WHAT WE ARE OFFERING:

(For those who would like to see more detail, and full prices, click here)

 Sailing, racing, pushing an 82 foot maxi ocean racer to its limits in all conditions
Not to race against your fellow team-mates but to race against the best sailors and
the fastest racing ships in the world.
To race the glamorous, traditional, intercontinental ocean passage races on this
planet.
To celebrate amongst hundreds of ocean racing yachts and their crews in exotic,
romantic places.
This is not match racing with a few yachts crewed by other trainees, but the
genuine white-knuckle passage racing stuff, racing with the experienced and the
professionals.

If you are relatively inexperienced, but you’d like to become a maxi ocean racer,
racing with the best, then with the Sorcery Certificate of Competence firmly in your
hand, you’ll  be able to step aboard any maxi in the world and be accepted,
especially if you harbor thoughts of making ocean racing your career.

EVEN IF YOU HAVE NO SAILING EXPERIENCE WHATSOEVER, WE WILL TRAIN YOU
TO THIS SAME HIGH DEGREE OF EXPERTISE IN MAXI BIG BOAT SAILING AND
SEAMANSHIP…

SO NO MATTER WHAT YOUR BACKGROUND IS, OR WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING –
WHETHER YOU’RE A SHOP ASSISTANT OR AN EYE SURGEON – JUST AS LONG AS
YOU ARE WILLING – WE SHALL TRAIN YOU FOR THIS EXCITING, EXHILARATING
AND REWARDING CHALLENGE.

WHAT AM I BOOKING?

Pre-Race

The Sorcery Colors and team uniform which are yours to keep.
Pre-race training
Basic seamanship
Practicing the technical skills required to race a Maxi
Taking part in the building of the sailing team.
Working in the different race positions so that you will become skilled at multi-
tasking alongside the professionals from bow to stern.

The Race Itself

The hugely exciting experience of racing the world’s seas aboard one of the fastest
ocean racing sailing Maxis ever built.
The unforgettable feeling of being part of a very special team, where your skills
are as important and essential as every other position.
The sheer excitement of pushing Sorcery to her limit, and sailing at great speed
over the world’s oceans.

The End of the Race

The amazing feeling of crossing over the finishing line in an exotic location, with
what sometimes feels like the whole world waving and welcoming you with open
arms. Not even Frank Sinatra did this!
This finish-of-the-race experience, the celebrations, the meeting up again with old
friends, the exchanging of race stories, the settling of side bets, the keg of beer on
the wharf – for both you and the spectators, the newfound friends to invite aboard,
the many parties to follow, the blossoming of romances – all create an amazing
carnival experience giving you the sheer, glorious feeling of being really and
incredibly alive on this planet of ours!

The Start of the Race

The incredible pre-race atmosphere begins to build, as the last ‘goodbyes’ and
‘good lucks’ are exchanged…then
The crews board their boats and cast off toward the starting line. These hundreds
of racing boats now begin to jostle for position before the starting gun countdown,
trying to perfect their position so that when the starting gun does go, they are just
crossing the starting line.
The seconds tick away, producing a hair-tingling anticipation and the total
excitement as the starting guns count down 10 minutes, 5 minutes and then the
start cannon booms and we’re off!
The race has begun! The challenge now is the thousands of miles of open ocean
where the big boats challenge each other to become the first to finish, quickly
leaving the rest of the fleet behind.

The Race Itself

For those of you who perhaps haven’t experienced a major ocean race at all, or
particularly aboard a Maxi, John Walker, the owner and president of Sorcery
Ocean Racing, and a highly experienced, grizzled mariner in many world classic
ocean races with Maxis, will try to paint you a picture…….

“Life aboard a maxi ocean racer, is high street – you’re really in the fast lane. They’
re big, they’re powerful and they can be dangerous. Safety and care are
paramount. These big boats bite back. We drive Sorcery to the limit in all
conditions and through every minute and every hour of every day and every night.
There is no let-up. This entails enormous concentration and effort from helmsmen,
tacticians, sail trimmers-tuners, bowman and sail-handlers…..”

“ I guarantee you that when you’re standing in the stern, and ‘fanging’ this huge
piece of machinery across the ocean, surfing down waves at 25 plus knots, will be
the most exciting thing that you’ll ever have done. I guarantee that you will say
‘Bloody Hell – this can’t hold together!’ But….Sorcery has been specifically designed
for this kind of sailing….”

“Sorcery is a purpose-built aluminum vessel that has been especially constructed
to be light and yet so strong, that she can handle whatever the ocean throws at
her, as she hurtles at these astonishing speeds over the world’s seas and its
extreme weather conditions….”

“Her magnificent race record, proves her world status, with many, many line honor
wins, with even in this year, 2007, winning 8 out of 8 races in the Mexorc Ocean
Racing Classic Series – winning this prestigious series for the sixth time...”

“With the four hours on – four hours off watch system, you’ll have plenty to do on
deck, of course, whilst below you’ll be grabbing shuteye and sustenance from the
well-provisioned galley. I always encourage my crews to be together below just
once a day, for an hour at least, leaving a minimum watch on deck. This is great
for the continuation of the team building spirit and morale.

“When you’re down below, whilst on the deck above you your crewmates are
‘fanging’ Sorcery across the ocean toward another line honors win, life is pleasant
and relaxing. You’ll already at this stage have bonded with your crewmates, and
you’ll discover more and more about each other as you continue this incredible
voyage of a lifetime. Special friendships will have been made, never to be
broken….”