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Fun facts and trivia

VELUX 5 OCEANS is the oldest and toughest solo round-the-world yacht race. The 2006/07 race marked the 25th anniversary of this challenging adventure across the five oceans.

  • The VELUX 5 OCEANS is a set of five gruelling sprints around world - alone
     
  • Four skippers out of eight completed the 2006/07 race. Bernard Stamm crossed the finishing line as winner of the race after 103 days, 22 hours and 53 minutes. 
     
  • The boats can reach top speeds of 35 knots (65 km/hour). 
     
  • Waves around Cape Horn can reach 100 foot high and wind speeds of up to 80 knots. 
     
  • Skippers must be able to navigate, read and understand weather charts as well as fix everything on the boat that might break – they are a jack of all trades and master of all trades! 
     
  • Skippers regularly get no more than 40 minutes sleep in one go and normally average a total of between 2 and 5 hours in a 24-hour period. 
     
  • The sailors eat a mixture of canned food, garlic and supplementary oils and must take in over 7,000 calories a day (twice as much as an average person on work). 
     
  • The seas are full of danger and the skippers must always be looking out for icebergs, whales, rogue containers and debris 
     
  • The 60-foot yachts competing in VELUX 5 OCEANS normally race with a crew of 10-15. The skippers must therefore master many skills – steering, navigation, boat building, sail trimming, analysing weather forecasts and weather prediction among many other things.