Eleven boats are already meeting in Alicante this week Activity on land is also increasing, with the opening of the free-admission Village Ocean Live Park on Saturday, January 7th, in final preparation for the start of The Ocean Race 2022-23. This is the 14th full-crew world ocean race, and will be the first to feature state-of-the-art, underslung and near-flying IMOCA boats. The VO65 fleet, which previously competed in two events around the world, is now taking on a shorter challenge and competing for the first The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup to feature three concurrent competition stages. stages 1, 6 and 7 of the world tour.
For the five IMOCA teams putting the finishing touches before the start of the race, this is an important week leading up to the In Harbor (coastal) race on January 8 before the big start of stage one of the Ocean Race. Alicante to Cape Verde) on 15 January.
There will be five strong teams on the starting line IMOCA class: 11th Hour Racing Team (USA), Malizia Team (GER) captained by Charlie Enright; Captain Boris Herrmann, Team Holcim-PRB (SUI) captained by Kevin Escoffier, GUYOT environment-Team Europe (FRA/GER) captained by Benjamin Dutreux and Biotherm Racing (FRA) Captain Paul Meilhat.
It’s a particularly intense moment for the quartet. IMOCAs who competed rum route November. Following the completion of the Mediterranean voyage in December, all of these boats have gone through a refurbishment and upgrade process to prepare for full crewed races, and then must go through a measurement process.
“Our team had a heavy workload,” says the captain of the Holcim-PRB Team.Kevin Escoffier. “Thankfully, we have experienced friends at The Ocean Race, which facilitates the organization in terms of sports and technique. I am proud of where we are in such a short time.”
“We look forward to getting back on the water and sailing again. These boats are amazing and I’m really looking forward to seeing how far we can take fully crewed boats. There are five great crews, five great boats and many great sailors in the fleet, so we know it will be important to start well, and the learning curve will be crucial to get a good result once we reach the finish line in Genoa. ”, underlines Escoffier. for 11st Hour Race Team, the final preparation for departure was planned long in advance. The team arrived in Alicante just in time to welcome the new year and is now completing the final details of the preparations.
“Our team has already gone through an intense measurement process, so this last step is a formality,” says Denizci. Jack Boutel After arriving in Alicante. “We couldn’t have done more to have the boat ready, the team ready and ready to start. In all the projects I’ve worked on, the size of the job doesn’t impress you until you get to the port of departure. That’s always the moment you realize the incredible opportunity that awaits you. I think I’m in a transitional phase where I’m excited and a little nervous right now.” . The stress of separation hasn’t gotten over me yet”.
Four of the IMOCAs are currently located at the Ocean Live Park marina in Alicante and are expected to arrive on Friday, after GUYOT environment-Team Europe has received permission from the race management to continue the preparations of their boats in Barcelona until the weekend.
On the other hand, the competing fleet of VO65s Ocean Race VO65 With the last-minute addition of an Austrian/Italian team, Sprint adds six members: Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team (POR) captained by António Fontes, WindWhisper Racing Team (POL) captained by Pablo Arrarte, JAJO Team captained by Jelmer van ( NED) Beek, Ambersail 2 (LIT) with Rokas Milevičius, Viva México (MEX) led by Erik Brockmann and Austrian Ocean Racing – Team Genova (AUT/ITA) led by Gerwin Jansen.
Five of the VO65 are already anchored in Alicante. The Austria/Genoa team will arrive on Tuesday after departing from Genoa and Viva México arrived in port late yesterday. This Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team It was first in last week, followed by WindWhisper, Team JAJO and Ambersail 2 yesterday morning.
There are several Spanish sailors who will be part of many of the crews involved. Officially announced names include Támara Echegoyen (GUYOT Çevre-Team Europe), Pablo Arrarte and Antonio Cuervas-Mons (WindWhisper Racing Team) o Chuny and Carlos Bermúdez de Castro and Jaime Arbones (Viva México) and Simbad Quiroga (JAJO Team).
“It’s nice to come back to Alicante and see the event evolve with so many regatta participation,” he emphasizes. Rokas Milevich, Captain of Ambersail 2. “This is the most exciting time for us. In the last few months we have put a lot of effort into having the Lithuanian flag finally on the starting line. We watch the other boats at the piers, trying to see who has the upper hand. We have a young and enthusiastic team. This sail can be anything and I really want to start.”
Alicante Ocean Live Park will open on Saturday, January 7th Before the scheduled In-Port races for both fleets on Sunday, January 8th. First there will be the VO65 Harbor Race at 1400 CET, followed by the IMOCA Harbor Race at 1600 CET.
All yacht races in Alicante can be watched live on Warner Bros platforms. Including Discovery, Eurosport and also via www.theoceanrace.com. Full details of “How to Follow the Race” will be released this week, with worldwide viewing options.
since 1973 Ocean Race was the toughest test for a team and a human adventure like no other. For almost 50 years, it has had an almost legendary effect on some of our greatest sailors and has been the backdrop on which the legends of our sport are proven.
The 14th Ocean Race will depart Alicante (Spain) on January 15th and conclude in Genoa (Italy) in early summer 2023. The race will visit nine iconic cities around the world over a six-month period (alicante, Cape Verde Islands, Cape Town, South Africa – Itajaí, Brazil – Newport, RI, USA – Aarhus, Denmark – Fly-By Kiel, Germany – The Hague, Netherlands – Genoa, Italy) will have the longest stage 50 years of event history: 12,750 miles, a month-long marathon from Cape Town (South Africa) to Itajaí (Brazil). The mixed crew squadron will pass through three major southern capes: Cape of Good HopeCape Leeuwin and Cape Horn non-stop for the first time in history.
In addition to the five IMOCA foiling teams that will circumnavigate the globe, up to five VO65 single designs will be featured in three stages, with the option to compete for a new trophy. Ocean Race named Ocean Race, Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup.