Derek Hatfield on Spirit of Canada (Photo by Mary Ambler)
Spirit of Canada and Canadian Yachting have worked closely in the past helping to promote Derek Hatfield’s ongoing passion for round the world racing while representing Canada in the 2002 Around Alone Single-handed Yacht Race, the Vendee Globe 2008 and now the 2010 Velux 5 Oceans Challenge (formerly the Around Alone).
Eliabeth Kerr, CY’s Publisher states “As Canada’s only national boating magazine covering both sail and power, Canadian Yachting is the perfect media fit for Spirit of Canada. We welcome the opportunity to work with Team Spirit of Canada to increase awareness, raise funds and support corporate sponsorship involvement. With the addition of Sail-World Canada, we are well-positioned to spread the word around the globe.”
Derek Hatfield responds. “We are very proud to be continuing our partnership with Canadian Yachting magazine as they have been pivotal in the success of Spirit of Canada and our campaigns to race around the world. With the addition of Sail-World Canada, we now have a world class Internet and e-mail portal to reach sailors around the world via instantaneous updates. We are really looking forward to utilizing this fantastic new medium to highlight our partners and to also introduce Sail-World Canada too.
The start of the VELUX 5 Oceans takes place in La Rochelle, France on October 17th, 2010. The around the world course has stopovers in Cape Town, Wellington, Salvador de Bahia, Charleston and then back to La Rochelle in France. Derek is the first official entry in the ECO 60 division of the VELUX 5 Oceans 2010 Round the World Yacht Race.
Canadian Yachting will feature editorial and advertising support for Derek Hatfield and the Spirit of Canada in every issue leading up to and during the race that starts this October in France.
It takes tremendous courage, determination and persistence to race around the world alone. Derek is the 126th brave sailor to have ever done it. As perspective, this is fewer than the 400 astronauts who have gone into space or the over 15,000 mountaineers who have reached the summit of Mt. Everest. It is a tremendous accomplishment under normal circumstances, but Derek Hatfield’s story is truly inspiring.
Starting in September 2002 and ending in May of 2003, Derek completed over 28,700 nautical miles in the “Around Alone” Single-handed Yacht Race. Derek built the boat with friends and family and despite major obstacles along the way, was 1 of 10 international competitors and the only Canadian to finish the grueling event. On May 31st 2003, after almost 8 months at sea, Derek arrived in Newport – the finish line – to a hero’s welcome. Hundreds of people came out to pay homage to a man who just wouldn’t quit. Finishing an amazing 1st in fleet and 3rd place overall in Class II; Derek was the fastest 40′ boat throughout the event.
After finishing the Around Alone in 2003 Derek realized that with the tremendous support that he had received before and during the Around Alone he could build an IMOCA Open 60 racing boat and represent Canada once again in the Vendee Globe 2008; a non-stop non-assisted solo race around the planet. Derek wasn’t alone on the boat as he had the support of over 6,000 people on the boat with him. Their names were printed on the hull. After almost 4 years of building and fundraising, Derek started the Vendee Globe and became the first Vendee Globe competitor to fly the Canadian flag. It was an amazing achievement for Derek; it was an amazing achievement for Canada.
On 28th December 2008 after 50 days at sea, Derek was forced to retire from the Vendee Globe 2008 after a large breaking wave rolled the Open 60 Algimouss Spirit of Canada breaking two of the mast spreaders. Unable to complete repairs without outside assistance, Derek was forced to retire from the race and headed for Hobart in Tasmania. Only 11 of the original 30 starters were able to complete the grueling race.
The next challenge will be the VELUX 5 Oceans race, formerly the Around Alone. The start line is in France on October 17th, 2010 and will take the racers around the world via stopovers in Cape Town, Wellington, Salvador de Bahia, Charleston and then back to La Rochelle in France. Derek is the first official entry in the ECO 60 division of the VELUX 5 Oceans 2010 Round the World Yacht Race.
Derek’s other sailing accomplishments include:
Rolex Sailor of the Year 2003;
Gerry Roufs Offshore Sailing Award 2003;
Ontario Sailor of the Year 2003;
3rd Place 2002/3 around Alone;
2nd place 1999 Bermuda One Two;
2nd place 1997 Bermuda One Two;
1st place and Overall Winner of the 1996 Legend Cup Transatlantic Race;
7th place 1996 Europe One Single-handed Transatlantic Race;
1st place 1994 Labatt’s Single-handed Race Series.
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston At Velux 5 Oceans Finish In 2007 (Photo by OnEdition)
VELUX 5 OCEANS’ The Ultimate Solo Challenge
The VELUX 5 OCEANS is the oldest single-handed round the world yacht race. Run every 4 years since 1982, the race is the longest and toughest event for any individual in any sport. The VELUX 5 OCEANS is a series of five high-pressure ocean sprints within a marathon circumnavigation. In the course of the 30,000 mile race, the skippers cross five oceans alone.
Only nine months remain until the start of the VELUX 5 OCEANS and the various pieces of the jigsaw continue to come together. All the ingredients are being put in place for the eighth edition of the classic singlehanded round the world race, which should create one of the most successful events in the prestigious twenty eight year history of The Ultimate Solo Challenge. To date, Clipper Ventures, in close partnership with title sponsor VELUX, have announced a number of positive and innovative key elements of the race:
•5 ocean sprints within a 30,000 marathon around the planet, departing La Rochelle (France) on October 17th 2010 and bringing solo offshore racing directly to audiences in Cape Town (South Africa), Wellington (New Zealand), Salvador (Brazil) and Charleston (USA), before returning to La Rochelle in May 2011
•The start dates for each ocean sprint will be announced in the coming weeks, with world class services provided to skippers in each port
•The race prizegiving in La Rochelle will take place on June 6th 2011
•Nine confirmed international entries from seven different countries in the promising Eco 60 Class, with four already announced from Canada, USA, Belgium and Poland, and with more entries to come soon
•The Eco 60 Class is an exciting new class in the Open 60 range for boats built before 2003 to open the race to adventurers without big budgets and embracing sustainability
•Strong interest in the Open 60 Class, which remains open to all skippers with Open 60s built after January 2003
•€500,000 prizemoney for skippers, to be split across the fleets and 5 ocean sprints, including awards for media work, seamanship and sustainability actions
•€21,000 investment per team in accommodation for the stopovers around the world
•€15,000 minimum per team to be invested in onboard communications and logistics, with details to be announced in the coming months
•€2.6 million to be invested in media activities for skippers, including audio-visual production and distribution, photography, cutting edge digital activation and press relations in key territories around the world, with a target to deliver in excess of €80 million of media value for teams and partners
•The launch of TAKING ON THE ELEMENTS, the race sustainability agenda which will see stakeholders (organisers, partners, ports and skippers) making a commitment to promote sustainable living through the race platform (communication, race village, Eco 60 Class)
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Chairman of Clipper Ventures and the VELUX 5 OCEANS, concluded, “Our vision for the VELUX 5 OCEANS is to offer the most challenging single handed ocean racing format. The VELUX 5 OCEANS in 2010 aims to support new talent, encourage global participation and bring ocean racing to large audiences around the world, embracing and promoting the shared value of sustainability. We are offering outstanding support to skippers and teams, as well as sponsors, covering five continents and spanning nine months, with significant investments across team budgets and communications.”
“The VELUX 5 OCEANS has a unique heritage and a special place in the solo ocean racing calendar. Only 90 people have so far completed the challenge and it has always attracted an internationally diverse group of skippers, many of whom have become star names in sailing, including Philippe Jeantot, Bernard Stamm, Giovanni Soldini and Kojiro Shiraishi. The promising Eco 60 Class has brought a new dimension to the race and the interest in the Open 60 Class for the latest generation of racing yachts remains strong. Clipper Ventures and VELUX look forward to welcoming everyone to La Rochelle in October to celebrate the spirit of singlehanded offshore racing”
