The final countdown before the first leg of the legendary regatta The Ocean Race is underway. On Sunday 15 January, 11 crews will line up for the ocean race from Alicante to Cape Verde. Among the VO65 class yachts is the Polish WindWhisper.
The Ocean Race starts on Sunday
After last week’s harbour race in Alicante, in which the Polish team gave no chance to their competitors, it is now time for the offshore race. On Sunday, the first leg of The Ocean Race will start at 2 pm sharp.
Participants in the race will leave the welcoming berths of Ocean Live Park behind the stern, swapping the comfort of land life for the multi-day rigour of racing sailing. A 1,900-nautical-mile route lies ahead of them, with a ‘warm-up’ in the Mediterranean, a spectacular passage through Gibraltar and then on to the vastness of the ocean.
‘Polish’ power
The WindWhisper Racing Team used the days leading up to the start to do some final training and fine-tuning. There was also a moment to calm down and relax before the long, extreme effort that awaits in the Atlantic.
“Our team is a combination of youthful enthusiasm and considerable experience. The first leg of The Ocean Race, which starts on Sunday, will be the first real test of teamwork, cooperation and mutual trust on board. Based on the weather forecasts, which we have been analysing for many days now, we are expecting very challenging conditions. However, I think we have already proven that we are ready to race at the highest level and we will do our best to show our best side,”
Pablo Arrarte, the Spanish skipper of the Polish yacht, declares.
The WindWhisper Racing Team is competing in its class against five other teams, i.e., the Portuguese ‘Mirpuri,’ triumphant in last year’s The Ocean Race Europe, the Dutch ‘Team JAJO,’ which includes Bouwe Bekking (it was under his supervision that the Poles prepared for Sailing Poland), the Mexican ‘Viva Mexico,’ the Lithuanian ‘Ambersail 2’ and the Austrian-Italian team ‘Austrian Ocean Racing – powered by Team Genova.’
The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup will be won by the best team after three stages, i.e., Alicante – Mindelo, Aarhus – The Hague, and The Hague – Genoa. Polish yachts competing in the prestigious The Ocean Race are supported by sponsors CISE, Bumech SA, WindWhisper, AWL Grip and Helly Hansen.
We already know the WindWhisper line-up for the first leg of The Ocean Race. On board the Polish yacht will sail:
- Pablo Arrarte – skipper
- Liz Wardley – boat captain
- Neal McDonald
- Aksel Magdahl – navigator
- Antonia “Ñeti” Cuervas-Mons
- Magdalena Kwaśna
- Guillermo Altadill Fischer
- Arianne van de Loosdrecht
- Stanisław Bajerski
- Kacper Gwóźdź
- Tomasz Piotrowski – on-board reporter
Sunday’s start and ongoing coverage of the regatta can be seen on Eurosport TV and the organiser’s website: www.theoceanrace.com.
Read more ⤵️