Follow the latest developments of the first two-handed, non-stop round-the-world Barcelona World Race. Live video conferences each day at 14h00 gmt, 2D and 3D race viewers, latest emails and pictures from the boats - don't miss out on the action !

It was a busy weekend for all concerned at the Barcelona World Race Village. For the teams, the countdown is on for the race start on Sunday 11th. With less than a week to go, every moment is valuable in terms of finishing the check-list and final preparation.

For the public, this opening weekend represented the first chance to see the entire fleet alongside the quay at the Moll de la Fusta. Security estimates put the crowd over the weekend at just over 90 000 people who came to check out the sailors, the boats and to soak up the atmosphere dockside...

Saturday marked the first weekend the Barcelona World Race Village has been open, and with all nine teams dockside on the Moll de la Fusta, the crowds came out to marvel at the fleet of high-tech, carbon-fibre racing machines. This was also opening day for the Barcelona Boat Show, adding another reason to come down to the Port.

The weather couldn't be better for a stroll along the pontoon. And with sunny skies and warm temperatures forecast into next week, Sunday promises to bring more crowds. If you're in the neighbourhood, make sure you come and have a look...

The International Boat Show of Barcelona opens its doors today. Over 2100 boats of all types and models will be exhibited at five pavillions in the Gran Via Exhibition Centre, and at two docks in Port Vell, hosting an on-water show that is located in close proximity to the Barcelona World Race Village.

Sailing enthusiasts and the general public have the chance to enjoy two of the most important events in the sailing calendar side by side. The Boat Show runs from 3rd-11th November; the last day of the boat show coincides with the eagerly-awaited start of Barcelona World Race - a 25,000 nautical mile offshore adventure about to leave the city. The fleet of nine IMOCA Open 60's are moored in Port Vell's Moll de la Fusta.

Barcelona World Race team Estrella Damm crew members Guillermo Altadill and Johnathon Mckee today presented the charity organisation Africa Viva with a cheque for 15,000 euros, won by the Spanish team at the UK Artemis regatta held in August this year.

Representative of the Foundation Vicky Fumadó, warmly thanked the team for such a generous gesture and for supporting the need to promote equality in developing countries. Africa Viva is a charity organisation working towards the research and development of health resources in several African countries such as Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Mozambique.

The skippers also presented the Marketing Director of Estrella Damm Jaume Alemany with the glass trophy they had been awarded.
General Director of the Barcelona World Race, Andor Serra thanked the team for their support and participation in this new offshore, non-stop round the world challenge, and for sailing for such a worthwhile initiative.

The Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu declared that the city held great pride in seeing the race being named after Barcelona. “It is a huge satisfaction for us,” he said at the official opening of the Barcelona World Race village, “and is going to have a big impact on the people of the city, who will want to follow closely what is happening out on the water.”
The Mayor believes that this great celebration of world offshore racing has had a great beginning. “This is an important moment and I am convinced that there will be a lot more to come in the next few months.” Hereu is fully convinced of the value of such events, that is “an international projection of the city.”

On the question of the race itself the Mayor of Barcelona was impressed by the extreme difficultly of the challenge at hand, and emphasised in particular the great difficulty of living on board for such a long stretch of time. “It will be very interesting to observe just how the skippers get on in these circumstances throughout the race,” he commented.

At 12:20 (local time) today, British solo sailor Alex Thomson and his co-skipper Andrew Cape, sailed into Moll de la Fusta, Barcelona, completing their 2,100 mile qualifier for the Barcelona World Race. With ten days to go until the start of the race on 11 November, Hugo Boss was the final boat to arrive in the race village. It has taken a little over seven days for
Thomson and Cape to complete their delivery from Gosport, UK, and they will now make final preparations for the 25,000 nautical mile race around-the-world.

The Barcelona World Race Village, located in the Barcelona Port Vell, at the Moll de la Fusta, will have its official opening on Thursday, November 1st...At 11:00 hours, there will be a ceremony to mark the occasion, including the Mayor of Barcelona, Sr. Jordi Hereu and the President of the IMOCA class, Mr. Luc Talbourdet, among other honoured guests and dignitaries...This will also mark the opening of the 'Navegant per la Ciencia (Sailing through Science)' exhibition, an educational experience open to the public that explains the cutting-edge technology used on the boats, the incredible challenge of sailing across some of the most perilous parts of the planet and the strategy required to come up with a winning race plan.

 
Hugo Boss due to arrive in the dark
The ninth and final boat in the Barcelona World Race fleet is due to arrive overnight Wednesday night. Hugo Boss, with skipper Alex Thomson and co-skipper Andrew Cape should pull up alongside the docks alongside the Race Village just in time to make the official opening ceremony...good timing guys!

"We're approximately 200 miles north-east of {cape} Finisterre, we have about 15 knots of wind, we're doing 16 knots and we're on our way to Barcelona finally!"

Alex Thomson, onboard Hugo Boss 

Cornerstone of the partnership between Veolia Environnement and Roland Jourdain, Canyousea.com is an interactive website whose aim is to federate sailing enthusiasts and friends of the environment, while raising awareness regarding the planet's need for protection. Because the sailor and his sponsor share the same vision, and wish to share their values with a global audience. 

With 60 boats and 120 sailors entered in the 2007 edition, the Transat Jacques Vabre has reached a new record. The IMOCA Open 60 class represents 30% of the fleet, with 18 units due to cross the starting line! Title-holder of the 2005 edition (conquered with Loïck Peyron), Jean-Pierre Dick will not be defending his crown as he'll be taking the start of the Barcelona World Race on November 11.

Built and launched in Tuscany, the Groupe Bel IMOCA Open 60 monohull has reached her home port in Port Camargue on Thursday night, at 11:00 pm. Kito de Pavant and his three crewmates – including Sébastien Col, his accomplice for the Transat Jacques Vabre, left at dawn on Wednesday on a 300 miles maiden sail between Italy and France, facing wide-ranging wind and sea conditions.

The second VPLP - Verdier designed IMOCA Open 60' was launched yesterday in Italy. A happy Kito de Pavant, skipper of the lightweight and streamlined racer, said: "It's a great moment we've all been waiting for. In terms of conception, I'm sure we're on the right track. It seems Groupe Bel is lighter than many of her rivals. Even if the remaining job list is an Everest in itself, we've just taken a decisive step. We'll soon be heading back to Port Camargue, our homeport, before setting out to Le Havre double-handed, with Sébastien (Col). A 2000-mile"cruise" which shall be a good warm-up for Goupe Bel's first race." www.beltchiizztour.com

Safran, Marc Guillemot's new VPLP-Verdier designed Open 60', was christened on Saturday September the 1st in the Paul Vatine basin of Le Havre. The boat will take part in the Transat Jacques Vabre, Guillemot having teamed-up with the talented Figaro racer Charles Caudrelier, and will be among the boats to look out for in the 2008 Vendée Globe.

www.safransixty.com 

Today two British sailors, Dee Caffari and her co-skipper Nigel King, finished their qualifying sail for the 2007 Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV) race onboard the Open 60 racing yacht Aviva. Caffari and King successfully completed the 1000-mile qualifying sail, from La Rochelle to Gosport, at 01:45 on 2nd September 2007. Caffari has recruited King for the two-handed transatlantic race based on his extensive offshore racing experience.

www.avivaoceanracing.com 

The Open 60 monohull “Groupe Bel”, designed by Guillaume Verdier and the Van Peteghem - Lauriot Prévost design office, has left the Tuscan yard of Indiana Yachting. Set to be skippered by Kito de Pavant, the most recent of the IMOCA 60 fleet is today being taken by lorry to Rosignano (South of Livorno) where it will be launched midweek. The crew will also be proceeding with the self-righting test to prove that the skipper is capable of righting the boat without outside assistance, in the event of capsize. The following week, Groupe Bel will go for its first sail trials off the Italian coast, prior to returning to Port Camargue, its port of registry. In Le Havre on 3rd November, Kito de Pavant and Sébastien Col will take the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre bound for Salvador de Bahia in Brazil.

www.beltchiizztour.com 

Pindar, the brand new Open 60, who was leading in her debut race today, the Artemis Challenge at Skandia Cowes Week, dismasted whilst sailing around the Isle of Wight. The wing mast snapped less than two metres from the deck at 11.30 this morning. All of the crew are safe. Reaching along the southern side of the Island, Pindar was leading the fleet when the incident occurred. The cause of the breakage is not yet known. The dismasting of the cutting edge Open 60 will force Pindar to pull out of the historic Rolex Fastnet Race this Sunday.

At 1430hrs local time, 11 IMOCA Open 60's crossed the start line of the 3rd edition of the Calais Round Britain Race. Under gennaker, Jean Le Cam (VM Materiaux) was first to cross the line into the thick fog enveloping the Channel, with PRB following in 2nd. Vincent Riou (PRB) was first to the Boulogne mark, followed by Swiss sailor Dominique Wavre (Temenos) and Jeremie Beyou (Delta Dore). A meteorological brain-teaser is in store as the IMOCA fleet attempt to exit the English Channel in a clockwise rotation of the British Isles.

Today, Swiss sailor Bernard Stamm, skipper of Cheminées Poujoulat, has announced his participation in the Barcelona World Race. Stamm who recently became the overall winner of the Velux 5 Oceans Race, has confirmed his co-skipper as British sailor Conrad Humpreys. This brings the total number of entries to eight so far for the Barcelona World Race that starts on 11th November this year.

British solo sailing legend Sir Robin has crossed the finish line of the Velux 5 Oceans in Fremantle, Western Australia, at 20:57.15 local time (11:57.15 GMT). Knox-Johnston completed the first leg of the Velux 5 Oceans onboard his IMOCA Open 60 Saga Insurance after 67 days, 0 hours, 57 minutes and 15 seconds.

The 2003 Solitaire du Figaro winner Armel Le Cléac’h and his sponsor Brit Air are teaming up with Multiplast to build a new Open 60 monohull for the 2008 Vendée Globe. The new boat, designed by the Finot Group, will start to take shape at the Multiplast yard in Vannes (southern Brittany, France) in early October 2006, with the launch planned for next June. Coming from the Figaro One-Design class, in which boats are easy to handle, Armel wanted a simple ocean-racer. Jean-Marie Finot: 'Brit Air benefits from our past experiences. She will be a powerful and stable boat. She’s a bit in the same spirit as Geodis, winner of the 3rd Vendée Globe, yet has been designed taking into account the parameters of modern boat technology, including moveable appendages...'. In the meantime, Armel has announced he will doing the Route du Rhum on the ex-VMI Open 60, starting from St.Malo on October 29th.

OC Events and the FNO, organisers of the new Barcelona World Race, have made two further key appointments to help drive forward the continued recruitment of top-level entries from around the world and provide support to sailors planning participation in this double-handed, non-stop round the world race starting 11th November 2007. Christine Salén (formerly Christine Guillou, skipper of EF Education female crew 1997/98 Whitbread Round the World Race) has been appointed to support skippers with their fundraising and boat acquisition. French PR agency, Welcome on Board, will now manage media relations in France, with Caroline Muller working full time on the event, supporting Christine on the work to assist French entries to the start line.