The Ocean Race

Since 1973, The Ocean Race has provided the ultimate test of a team and a human adventure like no other. Over four decades, it has kept an almost mythical hold over some of the greatest sailors and has been the proving ground for the legends of our sport.

 

Visit the Ocean Race Website

About the sponsorship

11th Hour Racing is a premier partner of The Ocean Race and a founding partner of the sustainability program Racing with Purpose. This visionary collaboration, the largest of its kind in sport, focuses on initiatives to promote the restoration of ocean health, embedding sustainability in all event operations.

As the founding partner of the Racing with Purpose program, 11th Hour Racing supports the following sustainability initiatives:

  • Convene 12 Ocean Race Summits and Innovation Workshops to drive new and improved policies around the major issues affecting the ocean.
  • Work with experts and sailing teams to explore the use of state-of-the-art renewable energy systems onboard the IMOCA 60 and VO65 classes during the 14th edition of The Ocean Race in 2023.
  • Inspire school children around the world to take action for the ocean through a multi-lingual, curriculum-based education program.
  • Continue the powerful science program developed in the last race, which gathered critical oceanographic and microplastic data, and examine how all teams can participate in this groundbreaking research.
  • The One Blue Voice Immersive Experience, created in collaboration with 11th Hour Racing, taking visitors on a journey beneath the waves to discover the race to protect the seas.
  • Garnering support for ocean rights through the One Blue Voice campaign.

BACKGROUND

Since 1973, The Ocean Race has provided the ultimate test of a team and a human adventure like no other. Over four decades it has kept an almost mythical hold over some of the greatest sailors and been the proving ground for the legends of our sport.

While racing to the furthest points in the ocean from land, sailors continued to witness plastic pollution, raising awareness and demand to both reduce the Race’s environmental impact, and leverage this powerful global media platform that reaches millions of people to draw attention to the crisis facing our oceans.

Following the success of the ground-breaking and award-winning sustainability efforts in the 2017-18 edition of the Race, of which 11th Hour Racing was a Founding Principal Partner, sustainability will continue to be a core value of the Race doubling down on efforts to restore ocean health and to lead, inspire and engage fans on this critical issue.

The Ocean Race 2022-23 started in Alicante, Spain, and finished in Genova, Italy, with two classes of boats racing: the high-tech, foiling IMOCA 60s that completed the around-the-world race course and the one-design VO65 fleet that raced in three legs for the Sprint Cup.