There were people on the pontoons in Port Olona on Sunday, July 21, 2019, for the big departure of the Austrian sailor Norbert Sedlacek. He set off on a world tour of 34?000 miles - 200 days at sea - at 1716:10 UTC in ideal weather conditions, aboard his 60-foot Open60AAL Innovation Yachts.
It is now preparing to join the Arctic Ocean. It will cross the Northwest Passage and then head south across the Pacific to round Cape Horn for the first time. He will then circumnavigate Antarctica through the Far South and round Cape Horn for the second time before heading northwards across the Atlantic to Les Sables d'Olonne.
At 57 years old, Norbert Sedlack is embarking on his second attempt at a round-the-world trip. First left in July 2018, he had quickly turned back due to the unreliability of his boat . As a reminder, its 60-foot boat - built by the Franco-Austrian shipyard Innovation Yachts - is a prototype designed from volcanic rock fibre, balsa wood and biocompatible epoxy.
If he completes his journey, Norbert will achieve a double objective. To become the first navigator to have sailed around the world alone without stopovers and without assistance across all the oceans of the planet including the Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean. And to validate the quality and safety of a new boat building concept.
