So far, four boats have officially entered the 13th Volvo Ocean Race, which starts in October. More are to follow in the next six months. And the organisers are already announcing new builds for the 14th round the world. "The current boats(Ed.: Volvo Ocean 65 monohull) were conceived in 2011 and were designed to perform over two runs," said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Mark Turner. "We now need to turn our attention to future boats to maintain all options in terms of boat type and design." In future, only one shipyard, Persico in Italy, will be responsible.
French star designer Guillaume Verdier is to lead the new design project for the 14th edition of the most famous team race around the world. The exciting question of whether the race will continue on monohulls or multihulls will be answered in the coming weeks. The appointment of Verdier possibly points to more than one hull, as the quietly successful designer has been involved in a whole series of sensational large-scale multihull projects in recent years.
Verdier was also responsible for Gitana's maxi "Edmond de Rothschild", whose christening is planned for July, as well as for Team New Zealand's current catamarans in the America's Cup. However, the man and his team can also do monohulls: both the maxi yacht "Comanche" and the Imoca yachts "Hugo Boss" and "Banque Populaire VIII" were based on Verdier's ideas. Verdier said of his new role: "I think that sailors just want to have fun and are enthusiastic about a new way of sailing. For the Open 60, for example, we did something quite radical, but at the same time safe. That's also the key for the Volvo Ocean Race."
A press conference has been announced for 18 May in Gothenburg, at which the Volvo Ocean Race will officially undergo its "most radical change since its premiere in 1973". The announcement of the new boat types will be just one of several surprises.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
