St. Petersburg Named Sole North American Port for 2027 Ocean Race

St. Petersburg will host the 2027 edition of The Ocean Race. It's the only North American stop. The sailing competition spans 30,000 miles around the globe. Organizers made their announcement Wednesday. The Florida city is the fourth stop among fewer than 10 ports on the route.

Boats depart from Alicante, Spain, on Jan. 17, 2027. The fleet arrives in St. Pete on May 4 and stays through May 16, 2027.

"The Ocean Race is maybe the most iconic, toughest in all of the sailing world," said Steve Grimes, chief marketing officer of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, according to Fox 13 News. "I've heard it described as the Mount Everest of sailing, where you quite literally are racing right the way around the world over many months."

The Ocean Race has operated since 1973. This marks the 15th edition.

Sailors will race for about three weeks from Itajaí in Brazil up to the Tampa Bay area. The 60-foot foiling sailboats will dock at the waterfront by the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

"The around-the-world race is a massive journey," Mirko Groeschner, director of host cities and marketing for The Ocean Race, said. "So, these sailors are on the boat non-stop sailing for a number of consecutive days."

Ocean Live Park, a race village, will be located at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club along the downtown waterfront in partnership with USF. The public can attend several free events, including team boat viewings, sailing and ocean-themed exhibits, and STEM and ocean science programming.

Officials anticipate the 12-day event will draw hundreds of thousands of people. "We expect a few hundred thousand people in St. Pete," Groeschner said.

Race organizers plan to partner with USF to show the importance of protecting ocean ecosystems and advancing scientific understanding of the seas. After the Florida leg, boats will sail under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge toward Cascais, Portugal, before finishing in the Red Sea.

Visit St. Pete-Clearwater representatives said they hope to make the region a recurring fixture on the international sailing calendar. The Ocean Race operates on a four-year cycle.