23.01.2007
The Barcelona World Race: a new two-handed non-stop round the world yacht race starting November 2007
SAILING DUO ELLEN MACARTHUR AND ALEX THOMSON AT THE DUSSELDORF BOAT SHOW…
IN BRIEF:
* Ellen MacArthur and Hugo Boss skipper Alex Thomson attended the Dusseldorf Boat Show today (Tuesday, 23.1.07) speaking to the public and media about the up and coming two-handed Barcelona World Race.
* Alex speaks about returning to the Southern Ocean after his recent dramatic rescue: “Obviously I'm nervous about heading back into the Southern Ocean again, but for me the Barcelona World Race will be a great confidence booster…” See full quotes below.
* Five IMOCA Open 60s and nine skippers are confirmed so far for the new race starting on 11th November 2007 from Barcelona with more entries expected to confirm in the near future.
* Top German sailor Tim Kröger, part of the America's Cup Team Shosholoza crew, lent his support: “I think a double-handed race, non-stop around the world could be something very special…”
http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com
IN DETAIL:
Two of the UK's most well-known offshore solo sailors, Ellen MacArthur and Hugo Boss skipper, Alex Thomson, today attended the Dusseldorf Boat Show to speak to the public and media about the new double-handed, non-stop Barcelona World Race that starts on 11th November 2007 from Barcelona. They were joined by Volvo Ocean Race navigator Andrew Cape (co-skipper to Alex Thomson for the Barcelona World Race), America's Cup Team Shosholoza crew, and German national, Tim Kröger Till Pohlmann, head of Sports Sponsorship, Hugo Boss AG and Toni Giui of the Fundació Navegació Oceànica.
Ellen MacArthur, representing OC Events the co-organisers of the Barcelona World Race alongside the Organising Authority of the Fundació Navegació Oceànica Barcelona, commented:“The German public and media have always shown a keen interest in the sport of short-handed sailing so it's great to be here with Alex and Andrew to talk more about our sport and the latest on the Barcelona World Race which now includes a line-up of nine very, very good sailors with more expected to confirm over the next couple of months.”
Hosted in Hall 17, over 300 public and media gathered to hear the latest about the new double-handed race and the recent rescue of Alex Thomson from the Southern Ocean by fellow Velux 5 Oceans competitor Mike Golding - a story that made headline news around the globe. “Obviously I'm nervous about heading back into the Southern Ocean again this winter, but for me the Barcelona World Race will be a great confidence booster. Psychologically, to be able to go back there with a second person on board is good for me and I'm looking forward to getting out racing again,” commented Alex.
Tim Kröger, more familiar with large scale team events, has been a supporter of the Barcelona World Race since its launch in October 2005 and today voiced his support of this new race: “With two onboard, I think it can be a really, really good team effort because you help each other out and you are not on your own. It is a race I would love to do in the future. Obviously, with the America's Cup this year, there is no way I could put my own campaign together but I could be available as co-skipper if someone was to ask me!”
The Dusseldorf Boat Show runs between the 20th-28th January, occupying 200,000msq of floor space housing 1,650 exhibitors from 55 countries which attracts over 300,000 visitors.
Barcelona World Race - confirmed entries to date:
Boat name / skipper / co-skipper
PRB - Vincent Riou (FRA) / Sébastien Josse (FRA)
Hugo Boss - Alex Thomson (GBR) / Andrew Cape (AUS)
Temenos II - Dominique Wavre (SUI) / Michèle Paret (FRA)
Virbac-Paprec - Jean Pierre Dick (FRA) / Damian Foxall (IRE)
Delta Dore - Jérémie Beyou (FRA) / co-skipper to be confirmed
http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com
QUOTES OF THE DAY:
Ellen MacArthur:
“The German public and media have always shown a keen interest in the sport of short-handed sailing - it was estimated that over 31 million people in Germany saw the news coverage at the finish of my solo round the world record that was broadcast on all the major German TV networks - so it is great to be here with Alex and Andrew to talk more about our sport and the latest on the Barcelona World Race which now includes a line-up of nine very, very good sailors with more expected to confirm over the next couple of months.”
Alex Thomson, skipper, Hugo Boss:
“Obviously I'm nervous about heading back into the Southern Ocean again this winter, but for me the Barcelona World Race will be a great confidence booster. Psychologically, to be able to go back there with a second person on board is good for me and I'm looking forward to getting out racing again.”
“We are currently concentrating on getting the new boat ready and hope to launch her at the end of April. The new boat is our current priority, and our first race will be the Gotland Rund in Sweden this July. We have tried and tested a number of systems on the old boat which we have been able to use in our development of the new Hugo Boss. Hopefully, she'll be on the pace with all the other new IMOCA Open 60s. The quality of her build is second to none, which will show in her reliability.”
“The most important factor for Capey (Andrew Cape) and I in preparation for the Barcelona World Race will be getting as much time on the water sailing together as we can. Individually, making sure that our physical fitness is outstanding will be very important. Mentally, being together in a confined space with just one person for so long could be quite full on, but we are both aware of this from the outset so we can make sure it won't be an issue. Capey has experience across the board in many different types of sailing, from America's Cup to the Volvo Ocean Race to shorthanded sailing. The fact that he's a professional navigator plus his personal motivation and drive make him a great guy for me to be sailing with in this race. We want to race together as a democracy - sharing the decision making and racing the boat to our full potential.”
Till Pohlmann, head of Sports Sponsorship, Hugo Boss AG:
“Sailing is a growing market in the business of sports sponsorship. As a title sponsor of international ocean racing, we at Hugo Boss have a unique skipper in Alex Thomson, with whom we are able to achieve fantastic global press coverage, both print and broadcast. Being a lifestyle brand we activate this sponsorship in every single one of our key markets - at present in more than 100 countries - by inviting guests to enjoy a great sailing experience aboard our boat. We have also been able to tie our sailing sponsorship in with other existing long-term relationships we hold. For example, David Coulthard christened our last boat, Wladimir Klitschko (Heavy Weight Boxing World Champion) has been sailing with Alex in Kiel, and we had the boat in Monaco last year during the F1 race.”
"Fashion is made in metropolitan areas and Barcelona is a great city in one of our biggest markets worldwide. We are therefore really looking forward to the start of the Barcelona World Race in Barcelona this autumn.”
Tim Kröger, America's Cup Team Shosholoza crew:
“I've done two round the world races - the former Whitbread Round the World Race fully crewed - and now the America's cup which is also a full team event. Single-handed sailing is a whole different ball game. I reckon to be completely on your own out in the ocean, going down south, round Antarctica, can be quite frightening. But I think a double-handed race, non-stop around the world could be something very special. With two onboard, I think it can be a really, really good team effort because you help each other out and you are not on your own. It is a race I would love to do in the future. Obviously, with the America's Cup this year, there is no way I could put my own campaign together but I could be available as co-skipper if someone was to ask me! I will definitely be following this race closely, I think it's going to be great and the potential to maximize the communications side is doubled having two on board.”
For more information on the Barcelona World Race, please contact:
Lou Newlands, OC Events
E: lou.newlands@ocgroup.com mailto:lou.newlands@ocgroup.com
T: +44 (0)870 063 0210
For more information on Alex Thomson/Hugo Boss, please contact:
Annabel Merrison / Kate Fairclough, Pitch PR
E: Annabel@pitchpr.co.uk mailto:Annabel@pitchpr.co.uk
E: Kate@pitchpr.co.uk mailto:Kate@pitchpr.co.uk
T: +44 (0) 207 494 1616
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