Posted on 09 Jan, 2023

The world of extreme ocean yacht racing is a mix of speed, costly technology and talented sailors/pilots fingering touchscreens with satellite interfaced routing programs.

Autopilots now control foiling yachts that are difficult to steer by hand. Crews hang on for the body-bruising ride. 50 years ago at the start of the first Whitbread race around the world, wet washing hung in the rigging and hearty crew dinners, sitting at a table with a glass of wine was the order of the day. Family members and friends took pride in hand steering their yachts through storms and tempest, or frustrating doldrums. Steering is what you did. It is the image of the sailor. It is the brand of sailing?

Autopilots are the realm of solo sailors. Today it is impossible for a human to fly sophisticated military jets without computer assistance. Sailing is entering that new era. Humans cannot steer the latest, sophisticated, fully crewed foiling yachts around the world. Helmsmen are no longer required. That is exciting in itself and we are all eager spectators! It promises to deliver stunning speeds and epic live videos from enclosed cockpits akin to starship "Enterprise" flying the universe.

The 2023 Ocean Globe Race is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of that first 1973 Whitbread race. It is now the only around the world crewed race, via the Southern Ocean that has a place for humans steering. Sailors will also interpret their own weather without computers, or satellites and navigate by sextants on paper charts. Yes it will be slower, but that just means more stories and more fun! There is a certain serenity and sense of purpose listening to cassette tape music as you sit down for dinner with a glass of wine while racing in the Southern Ocean!

With eight months to the start of the 2023 Ocean Globe Race, several Whitbread veterans are back into IRC transatlantic racing.

While many Ocean Globe Race entrants are still in the shed this winter, some teams are already partaking in iconic transatlantic racing. Marco Trombetti, owner of Translated 9 left Cape Town on January 2nd for his first transatlantic. Meanwhile, Lionel Régnier on L'Esprit d'Équipe and Marie Tabarly on Pen Duick VI are in Lanzarote, ready for the start of the RORC Transatlantic Race on January the 8th for their Carribean adventure!

Translated 9, holding second in the Cape 2 Rio Race!

In the southern Atlantic, Translated 9 is participating in their first big race in the fleet of the 50th Cape to Rio which started on 2nd January. They are making quite an impression: 4th for Line Honours and 2nd IRC in a mixed fleet of 16 yachts!

The Swan 65 finished the 77-78 Whitbread in 5th place overall as ADC Accutrac in the hands of Clare Francis, the first woman to lead a crew in an ocean race. She sailed from Italy having completed an extensive refit, heading to Cape Town with a mixed crew of professional and amateur sailors.

The amateur crew have been selected from 1200 applicants by VOR and America's Cup supremo Paul Cayard and are mentored by Italian offshore racing dynasty Vittorio and Nico Malingri. Together they are preparing for the adventure of a lifetime: racing around the world the retro way on their iconic Swan 65.

Translated CEO, Ocean Globe Race co-skipper and shipowner Marco Trombetti is also on board for the Race and delighted with the Team's progress so far having recovered from a bout of sea sickness in the first few days.

"There is no better challenge for a crew with grand ambitions than testing ourselves in the legendary Cape 2 Rio Race. Measuring our abilities in a great regatta like this one will help us see where in our preparation we are, what our limits are and, crucially, how to push ourselves even further".Marco Trombetti

Click here to see the original article