Guo Chuan announces his crew

Chinese round the world sailor to set off through northeast passage next month

Chinese sailor Guo Chuan, who holds a world record of solo non-stop circumnavigation in a 40ft yacht has announced the crew of his Arctic Ocean World Record Challenge.

The line-up includes Boris Herrmann from Germany, the youngest crew in the team but one of Germany's greatest offshore sailors. Jochen Krauth and Quentin Monegier from France both have many years of experience in top international events on big yachts. Sergei Nizovtsev has achieved fame in his native Russia as an explorer. Tim Frank from Germany will be media crewman on the trimaran.

Guo Chuan said: “We have spent two years building the team. Finally now we have all six crew on the trimaran. All are among the best in the sailing industry, but everyone is humble and easy-going. Yesterday was the first time all the crew sailed together, we worked together and everything ran smoothly. There is great team spirit. As the first Chinese skipper to lead an international team, I feel honoured.”

To record this historic voyage and to document another new world sailing record, Chuan’s strategic partner Demedia will finance production of a documentary temporarily named as 'Chuan’s Ocean'. The documentary will be directed by the British historian and documentary filmmaker Stuart Binns, who has won over 30 international awards for his factual programs. It will be released as a movie, documentary series and video clips, released in over 40 countries and regions.

Guo Chuan looks forward to this: "To have the opportunity to record my voyages in the form of a documentary is very special. I cannot help but feel excited about this. As we have a very strong production team and media crew on the trimaran, I am confident that the documentary will be high quality. This documentary will not only record my sailing stories, but also all about the team. It is the first time that a trimaran bearing the name of a Chinese city ‘China Qingdao’ will be led by a Chinese skipper with an international team to challenge a world record around North Pole. Therefore, regardless of the results of this challenge, this documentary will witness the courage and determination of Chinese sailing to explore the world.”

As a Champion for Peace of Peace and Sport, Guo Chuan is keen to spread a peace message along his voyages. Guo Chuan said: "This year is the 70th anniversary of the victory of World War II, as an ambassador of Peace and Sport, to challenge Arctic Ocean world record this year is very special. I’d like to promote ‘Peace and Sport’ spirit to more people. For this reason, we put 'Peace and Sport' logo on the prominent position of the mainsail. Now besides me, our team has two French crew, two German crew and one Russian crew. I believe that peace and friendship exist by no means only on our trimaran. And I hope that my voyage can help spread the message of ‘Peace and Sport’ wider.”

Guo Chuan will start the Arctic Ocean world record challenge on 3 September from the northern Russian port of Murmansk, sailing Qingdao China non-stop to the finish line at the Bering Strait. If the challenge is successful, Guo will set the first world record of non-stop sailing with a team along the Arctic Northeast route. The journey should be completed within two weeks. The trimaran will then head for Qingdao.

Now Chuan and his team are busy with refitting and testing of the trimaran. On 11 August, Qingdao China will set sail from La Trinite sur Mer for northern Russia.