Swiss skipper Dominique Wavre yesterday, Monday 18 September, officially confirmed his participation in the Barcelona World Race, with over one year to go before the start on 11 November 2007 from the city of Barcelona. Wavre was immediately attracted to the double-handed, non-stop round the world concept when the race was initially launched in October 2005 but he has waited until his new IMOCA Open 60 Temenos II underwent its first boat testing in Europe before making any formal announcement.

Wavre has also announced his co-skipper as Michèle Paret, the first female sailor confirmed for the race. Wavre and Paret, from France, have sailed together for over a decade after competing in their first two-handed transatlantic in 1996. Wavre said: “Most of the the double-handed races I have done was with Michèle by my side. There is a lot of complicity between us and I know in advance that things will work out perfectly between us onboard, both from a human and technical point of view.”

This duo has accumulated a considerable number of miles over the last ten years, starting on the Figaro circuit before moving into the IMOCA circuit. As Project Manager of the first Temenos, Michèle took part in the entire programme of double-handed and crewed races onboard of the Open 60. Michèle and Dominique are at the first mixed crew to enter the Barcelona World Race.

This new race will allow the Swiss skipper, who is currently second in the IMOCA World Championship rankings, to add a seventh round the world race to his CV, and a first double-handed circumnavigation. The training programme of the duo will start just after the Route du Rhum in November, when Dominique and Michèle will bring the boat home together from Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) to La Rochelle (France), allowing them to get used to their new monohull.

The Barcelona World Race is a new two-handed non-stop round the world yacht race starting November 2007, to be held every four years. For the first time, this race will see the world’s best professional sailors from both worlds of solo and fully crewed disciplines, competing against each other in teams of two. Racing 25,000 miles over three months across the world’s most challenging oceans in high performance IMOCA Open 60 monohulls.