The VELUX 5 OCEANS has hit the big screen with a starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster based around sailing. The race, dubbed The Ultimate Solo Challenge, was chosen to be the round-the-world yacht race central to the film Charlie St Cloud, starring teen heartthrob Zac Efron, released in US cinemas on July 30. (Story courtesy of  VELUX 5 OCEANS news, photo by Billy Black)

The film is an adaptation of the best-selling Ben Sherwood novel The Death and Life of Charlie St Cloud, in which the eponymous hero falls in love with a young sailor days before she is due to go to sea in a challenging solo round the world yacht race. Film producers chose to base the film on the 35,000-mile VELUX 5 OCEANS race - the oldest regularly-held ocean race in the world - for its rich heritage spanning 28 years and reputation as one of the toughest sporting challenges known to man. It is the first time ever a major ocean yacht race has featured on the silver screen.

VELUX 5 OCEANS Race Chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston said: "It is a real privilege for us that the makers of Charlie St Cloud decided to feature our race in their film. The VELUX 5 OCEANS race is known as The Ultimate Solo Challenge for a reason - it really is the pinnacle of what a person can push themselves to do. It is really exciting to be associated with a major Hollywood picture, and we are delighted that it will bring the world of ocean racing to a whole new audience.  Maybe in four years time we'll have a totally new breed of skippers who were inspired to take to the seas after watching this film."

The VELUX 5 OCEANS, run by Clipper Ventures PLC, starts from La Rochelle in France on October 17 and features five ocean sprints. After heading from La Rochelle to Cape Town, the race will then take in Wellington in New Zealand, Salvador in Brazil and Charleston in the US before returning back across the Atlantic to France.

Read more at Velux 5 oceans website.