Barcelona World Race 2010/2011

On December 31st, at 13 hours, will start one of the main events of the sailing year, the Barcelona World Race. 15 boats, 2 crew per boat, going around the world, non stop, from Barcelona to Barcelona, 25000 miles or 46300 km. It will take them over 3 months, in those incredible IMOCA Open 60 yachts.

These boats are part of an ‘open’ class. That means that the designers enjoy a level of freedom when designing, as long as the boats fit within the measurements of 60 feet (18.29 meters) in length, 4.5 meters of draught and a mast that must be no higher than 28 meters above the water. The design must also comply with a series of safety requirements that can be divided into two main groups:

Structural design regulations. These include watertight compartments and safety hatches etc.

Stability regulations. These are a series of requirements and tests performed on each boat to guarantee stability and self-righting action if the boat were to capsize.

The IMOCA Open 60s are specially designed for solo and double-handed ocean sailing. The shape of the hull and the rigging features respond to the average wind direction and swell experienced in a west-east circumnavigation of the globe. Favoring fair winds, the IMOCA Open 60s have smooth, straight hulls to plane across waves, and can reach speeds of up to 25 knots.

And here is their route:

 

The best of luck to them!