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 summer months are flying by as we continue with our offshore training sessions and preparations for the Velux 5 Oceans this October. I now have almost 10,000 nm and six training sessions on Spirit of Canada ECO 60 and I am very impressed with the performance of the boat. As you can imagine, sailing with 3 or 4 other sailors on a boat designed to accommodate one person has created some interesting scenarios but I will keep those stories for the book. Each session has taught me valuable lessons about the performance of the boat and how it can be pushed. I feel very confident about our preparations at this point.

One of the training sessions was as a race participant in the Route Halifax St. Pierre Ocean Race; we covered the 340 odd miles in under 30 hours; setting a new race record and receiving line honours for the effort. The race was not without event as we struck a log while sailing at about 12 knots and did some minor damage to the keel fairings. The boat is slated for repairs and will be hauled out next week at East River Marine here in Nova Scotia where Philip Young and his professional boatbuilding and repair crew will bring the boat back to racing trim.

The title sponsorship hunt has proven to be daunting and even though we continue to put names on the hull and conduct training sessions thereby reducing the price of the title sponsorship, we have not been able to secure that elusive support. The budget situation is becoming critical as we need to order new sails for delivery before the start. But we are staying focussed on the start line in October. Any suggestions and or referrals with regard to securing potential sponsors are very welcome.

Stay tuned for more regular updates as we approach the Velux 5 Oceans race start on October 17th 2010.

Take care,

Derek

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.

Derek will compete in the VELUX 5 OCEANS 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, which will première in the 2010 VELUX 5 OCEANS, 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.

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

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

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

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.”

Please visit www.eco60.org
Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/eco60
Follow us on FaceBook at www.facebook.com/Eco60
www.spiritofcanada.net
info@spiritofcanada.net
+1.902.529.2626

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.

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

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.

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

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

Today at17.00hr GMT the new ECO 60 Spirit of Canada sailed out of from Port La Foret, France and into the beginning of the first training session that will take the crew from France to Nova Scotia. Under sunny skies and 15 knots of breeze from the North they began their 2489nm sail. “The boat is performing well and the crew are getting adjusted to being at sea, the weather for the next few days is good to see us make some miles to the west and out of the Bay of Biscay, it’s great to be back at sea” says skipper Derek Hatfield.

Derek is delivering the boat to Canada with three other crew members that are training with him on the boat, it really is a very exciting way for people to get involved in the project; to experience first hand what it takes to sail one of these ocean going grew hounds with a veteran of offshore single handed racing coaching them along the way.

During a satellite phone conversation late tonight Derek commented that “an emotional milestone was reached today; after the sudden end of the last race, we are very thankful to all that have supported us in our journey to the start line of the VELUX 5 Oceans, it is a big commitment that could not be possible without the support of everyone that has their name on the hull, we are getting to the start line together.”

We will continue to update the website as Derek moves across the North Atlantic on his way home.

Take care,

Team Spirit of Canada

To put your name on the hull send an email to: info@spiritofcanada.net

For more information on the positions available to train with Derek please email us at: Patianne@spiritofcanada.net or call 647.288.7342 or 902.529.2626.

www.spiritofcanada.net

This update was made possible with the support of Global Marine Networks, we thank them for their support.

Hello from Spirit of Canada

The new Spirit of Canada ECO 60 is currently in Port la Foret, France preparing for it’s first transatlantic delivery. The ECO 60 will leave France around May 26th with a crew of 4 and head directly to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia where it will start the transformation to the traditional Spirit of Canada colours and a summer of offshore training and support sailing.

It feels great to be back in sailing mode, I’m looking forward to many miles of training aboard Spirit of Canada in preparation for the Velux 5 Oceans starting this October. The boat is in great shape but we will be conducting a mini refit once we are in Canada to refine the systems. Later in August we will take the boat out of the water to apply a new Nautix white racing bottom. Once we are back in France in September, a new set of race sails will complete the preparations. At this point we are in great shape and I feel very confident with our preparations for my third single handed race around the world.

Stay tuned as we sail from France to Canada as regular updates will be posted from the crew.

Take care,

Derek

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.

Derek will compete in the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010 Eco 60 class, a revolutionary fleet aimed at opening up ocean racing by making it more affordable as well as eco-friendly. The fleet, which will première in the 2010 VELUX 5 OCEANS, is for Open 60 yachts launched prior to 2003 and is governed by a number of rules and regulations designed to limit costs and encourage positive environmental practices.

Key Partner

Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges is 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 percentage 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 or 902.529.2626.

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

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

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

The challenge begins 2010, www.velux5oceans.com