The Ocean Race (Redirected from Volvo Ocean Race)

The Ocean Race
Ocean Race Logo.png
FormerlyWhitbread Round the World Race (1973–2001), Volvo Ocean Race (2001–2019)
SponsorVolvo
PartnerInmarsat
First held1973
Yachts usedVolvo Ocean 65 IMOCA 60 (Since 2021)
Start2023: Alicante, Spain Spain
Finish2023: Genoa, Italy Italy
Competitors7
Legs10
Champion2018: Dongfeng Race Team
Websitewww.theoceanrace.com
Race participants in Baltimore Inner Harbor, 2006

The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean Race after Swedish automobile manufacturer Volvo took up the sponsorship, and in 2019 it was renamed The Ocean Race.

Though the route changes to accommodate various ports of call, the race typically departs Europe in October, and in recent editions has had either 9 or 10 legs, with in-port races at many of the stopover cities. The most recent race, the 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race started in Alicante, Spain, and concluded in The Hague, Netherlands, with stopovers in Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff, and Gothenburg.

Each of the entries has a sailing crew who race day and night for more than 20 days at a time on some of the legs. Since the 2008–2009 race there has also been a dedicated media crew member called the On Board Reporter (OBR), who does not contribute to the sailing of the boat, but is responsible for sending images and video to race headquarters via satellite from the middle of the ocean. In the 2017–2018 race, the number of crew ranged between 7 and 10 (plus the OBR) depending on the gender ratio, with the rules providing an incentive to having women sailors on board.

To minimize weight, crews overwhelmingly rely on freeze-dried fare for sustenance. Crews are also subjected to temperature variations from −5 to +40 degrees Celsius and will often only take one change of clothes.

History

In 1972 England's Whitbread company and the British Royal Naval Sailing Association agreed to sponsor a globe-circling regatta, which would be called the 'Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race'.

Volvo Ocean Race flag in Baltimore Inner Harbor, United States

17 yachts and 167 crew started the first race of 27,500 nmi (50,900 km), which began from Portsmouth, United Kingdom on 8 September 1973. Approximately 3000 spectator boats set out to witness the historic start. The first race was won by Mexican amateur Ramon Carlin in a Swan 65 yacht, Sayula II. Sayula II was followed by Adventure, Grand Louis and Kriter.

The original course was designed to follow the route of the square riggers, which had carried cargo around the world during the 19th Century.

From 2001 the ownership of the race was taken over by Volvo and Volvo Cars and the race was renamed the ‘Volvo Ocean Race’. Stopover ports were added in Germany, France, and Sweden being Volvo's three biggest car markets in Europe.[citation needed]

Winning the race does not attract a cash prize, as the feat of competing is presented as sufficient reward.

Many of the crew in the Volvo Ocean Race race crew other professional teams in other high-profile events, such as the Olympic Games, Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the America's Cup, or the Fastnet Race.

The worst weather conditions are usually encountered in the Southern Ocean where waves sometimes top 150 feet (46 m) and winds can reach 70 knots (130 km/h).[citation needed]

The 2017–18 race covered 45,000 nautical miles, which is the longest route in its history.

The yachts

Early races had a very wide range of boat types, but concerns after the 1989–1990 race led to the development of the Whitbread 60 single design. This was a reaction to increasing costs of the biggest, "maxi", boats, and their advantage over the rest of the field – Steinlager 2 won every leg in the maxi division and was the winner overall, with many of the smaller boats finishing legs more than ten days after the winner.

The Whitbread 60 design was used for all smaller boats in the 1993–1994 race, and for all in the 1997–1998 race. The race continued to be restricted to a single class for the next seven races – but moved to the Volvo Open 70, then the Volvo Ocean 65.

Two classes of boats will be used for the 2021–22 edition of the race: the Volvo Ocean 65 and the IMOCA 60, an advanced open class normally raced two-handed.

The route

Though the route changes to accommodate various ports of call, the race typically departs Europe in October, and in recent editions has had either 9 or 10 legs, with in-port races at many of the stopover cities. The 2008–09 race started in Alicante, Spain, on October 11, 2008. The route for the 2008–2009 race was altered from previous years to include stopovers in India and Asia for the first time. The 2008–09 route covered nearly 39,000 nmi (72,000 km), took over nine months to complete, and reached a cumulative TV audience of 2 billion people worldwide.

During the nine months of the 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race, which started in Alicante, Spain in October 2011 and concluded in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012, the teams were scheduled to sail over 39,000 nmi (72,000 km) of the world's most treacherous seas via Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, around Cape Horn to Itajaí, Miami, Lisbon, and Lorient.

As in the previous editions the 2014–15 Volvo Ocean Race started in Alicante, Spain on October 11. Destination was Gothenburg, Sweden, scheduled for June 2015, with stopovers in the ports of Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Lisbon, Lorient, and with a Pitstop at The Hague through the last leg.

List of races

Edition Class Legs In-Port Races Entries Start Finish Winning yacht Winning skipper
1973–74 32–80 ft (9.8–24.4 m) 4 0 17 United Kingdom Portsmouth United Kingdom Portsmouth Mexico Sayula II  Ramón Carlin (MEX)
1977–78 51–77 ft (16–23 m) 4 0 15 United Kingdom Portsmouth United Kingdom Portsmouth Netherlands Flyer  Conny van Rietschoten (NED)
1981–82 43–80 ft (13–24 m) 4 0 29 United Kingdom Portsmouth United Kingdom Portsmouth Netherlands Flyer II  Conny van Rietschoten (NED)
1985–86 49–83 ft (15–25 m) 4 0 15 United Kingdom Portsmouth United Kingdom Portsmouth France L'esprit d'équipe  Lionel Péan (FRA)
1989–90 51–84 ft (16–26 m) 6 0 23 United Kingdom Southampton United Kingdom Southampton New Zealand Steinlager 2  Sir Peter Blake (NZL)
1993–94 85 ft (26 m) ketchs 6 0 5 United Kingdom Southampton United Kingdom Southampton New Zealand NZ Endeavour  Grant Dalton (NZL)
Whitbread 60 10 Japan Yamaha  Ross Field (NZL)
1997–98 Whitbread 60 9 0 10 United Kingdom Southampton United Kingdom Southampton Sweden EF Language  Paul Cayard (USA)
2001–02 Whitbread 60 9 0 8 United Kingdom Southampton Germany Kiel Germany Illbruck Challenge  John Kostecki (USA)
2005–06 Volvo Open 70 9 7 7 Spain Vigo Sweden Gothenburg Netherlands ABN AMRO I  Mike Sanderson (NZL)
2008–09 Volvo Open 70 10 7 8 Spain Alicante Russia Saint Petersburg Sweden Ericsson 4  Torben Grael (BRA)
2011–12 Volvo Open 70 9 10 6 Spain Alicante Republic of Ireland Galway France Groupama 4  Franck Cammas (FRA)
2014–15 Volvo Ocean 65 9 10 7 Spain Alicante Sweden Gothenburg United Arab Emirates Azzam  Ian Walker (GBR)
2017–18 Volvo Ocean 65 10 12 7 Spain Alicante Netherlands The Hague China Dongfeng Race Team  Charles Caudrelier (FRA)
2023 IMOCA 60 7 7 5 Spain Alicante Italy Genoa
Volvo Ocean 65 6

Notable records

Horrevoets Trophy

In May 2009, The Ocean Race launched the Hans Horrevoets Rookie Award to recognize the outstanding under-30 sailor in each edition of the Race as nominated by the respective skippers.

Recipients:

  • 2008-09 - Michael "Michi" Mueller - Puma Ocean Racing.
  • 2011-12 - David "Dave" Swete - Team Sanya.
  • 2014-15 - Sophie Ciszek - Team SCA.
  • 2017-18 - Bleddyn Mon - Turn the Tide on Plastic.

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-01-31 04:34 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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