Velux 5 Oceans

A (big) step in the right direction

Golden Globe and Jules Verne Trophy winner Sir Robin Knox-Johnston provides background to the all-new look recently given to a historic ocean race

These are exciting times for the Velux 5 Oceans. In September 2007 the continuing partnership was confirmed between Velux and the 5 Oceans race, guaranteeing a bright future for what is one of the classic solo yacht races. The past 20 months have seen our experienced team working non-stop to put in place the ingredients to ensure we build on the success of the 2006-7 race, and continue to attract high-quality skippers, partners and media interest around the world in 2010-11.

The Velux 5 Oceans has a rich heritage, having been contested every four years since 1982, previously under the titles of the BOC Challenge and Around Alone. Over more than 25 years the event has created an influential sporting legacy of endeavour and achievement, including peaks of excitement, dramatic rescues and also, tragically, loss of life. The race has consistently attracted competitors from diverse countries who were often little known before this event, including Christophe Auguin, Philippe Jeantot and Isabelle Autissier of France, Bernard Stamm (Switzerland), Giovanni Soldini (Italy), Brad Van Liew (USA), Yukoh Tada and Kojiro Shiraishi (Japan), Emma Richards (UK), Bertie Reed and John Martin (South Africa) and Jose Ugarte of Spain.

As the oldest singlehanded round-the-world race, the Velux 5 Oceans inspired the birth of the Open 60 as we now know it, launched careers and spawned the Vendee Globe. In 2010-11 not only will we be embracing the elite professional sailors in our Open 60 Class, but we will premiere a new concept for short- handed sailing, the Eco 60 Class, which is designed to broaden the reach of solo offshore racing through economy and ecology. The Eco 60 class will encompass Open 60 yachts launched before 1 January 2003 and will feature additional regulations intended to limit costs and encourage positive environmental practices. We are optimistic that the Eco 60 will create a competitive sporting arena for a diverse group of skippers, ranging widely in nationalities, racing experience and motivations.

This new class will take advantage of the large number of third- generation Open 60s that are now for sale. As development takes the newest generation of Open 60 to new levels of performance, and ever increasing budgets, excellent previous-generation boats are sidelined. These tried and tested racing machines, proven in the world's toughest oceans are lying unused; remarkable when you consider that six of the finishers in the latest Vendee Globe – including Sam Davies' Roxy– qualify for the new Eco 60 class. Now the potential of all these fine boats can be harnessed once again.

The Eco 60 class deliberately provides the first stepping-stone, never an easy climb, for the aspiring sailor with a limited budget. It also allows those with an adventurous nature to achieve a life- long ambition and join a very special club, still with fewer than 200 members, who have sailed alone around the world.

The closeness of the racing – rather than outright performance – remains the key media draw in sailing and this is exactly what we are building upon in this class. For the last edition of the race we set ourselves challenging goals and delivered in excess of 66 million euros of media value for our sponsor around the world. This initial, modest success was achieved despite having less than 12 months to plan for the race and with a small fleet. However, it is this sort of return on investment that attracts sponsors to our sport. We ultimately exceeded expectations last time through hard work and innovative strategic planning. An integrated and multi- channel communications programme, delivered by an experienced international media team, saw the stories of the race and the skippers reach a global audience via print, TV and the web. This was recognised by the European Sponsorship Association when the Velux 5 Oceans was awarded the 2007 Hollis Award for Best International Sponsorship.

The Velux 5 Oceans 2010-11 has 18 months to build a bright future for an event that will in turn be even more successful. We have the privilege of the support of a committed sponsor with the vision and financial backing to help us create this new dimension in ocean racing.

We have set ourselves three key objectives. First, to be a global event with an international line-up of world-class skippers. Second, to deliver greater competition through more stopovers as the global roadshow of singlehanded ocean racing. And third, to offer a state-of-the-art ocean racing event via an innovative and integrated multilingual media programme.

This event has always been unique because of the camaraderie that develops between the skippers, their families and shore crews and all the people who travel around the world following these inspiring individuals as they take on the ultimate solo challenge. We will strive to retain this character, yet also ensure that the event remains contemporary, global and cutting edge.

People will continue to contest the Velux 5 Ocean's claim as 'the ultimate solo challenge' as arrogant. Yet the race has carried exactly that billing since it started in 1982 precisely because of the pressure put on our sailors to race flat out on the legs, rather than nurse their boats as they must when sailing non-stop around the world... trust me on this!

The Velux 5 Oceans also covers the greatest distance and time alone at sea of any race around the world. This phrase remains well-founded.

Budgets

No race around the world is inexpensive, however to assist those who want to join a select few the 2010-11 event will actively reward participants through both value-in-kind packages and direct financial rewards, as well as delivering a significant return in global media exposure and hospitality opportunities.

One big change this time is that we are putting up a 500,000 euro prize purse to be distributed between the two classes and evenly spread across the legs of the race. The first 12 skippers to enter will also receive a cheque for 3,500 euros on arrival at each of the stopovers to defray accommodation costs, plus a contribution of 10,000 euros towards their communication costs and 5,000 euros towards shipping.

I hope that you will follow the adventurers of the Velux 5 Oceans in 2010 and visit us as we take ocean racing to audiences around the planet. I look forward to seeing you in La Rochelle for the race start in October 2010!

Below: Bernard Stamm and Cheminees Poujoulatdid not have to wait long for the excitement to start in the last Velux 5 Oceans in 2006. One day after the Bilbao race start the eventual overall winner was fighting for survival in this Force 10 storm in the Bay of Biscay