Global Ocean Race 2011-12 Race Brochure

30,000 miles racing around the world

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Global oCeaN RaCeDOUBLe-HANDeD

aN ePIC HIGH SeaS aDVeNtURe

globaloceanrace.com

PALMA CAPE TOWN WELLINGTON PUNTA DEL ESTE CHARLESTON PALMA

GLOBALOCEANRACE 3

the RaCe...

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IN SEPTEMBER 1986 I FOUND MYSELF IN NEWPORT, Rhode Island, watching the start of the 1986-87 BOC Challenge – a single-handed race around the world. For two weeks I had been on the docks helping out any of the entries

that needed it, whether it was running some electrical wires or driving them to the supermarket for last-minute purchases of tinned clam chowder. I was in awe of what these sailors were about to undertake and was seduced by the spirit of adventure and camaraderie that lay heavily on the pontoons.

The invite to witness the start aboard a speedy spectator boat was incredibly exciting, the emotion of then following these ocean gladiators off shore until sunset was intense, but I was totally unprepared for my own clarity of vision as we leapt across the waves heading back to Newport because I decided there and then that I would be at the start of the next BOC Challenge in 1990 – as a Skipper!

This became a defi ning moment in my life and I am ever grateful that I followed my instincts as it led to a life of adventure on the high seas, of friendships made around the world and to a life less ordinary which suits me well.

Watching the sport of short-handed racing develop rapidly in both technology and cost, I realised in 2005 that, sadly, there was no longer an opportunity for the dream fulfi lment of those restless and adventurous “inspired to sail round the world” types - unless they could pull together the multi-million euro budget required to fund a 60 foot race yacht campaign.

The idea of creating a more aff ordable, more accessible round the world race on a traditional sailing route coincided with the creation of a new breed of fast, reliable and aff ordable 40 foot off shore yachts called Class40’s – the concept of Global Ocean Race was born. The fi rst edition of the race was held in 2008-09 and provided the platform for this, the Global Ocean Race 2011-12.

The Global Ocean Race has developed into a highly competitive event for professional sailors and committed adventurers alike – an

around the world race that anyone could aspire to. I remain in awe of the sailors who take up this challenge and we are extremely proud to present them to you. The tenacity and imagination they have applied to putting their projects together is matched only by their desire to succeed in the race. There will be one victorious boat but as far as we are concerned they are all winners. We sincerely hope that you will enjoy following this epic high seas adventure as it unfolds.

Josh Hall,RaceDirector

5 The Race Sponsors

6 The Teams

12 The Route

16 Speed Bumps in the road

18 The Boats

20 Ice gates – burden or benefi t?

22 Cape Horn – drama or dream?

24 The History

28 The Legacy

32 Profi le

GLOBALOCEANRACE 5

Helly Hansen: The choice of ocean racing professionals for staying dry, warm and protected in extreme conditions.

Thomas Coville / Professional sailor with multiple world records

HELLY HANSEN - Official Clothing Sponsor to the Global Ocean Race

CONFIDENT WHEN IT MATTERS

Thomas_Coville_A4.indd 1 16.08.11 14.30

the RaCe...our SponSorS

our partnerS

Frans BudelDOB: 08/11/1970Age at start of race: 41Nationality: NetherlandsPersonal: Married, three children

Son of Nico Budel and an all-round cruising and racing sailor competing in events in England, Norway and Portugal. Frans Budel will join his father for Leg 2.

Bas Bax-KiburgDOB: 25/05/1975Age at start of race: 37Nationality: NetherlandsPersonal: Married

An all-round racing and cruising sailor and son of Nico, Bax-Kiburg has raced in Norway and the UK and will join Budel for Leg 3, from Wellington to Punta del Este.

the teams...

Halvard MabireDOB: 18/11/56

Age at start of race: 54

Nationality: French

Personal: Lives with Miranda

Halvard Mabire competed in his first solo transatlantic race at the age of 20 on a boat which he built entirely himself, and raced it to 3rd place in the inaugural Mini Transat race. He has over 30 years and 300,000 miles of offshore racing experience, with five Whitbread Round the World Races and 32 transatlantic races, including The Artemis Transat and OSTAR to his name. He has won the Quebec-Saint Malo and twice won both the Twostar and the Round Europe Race. He has also participated seven times in the Solitaire du Figaro, including leg wins, and 2nd and 3rd place overall, and held Atlantic and Mediterranean World Speed Records.

Throughout his long career, Halvard has had the opportunity to race with and against some of the greatest sailors. He competed in two round the world races as navigator with Eric Tabarly as skipper, but also had the privilege of Eric being a crew member on the 60’ Ville de Cherbourg on which Halvard won the Round Europe Race in 1993.

Miranda MerronDOB: 02/07/69


Nationality: British

Personal: Lives with Halvard

Miranda Merron started sailing when she was five years-old on the River Seine, south of Paris. By the age of nine she was crewing for her father aboard his International 14. Educated in England, she graduated from Cambridge University before going to work in the advertising world, first in Tokyo and then later

Campagne de FranCe Fra 101

tHe BoatBoat name:CampagneDeFrance

Sail number: FRA101

Model: Pogo40S2

Date of launch: July2011

Builder: Structures/MORA

LOA: 12.18m

Beam: 4.5m

Draft: 3m

Mast height: 17m

Displacement: 4,500kg

Upwind sail area: 115m2

Downwind sail area: 300m2

Designer: Finot-Conq

Theduotookdeliveryofthehull,deckandinteriorstructureoftheirFinot-ConqDesignPogo40S2

Class40inSeptember2010attheirboatyardinBarneville-Carteret,30milessouthofCherbourg.Havingcompletedthecommissioningoftheboatthemselves,CampagnedeFrancewasrecentlylaunchedinJuly2011.

tHe BoatBoat name: Sec.Hayai

Sail number: NED44

Model:AkilariaRC1

Date of launch: 2007

Bulider: MC-TEC

LOA:12.18m

Beam: 4.5m

Draft: 3m

Mast height: 19m

Displacement:4,700Kg


Downwindsailarea:260m2

Designer: Lombard

Thisboatwonthedouble-handeddivisionoftheGOR2008-09.Inthe2011AZABRace,NicoBudelracedSec. Hayai single-handedforthefirstleg,finishingeighthoutof41finishers.OnthereturnlegtoFalmouthsailingdouble-handed,Budelandhisco-skipperfinished18th.TheboatunderwentacompleterefitbetweenAprilandJune2011.

seC.Hayai ned 44

Ruud van RijsewijkDOB: 23/11/1954Age at start of race: 56Nationality: NetherlandsPersonal: Married

An all-round regatta sailor racing in Norway, the UK and the USA. Van Rijsewijk will co-skipper Nico Budel on Leg 1 of the circumnavigation from the start port of Palma, Mallorca, to Cape Town, South Africa.

Nico BudelDOB: 26/9/1939


Nationality: Netherlands

Personal: Married, two daughters and three sons

Dutch sailor Nico Budel will sail his Class 40 Sec. Hayai around the world using the GOR’s ‘Team Entry’ option and swapping his co-skipper at the circumnavigation’s stopovers. At 72 years-old he will be the oldest sailor in the Global Ocean Race 2011-12 and has an enormous understanding of short-handed sailing.

An accomplished solo sailor, Budel won his division of the 2005 OSTAR, a tough solo race across the North Atlantic from Plymouth, England to Newport, Rhode Island. Nico was an entry in the 2008-09 Global Ocean Race, but after suffering keel damage he was rescued by a cargo ship in the Southern Indian Ocean. Sec. Hayai was the winning boat of the last race and Nico has unfinished business to complete.

erik van VuurenDOB: 11/09/1970Age at start of race: 42Nationality: NetherlandsPersonal: In a relationship

A highly experienced, professional sailor, Van Vuuren has raced extensively in events including the Spi Ouest; the Round Europe Race; the Admiral’s Cup; the RORC North Sea Race and has taken first place three times at the Kieler Woche regatta. Erik Van Vuuren will join Nico Budel onboard Sec. Hayai for legs, 4 and 5.

6 GLOBALOCEANRACE GLOBALOCEANRACE 7

“Sailing around the world – that’S my dream” NicO BUDeL

in Sydney and Paris.Having opted for a change of

career, Miranda has been sailing professionally for the past 14 years, mainly in offshore racing, and has competed in solo, double-handed and fully-crewed races, including the Route du Rhum, the Transat, Quebec-Saint Malo and the Volvo Ocean Race. She has won the Transat Jacques Vabre and Round Britain and Ireland races. In 2009, she was navigator with the all-female team on the Open 60 Aviva, when the team set a new outright World Record for Round Britain and Ireland, taking 16 hours off the previous record.

“we are here for adventure, competition and to win”

HALvArD MABire

Ross FieldDOB: 18/04/1949Age at start of race: 62Nationality: New ZealandPersonal: Married, two children

Offshore racing legend, Ross Field has logged no less than five circumnavigation races. With three consecutive Whitbread Round the World Race entries: first on NZL Enterprise in the 1985-86 edition, then racing with the late Sir Peter Blake on the Division A winner Steinlager 2 in 1989-90 and skippering the Whitbread 60 Yamaha to victory in 1993-94 against the combined skills of Dennis Connor and Brad Butterworth on Winston and Chris Dickson and his crew on Tokio. In 1997 Ross spearheaded the Whitbread Race campaign, Americas Challenge. In the 2001-02 Volvo Ocean Race, Ross was the syndicate head and co-skipper of News Corporation.

When not engaged in racing around the world, Ross has raced and skippered in nearly all of the major international offshore events including Round Europe Races, Sydney-Hobart Races, Melbourne-Osaka Races, Bermuda Races, Fastnet Races – holding the Fastnet record for nine years – and numerous other events. He is still racing his own canting keel 52-footer in New Zealand. For the GOR he has teamed up with a favourite offshore companion, son Campbell, and loyal New Zealand sponsor Buckley Systems Limited creating one of the hottest teams in the race.

tHe BoatBoat name: BSL

Sail number:NZL76

Model:Tyker40

Date of launch:2008

Builder:FRNautisme

LOA:12.18m

Beam: 4.5m

Draft: 3m

Mast height:19m


Upwind sail area:114m2


Designer: Verdier

Past names of boat:DesafioCabodeHornos

TheGuillaumeVerdierDesignClass40,Desafio Cabo de Hornos,waslaunchedin2008.Theyachtwassailedtosecondplaceinthedouble-handedclassoftheinaugural2008-09GORbytheChileanduoofFelipeCubillosandJoseMuñoz.TheNewZealandduo,andtheirClass40BSL,werebasedinLymington,Hampshire,ontheUK’sSouthCoast,fortheirrefitwork,trainingandqualifyingprogrammebeforetheGOR.


Cessna Citation esp 112 BsL nZL 76

the teams...

“we are not here to make the numberS up. we are here to win”rOSS FieLD

Campbell FieldDOB: 05/08/1970Age at start of race: 41Nationality: New ZealandPersonal: Married, one son

From 1994 to 2000, Campbell managed racing yachts and competed in all the major events across the Caribbean, USA, Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. In 1997 he was selected for the Chessie Racing team in the 1997-98 Whitbread Round the World Race, eventually completing Leg 1 on Americas Challenge. In 2000 he moved to the UK, settling in Lymington and taking the post of

Product Manager at B&G, the high-end marine electronics company. After a period of running his own navigation system business and dividing his time as a navigator for inshore and offshore races, Campbell returned to round the world racing. He was navigator aboard Brunel Synergy for Leg 1 of the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race, subsequently joining the Movistar team as Technical Manager. During the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race he was Shore Manager for the Telefónica team; an enormously complex and responsible position that included overseeing the build of the campaign’s two Volvo Ocean 70 race yachts. He brings a wealth of logistical and sailing talent to this father-son team.Je

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Hugo Ramón DOB: 15/09/85Age at start of race: 26Nationality: spanishPersonal life: single

Hugo Ramón followed the classic path to pro-racing via Optimists and Lasers. By the age of 18 he began specialising in solo sailing, entering and winning the 500-mile, single-handed Mare Nostrum Race in the Mediterranean. Aged 20, Ramón was the youngest sailor in the 2005 Mini Transat and, a year later, became Spain’s Sailor of the Year. He competed in the 2007 and 2009 Mini Transats, making him the only Spanish sailor with three, single-handed transatlantic races to his credit. Ramón then went on to win the Mini Barcelona in 2008 and 2010. Having introduced Mallorca to the GOR, Ramón was keen to compete. Ramón, Colman and a brand-new Akilaria RC2 could prove to be a winning formula in this highly competitive fleet.

Conrad ColmanDOB: 02/12/83Age at start of race: 27Nationality: New ZealandPersonal: In a relationship,

Conrad Colman’s background is rich with sailing. His grandfather built several sailing boats for the family and was an expert sailor – his father sailed shorthanded in several transoceanic trips, taking him halfway around the world. Having graduated in economics and political science, Conrad decided that his future was in ocean racing and he moved to Europe working in England as a sailmaker and moving to France in 2008 as part of an IMOCA Open 60 team. In 2009, Colman began racing in the Mini 6.50 class with good results,

culminating with the 2009 Mini Transat where he finished mid-fleet.

In 2010 he moved into Class40’s, competing in the Route du Rhum with the Owen Clarke designed 40 Degrees – finishing in 28th place after a very demanding race in difficult weather conditions. Subsequently Conrad was given the opportunity to charter a brand new British-owned Akiliaria RC2 for the GOR and relocated to Tunisia where the boat was to be commissioned. The yacht – owned by a British Airways pilot who is a highly experienced sailor – successfully completed the mandatory GOR 180 degrees self-righting test on 18 May in Tunisia.

Conrad soon teamed up with Mallorcan Hugo Ramón, a fellow Mini Transat sailor, to create a formidable young team that will represent the host of the race start – the island of Mallorca.

“i can honeStly Say we make a great team!”

cONrAD cOLMAN

tHe BoatBoat name: DesafioMallorca

Sail number: ESP112

Model: AkilariaRC2

Date of launch: May2011

Builder: MC-TEC

LOA: 12.18m

Beam: 4.5m

Draft: 3m

Mast height: 19m




Designer: Lombard

ConradColmanandHugoRamónwillberacingonDesafio Mallorca,acharteredAkilariaRC2launchedinMay2011,oneofthenewestboatsintheClass40fleet.

Nick LeggattDOB: 24/02/67Age at start of race: 44Nationality: south africanPersonal: Lives with Phillippa

Nick Leggatt was a crew member aboard Steve Fossett’s record-breaking 125ft catamaran, Playstation. She set the outright Round Britain & Ireland record of 4 days 16 hours in 2002; the Cadiz – San Salvador record and then the non-stop around the world record of 58 days 9 hours. Nick’s next circumnavigation was as navigator aboard Tony Bullimore’s 105ft catamaran, Daedalus, coming second in the Oryx Quest Round the World Race.

Other multihull passages include crewing aboard both Groupama 3 from Cape Town to Lorient and Sodebo from Cape Town to New York as well as competing in the Transpac Race aboard L’Oréal. Nick has also navigated cruising boats in

the high latitudes of both the Arctic and the Antarctic. He has cruised and raced extensively aboard a variety of boats in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, including racing a 1937 International 12 Metre on the European classic yacht circuit. On land, Nick has completed 4×4 expeditions from Cape Town to North Cape, Norway, and across the Australian Outback.


FinanCiaL Crisis gBr 41 pHesHeya raCing rsa 23

the teams...

“racing around the world iS a dream that StartS in your childhood and liveS with you every day at Sea, thiS iS our chance”MArcO NANNiNi

Marco NanniniDOB: 21/04/1978


Nationality: Italian

Personal: single

Marco is half-Italian, half-Slovak and lives in London, where for many years he has balanced a career in investment banking with his passion for sailing. By 2004, Marco had entered the offshore short-handed circuit racing double-handed in several Royal Ocean Racing Club and RSYC events and racing single-handed with the Solo Offshore

tHe BoatBoat name: FinancialCrisis

Sail number: GBR41

Model:AkilariaRC1

Date of launch: May2007

Builder: MC-TEC

LOA: 12.18m

Beam: 4.49m

Draft: 3m

Mast height: 19m

Displacement: 4805kg

Upwind sail area:115m2


Designer: Lombard

Past names of boat: Mowgli, SunGard Front Arena, UniCredit

RacedasMowgliin2008-09GlobalOceanRacebyJeremySalvesenandDavidThomsontakingthirdplaceinthedouble-handedclass.RacedasSunGard Front Arena inthe2010ShetlandRoundBritainandIrelandRacebyMarcoNanniniandPaulPeggs,finishingsecondoverall.RacedasUniCreditbyMarcoNanniniintheRouteduRhum2010,finishingin27thplaceoutof44entries.

Paul PeggsDOB: 18/02/1956Age at start of race: 55Nationality: BritishPersonal: Married, one daughter

Paul Peggs’ experience spans over four decades of serious racing. In the late 90’s, Paul was highly sought after as tactician and trimmer on various successful boats. In 1999 Paul decided to go it alone and built Blue One to enter the 1999 Mini Transat, but was forced to retire following a brutal storm in the Bay of Biscay. Undeterred, Paul rebuilt the salvaged hull of Blue One in 2000 and finally completed the 2001 Mini Transat after breaking and replacing his mast during the first leg to the Canaries. Subsequently Paul raced to a class victory in the 2002 Round Britain and Ireland Race with Simon Curwen. Racing extensively in RORC and SORC events, Paul achieved many top results in the following years including a double-handed class win of the 2007 Fastnet Race and two consecutive overall wins of the SORC Race week in 2008/2009. In June 2010, Marco and Paul competed together in the Shetland Round Britain and Ireland double-handed race on Marco’s Akilaria Class40 and was later involved in all phases of the preparations of the boat for the Route du Rhum and GOR.

Racing Club. In 2009, he won his class in the Original Single-handed Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) from Plymouth, UK, to Newport, Rhode Island. Keen to compete in an around the world yacht race, he acquired Mowgli, the Class40 raced in the 2008-09 Global Ocean Race by the British duo of Jeremy Salvesen and David Thomson. With this boat, Marco has competed in the double-handed Shetland Round Britain and Ireland Race with co-skipper Paul Peggs finishing second overall after leading for three of the five legs. Later, in November 2010, Marco successfully competed in the solo Route du Rhum.

tHe BoatBoat name:Phesheya-Racing

Sail number:RSA23

Model:AkilariaRC1

Date of launch:2006

Builder: MC-TEC

LOA: 12.18m

Beam: 4.35m

Draft: 3m

Mast height: 19m

Displacement: 4621kg



Designer:Lombard

Past names of boat: Atao Audio Systems, Clarke Offshore Racing

Phesheya-RacingisanAkilariaRC1designedbyMarcLombardandbuiltinTunisia.Theboatwaslaunchedin2006andcompetedintheRouteduRhumunderthenameAtao Audio Systems.In2007,theboatwontheMorbihanRegattaandthe1000MileBrittanyFerriesandcamesecondintheTransatJacquesVabre.In2008,theboatwasrenamedClarke Offshore Racing andcompetedintheArtemisTransat.In2009,shecamesecondintheinauguralClass40WorldChampionships.

Phillippa Hutton-Squire DOB: 25/05/83Age at start of race: 29Nationality: south africanPersonal: Lives with Nick

Phillippa Hutton-Squire started competitive dinghy sailing in Cape

Town and later moved onto keel boats. Once she left school, she trained to be a chef and went on to work in Michelin Star restaurants in England. She spent time working on private and charter yachts in the Mediterranean and Caribbean and has crewed and raced on the South Coast of England. In 2009 she teamed up with Nick to sail from Brazil to New Zealand via South Africa, a passage which gave her a considerable amount of high latitude experience.

Together, Phillippa and Nick completed a 4×4 crossing of the Australian Outback and then returned to South Africa and have since been competing as a team in various South African yacht races and regattas, including double-handed events.

“RACINGAROUNDTHE

WORLD–SEAMANSHIPCOUNTSFOR

ALOT”Nick LeggAtt


the RoUte...PALMA CAPE TOWN WELLINGTON PUNTA DEL ESTE CHARLESTON PALMA

Leg 1: Palma, Mallorca – Cape town, South africaStart 25 September 2011Distanceapproximately7,400miles.Durationapproximately37days

The Global Ocean Race fl eet will spend their fi rst days in the Mediterranean, passing through the Straits of Gibraltar and then hooking into the North-East Trade Winds and dropping south towards the Equator and the Doldrums, passing swift ly into warmer conditions as they sail passed the Canary Islands and the Cape Verde Islands.

The Doldrums, known more clinically as the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), or with greater poetry as the Pot au Noir by the French, is tactically diffi cult and mentally challenging as the wind dies

away to nothing, interspersed with violent, thundering squalls accompanied by torrential rain. This area - where the weather systems of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres meet - will be 300 miles of grim hell with the teams oft en carrying maximum sail to catch the light breeze, only to have to reduce sail rapidly to prevent being knocked fl at by a sudden squall. The Doldrums are typically found between the Equator and 10˚N in an east-west band spreading across the Atlantic and is usually widest in the east and narrowest in the west (a general condition that is the basis for the off shore racing adage ‘west is best’). However, the Doldrums are extremely unpredictable and some teams may pass through the area in a few hours, while others may

Leg 2: Cape town – Wellington, New ZealandStart 27 November 2011Distanceapproximately7,500miles.Durationapproximately38days

Cape Town, the Tavern of the Seas, has welcomed sailors for centuries. Majestic Table Mountain rises out of clear, cold water and off ers the sailors a three week respite before they head back out again, this time into the rough and tumble of the Deep South as the waves and prevailing wind rip eastwards around the bottom of the planet unimpeded by any major landmass. No sooner will the racers have passed Cape Point than the fi rst fringes of the Southern Ocean will be felt. Cold, damp wind blowing direct from the Antarctic ice pack across a span of frigid ocean will hint at the danger that lies ahead.

A Leg 2 southern limit for the fl eet is set by the GOR Race Organisation to keep the fl eet away from the empty wastes below 50˚S as the strong westerly winds and massive seas propel the fl eet further south-east. During the 2008-09 GOR, one team recorded Hurricane Force winds of 80 knots in the opening stages of Leg 2 and the high-latitudes of the Indian Ocean can potentially extract a very big price.

South of Australia, where the danger of ice lurks, further mandatory waypoints are positioned to bring the fl eet northwards, away from potential danger. Nonetheless, it will be a time for monitoring the radar and keeping a vigil on deck. Communication between boats will be constant as each sailor knows that their fi rst lifeline, should anything go wrong, will be a fellow competitor.As the fl eet passes south of Tasmania, there still remains around 1,200 miles of racing across the Tasman Sea with increasingly complex weather as the fl eet approach land and the fi nish line in New Zealand.

remain locked in the zone for several days: a situation that drains energy and morale.

The GOR’s South Atlantic scoring gate, set off the Brazilian coast, acts as a point gate, but more importantly it serves to keep the boats well to the west of the St Helena High Pressure System. Those sailors tempted to cut the corner and sail a direct course for Cape Town could fi nd themselves in the grip of perfect beach weather; hot and fl at calm. Sailing through the western side of the South Atlantic adds a huge amount of miles to the fl eet’s route, but should avoid the risk of becoming becalmed and the teams will take a fi ne line south, skirting the high-pressure system, staying in the breeze, yet trying to shave-off miles by cutting the corner.

Finally, at around 38˚S, they will pick up westerly wind on the edge of the Southern Ocean and while the fl eet will be further south than the latitude of their destination at the southern tip of Africa, the strong breeze will propel the boats east with fast, downwind sailing into Cape Town. While taking the furthest route south results in reducing the distance to the fi nish line, there has become in increasing risk of ice in the South Atlantic and the GOR Race Organisation will be constantly monitoring satellite radar images as the fl eet enter the Southern Ocean and will apply a mandatory waypoint to keep the fl eet north if there is a risk of any mpetitors encountering icebergs calved from Antarctica’s ice shelf in the Weddell Sea.

Palma

Cape TownWellington

Punta del Este

Charleston

CAPE TOWN

WELLINGTON

PALMA


the RoUte...

Leg 3: Wellington – Punta del este, UruguayStart 29th January 2012Distanceapproximately6,100miles.Durationapproximately31days

Wellington, the capital city of a nation that is obsessed with sailing, will treat the sailors to a belated Christmas and allow the teams time to regroup before tackling the second half of the race through the Pacifi c Ocean and South Atlantic. Leg 3 takes the fl eet back into the Southern Ocean, this time around the infamous Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America.

It will be another turbulent ride, dodging the worst cold fronts and riding waves that are larger and longer than those encountered in the Indian Ocean during Leg 2 with stronger, more mature and

developed weather systems rolling off Antarctica. The fl eet will sail through the most remote sea areas on the planet passing ‘Point Nemo’ (the geographical point on the Earth furthest from land), south of French Polynesia, and apart from other competitors in the Global Ocean Race, the nearest human life will be the crew of the orbiting Space Station.

For many competitors and spectators, the highlight of a round-the-world race is Cape Horn: the world’s southernmost cape, a rite of passage for off shore sailors and an area with a fearsome reputation for brutal conditions. At Cape Horn, the rolling waves and weather systems thundering around the bottom of the planet suddenly meet an obstruction and the result can be catastrophic for seamen. Drake Passage – a 450-

mile wide channel between Cape Horn and the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsular – funnels the weather creating intensely strong conditions. Furthermore, the area is shallow and the seabed rises from a depth of 4,000 metres to just 200 metres within just 15 miles, creating an underwater barrier that produces monstrous waves and has wrecked countless ships.

Those that are lucky will get a glimpse of this famous cape that has intrigued and devastated sailors for centuries: others will give the land a wide berth as the boats escape the jaws of the Southern Ocean and enter the South Atlantic.

With this proximity to a landmass, tactical options immediately increase. Having rounded Cape Horn, skippers will have the option of sailing through the Le Maire Strait

between Tierra del Fuego and the Isla de los Estados island – a 20 mile wide channel with tricky tides and currents – or sail the longer route leaving the island to port. Next, the obstacle of the Falkland Islands will directly block the fl eet’s path and the decision to leave this remote group of islands to port or starboard will have implications on a team’s overall ranking. Once passed the Falklands, the teams will point their bows north and head for Punta del Este, Uruguay, at the mouth of the River Plate – a city with a rich history of hosting round the world sailors. Here the crews will fi x their boats and prepare themselves in the comforting knowledge that the Southern Ocean and all its dangers are behind them.

Leg 4: Punta del este – Charleston, USaStart: 1 April 2012Distanceapproximately6,000miles.Durationapproximately30days

Two tough tactical legs remain and as spring wakes up the Northern Hemisphere, the sailors will head north, skirting the coast of Uruguay and Brazil with the likelihood of headwinds until passing Recife at Brazil’s easternmost point and turning north-west and easing sheets. With the fl eet positioned far to the west, the Doldrums is potentially less of a hurdle and transition into the North East Trade Winds can be rapid,

providing fast reaching on starboard, leaving the Caribbean to port.

Further north, the welcoming shores of North America lie just over the horizon and Charleston, known as the friendliest city in America, awaits the fl eet. The fi nal days into Charleston will provide potentially tough weather with the eff ects of the American landmass dictating conditions. In addition, the Gulf Stream running northwards along the country’s eastern seaboard can deliver currents of four knots, capable of pushing those boats approaching from the south-east away from the fi nish line if the wind disappears.

Leg 5: Charleston – Palma, MallorcaStart: 20 May 2012Distanceapproximately4,200miles.Durationapproximately21days

The fi nal leg of the circumnavigation is across the North Atlantic with its springtime depressions that will provide fast downwind sailing for the fl eet before they once again arrive in the Mediterranean.

The combination of low-pressure systems from the American continent delivering following winds and the Gulf Stream current pushing the boats in the right direction

supply a favourable start to Leg 5. However, this leg could dictate the overall positions of the entire race and excellent tactics will be crucial as the sailors choose their path through the strong currents of the Gulf Stream while keeping out of the strongest winds of the low-pressure areas.

The most direct route across the North Atlantic takes the fl eet close to the Grand Banks: a shallow area southeast of Newfoundland that can produce hideous conditions in strong winds. When the warm water of the Gulf Stream meets the cold airfl ow from the north, the resulting fog can make the area’s fl eet of fi shing boats and the commercial craft attached to the zone’s oil and gas platforms an additional hazard.

Once clear of Flemish Cap at the eastern extremity of the Grand Banks, the threat of icebergs returns and the GOR Race Organisation will be carefully monitoring ice reports in the Labrador Sea for any evidence of bergs travelling south from the Davis Strait between Greenland and Canada. With the threat of ice astern, the fl eet will ride the low-pressure systems rolling across the North Atlantic, staying clear of the light airs around the Atlantic High Pressure System centred over the Azores Archipelago and keeping a constant lookout for cargo vessels in the busy shipping lanes.

With the close racing for which Class40 has become famous, the fi nal section of Leg 5 from the Straits of Gibraltar, through the Mediterranean to the fi nish line in Palma is guaranteed to be a cliff -hanger.

total distance approximately 31,200 miles. total duration at sea approximately 157 days

PALMA CAPE TOWN WELLINGTON PUNTA DEL ESTE CHARLESTON PALMA

PUNTA DEL ESTE

CHARLESTON

GLOBALOCEANRACE 17

the RoUte...

Modern day circumnavigators under canvas will either be steadfast cruisers

on a prolonged sojourn, or driven racers looking to get from A to B as fast as their slippery hulls can take them. The island groups that are dotted throughout the oceans are viewed by both sets of sailors with very disparate eyes. Cruisers will be seeking pit stops in remote, wonderful places and the chance to replenish fresh food and water stocks; whereas for the racers, these islands are viewed as a navigational nuisance – always in the way,

16 GLOBALOCEANRACE

always causing a diverted course, always providing pace-damaging wind shadows and always creating heated debate at the chart table about which side to pass them by. The Azores, the Canaries, the Cape Verdes, the Kerguelens, the Falklands – all of these present themselves in the headlights of racing yachts and indeed the decisions made in navigating around these fi xed obstacles can dictate who wins a race some thousands of miles down the track.

Whether you believe in Creation or

Evolution, ours is an amazing world which has the most profound balance to its geography, climate and the way we humans interact with it. These islands are an intrinsic part of this balance.

In the 15th century, when the inspired Captains of Discovery such as Portugal’s Prince of Adventure - Henry The Navigator, set out from European shores, they believed strongly in Creation. They also had crews and offi cers who were desperately afraid of what lay over unexplored horizons. Even Columbus lied to his men about progress westwards as they headed into the Atlantic in search of a route to the Indies and stumbled upon the Caribbean. He would tell them the Santa Maria was travelling at half her true speed in order that they would believe home was still relatively close astern. Perhaps a trick played by today’s navigators as well? So we

can imagine how the sighting of specks of land in an empty ocean would have been regarded as the hand of providence by any crew member who - just weeks before - had never ventured beyond the city walls of Lisbon.

The ships used during this Golden Age were virtually incapable of any point of sail other than dead downwind. From their European departure ports they would have to sail before the winds which, indeed, circulate the oceans of the world in a rather convenient way, allowing them eventually to join the dots between Europe, Africa, The Americas, Asia and back to Europe. Winds that as a result became known as The Trade Winds.

This true-grit adventurism with ships of limited capabilities found a balance with the fact that along these downwind routes

were the island groups which modern navigators fi nd so frustrating. These islands provided food, water, colonial expansionism and, perhaps more importantly at the time, massive morale boosts to superstitious crews. They rapidly developed into staging posts for the expeditions which truly opened up the world both commercially and culturally. With the rudimentary navigational aids of the time, these islands became crucial points of reference, their latitude and position in ‘the road’ making them relatively easy to fi nd time aft er time.

The modern day adventurers of the Global Ocean Race, having rounded Cape Horn on Leg 3, will be immediately presented with the dilemma of which side to pass the Falkland Islands. The shortest route up to their next stop in Punta del Este, Uruguay, would take them west; the dominant winds will want to force them east. On the western

side there are dangerous shoals extending well off shore; on the eastern side there are wind shadows and huge fi elds of kelp to sail into. The roll of a dice at the chart table? With a vast array of space-age technology available to them such as GPS, satellite weather pictures and onboard routing soft ware, there remains a healthy element of intuition and luck in their decision-making. Only time will tell which teams make the correct decision.

What is certain is that these small, remote islands may be viewed as speed bumps in the road by today’s racing sailors, but they were essential to the discovery of the world 500 years ago and without that discovery, we would hardly have the sport of round the world yacht racing – now there is a good balance, whether it is Creation or Evolution.

Throughoutthe30,000mileGlobalOceanRacecircumnavigation,thedouble-handedClass40teamswillencounterremoteislandsdirectlyintheirpath.GORRaceDirector,Josh Hall,looksatthehistoricalbackgroundandtacticaloptionstheserockyoutpostpresentformodernyachtsmen

islands 1:CanaryIslandsislands 2:CapeVerdeIslands

islands 3:FalklandIslands©GeovoileRaceTracker

www.geovoile.com

Main image: FelixOehmeatthecharttableofBelugaRacer

©BelugaRacer

23

1

Speedbumpsintheroad

GLOBALOCEANRACE 19

the boats...

18 GLOBALOCEANRACE

the claSS 40JUST A FEW SHORT YEARS AGO the idea of new breed of offshore yachts

was conceived -an affordable performance monohull designed around a simple box rule. The concept was to use modern design-technology to limit the cost

of an offshore racing class of yacht - the Class40 was born.Exotic materials such as carbon fibre are only allowed for the mast and boom;

underwater appendages are limited in their number;keels must be fixed not canting; metal materials are non-exotic and even the number of sails allowed onboard and their materials are strictly controlled.

Today close to 100 Class40 boats have been built and the Class Association arranges an enticing calendar of events throughout each year, ranging from inshore regattas to trans-ocean races and now, with the Global Ocean Race 2011-12, an official around the world race.

Some additional safety features are enforced for the Global Ocean Race 2011-12, a race in which all the boats must adhere to Category 0 offshore racing regulations. The principle additions are extra watertight bulkheads and extra safety equipment plus each boat must pass a self-righting test from an upside down position.

The Portimao Global Ocean Race 2008-09 had four Class40 type boats in its fleet which proved the ocean-going capabilities of this class of boat and has opened up competetive around the world racing to every sailor.

There are numerous Class40 builders, with the production boats being the most popular buys. However, there is also the option of building a prototype Class40 - as long as the Class rules are adhered to and a Class40 measurment certificate is issued, the Class Association will welcome a custom-built boat to their ever-expanding membership with open arms.


the oCeaN...

TheinclusionoficegatesandicelimitsintheSouthernOceanhasbecomeanintegralpartofround-the-worldyachtracing.Isthisfeaturedisruptivetothecharacterofextremeoffshoresailing,oranecessaryandvitaladdition?

Icegates:benefitorburden?

DURING THE FIRST EDITION of the Global Ocean Race (GOR) in 2008-09, there were three fl eets engaged in round-

the-world races in early 2009. As the GOR fl eet left Wellington, New Zealand, for the 7,500 mile Leg 3 of the circumnavigation with the Brazilian destination of Ilhabela plugged into their on board routing soft ware; the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) Leg 5 set off from Qingdao, China, bound for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the back markers of the 2008-09 Vendée Globe race were strung across the Atlantic either side of the Equator in their ascent of the planet towards the fi nish line on the Atlantic coast of France.

Despite the common goal of a competitive, fl eet circumnavigation, the three races were very diff erent. The Vendée Globe is a single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation on 60ft boats with any reliance on outside assistance for repairs or resupply en route prohibited. The VOR is a fully-crewed race with stop-overs on 70ft custom-built boats with 11 professional off shore sailors pushing themselves and their boats to the limit. The newcomer to the round the world arena, the GOR, was a circumnavigation with stop-overs for single-handed and double-handed crews on 40-footers. However, one shared concern for the organisations running each of the events is the safety of the competitors in the remote sea areas through which the boats will pass. The fundamental considerations in the high-latitudes encircling the bottom of the planet are extreme weather conditions, the risk of icebergs and the proximity of land or rescue services.

In the case of a severely damaged boat or an injured solo skipper or crewmember, the fi rst option is oft en to divert a nearby yacht competing in the same race to provide assistance or undertake a rescue. This situation arose in both the Vendée Globe and the GOR: Vendée Globe skipper, Yann Eliès, sustained horrifi c injuries onboard Open 60 Generali in the Indian Ocean and two of the race fl eet were diverted to his position south of Australia; in Leg 2 of the GOR, solo sailor, Nico Budel, developed critical keel problems on his Open 40 Hayai and his friend and fellow competitor, Michel Kleinjans on Roaring Forty, headed directly to Budel’s location. In both cases, the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) was heavily involved and successful rescues were carried out by non-racing vessels: The Royal Australian Navy frigate, HMS Arunta, plucked Eliès from Generali and the bulk carrier, CSK Radiance, took Budel on board.

IN THE INDIAN OCEAN, both the Vendée and GOR organisations supplied mandatory safety gates to prevent their

fl eets straying too far south. Skippers were obliged to pass north of a point on a line of latitude between two fi xed locations, eff ectively ensuring that any extended route south into iceberg territory and away from land was limited. The Vendée Globe, the GOR and the VOR also include gates in the Pacifi c Ocean, although the application is rather diff erent. The Vendée supplied three Pacifi c gates in a series of ‘steps’ across the 5,000 miles between New Zealand and South America: the fi rst and most southerly gate at 48°S drew the fl eet up from the Southern Ocean towards New Zealand; the second step at 46°S prevented any major dive south mid-ocean before the most easterly gate,

1,200 miles off the coast of Chile, at 44°S. The Vendée gates succeeded in keeping the boats north – with the exception of Rich Wilson who dropped to 49°S on Great American III between the second and third gates.

The VOR installed two ice gates in the Pacifi c at 47°S in the western zone and at 45°S to the east for the enormous 12,500-mile Leg 5. The GOR 2008-09 opted for an unbroken, continuous southern limit of slightly less than 4,000 miles across the Pacifi c at latitude 45°S and the fl eet were instructed to remain north of the limit with the aim of keeping the 40ft fl eet away from icebergs, towering waves and hurricane-strength winds associated with Antarctica.

However, in the high-latitudes of the Pacifi c Ocean, the inclusion of gates as a measure to guide a racing fl eet towards land and the proximity of rescue services is of limited value. The southern limit of the GOR fl eet took the yachts to within 1,000 miles of the Austral Islands to the south of French Polynesia, the Pitcairn Island group and Easter Island, although these sparsely populated archipelagos – Pitcairn’s total population numbers 48 souls – may off er moral support, their ability to provide practical rescue assistance is very limited. During the 2008-09 Vendée Globe, French skipper Jean Le Cam on VM Matériaux capsized aft er the loss of the yacht’s keel bulb and although Le Cam was rescued by a fellow competitor, Vincent Riou on PRB, the location of the incident - 180 miles west of Cape Horn – enabled the Chilean MRCC to scramble a spotter plane and make initial visual contact with PRB while the commercial tanker, Sonangal Kassanje, was directed to remain on standby close to the capsized yacht.

WHILE THE MRCC’S COVERAGE is global, the vastness of the Pacifi c Ocean inhibits air support during a mid-

ocean emergency and as shipping lanes in the Pacifi c are generally further north with routes confi ned to the major ports such as Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Manila and San Francisco, immediate help from a commercial ship is unlikely. Cruise liner routes or ships ferrying adventure tourists across the Pacifi c also avoid the round-the-world race route, keeping north and – with the exception of Japanese whaling fl eets - commercial fi shing is restricted to the shallow areas surrounding atolls or along the continental shelf of countries bordering the ocean. So, the stark reality for yachtsmen racing across the Southern Ocean section of the Pacifi c is that the closest human contact is blistering along at 17,000 MPH, 190 miles above their heads as the crew of the International Space Station pay a fl eeting visit before their arcing orbit spins them sharply northwards across Central and North America. The fact that the astronauts will cross the South Pacifi c 15 times each day may be of some consolation to the crews.

In the mid-Pacifi c, the crews heading through the Southern Ocean will be dependent on fellow competitors for rescue and assistance through guidance by the MRCC despite the inclusion of ice gates or a southern limit. For the Class40 yachts in the GOR, the reliability of the boats, the endurance and seamanship of the skippers and the proximity of other teams in the fl eet will become paramount in overcoming the brutal conditions that are an absolute certainty.


the oCeaN...

CapeHornDramaordream?

Main image: ChileanNavyfrigateroundingCapeHorn©ChileanNavyArchive

inset:ThelighthouseatCapeHorninunusuallycalmconditions

©GuyWelborn DEBATE CONTINUES OVER the original discovery of the world’s southernmost

cape: did Francisco de Hoces - the Spanish commander of the caravel San Lesmes – fi rst sight the rocky outcrop in 1526 aft er being swept south while trying to navigate the eastern entrance of the Straits of Magellan? If so, he predates the 1578 rounding of Sir Francis Drake by a little over half a century. However, since the Amsterdam merchant, Willem Shouten, formally named the place in 1616, Cape Horn has been a craved destination and rite of passage for off shore sailors: a prime objective in sailing aspirations, part maritime bogeyman, part Holy Grail.

The Horn marks the northern limit of Drake Passage, a fearsome stretch of water between South America and the Antarctic continent where the Southern Ocean is squeezed through a narrow and relatively shallow gap: a concentration of wind and waves that can produce monstrous seas. The cape’s legendary status and fearsome reputation has fi lled the pages of many books, but the “Long Drag Shanty” conveys a true sense of dread that the area can inspire:

Round Cape Horn where the stiff wind blows,Round Cape Horn where there’s sleet and snow.I wish to God I’d never been bornTo drag my carcass around Cape Horn

Cape Horn has wrecked countless ships and claimed the lives of many sailors attempting to round this barren, rocky, outcrop; the southernmost, drowned peak of the Andes Mountains chain. One survivor of a Horn gale was Charles Darwin during the voyage of exploration that formed his theories on evolution. This experience totally demoralised the brilliant naturalist: “The necessary discomforts of the ship heavily pitching and the miseries of constant wet and cold, I have scarcely for an hour been quite free from seasickness. How long the bad weather may last, I know not; but my spirits, temper, and stomach, I am well assured, will not hold out much longer.”

Darwin’s ship, the Beagle, came within minutes of foundering during the gale due to the captain’s insistence that all the ports for deck drains should remain closed. As a result, all water shipped onto the deck over the bow and gunwhales was trapped, unable to drain over the ship’s side. Fortunately, the ship’s carpenter chose to remain on standby with a handspike and freed the ports in time, saving the Beagle. Darwin’s dairy entry of Sunday 13th January 1833 records this event, just 20 miles west of the cape:

“Our horizon was limited to a small compass by the spray carried by the wind; the sea looked ominous; there was so much foam,

that it resembled a dreary plain covered by patches of drift ed snow. At noon the storm was at its height; and we began to suff er; a great sea struck us and came onboard; the same sea fi lled our decks so deep, that if another had followed it is not diffi cult to guess the result. It is not easy to imagine what a state of confusion the decks were in from the great body of water. At last the ports were knocked open and she again rose buoyant to the sea.”

Although Darwin was clearly in a poor condition during the storm, he was still able make observations: “Whilst we were heavily labouring, it was curious to see how the albatross with its widely expanded wings, glided right up the wind”. These solitary creatures symbolise the Southern Ocean. Their ability to harness the fi erce winds raging at the bottom of the world coupled with a habit of following yachts and ships through remote sea areas has formed a mysterious bond between sailors and albatross: a connection that is highly evident at Cape Horn. There are only fi ve manmade structures on treeless Horn Island.

a T THE SOUTHERN TIP OF THE island sits an unmanned lighthouse

marking Cape Horn and a second light is located above Point Espocon on the sout-eastern end of the island. Behind the second light is a single-storey dwelling housing the Chilean lighthouse keeper and his family. Alongside the accommodation hut is a tiny chapel: a simple building constructed in timber, housing six pews and a plain, unfussy altar. Upon closing this building’s double doors on the gale outside, the quiet within the chapel is entirely unnatural. This almost supernatural aspect increases with the fi nal structure; a massive albatross statue dominating the plain above the island’s southern cliff s. This diamond shaped, iron artwork features a cut-out silhouette of an albatross in fl ight: aligned north-south, the prevailing westerly wind moans through the statue’s void producing a primal and highly disturbing sound. Carved on the concrete base of the statue is a sombre and melancholy poem in Spanish. It is very diffi cult to turn one’s back on the giant albatross:

I am the Albatross Waiting for YouAt the End of the WorldI am the Forgotten Soul of Dead SailorsThose who Sailed Through Cape HornFrom All Oceans in the World.But they have Not DiedIn The Furious Waves,In My Wings they Fly todayTo The EternityIn The Last CreviceOf Antarctic WindsSara Vial. December 1992

WhentheteamsintheGlobalOceanRace2011-12racearoundCapeHornduringLeg3,theywillpassalandmarkthatfeaturesprominentlyinsailingfolklore

GLOBALOCEANRACE 25

the hIstoRY...

24 GLOBALOCEANRACE

territory and tradeThe earliest recorded long distance sea voyages were predominantly European endeavours. Ancient Greek and Roman merchants sailed to India and China carving trade routes from the Mediterranean through the Indian Ocean. The Vikings sailed west across the North Atlantic to escape political turmoil in Norway with Erik The Red and a fl eet of 25 ships settling in Greenland in AD 982, followed just under 20 years later by his son, Leif Ericsson, who discovered Vinland (North America), eventually establishing the world’s oldest national assembly in around 1030.

Approximately 300 years aft er Ericsson’s voyage, Marco Polo and his contemporaries were travelling throughout Asia during the 13th century and Ibn Battuta made his voyages through the Islamic territories of Africa, Europe and Asia the following century succeeded by the Ming Chinese

Voyages around the Indian Ocean in the early 1400s. However, the fi nal decade of the 15th century proved decisive and led directly to the fi rst circumnavigation of the globe: an event triggered by the European thirst for conquest and trade and a major – but fortunate – error in measurement.

Man must measureIn the 15th century, there were no telescopes to probe space and no concept of distant stars and galaxies: outside an enclosed sphere around the Earth was God and Heaven. However, it was understood that the world was round. The myth that Medieval Man believed the world was fl at and explorers were terrifi ed by the prospect of sailing over the edge into a bottomless abyss became embedded by the American author and essayist, Washington Irving, who planted the idea in romanticised work on the voyages of Christopher Columbus. In reality, Earth’s

spherical shape had been generally accepted since the 5th century BC. The problem lay in calculating just how round the planet was. Erastothenes (b. 280 BC), the head librarian at the Alexandrian Library – the ancient world’s MIT - calculated, with extraordinary accuracy, that the Earth’s girth was 250,000 stadia: very close to the actual fi gure of 24,902 miles.

In AD 100, a scholarly heavyweight from Rhodes, Marinus of Tyre, revised the fi gure to 18,000 stadia, or 18,000 miles. A century later, Claudius Ptolemy – the most respected scientist of the age – found favour with the updated calculation and this measurement was accepted until the late 15th century. This did, however, mean the Earth was 25 per cent too small and Europe was 6,000 miles closer to the riches waiting in Asia and potentially within the off shore capability of 15th century ships: a fact that appealed both to seafarers and European governments. Consequently, in

the North Atlantic, John Cabot embarked on successful round trips to Newfoundland and the Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, along the east coast of Africa reaching Cochin at the southern tip of India. Most famously, Columbus discovered the New World while hoping to reach Asia via a quick trip westwards across the Atlantic with the Santa Maria, the Nina and the Pinta.

god, glory and goldNew lands were discovered, cartographers were kept constantly busy and the two world superpowers, Portugal and Spain, were quick to divide the entire planet into two halves. Two years aft er Columbus’ voyage, the Treaty of Tordesillas split the world in two with a demarcation line north-south through the Atlantic. To the east of this line, all territory belonged to King John II of Portugal; to the west, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain reigned supreme.

Aft er some intense diplomatic squabbling, the Tordesillas line was shift ed west, clipping Brazil – the reason this country is the only Portuguese-speaking territory in the Americas. The treaty’s fundamental problem was the exact location of this dividing line in Asia on the other, relatively unknown, side of the world.

The Spice Islands in Indonesia supplied Europe with the raw materials for fl avouring and preserving food: a 15th century commodity that was more valuable than gold and their exact location subject to the treaty was crucial. At the time of the treaty, the Spice Islands were under Portuguese control, but – with no accurate knowledge of the Earth’s true girth - were the islands really in the Portuguese or Spanish sector?

In 1516, the 38 year-old Ferdinand Magellan, a soldier and seaman who had faithfully and courageously served King Manuel of Portugal in campaigns throughout Asia and Africa, proposed a new plan for reaching the Spice Islands via a western route, beyond the voyage of Columbus. For reasons

Thefirstcircumnavigationvoyagesweretriggeredbytrade,politicsandpiracy.Today,theskippersoftheGlobalOceanRace2011-12mayhaveadifferentmotivation,buttheysharemanycharactertraitswiththeearlypioneers.

A brief history of circumnavigationthe North Atlantic, John Cabot embarked on successful round trips to Newfoundland and

sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, along

Columbus discovered the New World while

westwards across the Atlantic with the Santa

were kept constantly busy and the two world superpowers, Portugal and Spain, were quick

Two years aft er Columbus’ voyage, the Treaty

Atlantic. To the east of this line, all territory belonged to King John II of Portugal; to the west, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of

Aft er some intense diplomatic squabbling, the Tordesillas line was shift ed west, clipping

carries their commander’s name and entered the Pacifi c Ocean. It soon became clear that the Ptolemy’s calculation for the planet’s dimensions was far from accurate.

For Magellan and his crew, the Pacifi c was endless, the death toll on board was terrible and the crew were forced to eat rats from the bilge and leather fi ttings from the rigging. Eventually, the sickly and weakened crew reached the Philippines and the gateway to the Spice Islands, but tragedy would soon strike. Dabbling in local, inter-island politics, Magellan and a small party of men became isolated on a beach in Mactan Island and surrounded by natives. Covering his men as the crew attempted to launch their longboats in the surf and row for the ships at anchor, Magellan was attacked: “He refused to retire any further,” reported Antonio Pigafetta, an eyewitness. “An Indian threw a bamboo lance in his face and the captain immediately killed him with his lance, leaving it in his body.”

that have never been clear, Manuel took an instant dislike to Magellan, humiliating the war veteran in front of the Portuguese royal court and telling the old soldier to take his skills elsewhere. A very bad move.

Aft er a period of listless drift ing, stung by his king’s actions, Magellan switched allegiance to Charles V King of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire and was swift ly given command of a Spanish fl eet with orders to sail westwards toward Asia and fi nd a route through to Indonesia. Magellan and his fi ve ships – Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Victoria and Santiago - left Spain in late September 1519 and the voyage into the unmapped, unknown territory south of Brazil is a litany of mutiny, execution, shipwreck, starvation and incredible endurance.

Aft er fi nding a clear passage west at the tip of the South American continent, the fl eet passed through the narrow strait between the mainland and Tierra del Fuego that now

Vintageengravingfrom1878showingstormyseasatCapeHorn.

26 GLOBALOCEANRACE

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Speared through his sword arm, Magellan was unable to fully withdraw his weapon from its scabbard. Another spear was thrust through his left leg and the Portuguese commander fell face down in the water. “On this, all at once rushed on him with lances of iron and bamboo,” continues the expedition’s Italian chronicler. “With these javelins, so they slew our mirror, our light, our comfort and our one true guide.”

Following Magellan’s death, the expedition descended into chaos and piracy under a succession of Spanish commanders with only a single ship returning to Spain in April 1521 under the command of Juan Sebastián Elcano with just 80 of the fl eet’s original 250 sailors on board.

Hoist the black fl ag and carry a crucifi xAlcano launched A repeat, largely unsuccessful, Spanish expedition, but a second circumnavigation by Sir Francis Drake between 1577-1580 caused great antagonism in Europe. Dispatched from England by Queen Elizabeth with orders to attack Spanish ships and strongholds along the west coast of South America, Drake followed Magellan’s route south with the Golden Hind, entering the Pacifi c via the Straits of Magellan.

Aft er leaving the Straits, his fl eet was blown south to 56°S, inadvertently making the discovery that there was no landmass between Cape Horn and Antarctica and left his name, Drake Passage, on this ferocious stretch of water at the bottom of the world. Drake epitomises the ideal of ‘swashbuckling’ for Britons, but was regarded as little more than a pirate by the Spanish for, during one attack on a single ship off the coast of Peru, his fl eet captured the equivalent of £7m in Spanish treasure. Between 1580-1589, the Spanish Franciscan friar, Martin Ignacio de Loyola, made two circumnavigations taking advantage of a global peace treaty between Spain and Portugal and brought the Jesuit brand of Christianity to the Godless corners of the world.

Meanwhile, Sir Thomas Cavendish continued the particularly English trend in circumnavigation on the Desire between 1586-1588 and attacked Spanish ships and settlements in the Pacifi c, including a record breaking haul of treasure from a single attack off Southern California. Just under 100 years aft er Cavendish’s exploits, another Englishman, William Dampier, began an inauspicious trip around the world from the Spanish Main, hitchhiking across the oceans with a succession of buccaneers and pirates and was eventually marooned on the Nicobar

Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean. Eventually, Dampier returned to England in 1691, penniless but with a collection of his notebooks detailing fl ora and fl auna observations from his circumnavigation: information that interested the British Admiralty who funded his second round the world voyage.

Boats and botanyCaptain James Cook was the most prolifi c circumnavigator and surveyor of the 18th century, making three circumnavigations in 1768, 1772 and 1776, mapping the New Zealand and eastern Australian coastlines in the fi rst expedition, circumnavigating close to Antarctica on the second voyage reaching 71°S and attempting to fi nd the Northwest Passage on his fi nal voyage. Unable to fi nd a route through the Bering Strait, Cook sailed south to Hawaii for a one month refi t on Big Island. Upon leaving the anchorage in Kealakekua Bay to recommence exploration, the foremast on HMS Resolution shattered, forcing Cook to return ashore where a long boat was stolen by the island’s natives. As the atmosphere on the beach between Europeans and Hawaiians grew increasingly strained, Cook was beaten over the head, fell face down in the sand and was stabbed to death.

A quest for adventureThe era of solo circumnavigation adventurers began in 1895 with the three year voyage of the Bostonian, Joshua Slocum, on board 39ft Spray: a journey producing tales and adventures that appeared in Slocum’s landmark, seafaring book, Sailing Alone Around the World, sparking a worldwide interest in long haul, off shore sailing. The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914

increased the appeal of solo circum-navigation in the aft ermath of World War I, with multiple and international, small boat voyages including the American, Harry Pidgeon, on 34ft Islander and Frenchman, Alain Girbault with 39ft Firecrest although the fi rst single-handed circumnavigation via Cape Horn was made during World War II by Argentine yachtsman, Vito Dumas on Lehg II.

In the 1960s, single-handed circum-navigation became a British obsession with 66 year-old Sir Francis Chichester on Gipsy Moth IV completing a 226 day lap of the planet in 1966-67 with just one stop over in Sydney, Australia, and Sir Alec Rose – at a comparatively youthful 59 years-old – sailing around the world with stops in New Zealand and Australia, arriving back in England in 1968 to be knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Greenwich using the sword of that pioneering, freebooting circumnavigator, Francis Drake.

A year later Sir Robin Knox-Johnson and Suhaili completed the fi rst non-stop solo circumnavigation event in the Golden Globe Race. However, similar events were slow to materialise: the fully crewed Whitbread Round The World Race (subsequently, Volvo Ocean Race) including a number of stop overs around the planet was fi rst raced in 1973, but a second solo round the world event with stopovers only appeared in 1982 with the BOC Challenge (British Oxygen Corporation Challenge and subsequently, the Around Alone Race and Velux 5 Oceans).

In 1989, the French introduced the Vendée Globe for a non-stop, solo circumnavigation and round the world races and speed record attempts have since proliferated and expanded with the multihull Jules Verne Trophy and the record breaking voyages of Ellen MacArthur and Francis Joyon and now the Global Ocean Race.

A little under 500 years have passed since Magellan embarked on the world’s fi rst circumnavigation and despite enormous advances in technology, communications and yacht design, the competitors in the Global Ocean Race will require the same basic courage, strength of character, endurance and seamanship as this 16th century pioneer. As Pigafetta wrote in a eulogy to his murdered, Portuguese Captain General: “The renown of so valiant and noble a captain will not be extinguished or fall into oblivion in our time. For among his virtues he was more constant in a very high hazard and great aff air then ever was any other. He endured hunger better than others. He was a navigator and made charts. And that that was true was seen openly, for no other had so much natural wit, boldness or knowledge to sail once round the world.” ■

Inthe15thcentury,therewereno

telescopestoprobespaceandnoconcept

ofdistantstarsandgalaxies:outside

anenclosedspherearoundtheEarthwas

GodandHeaven

GLOBALOCEANRACE 29

Global Vision Sailing Trust is a UK registered Charity. As the o� cial

Global Ocean Race charity, GVST’s function in it’s fi rst year will be to concentrate on achieving real and tangible results during the race stop-overs in Cape Town and Punta del Este.

GVST aims to promote, encourage and advance the education of young people in the values of honesty, adventure and competition through the medium of sailing.

We think it is important to emphasise that taking children sailing is not, in itself, a charitable activity! However sailing is an excellent vehicle for teaching life-skills. Acquiring those life-skills, which are the basic building blocks that will allow benefi ciaries to make a real change to their lives, is what GVST is about.

aN IDea IS BoRNOn 28th November 2008 the skippers and race management team of the inaugural GOR spent a day with Izivunguvungu, a local charity. That day, which Dave Thomson described as one of the most rewarding of the race, led Josh Hall to decide that GVST should be formed and that the GOR should be seen to be giving something back to people less fortunate than the lucky few who participate in and follow a race such as ours

CaUSeS Cape TownIn the Houte Bay Township in Cape Town the following makes shocking reading: Intended population 2,000 – current

the leGaCY...

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population 35,000; unemployment exceeds 67%; locals speak of young men beating up their grandmothers to buy “tik’’ (crystal meth); boredom is a major factor especially given the lack of formal educational establishments; burglaries, car hijackings and woundings are common-place; a large portion of the population is HIV positive.

UruguayUruguay has a population of just over three million. Approximately half of the population lives in Montevideo. Montevideo is plagued with increasing poverty and a rising number of street children. Oft en as young as three years old, accommodation and basics like food and clothing are huge problems. The children take to begging, scrounging in bins and working illegally on the streets. Lack of education limits future possibilities and also is the cause of much pregnancy. This situation of children raising children on the street creates a vicious circle.

LeGaCY and CHaNGeWe would love to be able to promise immediate results. But GVST is in this for the long term and the foundations we lay in 2011/2102 are vital to future success.

Working in partnership with existing local organisations, we will encourage, motivate

and help individuals to realise that life is and can be better. Our ultimate legacy will be to identify and train individuals who will be

leaders for change in their own communities. It is a “huge ask” and one that can be

achieved through life-skills coaching using sailing as a medium.

FUNDINGGVST’s funding includes philanthropic donations; the income from a virtual race run in conjunction with GOR; donations from other UK charities and through fundraising activities. Individual sponsors and Race sponsors will also provide funding.

YoUR RoLe IN CHaNGe£4,000 will buy a new dinghy; £2,000 will provide the salary of a local “life-skills coach” for 4 months; £1,000 will pay for transport to a GVST “Centre for Change” 5 days a week for 3 months; £500 will buy wet suits and life jackets; £100 will buy refreshments and hot drinks aft er sailing for a month; £50 will buy a boat and sail repair kit; £25 will allow a “life-skills” coach to buy his or her teaching aids for a year.

A little money will go a long, long way.

given the lack of formal educational establishments; burglaries, car hijackings and

GLOBALOCEANRACE 31

a GROUND-BREAKING PARTNERSHIP between the Environmental Investigation

Agency (EIA) and the Global Ocean Race (GOR) includes a ‘green’ mandate for GOR teams during the double-handed, Class 40 around-the world-race; a drive to raise awareness of the problem of collisions between yachts and whales; an international education programme; vital data collection by the GOR teams throughout the circumnavigation.

The GOR’s Notice of Race (NOR) includes a set of criteria to which the teams must comply when in port and when racing, with rubbish disposal, biofouling measures and renewable power among the priorities. Jennifer Lonsdale, Director of EIA, has been a driving force behind this essential initiative: “This is an exciting new opportunity to set high standards for environmental responsibility among the sailing community,” she enthuses. “We hope that standards set by the Global Ocean Race will be adopted by other race organisers and sailing clubs around the world.”

For Lonsdale, one of the key issues for the alliance is the increasing incidence of whale strikes: “Collisions between whales and sailing yachts threaten the lives of both whales and sailors and can cause catastrophic damage to vessels,” she says.

“The EIA-GOR partnership, in collaboration with the International Whaling Commission (IWC), aims to increase awareness of this threat and to work with the international sailing community, scientists and experts to fi nd ways to prevent collisions.” EIA operates a non-blame policy for whale strikes. Reporting collisions and whale sightings by GOR teams will support important scientifi c research.

The GOR teams will be racing in sea areas beyond the range and budget of research vessels and the potential for gathering environmental information including of marine debris, is considerable. “Ocean sailors go to places other mariners do not,” says Lonsdale. “We wish to build a programme of data collection, to which the Global Ocean Race teams can contribute and enhance our knowledge of the oceans and the species inhabiting them.”Find out more at:www.globaloceanrace.comwww.eia-international.orgwww.iwcoffi ce.org

EnvironmentalInvestigationAgency–GlobalOceanRaceAlliance

Who are eIa?EIAwasestablishedin1984toinvestigate,exposeandcampaignagainsttheillegaltradeinwildlifeandthedestructionofournaturalenvironment.

Workingundercovertoexposeinternationalenvironmentalcrime-suchastheillegaltradeinendangeredspecies,illegalloggingandtradeintimberspecies,andtheworld-widetradeinozonedepletingsubstances-EIAhasdirectlybroughtaboutchangesininternationallawsandthepoliciesofgovernments,savingthelivesofmillionsofrareandendangeredanimalsandputtingastoptothedevastatingeffectsofenvironmentalcriminals.

EIAisasmallorganisationwhichreliesondonationsfromthepublic,thesupportofitsmembers,theeffortsofvolunteerfundraisersandthesupportofcharitablefoundations.Itseffortshavesavedthelivesofmillionsofanimals.

EIA’sfocusedandhard-hittingcampaignshavemadeitoneofthemostsuccessfulconservationgroupsintheworld.

Althoughambitious,EIA’scampaignsandprojectshavedefinedandachievedgoalstogaingreaterprotectionforwildlifeandtheenvironment.Itstrackrecordofundercoverwork,scientificdocumentationandrepresentationatinternationalconventionshasearneditaworld-widereputationforhighlyeffectiveandsuccessfulcampaigning.EIAalsocontinuestosharetheseskillswithlocalgroupsandgovernmentofficialstohelpempowertheminthefightagainstenvironmentalcrime.

eiA 62-63UpperStreet,London,N10NY,UK+44(0)2073547960

the leGaCY...

a sperm whale fatally injured by a vessel(inset) the cosequence of rubbish dumped at sea

100% emotion + 100% sailing = 100% celox sailing

is more than just a sailing school. It combines state of the art boats, highly skilled coaches and the most beautiful pa-norama at Austria’s lake Traunsee.

celox sailing academy

takes you on new adventures, innovative cruises and mira-culous spots at the end of the world.

celox in-motion

in cooperation with OneSails the sail loft at Lake Attersee has the perfect solution for your boat, from covers, to sails and accessories.

celox sailmakers

takes care of bord electronics, navigation, water and energy systems, safety training, trimming and tuning.

celox service

your gateway to equipment supply. From ropes to fashion, accessories and every other demand.

celox commerce

is continuously testing the teams skills in various races all over the world!

celox racing

The 6 “knots”

celox racingcelox sailmakerscelox service

Celox derives from the Latin and stands for “swift-sailing yacht.” Though speed doesn’t always come fi rst at celox sailing, the name is a synonym for where we come from and what we strive to achieve. A mark designation that pin points this idea and draws interest. celox sailing stands for a completely new and revolutionary package, a new ser-vice, new know-how and above all – new possibilities.

… in a nut shell: celox sailing stands for a new course!

Based in Austria celox sailing consists of 6 “knots”and operates nationally as well as internationally. The ma-naging board, as the main offi ce, is accommodated at the headquarters in Linz.

celox sailingthe new formula!

GLOBALOCEANRACE 31

tHE HIGHLY ExPERIENCED offshore racing expert, Sylvie Viant, has joined

the Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR) as a vital member of the Race Organisation team. Viant will be supporting the GOR Race Director, Josh Hall, with special responsibility for scrutineering the double-handed Class40 fleet throughout the circumnavigation and ensuring the safety of the teams offshore.

Viant brings valuable firsthand, offshore experience and an exceptional depth of knowledge to the GOR team: in 1973-74, she crewed in the Whitbread Round the World Race on board Grand Louis - skippered by her father – and later completed two legs in the 1981 edition of the event. While she has competed in numerous transatlantic, fully-crewed, monohull races, Viant is best known onshore for her tenure as Technical Manager of the French offshore racing authority UNCL (Union Nationale pour la Course au Large) during which she became an integral part of the race management team behind her country’s premier offshore events including the Route du Rhum; the Tour de France à la Voile; the Vendée Globe and the Transat Jacques Vabre. Her reputation and skill has crossed the English Channel where Viant was Race Director for the British-run

2004 Transat and the 2008 Artemis Transat and she has also worked in Spain for the 2007-08 Barcelona World Race. Currently, Viant is part of the 12-strong FFVoile team on the Race Committee of the single-handed Route du Rhum – La Banque Postale.

DURING THE GOR, Sylvie Viant will take the role of Co-Race Director with

responsibility for overall crew safety and scrutineering the Class40 fleet pre-start in Mallorca, ensuring each boat complies with the race rules, carries the correct safety gear and meets the stringent Category 0 offshore regulations. Viant and her team will also visit each of the four stopover ports (Cape Town, South Africa; Wellington, New Zealand; Punta del Este, Uruguay and Charleston, South Carolina, USA). While the yachts are at sea, Viant and Hall will lead a team that provides essential 24-hour fleet monitoring via the OCTracker Yellowbrick satellite transmitters supplied by GOR Race Partner, OC Technology, and fitted to each boat. The team will also be on call to advise the crews over any issues or concerns. The task for Viant and her team is time consuming and requires meticulous attention to detail despite the relative simplicity of Class40 yachts and every technicality of the boats

will be inspected from the condition of each life raft to the sail inventory. In the stopovers, any major or structural repairs will be inspected, but thorough checks will also be made. It is also an opportunity for her to circle the world with a race fleet for the first time since the early 1980’s: “It’s going to be a bit like the old Whitbread I raced in,” she says. Viant is also a supporter of the rapidly expanding Class40 Association and the GOR: “I really like Class40,” she confirms. “The class is a mixture of professionals and amateurs, which provides exciting racing for the teams and for spectators. There are some crews doing the Global Ocean Race for pleasure and for the experience of racing around the world; not for the glory or the money that victory can bring, and I think this makes a really big difference to the atmosphere and appeal of a race.”

For Josh Hall, Race Director of the GOR, Sylvie Viant’s appointment was of vital importance: “Sylvie is one of the most highly respected race officials in the world and we are all absolutely delighted that she agreed to join us as Co-Race Director,” says Hall. “I greatly admired her skills and character and it has been a long-held ambition to have her involved in the GOR,” he adds. “Welcome onboard Sylvie!”

Co-RaceDirector–SylvieViant

the people...

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Documents

Global Ocean Race 2011-12 Race Brochure