- The Ocean Race around the world has been updated to include an epic crossing of the Southern Ocean
- New Zealand and China dropped as stopovers from revised Ocean Race course
The next edition of The Ocean Race will feature the longest Southern Ocean leg in the 50 year history of the event, an incredible 12,750 nautical mile marathon between Cape Town, South Africa and Itajaí, Brazil – the longest leg in the history of the Race.
This is a return to the roots of the Race, with a massive sojourn through the Southern Ocean, over 30 days of racing, to Itajaí, Brazil, host of the past three stopovers in South America.
The updated race course was confirmed this week.
The race route for the 14th edition of the event has been rationalised in response to the logistical realities of an around the world race in a COVID-19 environment and will start from Alicante, Spain in late December / early January, with the final date to be announced.
From there the IMOCA and VO65 fleets will to Cabo Verde, visiting this African island nation for the very first time, before racing to Cape Town, South Africa.
Then a massive sojourn through the Southern Ocean, over 30 days of racing, to Itajaí, Brazil, host of the past three stopovers in South America.
This will be the longest leg in the history of The Ocean Race, dating all the way back to the very first fully-crewed around the world race in 1973.
It will see a transit of the three great Capes – the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn – in succession, without a stopover, for the very first time.
Following the Southern Ocean leg, and after rounding the famed Cape Horn, teams will stop in Itajaí, Brazil to recharge bodies and boats.
The race course will take in Newport, Rhode Island, USA, before crossing the Atlantic to northern European stops in Aarhus, Denmark and The Hague in The Netherlands.
The Ocean Race will then head to the Grand Finale finish in the Mediterranean in Genova, Italy in the summer 2023.
Regarding the dropping of New Zealand and China, Race Chairman Richard Brisius said . . .
“China and New Zealand remain important to the present and the future of The Ocean Race, and we plan to return to both countries again,”
“We will work diligently with both to explore ways for them to have a meaningful presence in this edition as well.”
The last edition of the race was the closest in history, with three teams virtually tied, approaching the finish line.
After 126 days of racing spread across 11 legs, the winning margin for Charles Caudrelier’s Dongfeng Race Team was only 16 minutes. The top three teams were separated by just four points.
Stopover dates will be announced shortly as the route logistics are fully confirmed.
Entries for the race will be announced by participating teams over the coming months – the list of registered teams can be found here.
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