Global sailing race will make St. Pete its North American stop in 2027
/The Ocean Race, a fully-crewed, around-the-world offshore sailing race, has announced downtown St. pete as its North American host city for 2027 | The Ocean Race
St. Pete is set to take center stage on the global sailing circuit.
The Ocean Race, widely considered one of the toughest professional sporting events in the world, will make its first-ever Gulf Coast stop in 2027, with downtown St. Petersburg serving as the North American host for a new transatlantic leg of the race.
The announcement is a major win for the area, which will bring an internationally recognized event to the St. Petersburg Yacht Club and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg waterfront.
The 15th edition of The Ocean Race will begin in Alicante, Spain on Sunday, January 17th, 2027, sending a fleet of IMOCA 60-foot sailboats on a 14,000-nautical-mile opening leg to Auckland, New Zealand.
From there, teams will head to Itajaí, Brazil before arriving in downtown St. Pete for a scheduled stopover from May 4th through May 16th, 2027.
The Ocean Race route for 2027 | The Ocean Race
Following the stop in St. Pete, teams will depart on a 4,500-nautical-mile crossing to Cascais, Portugal.
The race concludes with an exciting sprint down the Red Sea to AMAALA, Saudi Arabia, marking the first time in race history that sailors have competed on the waters of the Red Sea.
During its 12-day stay in St. Pete, the city’s waterfront will become a global race village.
The St. Petersburg Yacht Club will serve as the central hub for public-facing events, including dock walks, team boat viewings, and interactive exhibits.
Just to the east, the IMOCA fleet will be docked along the USF St. Petersburg campus, tying the event directly into one of the country’s leading marine science institutions.
a fleet of IMOCA 60-foot sailboats will spend 6 to 8 months sailing around the world in next year’s The Ocean Race | The Ocean Race
Visitors can expect a multi-day activation along the bay featuring sailing and ocean-themed exhibits, STEM programming, and sustainability showcases, all open to the public.
“It’s an honor to be selected as the North American destination on this prestigious race that encompasses some of the globe’s most iconic coastal communities,” said Steve Grimes, chief marketing officer for Visit St. Pete-Clearwater.
“This could rival the St. Pete Grand Prix when we look at those numbers,” said Pinellas County Commissioner Chuck Prather during a Tourist Development Council meeting on Wednesday morning. “I applaud you and the team for landing this huge event.”
While previous editions have stopped in Fort Lauderdale and Miami, this will be the first time the Gulf Coast has hosted a leg of the event in its 50-plus-year history.
The St. Petersburg Yacht Club will serve as the central hub for public-facing events, including dock walks, team boat viewings, and interactive exhibits | St Pete Yacht Club
The race, which dates back to 1973 and was previously known as the Whitbread Round the World Race and later the Volvo Ocean Race, has evolved into both an elite sailing competition and a global platform for ocean conservation through its “Racing for the Ocean” initiative.
“The Ocean Race embodies much of what our community already represents: a deep tradition of ocean racing and a strong commitment to ocean science, sustainability, marine innovation, STEM education, and tourism,” said Rob Britts, stopover director for St. Pete-Clearwater.
“We’re incredibly excited to welcome this event and the global spotlight it brings, but we're even more excited about the lasting legacy it can create for our community,” Britts concluded.
