The start of the Ocean Race... and the first problems!

The Ocean Race making history, once again. The 14th edition of The Ocean Race set off from Alicante on Sunday with a record attendance of almost 140,000 spectators over the weekend. The spectacle at the Ocean Live Park (full programme of activities for all ages) on Sunday was historic: 72,500 spectators packed the facilities at the Alicante venue, setting a new attendance record for a single day in the five editions that the race has been staged in Alicante.

The start from Alicante offered spectacular weather with warm temperatures under sunny skies and now the sailors have some tough conditions ahead of them as they head down towards the Strait of Gibraltar. With a breeze of between ten and 17 knots, the 11 boats experienced a fast and furious start. The first was at 14:05h for the six VO65s where Pablo Arrarte's WindWisper Racing Team set the pace.

As we mentioned, this is the 14th edition of the iconic, fully crewed, round the world ocean race and it will be the first to feature the latest generation IMOCA boats, with foils and near-flyers.

There are five IMOCA class teams:
1. 11th Hour Racing Team (USA); skipper Charlie Enright.
Team Malizia (GER); skipper Boris Herrmann.
3. Team Holcim-PRB (SUI); skipper Kevin Escoffier.
4. GUYOT environnement-Team Europe (FRA/GER); skipper Benjamin Dutreux.
5. Biotherm Racing (FRA); skipper Paul Meilhat.

The second start, at around 16:05h, was for the five IMOCAs. The breeze was 12 knots and the impressive Biotherm Racing was already making its mark at the start. The good wind conditions allowed them to fly, which made the fans even happier.

As both fleets sail towards Cape Verde, some 1900 nautical miles away, the IMOCAs will continue their round the world race, while the VO65s will stop in Cape Verde, before rejoining the IMOCA fleet in Europe in the spring for the final two legs of the race. The forecast now predicts complex and shifty conditions with the threat of strong winds and very strong currents.

A first "small" problem was notified early monday morning. Team Viva Mexico (VO65) contacted Race Control on Monday morning to explain that they had to head to port because of a damaged sail. The team was sailing upwind in winds gusting over 30 knots at the time. Almeria is approximately 25 nautical miles (45 km) from their current location.

We will continue to report on the world's most popular regatta on our website and social networks!