History, Facts & Figures | Historical Facts
Did you know that a total of 17 boats with 324 crew sailed all or part of the first Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973-74? Check out some facts from history that you may have missed.
The Whitbread Round the World race first started from Portsmouth, UK on September 8 1973.
17 boats carrying 167 crew set sail on Leg 1 to Cape Town in 1973.
167 boats and 2030 sailors have taken part in 12 editions of the event.
43 different nationalities are represented by the crew who have sailed in the race since 1973.
467 crew from the UK have taken part in the race. The highest number from any nation.
5 sailors have lost their lives at sea during the race:
- Paul Waterhouse/Tauranga/Leg 2 1973-74
- Dominique Guillet/33 Export/Leg 2 1973-74
- Bernie Hosking/Great Britain II/Leg 3 1973-74
-Tony Philips/Creighton's Naturally/Leg 2 1989-90
- Hans Horrovoets/ABN AMRO TWO/Leg 7 2005-06
In 1973-74, before GPS technology, navigation was by dead reckoning and sextant and the racetrack followed the route of the old square riggers of the 19th century.
In the earlier days of the race, the boats were much more comfortable: fridges were packed with fresh meat and many teams included a full-time cook. With the years, the traditional commodities have evolved into shared bunks, desalination units, GPS, freeze dried food and protein bars.
29 boats took part in the 1981-82 race, the largest fleet ever.
The oldest skipper to win the race was Cornelis Van Rietschoten NED, who was 55 when he skippered Flyer to a win in 1982-82.
Three sailors have sailed in the race seven times:
- Stuart Bannatyne NZL, who has been on a winning boat three times.
- Bouwe Bekking NED and Roger Nilson SWE, who have both also been a skipper on three occasions.
Three sailors, coincidentally all from New Zealand, have sailed on a winning boat three times: Stuart Bannatyne, Mark Christensen and Brad Jackson.
Mark Christensen NZL is still the only sailor in the history of the race to have won three editions in a row.
Pierre Fehlmann SUI is the only sailor to skipper a boat five times in a row, from 1977-78 upto and including 1993-94.
Roger Nilson says he has sailed 200,000nm in his life - the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
The Onboard Reporter, known nowadays as the OBR, was first introduced in 2008-09 to satisfy the demands of the multimedia coverage of life onboard.
Farr Yacht Design, designers of the Volvo Ocean 65, has been responsible for designing five winning entries in the first 11 editions of the race.
1989-90: Tracy Edwards GBR (skipper) and her crew of Maiden, became the first all female team to compete in the race.
1989-90 Maiden (Tracy Edwards GBR)
1993-94 US Women's Challenge (Nance Frank USA)/Heineken (Dawn Riley USA)
1997-98 EF Education (Christine Guillou FRA)
2001-02 Amer Sports Too (Lisa McDonald - nee Charles GBR)
2014-15 Team SCA (Sam Davies GBR)
Team SCA is the first all-female team to win a leg of the race since Tracy Edwards and her crew of Maiden won the two southern ocean legs in their division, back in 1989-90.
39,270 nautical miles - the longest racecourse so far, in 2011-12.
12,300 nm, the longest leg in race history: Leg 5 Quingdao, China to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It took the fleet over 40 days to complete.