It will be a marathon of 39,000 tough nautical miles. Nine legs in nine months. In between, in-port regattas in every harbour, a bit of resting and a lot of repairing. Even in the age of extreme sports, the Volvo Ocean Race remains one of the toughest adventures humans have ever devised for each other. For many, chasing across the seas and around the world at top speeds of up to 40 knots on ludicrously wet and high-powered racing yachts borders on madness. The New Zealand sailing legend Grant Dalton called them "bulldozers of the oceans". Sounds brutal and is brutal.
But that's exactly why everyone is watching. And certainly not just once, because this adventure will remain in the headlines until next summer. Every now and then it takes a break so that the circus can be marvelled at and touched at close quarters and to boost sales of the sponsors' products, because this race offers not only sport, but also a lot of commerce. The race stops in Cape Town/South Africa, Abu Dhabi/UAE (first visit to the Middle East), Sanya/China, Auckland/New Zealand, Itajai/Brazil, Miami/USA, Lorient/France and, of course, at the finish, which is in Galway/Ireland.
Guided tour of the boats
The longest leg runs over 6,700 nautical miles from Auckland to Itajai, the shortest over 458 miles from Lorient to Galway, where the arrival is expected at the beginning of July next year. Leg 2 from South Africa to Abu Dhabi and leg 3 from there to China bring uncertainty because they pass through dangerous pirate areas. To minimise the risk, the boats will be transported through the danger zone before starting the race to the next port in safe waters. However, the organisers did not provide any details.
As with many other events, the number of starters in the Volvo Ocean Race has fallen drastically. Whereas there were 29 boats in the 1981/82 Whitbread Race, this time there are only six Teams with them. They are balanced and highly professional, because only very few sailors can still move these high-tech missiles at the limit. Those who do, however, are the undisputed champions of this show, which is why the spectacle is marketed around the clock by the media. A German is also involved again: Bowman Michael Müller from Kiel is sailing on the Puma/Mar Mostro, as he did in the last race.
His skipper, the American Ken Read, said in view of the weather forecast for today: "It looks like we're going to be battered to death on the way out of the Mediterranean." Soon after the start, there are supposed to be high waves and 25 knots of wind, which will shift to the west during the night. This means we have to tack, which is very wild, very wet and very exhausting on these boats.
After the loud and long drum roll, it's now time to clear the ring for the gladiators of the oceans and the first leg over 6,500 nautical miles to Cape Town. More on the Event page and about the Live stream (starts 15 minutes before the start), the YouTube channel and the apps for I-Phone and Android.
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