to put your name on the boat or to go offshore training with Derek this summer let us know at info@spiritofcanada.net