21 days to ANT ARCTIC LAB departure
by Ant Arctic Lab 26 Jul 2022 07:05 BST
15 August 2022
Norbert Sedlacek Koch in cockpit of IY Open60AAL © Innovation Yachts
21 days to departure of ANT ARCTIC LAB project - to sail non-stop, single handed, and without assistant through all five oceans including Arctic and Southern Ocean.
Clock is ticking; pressure is rising. Besides preparations on the boat like technical equipment, Norbert of course has also to prepare himself physically and mentally for approximately 200 days at sea. This former Vienna's tram driver has only three weeks before his departure to set a new extreme world sailing record.
The departure of this 4th attempt of project "ANT ARCTIC LAB" is set on 15th August from Les Sables d'Olonne, France, the home of the Vendée Globe, the single handed nonstop round the world race.
The project is to sail nonstop, single-handed, and without assistance through all five oceans including Arctic and Southern Ocean. It will cover a distance of at least 32.000 nautical miles. This eventful moment will be tackled by Norbert on his Innovation Yachts Open60AAL which he built himself and his team using fully recyclable and environment friendly materials such as volcanic fiber, balsa wood, and harmless epoxy.
"The goal of this project is also to confirm an environmentally safe sailing with a clean and fully recyclable yacht construction concept which is high performed, long lasting, and safe," says Skipper Norbert Sedlacek Koch which is also Founder, and Managing Director of Innovation Yachts.
13 years ago, in 2008 in his second attempt after 2004, Norbert was the first ever German speaking Skipper to complete the Vendée Globe. He fulfilled one dream of his lifetime to finish the world's most extreme sailing race, the Vendée Globe.
In the middle of all the hectic preparations, Norbert shared a great experience sailing in the bay of Les Sables d'Olonne with sailing monitors and future monitors from Institute Sport Ocean on his Innovation Yachts Open60AAL. The idea was to transmit the passion for this extraordinary sailing world to the next generation.