Hundreds of spectator boats cheered the start of the Ocean Globe Race on Sunday 10 September, as 14 iconic yachts raced through the line off Cowes, at the start of a 27,000-mile global circumnavigation in the spirit of the 1973 Whitbread Round the World Race.
A flotilla of well-wishers, including Britain’s largest working steamship, Shieldhall, waved and clapped the fleet to the starting line opposite the Royal Yacht Squadron on the Isle of Wight, where Sir Chay Blyth, a fellow circumnavigator, fired the starting gun.
The race celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first Whitbread Round the World Race, which means taking on the world’s toughest oceans without modern technology, using no computers, satellites, GPS, or high-tech materials for navigational aids.
The Whitbread Round the World Race started from Portsmouth in 1973 following in the route of the great Clipper ships. It was the first fully crewed global yacht race, capturing the heart of the British public, and the forerunner of the Volvo Ocean Race and the Ocean Race.
AU (28) was first over the line in light winds, followed by FI (71) and IT (09). The only British entry, GB (03) was on the other side of the line in
