Following agreements between the race organization and the IMOCA class, the 2021-22 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race - a crewed round-the-world race - will take place on two different boats: the IMOCA 60 and the VO65. With their distinct characteristics, the organization hopes to open the race to as many people as possible, both sailors and the general public.
Each crew will sail in its own class and two trophies will be awarded. Teams will be allowed to sail in each class.
The IMOCA 60, an open boat for single-handed ocean racing
The IMOCA 60 is a 60-foot Open monohull (18.28 m) whose open class allows a great deal of freedom to designers and sailors. Every four years, the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA) defines the rules that determine the length, beam, number of appendages and stability standards to be respected. The latest models are equipped with foils.
Known for its use in offshore and solo racing - Vendée Globe, Route du Rhum -, the class will have to adapt these boats so that they can accommodate a full crew around the world.
The VO65, the one-design for the crewed round-the-world race
Unlike the IMOCA, the VO65 is a one-design ocean racing boat of 65 feet. It has been used in the last two editions of the Volvo Ocean Race. A one-design that allows to clearly exploit the skills of the sailors and their strategic choices and that allowed an anthology edition in 2018 with an unshakeable suspense for the very last leg after almost a year of racing.
Bringing the best of both worlds
"By opening the next edition to the IMOCA 60 and maintaining the VO65s, we intend to attract the best sailors, designers and teams in the world to take on the challenge of competing in this round the world race. The introduction of the IMOCA 60 brings new design and engineering elements to keep us at the forefront of technology and performance, which will attract the most competitive skippers in our sport. And we've just seen, in this edition, how close and exciting the racing can be when strong teams are sailing the VO65 one-design. Opening the race to both classes brings the best of both worlds." said Johan Salén, co-owner of the event.
Opening the race to young people
The VO65 class will be strongly youth-oriented, building on the experience of this 2017-18 edition, which welcomed a new generation of talented sailors for the first time, including several Olympic medalists or America's Cup winners.
"This is where the stars of tomorrow are born. We want to encourage teams to give opportunities to younger crews, to bring young talent into the world of ocean racing who are used to sailing on smaller boats." said Salén.
The race management is currently working on a preliminary notice of race for the 2021-22 edition, which should be published in the fall. This will include details on the number of crew and crew composition and/or restrictions for each class.
The choice of host cities
In parallel with the race rules, the organization is also working on the choice of host cities for the next race. The selection of these stopover cities will define the course of the round the world race which should include 8 to 10 stopovers and keep the passage in the Southern Ocean.
The next edition will start in Alicante, Spain in September/October 2021 and will finish in Europe in May/June 2022.
"Since the end of the last edition last month, we have been working hard to define the evolutions of the race to be held in 2021 and the following years. Our priority is to stay true to the core values of the race. We want to promote a sustainable round-the-world race that will be a relentless and exhilarating competition between teams composed of the best sailors, designers and builders of racing boats.
We will continue to innovate and use the latest technology to share this story of human endeavor and achievement as widely as possible to inspire the next generation of ocean racing sailors as well as all our fans who follow our event with passion."
