Having grown up loving sailing, the thrill of the wind in your hair, crossing the starting line of a regatta, chasing the Js or following the exploits of the Volvo teams as they battle the elements in one of the world’s most grueling races, it is not surprising that the idea of sailing around the world for 30 months, or two and a half years in old money, is something of an experience that I thought could only happen in dreams. Well, that is no longer the case. Enter the World Yacht Rally.

Speaking on skype to Stef van ‘t Zand, Managing Director of the World Yacht Rally, he tells me how it all began. Approximately 12 months ago he was sat chatting to a friend of his, a successful businessman in his late fifties. His friend commented that he was considering retiring from the rat race and was thinking of sailing around the world, as it had always been a dream of his. There was only one small catch he said. He didn’t have a boat and he didn’t know how to sail. So instead he had turned to his friend Stef, a veteran of the Volvo Ocean Race and asked the question ‘what is available in terms of premium sailing events around the world for amateurs?’ The answer was actually very little. Whilst there are some fantastic events such as the ARC and the Oyster Rally there was no luxury round the world event for amateur sailors on any make of boat over 50 feet.

So Stef took this challenge and started to dig a lot deeper into the market, not just of sailing but of travel in general and discovered that what people want more and more is not that second home or high-end car, but an experience. Something to be enjoyed with family, friends or colleagues. An experience to be talked about for years to come, the genesis of stories of adventure and discovery. The second, and key, thing he discovered was that whilst people want these experiences they also want a certain level of unburdened luxury service to go along with it. They want to be able to sit back and relax whilst someone else deals with the details: where to go, when to go, the weather, the dreaded issue of paperwork and the important issue of boat maintenance, and of course what to do when you reach those dream destinations.

Armed with this knowledge an idea began to formulate and so Stef sat down with his Volvo Ocean race colleagues Nick Bice, Jordan Spencer, and Jack Lloyd, all heavyweights of the world sailing circuit, with an accumulated 20 Volvo Ocean and America’s Cup races between them, and started to hammer out the details. As race director of the VOR Jack was responsible for everything from safety to routing to weather and briefings. His experience and level-headedness have been key to getting the fundamentals of the world Yacht Rally in place. Nick and Jordan took the enormous boatshed that was so key to the upkeep of the Volvo boats and whilst retaining all of the key service facilities, they have shrunk it down into only one container, making it much more maneuverable and flexible, so if a spreader breaks or a sail rips beyond repair, on the leg to New Zealand for example, you can rest assured that there will be a team in place to replace it as soon as you arrive. Finally, Stef reactivated his role with the VOR and negotiated with the stops to ensure that all the facilities will be available as well as creating the experiences that the fleet will enjoy on arrival. Together the team worked tirelessly with their extensive network around the world to bring together what was then launched in September 2019 at the Cannes boat show.

And this is where it gets really exciting. Launching from Alicante in November 2020, a city perfectly set up for big ocean-going races and rallies as home city of the Volvo, is the first leg known as leg zero. This isn’t mandatory but allows for the correct number of sea miles to be accumulated before the rally begins in earnest from Lanzarote in November 2020 where it will go on to cover 16 joint fleet legs with 24 starts and stops including the Galapagos Islands, The Great Barrier Reef, French Polynesia, the Lesser Sunda Islands and Rio de Janeiro. The important thing to note and where a key difference with the World Yacht Rally lies is that this is not a race. It is taking place over 30 months for a very good reason, this is blue sea cruising at its finest. Whilst the fleet will be together for a lot of the journey there will be large amounts of time where individual boats can go off and explore. For example at the South Pacific stop boats will have up to three months to discover everything this paradise has to offer, whilst there will be a three-week stay over in the Galapagos and ten weeks in the Caribbean before the fleet meets back up to prepare to enter the Panama Canal. Whilst there will be plenty of alone time, each stop will also have plenty of social activities including golf tournaments, wine tasting and spa days. This is a once in a lifetime adventure after all and the most needs to be made of all the destinations to be visited.

30 months may seem quite a daunting amount of time for some to take out of their everyday lives, however, the full rally is not mandatory and it is possible to pick and choose the points that you wish to join the race. There are 3 starting options: Europe (Spain), Caribbean (San Blas Islands) and Down under (either NZ or Australia). There is then the possibility of having the boat sailed to the next destination by a hand-picked crew, or transported via one of the team’s official partners. The other option and one that Stef was very excited by was the possibility to charter your sailboat whilst not aboard. Not only is this a financially sound option for owners it also allows those participants who may not sadly own their own boat to still take part in the whole experience. It is likely that these boats will be over 80 feet as they will need to be crewed. Another exciting element to the whole charter concept is the announcement, as we go to press, of the new partnership between the World Yacht Rally and Camper and Nicholsons, one of the oldest and most renowned charter companies in the world. This partnership will open up the rally to a broader audience, though there will still be a cap of 35 boats to keep it exclusive and the service at the expected level.

It is clear that there is a large gap in the market that has now been filled and Stef talks with pride of the reaction from the industry as a whole. From North Sails to GAC Pinder to  Camper and Nicholsons, partners are excited to come on board and be part of the World Yacht Rally. And who wouldn’t be? I ask if Stef and the team will be taking part themselves but he said they will very much be land and logistics based, but that maybe after a few rallies under their belts they may take the opportunity themselves to enjoy 2 ½ years of pure blissful heaven. I know I certainly would!

QUICK FACTS

–  whole route takes 30 months, around 39.000 NM

– blue water cruising combined with 7 metropolises

– prologue from Alicante to Lanzarote, Nov 1 (to test

comms and make threshold miles)

– official start from Lanzarote, Nov 20

– 16 joint fleet legs  – 24 starts and stops

– fleet size between 22 and 35

– finish Lisbon, June 2023

– one can opt to stop or start halfway (NZ/AUS)

– 3 starting options: Europe (Spain), Caribbean (San Blas

Islands) and Down under (either NZ or Australia)

– available for 50 ft + yachts only

– we aim to have (skippered) charter yachts in the fleet

– weather systems have been thoroughly studied

– route is based on current (changing) patterns

– fees start from 70 K per year (50-60 ft)

– 10 included services, 6 optional services

SERVICES INCLUDED – weather & routing + leg-briefings – basic maintenance – medical support – 3 berthing fees at arrivals and 2 at departures – evenTs, starts, finishes – paperwork & permits – maritime safety training – iridium communication (device) – risk assessments on piracy & terrorism – WYR route pilot

SERVICES OPTIONAL – yacht care  – travel arrangements – crew-pool with professional sailors – continuation logistics (getting your yacht from a to b) – supplies – commercial leverage (possibly chartering your boat)

 

www.worldyachtrally.com

By Victoria Pearce