Waves like prefabs. The Ocean Race, the world’s most extreme team race, has begun

No team race in the world is as long (the Vandée Globe has one-man crews), as demanding, as extreme. It can perhaps be compared to an eight-thousand-meter mountain climbing expedition – at least it is safer, but it takes much longer. The Ocean Race, divided into stages, takes place for approximately half a year, but it has already been nine months. Those who took part say they came back different than when they set sail. This race really changed them and ground them to the core.

This year is the fourteenth sailing, the crews start in Alicante, Spain, sail around the planet across four oceans and end in Genoa in the Mediterranean Sea.

Approximately 32,000 nautical miles (60,000 km) with seven stages awaits the mixed crews. Stops are in Cape Verde, Cape Town, Itajaí in Brazil, Newport in the US, Aarhus in Denmark and The Hague in the Netherlands.

The real treat of the year will be the third stage between Cape Town and Itajai. The month-long marathon measures 12,750 nautical miles. It will be the longest non-stop leg in the race’s 50-year history. On it, sailors sail around Antarctica and also all three great southern capes – the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn.

In 2008-2009, the route was as long as 39 thousand nautical miles (72 thousand km) and lasted more than nine months.

Already the range of temperatures during the cruise is extreme, from -5 to +40 degrees Celsius. The worst weather conditions are usually found in the Southern Ocean, where waves reach the height of a block of flats (up to 46 m) and winds reach speeds of up to 70 knots (130 km/h). However, there is no exception to windlessness, which frightens sailors more than storms.

What do extreme yachtsmen eat during a cruise? Fresh fish only occasionally. They rely heavily on freeze-dried food to minimize weight.

The Ocean Race has been held every three or four years since 1973. It was originally called the Whitbread Round the World Race after its first sponsor, the British brewing company Whitbread. In 2001, the name changed to the Volvo Ocean Race, and since 2019 it is simply The Ocean Race.

This year, two classes of boats are taking part in the race – IMOCA 60 and Volvo Ocean 65, 18 m long, respectively. 20m. While the five IMOCA 60 crews will complete the race, the six second class yachts will compete for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup in three legs: 1st from Alicante to Cape Verde, 6th from Aarhus in Denmark to The Hague in the Netherlands and 7th leg from The Hague to Genoa.

The crews are 7 to 11 people, the peculiarity is the members called On Board Reporter (OBR). Their main responsibility is to send images and video to plant headquarters via satellite. Thanks to them, the race has a huge following. It was last watched by a combined 2.5 billion people worldwide.

If you think there are millions in prizes at stake, you are wrong. Even in this, Ocean Race is extreme. The victory is not rewarded with financial rewards, because the performance in the competition is already presented as the highest prize. However, many crew members make up other professional teams in other major events such as the Olympic Games, the Sydney and Hobart Yacht Races, the America’s Cup or the Fastnet Race.

This year, everyone is focusing on the longest stage. “It’s the section that the shore and logistics teams worry about the most, because if someone has a problem there and makes an unplanned stop for a repair, then time will be running dramatically,” yachting expert Samantha Davies told Eurosport. “For me, it’s the most challenging section that basically defines the whole race.”

“What makes the Ocean Race unique is the fact that it is one of the longest sporting events in existence in terms of time and distance. To sail completely around the world is something that is epic in itself,” said Davies.

Do you think that yachts reach their destination with huge time differences? Error. The last year of the race was the closest in history, with three teams approaching the finish line with minimal gaps. After 126 days of racing in 11 stages, Charles Caudrelier’s Dongfeng Race Team won by just 16 minutes.

Ocean Race uses a point scoring system. The winning team will receive points for the stage equal to the number of entries in the race. Second place gets points equal to the number of entries minus one, and so on. However, two stages will be played for double points: in the already mentioned longest 3rd stage from Cape Town to Itajaí and in the 5th transatlantic voyage.

Teams that do not complete a leg receive no points. So in addition to avoiding damage to the yacht, sailors must also receive the minimum penalty points that can be awarded for any breach of the race rules.

“Changing sails at over 40 knots is probably the most difficult and dangerous thing we do. Six guys hooked with safety lines on the bow are washed away by a huge wave out of nowhere… Then they crawl forward to finish it off,” recounted Djuice Dragons yacht captain Knut Frostad during the 2001/2002 year.