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AND THE WINNERS ARE . . .
AND THE WINNERS ARE . . .
Dame Ellen MacArthur of Great Britain and Tornado World Champions Fernando Echavarri Erasun and Antón Paz Blanco of Spain are the winners of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2005. This is the second time that Ellen MacArthur, 29, has won the coveted female ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award. In 2001, she dominated women's sailing after taking the runners-up trophy in the 2000 Vendée Globe and becoming the fastest female and youngest sailor ever to race around the world solo, non-stop. The year previously, she also earned a nomination for the Award by winning Class 1 of the Europe 1 New Man STAR (Single Handed Trans-Atlantic Race Plymouth, England to Newport , RI ).
The three sailors were honored at an awards ceremony in Singapore for their outstanding sailing achievements between September 1, 2004 and August 31, 2005 , when MacArthur completed her record-breaking solo sprint around the world in her maxi-trimaran B&Q and Echavarri and Paz were crowned Tornado World and European Champions after a string of outstanding results. MacArthur is currently racing in the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabres with her friend Roland 'Bilou' Jourdain on the Open 60 Sill et Veolia but found time to express her surprise and delight at being honored for the second time. "I would like to say thank you to ISAF, its sponsor and its members for this Award," said MacArthur from aboard.
The other Female nominees for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2005 were Claire Leroy (FRA); Blanca Manchon (ESP) and Paige Riley ( USA ). The other male nominees were: (Peter Gilmour (AUS); Finian Maynard(IVB); Bruno Peyron (FRA); Vincent Riou (FRA) and Rohan Veal (AUS). For more information log onto http://www.sailing.org/worldsailor.
Dame Ellen MacArthur of
The three sailors were honored at an awards ceremony in
The other Female nominees for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2005 were Claire Leroy (FRA); Blanca Manchon (ESP) and Paige Riley ( USA ). The other male nominees were: (Peter Gilmour (AUS); Finian Maynard(IVB); Bruno Peyron (FRA); Vincent Riou (FRA) and Rohan Veal (AUS). For more information log onto http://www.sailing.org/worldsailor.
Dame Ellen waits for the window between hurricanes to attempt breaking the transatlantic passage record.
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Dame Ellen MacArthur Foregoes Attempt at Solo Transatlantic Record and Announces a New Venture
Dame Ellen MacArthur Foregoes Attempt at Solo Transatlantic Record and Announces a New Venture
Ellen MacArthur, continuing to evolve as an entrepreneur, announced a new round-the-world race, starting and finishing in Barcelona, Spain. Just as MacArthur confirms she has stood-down her attempt on the solo transatlantic record in her 75-foot trimaran B&Q this year, so details of the Barcelona World Race starting in November 2007 were unveiled in Spain. The race will be a non-stop event for a crew of two sailing the Open 60 monohulls. In the burgeoning calendar of round-the-world races, this will sit between solo races such as the Vendee Globe and Five-Oceans and the fully-crewed Volvo Ocean Race. The Barcelona World Race is already funded for three editions in 2007, 2011 and 2115. Importantly, there is already a healthy stock of 50 boats in existence with seven more under construction.
This is the second significant venture, alongside the Transat solo transatlantic, launched by Offshore Challenges, the ever-expanding group MacArthur formed with Mark Turner. The pair have a concept potent enough to make all other event organizers uncomfortable in a crowded market: the reputation of MacArthur, who may take part; the backing of Spain's second city, which has entered into a joint venture with their OC Group company; and, above all, a new niche, double-handed in a fleet of existing boats.
The polished presentation in Spain drew heavily on MacArthur 's own Vendee past - being runner-up aboard Kingfisher in 2000-01 - and the fact that the Open 60 class organizing body, IMOCA, has included the race in their calendar. This will likely draw away entrants from the 2007 two-handed Transat Jacques Vabre race and might prove distracting for Sir Robin Knox-Johnston's 5-Oceans solo race in 2006-07.
Similarly MacArthur and Turner repeatedly mentioned the soon-to-start Volvo Ocean Race. "We're putting the best of both worlds into one format," said Turner. "This race catches the zeitgeist of extreme racing around the planet. Bruno Peyron in his giant multihull, Ellen MacArthur in the 75 ft B&Q and Vincent Riou in the last Vendee Globe, have all set new non-stop records of 60, 70 and 80 days. Making it a two-handed event, adds a simple twist to the formula."
"Being in a confined space with someone else for three months will be exceptionally hard," said MacArthur. "In a way this will be like a solo race because you will be on deck alone for long periods, though there will always be someone else to call." "We have worked very hard to try and get here," she added.
She and Turner arguably run one of the slickest and shrewdest operations in sailing. We wish them all the success in the world!
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