Overview
The race was established in 1982 as the BOC Challenge, with main sponsorship from BOC. The race was inspired by the Golden Globe Race , which was the first single-handed round-the-world yacht race. Although the Golden Globe was a non-stop race, the BOC Challenge concept was for a single-handed round-the-world race, to be run in stages (in contrast to the Vendée Globe , which is non-stop). As the longest single-handed event in the world, it was regarded as one of sailing's ultimate challenges. [1]
The race was run every four years. The first edition was won by Philippe Jeantot, who won all four legs of the race with an overall elapsed time of just over 159 days. In 1998, the race was renamed the Around Alone; for 2006, it is known as the Velux 5 Oceans Race.
1982-1983 Route
1990-1991 Route
1994-1995 Route
1998-1999 Route
2002 Route
2006-2007 Route
2010-2011 Route
Past results
The BOC Challenge 1986–87
Raced over four legs; Newport, Rhode Island — Cape Town — Sydney — Rio de Janeiro — Newport. Two classes of boat were entered: Class 1, 50–60 feet (15.2–18.3 m); and Class 2, 40–50 feet (12.2–15.2 m). New safety rules were introduced for this race, including compulsory watertight bulkheads and a simple stability check.
Results: [4] [5]
The BOC Challenge 1990–91
The course was changed for this edition, although it was still divided into four legs: Newport, Rhode Island — Cape Town — Sydney — Punta del Este — Newport. Three classes of boat were entered: Class 1, 50–60 feet (15.2–18.3 m); Class 2, 40–50 feet (12.2–15.2 m); and a Corinthian class.
Results: [6] [7]
The BOC Challenge 1994–95
The course was again changed for this edition, although it was still divided into four legs: Charleston, South Carolina — Cape Town — Sydney — Punta del Este — Charleston. Two classes of boat were entered: Class 1, 50–60 feet (15.2–18.3 m); and Class 2, 40–50 feet (12.2–15.2 m).
Results: [8] [9]
The Around Alone, 1998
The course was again changed for this edition, although it was still divided into four legs: Charleston, South Carolina — Cape Town — Auckland — Punta del Este — Charleston. Two classes of boat were entered: Class 1, 50–60 feet (15.2–18.3 m); and Class 2, 40–50 feet (12.2–15.2 m).
In this race Isabelle Autissier was rescued by fellow competitor Giovanni Soldini when her boat PRB capsized approximately 1,900 nautical miles (3,500 km) west of Cape Horn. [11] [12]
The results: [13] [14] [15]
Viktor Yazykov is noted for performing surgery alone, at sea, on his elbow to drain a dangerous infection after injuring his elbow during the race. He emailed a doctor who provided instructions for his treatment [16] [17] [18]
The Around Alone, 2002
The course was again changed for this edition, this time spanning five legs: Newport, Rhode Island/New York — Brixham, Devon — Cape Town — Tauranga — Salvador, Brazil — Newport. Although the race technically started and ended in Newport, it was preceded by a "prologue race", in which the boats with crews of up to five raced to New York, to take part in Sail for America, a major sailing event marking the first anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The main Around Alone event started from New York, and finished back in Newport.
Three classes of boat were entered: Class 1, IMOCA Open 60; Class 2, IMOCA Open 50; and Class 3, IMOCA Open 40.
Results: [19] [20]
The Velux 5 Oceans 2006–07
The 2006 edition covered a route of 30,140 nautical miles (55,820 km). The race started in Bilbao (Spain), on October 22, 2006, and finished there. There were only two stops, in Fremantle (Australia) and Norfolk (USA).
The race was open to monohull yachts conforming to the Open 50 and Open 60 class criteria. The Open classes are unrestricted in certain aspects but a box rule governs parameters such as overall length, draught, appendages and stability, as well as numerous other safety features. [21]
The race took place in stages, with the skippers having the chance to rest and refit at each stop-over point. Different staging points have been used over the years; the races prior to the 1998 event were run in four legs, and the 1998 event in five legs. The 2006 edition had the longest stages of any edition to date, with just three legs: [22]
| From | To | Expected Start | Expected Finish | Length (nm) |
|---|
| Bilbao, Spain | Fremantle, Australia | October 22, 2006 | Early December 2006 | 11,730 |
| Fremantle, Australia | Norfolk, Virginia, USA | January 7, 2007 | Mid March 2007 | 14,500 |
| Norfolk, Virginia, USA | Bilbao, Spain | April 15, 2007 | End of April 2007 | 3,910 |
The total length for the 2006 edition was 30,140 nautical miles (55,820 km).
The Velux 5 Oceans 2010–11
The 2010 edition of the race started in La Rochelle (France), on October 17, 2010, and finished in the same port. Stopovers were Cape Town (South Africa), Wellington (New Zealand), Punta del Este (Uruguay), and Charleston, South Carolina (USA). The sailboats were all in the "Eco 60" class (Open 60 yachts built before 1 January 2003).
Yacht racing is a sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course marked by buoys or other fixed navigational devices or racing longer distances across open water from point-to-point. It can involve a series of races with buoy racing or multiple legs when point-to-point racing.
The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean Race after Swedish automobile manufacturer Volvo took up the sponsorship, and in 2019 it was renamed The Ocean Race.
The Vendée Globe is a single-handed (solo) non-stop, unassisted round the world yacht race. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. It is named after the Département of Vendée, in France, where the race starts and ends. The Vendée Globe is considered an extreme quest of individual endurance and the ultimate test in ocean racing.
The sport and practice of single-handed sailing or solo sailing is sailing with only one crewmember. The term usually refers to ocean and long-distance sailing and is used in competitive sailing and among cruisers.
The IMOCA is a 60ft development class monohull sailing yacht governed by the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA). The class pinnacle event are single or two person ocean races, such as the Route du Rhum and the Vendée Globe and this has been intimately linked to design development within the class. The class is recognised by World Sailing.
Philippe Jeantot is a French former deep sea diver, who achieved recognition as a sailor for long-distance, single-handed racing and record-setting. He founded the Vendée Globe, a single-handed, round-the-world, non-stop yacht race.
Mike Golding is an English yachtsman, born in Great Yarmouth and educated at Reading Blue Coat School. He is one of the few yachtsmen to have raced round the world non-stop in both directions. He held the solo record for sailing round the world westabout between 1994 and 2000.
Bruce Schwab is an American sailor and ocean racer. He circumnavigated the globe twice on his Open 60 racing yacht OceanPlanet becoming the 240th and then the 254th solo sailor to do so. Schwab is the first American to officially complete the famous Vendée Globe Race (2004–2005).
Isabelle Autissier is a French sailor, navigator, writer, and broadcaster. She is celebrated for being the first woman to have completed a solo world navigation in competition. Based in La Rochelle since 1980, she is also a writer and honorary president of World Wildlife Fund-France.
Boris Herrmann is a German yachtsman and author competing mostly in offshore races in the IMOCA 60 class.
Josh Hall is a former British yachtsman.
Kojiro Shiraishi is a Japanese sailor who holds the record as the youngest sailor ever to circumnavigate the globe in a 176-day continuous, single-handed, unassisted journey in 1994.
The first around the world sailing record for circumnavigation of the world can be attributed to the surviving crew of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, including the last captain Juan Sebastián Elcano who completed their journey in 1522.
The sport of sailing involves a variety of competitive sailing formats that are sanctioned through various sailing federations and yacht clubs. Racing disciplines include matches within a fleet of sailing craft, between a pair thereof or among teams. Additionally, there are specialized competitions that include setting speed records. Racing formats include both closed courses and point-to-point contests; they may be in sheltered waters, coast-wise or on the open ocean. Most competitions are held within defined classes or ratings that either entail one type of sailing craft to ensure a contest primarily of skill or rating the sailing craft to create classifications or handicaps.
VPLP design is a French-based naval architectural firm founded by Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, responsible for designing some of the world's most innovative racing boats. Their designs presently hold many of the World Speed Sailing records.
Derek Hatfield was a Canadian sailor, and the first Canadian to race solo twice around the world.
Alan Nebauer is an Australian yachtsman who competed in the single-handed round-the-world 1994–95 BOC Challenge race aboard the yacht Newcastle Australia. Nebauer won two awards for his seamanship during the race, one of them for rescuing his British competitor Josh Hall, whose vessel foundered during the first leg from Charleston to Cape Town.
The 2020–2021 Vendée Globe was a non-stop round the world yacht race for IMOCA 60 class yachts crewed by only one person. It was the ninth edition of the race, which started and finished in Les Sables-d'Olonne, France. The race began on 8 November 2020, with the first finishers completing the course on 27 January 2021 with the 25th and final yacht to complete the race arrived on 5 March 2021.
The IMOCA 60 Class yacht Solidaires, 50 was designed by Bernard Nivelt and launched in the March 1999 after being built Thierry Dubois in France.
The Global Solo Challenge is a single-handed (solo) non-stop round the world yacht race. The race was founded by Marco Nannini. The Second edition will be 2027-2028, starting and finishing in Vigo, Galicia, Spain.
1982-1983 Route
1990-1991 Route
1994-1995 Route
1998-1999 Route
2002 Route
2006-2007 Route
2010-2011 Route
