With a bang, the management of the Volvo Ocean Race has published two details about the upcoming 2014/2015 edition of the world regatta.
In addition to a new team, the first stop-over port of the race was also announced: After the start in Alicante, Spain, the fleet of the new Volvo One Design 65 one-design yachts will call at the Brazilian coastal city of Recife as their first stopover port.
The Brazilian province of Pernambuco will also enter a Brazilian team for the Volvo Ocean Race on the occasion of Recife's nomination. Recife has a population of 1.5 million and, as the capital of Pernambuco, is also an important economic centre for Brazil.
Presentation of the first Stop Over Port: Recife, Brazil
Everything new?
With Recife as the first leg finish, the opening leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2014/15 will be significantly shorter than in all previous editions. Traditionally, the first leg of the race has taken the participating yachts across the entire Atlantic - through the Kalmen to Cape Town, South Africa. The shots of the last edition of Telefonica in a storm against the imposing backdrop of Table Mountain are unforgettable. There will be no such pictures in 2014/15.
Little is known about Team Pernambuco, but there is one name in Brazilian yachting that is impossible to avoid: Torben Grael. The two-time gold medallist in the Star skippered the first Brazilian team "Brazil 1" in the 2005/06 edition of the VOR, before leading the Swedish "Ericsson 4" to victory in the following edition.
Team Pernambuco is already the second binding entry for the upcoming event after the women's team SCA. By switching to pre-produced one-design boats, the Volvo Ocean Race management is hoping for greater participation. Whether the target of eight teams can be achieved remains to be seen. In any case, the announcement of the Brazilian team gives hope.
Lady in Pink
Meanwhile, the campaign of the Swedish hygiene products manufacturer SCA is taking shape and colour: The team now has a proven training platform in the form of Puma's former "Mar Mostro", until the VOD 65 can be taken over. The new women's boat is already painted pink.
