Looking for a new adventure? Spartan Ocean Racing have an opportunity for you.
Sept 7, 2016
If local cruising or club racing have left you looking for something a little more adventurous, Spartan Ocean may have just what you’re after.Building on 30 years of sail training and 300,000nm of combined offshore experience, Spartan Ocean Racing & Training’s skippers; Chris Stanmore-Major (2 racing circumnavigations) & Diane Reid (Mini Transat and Clipper Race skipper) would like to open up your sailing horizons.
With a fleet of three 60’ offshore race boats (2 Volvo 60’s and an IMOCA 60) and a schedule that reads like any sailors wish list, Spartan R/T can shake things up for you this Fall/Winter by taking you across the Atlantic on a skills development voyage, do management training with you and your company, allow you to spectate the start of Vendee Globe or join the Fastnet Race- the possibilities are both exciting and perhaps just a little daunting.
Interestingly this experience is not just for advanced sailors- the entire focus of Spartan R/T is to bring the offshore sailing to everyone- bypassing the normal decades of development required to be good enough to get invited on board one of these fantastic boats through the normal channels, which is to say, waiting and hoping.
Although this generation of Volvo 60’s and IMOCA 60’s can cover a huge distance in a day (close to 500 nm in 24hrs when pushed hard) and top 30+knots, Chris and Diane keep the Spartan boats within a set band of performance parameters (by reefing early and using more conservative headsails) designed to thrill and excite, but not push things beyond what is safe and sensible. The result is an incredible opportunity to access world class sailing alongside some of the most experienced sailors in Canada- all for the price of a package holiday.
So what’s the next event? Well, this year sees the Vendee Globe start from Sable D’Olonne in France. Thirty IMOCA 60’s will set off around the world in the ultimate test of seamanship- a solo circumnavigation of the planet, non-stop, totally unassisted. Spartan R/T will be there on the 6th of November 2016 with their Volvo 60 Challenger to spectate the start along with thousands of other boats. But then, incredibly,Challenger will pass through the start line herself once the fleet is clear and sail 1200 nm south to the Canary Islands all with 12 lucky paying crew on board. With solo round the world skipper Chris Stanmore-Major, it will be an incredible chance to get inside this race in a way never before possible.
For more information check out Spartan R/T’s website at www.spartanoceanracing.com.
