2011-12 Global Ocean Race confirms tenth entry

by Oliver Dewar on 9 Dec 2009
Bahamas-based South African sailor Lenjohn van der Wel today confirmed his Team Entry in the 2011-12 Global Ocean Race.

Van der Wel and his brother Peter - both former superyacht captains - started the 2008-09 edition of the race but were forced to retire into Cape Town shortly after the start of Leg 2 with a variety of issues onboard their Class40 Kazimir – Ocean Warrior.

'We were bitterly disappointed to retire from the last race so there is definitely unfinished business out there for me,' said a very upbeat Van der Wel. 'I have been planning this race entry for some months and now it is time to commit,' he explains. 'Josh Hall and his team did such a great job last time around and we would not consider doing this unless they were running the event.'

Van der Wel’s Class40 is an Owen-Clarke designed Express 40, built for him in Cowes, Isle of Wight, in 2007. She is already fully equipped to Category 0 race standards and her popular skipper is now putting together the operating budget for his Global Ocean Race campaign.

Funding will be through a mixture of corporate sponsorship and co-skippers paying to race individual legs of the circumnavigation as part of the team. Van der Wel already has strong interest from a number of sailors ready to join him on the adventure of a lifetime, but anyone that is seriously interested can contact him directly via the team website www.vanderwel-racing.com

Brother, Peter van der Wel, will race onboard as co-skipper for one or two legs and will also be boat captain overseeing every detail of preparation for this highly competitive event.

'It is a great pleasure to welcome Lenjohn back for the next race – he and Peter are part of the race family from 2008-09,' adds Race Director Josh Hall. 'We are extremely proud to have so many competitors from the previous race returning for what is going to be an amazing event in 2011-12.'