Mallorca,  February 3rd 2022

Ocibar will be in Aleix Sellés’ unique solo round the world sailing race, with no stop overs and no electronics.

Sailing around the world is not breaking news. But it is when talking about non-stop solo sailing, unassisted and guided by the stars.

This particular around the world race called the Golden Globe Race, which will begin on the 4th of September, the sailors will not be able to use GPS, mobile phones, autopilots nor any other electronic navigation equipment. Only sextants and cartographic maps.

Aleix Sellés will be taking part in this regatta, mimiquing the more romantic origins of travellers and explorers, where there is only the sea, the wind, the boat and the sailor. Back to where the sun and the stars recover their role as guides.
This race was born in 1968 and together with its celebration in 2018 after 50 years, only 6 people in the whole world have managed to complete a circumnavigation in such conditions.

The weather information that Aleix will have access to will be very limited and it will come via Radio Fax and VHF. He will depend on his knowledge of meteorology to be able to forecast the weather and to be able to sail safely and be on track for more than 7 months.

To participate in this regatta, the boat must have some basic characteristics: it must be a sailing boat designed before 1989, with a maximum length of 36 feet, an offset keel with the rudder on the keel trailing edge and with a minimum design displacement of 6,200kg. The boat chosen for this challenge is a Rustler 36 called Onsoro the Bodhisattva, 11 metres long and 3.35 metres wide.

With a cruising speed of 6 knots, Aleix will have to plan his sailing carefully as, if he encounters a storm it will not be easy to avoid it.

The navigation

He will use only the energy provided by the wind and the waves to sail around the world. The engine is on board as a safety feature, but there are penalties for using it. Aleix will be totally self-sufficient in everything, from navigation, boat repairs, food and even in the event of an incident requiring medical attention. He will not be able to make any stops or receive any third party assistance. In other words, strict self-sufficiency during the 7 months.

However, throughout the 30,000 nautical miles (55,560 km), Aleix will have 4 points close to the coast where he will be able to deposit videos, photos, writings and any other testimony he wishes to leave. Keeping those who sail with Aleix from land, informed of his experience along the entire route.

While the skippers will not be able to know their exact position or the position of each other, there will be a tracker on the website that will allow us to follow their location minute by minute making us able to be part of this adventure.

24 boats of 13 different nationalities are taking part in this regatta. Aleix is the first and only Spaniard who aspires to become the winner of this peculiar around the world race. Starting from the mythical port of Les Sables-d’Olonne in France and passing the three great capes: Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn, until arriving back in Les Sables.

Although the circumnavigation starts on the 4th of September, the race itself has already begun. Aleix has some very important months of preparation ahead of him: from finishing the modifications to his boat and to be able to go sailing to gain experience with Onsoro getting to know her systems including any possible repairs, studying meteorology and navigation, as well as nutritional knowledge and physical-mental training.

About Aleix

Aleix Sellés is a naval architect and designs performance sailing yachts together with Juan K. Embarking on this project is not only a dream coming true, it is an adventure that will lead him to break with modern technology and experience sailing in the purest sense of the word, growing on a personal level throughout this extreme challenge.

Although Aleix will be sailing alone during the regatta, for this project to become a reality he needs a team and collaborators. Aleix created Venturi Projects with the aim of uniting the participants of this dream under the same name. The team is made up of excellent professionals such as Iker Martínez (Laureate offshore sailor and Olympic medalist), Mark Slats (Navigator and second at the GGR 2018), Gabi Pérez (Meteorologist specialized in offshore sailing and expeditions) and Ariadna Pons (naval architect and project leader).

Aleix, together with the Port Adriano Regatta’s Club, and the collaboration of Ocibar, is working day by day to reach the start and be competitive in this unique regatta with retro essence, being able to become the first Spanish project to win an around the world regatta.

Due to the characteristics of the project, where an existing boat is given a new life, the use of certain materials on board is limited and a waste management plan is required for the waste generated during the regatta, the environmental footprint of the project is minimal.

More information

If you wish to collaborate with this adventure or to get more information about this adventure, please contact info@venturiprojects.xyz and/or @venturiprojects on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

For more information marketing@portadriano.com

Project website: venturiprojects.xyz

Video presentation of Aleix and the Golden Globe Route: CLICK HERE