Lisbon in VOR

Alicante, Spain – 01 March 2010 – After a fierce bidding process, Lisbon has been chosen as the first of the European ports for the Volvo Ocean Race, starting from Alicante in the autumn of 2011. Lisbon, located in the west of Portugal, at the point where the river Tagus flows into the Atlantic Ocean, will be the finish of the transatlantic leg of the race during the summer of 2012.

It will be the first time that this historic Portuguese port has played a part in the world’s premier ocean race.

Interest in hosting the Volvo Ocean Race in Europe was received from 34 cities, 15 of which went through to the final phase of the bidding process. This clearly underlines the enormous interest the race generates and makes Europe by far the most competitive continent in the selection procedure.

“It is great to have such an iconic city included in our list of stopovers and Lisbon, especially, has wonderful sailing conditions, which will make for a very exciting in-port race,” said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad. “Lisbon is a delightful city with much to offer the Volvo Ocean Race and this will be a stopover to look forward to after the rigours of the transatlantic leg,” he added.

“Portugal is a country of navigators that opened the world to new horizons and its capital, Lisbon, was the starting point for the fabulous saga of the Discoveries. A city with such grand nautical tradition had to be associated with the biggest transoceanic adventure of modern times and it is with utmost honour and pride that we are now a part of the Volvo Ocean Race’s global itinerary,” said António Costa, Mayor of the City of Lisbon.

The next European port will be announced on Wednesday 3 March.

The Volvo Ocean Race traces its origins back to 1973 and is the world’s premier offshore sailing race. The Volvo Open 70 racing boat is sailed by professional athletes, who race around the world with the prevailing winds.

Alicante to Cape Town

The racetrack for the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race, due to start from Alicante in Spain in the autumn of 2011, is now set and the first port of call will be Cape Town, South Africa, making its eighth appearance as host to this premier ocean race. This marks the beginning of the port announcement process for the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 and the rest of the course around the world will be revealed before the end of March.

The Volvo Ocean Race is the only professional sailing event that visits ports around the world and it is a delicate balance to select a track that is not only challenging to sail, but presents an attractive business case for potential sponsors and partners for both the race and the competing teams.

Leg one at 6,500 nautical miles, which in 2008-09 took the eventual race winner Ericsson 4 21 days, 17 hours and 54 seconds to complete, is one of the longest in the race and historically, the team that wins this leg has gone on to claim the winner’s trophy.

For Cape Town, hosting the 11th Volvo Ocean Race/Whitbread will be the biggest event following its hosting of the FIFA World Cup. Over two million tickets have been snapped up for the World Cup, which takes place throughout South Africa in June this year.

The V&A Waterfront will be a perfect place for shore crews to prepare the boats for the next test in the race, and for guests to enjoy the ambience and unique atmosphere this ocean classic generates. However, the stopover will allow little time for rest. There will be a full schedule of sailing ahead of the start of leg two, including the important in-port racing, which counts points towards the overall winner’s trophy, as well as pro-am racing.

The European ports of call for the Volvo Ocean Race in 2012, including the finish port will be the next to be announced and the entire route is set to be revealed before the end of March.

The Future of VOR

With 62,000 people in the race village and nearly 60,000 more taking in the racing from the sea wall between Salthill and Barna, along the Northern shores of Galway Bay, Saturday’s in-port Race in Galway was a great success. On Sunday morning the Volvo Ocean Race looked again to the future and particularly the next race, which is due to start in 2011.

The occasion was the third in a series of ‘round table’ meetings where future plans for the race were presented and explained. The Galway sessions follows similar presentations held in Rio de Janeiro and in Boston. In Ireland, special guests invited to attend included, amongst others, French multihull ace Franck Cammas, solo sailors Rolan Jourdain and Jean-Luc Nelias and noted French America’s Cup sailor Luc Gelluseau.

Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad opened his presentation by explaining again why and how the race must embrace changes so as to become more successful in the future. The number one objective is to increase the number of competitors in the next race. A larger fleet is needed in the future for the race to be able to reach its full potential. An important element in achieving more boats on the start line in Alicante in 2011 is a reduction of costs and an increase in value for the teams. To that end, changes already announced include a reduction in crew members, from 11 to 10, and nearly a 40% reduction in race sails.

According to Frostad there are three pillars to work on to get more teams on the water in the future. The first element is a technical cost containment and reduction programme, the second an increase on the value to teams, sponsors and ports involved in the race, and the third is to keep the race seriously attractive to the best sailors in the world.

Frostad and his team which includes renowned racing class technical expert Ken McAlpine and rules expert Bill Edgerton, explained further elements of change. They included the crew make-up for the next race. In an effort to encourage female participation, the new rule will allow ‘female’ teams to carry 12 sailors, including the media crew, two of whom may be men. This represents two extra crew members over an all male crew. In terms of the Volvo Open 70 Class Rule, the maximum weight for the keel fin and bulb will be set at 7,400 kgs in the future. There will also be a minimum keel fin weight to be defined at a later date. The fin will be required to be solid, with no fairings permitted. The weight of the yacht is to be increased so that it may fit into the range between 14,000 kilograms and 14,500 kilograms, compared with a range of 13,860 to 14,000 in the current edition of the race. The combination of these two adjustments is an attempt to create a common righting moment for the whole fleet which will yield closer racing between the existing and future fleets of Volvo Open 70s and stop the expensive research and long slow builds that result in maximized bulb weights. Teams with less time and funding have been compromised with the stability of their boats and hence competitiveness.
Headfoils will be banned, headsails will either be set on furlers or with hanks. Stacking of the boats, the movement of sails and loose stores, spares and equipment inside the boat, will be limited to the centre section of the hull.

On the energy side, the overall weight of each yacht’s batteries will be reduced by 100kgs. This reduction will allow design and build teams to put the same 100 kgs into the primary and secondary structure of the hull without increasing the weight of the boat. Currently, very few of the fleet carry any solar panels so each Volvo Open 70 will also be required to carry a renewable energy source capable of generating 80 Watts of electrical power.

Further discussion centred around two-boat testing. The organisers are seeking to ensure that a team needn’t build two boats to be competitive in the next edition of the race. With that in mind, no two-boat testing will be permitted until after the ‘race’ boat has been launched, or after a yet to be defined date, which may be as late as the race start. There will be more information on this at a later date.

The next ‘round table’ session is scheduled for 22 June in Stockholm.

Rolex Commodores' Cup

The Rolex Commodores' Cup is taking place off Cowes, Isle of Wight, from 29th June to 6th July 2006. Fifteen teams representing France, Ireland, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Hong Kong and Spain are participating.

After a two hour delay waiting for the wind to fill in, the 2008 Rolex Commodores' Cup got underway shortly before lunchtime today with two windward-leeward inshore races in the Western Solent. Conditions could not have been better for the 45 boat fleet with 12 knots of wind from the southwest and brilliant sunshine.

Race one saw the French defenders, Géry Trentesaux's France Blue, pull into first place tied with GBR Red, led by John Shepherd's big boat Fair Do's VII, followed by the two Irish teams. In particular Trentesaux's own Class 1 boat Lady Courrier, won her division with their small boat, Marc Alperovitch's Prime Time, scoring second, while in GBR Red Peter Rutter took honours in Class 2 aboard his new Corby 36 Quokka 7, and Jerry Otter posted a third on Erivale III.

The second race of the day was held on a similar course, but by this time the flood tide was ripping into the western Solent. With the wind and tide against them on the beat, competitors short tacked up the mainland side of the Solent darting out into the tide only to round the weather mark. However many boats got into trouble calling this layline and were forced to crab sideways to make it around or throw in a costly tack. The result was one boat being swept down on to the mark, while on another the crew succumbed to the stress causing them to mess up the hoist and trawl their spinnaker. In the end in Class 1, Géry Trentesaux's Lady Courrier won her second race of the day - earning her a perfect scoreline.

Newport Bermuda Race

Puma Racing skipper Ken Read and his Volvo 70 Il Mostro, a rocketship that sails with almost any breeze, were leading the Bermuda Race. Even the fastest boats in the world need some wind to keep moving at a rational pace. Read reported the course to Bermuda as 175 magnetic, and the wind direction as 175 when it registered. This is a deadly combination when the windspeed is in single digits, and shrinking. Alex Jackson's Speedboat was faring little better, and the two fastest boats in the fleet went from looking extraordinary to looking like just another couple of sailboats struggling hard to get from point A to point B. At 1600 EDT on Sunday, Speedboat was making 10 knots, with 143 miles to go. Il Mostro lurked only 34 miles behind, and had a 25 mile lead over Rambler. The new 69-foot Bella Mente was only four miles astern of the 90-foot Rambler, and she seems to excel in the light going. Just behind, Numbers, Blue Yankee, Rosebud, and Moneypenny were all less than 30 miles behind Rambler, which seems a little underpowered in the light stuff with her relatively small headsails. All these big boats average eight to nine knots over the last two-hour reporting period. For boats further back in the fleet - and that means almost everybody - Bermuda seems little more than a distant dream. When you see more than 350 miles to go - and all of them dead upwind - that first dark n' stormy is a long, long time in the future.

Sardinia Rolex Cup

The Sardinia Rolex Cup, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, came to a close today after a long wait for a breeze which did not materialize. The Race Committee waited until the final time limit of 3 p.m. before admitting defeat while Team Spain breathed a sigh of relief as the overall results after eight races became definitive and Spain claimed the title of ISAF Offshore Team World Champion for the third time (2000, 2004).

Pedro Campos, helmsman of the Spanish TP52 Bribon Telefonica was understandably pleased on his return to port: "We are delighted with this victory: it was hard-fought with the Italian Team but in the end we did it. Yesterday we sealed things with three straight victories on the TP52. What a fantastic job from the whole team. This is my third victory in the Sardinia and my twelfth World Championship."

Each of Spain's boats - Massimo Mezzaroma's Farr 40 San Miguel telefonica Nerone helmed by Antonio Sodo Milgliori with Vasco Vascotto on tactics; Marco Salvi's Swan 45 Telefonica Vertigo with Francesco Bruni on tactics; and Jose Cusi's Bribon Telefonica with Campos at the helm and tactician Ray Davies - took four victories over eight races. Aside from Team Germany's brief spell at the top of the classification on day one prior to the results of protests, Spain led for the duration of the event.

"It has been a challenging week in which teamwork has been fundamental. We spent a lot of fun evenings together and created a team 24 hours a day and the results speak for themselves!" commented Vascotto of Nerone.

Team Italy placed second, eleven points behind Spain. All three of the Italian owners are YCCS members and both Riccardo Simoneschi's TP52 Audi powered by Q8 and Danilo Salsi's Swan 45 DSK placed well but it was Vincenzo Onorato's Mascalzone Latino that really shone collecting two victories, five seconds and one third place leaving her top of the Farr 40s.

Team Germany finished in third place despite the best efforts of the United Internet Team Germany sailors on board the TP52 Platoon who tied down three victories in the first three days of sailing. Teams Southern Europe and Russia took fourth and fifth place respectively.

The Sardinia Cup Challenge Trophy was awarded to Team Spain by Princess Zahra Aga Khan, President of the Board of Directors of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, during the prize giving held on the Club's Piazza Azzurra.

Sardinia Rolex Cup

The duel between teams Spain and Italy is heating up as Spain sits in first place just one point ahead of home-team Italy after today’s distance race in the Sardinia Rolex Cup organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. The Race Committee set an Island Race today which took the 15-strong fleet (each team is composed of a Farr 40, a Swan 45 and a TP52) north up the stunning Sardinian coastline using the islands of the La Maddalena Archipelago as natural buoys and rounding the Barretinelli islands before a final long downwind run for a total of approximately 30 nautical miles. Conditions were impeccable once again with west north-westerly winds of 15 to 20 knots and blazing sunshine providing picture-perfect racing. Team Spain’s best result came from Massimo Mezzaroma’s San Miguel Telefonica Nerone which took first place among the Farr 40s ahead of Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino.

46th Newport to Bermuda Race

Final entries in the Newport to Bermuda Race have narrowed down from 218 to 198. One boat sank on delivery, another was t-boned on its mooring, one had an electrical fire and other crews have dropped out for business or personal reasons. Yet this is still the second largest fleet in the 102 year history of the race. The special, centennial race in 2006 had 263 starters and the previous record was 182. Organizers from the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club are positive about the final turnout. Weather forecasters are predicting winds of about 10 knots from the south-southwest for the start. The bigger, faster boats may experience some light airs in the middle of their race and end hard on the wind. The breeze is then expected to fill on Monday and Tuesday, putting the smaller boats on a reach to give them a fast passage. The way the Gulf Stream is running, there are no significant reasons this year to sail away from the rhumb line (the direct route from Newport to Bermuda) in search of a southward push toward Bermuda.

Sardinia Rolex Cup 2008

This coveted team trophy, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, is competed for every two years. Each nation team participating at the Sardinia Rolex Cup 2008 will comprise three yachts: a Farr 40, a Swan 45, and TP52. ISAF has designated the Sardinia Rolex Cup the Offshore Team World Championship, and teams will also be racing for the Rolex Offshore Team World Championship Trophy. After four days of windward-leeward racing, with the possibility of an islands race midweek, each boat’s score will be combined to make up the team total. Day one of the Sardinia Rolex Cup 2008, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, saw the five competing teams complete a windward-leeward race of approximately 7.5 miles despite light and shifty wind conditions. Following today’s race Team Germany leads the overall classification with both the TP52 Platoon, owned by Harm Mueller-Speer, and Wolfgang Schaefer’s Farr 40 Struntje Light having taken first place. Combined with the Swan 45 Earlybird’s third place the Germans now sit on five points ahead of Team Spain and Team Southern Europe. More or less perfect conditions off Porto Cervo allowed the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s Race Committee to hold three windward-leeward races on day two of the Sardinia Rolex Cup. Sunshine, blue skies and 18 knots of west north-westerly winds accompanied the 15 boats that make up the five competing teams as they lined up for today’s first start at midday. With a total of four races now completed Team Spain leads the overall classification on 25 points ahead of Team Italy on 34 points and third-placed Team Germany on 35.

Giraglia Rolex Cup

Marco Paolucci's Comet 45S, Tartaruga, has taken overall honours in the Giraglia Race 2008, concluding this year's week-long Giraglia Rolex Cup. The 45-footer completed the 243-mile course in 31 hours, 43 minutes, 27 seconds. Tartaruga won a very close three-way battle on ORC corrected time, beating a Canard 41, Aurora, by just 57 seconds, and third-placed First 44.7 Argo by 2 minutes 13 seconds. Tartaruga wins the title of overall honour due to the fact that more boats were entered in the 88-strong ORC division than the 82 registered in IRC. In the IRC fleet Fissa, an A-40 RC entered by Ettore Yachting, took first place by more than 50 minutes on corrected time ahead of Vinicio Petracchi's Cookson 12M, High Five. Good wind on the final approaches to Genoa benefited the medium-sized boats this year, relegating the Maxis to the minor placings on handicap.

Giraglia Offshore

Alfa Romeo led a fleet of 170 boats out of the Gulf of St Tropez this afternoon as the fleet set out on the 243-mile Giraglia Race. After winning two of the three inshore races of the Giraglia Rolex Cup, Alfa Romeo's skipper Neville Crichton has high hopes of notching up a handicap victory in the offshore race to Genoa. The other big target is a shot at the course record, a time of 22 hours, 13 minutes, 48 seconds which Crichton and his team set in 2003 with the previous Alfa Romeo, a fixed-keel 90-footer. The current Alfa Romeo is a 100-footer with canting keel and powered winches, an altogether more potent beast. And yet the Giraglia record has eluded the newer boat.

The fleet bobbed around on a windless Gulf of St Tropez for two hours until the race committee was satisfied the wind had settled down enough for a fair start. The big boats came off the line at 2pm in 5 knots of wind, although as they made their way to the first Rolex mark about 1.5 miles from the start, the breeze dropped away again to almost zero.

Archipelago Raid

22 teams from 10 nationalities will compete in this year’s edition of the Archipelago Raid, starting in the heart of Stockholm on Friday 13 June. For six days and five nights the teams will challenge the force of man and Nature in the beautiful but difficult landscape of the Stockholm, Aland and Finnish archipelago in small and very fast formula 18 catamarans.

The teams of two origin from the UK, France, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Australia and the independent island of Aland. Half of the teams have never competed in the Archipelago Raid before but are experienced sailors, endurance racers or very familiar with the archipelago. Three teams have already reached the podium in previous editions: English William Sunnucks on X-Leisure won the Raid in 2004, the French Hobie Cat pro Eric Proust, on Team Kalix, has already reached the podium three times, all but the top step, and the Swedish match racer and America’s Cup sailor Martin Strandberg, Team Thule, took an impressive third place last year on his first Archipelago Raid.

Among the 22 teams there is one all female team. There is one more female competitor in this tough endurance race, the world re-known solo sailor Ellen MacArthur, teaming up with Australian Greg Homann on BT.

Course:

Friday 13 June: start 11 am Junibacken/Djurgarden to Lido.
Saturday 14 June: restart from Lido at 3 am to cross the Baltic Sea to Lappo in the archipelago of Aland.
Sunday 15 June: from Lappo to Nagu in the Finnish archipelago.
Monday 16 June: back to Aland archipelago, to Rödhamn, annexe of the ÅSS, Åland Island Yacht Club.
Tuesday 17 June: cross the Baltic Sea again back to the Stockholm archipelago and Sandhamn, passing Fejan.
Wednesday 18 June: from Sandhamn to the finish line in Stockholm City/Djurgården at around 2-3 pm.

Clipper Race 12 Start

Following New York’s historic achievement of a home port win and a short but action-packed stopover in the city that never sleeps, the ten-internationally sponsored boats slipped their moorings at Lower Manhattan’s North Cove Marina and headed out into the Hudson River on Wednesday morning. The low cloud and light drizzle failed to dampen spirits as the crews prepared their boats for the race and waved farewell to supporters on the dockside ahead of the 570-mile sprint to Halifax. With only three of the 14 individual races that make up the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race remaining, the pressure on to secure an overall podium position when the race finishes in Liverpool on 05 July.

With main sails raised and flags flying high, the teams performed a formation sail past the iconic Statue of Liberty before heading up the Hudson to a rendezvous point next to Ambrose Light for the start of Race 12 to Halifax.

Rolex Commodores' Cup

Close of Challenges for the 2008 Rolex Commodores' Cup was on Monday 26th May. The result: 6 nations and 15 teams, two up from 2006. With the weeklong competition commencing on 29th June, team managers are putting final touches to some of the combinations and continuing the process of honing skills.

Event Organisers, the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), are understandably delighted with the increase in interest. The participation of Spain and Hong Kong is extremely positive and, along side the strong, multiple challenges from Ireland, France, The Netherlands and the UK, bodes well for some intense action on the water.

Following a review of the 2006 event, RORC has instituted some changes to the racing format, introducing a round the Isle of Wight course as part of the offshore component and making a double-points inshore course the last race of the series. RORC Commodore David Aisher was quick to express the club's deep satisfaction with the level of Challenges and anticipates a tight contest that will be decided on the last race, "with Challenges received from 6 countries for a total of 45 boats we are delighted that the Rolex Commodores' Cup has once again proved itself attractive to top level amateur sailors. The number of entries is a solid endorsement of the revised format event. With the last race being inshore and carrying double points it should take the competition right to the wire!"

Greece in Middle Sea Race

At close of entries, the 28th edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race has attracted sixty-nine yachts, one more than started in 2006 and, if they all hit the start line this coming Saturday, the race will have set a new record entry level albeit only just. Perhaps most worrying for the organisers, the Royal Malta Yacht Club, not all the yachts are yet in Malta, which is currently being battered by 30 miles an hour winds. These winds are expected to steadily subside over the coming few days, hopefully sufficiently to enable all foreign competitors to arrive.

Many yachts and crews from abroad have chosen to come back and do the race again. One such case is Sean Murphy who is tackling the race double-handed for the second time on his J-105 Slingshot. He had originally planned to race with Bonello DuPuis, but a turn of fate left Slingshot sitting in Malta. "

The Greek Farr 52, Superfast Racing (Optimum 3), is also back again and in their case for the fourth time. Having won the race in 2004, owners Pericles Livas and Nikos Lazos are keen to repeat their victorious odyssey, as Livas describes, "we first competed in the 2003 Rolex Middle Sea Race finishing 12th. It was the first time the team raced continuously for 5 days. Every member got excited and in the stormy 2004 edition the team returned combat-ready and won first place overall. We could not defend our title in 2005 and then 2006 was a very light winds for us. So this year we are back again and very hungry. We are 15 Greek amateur sailing enthusiasts looking forward to create another great set of memories."

Recalling 2004, Livas tells how the year was an amazing one for the crew, "Greece won the European Championships in soccer out of nowhere and then hosted the Olympic Games in Athens with unbelievable success. As a Greek athletic team we showed up for the 25th anniversary of this race in very high spirits. We raced very well from the start and were among the top 3 in all turning points. That win was major for the team and Greece and we were very proud!"

"The Greek Sailing Federation praised the team, which was very rewarding. But even more rewarding was surfing at 30+ knots of speed on the fourth night out at sea between Pantelleria and Lampedusa on mountainous waves and winds up to 56 knots in a pitch black night heavily loaded with thunder and amazing lightning! We later called it "Hollywood Night" and remains until today the team's favourite experience! And, that is what drives us back."

The Rolex Middle Sea Race takes the fleet on a 606 nautical-mile adventure that starts and finishes in Malta. The start line is unique, lying as it does between the 18th century Fort Manoel and the 16th century bastions of Valetta. The route takes yachts up the eastern seaboard of Sicily to the Strait of Messina, passing the active volcano of Etna. At the second active volcano - the island of Stromboli - the fleet turns west to the Egadi Islands and the northwest corner of Sicily. Here the fleet heads south passing the island of Pantelleria before turning back towards Malta at the island of Lampedusa.

The Rolex Middle Sea Race 2007 starts from Marsamxett Harbour, Malta, on Saturday 20th October 2007. The Malta Rolex Cup, a two-race inshore series on the 16th and 17th October, will precede the main race.

Clipper Round the World Race

Following a tactical decision to move away from the Brazilian coast Nova Scotia has given away second place to Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper. There a chance the Scottish team will also have to tack away from the coast later today but it is possible that Nova Scotia has moved too far from the coast for the boat to regain second place.

Durban 2010 and Beyond has finally cleared the difficult stretch of the Brazilian coast that has been worrying skipper Ricky Chalmers for the last few days. The South Africans have now managed to take advantage of Nova Scotia's tack away from the coast and extend their lead to 63 nautical miles.

Joff Bailey, Race Director, comments, "It would appear as though Durban 2010 and Beyond has a clear run home to the finish in Salvador but the winds can be fickle and unpredictable when sailing close to the shore especially at night time and with more than 200 nautical miles still to cover the positions could change again."

Liverpool 08's tactics of staying further east have finally paid off as they moved ahead of Hull & Humber into fourth place. This lead should be consolidated over the next 24 hours as Liverpool 08 has a more favourable angle on the wind than Hull & Humber. The entire fleet is now in the Southern Hemisphere.

Velux 0 Oceans

Only weeks after announcing that Velux is going ahead with its sponsorship of a second 5 Oceans solo round the world race, organisers Clipper Ventures have hit a major snag: the race has been categorically rejected by the Open 60 class in favour of the rival Barcelona World Race, run by Ellen MacArthur's and Mark Turner's OC Group.

IMOCA, the Open 60 skippers' association, has highlighted what it calls 'previous problemswith the last two editions of the Velux 5 Oceans' and says 'an internal survey showed the race was mostly not part of the skippers' priorities'.

Instead, the class is putting its full weight behind the fourly-yearly Route du Rhum race in 2010 and a second edition of the two-handed Barcelona World Race later the same year.

This leaves Clipper Ventures with a big problem: it will be extremely difficult to attract top sponsors and skippers to the Velux 5 Oceans.

Transat Jacques Vabre

With 60 boats registered, the eighth edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre confirms the success of this race and its establishment as a major classic. Created back in 1993, and indeed ever since, this race, which follows the historic route of the coffee trade, has grown continually both in terms of its fame and sporting interest. For each new edition, the greatest yachtsmen turn up to compete in the Transat Jacques Vabre.

60 boats at the start, while there were 38 two years ago and 13 for the first edition back in 1993. 120 of the top ocean racing skippers will be present in Le Havre, thus confirming the popularity of the ocean race and showing that all of the skippers still have that desire to take part.

Since 1995, the teams in Le Havre have managed to create some exceptional conditions for the hosting of the race, and steadily improved on them with each new edition. Today, Le Havre is one of the top homeports for ocean races. For this eighth Transat Jacques Vabre, a marina is going to be created at the back of the Paul Vatine Basin for the thirty Class 40 boats, with the multihulls and the monohulls spread over the two sides of the basin.

A wide-ranging permanent programme of events is planned for the 7000 m2 village, which will be open throughout the week. It will be open each day from Friday 26th October to Sunday 4th November from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. with three late night openings.

The boats must be in harbour in Le Havre by noon on Friday 26th October.

The prize-giving ceremony will take place in Salvador in two stages. The first evening on Tuesday 20th November will concern the first boats to finish, while a second evening will reward the Class 40 boats on Tuesday 27th November.

Transat Jacques Vabre

Leading British print and electronic media company Pindar, prolific supporters of British sailing, announced that Jo Royle and Alexia Barrier will skipper Class 40 yacht Pindar 40 in this year’s Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV) transatlantic race. Over 40 boats have been entered in the Class 40 fleet which will race from France to Brazil starting on the 3rd November, Jo and Alexia being the sole female duo.

Rolex TP52 Global Championship

Only one race on Friday at the Rolex TP52 Global Championship. But what a race. No huge change in the leaderboard, but when you get to see TP52s screaming downwind in 20+ knots, that seems a minor detail. Peter de Ridder's Mean Machine (MON) gave a heavy-air sailing demonstration to lead the fleet around the course and finish some way ahead of Stay Calm (GBR). Artemis (SWE) kept her championship aspirations on target with a fourth, whilst Windquest (USA) might be forgiven for keeping their heads down after an unfortunate incident with HRH Harald of Norway's Fram XVI (NOR) at the second windward mark. Going into the final day Artemis has a fifteen-point lead.