TWO CLASSES

The next edition of The Ocean Race will be open to two classes of high-performance ocean-going racing yachts

TWO CLASSES

The next edition of The Ocean Race will be open to two classes of high-performance ocean-going racing yachts

  • Media ID-141785

    The Ocean Race 2022-23 features two fleets of highperformance ocean-going racing yachts – both are capable of high speeds and in the right conditions can cover 600 nautical miles or more in 24-hours.

    The 60-foot IMOCA Class is racing around the world for The Ocean Race Trophy, while the 65-foot VO65 Class is racing for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup over three legs: Leg 1 from Alicante, Spain to Cabo Verde, Leg 6 from Aarhus, Denmark to The Hague in the Netherlands, and Leg 7 from The Hague to Genova, Italy.

Perhaps best known for single-handed or doublehanded racing, the IMOCAs will race with a full crew for their first participation in The Ocean Race.

The IMOCA Class uses a development design rule which allows the designers to experiment with hull and sail shapes within set parameters. However, masts, booms and standing rigging are one-design.

Like the VO65, IMOCAs also have a powerful sail plan and a canting keel, but the class rules also allow the use of retractable underwater foils which further boost performance by lifting the boat partially out of the water.

  • 60-foot (18.3 metres) carbon construction single hull yachts
  • Built to a development rule, so designers can experiment within hull and sail shapes within set parameters
  • Raced by mixed sex crews of four or five sailors
  • A weighted swinging keel and a pair of retractable underwater foils dramatically boost performance
  • Capable of travelling over 600 nautical miles in 24 hours

Having previously raced around the world in the last two editions of The Ocean Race, in the 2022-23 race the VO65s are racing over three legs for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup.

Built to a strict one-design rule, the boats are identical in every way, and therefore extremely evenly matched.

 A towering sail plan along with a weighted keel that can be canted horizontally underneath the boat make the VO65s powerful and fast in open ocean conditions. 

  • 65-foot (20-metre) single hull carbon construction yachts
  • built to a one-design rule, so identical hull and sail design
  • raced by mixed sex crews of minimum seven sailors
  • a weighted swinging keel gives the boat huge leverage and power
  • capable of travelling over 600 nautical miles in 24 hours