Southampton has been chosen as the start of the Global Ocean Race 2014-15.

The revamped competition will begin at the PSP Southampton Boat Show on Sunday, September 21, 2014.

The event’s race village will be part of the Boat Show prior to the race start enabling tens of thousands of visitors to get a close up view of the remarkable Class40 yachts that will average speeds, through the Southern Ocean, faster than most of the boats in the famous Whitbread races.

Speaking at the Tullet Prebon London Boat Show today, the race organiser, Josh Hall, confirmed that the 31,000-mile race will follow the classic route around the world, in what many now consider to be the toughest race adventure on the calendar.

“The boats are smaller than most, but incredibly quick and we are proud to bring the race back to the home of crewed, Southern Ocean racing,” he said.

The third edition of the GOR will make its first stop in Cape Town, with its base at the stunning V&A Waterfront Marina.

From there it will head down to New Zealand and/or Australia, with stops in South and North America, before finishing back in Europe, with other stops in negotiation to be announced soon.