Sailing with limited technology to celebrate human values

Translated has set sail in the Ocean Globe Race, a retro sailing regatta that celebrates the first Whitbread Round the World Race by limiting technology to what was available 50 years ago and requiring crews made up of 70% non-professional sailors.

Southampton – September 10, 2023

The crew of Translated 9, the sailboat owned by Translated, set sail today from Southampton in the Ocean Globe Race 2023, one of the world’s most adventurous sailing races, to shine a spotlight on human values and attitudes at a time when the world’s gaze is focused on artificial intelligence (AI). The race commemorates the 50th anniversary of the first Whitbread Round the World Race by forbidding the use of GPS, weather data, autopilot, electric winches, and satellite communication systems. It also requires a crew made up of 70% non-professional sailors.

Translated CEO and co-founder Marco Trombetti, who had never tried his hand at ocean sailing until two years ago, is a co-skipper of the crew, composed of 15 people from all around the world selected from the 1,500 who applied to join Translated in the most human regatta ever.

At Translated, we love challenges that others think are out of reach,” says Trombetti. “We believe that a great challenge can attract people with outstanding values and positive attitudes, and when you team up with people like that, you can achieve anything. In a world where AI dominates the headlines, we want to put people in the spotlight. We want to introduce the world to the symbiotic and sustainable model between human creativity and artificial intelligence that has led to Translated's success.
We believe in humans.
Marco Trombetti – Translated CEO

The Localization Sailboat

Translated 9 is the first sailboat from the localization industry to participate in a round-the-world race. In addition to Translated’s founders Marco Trombetti (co-skipper) and Isabelle Andrieu (team coach), the crew includes Teresa Marshall (VP Globalization & Localization at Salesforce) and Paul Marshall (Instructor at International Gateways – San Jose State University). The full crew consists of 15 people from 7 countries, who will alternate on board during the four legs of the race.

The selection process to put together the crew was truly demanding. Our project attracted many amazing individuals, each enriched with passion, humanity, and the dream of participating in a round-the-world race. We are deeply grateful to all those fantastic people who put their daily lives on hold to chase the dream we shared with them.
Isabelle Andrieu – Translated’s Chairwoman

Get on Board in San Francisco

The Translated 9 project is not limited to this race. Translated has set up a twin sailboat in San Francisco where localization professionals from around the world can experience the thrill of ocean sailing and be trained by Paul Cayard, a seven-time world champion who has circumnavigated the globe twice and won the Ocean Globe Race in 1998. Companies and individuals interested in experiencing ocean sailing aboard Translated 9 in San Francisco can send a request to t9@translated.com.

More on Translated 9

Discover our crew and the story of our sailboat, Translated 9.

Dive into the project