‘Scarily it is out there,’ admits Dee Caffari, MBE. She’s speaking about plastic in the oceans, and nobody would know better the extent of the problem. The reason? She’s seen it all first hand. Dee is the first woman to have sailed solo and non-stop around the world in both directions, and is the only female skipper in the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race.

Undoubtedly the world’s hardest sailing race and the ultimate test of teamwork and human endurance, the Volvo Ocean Race is a round-the-clock, nine-month world circumnavigation.

By the time they cross the finish line in The Hague in a week or so, the 2017-18 teams will have covered 45,000 nautical miles, crossed four oceans and inspired 12 host cities along the way.

Leg 8 from Itajai to Newport, day 2 on board Turn the Tide on Plastic. 23 April, 2018. Dee Caffari smiling as usual.

It attracts some of the world’s best ocean racers, including Caffari who, in 2006, sailed around the world ‘the wrong way,’ against the prevailing winds and currents. It took 178 days.

She came into the sport surprisingly late, sailing for the first time at university. Caffari then worked as a PE and maths teacher for five years but retrained as a water sports instructor and yachtsman after realising that teaching ‘was almost like the right job too soon… I still wanted to travel and do some crazy things.’

Several years and a lot of adventure later, Caffari is now competing in her second Volvo Ocean Race — skippering Turn the Tide on Plastic, a fully-mixed crew (this year, race organisers introduced new crew combinations to encourage female participation), the majority of which are under-30 and experiencing their first circumnavigation.

As well as encouraging youth and gender equality in sailing, the team have been busy promoting the importance of sustainability and ocean health. Nevertheless, Caffari thinks that she ‘underestimated the impact we were going to have on a global scale.’

She has, in her own words, become something of an ‘eco-warrior.’ Turn the Tide have spotted macro-plastic on every leg of the race, from bottles to helium balloons (the skipper’s biggest bugbear), but have also, for the first time in competition history, collected raw data proving that there is an overwhelming amount of micro-plastics in our oceans.

Sailing around Cape Horn — the southern tip of South America where the wild Pacific and Atlantic Oceans meet — the team’s joy at spotting wild seals turned sour when they realised that the colony were playing with a plastic bag.

For Caffari, the plastics that you cannot see are even more dangerous. ‘In the back of my mind [when sailing] I’m always thinking that there are micro-plastics here, in their environment, so no wonder they’re eating them. And no wonder it is then affecting us in the food chain. We are eating plastic when we eat fish.’

Experiencing that foreign environment, often at the mercy of an unpredictable Mother Nature, is one of the reasons why the Volvo Ocean Race becomes something bordering on obsession for so many sailors.

Stepping on board team Vestas 11th Hour Racing’s boat (which also bears a strong environmental message) however, it’s impossible to ignore the harsh living conditions and lack of even the most basic luxuries that teams must contend with.

The seven Volvo Ocean 65 vessels are identical — each a carbon fibre-walled, sparse shell below deck, complete with netted bunks (or ‘hammocks’ to you and me) and a singular sink. Sailors work to a four-hour schedule: four hours on, on-deck trying to make the boat go faster; then four hours off, below deck eating, drinking and sleeping. Or at least trying to sleep.

A number of the stopovers host a Pro-Am event — where six members of each team sail alongside ten, amateur guests in a thrilling, 40-minute in-port race — including Cardiff, the first time in race history that the city has been involved.

Expertly skippered by Charlie Enright — and somehow not hindered by my own presence — Vestas 11^th Hour Racing took gold in the first Pro-Am race and fourth, after a close encounter with Team Brunel, in the second.

Racing at an almost constant 40-degree angle whilst attempting to tack, gybe and manoeuvre around the boat was an adrenaline junkie’s dream, marred only by the fact that at roughly 12 knots we were travelling at less than half the speed that teams do out on the open ocean.

If the speed wasn’t up to expert scratch, the kit more than made up for it — think seriously waterproof and windproof salopette-style trousers and jackets, designed by official race sponsor Musto. It’s just as well that the they’re genuinely the producers of some of the world’s best sailing kit: items must be able to cope with an almost constant barrage of salt water and wind, especially in the Southern Ocean where waves can be taller than a two-storey building.

Musto have taken the message on plastics seriously as well. They were challenged by Volvo and Vestas to reduce their plastic consumption; and by introducing an additional fold into clothes leaving the factories, they’ve reduced plastic packaging by 11,000kg every year.

The Pro-Am is a sanitised version of what Enright, Caffari, their respective teams and everyone else involved must endure on a day-to-day basis, and a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the ocean through their eyes. In late March, on leg seven, Vestas was in second place when the mast broke, some 100 miles off the Falkland Islands. The crew were forced to cut away the rigging and main sail to prevent any long-term damage to the hull.

‘The reality is,’ cautions Caffari, ‘the environment we are in, if something goes wrong they go really wrong, really quickly.’

Really quickly, and catastrophically. In March, amid gale force conditions, a team member from the Scallywag boat went overboard. The man – John Fisher, a 47-year-old from Southampton, was lost at sea despite all efforts to rescue him.

‘We do a lot of training and preparation in defence of that… but you can’t ever factor in everything,’ continues Caffari.

‘We were all affected by the loss of Scallywag’s crew member… and it made everyone back each other up a bit more.’

It is a sobering reminder of the lengths these sailors will go to achieve the seemingly impossible and spread an increasingly important message regarding the state of our irreplaceable oceans.

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The Volvo Ocean Race‘s 2021 edition will be under new ownership, it was confirmed  on its website today (31 May).

Atlantic Ocean Racing Spain will be the next organisers of the race, taking over from Volvo Group and Volvo Cars after 20 years.

Atlantic Ocean Racing Spain, led by Richard Brisius, Johan Salén and Jan Litborn have already been involved in seven Volvo Ocean Races in the last 28 years, given them plenty of experience.
Brisius and Salén competed in the 1989-1990 race, and later became team managers. As managers they looked after winning teams, such as EF Language (1997-98) and Ericsson 4 (2008-09).  Most recently, they managed Team SCA, the all-female entry, in the last edition of the race.

Brisius and Salén are respectively President and co-President of the current edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, having been appointed last November.

“The history of this round the world race is inspiring and the future is very promising,” said Brisius. “This race is about people and I am humbled by the prospects to serve some of the finest athletes and sport professionals in this world as well as leading partners to the race and host cities.

“I have been fortunate as many of my dreams have come true. First my dream to sail this race, then my dream be a team manager, followed by my dream to manage the race, and now the dream to be able to steer the future of the race.

“We are in this for the long run and we are determined that the race will go from strength to strength as a sustainable premier world event. I look forward to being part of evolving this unique race by co-operating together with the teams, cities, Volvo and all our key stakeholders.”

The Volvo Ocean Race website writes that the new organisers of the race are considering having two classes of boats racing in 2021, “potentially with the existing Volvo Ocean 65 one-design class and another class, yet to be determined, competing in the same race.”

“We will continue to innovate, and it is promising that from day one we can think long-term as we have the resources secured to deliver the next race already,” said Salén.

Volvo Cars will continue to sponsor the 2021 race and the new owners are already discussing potential host cities and new sponsors.

The 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race, which started in Alicante last October, is scheduled to finish in The Hague on June 30.

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May 30

It was a proud day for Bouwe Bekking and his crew as Team Brunel won Leg 9, Newport to Cardiff  of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Dongfeng Race Team finished third, putting them at the top of the overall leaderboard ahead of MAPFRE, who finished in fifth place, by just one point.

Team Brunel is in overall third place, three points off the lead but they have certainly been showing strength and determination and the last two European Legs may well see the Dutch skipper and his crew take the lead.

“We’re very happy with the result – to beat the two red boats (Dongfeng and MAPFRE) was the objective,” Bekking said after crossing the finish line in Cardiff. “Winning of course is nice, as well as to get the bonus point and then a nice fight to beat AkzoNobel in the end as well, so we’re a happy team.

“But the aim is to keep looking forward. We’ve closed the gap to MAPFRE and Dongfeng and victory remains our main objective.”

May 21

Team Brunel had an excellent start to Leg 9 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Sunday (20 May).

The team, skippered by Bouwe Bekking took an early lead and left Newport in first position, heading towards Cardiff.

The Leg from Newport to Cardiff is 3,300 nautical miles long and, like in the Southern Ocean, there are double points to be earned.
Before leaving Newport, Bekking said: “Because of the double points and the bonus point for the winner, it is a crucial stage for Team Brunel. We are now third, and it’s a must to defeat the two red boats Mapfre and Dongfeng. If we want to keep the chance of the final victory, we have to keep them behind us!

“Ideally we would win the leg and they would finish sixth and seventh, but we can’t control that part. All we can do is sail our best and work to get a good result.”

Despite the thick fog that descended onto Fort Adams Race Village, huge crowds attended to watch the race.

“It’s been an unbelievable stopover here in Newport with all the support we’ve had,” said Vestas 11th Hour Racing skipper Charlie Enright, on the last day of his hometown stopover. “Newport has shown its true colours this week, it’s been astounding.”

“It’s a treat to be here,”  agreed team AkzoNobel skipper Simeon Tienpont. “Everyone is so into the race – the whole town is built around sailing. But as good as it is here, we’re getting that feeling that it’s time to get out on the water again. So we’re happy with the good reception we had here in Newport, but as a Dutch team, we’re getting closer to finish and looking forward to getting there as well.”

Overall scoreboard before Leg 9

1. Mapfre – 50 points
2. Dongfeng Race Team – 42 points
3. Team Brunel – 36 points
4. Team AkzoNobel – 35 points
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 23 points
6. Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag – 19 points
7. Turn The Tide on Plastic – 16 points

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The post Volvo Ocean Race: Team Brunel wins Leg 9 into Cardiff appeared first on YBW.

04 April

Team Brunel, skippered by Bouwe Bekking won the Volvo Ocean Race leg around Cape Horn, from Auckland to Itajai, and are now third in the overall race standings.

It was a close call for Team Brunel, who crossed the finishing line just a mile ahead of team DongFeng.

Despite the win, there was a somber mood in the air, following last week’s accident, during which Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag crew member John Fisher fell overboard and was lost at sea.

Bekking said during the Cape Horn Leg press conference: “The whole team are deeply touched by the loss of their opponent and fellow sailor, John Fisher, who went overboard last week on Team Sun Hung Kai/ Scallywag.”

“Although we have won the leg, the team aren’t in a mood to party, which is understandable. The loss of John Fisher has been felt deeply by everyone. Nevertheless, it was a great feeling to finish in first place.”

Rolex World Sailor of the Year 2017  Peter Burling: “It’s good to finally have a good result. I felt we definitely made a lot of improvement since the start of the race. It’s great that it all comes together in this one and incredible tough leg. It probably exceed all my expectations. We did just over 17 knots in a straight line, that’s ridiculous considering the boats we’re in. For now I’m happy to be back a-shore.”

“The worst moment for me was obvious the e-mail we got about the incident with John Fisher. The mood onboard was depressed for a view days and actually it still is. I only can pay my condolences to his family, friends and the rest of the Scallywag team.”

The 7,600 nm Auckland to Itajai leg has been one of the hardest in the history of the race, with strong winds and choppy seas in the Southern Ocean.

Sadly this resulted in the tragic accident on Sun Hung Kai/ Scallywag. Afterwards, Mapfre and Vestas, damaged their masts. Mapfre has continued racing and is currently in fifth place. Vestas is currently on shore in the Falklands. Sun Hung Kai Scallywag have made their way to the Chilean coast, after the unsuccessful search for Fisher.
Bekking commented: “In the entire Volvo Ocean Race we have never had a leg as tough as this one.”

Team Brunel is now in third place in the overall standings.

29 March 

An incident report by Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag on the tragic events of last week when a sailor was lost at sea during Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race has thrown new light on the events leading up to the accident.

The crew of Scallywag has put together a timeline of the accident. John Fisher was lost overboard in the Southern Ocean, approximately 1,400 nautical miles west of Cape Horn.

Some of the key points of the crew’s timeline read:

• At roughly 1300 UTC SHK/Scallywag surfed down a large wave leading to an accidental crash gybe
• John Fisher was on deck, in the cockpit. At the time, he was moving forward to tidy up the FR0 sheet and had therefore unclipped his tether as was standard procedure when moving between positions.
• As the mainsail swung across the boat in the gybe, the mainsheet system caught John and knocked him off the boat. The crew on board believe John was unconscious from the blow before he hit the water.

Conditions were very poor with 35-45 knots, 4 to 5 metre seas and showers reducing visibility. The report. Despite the JON buoy and the horseshoe buoy being thrown off the back of the boat to mark the position of the MOB, by the time the boat was under control and could motor sail back to the position near to the position of the incident the crew could not locate Fisher.

With input from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre and Race Control in Alicante, a search and rescue operation was carried out for several hours but there was no sign of Fisher, the horseshoe buoy, or the JON buoy.

27 March

Volvo Ocean Race President Richard Brisius has given an update on the search for John Fisher, the Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag sailor who is still missing at sea after being lost overboard on Monday.

Brisius said: “Given the cold water temperature and the extreme sea state, along with the time that has now passed since he went overboard, we must now presume that John has been lost at sea.”

Despite a lengthy search and rescue operation, Fisher has not been recovered.

Brisius’ update, posted on the Volvo Ocean Race website, continues: “This is heart-breaking for all of us. As sailors and race organisers losing a crew member at sea is a tragedy we don’t ever want to contemplate. We are devastated and our thoughts are with John’s family, friends and teammates.”

Image from day 9 on board Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag. Credit: Konrad Frost/Volvo Ocean Race

Volvo Ocean Race confirmed that it had coordinated with the team on board Scallywag and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, who located a ship and diverted it towards the scene. But at current speeds it remains over a day away.

“With the rest of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet approximately 200 miles downwind, sending them back upwind to assist, against gale to storm force winds, was not a viable option,” the statement continues.

The Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag team are said to be emotionally and physically drained. The team helped the search for Fisher in extremely challenging conditions for several hours after the incident but were unable to recover their teammate.

The team has now resumed heading in a north-easterly direction.

The weather is deteriorating and is forecast to be quite severe over the course of today.

27 March

Rescue crews in desperate search for a sailor who was reported overboard by Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag in gale force conditions 1,400 miles west of Cape Horn.

A search and rescue operation is continuing for a crew member John Fisher from Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag who was lost overboard during Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

John Fisher was reported overboard on Monday 26 March. Race Control was informed of a man overboard incident at approximately 13.42 (UTC). The incident took place around 1,400 miles west of Cape Horn.

The British man was wearing survival equipment and was on watch when he went overboard. The wind in the search area is a strong 35-knot westerly, with accompanying sea state. Water temperature is 9-degrees Celsius. There is daylight, but weather conditions are forecast to deteriorate in the coming hours.

John Fisher pictured on board on 25 March, 2018. Credit: Konrad Frost / Volvo Ocean Race

The teams were on Day 9 of Leg 7, a 7,600-mile race from Auckland, New Zealand to Itajaí, Brazil.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) is continuing to search the area and has requested a ship 400 miles away divert to the scene.

In an update at 01.00 posted by Volvo Ocean Race, officials reported that there was still daylight, but weather conditions are forecast to deteriorate in the coming hours, and darkness will come at approximately 01:20 UTC.

This image from on board Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag on 25 March shows tough conditions and the caption includes a note that the ‘temperature has dropped’. Credit: Konrad Frost/Volvo Ocean Rac

The report said: “Given the severity of the forecast and with nightfall an hour away, we acknowledge the chances of a successful recovery are diminishing.”

The remaining crew are reported safe. Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag made the difficult decision to turn downwind and head towards the South American coast late on Monday, the nearest safe landfall, approximately 1,200 nautical miles away.

Words: Chantal Borciani

9 March

Australian Olympic winning medalist Nina Curtis and French offshore sailor Thomas Rouxel will join Team Brunel for Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Auckland, New Zealand to Itajai in Brazil.

Rouxel competed in the previous edition of the Volvo Ocean Race for Dongfeng Race Team, whilst Curtis makes her debut in the race. Boat captain Abby Ehler will also return, after taking a break from the last Leg to visit family in the UK.

Team Brunel during the Prologue, Volvo Ocean Race

Team Brunel skipper Bouwe Bekking comments: “First of all I think the good thing is that we have our boat captain again back. Abby had a leg off just to see her little boy back home in England. Louis Balcaen (BEL) gets replaced as planned by Thomas Rouxel (FRA). Rouxel was with Dongfeng Race Team last time and is at the moment deeply involved in the Gitana project. That’s the big foiling trimaran and also sailed with Seb Josse in the Transat Jacques-Vabre. He’s a hands on guy as well so we’re happy to have him here.”

Bekking continues: “Then we got one more person because Annie is still not fit enough to join, we found Nina Curtis. She is an Aussie girl, has won an Olympic medal and did a couple of long offshore races and looks to be a very fit person so she is stepping in. With Sally Barkow we had an agreement for two Legs, she needs to get back to her job on the M32 sailing in the Volvo Ocean Race.”

Australian former Olympic sailor Nina Curtis won a silver medal in London 2012, and is taking part in the Volvo Ocean Race for the first time. She says: “I’m very excited. Most of my sailing has been done in the Olympic circuit. I’ve done two Olympics campaigns, making it to London where we won the silver medal. Then sailing in the Nacra and the 49erFX in the last four years. While I was match racing, I have done two Sydney to Hobarts and for that lots of ocean racing. Mostly along the East coast of Australia.”

“I’ve known Kyle Langford for a while and I have actually sailed with Abby a few times while I was very young. I don’t even know if she remembers that or not.”

Thomas Rouxel is looking forward to going into the Southern Ocean from Auckland to Itajai, all the way around Cape Horn. Rouxel: “I think Team Brunel is a very great and very strong team. I’m very excited to be back in the Volvo Ocean Race. Unfortunately, the result was not the one we hoped for in the last leg but I’m sure we can do a lot better. So I hope that will happen and I can do my part in it.”

26 January

The organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race have confirmed that team Vestas 11th Hour Racing won’t be taking part in Leg 5 of the event and in the inshore racing in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China.

The team is currently repairing their boat, after it was damaged during a collision with a finishing vessel which resulted in the death of a crew member of the trawler during Leg 4 of the race, on Saturday 20 January.

Vestas 11th Hour Racing Team Director and skipper Mark Towill said: “First and foremost, our thoughts and condolences are with the families affected by this tragic incident,”.

The In-Port Race and Around Hong Kong Race take place this weekend, and the Pro-Am Racing at the start of next week, in Hong Kong.

The fleet of Volvo Ocean 65s will then depart in Leg 5 for Guangzhou on Wednesday 31 January for the next stopover in mainland China.

20 January 

Leg 4, Melbourne to Hong Kong, day 14. Onboard AzkoNobel in the South Pacific. Credit: Sam Greenfield/Volvo Ocean Race

Team AkzoNobel crossed the finishing line first in Hong Kong, claiming the podium on Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Team skipper Simeon Tienpont said: “It’s a real boost, and it gives us confidence. It’s important for the rest of the race. You work hard and you try to find that gap, performance-wise. These guys and girls didn’t flinch once, and we kept fighting back.”

He continued: “In the end, Scallywag pulled a good card. They were 100 miles back, but that’s sailing – I’m happy for them! We all work to be at the front. Everyone on board wants to win, and it’s not over til it’s over.”

Leg 4 certainly proved challenging for Tienpont and Team Akzonobel. “It was the biggest Doldrums I’ve ever crossed,” he said. “A lot of tactics, crew work, no sleep, changing sails, manoeuvres, and frustration.

“But I think we did really well – compliments to the team. You get unlucky moments but it’s how to deal with those and I think we did that well.”

There was late drama for the team as they diverted course on the final approach to Hong Kong to support Vestas 11th Hour Racing following a collision with another vessel – but after receiving the all clear to continue racing, AkzoNobel finally crossed the line 17 days 21 hours and 6 seconds after departing Melbourne.

19 January 2018

With less than 50 miles to go to the finish line of Leg 4, skipper David Witt and Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag should make history as the first Hong Kong flagged vessel to win a leg of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag still has a 50-mile jump on Vestas 11th Hour Racing as Leg 4 draws to a close.

Victory will be all the sweeter as this is the first time the race has finished in Hong Kong. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag is expected to arrive in Hong Kong between 1630 and 1830 UTC.

On Wednesday, Scallywag had a lead of 40 miles on second-placed Vestas 11th Hour Racing when it entered Stealth Mode, which hid its position from rivals and from fans. Stealth Mode is an option the teams can deploy to cloak their location from view, hiding their position from the other race teams.

In a nail-biting turn of events, just as Scallywag reappeared on the tracker the two podium challengers Vestas 11th Hour Racing and team AkzoNobel deployed Stealth Mode.

Today, with less than 50 miles to the finish, Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag has a lead of around 50 miles.

The battle for second place between Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Dongfeng Race Team continues with only 15 miles splitting them.

16 January 2018

Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag had a hairy moment on Sunday (14 January) when they had to deal with a  man overboard situation.

Crew member Alex Gough was washed overboard by a wave during a sail change  on Sunday afternoon, in winds of 15-20 knots.

The team swung into recovery mode, and Gough was back on board within just seven minutes, unharmed. Scallywag resumed racing immediately.

“He went out on the outrigger, I was driving, and we went off a big sea and it picked him up threw him off, like a horse,” skipper David Witt said.

“The main thing is, we got him back on board. He’s safe. But I think it’s shown everyone how hard it is to see the guy in the water. Even on a sunny day, 18 knots of wind… You wouldn’t want to be doing this in 20 knots in the dark.”

Alex Gough wasn’t wearing a harness or a lifejacket when he fell into the water.
“I was pretty stupid, but luckily the guys were on to it. They turned around bloody quickly,” Gough said. “I’m good. I’m fine. It was a bit scary… But off we go again.”

Witt says he should have been had tied to a line or have told the helmsman what he was doing, before he went outside the lifelines on the outrigger.

The incident lost Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag a few miles , but they managed to retain the lead.

Dongfeng Race Team and team AkzoNobel continue to take a northerly option in comparison to the rest of the fleet, but to this point, are not seeing significantly different weather conditions.

MAPFRE has worked well to push out some 30 miles ahead of Turn the Tide on Plastic and Team Brunel but remains at least 150 miles directly behind Scallywag and with some work to do to reel in the leaders as the fleet winds and weaves through the islands, islets and atolls of Micronesia.

2 January 2018

Racing was tight as the Volvo Ocean Race Melbourne to Hong Kong Leg 4 got underway.

Overall leader MAPFRE initially led the fleet off the starting line as the boats raced up Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay but after four hours it was Vestas 11th Hour Racing leading the pack, with the Spanish boat close behind in second place and Team Brunel a tight third.

On board MAPFRE on day 1 of Leg 4. Credit: Ugo Fonolla/Volvo Ocean Race

Along with the neck and neck racing, the fleet battled a heavy sea and challenging conditions as they neared the entrance to the Bay.

The 5,600 nautical mile leg marks the first time the Volvo Ocean Race will head to Hong Kong with the fleet racing up the east coast of Australia, into the Coral Sea and north to the historic port.

Shortly after Leg 4 got underway, the wind increased from 10 to near 20 knots with MAPFRE leading Vestas 11th Hour Racing, Team Brunel, Turn the Tide on Plastic and Dongfeng Race Team out towards the right hand side.

On board Dongfeng on Leg 4. Credit: Martin Keruzore/Volvo Ocean Race

Team AkzoNobel and SHK/Scallywag split hard from the others towards the left. Early signs showed a slight advantage to skipper Xabi Fernández on board MAPFRE after tacking back towards the turning mark near Mornington. However, Scallywag with Australian skipper David Witt and new crew member Grant Wharington, and Vestas 11th Hour Racing had soon joined the battle for the lead.

Day 1 on Leg 4 on board with MAPFRE. Credit: Ugo Fonolla/Volvo Ocean Race.

At the turning mark, Scallywag fell back leaving Vestas 11 Hour Racing, MAPFRE and Team Brunel leading the charge. Dongfeng lies in fourth place after recovering well after completing a penalty turn on the start line.

This is an ideal start for Vestas 11th Hour Racing’s new skipper Mark Towill, who has stepped in on Leg 4 to replace Charlie Enright, who returned home due to a family medical emergency. For Towill and crew, the winners of Leg 1, this is an opportunity to put some pressure on overall leader MAPFRE.

Heading north on Day 2 on board Dongfeng. Credit: Martin Keruzore/Volvo Ocean Race

The opening part of Leg 4 is shaping up to be a fast one with a long downwind blast northwards up the Australian east coast next.

Leg 4 – Position Report – Tuesday 2 January (Day 1) – 07:20 UTC

1. Vestas 11th Hour Racing — distance to finish – 5,532.6 nautical miles
2. MAPFRE +0.3 nautical miles
3. Team Brunel +0.7
4. Dongfeng Race Team +0.9
5. Turn the Tide on Plastic +1.4
6. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag +2.6
7. team AkzoNobel +3.9

Words: Chantal Borciani

27 December 2017

Team MAPFRE has won the gruelling 6,500 nautical mile race from Cape Town, South Africa to Melbourne, Australia, followed by Dongfeng in second place.

Spanish MAPFRE had to pass Dongfeng Race Team mid-stage to snatch the Leg 3 win and notched up the highest work rate in terms of manoeuvres of all the teams on the leg, which allowed them to stay in more favourable conditions for longer.

MAPFRE arrived into Melbourne on Christmas Eve to earn consecutive leg wins.

MAPFRE arriving into Melbourne. Credit: Jesus Renedo/Volvo Ocean Race

“We had to fight very hard for this victory,” explained skipper Xabi Fernández after crossing the finish line. “There’s so much of the race to go. But for now it’s looking good and we’re very happy of course.”

The gruelling Southern Ocean pushed all the teams to the limit as they battled extreme cold, towering seas and storm-force winds battered the fleet for most of the leg.

Leg 3. Day 14 on board Vestas 11th Hour. Credit: Sam Greenfield/Volvo Ocean Race

Dongfeng Race Team was able to fend off a late charge by Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Team Brunel to secure a second place finish on Leg 3, which moves them to second on the overall leaderboard.

Vestas 11th Hour Racing grabbed the final podium position over Team Brunel at the Melbourne finish line. Team Brunel, who finished in fourth place, set the Omega 24-hour speed record on Leg 3, notching up 538.1 nautical miles, for an average speed of 22.4 knots, in favourable conditions on the day before they reached the finish line.

Christmas Eve on board Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag. Credit: Konrad Frost/Volvo Ocean Race

Fifth place in Leg 3 went to Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag who managed to hold off Turn the Tide on Plastic, for the second consecutive leg.

All seven boats in the Volvo Ocean Race fleet have now finished in Melbourne, with team AkzoNobel ghosting through Port Phillip Bay in near calm conditions to cross the line just before 10:30am on Thursday morning (local time).

Leg 3, day 17 on board AkzoNobel. Credit: James Blake/Volvo Ocean Race

It was a frustrating end to a difficult leg that saw the team fall behind the rest of the fleet after damaging their mast track during a gybe in heavy weather.

Leg 3 – Results at Wednesday 27 December (Leg 3, Day 18) at 23:30 UTC

1. MAPFRE — FINISHED — 16:07.21 UTC, December 24 – 14 days, 04h:07m:21s
2. Dongfeng Race Team — FINISHED – 20:10:16 UTC, December 24 – 14 days, 08h:10m:16s
3. Vestas 11th Hour Racing — FINISHED – 21:52:11 UTC, December 24 – 14 days, 09h:52m:11s
4. Team Brunel — FINISHED – 23:36:27 UTC, December 24 – 14 days, 11h:36m:27s
5. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag — FINISHED – 01:06:31 UTC, December 26 – 15 days, 13h:06m:31s
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic — FINISHED – 03:52:50 UTC, December 26 – 15 days, 15h:52m:50s
7. team AkzoNobel — FINISHED – 23:24:45 UTC, December 27 – 17 days, 11h:24m:45s

Volvo Ocean Race – Current Leaderboard

1. MAPFRE — FINISHED — 29 points (after Leg 3)
2. Dongfeng Race Team — FINISHED — 23 points (after Leg 3)
3. Vestas 11th Hour Racing — FINISHED — 23 points (after Leg 3)
4. Team Brunel — FINISHED — 14 points (after Leg 3)
5. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag — FINISHED — 11 points (after Leg 3)
6. team AkzoNobel — FINISHED — 9 points (after Leg 3)
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic — FINISHED — 6 points (after Leg 3)

Words: Chantal Borciani

21 December 2017

MAPFRE lead the race with around 1,500 nautical miles left to Melbourne.

Xabi Fernández’s team snatched the lead from Dongfeng Race Team, stretching out a 10-mile advantage over Dongfeng on 20 December, breaking the Leg 3 deadlock after 10 days at sea.

The leg is proving physically demanding as ever as the leading boats continue to battle.

Racing along the Antarctic Ice Exclusion Zone, MAPFRE made 16 gybes between 2130 UTC 20 December and 0500 UTC 21 December – averaging two per hour and extended their lead to 16.5 miles.

Both boats are now past the northernmost limit of the gate.

Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Team Brunel remain around 115 miles behind the leaders.

15  December 2017

AkzoNobel suffered damage to the track that attaches the mainsail to the back edge of the mast which has forced the crew to slow the boat down whilst they assess the problem and repair the craft.

AkzoNobel navigator Jules Salter (GBR) reported the issue to Volvo Ocean Race control by email on Thursday morning (14 December). The damage happened as the crew was in fourth place, gybing along the Antarctic Ice Exclusion Zone (AIEZ) in 35 knots of wind and big seas.

The mainsail track on the mast was damaged in two places during one gybe from starboard to port .
The AkzoNobel crew were able to lower the mainsail and turn the boat away from the Antarctic Ice Exclusion Zone. They are currently using the boat’s forward sails only to continue to race.

There are no reports of any injuries on board as a result of the damage and the crew is liaising with Volvo Ocean Race’s race control staff and the team’s land based technical shore crew to establish what repair options are available to them.

6 November 2017

Dongfeng Race Team had a strong start into an early lead as the Volvo Ocean Race fleet embarked on Leg 2, a 7,000 nautical mile race from Lisbon to Cape Town.

Conditions were ideal for the leg start, with bright blue skies, and a 15-20 knot Northerly breeze that allowed the fleet to reach up and down the Tagus River past the city front of Lisbon.

After exiting the river and heading offshore past Cascais, the wind is forecast to reach over 30-knots, with a heavy ocean swell near 4-metres.

“It’s going to be fast,” said Dongfeng skipper Charles Caudrelier. “We have been preparing for this, training in strong winds for six months, so I hope we are ready. We have some good drivers in these conditions so I hope we will be fast.”

Within 15-minutes of clearing the mouth of the river, the fleet was already seeing over 30-knots of wind and Dongfeng Race Team recorded a speed of nearly 33-knots.

Race leader Vestas 11th Hour Racing skipper Charlie Enright was in a strong position early, but appeared to be caught out with too much sail up for the final stretch down the river, and fell back to fifth place.

“We’re confident, but not cocky,” Enright said ahead of the start. “We want to take what we’ve learned and apply it to leg 2. It’s going to be a much different leg. It will be a lot more boatspeed oriented and we’re looking forward to that.”

“The real race starts now,” said MAPFRE skipper Xabi Fernández. “Today we will sail in a couple of days in heavy winds. Everyone will be competitive so we’ll need to go as fast as we can.”

Leg 2 – Position Report – Sunday 5 November (Day 1) 

1. Dongfeng Race Team — distance to finish – 5,094.2 nautical miles
2. Team Brunel +0.2nm
3. MAPFRE + 0.6
4. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag +0.9
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing +1.6
6. Turn the Tide on Plastic +1.8
7. team AkzoNobel +1.8

31 October 2017

Seven teams are currently battling out to win the 2017 – 2018 Volvo Ocean Race. Team Brunel (skippered by Bouwe Bekking), AkzoNobel (skippered by Simeon Tienpont), Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier), MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández), Vestas 11th Hour Racing (Charlie Enright), Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (David Witt) and Turn The Tide On Plastic (Dee Caffari) will sail 4,500 nautical miles over 9 months, starting in Alicante and visiting Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport RI, Cardiff and Gothenburg, before the big finish in The Hague at the end of June 2018. But how does the Volvo Ocean Race work? Watch the video below and get to know the race like a pro.

23 October 2017

Dutch offshore sailor Simeon Tienpont has returned as skipper of Team Akzonobel for the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18.

The revelation came as Team AkzoNobel submitted its final crew list just ahead of the dockout time.

The team has been in flux since it was announced one week ago that Tienpont had left the team and had been replaced by watch captain Brad Jackson.

But on Friday evening (20 October), Tienpont won an arbitration judgement allowing him to return to the team and just hours before start time, the team submitted an updated crew list with Tienpont leading a newly constituted squad.

Jackson, as well as previous navigator Jules Salter, are not on the boat.

“I am relieved to be back with my team and excited to be getting our Volvo Ocean Race campaign underway,” Tienpont said in a statement thanking Jackson as well as Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, who agreed to let António Fontes race with the AkzoNobel crew for Leg 1.

Meanwhile, Dongfeng Race Team powered its way into an early lead yesterday (21 October), as the Volvo Ocean Race got underway.

Leg 1 will see the team race 1,450 nautical miles to Lisbon, Portugal, and conditions were good with bright sunshine and a 15-20 knot Easterly breeze.

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The bay off the Alicante sea front was crowded with hundreds of spectator boats, ringing a short inshore race course, before the fleet was free to fly off, downwind, towards Gibraltar.

They were treated to some of the most intense racing ever seen in the opening minutes of a Volvo Ocean Race.

Dongfeng took the early lead. Credit: Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

The highlight came on the approach to the final turning mark before leaving the bay, when Dongfeng Race Team came screaming in on a collision course with Team Brunel and MAPFRE, both of whom were forced into a quick gybe to avoid the right of way Chinese boat.

Separated by less than a meter at times, as they went through their manoeuvres, the on water Umpires judged neither Brunel nor MAPFRE had kept sufficiently clear and penalised both, pushing them back down the fleet.

“This is going to be such a close race, every meter counts,” Dongfeng skipper Charles Caudrelier had said before the start. “We know we will be fighting all the way to the finish.”

After winning round one of the fight, Dongfeng then sped off with the lead, with Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Turn the Tide on Plastic in close pursuit.

17 October 2017

Three-time Volvo Ocean Race winner Brad Jackson is the new skipper of AkzoNobel.

The 49-year-old  from Auckland, New Zealand is competing in his seventh Volvo Ocean Race after coaching the Swedish all-women entry Team SCA in the 2014-15 edition.

Jackson will take on the skipper role as well as his watch captain commitments shared with three-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran and 2008-09 edition winner Joca Signorini.

Jackson’s appointment follows the recent shock departure of Simeon Tienpont from the team.

Team AkzoNobel. Credit: Brian Carlin/Volvo Ocean Race

“It’s a privilege to lead a team of people as talented and committed as this one – both on the water and on shore,” Jackson said yesterday (16 October).

“The credit for the quality of team AkzoNobel should go to Simeon Tienpont. We have been through a difficult time since Simeon’s departure, but I’m proud of the way everyone at team AkzoNobel has responded and now it’s time for us to focus on the race, which begins in just six days’ time,” continued the skipper.

“I’m grateful for the support I have received from within the team. It’s not the ideal preparation for the race that we had hoped for, but I know we can move forward quickly and be racing hard on start day,” added Jackson.

Brad Jackson. Credit: Tom Martienssen/Volvo Ocean Race

As well as Signorini, Jackson’s crew includes British three-time Volvo Ocean Race competitor and 2008-09 edition winner Jules Salter, 2005-06 competitor Australian Luke Molloy, Brazilian Olympic gold medalist Martine Grael, Danish match racing skipper Nicolai Sehested, young up-and-coming New Zealand sailor Brad Farrand, and 23-year-old Bermudian Emily Nagel – the youngest female sailor in the current edition of the race.

Team AkzoNobel sailing team line up:
Brad Jackson (NZL) – skipper
Brad Farrand (NZL) – bowman, sail trimmer
Martine Grael (BRA) – sail trimmer
Luke Molloy (AUS) – helmsman, sail trimmer
Emily Nagel (BER) – sail trimmer
Jules Salter (GBR) – navigator
Nicolai Sehested (DEN) – boat captain, helmsman, sail trimmer
Joca Signorini (BRA) – watch captain, helmsman, sail trimmer

16 October 2017

Team AkzoNobel is now looking for a new skipper to lead its crew in the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18.

It comes after the team announced that Dutch sailor Simeon Teinpont would no longer be on board.

The first leg of the race begins on Sunday (22 October).

Simeon Tienpont. Credit: Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

Team AkzoNobel allege that “Simeon Tienpont’s management company STEAM breached its contract to manage the team AkzoNobel entry in the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18”

This has been publicly denied by Teinpont who told the sailing media that the claims were “absolutely unfounded and (are) very damaging to my reputation, especially in view of the timing, just before the start of the race”.

In a statement, Team AkzoNobel said the breach “was serious enough for AkzoNobel to terminate the contract with immediate effect and AkzoNobel then took over the full management of the team. Simeon was offered the option to continue as skipper but opted not to continue and has left the team”.

“AkzoNobel has restated to us its unwavering commitment to our entry in the Volvo Ocean Race. The sailing team and management are working together to move forward and find the best solution for the race which starts in seven days’ time.”

“As soon as the new skipper is confirmed we will make sure our sailing fans are the first to know about it.”

“In the world of professional sport and particularly in major global sporting competitions like the Volvo Ocean Race, teams have to be able to deal with whatever adversities come their way.

“We are all working in the best interest for the team and the Volvo Ocean Race,” added Team AkzoNobel in its statement.

Meanwhile in his statement, Tienpont said he could “only guess that it is about a small budget overrun on a safety issue”. He said he and this company “have always been 100% transparent to AkzoNobel about our financial affairs and all our expenses have been made with their approval.”

“It is them, not me, who is in clear breach of the contract,” alleged Tienpont.

“It has always been my aim to run a safe, sustainable, and winning campaign for AkzoNobel and I still want to do so. My other sponsors and partners supporting the team, my sailing and shore crew employed, were very confident in our approach to represent AkzoNobel in the very best way possible,” said Tienpont.

“It came as a huge and unpleasant surprise when AkzoNobel terminated the contract during the Prologue at the time the team was at sea. Tienpont and his team will now regroup and try to develop options to continue with this winning campaign,” continued the statement.

The controversy comes as the first in-port race took place over the weekend.

MAPFRE during the in-port race in Alicante. Credit: Pedro Martinez/Volvo Ocean Race

Xabi Fernández’s MAPFRE were out in front from the start. They had a one minute lead by the time they reached the bottom gate which they never relinquished.

But behind them, it was a hard-fought race. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag were strong on the first leg, but dropped back over the course of the race.

In contrast, Dongfeng Race Team fought up the fleet to grab second place, battling with Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Team Brunel who were trading places throughout the race.

Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag made a late gain to grab fifth over team AkzoNobel with Turn the Tide on Plastic never recovering from a poor first leg.

06 October 2017

Turn the Tide on Plastic have added British offshore sailor, Brian Thompson, and French solo sailor, Nicolas Lunven, to their crew ahead of the start of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18.

Describing Thompson as “one of the fastest people on the water”, skipper Dee Caffari said she he would be invaluable to her team.

A vastly experienced offshore sailor, Thompson has broken the round the world record twice, and sailed non-stop around the world four times, the first British sailor to accomplish this.

He was also part of the winning ABN AMRO ONE crew in the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race.

“I’m really thrilled that Brian Thompson is part of our team,” Caffari said.

“He has broken more speed records than just about anyone else in sailing and having sailed many miles with Brian in the past, I am confident that he will bring a calm knowledge and air of confidence to our team,” she added.

French sailor Nicolas Lunven won the gruelling Solitaire du Figaro in 2009 at the age of just 26 and has since secured podium places in the event in 2012 and 2016. He also sailed as navigator with MAPFRE at the beginning of the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race.

“It’s a pleasure to have Nico join the team,” Caffari said. “He is an accomplished short-handed sailor, culminating as the French Figaro champion this year.”

“We will harness his experience, and welcome him as an adaptable and tenacious team member. Two invaluable qualities to the team’s cohesion and performance,” she noted.

Lunven and Thompson will split navigation duties on board Turn the Tide on Plastic.

Lunven is scheduled to be on board through Melbourne, at which point Thompson will join the crew through the Auckland stopover. They will then share the navigator duties through the rest of the race.

“I’m looking forward to sailing and working on navigation with Nico,” Thompson said. “It’s going to be really rewarding and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot.

“I think this is the most interesting team in the race, with the fully mixed crew, the majority being youth sailors and the important sustainability message that the team is carrying around the world,” he added.

Nicolas Lunven. Credit: Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

For his part, Lunven says the opportunity to compete against the world’s best sailors in the premiere fully-crewed offshore race was too good to pass up.

“You have to grab these kind of opportunities. I’m really happy to work with Brian. The idea is for us is to work as a ‘pair’ with me sailing the first legs,” he said.

For skipper Caffari, the additional experience that Thompson and Lunven bring to the team is timely and invaluable.

“We have a lot to learn and there are stages to go through until we are fully cohesive,” she said.

“Nico and Brian will aid this process with our mixed youth crew and we have all the motivation, qualities and skills needed to be competitive while upholding a strong message of diversity,” added the British yachtswoman.

This weekend, Turn the Tide on Plastic, along with the other teams, compete in the Prologue leg of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Seven teams will race their Volvo Ocean 65s nearly 700 nautical miles to Alicante, Spain, the host city and start port of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The Prologue is scheduled to start on Sunday (8 October 2017), with the teams arriving in Alicante on Wednesday/Thursday.

08 September 2017

Dee Caffari’s Turn the Tide on Plastic team have added another four young sailors to their campaign to win the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18.

Welsh America’s Cup sailor, Bleddyn Mon, fellow Briton Henry Bomby and Portuguese pair, Bernardo Freitas and Frederico Pinheiro de Melo, all earned their places after an intense trial period in Lisbon.

“There is so much young talent out there,” said Caffari, who is delivering on her pledge to bring a mixed male-female crew with a strong youth component to the start line.

Bleddyn Mon. Credit: Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

“Bleddyn Mon is a talented dinghy sailor and was one of the fittest in Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup Land Rover BAR team. As an engineer, he is very analytical, good at checking the data and also a very talented trimmer. I am delighted to have him join our team and look forward to seeing him grow as an offshore sailor,” she stressed.

Henry Bomby. Credit: Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

“Henry Bomby has many offshore miles under his belt as a short-handed Figaro sailor, and like most good sailors he can turn his hand to numerous activities on board. He is comfortable with fast speeds and in good physical shape. I’m keen to prove that young talented sailors can be just as competitive as the more experienced veterans of the race.” added Caffari.

The team, which will be promoting the United Nations Environment’s ‘Clean Seas: Turn the Tide on Plastic’ campaign, counts the Portugal-based Mirpuri Foundation as its principal partner and the presence of Bernardo Freitas and Frederico Pinheiro de Melo will strengthen the team’s Portuguese flavour.

“We trialled eight Portuguese sailors to finally select Bernardo and Frederico,” explained Caffari.

Dee Caffari with Bernardo Freitas and Frederico Pinheiro de Melo. Credit: Ugo Fonolla/Volvo Ocean Race

“There is limited offshore experience in Portugal but some really good sailors. Both sailors I have chosen are physically strong with good skill sets,” she stated.

Alongside the sustainability focus, inclusivity in age and gender will be a strong theme of the campaign.

Earlier, Turn the Tide on Plastic announced Italian Olympic sailor Francesca Clapcich (29) and Lucas Chapman (25) to the squad, joining skipper Caffari and boat captain Liz Wardley.

The Volvo Ocean Race will visit 12 host cities during the 2017-18 edition – departing Alicante on 22 October, and stopping in Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport USA, Cardiff and Gothenburg.

The finish will be in The Hague in summer 2018.

14 August 2017

Olympic gold medallist and America’s Cup winning helmsman Peter Burling has joined Team Brunel for the 2017-18 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The Emirates Team New Zealand star is already out sailing with his new teammates in pre-race qualifying.

The signing of the world’s most in-demand sailor is a major coup for Brunel skipper Bouwe Bekking, and sets up what should be a compelling rivalry with Burling’s long-term sailing partner Blair Tuke, who is competing with Spanish team MAPFRE.

Together, Burling and Tuke carried the flag for New Zealand at the 2016 Olympics and came home from Rio with a gold medal in the 49er class.

The pair followed up that success by playing influential roles in Emirates Team New Zealand’s victory in the America’s Cup earlier this year.

Burling got his first taste of life onboard Brunel’s Volvo Ocean 65 at the start of an overnight sprint from Plymouth, UK to Saint-Malo, France – the third stage of the Volvo Ocean Race’s Leg Zero qualifying series.

“I’ve always wanted to do this race – although I haven’t done a lot offshore, I’ve always been keen to get involved but always struggled to find the time,” Burling said at dockside in Plymouth. “It seems like good timing and a great opportunity to learn a lot off a pretty experienced team.”

He continued: “Round-the-world ocean racing has always excited me and I’m stoked to be part of Team Brunel on this epic edition. I can’t wait to be thrown into the challenge of extreme offshore racing and broaden my skills and sailing experience.”

Still only 26, Burling is the youngest winning helmsman in America’s Cup history.

Either Burling or Tuke could become the first sailor to complete the Triple Crown of sailing’s major events.

To date, no one has won an Olympic gold medal, the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race. Both teams will start among the favourites.

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Burling continued: “I’ve sailed against Blair a lot in the past, and I think he’s really enjoying his time onboard MAPFRE. I think both of us will learn a lot before the next time we sail together, and we’ll take on a challenge again together soon.”

Team Brunel were runners-up in 2014-15 under Bekking and have hit the ground running in their preparations for the upcoming race.

Burling is the seventh sailor to be announced for the Dutch team following the signings of America’s Cup sailors Carlo Huisman (NED) and Kyle Langford (AUS); Argentinian Juanpa Marcos; and Volvo Ocean Race veterans Alberto Bolzan (ITA) and Maciel Cicchetti (ARG/ITA), all sailing under skipper Bouwe Bekking (NED).

Bouwe Bekking. Credit: Stefan Coppers/Team Brunel/Volvo Ocean Race

Bekking said: “Peter is one of the most talented sailors in the world, winning an Olympic gold in Rio and the America’s Cup. He’s a huge addition for our team. He is superb driver – one of the fastest – and I think he will adapt very quickly.”

The 2017-18 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race begins from Alicante on 22 October. The race will take the teams 45,000 nautical miles around the world via a series of Host City stops – including Auckland.

“It’s going to be pretty special to be on board to see Auckland, the City of Sails, welcome an epic race like the Volvo Ocean Race,” added Burling.

“Having just toured New Zealand with the America’s Cup I got to witness how much Kiwis really do love sailing – and I know they will really get behind the Volvo Ocean Race coming to town.”

29 June 2017

Team Brunel, led by veteran Volvo Ocean Race sailor, is the seventh confirmed team for the 2017-18 edition of the race.

This will be the eighth time that Bekking has taken part in the race, which he has never won although he has been runner-up in two editions.

No one has sailed more miles in the Volvo Ocean Race than the 54-year-old Dutch sailor, who made his first appearance as a crewmember on Philips Innovator back in 1985-86.

More than 30 years on, and his obsession with the race has only intensified. He skippered Team Brunel to second place in the most recent edition in 2014-15

“In 2014-15 we had a very good result, a result I’m proud of, but I believe we can make further huge steps based on the experience we now have with the One Design boat,” said Bekking earlier this year.

Bouwe Bekking and his crew celebrate winning the Volvo Ocean race in-port racing day in Alicante, Spain in 2008. Credit: Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race

One of the team’s biggest backers is Brunel, the Dutch-based global project management, recruitment and consultancy company, and its founder Jan Brand.

Brunel are Volvo Ocean Race veterans themselves, having had their first involvement in 1997-98.

The theme of the team’s 2017-18 campaign is ‘Engineering the Future.’ – an initiative of a consortium of Dutch companies, including Brunel, Abel, Royal Huisman and EY.

“The team’s goal is to accelerate the next generation,” explained Bekking.

“We win by bringing together experience and talent, and creating opportunities for the next generation,” he added.

Brunel founder Jan Brand added: “Together, we are able to define new rules and possibilities for the future. Team Brunel empowers the new generation to take the helm.”

With four months to go before the start of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18, the starting grid is almost full.

The other confirmed entries are team AkzoNobel (skippered by Simeon Tienpont), Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier), MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández), Vestas 11th Hour Racing (Charlie Enright), Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (David Witt) and Turn The Tide On Plastic (Dee Caffari).

The 2017-18 edition will see the teams cover 45,000 nautical miles in a race that features a total of 12 Host Cities and will finish in The Hague, Netherlands at the end of June.

The race will start from Alicante on 22 October, with a maximum of eight One Design Volvo Ocean 65 racing yachts in the fleet. Seven of the boats have undergone an extensive refit process after being raced in 2014-15.

The eighth is a brand new yacht, built for team AkzoNobel.

14 June 2017

British round the world yachtswoman Dee Caffari has announced she will be leading a mixed youth focused team during the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18.

She aims to build a multi-national, 50-50 male/female squad, with the majority under 30 years of age.

The team – Turn the Tide on Plastic – will have a strong sustainability message about ocean health.

Her campaign is already being backed by the Mirpuri Foundation and Ocean Family Foundation.

The sixth confirmed team out of a possible eight for the upcoming edition will amplify United Nations Environment’s ‘Clean Seas: Turn the Tide on Plastic’ campaign throughout the eight months of the race, which covers 45,000 nautical miles around the world.

Credit: Corinna Halloran/Team SCA/Volvo Ocean Race

Messages around diversity in age and gender will also be strong themes of Caffari’s campaign.

“I’m absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to sail for a cause I am so passionate about,” said Caffari, who was part of the all female crew of Team SCA which finished sixth in the 2014–15 Volvo Ocean Race

“The Volvo Ocean Race is the ultimate test of a team in sport, and with the ambition to race with a youth-orientated international mixed crew, we are looking to make an impact on and off the water,” she added.

Caffari’s team is already part-funded by the Mirpuri Foundation and Ocean Family Foundation (OFF), who join an increasing number of partners backing Volvo Ocean Race’s campaign on ocean health and sustainability.

The Mirpuri Foundation is a non-profit organisation set up by Portuguese businessman and philanthropist Paulo Mirpuri with the aim of making the world a better place for future generations.

In addition to raising awareness around the growing issue of ocean pollution, the partnership is part of the Mirpuri Foundation’s long-term ambition to build a new chapter in Portugal’s rich maritime history by creating a strong offshore legacy for future generations of Portuguese sailors.

Caffari will include two Portuguese sailors in the team with a view to building a full Portuguese team in future editions of the iconic race.

Alongside the Mirpuri Foundation, the aim of the Ocean Family Foundation is to promote awareness of the effects of pollution, the importance of bio diversity and the necessity for conservation of the world’s oceans.

Caffari is an experienced round-the-world sailor, notable for setting a landmark record in 2006, becoming the first woman to sail single-handed and non-stop the ‘wrong way’ around the world.

Then in 2009, she completed the Vendée Globe race and set a new record to become the first woman to sail solo, non-stop, around the world in both directions.

“It’s an honour to represent this landmark campaign, and to lead the team on such a prestigious platform is exciting,” said Caffari. “Seeing the amount of plastic in the ocean is heartbreaking. We’re abusing our planet – and this campaign is about pushing people to proactively do something about it.”

Plastic pollution

“We will be sailing with a youth-orientated team because the reality is, it’s going to be the next generations who inherit the mess that we’re making now. This is a major issue and we need to encourage this generation, and future generations, to step up,” stressed Caffari.

The Turn the Tide on Plastic boat will amplify the Volvo Ocean Race’s larger sustainability focus for 2017-18, and joins team AkzoNobel (Simeon Tienpont, Netherlands), Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier, France), MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández, Spain), Vestas 11th Hour Racing (Charlie Enright, USA) and Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (David Witt, Australia) in the fleet for the 2017-18 edition.

The Volvo Ocean Race starts from Alicante on 22 October and will stop at Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff and Gothenburg before a big finish in The Hague at the end of June 2018.

Meanwhile, race organisers have announced that the race will switch from a 3-year to a 2-year cycle after the upcoming 2017-18 edition.

In a media release, race organisers said the change “will provide more continuity and more commercial value for professional sailing teams, sponsors and Host Cities”.

“Confirmation of the change will mean at least some race activity in every calendar year, from now on – meaning more action for fans of sailing’s iconic race around the world, more continuous employment for the professional sailors involved, and even greater return on investment for the stakeholders backing the teams,” it added.

16 March 2017

Dongfeng Race Team have selected Carolijn Brouwer and Marie Riou for their Volvo Ocean Race campaign in 2017-18.

According to race organisers, the move confirms the impact of a rule change introduced to encourage mixed male-female crews.

The two women bring a wealth of experience to Charles Caudrelier’s team, including a total of five Olympic Games and a host of world titles.

They join Jérémie Beyou, who came third in the 2016-17 Vendée Globe, Stu Bannatyne and Daryl Wislang, who were announced last week as the first of the campaign’s crew for 2017-18.

Carolijn Brouwer. Credit: Eloi Stichelbaut/Dongfeng Race Team.

Brouwer, 43, is one of the Netherlands’ most respected athletes and a two-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran, having competed with Amer Sports Too in 2001-02 and Team SCA in 2014-15.

She is also a former World Sailor of the Year and a three-time Olympian.

She is joined by France’s Riou, 35, who has competed twice at the Olympics, including Rio 2016, and has won four world championships in the Nacra 17 class.

10 Most iconic young sailors in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race

The pair have been selected following an extensive programme of evaluation which included sailing and racing, both inshore and offshore, in Australia and Portugal.

Caudrelier, who will skipper Dongfeng again after securing third place in 2014-15, is delighted with the addition of what he describes as two exceptionally gifted female sailors.

“I chose Carolijn because she beat us many times during the last race when she helmed Team SCA in the In-Port Races,” he explained.

“We all knew that she is a good helm and she has a big Olympic past and I really respect that. But her Olympic campaigns have turned her into a very fast driver and she knows where to put the boat.”

He added that Riou’s years of Olympic racing and training would be of great benefit to his squad.

Marie Riou. Credit: Eloi Stichelbaut/Dongfeng Race Team

“She is a very good Olympic sailor with tons of experience. She is also from Brittany so she has a background in offshore sailing,” he noted.

“She is strong, she has a good spirit – which is the most important thing for me – and she is used to sailing with guys. For her, the Volvo Ocean Race is a dream and, like Carolijn, Marie wants to win,” added Caudrelier.

The selection of Brouwer and Riou is the first sign that the rule change, brought in by the Volvo Ocean Race in order to encourage female sailors who might otherwise be overlooked due to a perceived lack of physical strength or experience, will have a significant impact across the sport.

Under the new crew rules, all-male teams will be limited to just seven sailors but teams that include female sailors will be able to choose from combinations including seven men plus one or two women; five men plus five women; or 11 women.

Dongfeng Race Team training. Credit: Bu Duomen

Brouwer says that winning the Volvo Ocean Race has been a goal for many years, and she is delighted to be joining a Chinese team which she admired during the last race.

“I’m very proud to be part of the team,” Brouwer said. “One of the reasons I wanted to join Dongfeng Race Team is because of their strong team spirit.”

“The Volvo Ocean Race is unique. It’s the ultimate challenge physically and mentally and, because you are in a team, you get the best out of each other,” added the Ditch sailor.

Riou will be making her debut in the race. “I’ve wanted to take part in the Volvo Ocean Race since I was 10 years old,” she said.

“Although my main experience is in inshore racing, I have always wanted to race offshore and for me the Volvo Ocean Race is the pinnacle of fully-crewed offshore racing,” added Riou.

The announcement of the remaining crew members of Dongfeng Race Team will be made in the coming weeks.

Dongfeng are one of three teams to have announced campaigns for the race so far, along with Team AkzoNobel (Netherlands) and MAPFRE (Spain).

A fourth team is confirmed and will be announced in late March, with the others to come in the following weeks and months.

The race will start from Alicante on 22 October 2017 and visit Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport RI, Cardiff and Gothenburg, before the big finish in The Hague at the end of June 2018.

8 February 2017

The Volvo Ocean Race will celebrate 45 years of history with a Legends Race on the final leg of the 2017-18 edition from Gothenburg to The Hague.

Any yacht to have featured in the Whitbread Round the World Race or Volvo Ocean Race, dating back to 1973-74, will be welcome to join in.

The race will be run over the same course, and around the same time, as the closing leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18, which starts from Gothenburg on 21 June 2018.

1989-90 Whitbread Round the World Race: Tracy Edwards, Skipper of Maiden. Credit: Tanya Visser/PPL

Among those planning to take part in the 2018 race is Tracy Edwards MBE.

She skippered the all-female Maiden team to two leg victories in their class in the 1989-90 Whitbread Round the World race and is planning to reunite her crew and the boat.

Tracy Edwards’ iconic Maiden is coming home in 2017

“Maiden was found in a sad state a few years ago in the Seychelles and since then I have been working very hard to get her back, restore her and get her back in her former glory again,” said Edwards.

“She will shortly be shipped back to the UK for a renovation program and our aim is the gather the original all-female crew from 1989-90 and compete in the new Legends Race 2018.” she added.

Sir Peter Blake’s first yacht Bandit is restored to its former glory

The plan for the Legends Race is to include a Maxi class, a Volvo Ocean 60 class and Open class.

Both Sweden and Holland have a proud history in the Volvo Ocean Race and a large number of fans who have followed the event through the years.

Steinlager 2 which Sir Peter Blake skippered to victory in the 89-90 Whitbread. Credit: PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race

“The Legends Race will add a lot of excitement to the Stopover in Gothenburg because there are many fans in Sweden who are devoted to the history of the Volvo Ocean Race,” said Camilla Nyman, CEO of Gothenburg & Co, organisers of the stopover in Gothenburg.

“We’ll be welcoming famous yachts and crews to the heart of Gothenburg and fans will get to see a lot of legendary yachts and familiar faces,” she stated.

The head of the team organising the finish of the race at The Hague, Frank van der Peet, added: “Holland has a long and successful history with the Whitbread and Volvo Ocean Race so we are very enthusiastic about welcoming these magnificent and historic race boats to The Hague.”

27 January 2017

For the first time in more than a decade, the Volvo Ocean Race will be stopping over in Melbourne, Australia.

The change to the 2017-18 route was announced this morning along with confirmation of all the race dates for this edition of the race.

This will be the eighth time the race has visited Australia.

Credit: Amory Ross/Team Alvimedica /Volvo Ocean Race

With what will be a compressed stopover, Melbourne fits between Cape Town and Hong Kong, and completes a 45,000-nautical mile route that will see the teams cover three times as many miles in the Southern Ocean as in previous editions.

Cape Town to Melbourne will now make up Leg 3 of the race – a double-point scoring, 6,300-nautical mile leg.

Melbourne will host a week-long stopover, but no In-Port Race, before the fleet leaves on Leg 4 to Hong Kong.

According to projections, the one-design Volvo Ocean 65 fleet will arrive around Christmas Day – meaning an extra reason to celebrate in the state capital of Victoria.

Australia’s history with the Volvo Ocean Race goes all the way back to the first edition in 1973-74 and, in total, Australia has hosted the race seven times.

Volvo Ocean Race: Longer route but one month shorter

The race first came to Melbourne in 2005-06 and now returns for a second time.

“We’re delighted to be visiting Melbourne again – a vibrant city of sport and culture with a strong maritime heritage,” said Volvo Ocean Race COO, Richard Mason.

“Having been born in Australia myself, I couldn’t be more excited to see the race head Down Under, and I know that sailing fans across the nation will be full of excitement to see the boats and sailors for themselves,” he added.

The full 2017-18 route now features a total of 10 legs taking in 12 landmark host cities on six continents.

The teams will leave Alicante, Spain on 22 October 2017 and race on to Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne and Hong Kong before a non-scoring transition to Guangzhou in China.

The 2017-18 route

After a stopover in Guangzhou that will include a race in the In-Port Series, the ocean legs will resume with a leg to Auckland before stopping in Itajaí, Brazil, Newport, Rhode Island, Cardiff and Gothenburg, before the big finish in the Dutch city of The Hague.

The two Southern Ocean legs – from Cape Town to Melbourne, and Auckland to Itajaí – plus the North Atlantic leg near the end of the race, Newport to Cardiff – will all score double points.

The longest leg of the 45,000-nautical mile lap of the planet will now be the 7,600-nautical mile leg from Auckland to Itajaí.

The Volvo Ocean Race recently announced a series of major changes to the rules of the 43-year-old classic adventure, including a major incentive for teams to compete with mixed male-female crews.

The addition of the Melbourne stopover means the race has locked in dates across the whole 2017-18 route.

The key dates are as follows:

Alicante

Race Village opens – 11 October 2017

Alicante In-Port Race ­– 14 October 2017

Leg 1 Start – 22 October 2017

Lisbon

In-Port Race – 28 October 2017

Leg 2 Start – 5 November 2017

Cape Town

In-Port Race – 8 December 2017

Leg 3 Start – 10 December 2017

Melbourne

Leg 4 Start – 2 January 2018

Hong Kong

In-Port Race – 27 January 2018

Guangzhou

In-Port Race – 4 February 2018

Leg 5 Start – 7 February 2018

Auckland

In-Port Race – 10 March 2018

Leg 6 Start – 18 March 2018

Itajaí

In-Port Race – 20 April 2018

Leg 7 Start – 22 April 2018

Newport

In-Port Race – 19 May 2018

Leg 8 Start – 20 May 2018

Cardiff

In-Port Race – 8 June 2018

Leg 9 Start – 10 June 2018

Gothenburg

In-Port Race – 17 June 2018

Leg 10 Start – 21 June 2018

The Hague

In-Port Race – 30 June 2018

23 January 2017

The first official action of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 will be the Alicante In-Port Race on Saturday, 14 October, with the race itself kicking off on Sunday, 22 October when the teams will sail Leg 1 from Alicante to Lisbon.

The Alicante Race Village will be open for 12 days from 11-22 October, 2017.

The full Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 schedule will be announced later in the year but there will be a range of events to mark the start of one of the world’s longest and toughest professional sporting event.

The Race Villages will feature a new ‘pit lane’ experience including innovative team bases, where the public will be able to interact with crews in a casual environment. There will also be The Boatyard facility, where repairs are carried out in full view of the crowds.

The Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 route will take the sailors over 45,000 nautical miles around the world and will feature three times as much sailing in the Southern Ocean as in recent editions.

As well as Alicante and Lisbon, the race will also take in Cape Town, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff and Gothenburg before the grand finale in The Hague.

The forthcoming race will be the fourth edition to start from Alicante and the city has already been confirmed as Start Port for two more races after 2017-18.

The post Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18: Team Brunel win Cape Horn leg appeared first on YBW.

Vestas 11th Hour Racing collided with a fishing vessel during Leg 4 of the race in Hong Kong. A man on the commercial vessel lost his life in the accident.

Organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race posted the following message on their website:

“On behalf of the Volvo Ocean Race and Vestas 11th Hour Racing, we offer our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the deceased.

“The incident occurred approximately 30 miles from the finish of Leg 4, outside of Hong Kong waters. Race Control at Volvo Ocean Race headquarters was informed of the collision by the team moments after it happened at approximately 17:23 UTC on Friday January 19, 2018 (01:23 local time on Saturday morning).

Continues below…

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“The Vestas 11th Hour Racing team, none of whom were injured in the collision, issued a Mayday distress call on behalf of the other vessel, alerting the Hong Kong Marine Rescue Coordination Centre (HKMRCC) and undertook a search and rescue mission.

“HKMRCC informed Race Control that a commercial vessel in the area was able to rescue nine of the crew and that a tenth crew member was taken by helicopter to hospital. HKMRCC has since confirmed the death of the air-lifted crew member.

“Volvo Ocean Race and Vestas 11th Hour Racing are now focused on providing immediate support to those affected by this incident.

“All involved organisations are co-operating with the authorities and are fully supporting the ongoing investigation.”

Phil Lawrence, Race Director for the Volvo Ocean Race, said in an interview on the event’s website:

“First of all, we know a man lost his life, tragically, after an incident with one of our race boats. We offer our deepest condolences to his loved ones and family. We are relieved that the nine other mariners on board were rescued and initial reports have them in good condition.

“In terms of what happened, we know a collision occurred shortly before 1723 UTC (which is when Race Control received the first message from Vestas 11th Hour Racing) between Vestas 11th Hour Racing and a non-racing vessel. The incident took place around 30 miles from the Leg 4 finish line in Hong Kong.

“Vestas 11th Hour Racing immediately stopped racing, informed us at Race Control of the incident (at 1736 UTC), sent a Mayday distress signal on behalf of the other vessel and aided in the search and rescue mission.

“Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre informed Race Control that a nearby commercial vessel had rescued nine of the crew from the other boat, and a tenth was taken to hospital by helicopter after he had been rescued from the water by the Vestas 11th Hour Racing crew. We’re deeply saddened to report that Hong Kong MRCC confirmed the death of that airlifted crewmember later on Saturday morning.”

The Vestas 11th Hour Racing team was safe and uninjured but the boat suffered damage to its hull.

The post Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18: Fatality confirmed as team Vestas 11th Hour Racing collides with fishing vessel appeared first on YBW.

It’s could have been quite the setback for Volvo Ocean Race team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag when they lost a headsail overnight. Fortunately the sail fell overboard only because a pin holding it popped out and skipper David Witt’s crew were able to fix the issue quickly.

Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag is in a very tight battle for fourth place, followed by: Charles Caudrelier’s Dongfeng Race Team in fifth place, Turn the Tide on Plastic skippered by Dee Caffari in sixth and Bouwe Bekking’s Team Brunel in seventh place.

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Less than two miles separate fourth from last place, so any time sailing at less than 100% can lose teams points easily.

Thankfully in this instance the team recovered very quickly, with no injuries and no serious damage, and still in fourth place on the leaderboard.

The post Volvo Ocean Race: Watch Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag lose a headsail overboard appeared first on YBW.

The Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 route will take the sailors over 45,000 nautical miles around the world and will feature three times as much sailing in the Southern Ocean as in recent editions.

As well as Alicante and Lisbon, the race will also take in Cape Town, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff and Gothenburg before the grand finale in The Hague.

For the first time in more than a decade, the Volvo Ocean Race will be stopping over in Melbourne, Australia.

The forthcoming race will be the fourth edition to start from Alicante and the city has already been confirmed as Start Port for two more races after 2017-18.

The first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race starts on 22 October in Alicante. The race village opens on 11 October, and the first in-port race takes place on the 14th.

Continues below…

Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18: Team Brunel win Cape Horn leg

Team Brunel has won the 7th leg of the race around Cape Horn, from Auckland to Itajai, placing them third…

Watch: Volvo Ocean Race CEO Mark Turner speaks after shock departure

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The teams battling out are: AkzoNobel (Simeon Tienpont), DongFeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier), Mapfre (Xabi Fernandez), Vestas (Charlie Enright), Scallywag (David Witt), Turn the Tide on Plastic (Dee Caffari) and Team Brunel (Bowe Bekking).

How you can follow the Volvo Ocean Race

YouTube

On the Volvo Ocean Race channel here

App

You can download the Volvo Ocean Race app here.

Volvo Ocean Race Website

Follow all the action on the Volvo Ocean Race website .

Race tracker 

The Volvo Ocean Race has a new dashboard with real-time weather and tracker data.

 Social media

The Volvo Ocean Race Facebook page is @VolvoOceanRace, and on Twitter @VolvoOceanRace with analysis at @RaceExperts But with the new freer social media platform it’s well worth following favourite sailors individually too.

Let the battle commence!

The post Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18: How to follow the race appeared first on YBW.

28 September 2017

There were shock waves across the racing world on Wednesday (26 September) after the Volvo Ocean Race announcement that not only was their CEO Mark Turner to leave, but that the proposed 2019-20 Volvo Ocean Race in new boats would not take place.

Now Turner has gone on the record about why he chose to step down, releasing a video through the Volvo Ocean Race.

He said that essentially he failed to get signatures on the dotted line in time to be able to move forward with racing in new boats for 2019-20.

Mark Turner

Turner stressed that Volvo’s commitment to the race was not in question.

“They’re very excited about this race and have more plans, more activation, and more things going on than they’ve ever had before,” he said.

“So I think there’s a genuine excitement and commitment to the race going forward, but we just couldn’t move some of the processes and the steps forward in the same timeline that we needed to be able to guarantee that we’d have a great race in 2019 with boats actually finished and on the start line,” added Turner, who joined the Volvo Ocean Race team in summer 2016.

Continued below…

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He admits that “it’s been a bit of a struggle to get everything together” for the 2017-18 race, which starts next month in Alicante, but stressed he was proud of what had been achieved.

“I don’t think anyone else would say otherwise, but in the end we genuinely have a great lineup with a depth of quality of sailor that I haven’t seen in the race for a long time,” he stated.

Watch the video of Mark Turner above to hear his full statement.

26 September 2017

Volvo has announced that it is reconsidering the schedule for all future Volvo Ocean Races.

It comes following the news that CEO Mark Turner has stepped down from his role after it was decided that the proposed 2019-20 race in new boats would not take place as planned.

In a media release, Volvo said the decision about the 2019-20 race was made after “key stakeholders” determined that “additional planning time” was needed for the new look race.

The new design of the offshore racer. Credit: Volvo Ocean Race

In a media release, Volvo said: “Following discussions between Volvo companies, it has been determined that in order to fully implement the announced changes additional planning time is required, specifically in relation to the race cycle.”

“A final decision on this will follow at a later stage. This rules out a race start in 2019 with new boats, however the Volvo Ocean Race leadership team is developing plans to ensure activation opportunities and stakeholder return using the existing boats,” it added.

It stressed that the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race, which gets underway next month, would not be affected by the decision.

The new offshore 60 foot (18.29m) foil-assisted monohull

“No impact on the current edition of the race is expected. Mark Turner’s role was primarily focused on future strategy,” said Volvo.

“The Leadership Team is very well prepared and ready to deliver an outstanding sporting and sponsorship experience. Mark Turner will remain as CEO until a successor is appointed,” it added.

A revised schedule for future Volvo Ocean Races is now being drawn up.

In May, Volvo Ocean Race announced the biggest shake up in its history.

It unveiled plans for a series of radical initiatives, including introducing a new foil-assisted ocean racing monohull and a ‘flying’ catamaran for In-Port Races. It was also decided to move the race from a three year cycle to a two year cycle.

Volvo is stressing that the design work “on the exciting new Super 60 concept, at the forefront of foiling offshore monohull technology, continues”.

It said optimising the race cycle would also happen.

Commenting following the announcement, Mark Turner said: “Although I have decided to step down from my position, I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to lead the Volvo Ocean Race at this important time. I am confident the 2017-18 race will be one of the best ever”.

Carolijn Brouwer on board Dongfeng Race Team’s re-fitted Volvo Ocean 65. Credit: Martin Keruzoré/Volvo Ocean Race

The 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race will start in Alicante on 22 October and finish in The Hague in June 2018.

The team will visit 12 stopovers – Alicante, Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff, Gothenburg, The Hague – during the race, which covers 45,000 nautical miles.

Seven teams are competing this year: Team AkzoNobel, Dongfeng Race Team, MAPFRE, Vestas 11th Hour Racing, Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, Turn The Tide on Plastic and Team Brunel.

The post Watch: Volvo Ocean Race CEO Mark Turner speaks after shock departure appeared first on YBW.

The Volvo Ocean Race has unveiled its new vision to create professional sailing’s ultimate all-round test.

Highlights include the choice of a new 60-foot (18.29 metre) foil-assisted One Design ocean racing monohull, designed by France’s Guillaume Verdier, plus the introduction of a challenging 32-50 foot (10-15m) One Design ‘flying’ catamaran for In-Port Races, for which a new design and build tender process was launched today.

“Three hulls, but not what you might have imagined,” said Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Mark Turner, has he revealed the choice of the next generation One Design boats at a live event at the Volvo Museum in Gothenburg this morning.

“We had a lot of debate about multihull versus monohull and, in fact, the final solution for us is to do both, so there will be three hulls in future editions – a foil-assisted monohull and a ‘flying’ catamaran,” he continued.

The new design of the offshore racer. Credit: Volvo Ocean Racer

“The Volvo Ocean Race has always been the ultimate test of a team in professional sport and with these changes – collectively the most radical since the race began in 1973 – we are taking it up another level,” said Turner.

“The obsession that has led to generations of sailors putting everything on the line to win this race will continue, but to lift the trophy will require more skill, dedication and sacrifice than ever.”

Key announcements from the Gothenburg event:

Sailing’s ultimate test: From the edition after 2017-18, the Volvo Ocean Race will be contested in a combination of a 60-foot foil-assisted monohull for the ocean legs and a 32-50 foot ‘flying’ catamaran for use in the In-Port Race Series.

Foil-assisted monohull: The One Design monohull from French naval architect Guillaume Verdier will use the latest generation foiling technology to make it incredibly fast to sail and spectacular to watch.

Crew numbers are likely to be between 5 and 7, with incentives continuing for mixed male-female crews and youth sailors.

The race will build eight of the new monohulls and deliver them from January 2019 onwards.

They will be available to lease by teams to reduce campaign start-up costs, with sponsors involved in the current 2017-18 race to be given first option when Notice of Race and Commercial Participation Agreements are published this October.

IMOCA compatibility: Uniquely, the design brief retains an option to allow the boat platform to be converted, inexpensively and quickly, to a fully rules-compliant short-handed IMOCA boat.

The 60-foot IMOCA class boats, used in iconic races such as the solo Vendée Globe, have been the drivers of some incredible technical innovation over the past few decades.

‘Flying’ in-shore catamaran: Additionally, the race is launching a tender process for a new One Design 32-50 foot ‘flying’ catamaran for use inshore – a boat that will use some of the technology familiar from the America’s Cup and other new multihulls, albeit in a non-development One Design mode.

The announcement was made at the Volvo Museum in Gothenburg. Credit: Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

A sustainable future: The race has three pillars of action on sustainability – reduce its own footprint, maximise its impact using its global communications platform, and leave a positive legacy wherever it goes.

Centred on a partnership with the United Nations Environment Clean Seas campaign, the focus will be on the call to action ‘Turn the Tide on Plastic’.

A founding partnership with 11th Hour Racing is providing the resource to permit significant amplification across all Science, Education and Ocean Summit programmes.

AkzoNobel will further boost the education and awareness programme.

The Volvo Ocean Race’s long term ambition is to reduce and then eliminate the use of fossil fuels on future boats, while maintaining safety and communication performance, as well as developing new construction methods and operational strategies for the race overall.

New racecourse and stopover formats: The race is planning big changes to the racecourse and stopover formats over the next decade – moves that aims to strengthen commercial appeal while preserving its sporting integrity.

While the race is committed to two more starts from its home, and important partner, in Alicante, some future races could start and finish outside Europe, and potentially feature a non-stop leg around Antarctica or even a non-stop lap of the planet.

But while routes may vary, the race will commit to visiting North America, South America, Australasia, Greater China, and at least 5 major European markets at least once every two editions.

In addition, Host Cities will be able to choose from a range of flexible stopover formats – from the 24-48 hour pit-stop, to shorter form stopovers of five days, through to traditional ‘two weekend’ stopovers with full activation. The bidding process for the next three editions is launched today.

Continued below…

Video: Designing the Volvo Ocean Race yachts of the future

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Race activity every year/Potential shift to two-year cycle: The Volvo Ocean Race Board has asked race management to look into the feasibility of shifting the race to a two-year cycle.

That process is still ongoing but what is already certain is that in future there will be race activity of some kind in every calendar year – a clear evolution from the current situation, with a gap of over two years between editions

A pathway to the Volvo Ocean Race: The race and its co-owners Volvo Car Group and Volvo Group will become official partners of World Sailing, as part of a long term strategic plan to develop the next generation of offshore sailors and their sponsors by providing a clear developmental pathway.

The race will establish Volvo Ocean Race Academies as part of future Host Venue partnerships and will also provide a stepping stone for future offshore sailors into the Olympics, if and when offshore sailing is included, which could be a showcase event as early at Tokyo 2020.

50th anniversary celebration: The Volvo Ocean Race began life in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race and 2023 marks its half-century.

The race is considering plans for a special 50th anniversary race that will honour the sailing legends who have taken part.

Following the announcement, Ian Walker, who won the 2014/15 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, tweeted: “Not quite sure what to make of that @volvooceanrace announcement – one thing is clear though – sailing is all now short handed”.

The next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race starts from Alicante on 22 October 2017 and will visit a total of 12 Host Cities on six continents.

The teams will compete over 46,000 nautical miles (83,000 kms) to the finish line in The Hague at the end of June 2018.

The post Massive changes for the Volvo Ocean Race appeared first on YBW.

French designer Guillaume Verdier is to lead the design project to create the new One Design racing yacht for the 14th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The Italian shipyard, Persico Marine, has been selected as lead boatbuilder.

The new boat is part of “a radical shake-up of the race”, with the final decision on the proposed designs announced on 18 May at Volvo’s home town of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Verdier has joined the Volvo Ocean Race Design Team and is currently working with the race on the crucial issue of whether the new boat will be a monohull or multihull.

Guillaume Verdier. Credit: Amalia Infante/Volvo Ocean Race

In a media release, Volvo Ocean Race organisers describe Verdier as “the quiet achiever who has been involved in most of the leading designs right across the sport in recent years”.

The French designer is responsible for the likes of giant multihulls such as Gitana’s Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, to be launched in July, through to Team New Zealand’s current America’s Cup flying multihulls to maxi-monohulls like Comanche, and the leading Vendée Globe IMOCA 60 foiling projects such as HUGO BOSS and Banque Populaire VIII.

First female sailors for Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 announced

The monohull-multihull question is just one of a series of key decisions that will be finalised in the coming weeks.

Together, the announcements will form the most radical shake-up of the Volvo Ocean Race since it began life in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race.

Marcello Persico. Credit: Vanessa Zanni

“Conceived in 2011, the current fleet of boats was built to be competitive for two editions,” explained Volvo Ocean Race CEO Mark Turner. “We need to move now on the future boats to keep all our options open on boat type and design.”

“We’re excited to work with someone as talented as Guillaume Verdier – who will be a perfect complement to the wider Volvo Ocean Race Design Team, and the input we plan to have from a wider group of professional sailors and industry partners,” he added.

On the decision to award Persico the lead role in the building of the boats, rather than the Consortium approach used for the Volvo Ocean 65s, Nick Bice, the race’s Chief Technical Development Officer, said: “The Consortium did some good work last time around to produce such matched boats, but we prefer to contract this time with a single builder, who in turn will undoubtedly sub-contract a number of other builders around the world to achieve the build in time and to budget.”

“Persico have been a strong partner over these past few years, and we are delighted to be working with them again,” said Bice.

Guillaume Verdier is behind boats like HUGO BOSS

The decision to continue with a One Design concept follows the introduction of the Volvo Ocean 65 monohull for the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15, which produced the closest racing in the history of the event.

The upcoming edition, starting on 22 October 2017 in Alicante, will use the same Volvo Ocean 65 boats that have since undergone a one million euro per boat refit process in the race’s boatyard facility in Lisbon.

These boats were designed to be fast enough and reliable enough to complete at least two laps of the planet at the highest level of professional racing, in a fully competitive and equal state.

The fleet of seven existing boats from 2014-15 will be supplemented by a brand new but still identical Volvo Ocean 65, commissioned by team AkzoNobel, for the 2017-18 race.

With more than six months still to go before the start, four teams have so far been announced. The remaining teams will be revealed over the coming months.

10 Most iconic young sailors in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race

The race opted to go with Verdier after inviting input from half a dozen industry-leading yacht designers, including Farr Yacht Design, the team that kick-started the One Design era in the race by delivering the successful Volvo Ocean 65 project.

Verdier’s goal will be to lead the Volvo Ocean Race Design Team to build a new fleet to the same exacting levels of matched One Design achieved with the current boats, but very much connected to the big evolutions in foiling technology the world of sailing is currently seeing.

“We’re bringing together a wide-ranging depth of experience from events such as the America’s Cup, offshore multihulls and IMOCA Open 60 projects,” Verdier explained.

“We are starting from a blank page, and whatever kind of boat we design, whether it’s monohull or multihull, we will learn a lot from this process of working together.”

He continued: “I think sailors just want to have fun, and are attracted to a new way of sailing. In the Open 60, for example, we made something which was quite radical, but also very safe, and that’s key for the Volvo Ocean Race.”

Marcello Persico said the company was delighted to be building the next generation of Volvo Ocean Race boats.

“We’ve been working closely with the Volvo Ocean Race for the last eight years and we feel part of the family,” he said. “I believe that Persico Marine will deliver excellent support and service to the Volvo Ocean Race as it embarks on the next phase in its history.”

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According to some of the sailors who have tackled the Whitbread Round the World and Volvo Ocean Race, age is just a number.

They say: “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough”, and this is certainly proved by this list.

Take a look back at some of the most iconic young sailors in the event’s four-and-a-half decade history.

Sir Peter Blake

Credit: Getty Images

When: 1973-74, Burton Cutter

Age: 24

He’s known now as one of the Whitbread Round the World’s biggest legends, having competed five times and won once, leading Steinlager 2 to an unprecedented clean sweep of line, handicap and overall honours in 1989-90.

But Blake made his first appearance in the race over a decade and a half earlier, as watch captain onboard Burton Cutter – leading them to a first leg win into Cape Town.

Liu Xue (‘Black’)

Credit: Sam Greenfield/Dongfeng Race Team/Volvo Ocean Race

When: 2014-15, Dongfeng Race Team

Age: 21

Dongfeng’s Chinese star almost didn’t make it to the start line – quitting during training due to homesickness – and it was only some persuasion from team manager, Bruno Dubois, which convinced him to rejoin the troops a few months before the race began.

He captured hearts across China, and went on to win the media war – ending the race as the most mentioned Chinese sailor online.

Lionel Péan

Credit: You Tube

When: 1985-86, L’Esprit d’Equipe

Age: 29

The fourth edition was all about the story of an old boat – and the youngest winning skipper in the race’s history.

With a crew of eight and a 58-foot boat, France’s Péan saw his team battle with UBS Switzerland all around the world, triumphing on overall handicap to scoop the trophy.

A full 25 years later, Péan would once again skipper L’Esprit d’Equipe to victory in the first Legends Regatta and Reunion, complete with his original crew, on the eve of the race start in 2011-12 from Alicante.

Simon Le Bon

Credit: Getty Images/Hutton Archive

When: 1985-86, Drum

Age: 26

What do you do when you’re a global popstar looking to change your lifestyle?

Well, you could ditch the microphone, and join a Whitbread Round the World Race campaign – at least that’s what Duran Duran’s frontman Simon Le Bon did during a band hiatus in the mid-80s.

But the singer didn’t just hop on for the ride, he was determined to do the race as a full crewmember.

“We work the same, sleep the same, eat the same, and that’s how Simon wants it,” said Drum skipper, Skip Novak.

Tracy Edwards

Credit: Tanya Visser/PPL

When: 1989-90, Maiden

Age: 27

When Tracy Edwards had the idea to take part in the Whitbread in 1989-90, she was a 23-year-old charter boat cook with no crew, no sponsorship and no boat.

Hardly anyone believed that she could put a team together to compete.

No all-female team had rounded Cape Horn before – but out on the racetrack, Edwards and her crew made a mockery of predictions that they would not have the strength or the stamina to withstand the world’s most gruelling contest.

Not only did they survive, they proved seriously competitive and won both the Southern Ocean legs of the race in Division D.

Grant Dalton

Credit: Getty Images/Mike Hewitt /Allsport

When: 1981-82, Flyer II

Age: 22

Grant Dalton has six Whitbread/Volvo Ocean Races under his belt, and got his hands on the trophy at the first time of asking, sailing with Dutch legend Conny van Rietschoten onboard Flyer II in the early 80s.

This was Dalton’s first ride in the Whitbread, starting out as a sailmaker, his dream of competing fuelled by the sight of maxis finishing in his home harbour of Auckland four years before.

Iwona Pienkawa

Credit: Pienkawa Archive

When: 1973-74, Otago

Age: 18

Iwona Pienkawa, a tom-boyish, pipe-smoking girl from Gdansk, is one of the forgotten heroes of the race – a pioneer who was one of the first women in the world to sail around Cape Horn and one of the youngest people ever to complete the Whitbread.

At just 18, she managed to convince her father not only to enter a team but also to include her as crew.

She delayed her architecture studies at the Technical University to jump onboard Otago, principally as a chef, but with an agreement to spend a week out of the galley per leg.

She completed all four legs – and received a special trophy from HRH Prince Philip at the prize giving in 1974.

Sadly, Iwona died in a car accident on 31 March 1975 – 17 days before her 20th birthday.

Still, her story lives on in Poland. The book she wrote about her experiences in the first Whitbread was published after her death and achieved bestseller status. “She was an athlete, an artist, a philosopher and a daredevil,” remembers her younger sister Renata.

Matthew Humphries

Credit: Getty Images

When: 1993-94, Dolphin & Youth/Reebok

Age: 22

A five-time race veteran, Matt remains the youngest skipper in the history of the competition, having led Dolphin & Youth/Reebok at just 22 years old.

He completed his first race aged 18, four years earlier, on With Integrity.

It was a real test of his leadership skills, as, heading towards Cape Horn, the crew discovered that two keel bolts had sheared, water was pouring in, and the keel was wobbling dangerously.

“We left as boys and came back as men”, Humphries said.

Steve Hayles

With skipper Lawrie Smith. Credit: Getty Images

When: 1993-94 Dolphin & Youth/Reebok

Age: 20

Steve Hayles was only 20 when he took on the role of navigator on Dolphin and Youth in 1993-94, making him the youngest navigator in the race ever.

“The attitude you have to take is ‘take it on and prove yourself as a young sailor’,” he said in an interview some years later.

Completing the race onboard Dolphin & Youth was the launch pad for Hayles into a highly successful professional racing career.

Alain Gabbay

When: 1977-78, 33 Export

Age: 23

The Frenchman was the youngest skipper at his first attempt in the race – and it proved to be an experience he would never forget.

On Leg 3 from Auckland to Rio de Janeiro, the boat was rolled 140 degrees and the contents of the chart table emptied into the toilet, leaving spanners, files and screwdrivers embedded in the deck head of the galley, floorboards loose and battery boxes smashed all over the floor.

Later, on the same leg, 33 Export broached – water surging across the deck, and slamming Eric Letrosne against the life-rails with such force, it fractured his leg.

He needed urgent attention so when the call for medical help went out, Dr Jean Louis Sabarly on Japy-Hermés reported they were preparing for a rendez-vous.

When a huge swell prevented that, Dr Sabarly jumped into the sea and swam to 33 Export, where he looked after his patient until the boat docked.

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As part of preparations for the Volvo Ocean Race 2020, the chairman of the Mirpuri Foundation has just finished his first transatlantic crossing.

Following his announcement to register the first Portuguese team to take part in the race, Paulo Mirpuri skippered his crew the 2,300 nautical miles from Cape Verde Islands to Barbados on board a 21-metre VOR70.

The yacht, which is now called Mirpuri Foundation, was formerly Green Dragon which came fifth in the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race, skippered by Ian Walker.

It was designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by McConaghy Boats.

Although this was his first ocean crossing, Mirpuri has sailed since a teenager.

Skipper Paulo Mirpuri. Credit: David Branigan/Oceansport

“My debut on an ocean crossing taught me a lot, especially the importance of the spirit and union of the crew on board and also how the ocean shows us the need to be patient,” he said.

“Now I know exactly how to select the Portuguese sailors for the future Mirpuri Foundation team in the Volvo Ocean Race 2020 and I will personally participate in the selection process of the men’s and women’s teams that we intend to form, so we can decide the final crew,” added Mirpuri.

View pictures of Mirpuri Foundation’s arrival in Barbados below

Crew manager, Enrico Civello, said the voyage served as a lesson to all.

“We had strong wind and big seas, which provided an exciting experience for the guests on board. The trip was good, the power of the boat is evident and we always sailed safely,” he said.

“We were so well positioned in the trade winds that we traveled 1,200 miles on the same tack (representing more than half of the 2,100-mile route from Cape Verde to Barbados),” continued Civello.

“The VOR 70 is very sensitive, capable of accelerating or decelerating at the slightest trimming of the sails, daggerboards, canting keel and water ballasts as well as the precision at the rudder. The organisation of the watches on deck worked very well, with 6 hours of work during the day and 4 hours at night, with the crew divided into two groups,” he explained.

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The Mirpuri Foundation is a non-profit foundation set up in Portugal by the businessman and philanthropist Paulo Mirpuri as a vehicle to manage his family’s charitable donations.

It supports specific projects in aerospace, medical research, marine conservation, wildlife conservation and social responsibility.

Already, dozens of Portuguese sailors have applied to be part of the Volvo 2020 crew, with the final selection expected to be announced by the end of 2017.

Mirpuri, who plans to sail the last leg of the 2020 race, warned that selection will not just be based on sailing skills.

“It is not enough for them to be very good technically. It is essential that, as future ambassadors of the Mirpuri Foundation, they share its values,” he said.

“Our main aim will be to publicise worldwide the foundation’s work on raising awareness about and conservation of oceans and marine ecosystems,” added the philanthropist.

Once the team has been announced, sea training will begin and will continue for nearly three years until the round-the-world race in 2020.

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All-male teams competing in the 2017-2018 Volvo Ocean Race will now be limited to seven sailors – one fewer than in 2014-15.

Meanwhile, mixed crews will have a significant numerical advantage following the rule change announced by the race organisers.

The possible crew combinations for 2017-18 will be:

7 men
7 men and 1 or 2 women
7 women and 1 or 2 men
5 men and 5 women
11 women

The changes aim to increase the number of top-level female sailors participating in this level of offshore sailing.

It is the first in a series of ten announcements that will be made over the next two weeks.

Teams will be able to change their crew combinations from leg to leg in the race, which starts from Alicante in October 2017 and visits 11 cities around the globe.

But, as in previous editions, teams will be required have the same crewmembers on board for the In-Port Race as either the previous or the subsequent offshore leg – with the exception of a team that is racing offshore with 7 males who can add an additional female for the in-port racing.

Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 winning skipper, and Olympic silver medallist,Ian Walker, welcomed the move.

“If female offshore sailors ever want to compete at the same level as the best in the world then they need to train and race with the best,” he noted.

“It would be very hard to compete with only seven people on a Volvo Ocean 65 against teams of eight or nine. This new rule will almost certainly force teams to hire women and that will create a great platform for learning,” commented Walker.

The move follows the success of Team SCA’s 2014-15 campaign, which saw an all-female crew finish third in the In-Port Race series and become the first to win an offshore leg in 25 years – but still saw a ceiling in their offshore performance overall without being able to learn from the more experienced sailors once out on the ocean.

“This is not about lowering the standard as some in the sport will suggest – the reverse – it is giving more opportunity to the very best female sailors in the world to compete on equal terms,” stressed Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Mark Turner, who masterminded Briton Dame Ellen MacArthur’s successful Vendée Globe race in 2001, where she finished second.

Part of Team SCA. Credit: Corinna Halloran/Team SCA/Volvo

“Sailing is one of the few sports where you can have mixed teams, and we want to take advantage of that, and also reflect the growing desire for greater diversity in businesses – in particular the kind who back the race teams today,” he continued.

“The Team SCA project in the last race did a great job to restart female participation, after 12 years with just one sailor getting a slot (Adrienne Cahalan, Brasil 1, Leg 1 2005-06). We’re determined to build on that momentum, and we want to guarantee that the Volvo Ocean Race continues to have the very best sailors competing in the race – both male and female,” said Turner.

He said the changes in crew rules were being used to “incentivise skippers to bring one or more female sailors onboard.”

“I really hope that it’s not necessary to have any rule at all in the future – but it seems it’s the only way today to ensure we can maintain progress,” added Turner.

The race, which celebrated its 43-year anniversary last month, has a long history of female sailors, with over 100 women having competed since its inception in 1973, compared with over 2,000 men.

“We’re determined to maintain our female presence in the Race – the proportion of women in sailing is growing all the time, and we think that it’s important that, as sailing’s leading offshore property, we maintain a representative demographic,” explained race director, Phil Lawrence.

And news of the move has already attracted a positive reaction from many female sailors.

“This is fantastic news for elite female athletes not just in sailing, but in sport as a whole,” said Dee Caffari MBE, who raced onboard Team SCA in 2014-15 and, in 2006, became the first female to sail solo and non-stop the ‘wrong way’ around the world.

“It was important to make a big impact with an all-female team last edition in order to change the perception of women in sailing, and we showed that we could compete on the same boats, in the same conditions,” she continued.

“I’m excited to see the concept of mixed teams evolve. I do believe that there are enough female sailors out there who can step up and prove that they can perform, deliver and earn a place onboard,” stressed Caffari, who is also part of the ground breaking Thalassa Magenta Racing crew who recently became the first all-female crew to compete in the Extreme Sailing Series.

The race has also reaffirmed the commitment to youth sailing, with a rule that two crew must be under the age of 30 at the end of the race in July 2018.

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Teams taking part in the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 will be covering the longest distance in the history of the race – around 45,000 nautical miles.

But, the 43-year-old race is scheduled to be one month shorter.

Crews will have to cross four oceans and visit 11 major cities on five continents. Around 12,500 nm of the race will be raced in the Southern Ocean alone.

The Volvo Ocean Race will begin in the familiar Spanish port of Alicante in late 2017.

Teams will race the 700 nautical miles to the Portuguese capital, Lisbon before heading south towards Cape Town and South Africa.

Then the real battles lines will be drawn as the crews race against each other across the Southern Ocean.

They will then head north again across the equator to Hong Kong – one of the longest legs in the race history.

From there, the boats will head to Auckland, New Zealand before racing back through the Southern Ocean and around the famous Cape Horn, up through the Atlantic Ocean to the Brazilian city of Itajaí.

The route of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race

The teams will then race north to Newport, Rhode Island on America’s Eastern seaboard before pushing across the North Atlantic to Cardiff, Wales.

This will be the first time in 12 years that the race has stopped in Britain, the birthplace of the Whitbread Round the World Race, which later became the Volvo Ocean Race.

The penultimate leg takes teams around the top of the British Isles before at stopover in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The 2017-18 race will the end with a grand finale into The Hague, Netherlands.

Race CEO, Mark Turner said: “More action, more speed, more tough miles and more host venues, but a shorter race – it’s an evolution in the right direction and a move that takes the Race closer to its original roots and heritage, while improving its strong commercial value and excellent business case for sponsors.”

The Southern Ocean has played an huge role in the history of the race.

In the early years of The Whitbread, the fleet would head as deep into the Southern Ocean as possible, braving the icebergs and ferocious winds in order to shave as much distance off the route as they could.

The start of 2014/15 Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante. Credit: David Ramos/Volvo Ccean Race

In more recent editions, the boats have raced north through the Indian Ocean, towards the Middle East – and have only returned to the south and its more extreme weather for the shorter leg across to Cape Horn.

Incoming race director, Phil Lawrence, stressed safety is always a priority.

“Of course, safety remains paramount,” he said. “With state-of-the-art tracking systems and satellite communication, alongside access to in-depth route information, we can stay one step ahead of the conditions and limit the exposure of the sailors,” he noted.

Lawrence continued: “But ultimately, there will always be danger. Sailors know they put their lives on the line when they take on ‘the Everest’ of professional sailing.”

“That’s what the Volvo Ocean Race is all about – taking the toughest conditions that Mother Nature can throw at you, and overcoming them,” he concluded.

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Race organisers say a unique collaboration with the Hong Kong Sailing Federation will bring the event to the iconic Victoria Harbour. It will be the largest world-class sailing event ever staged in the port.

The world’s toughest offshore race will transform the old airport in Kai Tak – where a Race Village will offer activities for both sailing fans and those new to the sport.

The city will also host an In-Port Race, giving spectators the opportunity to sample the electric live atmosphere and grab a closer look at the 65-foot racing machines which make up the fleet.

Speaking at the announcement on 13 April, Hong Kong Sailing Federation Council Member, Anthony Day said: “Offshore yacht racing doesn’t get any more exciting or prestigious than the Volvo Ocean Race and this stopover will put Hong Kong firmly on the map as an international sailing venue.

“We look forward to welcoming the fleet to our waters and to introducing the skippers and crews to a generation of Hongkongers who, I hope, will be inspired to get out there and involved in the sport,” he concluded.

Acting CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, Antonio Bolaños López added: “I’m thrilled that the Race is visiting one of the most iconic and beautiful ports in the world for the first time.”

“We’re delighted to welcome Hong Kong to the Volvo Ocean Race family and know that we will have a stopover here, which will be one of the highlights of the 2017-18 edition. I’d like to pay a special tribute to the Hong Kong Sailing Federation and the Hong Kong government for making our dreams of bringing the race here a reality,” he stated.

Hong Kong brings the confirmed list of Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 stopovers so far to nine, alongside Alicante, Auckland, Cape Town, Cardiff, Newport (US), Lisbon, Gothenburg and The Hague.

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