The Ocean Race is widely regarded as one of the toughest tests of endurance in the world, covering 32,000 nautical miles (60,000 kilometres) around the world. Astron Energy, which operates South Africa’s second largest network of retail sites, is the official fuel partner for the Ocean Race Cape Town Stopover.
The Ocean Race Cape Town’s Ocean Live Park is located at the V&A Waterfront, offering spectators and visitors water sports and land-based activities for young and old. It is also home to the 5 IMOCA sailing boats which arrived in Cape Town on Sunday 12 February. The yachts and crews will remain in the Mother City for over two weeks before embarking on the longest leg in the race’s history towards Itajaí, Brazil.
The stopover, the second on this year’s race, is also the first of three “haul-out” stops when the racing yachts will be lifted from the water for maintenance.
Astron Energy is providing fuel for all the support vessels and land vehicles that will be supporting the racers during the stop-over. Astron Energy will sponsor 60,000 litres of fuel in total. .
Astron Energy Head of Corporate Affairs Jill Koopman said: “The Ocean Race is one of the most incredible sporting and endurance events in the world and it is wonderful to have the race return to Cape Town again.
“The high-performance yachts are marvels of design and innovation, but every racer knows that support crews and equipment are key to success.”
The fuel supplied by Astron Energy is being used by the Race Director vessel, for boats carrying the race marshals, umpires and committee members, media boats, as well as a number of other support vessels. The Ocean Race Cape Town stopover includes a series of Pro-Am races, an in-Port race, as well as the start of the next leg to Brazil.
The 60-foot IMOCA Class yachts are capable of covering 600 nautical miles or more in a 24-hour period when sailing under optimal conditions.
The first leg was a 1,900 nautical mile “sprint” from Alicante in Spain to Cabo Verde, the African archipelago. The second leg began on 25 January and saw the fleet cross the equator en route to Cape Town for the second stop on the 2023 edition of the famed race.
This is the 12th time the round-the-world race has stopped in Cape Town. From here, the boats depart on a record-breaking leg - the longest race distance in the 50-year history of the event - a 12,750 nautical mile, or 23,613km, marathon to Itajaí in Brazil. The first yacht is expected to cross the finish line almost a month later.
This arduous leg takes the fleet down to the Roaring Forties of the Southern Ocean, with Antarctica to the right. Itajaí will see another extended haul-out stopover before the race heads back north across the equator, along the east coast of the United States, before turning and heading across the Atlantic for Europe and the finish line in Genoa, Italy.
