34 Breeze Magazine
Only production yachts designed before 1988 are permitted to enter the Ocean Globe race, which excludes custom racers like Steinlager 2 – Ivor Wilkins photo.
RNZYS plays its part in Whitbread 50th anniversary salute Fifty years on from the first fully-crewed round the world race, the modern descendants of those early pioneers blast across oceans at extraordinary speeds, aided by space-age technology and electronics, sailed by highly trained professional athletes and backed by global sponsors with armies of public relations experts telling their stories. It is grand prix sailing of the highest order – far removed from the enthusiastic amateur adventure-seekers, who set off from Portsmouth in 1973 armed with sextants to plot their way around the planet. Now, however, a new race will revive memories of where it all began. And the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron – which has played a significant role through most of the subsequent 13 iterations of the race – will host the entrants during their Auckland stopover this summer. The Ocean Globe Race is described as “an eight-month adventure around the world for ordinary sailors on normal yachts. Racing oceangoing GRP production yachts designed before 1988, there will be no computers, no satellites, no GPS, and no high-tech materials. Sextants, team spirit and raw determination alone in the great traditions of ocean racing are allowed on this truly human endeavour.” The brainchild of Australian adventurer Don McIntyre, who finished 2nd in his class in the 1990 BOC Single-handed Round the World Race, the idea is to go back “to that first great Whitbread Race and sail like it’s 1973”.
At present, 14 yachts ranging in size from 51ft to 74ft are entered, representing Australia (two), France (five), Finland (two), South Africa, Spain, Italy, USA and UK with a potential 15th entry still to come. Several of the yachts competed in early Whitbread races, including L’esprit d’equipe, which won the 1985 edition. Maiden, the Bruce Farr design, which competed in the 1989 race with the first all-female crew led by Tracy Edwards, will return for the Ocean Globe Race – once again with an all-female crew. The race will take competitors on four legs starting and finishing in Southampton with stopovers in Cape Town, Auckland and Punta del Este. The shortest leg is 5430nm and the longest, from New Zealand to Uruguay via Cape Horn, is 8370nm. The Auckland stopover will be the longest with the first yachts expected to arrive about December 14. The race yachts will tie up in front of ‘Restaurant Row’ at Wynyard Quarter, where passers-by can view them. The fleet will depart on Sunday, January 14. It is expected that between 300 to 400 families will travel to Auckland to join competitors for the Christmas festivities. Following a recent visit to Auckland by one of the race organisers, the RNZYS has agreed to host the fleet and undertake the race management for the finish and re-start. “It is exciting for us as a club to be supporting a race like this,” says