Stars turn out for Bart's Bash promo

Sailing heroes put their muscle behind 'the world's biggest sailing event'

The organisers of ‘Bart’s Bash’ officially launched their bid to stage the largest sailing race in the world this morning with a 90 second film packed full with some of the greatest and most successful sailors to have sailed the seas. The film Alignment, which had been trailed for days previously using the hashtag #thestarsarealigned was put together from start to finish within seven days and demonstrates the worldwide and far reaching support that this ambitious attempt has already attracted.

Sailors appearing in the film include Jimmy Spithill, Sir Ben Ainslie, Robert Scheidt, John Bertrand, Loïck Peyron, Freddie Lööf, Paul Cayard, Lijia Xu, and many more, including Iain Percy, Grant Simmer, Nathan Outterridge, Paul Goodison, Shirley Robertson, Tom Slingsby and Xabi Fernandez.

Jez Payne, an event director for Bart’s Bash said of the film: "Seven days ago we tested the water. We asked the great and the good of the sailing world, both past and present, to send us a personal message if they felt aligned with Bart’s Bash. This film is just the beginning of what we received. We’ll be sharing more of the films we have been generously given in the coming weeks.’ With reference to the decision to launch the record attempt in this way he said, ‘This has never been done before. This race will be an opportunity for anyone, no matter whoever they are, wherever they are or however old they are to race against the best in the world. It’s like a Saturday league team squaring up against Real Madrid – it’s bonkers and it's going to be amazing fun. Why wouldn't you want to have a go at that? Imagine if you could say that you beat Sir Ben Ainslie or Jimmy Spithill….'"

 322 clubs worldwide from across 17 countries are currently signed up to participate in Bart’s Bash, and organisers expect this number to grow significantly. There is no deadline for subscribing to be a participating club for the event and anyone interested should email tim@bartsbash.co.uk for more information. An interactive map displaying the current club involvement for Bart’s Bash can be seen here.

Later on Saturday organisers will release a document setting out in more detail the background to the event, the progress so far, plans for the future and some early guidelines to help clubs taking part to start their own preparations.

To sign your club up, email tim@bartsbash.co.uk or visit the website at www.bartsbash.co.uk. Keep spreading the word - #sailonbart