The twelfth Volvo Ocean Race begins on 4 October. Seven teams will compete with the best ocean professionals to sail for the prestigious trophy for the first time on standardised Volvo Ocean 65 yachts.
Find out everything about the race in the big special here on YACHT online. We provide the most important facts, present the route, classification, the new boats and each individual team.
The rating
Two changes in the regulations will have a particular impact on the 12th Volvo Ocean Race: The change to a single class for the boats and the focus on the ocean stages for the classification.
This time, only the placings in the nine ocean stages will be counted towards victory, not those of the in-port races. Their results will be included in a separate classification and will only be taken into account if there is a tie at the end of the ocean stages.
In addition, the so-called low-point system will be used for the first time. This is used in most regattas, such as the Olympic Games, and is easier for spectators and fans to understand. The stage winner receives one point, the runner-up two, the third three and so on. At the end, the points per team are added up; the team with the fewest points is the winner.
In the end, the scoring was trickier, the in-port races were counted with a lower factor, the offshore stages with a higher one, and the number of boats also played a role. This was not easy for outsiders to understand.
There is a penalty point in the new classification for abandoned legs, and no result can be cancelled - every leg counts. This makes it all the more important to keep sailing at the front.
With the upgrading of ocean sailing, the in-port races are becoming less important. The short races in the coastal waters of the respective leg harbours primarily serve advertising purposes and offer sailing action for spectators and sponsors during the stopovers. These races have their own classification and a separate prize. The first of these in-port races starts on 4 October off Alicante.
The route
There are hardly any changes to the route. Apart from Newport, as a replacement for Miami, and the final harbour of Gothenburg instead of Galway, the stages remain unchanged. On the last leg, there will be a short 24-hour stopover in The Hague/Netherlands, a concession to the sponsors of Team Brunel. Only then will the race continue to Sweden, to Volvo's headquarters.
The first leg from Alicante to Cape Town begins on 11 October.
At 38,739 nautical miles, the total distance is around 500 miles less than the 2011/12 race, but the current race is still the second longest in the history of this competition. The queen stage is undoubtedly the leg from Auckland to Itajaí in Brazil, 6676 miles, a good part of which is through the notorious Southern Ocean.
It is still unclear what will happen on the second leg from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi. In the previous race, the yachts were loaded onto freighters and shipped part of the way due to the risk of piracy. Although pirate activity in the area has greatly diminished, the organisers reserve the right to carry out a similar manoeuvre.
From tomorrow, we will be presenting the individual teams of this Volvo Ocean Race. You will find the complete information pack on the race as an extra issue in YACHT 21/2014 on newsstands from Wednesday.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
