Yacht Sponsorship » Open 60

World Yacht Racing Forum Talks to Andor Serra About the Barcelona World Race.

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:02:01 +0000

There is absolutely no doubt that if you can create a sporting event that includes the name of the venue and establish that event over time, the value is enormous. Think about Le Mans or Monaco and then think of a sporting event. Think about the Vendee Globe, or the Indianapolis 500 or Cowes Week and then think about which airport is the closest. The links between sport and tourism are growing all the time, but can new events generate the same kind of returns that have been established over hundreds of years?

One event that is trying to use the same model is the Barcelona Round the World Race. The event’s organising body, the FNOB (Barcelona Foundation for Ocean Sailing), is trying to create a World Class event for professional offshore sailors, but also used the race to promote offshore yacht racing in Spain through the ‘Barcelona Ocean Sailing Base’; a structure that brings together industries, universities, logistical support and sponsor research to help foster new talent in the offshore sailing world. The initiative also supports the “Escuderia”, a sailing team that includes four IMOCA 60’s and gives a fantastic opportunity to some new and very talented sailors.

The World Yacht Racing Forum talks to Andor Serra, Director General of the FNOB in their latest newsletter. While it doesn’t touch on the calendar conflict between the Barcelona World Race and the VELUX 5 OCEANS Race – both for Open 60 yachts, the interview gives an insight into the goals of the project.

WYRF: What is your status of preparation towards the Barcelona World Race, six months ahead of the event?

Andor Serra: “We are on schedule! We have been organizing two big test events which took place over the Spring and last month (the New-York – Barcelona Transoceanic Sailing Record and the Vuelta Espana a Vela). This has helped us identify our weaknesses and correct them. We know precisely what we need to do before the race.”

WYRF: What are your current priorities?

Andor Serra: “We are developing some technological projects aimed at increasing the coverage of the race. Our biggest project is Barcelona World Race Television; it will help us to produce and distribute high quality footage of the event, and will increase our visibility.”

WYRF: So your main objective is the same as the America’s Cup’s?

Andor Serra: “There must be a good reason for this… The sport of sailing always struggles to be on television and it is essential for event organizers to invest in order to increase their return through television.”

WYRF: You are organizing an event on one hand and promoting offshore yacht racing on another, through (amongst others) a sailing team that comprises four boats. How do both projects relate to one another?

Andor Serra: “The two projects compliment each other; they are also independent from each other. We needed to create this structure in Spain because there was no culture of short-handed offshore racing in our country. We have therefore developed a structure that brings together industries, universities, logistical support, sponsor research etc. Its ultimate purpose is to generate value.”

WYRF: Can this concept be replicated? Perhaps it would be a good model for other countries…

Andor Serra: “Well, every country is different and has different needs. Our culture is very close to the French one and our model is the training centre in Port La Forêt. It is a very efficient model that can surely be replicated; however, before you create a structure in a country, you need to be sure you have enough candidates…”

More World Yacht Racing Forum News…

Team Lazarus Join Growing Gill Sailing Sponsorship Portfolio.

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:27:12 +0000

Gill have added another sponsorship to their growing sailing portfolio with the announcement that the apparel company will back Brad Van Liew in the upcoming VELUX 5 Oceans Race. Van Liew’s Team Lazarus will join the Laser SB3 Class, Cowes Week and Emirates Team NZ as sailing properties to be sponsored by Gill.

Offshore solo racing is a fantastic R&D lab and allows the brand to make claims of functionality and comfort. As Van Liew’s Technical Clothing Sponsor, Gill’s broad line of wicking shirts, pants, fleeces, hats, jackets and foul weather gear will be an important factor in Van Liew’s safety, comfort and competitive goals.

Brad said:

“Gill makes products that work. They are constantly doing the research and development necessary to offer superior options for inshore and offshore sailing. I trust them to provide products that are durable, light, and breathable for the extreme environment I will face offshore.”

During offshore training sessions this summer and the Transatlantic sail from the U.S. to the start of the race in France this fall, Van Liew and his crew will sport Gill’s OS1 Atlantic foul weather gear constructed using a 5 Dot™, 3-layer highly breathable waterproof fabric. Van Liew calls it tough and functional. Gill’s Race Collection, which offers a UV protection factor of 50+, will be used for some of the lighter conditions offshore and during inshore sails devoted to final boat preparations and sponsors.

In warmer conditions Gill’s technical t-shirts will wick moisture away from the skin and dry quickly. The fact that they are made from100% recycled material pleases Van Liew as he has some clear objectives for sustainable living during the race. He will attempt to sail the entire 9 months without using any fossil fuels whatsoever, assisted by hydrogenerators and solar panels. The ECO 60 boat he will be racing is in fact recycled as well, built in 1998 and raced in dozens of events since then.

David Pritchard, President of Gill North America says:

“Gill is proud to align our brand with Brad and Team Lazarus. Brad has the experience and spirit to win that make for great racing and I trust we will all enjoy watching the action throughout the event.”

More Sailing Clothing and Apparel News…

Two Very Different Artemis Challenges at Cowes Week

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:12:00 +0000

As part of Artemis’ commitment to British sailing announced a few weeks back, the investment company has devoted part of it’s support to Cowes Week. In return for stickers on competing boats, Artemis have given some cash to Cowes Week organisers to ensure the event can pay for the ‘Red Arrows’ air display. Artemis is also involved with two other events during the regatta.

The Artemis Challenge

The annual IMOCA 60 sprint round the Isle of Wight, has this year attracted an impressive line up of entries from across Europe. The event will combine celebrity guests with some of the biggest names in ocean racing to compete for a £10,000 charity prize fund.

Artemis still own their Open 60, despite it being phased out of their sailing portfolio and ‘Artemis Ocean Racing’ will be helmed by double Olympic medallist Simon Hiscocks. Steve White, who has announced an ambitious round the world record attempt will compete aboard ‘Toe in the Water’ and Dee Caffari will compete in ‘Gaes Centros Auditivos’ having recently joined the Spanish-based team.

Up against the British contingent will be Roland Jourdain on Veolia Environment, Arnaud Boissières skippering Akena Verandas and Ryan Breymaier and Boris Herrmann, who will later this year compete in the Barcelona World Race aboard VE1.

The event, now in its fourth year, will take place on Tuesday 3rd August. It provides weekend and semi-pro sailors the chance to see these incredible professional machines and their skippers up close in UK waters.

The Artemis Even Keel Challenge

A fleet of six Simon Rogers-designed Artemis 20 keelboats, helmed by qualified UKSA skippers and crewed by 12 novice sailors from a mixed background of disability or disadvantage, will compete for the inaugural Artemis Even Keel Challenge Trophy over two days at Cowes Week. The race winners from Day 1 will then be joined by some of the leading names in sailing for what is set to be a highly competitive Pro-Am finale on Day 2. Each celebrity sailor will guest helm on the final race.

This new series is the brainchild of the Even Keel Project and its partners UKSA and is being mounted with the full backing and support of its primary sponsor Artemis Investment Management. The Artemis Even Keel Challenge has been put in place to help promote sailing as a ‘sport for all’ to Cowes Week’s massive audience of sailors, media and spectators.

The Challenge series kicks off on Sunday 1st August at 5.30pm over a set course off Princes Green, between the Royal Yacht Squadron and Egypt Point. They will race under the official rules of racing and the watchful eye of a Race Officer and each race will last around 30 minutes. The top three sailors from each race qualify for the final on Day 2, Monday 2nd August at 5.30pm. Spectators will then enjoy watching a host of top-flight sailors and their crew fighting it out to win the inaugural Even Keel Challenge Trophy that will be presented by a VIP guest at a prize giving ceremony after racing is completed.

Speaking on behalf of The Even Keel Project, Managing Director Dave Rutter said:

“Since the start of the Artemis Even Keel Project at UKSA, it has been both humbling and invigorating to see so many people sign up to use the project from such a wide range of disabilities and backgrounds many of whom had never sailed before. Watching them signing up for more sailing having caught the bug is simply fantastic. To now have the support of some of the world’s best sailors is quite simply adding icing on the cake.”

More Cowes Week News…

VELUX Carbon Neutral House Activates 5 Oceans Sponsorship On Shore.

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:03:51 +0000

Most of us have a large amount of control over our immediate environment. If it gets cold we can turn on a heater, if it gets dark we can turn on a light. Being confined to a 60 foot ocean racing yacht on your own focusses the mind on one’s environment, both immediate and external. It’s one of the reasons that VELUX are a partner of the 5 Oceans race – because the values of the sport and the company’s mission are well matched.

But ocean racing, despite advances in technology happens ‘out there’ and so VELUX need to ‘activate’ their sponsorship in a visible way on shore. To that end, the company has opened the carbon neutral VELUX House in the French port of La Rochelle.

Sir Robin Knox Johnston said:

“There are now less than 100 days to go until the start of the VELUX 5 OCEANS and things are really starting to get exciting. The opening of the VELUX House in La Rochelle marks the race’s commitment to sustainability and will be a fantastic centrepiece of our environmentally friendly race village.”

Located at the centre of La Rochelle’s maritime district on Esplanade Eric Tabarly in the Bassin des Chalutiers, the VELUX House will showcase to the public how it is possible to build carbon-neutral homes by using the abundance of passive thermal solar energy coming through the roof windows while also creating a healthy indoor climate.

The VELUX House will remain for one year in La Rochelle, serving as a point of information on the race for the visiting public and people of La Rochelle, updating them on news from the ocean sprints, skippers and stopovers. It will equally be used as a venue to showcase sustainability exhibitions and educational seminars on climate change, inviting personalities such as Jean-Louis Etienne and Catherine Chabaud to present their activities.

M. Langrand, President of VELUX France, commented:

“I am very happy to open the VELUX House that the people of La Rochelle will host in their port for an entire year. This CO2 neutral building is a new way of living within which, alongside its energy performance, interior comfort is delivered thanks to the maximum use of natural light and optimal ventilation.”

The VELUX House will form the centrepiece of the VELUX 5 OCEANS race village, overlooking the pontoons which will host the competing Eco 60s. The race village will be open to the public from October 9 and will carry the message of TAKING ON THE ELEMENTS, the race’s sustainability mission, supported by an exposition from race transport partner Maersk Line and other local eco exhibitors from the La Rochelle region. During the weekend of the race start, October 15 to 17, the International VELUX Award for Students of Architecture will be hosted in La Rochelle, centred round the theme of sustainable living, and the VELUX House will be a showpiece for the winners and 600 attending guests from around the world.

The VELUX House is a building experiment that demonstrates how a conscious combination of sustainable architecture, carefully selected components and the building’s surroundings can play a role in tackling some of the major climate and population challenges faced by urban areas all over the world.

More Velux 5 Oceans Race News…

MaxSea Partner With Velux 5 Oceans Race.

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 09:04:36 +0000

The VELUX 5 OCEANS race continues to announce partners leading up to the start in October. The latest partner is marine navigation supplier MaxSea.

MaxSea will work with the race direction team by providing a complete navigation software and electronic chart package that will link with the race entrants’ onboard trackers, allowing real time monitoring of the fleet for safety and up to date progress reports of the competition as it unfolds. Experts from MaxSea will also assist and train the VELUX 5 OCEANS race management team in the use of their products and supply technical assistance when required during the race.

VELUX 5 OCEANS race director David Adams said:

“It is great to have MaxSea onboard for the VELUX 5 OCEANS and the provision of the necessary routing software to the race management team will be a real asset for the safety and watch keeping of the fleet. MaxSea’s products are used and trusted by some of the best sailors in the world and we have every confidence they will perform outstandingly in the 2010/11 VELUX 5 OCEANS.”

Frédéric Algalarrondo, sales director of Maxsea International said:

“We are really proud to be partners of the VELUX 5 OCEANS. David Adams and the Race Direction can fully count on our support during the entire race.”

Alongside their role helping the race management team, MaxSea will be at the race start and finish in La Rochelle to showcase their state-of-the-art technologies.

More VELUX 5 OCEANS News….

Maersk Become Official Transportation Partner of Velux 5 Oceans

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 08:09:52 +0000

The business models of modern day yacht racing events require partnerships that can keep costs to a minimum and at the same time provide value. Many of the biggest costs are those associated with transportation and logistics.

Clipper Ventures, the organisers of the VELUX 5 OCEANS has announced that Danish company Maersk Line will be the Official Transportation Partner of the race. The company will provide complimentary shipping services to the skippers, partners and stakeholders before and during the 35,000 mile round the world yacht race, just one part of the extensive support package offered to competitors in the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010.

Race chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston commented:

“The partnership between Maersk Line and the VELUX 5 OCEANS will offer an unprecedented level of transportation support for our skippers, partners and race stakeholders. For the first time in an Open 60 race, containers will be sent around the world at no cost to our entrants, with a global team from Maersk Line on hand to ensure the highest level of service. The race profile is a fantastic vehicle for Maersk Line to demonstrate the scale and scope of their services, and this partnership further strengthens the unparalleled support package on offer to skippers in the VELUX 5 OCEANS.”

“Equally, one of the core values of the VELUX 5 OCEANS race is sustainability and a desire to look after and protect the oceans we use. Maersk Line shares our values and has proven its commitment to reducing the impact of shipping on the planet. Shipping our containers with Maersk Line will allow us to rest safe in the knowledge that all is being done to minimise the race’s footprint.”

Anders Norgaard, Head of Change & Mobilization, Maersk Line Sustainability said,

“We are setting sails for a new and more sustainable horizon to the benefit of our customers, employees and the surrounding society. Therefore, we are proud to lend our support to the sailors undertaking this great challenge. The determination of the organisers to create an event that is accessible and affordable for a broader group of sailors and their focus on encouraging environmental best practice, aligns with our own philosophy, and we are confident that this year’s race will create an exciting new chapter in the VELUX 5 OCEANS’ history.”

As well as the complimentary transportation of containers around the planet, each team entered in the VELUX 5 OCEANS will enjoy a benefits package that includes a state-of-the-art onboard communications and media system supplied by industry leaders Marine Camera Solutions. Also included in the package is a financial investment of €21,500 to offset accommodation costs in each port, not to mention in-port services. Finally, the skippers will be racing for their share of a massive €500,000 prize pot, one of the largest prize funds in the history of Open 60 ocean racing. Further benefits and race partners will be announced in the coming weeks.

Michael Rasmussen, Chief Marketing Officer, the VELUX Group, commented,

”We are very pleased to have Maersk Line onboard as partner and we look forward to work closely together during the race, especially on the sustainability agenda. Maersk Line and the VELUX Group share many similarities also a common business philosophy about being best in class, which makes it even more obvious to use the race for joined events.”

The VELUX 5 OCEANS, run by Clipper Ventures PLC, starts from La Rochelle in France on October 17 and features five ocean sprints. After heading from La Rochelle to Cape Town, the race will then take in Wellington in New Zealand, Salvador in Brazil and Charleston in the US before returning back across the Atlantic to France.

More Velux 5 Oceans News…

Artemis Invest in Britain’s Offshore Racing Future.

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:15:49 +0000

Sponsorship people will tell you that placing sponsorship can be as hard as raising it. While that might sound counter intuitive to sailors who see brands visibly spending money on marketing, getting the fit right between a brand an an audience and then finding the perfect vehicle to deliver that message takes time and effort.

Almost 12 months ago, Artemis took a step back from their sailing sponsorship programmes and asked themselves if it was working, how it might be done better and whether sponsoring something else might deliver the company’s marketing objectives better. Working with OC Group and other sponsorship consultants, Artemis set about evaluating how most effectively communicate as a British company to a British audience.

Mark Tyndall, Artemis CEO says:

For a business like ours, a British business, the traditional routes like football don’t fit. Football for example is very tribal – if you sponsor Manchester city, you might sell a lot of product to people who support Manchester City, but not to many supporters of Manchester United. Rugby is also very tribal. Other sports like golf and tennis, you get a small part of the action and you can’t really control the events so it is more difficult to give your clients an experience in which they can participate.

The demographics of sailing fit with our business, and our clients get to meet the sailors and participate in some of the events. There is also the fantastic ‘billboard’ effect which we have seen from the Open 60.

Sailing then is the preferred vehicle, but which events fit with the British nature of the brand? When you sit down and look at it, there are not very many British sailing events that provide the exposure required. While there are a lot of high profile and talented British sailors and campaigns, many spend the bulk of their time sailing in other markets. For example, Ian Williams a former World Champion competes in the World Match Racing Tour, but the series never visits UK shores.

Cowes Week is certainly very British and is notably without title sponsorship. Artemis have been involved with the long running regatta via the Artemis Challenge, a pro-am race around the Isle of Wight for Open 60s. Part of the new Artemis sailing sponsorship program will include increased support for Cowes Week. (More about that in a separate article soon).

So how does a brand like Artemis spend money in British sailing when the ‘right’ platform doesn’t exist. The answer is to create a platform that can be customised to deliver exactly what the company needs, which is how the Artemis Offshore Racing Academy was created.

The Artemis Offshore Racing Academy is not just good sports business, it is good business. Artemis along with OC Group have created a long term programme that is bigger than sport or marketing. Like the Oman Sail project, another OC Group project, there are legacy considerations built into the four year campaign. Sailing as a sport suffers from a lack of defined paths through the sport which sees talent drop out of the system. The RYA has 1000 sailors on its development programme, while there are only 40 at Olympic level.

Rod Carr says:

What we need to do is have a number of routes and obvious ladders so people can say – I know where the bottom of that ladder is and I can start to plan. When they are sailing at age 13 and they see Ellen (McArthur) or Mike (Golding) they can say – I know how to get there.

Although there are several well proven Open 60 sailors in the UK, most are without sponsorship. While creating another crop of new competitors might make it more difficult to raise money from a finite pool of brands with the cash to back them all, Artemis thinks that the academy will raise the profile of the sport and attract new backers.

Mark Tyndall says:

Increasing the level of talent through an academy gives sponsors a wider range of talent to choose from and hopefully will help the Open 60 discipline to attract a larger share of sponsorship.

Mark Turner, CEO of OC Group says:

We are missing out on a lot of sailors who might have gone through the Olympic programme and who drop out of the system. Part of this is because the leap from a sponsorship perspective to go from a funded RYA program to an Open 60 budget. It’s commercially a big leap, technically a big leap and mentally a scary thing to do. This limits the number of people who are willing to make the step.

VELUX 5 OCEANS Race Announces Campaign Dates.

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:38:22 +0000

While the Vendee Globe is recognised as a true test of offshore sailing skill and stamina, the event has only one start and one end. This is great for the Vendee Region, but limits the commercial opportunities of the race. One of the reasons that the Volvo Ocean Race is increasingly successful, is the stopover format that allows for multiple starts and multiple finishes with the bonus for sponsors and partners to activate in multiple markets.

The same format applies to the VELUX 5 OCEANS race, which has announced the dates of the starts in the 2010/11 edition of the race. The race will start and end in the French port of La Rochelle and visit Cape Town in South Africa, Wellington in New Zealand, Salvador in Brazil and Charleston in the USA.

Ocean Sprint 1: La Rochelle to Cape Town – 7,500 nautical miles. Start date: October 17
Ocean Sprint 2: Cape Town to Wellington – 7,000 nautical miles. Start date: December 12
Ocean Sprint 3: Wellington to Salvador – 7,400 nautical miles. Start date: February 6
Ocean Sprint 4: Salvador to Charleston – 4,000 nautical miles. Start date: April 10
Ocean Sprint 5: Charleston to La Rochelle – 3,600 nautical miles. Start date: May 14

While adding stopovers and time to the race adds cost, sponsors can activate campaigns in a wider variety of markets than a n0n-stop race.

VELUX 5 OCEANS race director David Adams said:

For sponsors, there are opportunities for international media, hospitality and promotions in some of the world’s most spectacular harbour cities. For spectators, there are more opportunities to meet the inspirational skippers at the various ports, and to watch the spectacular Sprint starts and finishes, whether ‘live’ or via the media or internet.”

“The VELUX 5 OCEANS race management team is working with our city partners to deliver high quality stopovers for skippers, providing world class services, global media coverage and reducing costs as much as possible across the board.”

More VELUX 5 OCEANS News…

Jean-Pierre Dick’s JP54 – Racing Applied to Cruising.

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 10:31:08 +0000

One of the greatest races in the world took place in France on the weekend. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an event that has everything – history, legend, iron-fisted management, spectators and more. Sailing event promoters could learn a lot from Le Mans, but so could yacht manufacturers. The 2010 event saw sailing sponsor Audi claim the top 3 positions on the podium – a perfect platform for the brand to launch it’s new product – the Audi A1.

The reason that Le Mans and sports car racing in general is a good model for sailing is that both prototype and production classes are eligible. For a company like Audi, the race serves not only as valuable R&D, but winning allows them to back up marketing claims.

While we would normally not welcome yet another new boat design in a crowded and overcomplicated market, it is fantastic to see a yacht that makes a direct connection between racing and cruising. Most of the mass-market yacht producers swear that the audience for their boast don’t care about racing – the new JP54 will test that claim.

French sailor, Jean-Pierre Dick, has imagined a top-of-the-range fast cruising yacht. Designed by Guillaume Verdier with the interior designed by Stéphanie Marin, the JP54 will be produced in a limited series by Absolute Dreamer.

Jean-Pierre Dick said:

“I imagined the cruising yacht of my dreams during my last two Vendée Globe races. I wanted to sail offshore and at the same time enjoy stopovers. I therefore conceived the JP54, a uniquely designed light and fast yacht, to retain the pleasure of surfing at 20 knots more comfortably than on my racing yacht. With the JP54, you can share the sensations and the pleasures of sailing with your family and friends.”

Just as Audi use Le Mans to test innovative new technology under extreme conditions, the JP54 takes ideas from Dick’s Open 60 ‘Paprec-Virbac 2′ and applies them to a production boat.

In order to optimize the performance of the JP54 and to create a new indoor living space, the boat has a ‘satellite’; a rotating carousel. This innovative concept was developed on board Paprec-Virbac 2. The satellite is a galley-chart table unit into which all the systems such as the batteries, hydraulics and storage are fitted. The loaded weight (600 kg) can be transferred windward in a few seconds just by pressing a button. It is the first time that a similar concept has been put into use on a cruising yacht. The gain is important both in terms of performance and comfort on board. The sailors are always windward when at the chart table or cooking, while the guests enjoy a large space leeward.

Jean-Pierre Dick has also called upon his single-handed race experience to make the boat more manoeuvrable. He says:

“Through the experience of single-handed sailing, I have been able to design a boat that is really simple to use.” The hydraulic winches remove the physical side to manoeuvring. In 10 minutes, all the sails are hoisted! The cockpit is uncluttered making movement easy on deck and allowing you to enjoy the sunbaths comfortably. The whole of the pit is brought back to starboard on an electric winch. There is no mainsheet rail. The JP54 can easily be manoeuvred double-handed in all circumstances.”

Vital statistics:

Hull length:	16.45m
LOA:	18.235m
Beam:	5.3m
Air draft:	25.10m
Draft:	3.5 m (2.5 m with the keel canted)
Displacement:	9 tonnes
Sail area upwind:	216 m2
Sail area downwind:	434 m2
Architect:	Guillaume Verdier
Interior designer:	Stéphanie Marin
Concept:	Jean-Pierre Dick
Builder:	Absolute Dreamer

Photo Credit: Ivor Wilkins

Velux 5 Oceans Certified as a Clean Regatta.

admin — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 08:47:21 +0000

It’s one of those days. One of those days designated by some bureaucrat as being the official day to focus our attention on something important. Today (June 8th) has been declared World Oceans Day and it is important because without the oceans there would not be a yacht racing industry.

Thankfully, most involved with the sport of sailing have an understanding of the importance of the marine environment. Sailing as a sport plays a large role in generating awareness for a variety of organisations that protect marine ecosystems, animals and birds.

The VELUX 5 OCEANS race has had the environments high on its agenda for a while. Now the event has teamed up with ocean conservation group Sailors for the Sea

VELUX 5 OCEANS race management has pledged to make the 30,000 nautical mile race a ‘Clean Regatta’ – a certification program from Sailors for the Sea which helps regattas, yacht clubs and sailing programs achieve higher environmental standards. The event has been certified as operating at ‘gold’ status, the highest rating given by US-based organisation. In doing so, they will ensure the VELUX 5 OCEANS generates less waste, reduces the amount of debris in the water and limits the amount of fossil fuels used during the race.

VELUX 5 OCEANS Race Chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston said:

“Sustainability is at the core of the VELUX 5 OCEANS, so to be certified a ‘Clean Regatta’ by Sailors for the Sea is a great boost for us. It reinforces our commitment to spreading an eco-friendly message around the world.”

Chris Mancini, program director for the Sailors for the Sea added:

“Sailors for the Sea is very excited to work with the VELUX 5 OCEANS race to support its commitment to ocean health protection and preservation. The commitment that this gruelling race is making toward prioritizing ocean health should be an inspiration to boaters everywhere.”

At the race start in La Rochelle The VELUX Group will showcase a zero energy concept house and announce and celebrate the winners of the International VELUX Award 2010 for students of architecture at an award event. Besides helping others reducing their impact on the climate The VELUX Group have set a goal of cutting its own CO2 emission by 50% in 2020.

The Clean Regatta program is available for all interested yacht clubs, regattas and sailing programs, and is found across the U.S., in the Caribbean, and now literally around the world in 2010. Clubs and regattas can realize immediate economic benefits by participating in the program ranging from saving money by reducing reliance on plastic bottles, fossil fuels, and disposable products; to getting discounts on environmentally friendly products through the Clean Regattas program; to reducing excess spending by anticipating regulations and avoiding abrupt and costly changes due to new laws and related cleanup efforts; and attracting new sponsors, donors, investors, and foundations for non-profit clubs through the positive awareness of the Clean Regatta efforts.

More Velux 5 Oceans News…