The Mexican team returns to competitive action after its 2021 participation in the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Europe
VO65 team Viva México led by Mexican skipper Erik Brockmann has confirmed its entry in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint – a new three stage event taking place as part of the 2022-23 edition of The Ocean Race around the world.
Viva México joins four other VO65 crews – Ambersail 2 (LTU), Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team (POR), Team JAJO (NED), WindWhisper Racing Team (POL) – competing for a new trophy: The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup.
According to Brockmann – an accomplished Mexican yachtsman and past world champion skipper who also led the team in The Ocean Race Europe – taking part in the new sprint event is another significant step towards a Mexican crew racing around the world in The Ocean Race for the first time since his countryman Ramón Carlín won the first ever edition in 1973-74 aboard Sayula II.
“In 2019 we set ourselves the goal to bring Mexico back to The Ocean Race – 50 years after our friends onboard Sayula II won the first edition,” Brockmann said. “We are proud to represent Mexico again, like we did in The Ocean Race Europe, and we are raring to go to try to win The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup.
“Getting to the start has been a huge challenge and the toughest race of my life so far, but I am 100 percent sure it has all been worth it – so thanks to everyone who has made this possible. We can’t wait to be back doing what we enjoy the most out on the ocean.”
The five boat fleet of identical 65-foot high-performance ocean racing yachts – raced by a mixed gender 10-person crew which must include three female and three under-30 sailors – will take part in The Ocean Race opening leg from Alicante, Spain to Mindelo in the Cabo Verde archipelago, as well as Leg 6 from the Danish city Aarhus to The Hague in the Netherlands via a flyby in Germany’s Kiel.Sailing.City, and the around-the-world race’s final seventh leg from The Hague to Genova, Italy for the grand finale.
The VO65 teams will also take part in their own four-heat in-port race series with inshore races held during the stopovers in Alicante, Cabo Verde, The Hague, and Genova.
Brockmann said he was honoured to once again be skippering the Mexican crew and vowed to do his best to follow in the late Ramón Carlín’s footsteps.
In particular he said the team was looking forward to the build up to the start of the race in Alicante – site of The Ocean Race headquarters – which begins with the opening of the Ocean Live Park race village on January 7, 2023 ahead of the Alicante in-port race on January 8, and the start of leg 1 on January 15.
“Alicante will be very special for us being a Latin Spanish-speaking team,” he said. “We are hoping we will get the support of the home crowd.”
The team is still finalising its sailing team line-up but Brockmann revealed a few names already, including race veteran Chuny Bermudez de Castro who will join along with his son Carlos Bermudez de Castro for the opening stage.
Two-time The Ocean Race competitor Jaime Arbones from Spain, a four time Olympian and former top ranked Laser sailor Tania Elias Calles from Mexico will be on the crew too along with Juan Varela and Juan Luis Medina from Mexico who were part of The Ocean Race Europe team. More crew announcements will follow.
