LE HAVRE, FRANCE — 22 October 2015 For Canadian Ocean Racing, getting to the start line of the Transat Jacques Vabre race on 25 October will be a win. The team has had a long journey to their first IMOCA-class race — facing many challenges including a circumnavigation of North America, funding woes, an Atlantic crossing and a hurricane.
Their latest challenge almost cost them their first IMOCA race, which they have tried so hard to reach. As the IMOCA class’s only Canadian team, the team first had to cross the Atlantic before they could even start their race back across for the Transat Jacques Vabre. But this crossing was not the biggest challenge, Hurricane Joaquin was.
Canadian Ocean Racing’s final stop in North America before heading to Europe was the sailing mecca of Newport, Rhode Island. The team arrived at the end of September to undergo class measurements, taking the keel and mast off to be certified under IMOCA class rules. All was going well as scheduled, until a tropical cyclone building in the Caribbean decided to stick its hand in the future of offshore racing for Canada.
As a trained meteorologist, Skipper Eric Holden watched anxiously as the weather system developed into a hurricane and its projected path grew to be a major threat to the team’s crossing. The team had to wait a full week before they could depart and ride the tail of the hurricane over to France for the Transat Jacques Vabre race start. It was either that, or sail directly into the wrath of the hurricane, which Skipper Eric Holden was not willing to do.
To wait for the hurricane to pass risked the team’s participation in the Transat Jacques Vabre, but to sail into the hurricane risked it all. Despite having just finally raised enough money from fans to compete in the Transat Jacques Vabre, the race once again seemed out of reach.
But this is a team that has fought their whole way here, and they were not going to stop now. Canadian Ocean Racing sailed the Open 60 O Canada from the west coast of Canada to the east coast last spring, hosted over 25 events this summer and welcomed hundreds of Canadians onboard O Canada — all without corporate sponsorship. The team is still in search for corporate sponsorship and knows that competing in the Transat Jacques Vabre Race will give them the experience and exposure they need to bring a sponsor onboard for the Vendee Globe Race.
So the decision was made: better late than never. So O Canada left as soon as the coast was clear. The team will now arrive to the Transat Jacques Vabre race village in Le Havre with just four days to prepare for the race.
“After all the challenges we’ve faced to get here, we feel like racing will be the easy part! We may be a young team, but we’ve shown we have the passion and drive to get us this far. This is only the beginning for Canadian Ocean Racing,” said Morgen Watson, co-skipper Canadian Ocean Racing.
As Canadian Ocean Racing reaches its first major milestone towards the Vendee Globe, the team has released part 1 of its documentary “Journey to the Vendee Globe”. Check out part 1 – The O Canada Story – on the team’s YouTube channel to get the full story, from the beginning.
Canadian Ocean Racing is still actively pursuing corporate sponsorship and are looking for the right brand partner that will support the team’s mission and goals. Those wishing to donate to the program can submit tax-deductible donations through the team’s charity foundation Wind Athletes Canada: www.windathletes.ca/donate
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Press Contact
Meg Reilly, PR & Partnerships Manager
mreilly@canadianoceanracing.com
+1 908 294 2222
Canadian Ocean Racing
Canadian Ocean Racing (COR) is Canada’s premier offshore racing team. Founded by Eric Holden and Morgen Watson, COR is dedicated to promoting the sport of offshore racing in Canada. COR is using Open 60 O Canada, built in Canada, for an offshore training program and is taking her back on the racing circuit to compete in the IMOCA races, like the Vendee Globe.
The mission of COR is to raise the profile of Canadian offshore racing while building a program to develop the next generation offshore sailors. The team launched its Aspiring Offshore Athletes (AOA) Program in March 2015 in which young Canadian sailors have the opportunity to be mentored and trained by Eric Holden on various offshore passages onboard O Canada. Visit www.canadianoceanracing.com for more information.
Transat Jacques Vabre
The Transat Jacques Vabre is a yachting race that follows the historic coffee trading route between France and Brazil. It is named after (and sponsored by) a French brand of coffee. The event is open to multihulls and monohulls from the following classes: Class 40, IMOCA, Multi 50 and Ultime. www.transat-jacques-vabre.com
Vendee Globe Race
The Vendee Globe is a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed non-stop and without assistance. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. The 2016-2017 edition is planned to start on Sunday, 6 November 2016.
As the only single-handed non-stop round-the-world race, the race is a serious test of individual endurance and is regarded by many as the ultimate in ocean racing. www.vendeeglobe.org
IMOCA
Founded in 1991 and recognised by ISAF (International Sailing Federation) since 1998, IMOCA is the class association, which takes care of 60-foot Open monohulls (18.28 metres). With more than twenty skippers signed up, its championship includes two round the world races, a round Europe race and several ocean races. The IMOCA class aims to make ocean racing more international and it brings together ideas about competitions, innovation, human adventure and safety.
