Velux 5 Oceans Poised to Start

The start of the Velux 5 Oceans is only four days away for the six skippers competing in Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s ’round the worlder. Representing six different nations, this year’s line-up includes some new faces to the singlehanded racing scene — Pole Zbigniew "Gutek" Gutkowski, Australian Garry Golding, Belgian Christophe Bullens and Briton Chris Stanmore-Major — as well as some experienced and successful previous campaigners such as Canadian Derek Hatfield and American Brad Van Liew, who won the race wire-to-wire in Class 2 in ’02. Despite not having a title sponsor — you can donate at the link above — Van Liew is definitely a favorite, with a boat that’s among the lighest in the fleet of the "new" Eco 60 class: Open 60s built prior to ’03 and instituted as a class by the Velux 5 Oceans management in response to the skyrocketing costs and ever-thinning margins of safety in the Imoca 60 fleet.

The course will take the fleet on the longest leg of the race from La Rochelle to Cape Town, South Africa, before dipping into the Southern Ocean and heading for Wellington, New Zealand. From there, the sailors will round Cape Horn before stopping in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, and Charleston, South Carolina. The return leg from Charleston to La Rochelle will be the shortest of the five. You can follow all the action at the links above.