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| Bilbao and Euskadi Celebrate with Unai Basurko, Velux 5 Oceans |
VELUX 5 OCEANS: Unai Basurko
BILBAO AND EUSKADI CELEBRATE WITH UNAI BASURKO
• Basque skipper returns home and finishes third in the VELUX 5 OCEANS
• Thousands line the shores and hundreds of yachts welcome Unai home as
he completes the Ultimate Solo Challenge
• Basurko becomes the 164th person to solo circumnavigate the planet
Even a huge thunder storm with lightening and hail couldn’t dampen the mood in Bilbao
(Basque Country, Spain) this morning. The Basque people came out in their thousands to hail
their local hero, Unai Basurko, as he completed the VELUX 5 OCEANS around the world yacht
race. With hundreds of boats out on the water and thousands lining the shore along the entire
river entrance, a jubilant Basurko celebrated a podium finish, beating Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
into third place in the overall rankings. Although he finished fourth in the third leg from Norfolk,
Virginia (USA), behind the British sailing legend, he managed to arrive in time to secure third.
As Basurko crossed the finish line at 10:03 local time (08:03 GMT), a flotilla of hundreds
followed the Basque skipper up to the Puente Colgante bridge, Basurko’s spiritual landmark,
before returning to the port of Gexto. Thousands of fans lined the route and welcomed their
hero into Gexto. 158 days, 18 hours and 25 minutes after leaving home, a proud Basurko
jumped off PAKEA and joined the elite group of people who have sailed around the world alone.
He is the only rookie to have completed The Ultimate Solo Challenge in this edition, a testament
to his dedication and passion for his sport.
Speaking from the crowded marina in Gexto, Basurko commented, “I am very pleased to be on
land and to see so many friendly places. It has been such an amazing welcome home. I have
done it! I have done it! It is a moment that you imagine during the entire journey, normally
with sunshine, certainly not with strong winds and rain. To see so many people despite the
weather and the big seas is brilliant. It shows that the people have engaged with the race and
understand how difficult it is to sail around the world. I am the rookie of the race, and with so
little time to prepare my boat I never expected to get to Fremantle let alone finish third. I have
overcome all the problems and gone from nothing to everything.”
“I hadn’t seen land since America, I didn’t see Galicia or Asturias because of the cloud, so the
first land I saw was my home, the Basque Country. It was very emotional arriving here. PAKEA
left but PAKEA returned. You have to enjoy it and be part of it. There are lots of bad moments,
but for every bad moment there are three or four good moments. This is the best moment and
thinking of coming home has kept me going through the hardest points.”
David Adams, Race Director of the VELUX 5 OCEANS, added, “Unai’s spectacular arrival marks
the end of what has been an incredible race since day one. The Basque people have taken this
race and our skippers into their hearts and it was fitting that we should celebrate the end of the
race with Unai’s arrival and his podium finish. Unai is a young skipper and has constantly
improved as the race continued and he got to know his boat. He certainly deserves the third
place finish and the welcome he received from Bilbao was very much deserved.”
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