A portrait of sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston with the VELUX 5 OCEANS Trophy. Image copyright onEdition.
by Sarah Hames
THE scoring system that will be used for the 2010/11 edition of the VELUX 5 OCEANS has been revealed, along with a breakdown of the €500,000 prize money.
The winner of the VELUX 5 OCEANS will be the ocean racer who scores the most points over the course of the five gruelling ocean sprints which make up The Ultimate Solo Challenge. The VELUX 5 OCEANS skippers will be racing for their share of a massive €500,000 prize pot, one of the largest prize funds in the history of yacht racing thanks to title sponsor the VELUX Group.
Here’s how the points and prizes will be awarded for each ocean sprint:
Position Points Prize
1st 12pts €24,000
2nd 10pts €15,000
3rd 9pts €10,000
4th 8pts €6,000
5th 7pts €6,000
Bonus points will also be awarded for timed runs between defined points set by the VELUX 5 OCEANS race management during each ocean sprint, enabling the skippers to boost their scores further. Each skipper that crosses the start line on Sunday will be awarded €30,000 for starting the 30,000-mile solo round the world race. The first ocean racer to round the first mark of each leg will win €1,000.
There is also a communications prize pot of €25,000 for the best videos, photos and blogs over the five ocean sprints. €15,000 will be awarded during the race to the skippers who show the greatest commitment to sustainability. At the end of the race each skipper will be presented with a unique hand-crafted trophy specially commissioned by the VELUX Group made of window glass and resembling the hull of an Eco 60.
The VELUX 5 OCEANS, run by Clipper Ventures PLC, is the longest running solo round the world race, and has 28 years of rich heritage as the BOC Challenge and then the Around Alone. This edition features five ocean sprints over nine months. After heading from La Rochelle to Cape Town, the race will then take in Wellington in New Zealand, Salvador in Brazil and Charleston in the US before returning back across the Atlantic to France. The VELUX 5 OCEANS will start at 4pm on Sunday October 17 from La Rochelle.
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