Andalucía, Spain - In a major coup for the world of sailing, renowned Spanish sailor Alex Pella has announced his intention to challenge the Elcano Oceanic Trophy record in early 2025.
The Elcano Oceanic Trophy is a new competitive round-the-world sailing challenge trophy inspired by the first-ever circumnavigation of the planet, which was achieved by Spanish sailor Juan Sebastian Elcano over 500 years ago.
The westabout course, which will start and finish in Andalucía, Spain, follows in the wake of Elcano, who completed the first circumnavigation in September 1522 after taking command of the expedition originally led by Ferdinand Magellan who died during the 1,082-day voyage.
The 21st century re-run will establish a modern record time that will be open to challenge from racing sailors and adventurers from around the world.
As required by the Elcano Oceanic Trophy rules, a Spanish sailor must establish the new challenge time, and Pella is the perfect candidate. He is one of the most experienced and successful sailors in the world, with a string of record-breaking achievements to his name, including becoming the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world from south to north.
Pella will sail the legendary 33.5m maxi-catamaran Club Med, now renamed Victoria after Elcano's ship. The yacht is a fitting choice for the challenge, as she is a record-breaker herself, having set the 24-hour world sailing record in 2005.
Pella and his crew will set the Elcano Oceanic Trophy benchmark time in early 2025 following a number of other record attempts, including a Round Spain / Vuelta España bid from Bilbao to Barcelona in September and the Straits of Gibraltar record from Tanger to Algeciras later this year. In 2024, Pella's team is planning a series of European and transatlantic records, which will be announced in due course.
"The sailing circumnavigation to the west is the greatest oceanic adventure, and after just over 500 years, we have the unique opportunity to enhance the value of this route by turning it into an international and CO2-neutral sporting challenge," said Pella.
"The great thing is to be able to link this to the past, which is history, with a project for the present and the future. Leading the first attempt is an exciting responsibility".
The Elcano Oceanic Trophy is a unique and ambitious challenge, and Pella's attempt to set the first record time is sure to be one of the most exciting and closely watched sailing events of 2025.
