Race route announced for VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010-211

Clipper Ventures PLC, organisers of the VELUX 5 OCEANS yacht race, confirm the route for the 2010-11 race © Velux 5 Oceans

Five Ocean Sprints within a Marathon Solo Circumnavigation of the Planet

Clipper Ventures PLC, organisers of the VELUX 5 OCEANS yacht race, are pleased to confirm the route for the 2010-11 race, the eighth edition of the classic solo yacht race since it was first established in 1982.

Following the announcement in October that the city of La Rochelle (France) will host the start and finish, the Race Management is pleased to confirm that there will be five Ocean Sprints:

1. Cape Town Ocean Sprint: 7,500 nautical miles from La Rochelle (France) to Cape Town (South Africa), starting October 17, 2010
2. Wellington Ocean Sprint: 7,000 nautical miles from Cape Town (South Africa) to Wellington (New Zealand)
3. Salvador Ocean Sprint: 7,400 nautical miles from Wellington (New Zealand) to Salvador (Brazil)
4. Charleston Ocean Sprint: 4,000 nautical miles from Salvador (Brazil) to Charleston (USA)
5. La Rochelle Ocean Sprint: 3,600 nautical miles from Charleston (USA) to La Rochelle (France)

David Adams, Race Director concluded, “We are excited to announce the race route for the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010-11 with just under two years to go until the race start from La Rochelle. We have spent 12 months in discussions with potential skippers to listen to their needs and build on the lessons from the last event. In 2006-07, our three legs were designed to reduce costs for skippers, but the long distances resulted in the fleet becoming too spread and led to higher than anticipated costs due to the long stops in Australia and USA. So we have returned to a traditional format of five Ocean Sprints, and are delighted to have found such strong support with partners in La Rochelle, Cape Town, Wellington, Salvador and Charleston. We will announce the dates and timings of the Ocean Sprints and City Pit Stops in 2009.”

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. Each Ocean Sprint offers unique challenges faced by the skippers, including the tactical difficulties of approaching the coast lines and the varying weather and ocean patterns. It is also a truly international ocean race, visiting five continents and offering a worldwide media profile over an eight month period.

David Adams continued, “The racing itself is 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.”

“Over the next two years we will work with our new 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. However, we are well aware that the unique nature of the event, comparable only to the Volvo Ocean Race in terms of the time and resources required to participate, makes it a high cost commitment. Clipper Ventures is therefore working with VELUX to ensure that The Ultimate Solo Challenge is a cost-effective platform for skippers and sponsors seeking a truly global event.”

VELUX and Clipper Ventures made an additional joint announcement today in Paris, revealing a significant investment and value in kind package for participating skippers. VELUX is providing a €500,000 Skipper Prize Fund and a further €700,000 to be invested in accommodation, logistics and communication for skippers, designed to reduce budgets and incentivise skippers to enter the race. Clipper ventures will match this investment with an additional €600.000 of value in kind in order to assist with budgets and further reduce cost burdens.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Chairman of Clipper Ventures PLC, concluded, “The stopovers make it a much richer experience for sailors, sponsors and spectators alike. It’s a true journey around the world, experiencing other cultures and people, as well as the challenges of the oceans.”

“However, there is no denying that our classic race format, with 4 pit stops around the world, makes the event more expensive for competitors and their sponsors than a non-stop race. VELUX and Clipper Ventures are to therefore jointly deliver €1.8 million of value to skippers, designed to attract inspirational sailors from a broad range of nations.”

The Race Route 2010-11

Ocean Sprint 1 to Cape Town sees the South African city welcome back the race for the seventh time. The city’s ideal position as the meeting point of two great oceans means that the fleet can push hard through the Atlantic after battling through the Bay of Biscay departure from La Rochelle (set for October 17, 2010).

Ocean Sprint 2 to Wellington sees the race returning to New Zealand for the third time, having previously visited Tauranga and Auckland, in 2002 and 1998 respectively. 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 to Salvador sees the VELUX 5 OCEANS return to Brazil for the first time since the inaugural race in 1982. Although this will be the first time hosting this race for Salvador, the Bahian city is no stranger to offshore racing, hosting both the Transat Jacques Vabre and Transat 6.50 events. The fleet will arrive just in time for the Salvador Carnival, the biggest in Brazil, the perfect remedy after the hardships of the Southern Ocean, Cape Horn and the South Atlantic.

Ocean Sprint 4 to Charleston sees the East Coast USA port welcome the race for third time. The fleet will battle the Doldrums for the second time and face the storms off the American coast before arriving in the historic city in South Carolina.

Ocean Sprint 5 to La Rochelle will be a high adrenaline race across the North Atlantic and back into the Bay of Biscay, where La Rochelle will celebrate the unique achievements of completing The Ultimate Solo Challenge.

The VELUX 5 OCEANS Race Management Team is working hard to ensure the 2010-11 event is a rewarding experience for skippers, sponsors, host ports and spectators alike.

Unprecedented support for the skippers of the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010/11

€1.8 million of value for skippers of the next VELUX 5 OCEANS to be delivered by VELUX and Clipper Ventures PLC, including a Skipper Prize Money Pot of €500,000

The VELUX Group, title sponsor of The Ultimate Solo Challenge, and Clipper Ventures PLC, the organisers of the original solo ocean race around the world, announce an unprecedented skipper support package for the VELUX 5 OCEANS, committing to jointly deliver over €1.8 million of value for competitors in prize money and key services such as skippers’ accommodation, logistics and communication.

“The race management and VELUX are committed to ensuring that the VELUX 5 OCEANS is an attractive proposition for sponsors, especially during a challenging economic environment. VELUX and Clipper Ventures PLC will therefore make a direct and major investment in the skippers and their teams to assist with budgets and reduce cost burdens. It’s our hope that this investment will encourage some of the most inspirational skippers in the world to participate in the race.” Kent Holm, VELUX Market Communications Manager

VELUX has committed to deliver €1.2 million of value for competitors in prize money and key services to the skippers. The 2010 race will see a €500,000 skipper prize fund – one of the biggest on the Open 60 circuit. The division of the prize money will be decided in 2010 in partnership with Clipper Ventures following consultation with skippers entered in the race.

“We are delighted to make €500,000 available as the Prize Fund for skippers in the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010-11. This is one of the largest pots of prize money on the Open 60 Circuit and will surely help break down barriers to participate in our race. At the same time the prize money will encourage a healthy and ongoing competition amongst the skippers in the next race”, says Kent Holm

As partners, VELUX and Clipper Ventures are well aware of the costs for skippers and their teams to participate in this classic ocean race. VELUX has therefore committed to invest a further €700,000 across important services such as skippers’ accommodation, logistics and communication. Clipper Ventures has equally committed to match this investment with an additional €600,000 of value in kind in order to assist with budgets and reduce cost burdens.

“Skippers who enter the race will directly benefit from this investment, which will reduce significant cost from their campaign budgets and make the race an attractive prospect for sailors and sponsors alike.” says Kent Holm

“There is no denying that our format is more expensive for competitors and their sponsors than a non-stop race. Our partner VELUX has demonstrated a great commitment to the skippers and Clipper Ventures will support their investment in order that The Ultimate Solo Challenge is a cost-effective platform for skippers and sponsors. We will therefore together return €1.3 million of value to skippers within the most important areas of their campaign budget.” David Adams, Race Director of the VELUX 5 OCEANS, Clipper Ventures PLC