Around Alone update

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston tells madforsailing of his latest thoughts for his singlehanded round the world race

Above: Giovanni Soldini's Open 60 Fila, winner of the last Around Alone

The new course also simplifies the race in the Antipodes by having no Sydney stopover and lengthens the Cape Horn leg with the South American stopover moved north from Punta del Este to Salvador de Bahia, where the Clipper Round the World Race was recently welcomed and which is the current destination of the Mini Transat and in November for the Transat Jacques Vabre.

Knox-Johnston has also agreed to run the race under International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA) rules developed for the last Vendee Globe following the spate of Open 60s capsizing and remaining inverted in the previous round the world race. However this has created its own set of problems as, due to their size, the current generation of Open 40s, of which three hot examples are expected on the Around Alone's start line, cannot comply with IMOCA's rules.

In addition to Class I (50-60ft IMOCA) and Class II (40-50ft IMOCA), a third class in the Around Alone was recently announced in a notice published by the event's organisers Clipper Ventures. Class III is describes as being open to "boats of a 'Production' design or a 'cruiser racer' type with overall length between 40 feet (12.192m) and 60 feet (18.288m)". But Knox-Johnston also hopes this will attract some non-IMOCA development class entries. "Around Alone historically has been like the OSTAR and like the Route de Rhum, where it has been possible for an amateur with a bright idea to enter and prove it [that idea]," he says.

Knox-Johnston is known not to be keen on the finite restrictions IMOCA have placed on the supposed 'Open' class of which he was one of the original pioneers. Like many people he wishes that when the IMOCA rules were created that they had specified a required result such as self-righting, rather than an exact process of achieving that result. However he acknowledges the success and popularity of the IMOCA-regulated class. "You don't want to take the opportunity away from them," he says.

At present the biggest concern over Around Alone is its lack of a main sponsor. However Knox-Johnston remains upbeat about the prospects for his event. "The race is going to happen. Of that there is no doubt. Our intention is to create a good competitive fleet and step up a gear from the last Around Alone. It is a very good race. It is a series of very hard sprints and you can afford to push your boat hard. We think we'll have a good fleet and get some close racing."