VANCOUVER, BC — 22 April 2015 On Earth Day, the Canadian Ocean Racing team departs Vancouver and officially kicks off the Canadian Launch Tour. Over the next 3-months, Canada’s premier offshore racing team will journey from Vancouver to Toronto via the Panama Canal and St. Lawrence River to the Pan Am Games in July.

The team is comprised of young sailors from across the country, mentored by their Skipper, Canadian Rolex Sailor of the Year, Eric Holden (35). Holden aims to build the next generation of offshore racers in Canada while he prepares for his entry into the solo, nonstop, round the world 2016 Vendée Globe Race.

Canadian Ocean Racing’s Aspiring Offshore Athletes (AOA) program is providing four young sailors the opportunity to log over 8000 nM training on board Open 60 racing yacht O Canada with Holden. The team’s Launch Tour brings together four AOAs from across the country: Liam Johnston (25, BC), Morgen Watson (25, AB), Sandy Macpherson (21, ON), and Daniel Gaw (20, NS).

The AOAs have over 100,000 offshore miles logged combined, with experience on 70 ft racing yachts to tall-ships to Minis. Watson crewed on Holden’s winning Clipper Round the World Race team, Macpherson was the youngest to solo circumnavigate Lake Ontario, and other crew members have placed highly in iconic races like Newport-Bermuda and Sydney-Hobart.

The Canadian Ocean Racing team pools together a variety of talent: from meteorology to naval architecture, boat building and rigging. AOAs have not only made efforts to gain offshore miles, but also perfect their trade. Three AOAs have pursued maritime degrees: Naval Architecture, Memorial University of Newfoundland (Johnston); Nautical Science, Marine Institute in Newfoundland (Gaw); and a BSc (Hons) in Navigation and Maritime Science, Plymouth University UK (Macpherson).

Johnston’s final project at Memorial University of Newfoundland designed a next-generation, foiling Open 60 for a 2020 Vendee Globe entry — inspired by Eric’s 2016 campaign.

“Having spent the past 8 months designing a vessel like O Canada, a chance to go back to what brought me to school in the first place – sailing – is exceptional,” said Johnston.

Among the AOAs, two have Mini Transat and Vendée Globe aspirations, and the team is seriously interested in the Sailing the Arctic Race (STAR).

“The Vendee Globe is my ultimate goal, so being part of Eric’s campaign is a great experience for me. Raising the profile of offshore sailing in Canada has always been my goal — it is a dream come true to work with a program that will do exactly that,” said Macpherson. Before joining Canadian Ocean Racing, Macpherson started campaigning for a 2017 Mini Transat campaign via Sandy Macpherson Sailing.

The Launch Tour is just the beginning of Canadian Ocean Racing’s journey to the 2016 Vendée Globe. Holden, Watson and Macpherson have spent the past 6 weeks refitting O Canada in preparation for the team’s first major offshore journey. Together the team will learn about sailing and living on an Open 60 racing yacht during several long offshore passages to Toronto.

From Vancouver, the team aims to sail straight to Panama, only stopping for refueling if necessary. After passing through the Panama Canal, the team will proceed on another long passage towards Halifax to get to Toronto via the St. Lawrence River.

In July, the team will be quite active in Toronto, racing the LO 300, engaging current and new partners while spreading awareness at the Pan Am Games. The Launch Tour will then continue back along the St. Lawrence River with special engagements in Kingston, Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax during the month of August.

After the first AOA tour completes, Canadian Ocean Racing will begin phase two of the program as the team gets in race mode and prepares for Holden’s Vendée Globe qualifying races later this year. More opportunities for new AOAs will be available on Atlantic crossings and deliveries for races.

The team will be sharing their Launch Tour journey along the way — fans can follow Canadian Ocean Racing on Facebook, @oceanracers, #CORTOUR and via our Tracker.

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Press Contact

Meg Reilly, PR & Partnerships Manager

mreilly@canadianoceanracing.com

+1 908 279 5747

Canadian Ocean Racing

Canadian Ocean Racing (COR) is Canada’s premier offshore racing team. Founded by Eric Holden and Morgen Watson, COR is dedicated to promoting the sport of offshore racing in Canada. COR is using Open 60 O Canada for the training program and taking her back on the racing circuit to compete in the IMOCA races.

The mission of COR is to raise the profile of Canadian offshore racing while building a program to develop the next generation of sailors. The program launched its Aspiring Offshore Athletes Program in March 2015 in which young Canadian sailors have the opportunity to be mentored and trained by Eric Holden on various offshore passages onboard O Canada. Visit www.canadianoceanracing.com for more information.