A unique record attempt
Norbert Sedlacek has already participated in two Vendée Globe races (2004-2005 and 2008-2009) and has circumnavigated tens of thousands of miles. Attracted by adventure and innovation, he launched a new challenge: a round-the-world trip through the two poles, non-stop, solo and without assistance across the five oceans called the Anc-Arctic Lab Challenge.
"He was looking to accomplish something new, a challenge that surpasses the Vendée Globe" explains Marion Koch, who worked on the architecture and design of the boat and is part of the project team.
Thus, the skipper will have to cover 34,000 nautical miles - about seven months at sea - around the globe, including the Northwest Passage and the Southern Ocean. It will depart from Les Sables-d'Olonne before heading towards the Arctic Ocean, crossing the Northwest Passage from East to West and then heading south again to pass Cape Horn for the first time. It will then circumnavigate Antarctica far south and round Cape Horn for the second time before heading northwards across the Atlantic to Les Sables d'Olonne.
For his world tour of another kind, Norbert Sedlacek worked with the architecture firm Vincent Lebailly Yacht Design to design a 60-foot boat specifically adapted to sailing in the Atlantic, as well as in the poles. Thus, the challenge brought together a team of professional sailors, builders, designers, architects and engineers to work on the design and construction of the Open60AAL prototype, an extreme sailboat whose hull and deck are built in volcanic rock fibre and balsa wood with epoxy matrix. "Durable, recyclable materials, without dermatological and biological risks."
Unlike the Vendée Globe - where weight is a constraint - Norbert will have enough food for his 200 days at sea. Especially since with his 60-foot prototype, it is impossible to know if he will encounter any problems or breakages. Better to plan than to heal!
