The VELUX 5 OCEANS is the oldest single-handed round the world yacht race. Run every 4 years since 1982, the race is the longest and toughest event for any individual in any sport. The VELUX 5 OCEANS is a series of five high-pressure ocean sprints within a marathon circumnavigation. In the course of the 30,000 mile race, the skippers cross five oceans alone.

Racing begins in La Rochelle on October 17 2010 with the skippers heading for Cape Town in South Africa. From there they will head into the notorious Southern Ocean stopping at Wellington in New Zealand before rounding Cape Horn and making for Salvador in Brazil. A short hop up the coast to Charleston in South Carolina, USA, makes up the fourth leg before the skippers set off across the Atlantic to complete the race in La Rochelle in May 2011. less