American Brad Van Liew's Eco 60, Le Pingouin

Six sailors have crossed the starting line on the Velux 5 Oceans single-handed around the word race.  They are all sailing Eco 60 class sailboats.  As the race begins we thought it worthwhile to take a look at this “new” class of ocean racing sailboat, that looks somehow familiar.

The Eco 60 web site describes the boats as “a revolutionary new class of yacht, one that is environmentally friendly and much more affordable to campaign… The purpose of the new Eco 60 class is to blow open the world of solo ocean racing as we know it and make it more accessible and affordable.”

If these boats look familiar it is because they are all Open 60 racing yachts built prior to 2003.  Rather than build new boats, the Eco 60s are existing racing boats which may not be considered fully competitive, but are nevertheless robust and ocean tested.   This “recycling” of ocean racers may be the largest component of the “environmentally friendly” aspect of the class.  Additionally, there are limits to how much power can be generated by diesel generators on board the board the boats.  70 per cent of all power used during the race must be from solar, wind or water powered generators.  There are also limitations on the number of sails carried and the size of the support crews ashore.

While these boats may sound like older more conservative designs, they are still downwind sleds with canting keels and twin dagger rudders on carbon fiber and kevlar hulls, capable of speeds up to 30 knots.   “Affordable” is also a relative term.  Used Open 60s are offered on the brokerage market at prices ranging from around $250,000 to well over one million dollars,  with outfitting, upgrading and the cost of the campaign itself not included.