Sail-World.com : Overwhelming response for Global Ocean Challenge

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Sail-World.com : Overwhelming response for Global Ocean Challenge

Overwhelming response for Global Ocean Challenge

It’s been just two weeks since the Global Ocean Challenge was officially announced and the response has been overwhelming.

It seems that the idea of a race around the world that is within the reach of many aspiring circumnavigators has struck a chord. To date 52 people have registered their interest to compete and we know of 12 additional sailors who want to do the race but have not contacted us directly. While it’s definitely a big jump from registering interest to showing up with a boat, the fact that this event has attracted sailors from as far away as Japan and Australia is encouraging.

The principal driving force behind the creation of the Global Ocean Challenge was to open up the realm of around-the-world racing to a new generation of shorthanded sailors and adventurers. There is, we believe, a pent-up demand for an event that does not stretch the skills and financial means of interested sailors.

These days it’s all but impossible to get a berth on a Volvo boat. It’s technically too extreme and expensive for many (most) sailors to put up a competitive entry in the Vendee or Velux Race, and many sailors simply do not want to pay a small fortune to race around the world the wrong way.

The Global Ocean Challenge brings short-handed sailing back to it’s roots; spirited, competent sailors looking for an adventure of a lifetime in a competitive environment that allows them to visit some interesting countries and encourages families and friends to get involved. It also provides a perfect steppingstone for professional sailors looking to ramp up their careers by gaining needed offshore experience while at the same time allowing their sponsors to test the waters with an international event.

We are working hard to nail down the course and things are progressing well in that department. Charleston, SC is squarely behind the stopover in the US and we feel certain that Brad and Meaghan van Liew will organize a sensational visit for the competitors.

We hope to announce more details about the New Zealand stopover and the start/finish port soon. One of the more interesting aspects of the feedback we are receiving is a demand for a double-handed division in the 50-foot class. This was not unexpected since most of the interest has been in the 40-foot double-handed division.

It’s here that we expect the truly inspiring human drama stories to take place, and it’s these stories that will allow the Global Ocean Challenge to straddle between international sporting event and mainstream reality event.

Because the Global Ocean Challenge is competitor driven we welcome your input and appreciate your interest. We will strive to be as responsive as possible and to keep you informed when there are new developments.

by Josh Hall and Brian Hancock 8:11 AM Sun 26 Feb 2006 GMT

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