THERE are just 100 days remaining until the start of the Ultimate Solo Challenge: the VELUX 5 OCEANS. Just over three months from now, a band of intrepid ocean racers will set sail on the adventure of a lifetime, taking their lives into their own hands in pursuit of their ultimate goal: to race around the world alone.
Today marks the start of the countdown to the start day, October 17 2010, the culmination of months of hard work and preparation for the skippers. Setting out from the beautiful French port of La Rochelle in their high-speed Eco 60 ocean racing yachts, they will embark on a 30,000-mile odyssey which will take them through five continents over nine months.
At 4pm CET on start day, a gun will sound and the VELUX 5 OCEANS racers will sail out into the Bay of Biscay on their first Ocean Sprint headed for their first stopover in Cape Town, South Africa.From there they will take on the treacherous Southern Ocean on route to Wellington in New Zealand on Ocean Sprint 2. A rounding of the notorious Cape Horn awaits them during Ocean Sprint 3 before blasting up the coast of South America to Salvador in Brazil. Ocean Sprint 4 is a short 4,000-mile hop up to Charleston in the USA before heading back across the North Atlantic to La Rochelle on Ocean Sprint 5.
Through the creation of the Eco 60 class - for Open 60s launched before 2003 - and by using environmentally practices, the VELUX 5 OCEANS will also spread a message of sustainability around the globe.
VELUX 5 OCEANS race director David Adams said: "The VELUX 5 OCEANS has a rich heritage dating back to 1982 and this edition of the race is going to be the best yet. We have some great skippers and a challenging route with stopovers in some of the best cities in the world. Let the countdown begin!"
From Velux 5 Ocean
