Long wait for The Ocean Race >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News
, 2023-01-04 11:06:42,
by Matthew Sheahan, Yachting World
It’s been a long wait for the next fully crewed lap of the planet since the last one finished in 2018, but finally The Ocean Race will start from Alicante on January 15. The total fleet is expected to comprise 11 boats in two classes, including the VO65 one-designs from the previous two events and a fleet of five fully crewed IMOCA 60s.
Compared to the previous race around the world under former sponsors Volvo, there have been several key changes. The course now has fewer stopovers and some significantly longer ocean legs. But the most recent alteration is that not all the boats are going all the way round.
While the IMOCA 60s will complete a full lap of the planet, including seven legs to finish in Genoa, Italy, the VO65s will sail just the first and last two legs in what the organizers have called The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup.
A new trophy will be awarded to the VO65 team which accumulates the best score across three legs of the race; Alicante, Spain to Cape Verde; Aarhus, Denmark to The Hague, the Netherlands; and The Hague to the overall finish in Genoa, Italy.
The VO65 and IMOCA 60 fleets will both compete in the in-port races scheduled in those cities, although points scored in the in-port racing will only come into play for the overall trophy in the event of a tie-break.
IMOCA 60s go crewed
The last two years have been particularly difficult for the organisers of The Ocean Race. Finding a title sponsor has proved elusive, while…
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