yacht around the world race

What is The Ocean Race?

The Ocean Race is often described as the longest and toughest professional sporting event in the world, sailing’s toughest team challenge and one of the sport’s Big Three events, alongside the Olympic Games and America’s Cup.

To truly understand the race, though, it’s better to think of it in a way the athletes who take part will recognise immediately. Put simply, The Ocean Race is an obsession, and many of the world's best sailors have dedicated years, even decades of their lives trying to win it.

Take Sir Peter Blake, who competed in the first edition of what was then the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973-74 and came back again and again until he finally conquered his Everest, securing an overwhelming victory with Steinlager 2 in 1989-90. Only then was he able to fully turn his attention to other projects.

The race sits, just as it always has, at the intersection of human adventure, and world-class competition. Thanks to the work of the Onboard Reporters embedded with every team, fans are given a unique insight into just what it takes to win a race that is relentless in its demands – as teams give everything they have, 24 hours a day, in pursuit of the tiny advantages that can make all the difference.

The race’s concept is simple: it’s a round-the-clock pursuit of competitive edge and the ultimate ocean marathon, pitting the sport’s best sailors against each other across the world’s toughest waters. It’s relentless: the importance of winning, the adventure of life on board, the transformative effect on the sailors — all of these combine to give the race its power and depth.

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.

A total of 2.5 million people visited the Race Villages during the 2017-18 event, getting a first-hand taste of the action. Millions more followed the action on our digital platforms, television and via the news as the race set new high-marks for international coverage.

Now we enter a new era as the event continues to evolve. Two classes will compete in the 2022-23 edition of the race with the addition of the high-tech, foiling IMOCA 60 class adding a design and technical element. The one-design VO65 fleet will race for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup over three legs: Leg 1 from Alicante, Spain to Cabo Verde, Leg 6 from Aarhus, Denmark to The Hague in the Netherlands, and Leg 7 from The Hague to Genova, Italy.

Following the success of our ground-breaking and award-winning sustainability efforts in the last race, sustainability will continue to be a core value of the race as we go forward, as we redouble our efforts to restore ocean health and lead, inspire and engage on this critical issue.

The 14th edition of The Ocean Race started from Alicante, Spain on January 15th 2023, and will finish in Genova, the Grand Finale, in Italy early in the summer of 2023. The race visits nine iconic cities around the globe over a six-month period (Alicante, Spain - Cabo Verde - Cape Town, South Africa - Itajaí, Brazil - Newport, RI, USA - Aarhus, Denmark - Kiel Fly-By, Germany - The Hague, the Netherlands - Genova, Italy) and features a leg with the longest racing distance in the 50-year history of the event - a 12,750 nautical mile, one-month marathon from Cape Town, South Africa to Itajaí, Brazil. The IMOCA fleet of mixed crews will pass all three great southern Capes - Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin, Cape Horn - non-stop, for the first time.

How the race is won

Although at its most fundamental level the perfect strategy for  winning The Ocean Race comes down to simply scoring more points than  your competitors, there is much more involved in emerging victorious  from a five-month, 32,000-nautical mile (36,825-mile / 60,000-kilometre)  race around the world.

The Ocean Race uses a high points scoring system with the winning  team on an offshore leg awarded points equal to the number of entries in  the race. Second place gets points equal to the number of entries minus  one – and so on down the finishing order.

However, double points are up for grabs on two of the legs: the  monster 12,750-nautical mile (14,672-mile / 23,613-kilometre) Southern  Ocean passage on Leg 3 from Cape Town, South Africa to Itajaí in Brazil –  the longest in the race’s 50-year history – and the transatlantic  crossing on Leg 5 from US city Newport, Rhode Island to Aarhus in  Denmark.

The points on Leg 3 will be split between the order in which the teams  pass the longitude of 143 degrees east – and their finishing order at  the end of the leg. On Leg 5 the points will be doubled based on the  teams’ finishing order on the 3,500-nautical mile (4,028-mile /  6,482-kilometre) transatlantic crossing.

With the rules dictating that teams which fail to finish a leg shall  receive no points, the crews will need to manage their instinct to push  their boats and themselves flat out with the need to avoid sustaining  damage that might slow them down or even force them to retire.

As well as avoiding damage the sailors need to avoid incurring penalty  points that can be awarded for any transgressions to the race’s rules,  such as entering race imposed exclusion zones, measurement violations,  and anything else deemed to be a breach of the regulations.

The final standings at the end of the race are determined based on the  teams’ total score for all of the legs – less any penalty points. The  team with the highest series score wins with others ranked accordingly.  Ties on overall points are throughout the race broken in favour of the  boat with the highest overall position in the In-Port Series.

In The Ocean Race 2017-18 after racing for eight months around the world  the top three teams were so close on points starting the final leg from  Gothenburg, Sweden to The Hague in the Netherlands that the eventual  winner – China’s Dongfeng Race Team – was not decided until the last few  miles to the finish line.

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3 Months And 24,000 Miles Later, Vendée Globe Competitors Complete Race

Eleanor Beardsley

After sailing 24,000 miles nonstop in a nearly three-month journey, competitors in the Vendée Globe — an around-the-world solo yacht race — are expected to finish at a French port on Wednesday.

Copyright © 2021 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

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In the August 2024 issue of Yachting World magazine: News Few finish a tempestuous Round The Island Race European rules are eased for cruising to France and Greece Olympic sailing…

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Legendary yachts set off on ‘retro’ round the world race as Ocean Globe Race starts

• Helen Fretter
• September 10, 2023

Fourteen teams, racing on iconic yachts such as Maiden and Pen Duick VI, start the crewed ‘retro’ around the world race, the Ocean Globe Race

Amost exactly 50 years to the day since the first Whitbread Round the World Race, the latest ‘retro’ race, the Ocean Globe Race , set off today from Cowes, UK.

Fourteen teams racing in three classes set off on a single start from the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line, with fluky conditions in the Solent granting the fleet a brief window of 10-15 knot breezes to get over the line and make for spectacular scenes, though shortly after the breeze faded to zephyrs as the fleet made their way west.

The Ocean Globe Race fleet, with Pen Duick VI nearest camera, shortly after starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes

The Ocean Globe Race is the latest ‘retro’ race to pay homage to the ground-breaking ocean and offshore races of yesteryear, this one a crewed around the world with-stops, which is intended to capture the spirit of the first Whitbread Round the World Race, and is organised by Don McIntyre, who is also the man behind the Golden Globe Race modern editions.

This week marked the 50th anniversary of the Whitbread Round the World Race, which first set out from Portsmouth, UK on 8 September 1973.

Thanks to an anonymous donor, the support of MDL Marinas, and a lot of tireless work behind the scenes, the Ocean Globe Race (unlike the Golden Globe Race, which moved to France for its reincarnation) started once again from the Solent, with the race village hosted in Ocean Village, Southampton, before the fleet set off from the Royal Yacht Squadron line off Cowes today.

A busy pre-start for the Ocean Globe Race fleet leaving Cowes, UK

Despite some unforcast rain shortly before the start, an impressive and eclectic spectator flotilla gathered to see the fleet off, with a slightly authentic Whitbread-era air of chaos as the 14 race yachts milled around pre-start amongst RIBS, race yachts, classics, spectator ferries, and a vintage steam ship.

Nevertheless, all fourteen got away cleanly without incident and were swiftly demonstrating some old-school boat handling skills: Galiana WithSecure hoisting her blooper sail shortly after the downwind start, while L’Esprit d’Équipe demonstrated a twin-pole gybe.

Iconic Ocean Globe Race entries

The Ocean Globe Race has attracted some truly legendary yachts. Most famous on this side of the Channel – and certainly attracting the greatest spectator flotilla – is Tracy Edwards ’ Maiden . The Bruce Farr-designed 58-footer, which twice competed in the Whitbread Round the World Race, is the only all-female team in the race, repeating the history of Tracy Edwards’ famous 1989 race, and is skippered by Heather Thomas.

After falling into near total disrepair, Maiden was rescued by Edwards and had a major refit in 2017/18 ahead of a world tour to raise funds and awareness for girls’ education. In order to bring her back into race trim additional bunks have been added, as Maiden will race with a crew of 12, a new sail wardrobe, additional heating for the Southern Ocean stages.

Thomas said: “We’ve really pitched her towards winning the race, performance wise we’ve got four different headsails, four different spinnakers, so we’re really going to be pushing her to her limit to try and beat Marie [Taberly] and Pen Duick , and Neptune and Translated and all of them! So we’re really trying to push as hard as we can.”

Whilst Maiden has broken many glass ceilings, an all-female team has never won a crewed around the world race, so that is the team’s ultimate goal.

The iconic Ocean Globe Race yacht Pen Duick VI, skippered by Marie Tabarly, is one of the hardest raced entrants in recent years, here competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race. Credit: Kurt Arrigo/Rolex

Maiden is racing in the highly competitive Flyer class, which also includes the iconic French yacht Pen Duick VI , led by Marie Taberly, daughter of French sailing legend, Éric Tabarly. Like Maiden , Pen Duick VI had been on a world tour, the Elemen’Terre project, raising awareness of environmental and social issues through activities including art and performance.

At 73ft Pen Duick VI was designed by André Mauric and built for the 1973/4 Whitbread Round the World Race and had a major refit ahead in 2011/12 as well as updates for her round the world project. It has retained many of its original features, including industrial hatches, coffee grinders, and twin cockpits.

Also in the Flyer class is another Mauric design, the 1977 Neptune , which raced in the 1977-78 Whitbread Race to 8th place. The French team includes Bertrand Delhom, who aims to become the first sailor with Parkinson’s disease to race around the world.

Translated 9, previously raced in the 1977 Whitbread Round the World Race as ADC Accutrac by British skipper, Clare Francis, training ahead of the 2023 Ocean Globe Race.

Another famous British woman skipper’s yacht is now racing as Translated 9 in the Flyer class, having originally sailed as ADC Accutrac , skippered by Clare Francis, to 5th place in the 1977/78 Whitbread Round the World Race.

Translated is a Swan 65 which has been impressively refitted with a lengthy build up campaign to the race, and is likely to be a strong contender. The crew is primarily made up of amateur sailors who applied to take part, but includes experienced Italian skipper/owner Marco Trombetti and his son Nico as First Mate. It also includes 2022 Golden Globe Race veteran, Simon Curwen, who took line honours in the race and was first in the Chichester Class.

The fifth boat to make up the Flyer class is another Whitbread class winner, the Briand-designed L’Esprit d’Équipe , which won class in the 1985/86 edition of the race. L’Esprit d’Équipe is skippered by pro racer and boat builder Lionel Regnier.

The 14 Ocean Globe Race yachts, including seven former Whitbread entrants, assembled in Ocean Village, Southampton. Credit: Aida Valceanu / OGR2023

Adventurous entrants

Nine other teams are competing in the Adventure Class (for yachts 47ft-56ft) and Sayula class (56-66ft). They include the Baltic 55, Outlaw , another Whitbread Race veteran, having raced in the 1985-86 edition as Equity and Law ; the sole American entry, a Swan 51, Godspeed , which is crewed by US military veterans; the Olin Stephens designed Explorer , which is skippered by by 2018 and 2022 Golden Globe Race veteran, Australian Mark Sinclair ; and Evrika , the Swan 65 formerly owned by Pink Floyd’s Rick Wright. Evrika is now skippered by French sailor and boat builder Dominique Dubois after the yacht he originally entered, a Swan 651 called Futuro , was blown from its cradle during Storm Gérard in February this year and written off.

The smallest yacht in the fleet is Galiana , the 1970 Swan 55 skippered by Golden Globe Race veteran Tapio Lehtinen . Lehtinen has a young crew that he carefully selected over several years of trials, as one of his key goals is to bring on young Finnish sailors, having himself competed in the 1981-82 Whitbread Race at the age of 23.

Lehtinen is well known as a classic yacht aficionado and Galiana has been lovingly restored, but was dismasted at the start of this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race. The team worked swiftly to preserve all the sails and hardware, and Galiana has a fully repaired – though less aesthetically pleasing – rig.

The Ocean Globe Race fleet heading west out of the Solent, Galiana (far right) flying a blooper downwind.

Down below the refit for the Ocean Globe Race took inspiration from yachts such as Kialoa 3 , with classic white panelling where new bunks have been added, and practical touches including air-dryers for wet kit and boots. The aft companionway was also closed off to create a drier entranceway to the living quarters and nav station, while the main saloon now has a smaller table from Lehtinen’s previous boat, his Gaia 36 Asteria – which famously sank in the Southern Indian Ocean last November.

However, it’s Galiana’s sail plan which is most remarkable, including a traditional blooper. Lehtinen admits that while it might not help her rating, he had to choose an authentic sail wardrobe from the ‘70s “Because I’m a romantic.”

Follow the Ocean Globe Race at oceangloberace.com

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Latest News: 2023 McIntyre Ocean Globe Prize giving!

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MAIDEN WINS McINTYRE OCEAN GLOBE

Maiden Triumphant Taking IRC Gold in McIntyre Ocean Globe Race Maiden ’s Win is official!

• Maiden UK (03) has won the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race taking first in IRC rankings and the first ever all-women crew to win an around the world yacht race!
• The international all-female crew crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes finish line at 10:52 UTC, 16th April having sailed 6599 nm from Punta del Este on leg 4 of the OGR. 
• Their closest rival for IRC Overall title Triana FR (66) needed to finish by the morning of the 22nd  – but is now facing headwinds 150 nm from Cowes with an ETA of 17:00 Tuesday 23rd. Maiden ’s win is now official!

Maiden UK (03) has won the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race taking first in IRC handicap rankings against a 14 strong fleet of very experienced and committed sailors. They have also been written into the history books as the first ever all-women crew to win an around the world yacht race.

The former Whitbread yacht, sailed by an all-female international crew has taken the coveted title after 153d 2h 16m 53s of racing around the world. Virtually none of the crew had previously faced such an epic challenge and only one had sailed in the Southern Ocean before. 

They crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes finish line at 10:52 UTC, 16th April, in a haze of excitement having sailed 6599 nm from Punta del Este on leg 4 of the OGR, making it look easy, when all knew it was not. 

It has been a tense wait for the girls over the past few days to watch if second placed entrant on IRC, French yacht Triana , could reach the finish line early enough to beat them on handicap, but that is now impossible. 

The crew has won fans worldwide and have impressed with their dedication to spreading their message of education for all women, their consistent work ethic and their unquestionable skills on the water. They’ve faced squalls, broken watermakers forcing them to collect rainwater, blown spinnakers and unraveling Abba cassette tapes. They’ve crossed the equator twice, taking in the three Great Capes including Cape Horn . Maiden now returns to her Southampton home waters ready for retirement in as good a shape as the day she left 218 previously. All this was done in the spirit of the McIntyre OGR, sailing like it’s 1973. 

Skipper Heather Thomas , the youngest skipper in the fleet, spoke of her pride in taking first place. 

It’s very exciting to be the first all-female crew to win an around the world race. It’s a historic moment. The girls have worked really hard for it and we’re very proud of our achievement. We have the best crew and the best boat so what can I say! To those we raced against it’s been a pleasure to get to know them and we’re going to miss them. It’s been an incredible first OGR and I hope the ones that follow are as good. Maiden won’t do the next one, but I will.  Heather Thomas, skipper of Maiden.

Heather has said from race start they were “in it to win it” , something they achieved while consistently ranking in the top half of the fleet. In Leg 1 they came in third in line honours and IRC. In Leg 2, fourth in both line honours and IRC and Leg 3, Auckland to Punta del Este , second in line honours and 4th in IRC. 

She speaks very highly of her talented crew, hailing from the UK, Antigua, USA, South Africa, France and Afghanistan. Heather describes being a tight-knit team, with first mate Rachel Burgess , as one of Maiden ’s main strengths.

We work together so well. Everyone brings something to the team, without this we wouldn’t achieve what we do.    Heather Thomas, skipper of Maiden.

Don McIntyre , OGR Founder, speaks about his delight at the Maiden success. 

Every one of the 220 sailors who have sailed, or who are still sailing today in this OGR has a story and did it for special reasons. Now their lives will be changed forever, none more so than the crew of Maiden with this beautiful and historic win against some very serious teams. This OCEAN GLOBE RACE is a story about humans recreating the early Whitbread races and for the first time in 30 years, giving ordinary sailors a chance to race around the world in classic yachts. To see Maiden recreate their glorious Whitbread history and WIN the OGR is and will always be an inspiration to many. BRAVO indeed!!    What an absolutely stunning victory for skipper Heather and this eclectic mix of international girls and skills onboard Maiden . Wow!  They have embraced this OGR adventure at every level, performing on the water, facing completely unknown Southern Ocean challenges with courage and determination and representing their cause like real champions – In ports they were the perfect ambassadors for life, embracing every day and every minute with true passion. We loved them!  Don McIntyre, OGR Founder

It’s fitting that Maiden should take the McIntyre Ocean Globe-winning title with her poignant Whitbread history. Designed by Bruce Farr , the 58-foot aluminum hulled yacht came fourth in the 1981-82 Whitbread, known then as Disque D’Or 3 . She was then renamed Stabilo Boss for the 1986-87 BOC single-handed challenge coming seventh. In 1987 she was bought by Tracy Edwards MBE , who made headlines in the 1989 Whitbread skippering the iconic yacht around the world with an all-female crew. 

The final prize giving and presentation of the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race winners trophy, hosted by Translated 9 , will be in Rome Italy on the 21st June 2024 . There are currently seven McIntyre OGR entrants still racing toward the finish line.    

Don McIntyre OGR Chairman and Founder

Don McIntyre is the founder and underwriter of the goldengloberace.com the oceangloberace.com and the minigloberace.com . Follow him at mcintyreadventure.com .

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Published on August 17th, 2024 | by Editor

Small yachts for round the world race

Published on August 17th, 2024 by Editor -->

The McIntyre Mini Globe Race (MGR) will commence on February 23, marking the beginning of a 13-month round the world race for Class Globe 5.80 yachts. Home-built from plywood on timber frames and coated in glass epoxy, 5.80 refers to its length in meters (19-feet) which is compact enough to fit in a 20ft container.

Conceived by Australian adventurer Don McIntyre, the idea emerged during his 2010 adventure sailing 4000-mile across the Pacific in an open timber whale boat with very little food, water and no charts, recreating William Bligh’s Mutiny on the Bounty journey.

McIntyre, in collaboration with Polish designer Janusz Maderski, launched the one-design class in 2019, offering simple construction plans for €300. Builders can also opt for a CNC pre-cut plywood kit, supported by an active online builder’s community. Currently, over 80 yachts are in various stages of completion, with about 20 in the water and another 140 builders with plans.

“The MGR, like the Golden Globe Race, will be a voyage of attrition,” said McIntyre. “I have great faith in the sailors, the boats, and the meticulous planning that has gone into this event over the past five years. The Globe 580 yachts are robust, safe and fun to sail, offering an affordable challenge.”

In an age where technology and Euro 20 mill can send a solo sailor around the world in 40 days, a fleet of courageous mini sailors will show it can be done for less that Euro 50,000 over many days! Sixteen men and two women from 11 countries will navigate 28,000 miles solo around the world in identical, cramped plywood mini yachts, pushing the limits of what many believe to be possible.

Before the main event, participants must complete a solo 3,600-mile qualifying race, solo across the Atlantic. This journey begins on December 28, 2024, from Marina de Lagos in Portugal, continues to Marina Rubicon in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, and concludes at the National Sailing Academy, Antigua.

The race begins and ends at the National Sailing Academy, Antigua. The first leg takes sailors to Shelter Bay Marina, Panama, where yachts will be transported overland to the Pacific Ocean. The second leg, starting on March 23, 2025, covers 6,500 miles to VUDA Marina in Fiji, with mandatory pit stops in the Marquesas, Tahiti, and Tonga. Each pit stop requires an eight-day minimum stay, allowing sailors to rest and make repairs.

The third leg spans 10,000 miles to Cape Town, South Africa, with stops in Darwin, Mauritius, and Durban. Given the challenging weather conditions and the notorious Agulhas current, an additional ten days of pit stops are allowed. The fourth and final leg of 7000 miles begins on December 22, 2025, with stops in St. Helena and Recife, Brazil, before the final sprint back to Antigua, expected by late March 2026.

This McIntyre Mini Globe follows in the footsteps of John Guzzwell, who set off in Sept 1955 to become first person to sail a small yacht, his home-built Laurent Giles designed 20’ 6’ “TREKKA” solo around the world. McIntyre has great confidence in the Class Globe 580’s capabilities. He built and raced a Class Globe 580, named “TREKKA”, solo across the Atlantic in 2021, proving the yacht’s endurance and suitability for such a demanding race.

Sailors must undergo survival and medical training, comprehensive medical checks, and stress tests. Safety equipment adheres to world-class standards, detailed in the official Notice of Race.

Restrictions include the prohibition of electronic wind instruments and logs, limited 200-amp battery and 200-watt solar panel capacity, and only electric outboard motors. Hydro generators and desalinators are not allowed. Sailors can make unpenalized stops, but the race clock continues to run, and YB3 satellite trackers provide 24-hour monitoring for everyone on the MGR website.

Unlike other solo races, MGR entrants sail as independent voyagers, with each sailor responsible for their voyage plan, logistics, and safety management, overseen by individually appointed safety managers. These managers’ report to MGR event management but maintain primary responsibility for their sailors around the clock.

“Ten years ago, I set out to bring back affordable, human around the world racing that was truly sustainable for all sailors, where money and speed at all costs is not the driving force. All three events – Golden Globe Race, Ocean Globe Race, and now MGR – are epic human stories.”

Event information – yacht details – Facebook

Source: MGR

Tags: Class Globe 5.80 , Mini Globe Race

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7 Global Sailing Races to Follow

By: Zeke Quezada, ASA Destinations , Event , Inside Sailing , Sailing Fun

As American Sailing evolves our curriculum to offer more racing options through North U, I am attempting to learn more about sailboat racing. If you are following along with my journey to become a racer, you know that I am a neophyte when it comes to racing. I am a cruiser. I am a self-described “lazy sailor” that does not focus on trimming my sails and instead works on not dropping my chips and salsa while sailing.

You can get an idea of my journey in my last two pieces on sailing and racing:

SAIL TRIM FOR CRUISERS: WHY TRIM YOUR SAILS?

HOW TO GRADUATE FROM CRUISER TO RACER — STEPS TO START RACING SAILBOATS

I plan to find out more about the serious and not-so-serious side of sailboat racing. Many people, even non-sailors, know what the America’s Cup is, and may have even turned on a sports network to catch a SailGP race. But there is far more to sailing races than those two.

Here’s an overview of seven of the big races, regattas, and race series that occur regularly around the world. These are iconic events, both old and new, that shape the world of racing and have inspired sailors for generations to challenge themselves to new heights, both on and off the water.

Cowes Week is one of the oldest and most prestigious sailing regattas in the world, held every August in the Solent waters off Cowes, UK. The event has been around since 1826, and it’s known for attracting some of the best sailors from around the globe. It’s the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world, with up to 1,000 boats and 8,000 competitors taking part in the 40 daily sailing races.

Whether you’re an Olympic or world-class pro, or just a weekend sailor, Cowes Week is an event that has something for everyone. And even if you’re not into sailing, the regatta is still a spectacle to behold – with stunning views of the coastline and plenty of festivities both on and off the water. 

Once you discover the allure of racing it appears that Cowes Week might be worthy of a sailing vacation that includes either participating in a race or just being involved as a spectator. I am not there yet, but it could happen.

Next Race Date: July 29 – Aug 4, 2023 Cowes Week Website

The Ocean Race

I do know about The Ocean Race only because prior to the new owner taking over, it was the Volvo Ocean Race for twenty years and that is how they got me to buy a Volvo. I walked into the dealership and saw some mesmerizing sailboat pictures and I signed the contract and drove away.  I am a sucker.

The Ocean Race is a round-the-world yacht race that occurs every three years. It’s known as one of the most challenging sailing races globally, spanning over 45,000 nautical miles. The race consists of multiple legs and lasts about nine months. The race starts in Europe and ends in Asia or Oceania. The exact route changes with each edition of the race.

Both professional sailors and amateur sailors can participate in this race. The teams are composed of eight sailors, all racing on the same boats. These boats are specially designed to be fast and robust, capable of enduring the tough conditions of the open ocean.

This race used to be known as the Whitbread Round the World Race until it was renamed the Volvo Ocean Race and now is known as The Ocean Race.

Next Race Date: Currently in progress at the time of the post! The Ocean Race Website

America’s Cup 

My first foray into sailing racing was when Dennis Conner won the America’s Cup.  I was a kid watching the news and learned about sailing through this huge event on the vessel, Stars and Stripes. Years later I took a ride on what I was told was the same boat. I was skeptical about the origin of the vessel I was on but that day I learned a lot about how much I loved the idea of sailing. A couple of years later I bought a boat.

The America’s Cup is held every few years on dates agreed between the defender and the challenger. There is no fixed schedule, but the races have generally been held every three to four years. The most recent America’s Cup match took place in March 2021. 

The 37th America’s Cup Official Opening Ceremony will be held in Barcelona on 22 August 2024. The Final Preliminary Event and the Challenger Selection Series will follow, leading up to the America’s Cup Match that will start on 12 October 2024. During 2023/early 2024, there is potential for up to three preliminary events. By June 2023, all the teams will have their base set up and be training in Barcelona.

The competition takes place between teams representing different countries or yacht clubs. The event involves a series of races where high-tech racing yachts, known as America’s Cup Class boats, compete in head-to-head races that test their speed, agility, and teamwork.

The competition dates back to 1851 when a schooner called America won a race around the Isle of Wight. The trophy, now known as the America’s Cup, was donated to the New York Yacht Club and has since become one of the most prestigious prizes in sailing.

Next Race Date: October 12, 2024 The America’s Cup Website

Vendée Globe

If I was a racer I am sure that The Vendée Globe would be the race that would inspire me to go hard into this type of adventure. The Vendée Globe is a single-handed (solo) non-stop yacht race around the world without assistance. It takes place every four years and is an extreme form of sailing.  It is said that more people have been into space than have finished the Vendee Globe. First held in 1989, the race starts and ends in Les Sables-d’Olonne, a small town on the west coast of France, and covers a distance of approximately 45,000 km.

Sailors must navigate their way through some of the most treacherous waters on the planet, including the Southern Ocean and the Cape Horn. Sailors must rely solely on their own skills, knowledge, and experience to complete the race. They face extreme weather conditions, sleep deprivation, and the constant threat of danger as they navigate their way around the world. 

The boats are designed specifically for the event and are some of the most advanced sailing vessels in the world, capable of speeds of up to 30 knots.

Next Race Date: November 10, 2024 The Vend é e Globe Website

St. Maarten Heineken Regatta

I must confess that I had a very nice t-shirt from this regatta that I purchased at the St. Maarten airport. I was leaving the country and realized that I had not bought any souvenirs so I found this shirt in the terminal and wore it like a proud sailboat racer. I was an imposter, I had never even seen any of the race and I did not know it existed.

The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta is a massive sailing event that takes place on the island of Sint Maarten in the Caribbean. It’s actually the biggest regatta in the Caribbean and the largest warm water regatta in the world.

The event attracts top sailors from 37 countries, who compete in a series of races over four days. The competition draws in sailors that are both professionals and passionate amateurs who just love to sail.

Next Race Date: Feb 29 – Mar 3, 2024 St. Maarten Regatta Website

Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac)

If you live and sail in Southern California, you will hear about Transpac. I have heard about it, and I did not realize it was a race. I always figured it was a group of sailors who sailed across the Pacific to Hawaii in a large caravan, like a large flotilla, without any daily stops. I will confess that when I sailed my Catalina 27 five times a week, I had a few fantasies about tagging along in my boat and stopping over in Hawaii with the Transpac crowd. But, unfortunately, I was misguided.

The Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac) is a biennial offshore yacht race held in odd-numbered years starting off the Pt. Fermin buoy in San Pedro, California, and ending off Diamond Head in Hawaii, a distance of around 2,225 nautical miles (2,560 mi; 4,121 km). It is one of the world’s oldest major ocean races for sailing yachts. The race was first held in 1906 and made a biennial event in 1939 to alternate with the Bermuda Race.

Next Race Date: June 27, 2023 TransPac Website

Now in its 4th season, SailGP is a newer series race held as a competition between nations on identical F50 catamarans. Currently the nations competing include Australia, New Zealand, Emirates Great Britain, France, Canada, Denmark, United States, Switzerland, and Spain. The race is held on weekends in iconic locations around the world modeled in a grand prix format similar to Formula 1 in which points accumulate throughout the season based on winnings from each race and contribute toward a championship. 

The race series has a really great app you can use to follow along and watch live, or on YouTube, and they are doing wonderful work expanding the sport’s impact initiatives through their second championship leaderboard that tracks the positive actions the teams make to reduce their overall carbon footprint and help accelerate inclusivity in sailing. The coverage of this series is great to watch – it has a high production value including live mics on the sailors and post race interviews with the sailors. The commentators do a good job educating the audience as to the basics of sailboat racing as well as explaining the racing rules.

Season 4 Opening Race: June 16-17, 2023 Chicago Sail GP Website

So which race strikes your fancy? Here’s hoping you enjoy some of these and find some new inspiration in your sailing journey!

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19th Palermo-Montecarlo Yacht Race sets sail - Record under threat in the Palermo-Montecarlo?

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‘Got to crush them’: Foes turn teammates as Aussie Tom Slingsby joins US team for America’s Cup

A fortnight after advising Olympic gold medallist Matt Wearn, champion Australian Tom Slingsby resumes his quest to win the world’s most famous sailing race in Barcelona tonight. But this time he will be representing the Stars and Stripes of the United States.

The Sydneysider will be at the helm of American Magic’s Patriot in its bid to reclaim for the New York Yacht Club the Americas Cup it once had a stranglehold on until a famous Aussie upset in 1983 when the John Bertrand-skipper Australia II triumphed in Newport.

Watch the 37th America’s Cup LIVE on Fox Sports, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >

EXPLAINER: Format, rule changes explained as world’s oldest sporting battle resumes

Slingsby, who won a gold medal for Australia in the London Olympics and skippers the Australian team in the SailGP series, has a US passport courtesy of his mother.

But on signing with American Magic to spearhead their quest to win the 37th Americas Cup , he said he made it clear to his team that he was an “Aussie through and through”.

“I was born and raised in Australia,” he said.

“I think of myself as an Australian but if I can compete for any other country, I’m glad it’s the US and I can make my mum proud.”

Slingsby’s co-helmsman Paul Goodison, an English sailor and fellow Olympic gold medallist, describes his partner in the assault on the world’s oldest sporting contest as an “arch rival” who he has shared an “abrasive” relationship with for well over a decade.

“We’ve competed against each other in the Olympic classes for the best part of 10 years (and) we were archrivals for a long time,” Goodison told The Independent .

“And we’ve been through cycles of being best mates, and then very abrasive, and then mates, and then abrasive. And it all comes from when you’re competing against somebody.

“You can’t really like them. You’ve got to crush them. You’ve got to beat them. And that was a big part of the Olympic cycle. But also with that, you gain a huge amount of respect. If you were to choose another guy to be beside you racing one of these, he’d be top of your list.”

Slingsby, 39, is at the top of the list with good reason.

A highly-decorated athlete who was acclaimed as the world’s top sailor last year, he is hugely respected in yachting and boating circles in Australia and around the world.

Inspired as a teenager by the brilliance of those competing in the 2000 Olympic Regatta on Sydney Harbour, Slingsby was drawn to the sport by its competitiveness and beauty.

Just 12 years later he won an Olympic gold medal in the laser (dinghy) class at the London Games to spark what has become an Australian dominance of the sport.

Tom Burton clinched gold in the class in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 while Wearn became the first Australian to defend his gold medal in the division with his feats in France earlier this month.

After effectively winning the Paris Olympic gold medal twice - his first race against Cypriot Pavlos Kontides was abandoned when Wearn was within sight of winning due to a lack of wind - the Western Australian said Slingsby had boosted his confidence with a phone call.

“He reached out, which was pretty cool. He told me to enjoy it, have fun and have a crack,” Wearn said.

While Wearn bobbed about in the Gulf of Lyon for a period in his dinghy during the Olympics, there will be no lull in terms of pace when Slingsby and Goodison share duties piloting Patriot off the Barcelona coastline.

The AC75 yachts featuring in the 37th Americas Cup have been described as akin to being on an F1 car on the water and regularly reach speeds beyond 50 knots (92kmh) in races.

American Magic is among the six entrants which will compete in Port Vell in a series of races to determine who will challenge defending champion Team New Zealand for the prestigious Cup in a competition running from August 22 through to mid-October.

Slingsby is keeping the Australian spirit alive in the Americas Cup and has enjoyed previous success in the race as a member of the Oracle Team which won in 2013.

It was his multi-class expertise that prompted the NYYC to poach him in 2022 to partner Goodison at the helm in the lead-up to the American Magic’s assault on the 2024 edition.

“As a previous winner of the America’s Cup, Tom knows what it takes to climb that mountain,” team skipper Terry Hutchison, who holds an on-shore role, said.

The six boats will compete in the third and final preliminary regatta in Barcelona from Thursday night (AEST).

The event does not count towards progression or elimination, but results can be used later for tiebreakers, while the regatta also gives the teams an opportunity to get a glimpse at the competition before the Louis Vuitton Cup — which begins next week.

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Full circumnavigation.

To complete the Clipper Race you will need to stay mentally focused and competitive, keep in top physical shape and cope with living on a 70-foot stripped down ocean racing yacht for eleven months. Nothing can fully prepare you for a circumnavigation of the globe; the range of emotions you’ll go through while racing and the sense of achievement when you cross the finish line after 40,000 nautical miles of gut wrenching, energy sapping ocean racing.

You might start as a sailing novice but by the end of eleven months at sea you will have more than 40,000 racing miles in your log book. You will have sailed in all conditions from warm trade winds, through winter storms and the tropical heat of the Doldrums, crossing the Equator twice.

You will have been becalmed, battled through 65-knot gales, struggled through squalls of stinging rain, snow flurries, sleet and fog. You will have experienced the emotions of untying your lines and saying goodbye to loved ones as you head into the drama of your first Race Start in front of the world’s media and tens of thousands of spectators.

Typically, you will have visited more than 13-15 ports and been welcomed ashore with all the fervour deserved for long distance sporting champions. You will have celebrated at prize givings, shaken hands with the great and good, made friendships that will last a lifetime and realised you can achieve more than you ever thought possible.

You will be fitter, healthier and more alive than you dared to believe. You will have joined an elite club and, as you return to the point of departure and crossed your outward track in the world’s longest yacht race, you’ll head home with a set of experiences that will live with you forever. You have just become a circumnavigator.

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is the only event of its type. Anyone, even if they have never stepped on a boat before, can join the adventure.

Weeks at Sea

Whether a marathon tactical battle across the world’s oceans or a drag-race sprint from start to finish, this is the number of days you can expect to be racing.

Countries Visited

A drag race sprint from start to finish line or a marathon tactical battle across the world’s largest oceans enduring weeks at sea; each of the 14 races provides a unique challenge to each and every crew member.

Yacht that sank off Sicily was carrying people celebrating tech magnate's acquittal; 6 missing

Police divers resumed searching Tuesday for six people believed trapped in the hull of a superyacht that sank in deep seas off Sicily, including a British tech magnate who was celebrating his recent acquittal on fraud charges with the people who had defended him at trial.

The resting place of their sailboat is some 50 meters (164 feet) underwater off Porticello — a depth that required special precautions that complicated the work: Recovery crews said they were working in 12-minute shifts, a measure that slowed down their efforts to reach the cramped inside of the wreck.

The Bayesian, a 184-foot British-flagged yacht, was moored about a half-mile offshore when a storm rolled in before 4 a.m. Monday. Civil protection officials said they believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, and sank quickly.

Grainy film from closed-circuit cameras from shore, broadcast on the website of the Giornale di Sicilia, showed the majestic, illuminated 246-foot mast of the Bayesian weathering the storm and then disappearing over the course of a minute.

Fifteen of the 22 people aboard survived, including a mother who reported holding her 1-year-old baby over the waves to save her. One body has been recovered, identified by officials as the Antiguan-born on-board chef. The rest of the 10-person crew survived, including the captain whom prosecutors reportedly sought to interview.

“It's a great, great tragedy,” said Britain's ambassador to Italy, Edward Llewellyn, who visited Porticello on Tuesday. Britain sent four investigators to the scene, given the disaster involved a British-flagged ship and British citizens were among the missing.

RELATED STORY | Hurricane Ernesto strengthens as it aims at Bermuda

Fire rescue officials have said the six other passengers will be considered missing until they are located in the wreckage. They include the tycoon Mike Lynch, who was once hailed as Britain’s king of technology and was cleared in June of fraud and conspiracy charges in a U.S. federal trial related to Hewlett Packard’s $11 billion takeover of his company, Autonomy Corp.

Also unaccounted for are Christopher Morvillo, one of Lynch’s lawyers, and Jonathan Bloomer, a chairman at Morgan Stanley International and the former head of the Autonomy audit committee who testified in Lynch’s defense.

Karsten Borner, the captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell, which rescued the 15 survivors who managed to get into a lifeboat, said he was close enough to be able to see the Bayesian as the storm came in.

“A moment later, she was gone,” he said. “They said they went flat on the water and were sunk in two minutes," Borner added, quoting the survivors.

The rotating search teams, each made up of two specialized cave divers, worked Tuesday to open up access points to get inside the wreck, which lies at a depth far beyond what most recreational divers are certified to reach. They were using a remote-controlled underwater vehicle, or ROV, to help in the search.

The divers have not yet been able to access the below-deck cabins because they were blocked by furniture that had shifted during the violent storm. Rescue crews said they assume the missing six are in those cabins because the storm struck when most would be sleeping, but the teams haven't verified their presence there through portholes.

Luca Cari, a spokesman for the rescue teams, said the search was proceeding much more slowly than another big shipwreck in Italy, the 2012 Costa Concordia cruise ship that flipped on its side off Tuscany's coast, because of the depth of the wreck and the limited space divers have to maneuver.

“That was much simpler. Here everything is more tight," he said.

The outing was intended at least in part as a celebration of Lynch's acquittal and a “looking forward to what was coming next,” said Reid Weingarten, a Washington attorney and a member of Lynch’s defense team who was not on the yacht.

“A lot of people went, a lot of people were planning to go and then of course this happened,” Weingarten said.

Some of the people who stood by Lynch throughout the ordeal were on board, including Morvillo, the lawyer, who Weingarten worked with and said “was like a brother.”

Morvillo's wife, Neda, is also missing, according to his law firm Clifford Chance.

Aki Hussain, CEO of international insurer Hiscox Group, where Bloomer, the witness, was chairman, said the company was "deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic event."

"Our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular our Chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy, who are among the missing, and with their family as they await further news from this terrible situation,” he added.

Charlotte Golunski, who survived the disaster, said she momentarily lost hold of her 1-year-old daughter Sofia in the water, but then managed to hold her up over the waves until a lifeboat inflated and they were both pulled to safety, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

The father, identified by ANSA as James Emslie, also survived, as did Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares. Hannah Lynch, reportedly the couple’s 18-year-old daughter, is among the missing.

The yacht’s registered owner is listed as Revtom Ltd., according to online maritime database Equasis. Bacares is listed as Revtom’s sole owner, according to corporate registration documents from the Isle of Man.

Its name, Bayesian, may be a reference to “Bayesian Inference,” one of the two main approaches to statistical machine learning and the one that was used by Lynch’s company.

RELATED STORY | NOAA expects 'extraordinary' 2024 Atlantic hurricane season

The yacht, built in 2008 by the Italian firm Perini Navi, was carrying 12 passengers and 10 crew. According to online charter companies, it had been available for charter for about $215,000 a week and was notable for its massive 246-foot-tall aluminum mast, one of the tallest in the world.

The coast guard said to date there was no trace of fuel leaks from the wreckage.

In an unrelated event, Lynch's co-defendant in the Autonomy trial who was also cleared, Stephen Chamberlain, was killed Sunday when he was hit by a car while running in Cambridgeshire, England, said Chamberlain's lawyer, Gary Lincenberg.

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Coastguard fears bodies of Mike Lynch and five others are trapped in yacht

The Bayesian was moored around half-a-mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank at around 5am local time on Monday.

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British technology tycoon Mike Lynch and five others are feared to have died, with their bodies trapped inside a luxury yacht which sank in a tornado.

Vincenzo Zagarola of the Italian Coastguard said this was the working theory of officials on Sicily because it is believed the boat sank quickly and search and rescue efforts by sea and air have so far delivered no results.

He told the PA news agency: “We think they are still inside the boat, that is our very hard idea.

“Our search and rescue activity by sea and air has gone on for around 36 hours.

“Of course, we do not exclude that they are not inside the boat, but we know the boat sank quickly.

“We suppose that the six people missing may not have had time to get out of the boat.”

Asked about the likelihood of them being alive, he replied: “Never say never, but reasonably the answer should be not.”

Bayesian was moored around half-a-mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank at around 5am local time on Monday as the area was hit by a storm.

The missing tourists are: Mr Lynch; his daughter, Hannah Lynch; Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Italy’s fire brigade Vigili del Fuoco said it is developing a plan to enter the wreckage of Bayesian, which is resting on the seabed off the coast at a depth of 50 metres.

It described the operation as “complex”, with divers limited to 12-minute underwater shifts.

A spokesperson for Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London, where Hannah Lynch was a former pupil, said in a statement: “We are all incredibly shocked by the news that Hannah and her father are among those missing in this tragic incident and our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved as we await further updates.”

Fifteen of the 22 passengers and crew onboard – including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares – were rescued after escaping onto a lifeboat.

On Tuesday, an inflated orange lifeboat was docked at the harbour near where search crews are being dispatched.

One body, reportedly belonging to the ship’s chef, was recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday.

Mr Lynch, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of conducting a massive fraud relating to an 11 billion US dollar (£8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.

The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal.

The Financial Times reported that Mr Bloomer appeared at trial as a defence witness for Mr Lynch, while media reports suggest the pair are close friends.

A spokesperson for Morgan Stanley said the bank was “shocked and saddened” while Clifford Chance said it was a “tragic incident”.

Ed Llewellyn, British ambassador to Italy, met some of the survivors of the sinking at a hotel.

He said: “I’ve spoken to some of the British survivors both yesterday and today – I want to express my deep sympathy from myself and colleagues at the British embassy for what’s happened.

“We’re doing what we can to support them in this incredibly sad and difficult situation to help them with contacts from the Italian authorities at a practical level.”

Ayla Ronald, a New Zealand national working at Clifford Chance, survived the ordeal.

Her father Lin Ronald confirmed to the Telegraph she had been invited aboard as a thanks for assistance in Mr Lynch’s recent court case.

“I have texted my daughter and she hasn’t given me any updates about missing personnel or saved personnel. She has only said that there are deaths and she and her partner are alive,” he said.

“Ayla is a lawyer who is part of the legal team that were invited to go sailing as a result of the success in the recent United States court case.”

One of the survivors, British tourist Charlotte Emsley, told la Repubblica she held her one-year-old daughter, Sofia, to stop her from drowning.

Charlotte and Sofia were treated in hospital, as was Sofia’s father, James Emsley.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch said four of its inspectors have been deployed to Palermo.

Mr Lynch’s co-defendant Stephen Chamberlain died after being hit by a car while out running in Cambridgeshire on Saturday.

In a statement released through Cambridgeshire Police, Mr Chamberlain’s family said: “Steve was a much-loved husband, father, son, brother and friend.

“He was an amazing individual whose only goal in life was to help others in any way possible.”

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Four bodies found inside sunken superyacht as rescuers continue search

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Four bodies retrieved from inside yacht that sunk off the coast of Sicily

Rescue boats operate during a search for passengers missing after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy, on Aug. 21. Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters

Four bodies were found on Wednesday aboard the sunken wreck of a yacht belonging to the wife of British tech magnate Mike Lynch , sources close to the rescue operation said.

The identities of the victims were not immediately given by the authorities. Three of the bodies were brought ashore and taken to nearby hospitals for formal identification. The fourth corpse was being taken to land as evening set in.

Britain’s Daily Telegraph reported that two of the dead were Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter. Local authorities in Sicily declined to comment on the report.

The British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre-long (184-ft) superyacht was carrying 22 people and anchored off the port of Porticello when it was hit by a fierce, pre-dawn storm on Monday .

Lynch, 59, was one of the U.K.’s best-known tech entrepreneurs and had invited friends to join him on the yacht to celebrate his recent acquittal in a U.S. fraud trial.

Besides Lynch and his daughter, the other people unaccounted for after the disaster were Judy and Jonathan Bloomer, a non-executive chair of Morgan Stanley International; and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo.

Specialist rescuers have been searching inside the hull of the sunken yacht for the past two days. The victims were believed to have been trapped in cabins, which have proved extremely hard to get to, with divers only able to stay in the vessel for 8-10 minutes before having to resurface.

Fifteen people managed to escape the yacht before it capsized in the pre-dawn tempest, while the body of the onboard chef, Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, was found near the wreck hours after the disaster.

The Bayesian is lying on its side at a depth of around 50 metres, apparently largely intact.

Besides the diving team, the coast guard has deployed a remotely operated vehicle to scan the seabed and take underwater pictures and videos that it said may provide “useful and timely elements” for prosecutors looking into the disaster.

What we know so far about the sinking of a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily and those aboard

The coast guard has been questioning survivors, including the captain of the Bayesian, and passengers on the yacht that was moored next to it who witnessed the ship going down, judicial sources said.

No one is under investigation at the moment, sources added.

Experts have been at a loss to explain how a large luxury vessel, presumed to have top-class fittings and safety features, could have sunk within minutes, as recounted by witnesses. The yacht anchored next to it was unharmed by the storm.

The Bayesian, which was owned by Lynch’s wife, was built by Italian shipbuilder Perini in 2008 and last refitted in 2020. It had the world’s tallest aluminium mast, measuring 72 metres, according to its makers.

Lynch has been referred to as Britain’s Bill Gates. He built the UK’s largest software firm, Autonomy, which was sold to HP for US$11-billion in 2011, after which the deal spectacularly unravelled with the U.S. tech giant accusing him of fraud, resulting in a lengthy trial.

He was acquitted on all charges by a jury in San Francisco in June. Morvillo had represented him at the trial, while Bloomer was a character witness on his behalf.

Bayesian’s captain James Cutfield, a 51-year-old New Zealander who survived the shipwreck, was a “very good sailor” and “very well respected” in the Mediterranean, his brother Mark told The New Zealand Herald.

Matthew Schanck, chair of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, a U.K.-based non-profit organization that trains sea rescuers, said the Bayesian was the victim of a “high impact” weather-related incident.

“If it was a water spout, which it appears to be, it’s what I would class as like a black swan event,” he told Reuters, meaning a rare and unpredictable phenomenon.

Survivors of the luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily were discharged from Palermo's pediatric hospital on Aug. 20 as search and rescue efforts to find six missing people continued.

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Want to See America’s Cup Racing Up Close? These 9 Yacht Charters Let You Watch From the Water

Options range from 200-foot-plus superyachts with side trips to ibiza to intimate sailing vessels catered by michelin-starred chefs. let the races begin., jemima sissons, jemima sissons's most recent stories.

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Next week, when the 37 th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup kicks off in Barcelona with its opening ceremony, the contest that began in 1851 with a race around the Isle of Wight between the fastest British and American sloops (the yacht America won handily) will come back to Europe for the first time in 14 years.

The move to the Catalan capital from the 2021 event in New Zealand will make it more accessible to sailing fans in Europe, and even North Americans who want to view the fast, technical AC75 foiling boats in person. Barcelona has been preparing itself for a surge of spectators for the “return” of the Cup, which was held twice in Valencia, Spain, in the aughts.

The America’s Cup may be billed as “the race with no second place,” but it takes three months of racing and four events for one of five Challenger teams to win the Louis Vuitton Cup, and that winner will race Defender Emirates Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup final. The racing runs from August through October, and this year includes a first-time all-women’s America’s Cup as well as an event for the world’s best youth sailors.

Having Barcelona as a venue was a smart move, partly for the gorgeous beaches fronting the race course on the Med. But there is also the city’s magnificent architecture and sense of history as well as vibrant arts, culture and, of course, no shortage of Michelin-starred restaurants.

There are many five-star hotels in the area, but the smartest and most thrilling way to see racing is by water. The vessel options are wide-ranging—from weeklong superyacht charters to luxury suites on a cruise ships to day trips on sailboats with Michelin-starred cuisine. Many can be combined with on-land stays and even cruises to other parts of Spain as part of the itineraries.

One important note: Four zones adjoining the race course allow spectator boats. Before chartering a vessel, be sure to find out which zone the boat will operate in, because that impacts how close you are to the racing.

Here are 9 options to suit the most avid Cup aficionados or those visiting Barcelona who want to sip champagne and watch the AC75 foiling boats battle it out.

Superyacht ‘Resilience’

Edmiston is offering charters aboard the 212-foot Resilience during the America’s Cup. The ISA-built superyacht, designed by Enrico Gobbi, features a mosaic-tiled pool, circular fire pit and a BBQ for a ringside lunch. Post-race pampering comes via the steam room, sundeck jacuzzi and gym, and there’s even a self-playing Edelweiss piano and projector for evening entertainment. The vessel sleeps 12 across seven cabins. From September 16, weekly charters start at about $645,000 (€600,000).

Explora Journeys

The soon-to-be-launched Explora II looks very much like its sistership, the Explora I : onyx finishes, self-playing Steinways, on-deck Technogym bikes, a spa with a Himalayan salt room, Dunhill cigar den and a wine cellar boasting decades-old Chateau Latour. With 461 luxury suites, how was the Explora II chosen to become an America’s Cup viewing platform? The idea came from the top down. 

“I love sailing and believe the Med is the most beautiful sea on earth,” Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of the cruise division of MSC Group, told Robb Report during a visit aboard Explora I in Barcelona. “We thought if only our customers could also experience [the America’s Cup], we can call it the ocean state of mind.” 

Explora II launches in mid-September, with itineraries planned to coincide with the different Cup events. On October 6, the vessel will be in port for the Louis Vuitton Cup Final and Puig Women’s Races. Guests can take a walk to the official race village and experience its excitement before watching the races from their suites. A 10-night journey starts from $5,210 per guest.

The Almanac Sailing Experience

Barcelona’s Almanac hotel has a romantic-gastronomic experience that offers guests front-row seats on a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45 sailboat with a capacity for 10 guests. Besides the racing, the package includes two nights at the hotel. The boat comes with the hotel’s branded slippers and Jimmy Boyd bespoke amenities. Enjoy a selection of customized Cava Bellinis from the pop-up bar. Chefs from the hotels’ restaurant will also serve up shrimp salad and fennel ceviche paired with organic Spanish wines. The boat can be chartered every Saturday from August 31 to October 26. The Louis Vuitton Cup round-robin starts on August 29 and lasts through Sept. 8. There’s also the Puig Women’s Race (first all-female America’s Cup in its 171-year history) and, of course, the America’s Cup finals in October. Prices start at $2,940 per couple. 

Superyacht ‘C’

For a majestic week-long cruise that incorporates America’s Cup summer races and possible side itineraries in Costa Dorada, Sitges and Formentera, Camper & Nicholsons’ expansive 177-ft C is the flashy option, defined by Minotti furniture, lacquered panels and a hamman. It also sleeps 12 in six cabins that feature a master and two VIP suites. Its chase boat also offers a great opportunity for side trips. Weekly charters from Sept. 18-October 31 run from about $513,000 or €400,000.

Sailing Yacht ‘Imagine’

UK adventure specialists Pelorus offer a private seat on an elegant sailing boat seeped in America’s Cup history. Built in New Zealand by Alloy Yachts, Imagine is a 110-footer that served as an official viewing platform for the America’s Cup in Auckland, but it has also completed three global circumnavigations. Beyond its sailing chops, it’s a beautiful vessel, with a blonde, teak-lined deck, large salon and dining area, and three cabins for sleeping seven guests. It will be available from October 12 for the America’s Cup final. Pelorus is also offering to bookend the week with trips to Majorca and Ibiza. About $101,000 (£79,121)

Superyacht ‘Diane’

Also available from Edmiston, the 141-ft Diane can accommodate 10 guests in five staterooms for the week. The interior is all about soft hues, featuring cream leather and white marble, boasting a bar and plenty of outdoor seating for watching the races. For the non-race legs, guests can take to the water via the large beach club, complete with seabobs and wakeboards. It has a Balearics license, making a hop to Ibiza or Majorca a possibility. Weekly charter rates from September 23 run about $150,000 per week (€140,000)

Black Tomato Cup Package

Incorporating a city-stay, Black Tomato’s America’s Cup getaway includes a day’s private day charter to view the race, plus five nights at the Mandarin Oriental as well as visiting the regatta course and different bases of the America’s Cup teams for an insider’s look at the operations and technology. As a dayboat, its Bali Yacht Saxador 400 GTO can accommodate 11 guests. It sets sail from Port Olympic, giving guests a sweeping view of the city on one side and the regatta course on the other. The boat has access to the blue area (for preferred charter boats) on the front line. From $12,750 per person, based on two people.

Superyacht ‘Quasar’

Camper & Nicholsons recently introduced the 153-foot Quasar to the charter market and what a great way to end the Med season than by viewing the America’s Cup. It has six cabins (including two master suites) that can accommodate 12 guests, along excellent outdoor seating, an upper salon that joins the aft deck area for viewing the races or dining al-fresco. The beach club has a large selection of water toys. Visits to scenic Med ports around Barcelona are also possible on the week’s charter, which start at about $232,000 (€210,000).  

Superyacht ‘Kiawah’

For front row seats on day charters in the blue zone (the third-closest area to the races), official charter partner ac37 Sailcharters offers different types of vessels and packages. The 110-foot Kiawah features a cocktail lunch on board, a specialized lecture from an expert sailor, and an AV system to follow the race in real time. From August 22 through October 11, daily rates are about $34,000 (€30,800) and during the America’s Cup finals October 12-27, rates move to about $41,000 (€37,400).

Read More On:

• America's Cup
• Louis Vuitton

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