The Ocean Race 20222023 Begins!

by Lucie Gardiner photos theoceanrace.com

The Ocean Race celebrates its 50th jubilee anniversary this year. A fleet consisting of the best sailors in the world set off on 16th January in what is widely considered to be the toughest test of a team in sport.

Five IMOCA class yachts -high-tech, foiling, flying race boats- are in the race for the first time, along with a fleet of six VO65s. They set off on the first leg of the race to Cabo Verde, some 1900nm away from the Alicante starting point.

Both fleets race to Cabo Verde, with the IMOCAs continuing their race around the world. The VO65s pause in Cabo Verde before rejoining the IMOCA fleet in Europe in the Spring, for the final two legs of the race. They will be competing for the inaugural Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup.

The IMOCAs 32,000nm route visits nine iconic international cities over six months. Leg one starts from Alicante, then onto Cabo Verde, Cape Town, Itajaí, Newport, Aarhus, a Kiel fly-by, and The Hague. The Grand Finale is in Genova, Italy. In addition to the ocean passage legs, the teams will also compete in an in-port race series with inshore heats taking place at each stopover.