Latest news with #OceanRace
Reuters
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Ocean Race anchors in Itajai again with two stopovers secured
June 16 (Reuters) - Ocean racing diehards have reason to cheer with Monday's announcement that Itajai is back on the map for both 2027 and 2031 when the Brazilian port will host the finish of the Southern Ocean leg, organisers of The Ocean Race confirmed. The coastal hotspot in Santa Catarina has become a firm favourite on the round-the-world route, drawing more than a million fans to past stopovers as shattered sailors limp in from the world's wildest waters. "Itajai is always a very welcome stopover for The Ocean Race and our sailors, not least because it usually comes after the longest leg at sea," said Johan Salen, Director of The Ocean Race. "The passion the people in Itajai have for the Race and the leadership the team in Itajai has demonstrated in sustainable event excellence makes it a natural fit for a fifth consecutive stopover." The city made a sustainability mark during the 2023 edition by eliminating over 300,000 single-use plastics and was Brazil's first to join the UN #CleanSeas campaign. Race officials confirmed the 2027 edition will again feature the cutting-edge foiling IMOCA yachts known for their record-breaking speeds. "This is a partnership between this great event and the governments of Itajai and the state of Santa Catarina," said Robison Coelho, Mayor of Itajai. "Now planning begins to make this the biggest edition of The Ocean Race that Itajai has ever had." The stopover's legacy extends beyond racing, with a donated fleet of small training boats now operating as a sailing school where The Ocean Race teams engage with local children during each visit, fostering ocean literacy and connection to the sea. The Ocean Race is one of the world's most gruelling and prestigious offshore sailing events, taking crews on a months-long, round-the-world journey that tests the limits of endurance, teamwork and seamanship. First held in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race, it has evolved into a high-tech contest of cutting-edge yachts racing across treacherous oceans, from the Southern Ocean to the North Atlantic. The race features professional sailors competing in legs between global ports.
Reuters
12-06-2025
- Science
- Reuters
Racing sailors to double as ocean scientists in European waters
June 12 (Reuters) - Every yacht in this summer's Ocean Race Europe will double as a floating laboratory, gathering vital ocean data as crews battle their way between seven iconic European ports, organisers say. The fleet will gather measurements on water temperature, salinity, oxygen, CO2 levels, microplastics and environmental DNA during the offshore competition from August 10 to September 20. Some teams will deploy drifter buoys designed to transmit meteorological information for years afterward. "We know conditions in our ocean are changing rapidly but scientists need more data to better understand what is happening, the pace of change and how this impacts ocean health," said Lucy Hunt, Ocean Impact Director of The Ocean Race and a marine biologist. "Due to the vastness of the ocean, reliable data is very sparse, and there are many areas that are undersampled." The race begins in Kiel, Germany and visits Portsmouth, Porto, Cartagena, Nice, Genova, and Montenegro's Boka Bay. Organisers report that the 2023 around-the-world race generated more than 4 million data points for researchers. "By putting different configurations of The Ocean Race Science Instruments on different race boats we can broaden the scope of the data we collect," said Stefan Raimund, Scientific Advisor to The Ocean Race. The Ocean Race Europe is a multi-stage offshore sailing competition organised by the same group behind the round-the-world Ocean Race. It features top-tier IMOCA 60 and VO65 yachts crewed by mixed-gender teams. The IMOCA 60 and VO65 are elite ocean racing yachts at the heart of major offshore events. The 60-foot IMOCA is a foiling, carbon-fibre monohull designed for solo or short-handed races, while the 65-foot VO65 is a one-design yacht used in fully crewed races like The Ocean Race.
