The Ocean Race

Since 1973, The Ocean Race has provided the ultimate test of a team and a human adventure like no other. Over four decades, it has kept an almost mythical hold over some of the greatest sailors and has been the proving ground for the legends of our sport.

 

Visit the Ocean Race Website

About the sponsorship

Building on the award-winning sustainability program from the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race, of which 11th Hour Racing was the founding sponsor,  the sponsorship has been renewed and expanded for the 14th edition of The Ocean Race. This visionary partnership, the largest of its kind in sport, focuses on initiatives to promote the restoration of ocean health, embedding sustainability in all event operations.

As part of this cutting-edge ‘Racing with Purpose’ initiative, the partners have committed to a comprehensive action plan to initially: 

  • Convene 11 Ocean Race Summits and Innovation Workshops.
  • Work with experts and sailing teams to explore the use of state-of-the-art renewable energy systems onboard the IMOCA 60 and VO65 classes during the 14th edition of The Ocean Race in 2023.
  • Inspire school children around the world to take action for the ocean through a multi-lingual, curriculum-based education program.
  • Continue the powerful science program developed in the last race, which gathered critical oceanographic and microplastic data, and examine how all teams can participate in this groundbreaking research.
  • Inspire millions of Race Village visitors with the possibility of a sustainable world through interactive experiences at each stopover.

BACKGROUND

Since 1973, The Ocean Race has provided the ultimate test of a team and a human adventure like no other. Over four decades it has kept an almost mythical hold over some of the greatest sailors and been the proving ground for the legends of our sport.

While racing to the furthest points in the ocean from land, sailors continued to witness plastic pollution, raising awareness and demand to both reduce the Race’s environmental impact, and leverage this powerful global media platform that reaches millions of people to draw attention to the crisis facing our oceans.

Following the success of the ground-breaking and award-winning sustainability efforts in the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race, of which 11th Hour Racing was a Founding Principal Partner, sustainability will continue to be a core value of the Race doubling down on efforts to restore ocean health and to lead, inspire and engage fans on this critical issue.

The Ocean Race will start in Alicante, Spain, with two classes of boats racing: the high-tech, foiling IMOCA 60s and the one-design VO65 fleet that provided the closest race in the history of the event in the last edition.