MADRID, 7 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Italian city of Genoa, venue for the Grand Final of the next edition of The Ocean Race, will gather at the end of June 2023 an exclusive representation of the legends of the regatta in the emblematic Italian port to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the regatta .
Over the next year, The Ocean Race will celebrate its 50th anniversary by promoting historical content in the regatta programming, through a special marketing collection and a virtual regatta of legends, all leading up to the Legends of Genoa event.
“We are very excited to share the story of The Ocean Race here in Genoa, as part of this summer’s Grand Final celebrations,” said Race President Richard Brisius at the ‘Towards The Ocean Race’ event, which was held in Genoa.
“One of our racing legends, the late Sir Peter Blake, once said that this race ‘gets in your blood and you can’t get rid of it’, and I think that’s a perfect description of how the challenge of The Ocean Race. It gets into your imagination and doesn’t let go. This is the story we want to honor and celebrate during our 50th anniversary in 2023.”
Enrique Carlin, head of the watch aboard his father Ramón’s boat, the Sayula II, winner of the first Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973-74, acknowledged that things “have changed a lot” in recent decades. “The boats and the sailing, all the technology behind the event… The one thing that has never changed is the enthusiasm and love of the sailors to be there, sailing the big ocean with the strong winds and stormy waves,” Indian.
The ‘Towards The Ocean Race’ event took place at the Porto Antico in Genoa, aboard the Amerigo Vespucci, a majestic and emblematic sailboat used by the Italian Navy for training purposes. The Amerigo Vespucci has already been to several previous stage starts and during the recent stop of The Ocean Race Europe.
Born as the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973 and known as the Volvo Ocean Race from 2001 to 2018, The Ocean Race has become the benchmark fully crewed round-the-world regatta in the sport of sailing. The regatta of legends will be part of the activities of the host city on the occasion of the arrival of the 14th edition of The Ocean Race at the end of June 2023.