The Race is now launching the search for a world class line-up of Onboard Reporters for the next edition of sailing’s premier offshore race, which will start in late 2014 and finish in mid-2015.

Volvo Ocean Race launched the search for a team of Onboard Reporters capable of taking a unique media programme to the next level in the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race.

We are looking for proven media story-tellers, people with the skills and determination to tell the real story of the race and its remarkable sailors via compelling video, audio, text and pictures captured on board in often ferocious conditions.

Typically, successful candidates will have track records as documentary film-makers, news reporters, ENG camera operators, photographers and producers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPjkfaubbmc

Apart from a broad skill-set and a willingness to learn new techniques and ways of working, you will need to be in good physical condition and possess the positive outlook needed to thrive while spending weeks on end at sea.

Experience of working in extreme environments will be a big advantage and language skills could make a difference too.

If selected for training you will be required to spend five weeks at the Volvo Ocean Race headquarters in Alicante, Spain. Those approved will then be matched up with one of the teams for the pre-Race period plus the event itself.

If you think you’ve got what it takes, please send a cover letter and resume to reporters@volvooceanrace.com

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

Articles about Legends Regatta.

Want to be on a Spectator Yacht? Just send us an Email.

Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

Source: http://volvooceanrace.com
Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

‘Sailing is also a conservative sport and we must dare to be radical to evolve’ – Knut Frostad, Photo: PEDRO FREITAS/Volvo Ocean Race

.

Q: Looking back on the last race in 2011-12, what pleased you most about the 11th edition?

Despite the current very difficult economic scenario in Europe, Volvo Ocean Race proved its solid, important place in the sporting world. We experienced the closest race in our history and showed that when you have the best offshore sailors in the world competing against each other, you’ll have an amazing contest.

Another key milestone was a giant step forward for the media content off the boats we saw in the 2011-12 event. At least four of the media crew members were at least as good as the best one in 2008-09 and we started seeing the true potential of what amazing content we can get from the boats in the future.

We took the Volvo Ocean Race to several new cities, and all of them were great success stories with fantastic local interest, great venues and strong support.

It’s so hard to pick out highlights because there were so many from our stopover ports.

Abu Dhabi lifted the standards for what a great race village can look like; Itajai had the strongest local enthusiasm and support with great footfall every day; Lisbon was impressive in every aspect and probably the best location you can find for a race like ours. And it was marvellous to be back in France with the strong interest for the sport we experienced in Lorient.

Finally, it was a pleasure to be back in Auckland – a city that can claim that the Volvo Ocean Race really belongs there.

Q: In mid-2012 you announced in Lorient the fundamental switch to a one-design boat model. Six months on, how confident are you that the Race made the right decision with this?

I knew this was a bold decision but from the moment we made it, the reactions and feedback I have had from exciting potential teams, the sailors and in particular the sponsors, have been 100% positive.

In fact the more we get into the project the more it makes sense. That said, the project is also complex and demanding on our organisation as we now have added a whole new dimension and area to our team. There is a lot more to it than what was obvious to us when we started.

No one has ever created a true one-design class in high performance offshore racing before and I know why. It is not easy and it is a huge undertaking both financially and in terms of resources to make it all happen on time while working to the smallest possible tolerances.

But we are on track to achieve a great result and I can’t wait to see the first boat out of the yard in the end of June 2013.

Q: What are the other key advancements that you would like to see in the Race for the next edition?

Apart from growing the fleet slightly, the biggest change must come in television and online video. There is so much untapped potential there and so much to tell – we have worked hard on this and will work even harder next race. To bring the race and its sailors to a wider audience in a compelling way. I think we can make a giant step next time – giant!

Another area is getting more and some new nations involved – in particular I am hopeful of seeing a South American team again. That also has an impact on what further we can build the race to become.

Q: What do you see as the key challenges for the Volvo Ocean Race and sailing in general as you enter 2013?

To me the biggest challenge is the enormous amount of various sports and entertainment events filling all the multimedia channels. You have to be good today to win the fans’ attention – bloody good.

Sailing is a beautiful sport, it is dramatic, it is a something so unique and different that I’m confident there is a good place for it going forward. That said, it is also a conservative sport and we must dare to be radical to evolve. It’s not enough today to compare yourself to any other sport. You really need to study what people do watch on their iPads or on their TVs and ask yourself what you need to bring yourselves to the fore.

If sailing can make one big change in 2013 it would be to start working on how to tell its stories better for the fans watching.

Q: If you could have one New Year’s wish come true what would it be?

A great fleet in the Volvo Ocean Race with eight teams signed up by the end of the year coming from all corners of the world. The sooner the better!

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

Articles about Legends Regatta.

Want to be on a Spectator Yacht? Just send us an Email.

Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

Source: http://volvooceanrace.com
Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

After a word from project manager James Dadd in Alicante, our first stop is at Persico, where a five-axis milling machine is shaping the plug and mould before before work starts on the hull of the state-of-the-art 65-foot yacht.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vunDNb_6B68

Next, we see more of the deck layout session in Multiplast, France, where Volvo Ocean Race veterans and engineers give their impressions after a week working with a full-scale mock-up.

In future updates, we’ll visit the Farr Yacht Design office and the two other boatyards involved in the one-design project, Decision in Switzerland and Green Marine in England.

– Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad made the announcement about the shift to the stunning new one-design at a presentation in Lorient, France in June, towards the end of the 2011-12 edition – the closest and most successful race in the history of an event that dates back to 1973.

– The one-design will mean a significant cost saving as well as greater reliability. The fleet will share spare masts, rigging and other resources, helping to reduce the cost of mounting a competitive campaign by a third.

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

Articles about Legends Regatta.

Want to be on a Spectator Yacht? Just send us an Email.

Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

Source: http://volvooceanrace.com
Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

Ken Read’s team found themselves battling for the golf course record at the world’s most remote human settlement after a dismasting on leg 1 forced them to limp in to Tristan da Cunha.

It was a devastating blow, yet the team showed remarkable character to get back into the race with back-to-back offshore leg victories and give the eventual winners a bit of a fright.

Here a recap of what was an extraordinary campaign from Read’s time, one documented memorably by MCM Amory Ross.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScDpSjhY35Q

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

Articles about Legends Regatta.

Want to be on a Spectator Yacht? Just send us an Email.

Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

Source: http://volvooceanrace.com
Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N_ZUY8hGB8

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

Articles about Legends Regatta.

Want to be on a Spectator Yacht? Just send us an Email.

Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

Source: http://volvooceanrace.com
Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

For the first time in the race’s 39-year-history four boats were still in with a realistic chance of winning with a matter of days remaining. The high-tech third generation Volvo Open 70s made offshore racing appear like match racing and time and again thousands of miles of ocean racing came down to minutes and seconds at the finish line.

The sailors pushed themselves and their yachts to the absolute brink, breaking bones, boats and records, while taking on hurricane force winds, mountainous seas and extreme temperatures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wYZrZ-37YM

Groupama sailing team claimed an overall victory in their maiden appearance in the world’s longest and toughest sporting event. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand fought back to finish second and PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG rounded out the podium in third.

Team Telefónica enjoyed months at the head of the leaderboard thanks to victories in the opening three legs only for the crack of a second rudder breaking to sound the end of their chances on Leg 8 from Lisbon, Portugal to Lorient, France.

On the Leg 9 race to the finish at Galway, the podium places remained up for grabs, with PUMA, CAMPER and Telefónica all in with a shot.

Tensions mounted to fever pitch as the compressed fleet rounded Fastnet Rock with barely a moment to take in the iconic sailing landmark, but soon the finish order became clear.

“It’s a very happy moment for us and for all the team,” 39-year-old skipper Franck Cammas said to the roars of tens of thousands of fans who came out to welcome Groupama in Galway. “I didn’t think we could win. This is my dream.”

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing placed fifth overall after winning three in-port races and one offshore leg and Team Sanya, the only second generation Volvo Open 70, rounded out the fleet in sixth place.

PUMA skipper Ken Read reflected on the accomplishment of finishing the Volvo Ocean Race.

“As athletes in a high-profile sport like this we cherish the opportunity to race against the best and that’s what we’ve all done here for nine months,’’ he said. “There’s always a winner, there’s always a loser, but at the same time there’s the accomplishment of actually finishing this race.”

Here’s how it all panned out:

Leg 1 – 6,500 nautical miles from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa

The opening leg of the epic ocean marathon was a test of resolve on water and a logistical nightmare on shore. In the first 24 hours Sanya and Abu Dhabi were forced out with hull damage and a broken mast respectively. PUMA had to retire later as well, having broken their mast and being forced to take refuge on the world’s smallest inhabited island group at Tristan da Cunha. Telefónica surged to victory, followed by CAMPER and Groupama sailing team.

Leg 2 – 5,430 nautical miles from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi

Expect the unexpected was the catch phrase of the second leg, which was split into two by race management to counter the threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean. Telefónica won the first stage by just 57 seconds over CAMPER. In a devastating blow, Sanya were again forced to retire this time taking haven at Madagascar with rigging damage. The yachts were loaded onto a ship and transported from a secret location to the second start at Sharjah. Despite the scare of discovering a gash in their hull, Groupama raced through to victory in Stage 2, overhauling Telefónica with 10 miles to go.

Leg 3 – 4,600 nautical miles from Abu Dhabi to Sanya, China

Telefónica again claimed victory, but nothing else about Leg 3 was run of the mill. Again the leg was split in two and the boats loaded onto a container ship. Abu Dhabi snatched an unexpected victory within hundreds of metres of the first stage finish; despite Telefónica leading from the get go. Stage 2 saw the lead change several times as the fleet raced in the treacherous South China Sea. Telefónica busted their vital code zero sail, PUMA damaged their daggerboard after a collision with a tree trunk and CAMPER’s Aussie skipper Chris Nicholson marked Australia Day by claiming the lead. But, Telefónica surged back to win, followed by Groupama, CAMPER, PUMA, Abu Dhabi and Team Sanya.

Leg 4 – 5,220 nautical miles from Sanya to Auckland, New Zealand

After race management delayed the start because of a threatening storm, the fleet got underway in a bruising race that saw Groupama claim their first leg win. The fleet took a dramatic split with Telefónica, CAMPER and Sanya choosing to go west through the Solomon Islands, but it wasn’t enough. Despite damaging their bow and taking on hundreds of litres of seawater, which prompted the famous quote from Media Crew Member Yann Riou, “If we don’t sink, we win”, the French team cruised to victory. It was a dream finish into Auckland for the team’s Kiwi bowman Brad Marsh. PUMA finished second, followed by Telefónica, CAMPER, Abu Dhabi and Team Sanya.

Leg 5 – 6,705 nautical miles from Auckland to Itajaí, South America

The Southern Ocean leg lived up to expectations, forcing all except one of the six boats to stop for repairs – or worse – in the race for survival. Team Sanya were forced to retire with rudder damage in the opening 24 hours, having to ship their yacht to Savannah for repairs before rejoining the fleet in Miami. Abu Dhabi were also forced to return to port with a damaged hull, but returned to racing. Meanwhile the fleet endured well in excess of 60-knot winds, but worse still was the sea state, which resulted in one of the greatest attrition rates in the history of the race. Teams were forced to throttle back as the reality of the situation set in. Abu Dhabi and CAMPER were both forced to Puerto Montt in Chile to rendezvous with shore crew for repairs, and Telefónica stopped at Cabo de Hornos National Park to repair their damage and unload injured bowman Antonio Cuervas-Mons. PUMA and Groupama continued unscathed, until Groupama devastatingly broke their mast and were forced to stop at Punta del Este to set up a jury rig. Meanwhile, in in what threatened to be one of the greatest ever comebacks, Telefónica surged back to contention, but it wasn’t enough to topple PUMA who claimed their first leg win. Telefónica were second, followed by Groupama and CAMPER. Abu Dhabi shipped to Itajaí.

Leg 6 – 4,800 nautical miles from Itajaí to Miami, USA

PUMA claimed back-to-back leg wins, racing to a dream hometown victory in Miami. From fast reaching, to frustrating lulls, the climb up the coast of South America packed it all. CAMPER finished second, Groupama third and Telefónica fourth, creating a “mirror-image” on water of the overall leaderboard that resulted in just 17 points separating the top four teams overall. Abu Dhabi finished fifth, while Sanya continued en route via ship to Savannah for repairs.

Leg 7 – 3,590 nautical miles from Miami to Lisbon, Portugal

Alberto, the first tropical storm of the 2012 hurricane season, had everyone talking. The opening night was brutal, but the fleet survived to punch into the North Atlantic sleigh ride in an easterly moving depression. But it was Abu Dhabi who played the mix-and-match weather best to race to their first leg victory, although Groupama threatened to upset them at the end, closing to within one mile in the Tagus River. Groupama finished second and jumped into the overall lead. PUMA took third, Telefónica fourth, CAMPER fifth and Sanya sixth. With the top four teams split by just 21 points, the stage was set for the closest Volvo Ocean Race finish in its 39-year history.

Leg 8 – 1,940 nautical miles from Lisbon to Lorient, France

It was short, but far from sweet. From drifting in the Azores to racing into the eye of a storm, where record-breaking speeds and heartbreaking boat damage resulted, the shortest leg of the race yet didn’t fall short of drama. The peak of the action came when the teams reached top speeds in the North Atlantic, where CAMPER notched 565.84 nautical miles to set the race record 24-hour distance. As the fleet balanced risk versus reward in a massive storm, Telefónica suffered a heartbreaking fate, breaking both their rudders and limping to the finish knowing full well their chance of an overall race victory were shattered. Meanwhile, Groupama raced to a dream home victory, followed by CAMPER, PUMA, Abu Dhabi, Telefónica and Sanya.

Leg 9 – 550 nautical miles from Lorient to Galway, Ireland

The final leg was more a long in-port sprint than a short offshore race. Sleep was unthinkable as everything was left to play for. CAMPER were penalised early for an incident on the start line, but fought back with just six minutes separating PUMA, Telefónica, Groupama and CAMPER around Fastnet Rock. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi suffered keel problems that slowed the black boat to about 90 per cent and Sanya struggled to keep up in their second hand boat. As the breeze off the Irish coast eased, tensions mounted, and CAMPER edged into the lead with 10 miles remaining to claim their first offshore win. Groupama finished second, securing overall victory, PUMA finished third, Telefónica fourth, Sanya fifth and Abu Dhabi sixth. With just the Discover Ireland In-Port Race left to sail Groupama were confirmed as overall race winners, with CAMPER needing only to finish the in-port to secure second place, ahead of third placed PUMA.

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

Articles about Legends Regatta.

Want to be on a Spectator Yacht? Just send us an Email.

Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

Source: http://volvooceanrace.com
Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

Just click on the video to watch the full 29-minute recap of the grand finale of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IAYtEhGrzg

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

Articles about Legends Regatta.

Want to be on a Spectator Yacht? Just send us an Email.

Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

Source: http://volvooceanrace.com
Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

The Prince, a keen and talented sailor in his own right, presented the coveted trophy to Groupama skipper Franck Cammas at the end-of-Race gala dinner before 1400 guests.

Olof Persson, CEO and President of Volvo Group and Stefan Jacoby, CEO and President of Volvo Car Corporation, Knut Frostad, CEO Volvo Ocean Race, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Jacqui Smith, Project Coordinator Keep the Oceans Clean!, Skeleton Sea artist Joao Parrinha, in the Volvo Ocean Race village in Galway, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. - PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race

He was up early the following morning to be given a personal tour of the Race’s Keep the Oceans Clean! exhibition dome by project leader Jacqui Smith and Skeleton Sea sculptor João Parrinha who have travelled around the world with the event making art from rubbish found on host port beaches.

The Prince was still full of excitement about the Race just completed when he gave an exclusive interview to volvooceanrace.com.

“We were talking yesterday about the In-Port Race Series being just one point difference. So close. It’s been a great race,” he said.

“I am a big admirer (of the sailors). I think they are incredible, strong, great lads. To do this work for nine months is amazing. I don’t think a lot of people could do what they are out there doing.”

Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, about to present Groupama Sailing Team, skippered by Franck Cammas from France, with the award for first place for the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, at the Prize Giving Ceremony in Galway, Ireland., during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. - IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race

So would the 33-year-old Patron of the Volvo Ocean Race actually fancy taking part in the nine-month marathon event himself given his love of the sport?

“I have been with the boats during the in-port race and that’s good enough,” he laughed. “But for the whole race? No, I leave that to the professionals. They know exactly what they are doing and they do it so well.”

He went on to pay tribute to the Race’s environmental initiative with Skeleton Sea, a campaign which was launched by three surfers including Parrinha after they decided to do something about the trash they constantly found pursuing the sport they loved.

“It’s an amazing project together with Skeleton Sea. But it’s actually quite scary to see how much garbage is out there – but then to see what art they can make out of this ocean garbage. It’s been a really good project.

“If you look at the Keep the Oceans Clean movie about the albatross, for example, you see how they find a lot of garbage when they dissect the dead albatross.

“But it’s not just birds but tuna, fish. Garbage affects the ocean, the animals, the fish and of course, us, as well. So it’s critical that we all take steps to cut back and reduce ocean pollution.”

The Prince was accompanied on the visit by Stefan Jacoby, CEO and President of Volvo Cars, Olof Persson, CEO and President of Volvo Group, and Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Knut Frostad.

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

Articles about Legends Regatta.

Want to be on a Spectator Yacht? Just send us an Email.

Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

Source: http://volvooceanrace.com
Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

Ken Read’s team scored a commanding first place in the Discover Ireland In-Port Race, their ninth podium finish of the 10-race inshore series and a first victory.

PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race

An electrifying scrap for second between CAMPER and Groupama saw the two teams virtually inseparable right to the end of the 8.2-nautical mile course with Chris Nicholson’s team stealing the runners-up prize on the day, and in the series as a whole.

A last-minute comeback from Telefónica saw them steal the final podium position from Groupama on Saturday, but fourth was enough to give the French team third overall in the inshore series.

Ireland In-Port Race Highlight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4eEZlWEhRU

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing finished fifth ahead of Team Sanya.

“It tastes very sweet,” said PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG skipper Ken Read who punched the air in delight as he steered Mar Mostro over the finish line.

“To race against the best sailors in the world and come out on top is all we can ask for.”

A third place in the inshore series rounded off a fantastic Volvo Ocean Race debut for Franck Cammas’ crew on Groupama 4, cementing their reputation as one of the slickest teams in the race in whether racing offshore or around a short course.

“For sure it is a big dream – it’s a great feeling for everyone,” Cammas said ahead of a special prize-giving which will see him hold up the newly designed Volvo Ocean Race Trophy. “We did not expect it so it’s a big surprise, but it’s a good one.

“I think the secret was that we were outsiders at the beginning and we were forced to learn all the time. We had to learn to race against the best crews in the world and eventually it got easier. We made mistakes at the start but all the time we tried to get better, right until the finish in Galway.”

The thousands of spectators who turned out in force to watch the grand finale were treated to a thrilling start, with CAMPER and Abu Dhabi leading through the downwind line as the fleet split towards the first mark in 12 to 16 knots from the north north-west.

Both teams picked the right-hand side along with Telefónica, but it was the boats in the other group – PUMA and overall race winners Groupama sailing team – who led round the first mark.

A penalty for obstructing Sanya saw Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing crew relegated to sixth, as PUMA, Groupama and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand fought it out at the head of the fleet.

By the fourth mark the PUMA crew had eked out a 26-second lead, challenging Groupama and CAMPER to pull out something special to catch them.

Meanwhile Sanya and Telefónica locked horns in pursuit of fourth while Abu Dhabi tried to reduce the huge deficit caused by their penalty.

Driven to score their first in-port win, there was no stopping PUMA as a flawless performance saw them extended their lead, holding on to take the win around the 8.2 nautical mile course by one minute and 19 seconds and secure the overall in-port title.

CAMPER’s second in the inshore series rounded off a successful Volvo Ocean Race campaign which also saw them take second in the overall rankings.

“This race is the easiest race in the world to lose,” said skipper Nicholson, “so to be runner up when we’ve had quite a few troubles on the way is great. We’ve shown a lot of character along the way.”

The 2011-12 edition was always tipped to be the closest edition in 39 years of the event and it didn’t disappoint.

Groupama, the first French team to compete since Eric Tabarly’s La Poste crew in 1993-94, finally secured victory with a second-place finish in Leg 9 from Lorient to Galway.

Telefónica, led by Spanish Olympic gold medallist Iker Martínez, won the first three legs but a string of disappointing results saw them finish in fourth overall.

The next edition of the race will start in 2014 and will be raced in 65ft one-design boats from Farr Yacht Design.

Results of Discover Ireland In-Port Race, Galway:

1. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG 53 minutes 12 seconds
2. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand + 1:19
3. Team Telefónica: + 1:56
4. Groupama sailing team: + 2:29
5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing: +4:00
6. Team Sanya: +4:32

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

Articles about Legends Regatta.

Want to be on a Spectator Yacht? Just send us an Email.

Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

Source: http://volvooceanrace.com
Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

The Discover Ireland In-Port Race marks the end of the current edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, an epic round-the-world marathon comprising nine offshore legs covering more than 39,000 nautical miles and 10 close-combat inshore races.

The Discover Ireland In-Port Race, the final scoring opportunity of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, will start at 1200 UTC (1300 local time) on Saturday.
The race will be streamed live at www.livestream.com/volvooceanrace.

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand lead the fleet, with spinnakers flying, in the Bretagne In-Port Race, in Lorient, France, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. - PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race

French team Groupama secured overall victory at the end of Leg 9 from Lorient, France, to Galway in Ireland, but the fight for the In-Port Series Trophy will go down to the wire with the top four teams split by just four points.

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand currently top the table with 39 points, tied with PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG.

Groupama sailing team are just one point behind on 38 while Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are four points behind the leaders, still with an outside chance of victory.

“A win would be huge for us,” said CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson, whose team are virtually assured of second place overall.

“It’s business as usual with the final race on the line,” he added. “I don’t see why we should change anything at the moment — we’ve had good momentum and a good feeling in the programme for the past two months and to do any change to that now would be dangerous.”

Equally fired up are PUMA, who have yet to win an in-port race.

“You always go out to win a race,” skipper Ken Read said. “If you had a running race down the dock here I would try to beat you, us skippers are so competitive.”

After an emphatic victory on their debut in the Volvo Ocean Race, Groupama will be looking to do the double by snatching the in-port series too.

“We are now in a position to be in front of the inshore leaderboard, so we’ll try to keep the chance alive as long as possible and fight for that,” skipper Franck Cammas said.

“The overall result is most important, and we are very happy to win that. The In-Port is not as crucial, but for sure on Saturday we will try to finish the racing as successful as possible.”

Along with Groupama, Ian Walker’s Abu Dhabi crew have notched up the most in-port wins with three victories each over the series.

Walker, a double Olympic silver medallist, and his crew have proven dangerous around the short inshore courses, especially in light winds — and the British skipper said he intends to go out on a high.

“This is the last part of the race and we want to leave in the right way and with a good result,” Walker said.

“In the overall points it’s pretty hard because there are so many boats up there and so many things have to happen. You certainly can’t control it, you just have to try and have a good race. It is no coincidence that we’ve won the three lightest wind in-port races because those are the conditions where our boat is OK. If we want one thing it’s nice, light, shifty, difficult racing.”

Inconsistency has seen Telefónica’s hopes of winning the inshore series fade, but skipper Iker Martinez said his team would give their all in the final race of the event.

“This Saturday will be special,” he said. “We will try and do a good race. We pushed very, very hard to win this race, and we all know this didn’t happen, but we hope to have a good inshore and have a good farewell to the guys.”

Although out of contention for the in-port race series title, Team Sanya are still hunting their first podium finish of the 2011-12 race.

The only team racing a second-hand yacht, Sanya have struggled to match the pace of their new generation rivals — but skipper Mike Sanderson said the race in Galway, the team’s second home, could be their moment to shine.

“They talk about the luck of the Irish, and we have the Irish flag flying on the back of the boat and Discover Ireland have been a partner of ours for the whole race so let’s hope Galway Bay can turn that on for us,” he said.

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

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Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

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Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

From fishing to trade, sailing and leisure, the sea symbolised everything that had made Galway what it is today, President Higgins said.

President Michael D. Higgins, accompanied by his wife Sabina, welcomes the Volvo Ocean Race skippers, crews and their families to the Volvo Ocean Race village in Galway, Ireland. - PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race

It was also the reason why thousands of locals endured an unseasonably chilly summer’s night to stand in the drizzling rain and welcome the skippers and their crews across the final offshore finish line of the epic 39,270-nautical mile ocean race, he said.

“About 10,000 people came out in the middle of the night to welcome the fleet on the very first occasion three years ago, and this time, people were asking if they’d do it again, and they did,’’ the President said.

“They came out in almost twice that number in the middle of the night again. There is a great connection with Galway and the sea.”

The President officially welcomed the skippers and the crew to Ireland on Tuesday night at the race village in front of tens of thousands of fans.

He said it was wonderful to see that the love affair wasn’t one-sided, that the sailors loved Galway as much as Galway loved them.

“The skippers and sailors said Galway was their favorite stop,’’ he said. “For someone who was mayor of Galway twice and President of Ireland I’m very pleased that people are having such a good experience.”

Presidential visit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD767iQqxZo

It is the second time the Volvo Ocean Race has visited Galway, having stopped in the city during the 10th edition of the Race in 2009.

Race planners were taken by surprise when tens of thousands turned out to create one of the greatest welcomes of the race to date, creating lasting memories for locals and sailors alike.

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

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Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

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Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

While CAMPER were celebrating victory in the ninth and final leg, Groupama skipper Franck Cammas led his team home in second place to take an unassailable 24-point lead with just one in-port race to go.

Groupama Sailing Team, skipper Franck Cammas from France, celebrates winning the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, after taking second place on leg 9, from Lorient, France to Galway, Ireland. - IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race

Groupama crossed the finish line at 00:49:11 UTC, just seven minutes behind CAMPER. PUMA finished in third place at 00:55:01 UTC ahead of Team Telefónica, who finished at 00:59:33 UTC.

Team Sanya crossed the finish line in fifth place at 03:14:27 UTC ahead of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, crossing the line in sixth at 03:23:29 UTC.

“It’s a very happy moment for us and for all the team,” Cammas said to the roars of tens of thousands of fans who came out to welcome the team — including Irishman Damian Foxall — to the Glaway finish. “I didn’t think we could win. This is my dream.”

Cammas, the 39-year-old Frenchman, threw his arms up and pumped his fists in the air while fans gathered on the dock of Galway Bay.

Groupama are the first team to represent France in the Volvo Ocean Race since Eric Tabarly’s La Poste in 1993-94 and they are only the second French winners after Lionel Péan on L’Espirit d’Equipe in 1985-86.

The team gallantly fought back from a deficit that was as high as 28 points following the HaiTang Bay In-Port Race in Sanya, winning the next leg to Auckland and steadily improving their knowledge of their boat and cohesion as a team to surge to a commanding lead going into Leg 9.

With the sort of nerve that quickly became their trademark in the race, Groupama stayed serenely out of trouble on the 550-nautical mile race through wild conditions in the English Channel and around the iconic Fastnet Rock, to finish second across the line and seal their place among an elite band of winners in an event that began life as the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973.

CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand led the procession across the finish line much to the delight of surrounding flotilla of spectators, at 00:42:13 UTC — their first leg win of the race.

CAMPER are almost certain to secure second place with 226 points, six points clear of third place PUMA, with just the final in-port race remaining.

Six points will be up for grabs for first place, five for second, four for third and so on when the final race of the epic 39,000 nautical mile ocean race starts on July 7.

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

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Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

The sailing savvy local race fans cheered loudly as the six teams paraded down to their boats before leaving the dock one by one, to meet a contingent of dignitaries including Norbert Metairie, Mayor of Lorient, and his Galway counterpart Terry O’Flaherty.

Norbert Metairie, President of Lorient Agglomeration and Mayor of Lorient and Mayor of Galway, Terry O'Flaherty handover flags, at the start of leg 9 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Lorient, France to Galway, Ireland. - PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race

Local priest Père Michel le Bouar blessed the fleet before they left to their individual theme tunes.

Contributing to the unique pontoon party atmosphere was a local Celtic pipe band joined for the ceremony by a lone Irish piper.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest cheer was reserved for the final team to depart, Lorient’s local heroes Groupama, who now lead the race by 25 points overall after a spectacular win yesterday in the Bretagne In-Port Race.

The six boat fleet are expected to complete the 550 nautical mile leg in less than two days, arriving in Galway between 0100 UTC and 0500 UTC on Tuesday.

PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race

The team of roving reporters were dockside in Lorient to catch the parting words of the Volvo Ocean Race crews as they head out to start Leg 9, the final stage of the round the world race.

Franck Cammas, skipper, Groupama:

“I think if we finish fourth it’s enough, so we just need to keep that in mind. This night could be very hard – wind is coming, 25-30 knots, with a lot of danger around us with cargo ships, islands, current. There will be some hard hours for everyone. For us it’s about sailing simply and not taking too much risk during the night. Then for the finish it will be a little bit lighter, and we have to be fast on this part after Fastnet Rock.

“The conditions are not so bad for our boat for sure, but the routing is very easy, it’s almost straight, and in these conditions all the boats are very fast. If we have one issue on our boat we could lose a lot of miles so it’s a little bit stressful in these conditions! We prefer high speeds on Groupama 4 so I’m happy with that.”

Ken Read, skipper, PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG:

“Everyone’s shaken off. We had a team meeting this morning and you wouldn’t even know there was a race yesterday. Here we go again.

“[In the next leg] we have an idea to send one or two people down once in a while to get some rest but apart from that it will be full hiking all the time. It’ll be a tight reaching drag race. If you were to draw it on paper it fits – it goes right into the wheelhouse of Groupama. I guess they’re licking their chops over there thinking this couldn’t have been any better, but it’s up to us to try to upset the card a little bit. We’ll see.

“In a leg of this length there probably won’t be too much stretching out, maybe two or three miles. In essence it’s a rhumb-line race — I’d be very surprised if teams separate out laterally across the race course.

“I wouldn’t say it’s emotional now but it will be when we finish the race. Everything you do this morning is like ‘wow, I may never do this again’. It’s been a great team, a great group of people. I’m really proud of this team, win, lose or draw.”

Tony Rae, helmsman, CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand:

“I guess everyone will be treating this leg like an in-port race — we’re going to have to get some rest somehow but only a few people and a few hours, maybe 10 mins at a time. This is a sprint leg, it’s going to be all on.

“We always treat the start as really important, I mean you never know what it can turn into after that, it makes it very easy if you can get off the line well and be first round the first mark and get away. There won’t be too much chance of separating from the rest of the fleet. There will be small gains and losses with the corners, obviously we’ve got this 400 mile reach from the island down here to the fastnet and then we’ve got the corners, then we reach Galway Bay. All this can change placings pretty radically.

“Really looking forward to getting to Galway – this race is coming to an end so quickly. Can’t wait to have a Guinness.”

Richard Mason, watch captain, Team Sanya:

“It’s always important to get off the start line first as gives you a chance to get clear and stretch your legs. Groupama will be looking to get off without doing anything stupid. Those boys have so much pace that if they keep their noses clean; with this forecast — which is a lot of reaching across the remainder of bay of biscay, and then the Fastnet, the Irish Sea, these guys are just going to go — they’ll be off.

“We’ll just try to make a good clean start and we’ll try to minimise the damage doing the reaching.

“Looks like a VMG run, which means dead down win, lighter run, as we get towards Galway which may give us a few opportunities so we’ll be looking to try to stay as close as possible to the other boats and see if we have a go towards the end there.

“We try our guts out every time we put the boat on the race track. If we make one mistake it gets compounded as we are significantly slower than the other boats. We need to sail a perfect race to get on the podium and we’ll be doing everything we can. We’re determined to get the boat up there and we’ll have a damn good go at it.

“It’s going to be great. the reception we had at Galway in the previous race was absolutely awesome to say the leaast. We’re looking forward to a bit of the Irish ‘craic’ — the ‘slainte’.”

Pepe Ribes, watch captain, Team Telefónica:

“It’s going to be a very short leg, between 36 and 40 hours and quite windy all the way. It’s starting here with 15 knots and tonight we’re going to have to reach in 25/30. Arriving to the Fastnet it will be dropping a bit and then another low is coming and we will be going downwind until the bay of Galway with 25 knots so… it’s going to be fast and quite exciting.

“The next leg will be a misx of inshore and offshore. I think maybe we are going to be all on deck for the first 24 hours, maybe you loose the race in the last 8 hours so you ahve to be clever and rest when you can.

“Normally at the beginning of the leg we are going to be off watches and then tonight we are going to be very busy with the front coming and maybe we can have a rest coming to the Fastnet and later depending on how long is left in the race I think everyone is going to be on deck all the time.”

Justin Slattery, bowman, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing:

“It’s going to be an exciting little leg. It’s going to be pretty breezy tonight, a fast trip up, and then probably a complete mess in Galway Bay. You could wake up on Tuesday morning to find six Volvo Open 70s floating around with not much wind. We’ll see how it goes – hopefully we’ll be in good shape by then and fighting all the way to the finish.

“It’ll be great going back to Ireland. My father is already there in town and all my family are travelling there today. It’s going to be fantastic to get there and see everyone. I believe the race village is going off already too so it should be great.”

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

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The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

Overall race leaders Groupama sailing team take a 23 point margin and home town advantage into today’s 60 minute inshore race but are nevertheless keen to secure maximum points ahead of tomorrows Leg 9 start to Galway.

PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race

Second placed PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG are also gunning for victory to claw back points from the French team and fend off a dual challenge from third and fourth placed CAMPER and Telefónica whose scores are tied, five points back.

Today’s race could also impact the overall in-port race series results where PUMA top the leaderboard on 35 points, with CAMPER and Abu Dhabi snapping at their heels in second and third on 34 points and 33 points respectively.

Groupama are fourth in the in-port series on 32 points.

The Bretagne In-Port Race starts at 1302 local time (1102 UTC) with live video and still images on the Volvo Ocean Race Livestream channel.

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

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Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

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Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

Hooper received the award for his outstanding overall multimedia output during a stormy Leg 8 and in particular some breath taking footage of skipper Chris Nicholson being washed from the wheel by a wall of water.

VG-Jean-Noël Thénault, Regional MD Volvo Truck France VG, presents Groupama Sailing Team, skippered by Franck Cammas from France, with the award for 1st place for leg 8 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, at the Prize Giving Ceremony in Lorient, France. - IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race

The judges noted two outstanding pieces of recent video from Hooper, who clocked up enormous numbers of YouTube views with footage of Chuny Bermúdez dodging a whale and skipper Chris Nicholson being washed off the wheel.

Hooper, who had previously won two MCM leg awards, saw off competition from fellow nominees Groupama sailing team’s Yann Riou and PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG’s Amory Ross to claim the Leg 8 acolade.

Sanya´s technical shore crewmanager Nick Bice received the DHL Shore Crew Award from Jean-Claude Delen, CEO for Benelux & France, DHL Global Forwarding, for the outstanding work the small shore crew did in Lorient.

Groupama´s Marsh took the Abu Dhabi Seamanship Award after being nominated for climbing the mast three times to effect repairs in wild and windy conditions, acts that effective won the leg for the French team.

It was another double celebration for CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand,who went into the night knowing they had already won the IWC Schaffhausen Trophy for Leg 8 from Lisbon to Lorient thanks to their 24-hour run.

Franck Cammas’ Groupama sailing team took to the stage to be crowned winners of Leg 8, a home town victory which had drawn large crowds to watch their heroes arrive.

Groupama received the Leg 8 trophy from Jean-Noël Thénault, Regional MD Volvo Truck France.

Chris Nicholson’s CAMPER with Emirates team New Zealand were awarded the trophy for second place by Pascal Bellemans, President of Volvo Car Corporation, France.

Norbert Metairie, mayor of Lorient, presented Ken Read’s PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG with their third place prize.

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

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The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

© GILLES MARTIN-RAGET / ACEA

Spithill’s ORACLE TEAM USA is in pole position with a narrow four-point advantage entering the regatta. But with 10 points available to the winner of each discipline here – match racing and fleet racing – that lead can disappear quickly.

This is why we’re in the World Series, to be in regatta pressure and put ourselves on the line,” said Spithill. “I’d rather go in to the final event four points clear than the other way, but it’s extremely close. The best thing is it will be decided on the water, and it will be decided on Sunday.”

“Absolutely,” Barker answered when asked if winning was the goal for his team. “We still think we have a very good chance. We need to put together a good result in the Match Racing Championship which will set up the opportunity to take the overall title. Then it comes down to how well we fleet race. I think we have as good a chance as anyone.”

Meet the Skippers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQiKEqf7rkE

Artemis Racing could easily have made this a three-team fight for the overall title, were it not for the fleet racing. The Swedish challenger is on top of the match race standings for the season, but sits in fourth place in fleet racing, something skipper Terry Hutchinson attributes to inconsistent starts:

“It really doesn’t come down to anything but I haven’t started the boat well throughout the series,” explained Hutchinson. “It’s been a bit of an Achilles’ heel for us and it’s on me to make it better.”

Championship Racing in the AC World Series Newport is from June 28 to July 1 with the grand finale on Sunday to be broadcast live on NBC across the United States beginning at 1430 EDT. All four days of racing can be seen worldwide on www.youtube.com/americascup (subject to territorial broadcast agreements).

The teams have two days of official practice racing on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon before racing starts on June 28 at 1200 EDT. The full regatta schedule and format is here.

During Tuesday’s practice session, Emirates Team New Zealand had a collision with one of the mark boats in gusty conditions late in the afternoon. The initial assessment is that both boats suffered minor damage, with nothing serious enough to keep the Kiwis from racing on Thursday.

Quotes from the Newport ‘Meet the Skippers’ event

Jimmy Spithill, ORACLE TEAM USA Spithill:

I was just speaking with Dean (Barker) before coming on stage and he was saying how confident he was, that he’s got this one in the bag, and he’s cleaned out some room in his trophy cabinet (laughing). But we’re going to make him work for it!

Dean Barker, Emirates Team New Zealand:

Jimmy (Spithill) is going in as hot favorite, but we have a fantastic opportunity in front of us. It’s going to be a great event. We’ve been here for a few days and the sailing here is fantastic. It’s not getting any easier, that’s for sure – all eight teams are capable of winning races.

Terry Hutchinson, Artemis Racing:

I think the great state of Rhode Island is going to deliver really, really good conditions for us. When you look at the forecasts we should have some really good sea breeze days. This race course is not that tricky that random things will happen. I think everyone will get a handle on it and if we get some solid sea breezes, we’ll have a lot of action.

Loïck Peyron, Energy Team:

Any time you have the chance to sail on these boats you will improve and any time you can fight against the best, as we do here, it’s even better. But I’ve never tried to specialize in what type of boat I sail.

Nathan Outteridge, Team Korea:

The 49er class is quite fast and the racing happens very quickly on short courses, so for me to step onto the AC45, while it’s obviously a big step, to be honest we have a great team that makes my life pretty easy at the moment.

Russell Coutts, ORACLE TEAM USA Coutts (on whether he is out of practice):

All of these guys sitting up here should just stay out of our way this week (laughing).

Chris Draper, Luna Rossa Piranha:

We’ve had some great sailing. It was so nice on day one of training here to trim on and let the boat rip. We’re looking forward to racing in these waters; we have tide, windshifts, everything we like about the sport. The city has given us a really warm welcome.

Max Sirena, Luna Rossa Swordfish:

We’re still in the learning process as a team. But we’re pretty happy with our results so far. We’re looking forward this week to see if we can improve on what we did in Venice. But these guys have been sailing for more than one year and we’re trying to close the gap in time for San Francisco next year.

2011-12 AC World Series Overall Championship Leaderboard (after five of six events)
1. ORACLE TEAM USA Spithill…84 points
2. Emirates Team New Zealand…80 points
3. Artemis Racing…71 points
4. Energy Team…65 points
5. Team Korea…56 points
6. ORACLE TEAM USA Coutts…53 points
7. Luna Rossa Piranha…34 points
8. China Team…31 points
9. Luna Rossa Swordfish…21 points

The 34th America´s Cup consists of three main stages – the America´s Cup World Series, the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America´s Cup Finals.
America´s Cup World Series
Each AC World Series regatta will be a combination of practice and championship racing, with additional practice sailing on-site ahead of each event.
America’s Cup World Series – Cascais, Portugal – 06.-14.08.2011 (ACWS Cascais)
America’s Cup World Series – Plymouth, UK – 10.-18.09.2011 (ACWS Plymouth)
America’s Cup World Series – San Diego USA – 12.-20.11.2011 (ACWS San Diego)
America’s Cup World Series – Naples, Italy – 07.-15.04.2012 (ACWS Naples)
America’s Cup World Series – Venice, Italy – 12.-20.05.2012 (ACWS Venice)
America’s Cup World Series – Newport, Rhode Island, USA – 23.06. – 01.07.2012 (ACWS Newport)
America’s Cup World Series – San Francisco, USA – 21.08. – 26.08.2012
America’s Cup World Series – San Francisco, USA – 04.10. – 07.10.2012 (during San Francisco’s annual Fleet Week)
America’s Cup Red Bull Youth – San Francisco, USA – Feb 09 – 24, 2013
America’s Cup World Series – San Francisco, USA – Apr 16 – 21, 2013 Naples, Italy
America’s Cup World Series – San Francisco, USA – May 28 – 30, 2013 USA
America’s Cup World Series – San Francisco, USA – May 31 – June 02, 2013
America’s Cup LOUIS VUITTON CUP – San Francisco, USA – Jul 04 – Aug 30, 2013
America’s Cup Red Bull Youth – San Francisco, USA – Sep 01 – 04, 2013
America’s Cup Finals – San Francisco, USA – Sep 07 – 21, 2013

Articles about the AC World Series.

Video´s about AC Uncovered Episode´s picks up.

Articles about AC Healthy Ocean Project.

Source: americascup.com | Photos © GILLES MARTIN-RAGET / ACEA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLnXZxKdU9E

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

Articles about Legends Regatta.

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Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

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Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

The Volvo Ocean Race Academy Try Sailing programme swung into operation this week with the first of a series of schools and youth groups taking to the water in the race’s fleet of Ludic dinghies.

PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race

Academy manager Katie Hearsum said Try Sailing had been well received in Lorient with plenty of schools signing up to offer their pupils a chance to visit the Volvo Ocean Race and try sailing for themselves.

“This is a sailing city but not everyone has tried out sailing for themselves,” she said. “The first school groups to use the Ludics had great fun and everyone came off the water smiling.

Adult visitors to the race village also have a chance to get afloat in a fleet of six Farr 30 race boats, branded up to match the Volvo Open 70 fleet. Aspiring sailors register online and are provided with waterproofs and a life jacket to go afloat.

Manager of the initiative, Jérome Lapouge said the early feedback had been very positive, with the fleet now booked out for the entire stopover.

“It’s entirely free to the public every afternoon from 1400 until 2000 and we operate one-hour sessions. We can take seven people per boat so that is 42 people an hour getting a taste of sailing.

“Most people know nothing about sailing so this is an introduction,” he added. “They get to spend an hour in Lorient’s harbour and take part in the manoeuvres.

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

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Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

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The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

The visitors taking pictures at the boats during the Lorient stop over Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 - PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race

PUMA shore crew manager Tim Hacket said his team had found just a few items requiring repair despite the tough running Mar Mostro went through on Leg 8.

“The boat, as always, arrived in excellent shape, which helps reduce the workload given the restrictions we have at this stopover.” Hacket said. “We have thoroughly gone over the boat for any damage from the last leg, and we only found a few small items.

“The rest of the preparations are just general maintenance — as much as we can possibly do without pulling the rig or hauling the boat.”

CAMPER shore boss Neil Cox was equally pleased with how well their boat had weathered the 45 knot winds of the North Atlantic depression.

“It was as good as new when it arrived here,” Cox said. “Unlike some of the other teams we’ve had no major jobs to do.”

“The boys have just spent the week checking everything over and doing regular servicing. Nothing big and we are ready to be back out sailing on Monday.

“This in-port race is a massive one for us, so it’s important we get as much time out on the water as possible before next weekend.”

The shore crews are generally the unsung heroes of the race but they do get an important moment in the spotlight via the DHL Shore Crew Award. The prize for Leg 8, given as always by the race’s official logistics partner DHL, will be handed out on Thursday.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s shore team were faced with a tricky repair when they discovered a missing piece of fairing at the top of Azzam’s keel.

With a two point penalty looming if they had to haul out, the team, led by Phil Allen, showed typical resourcefulness to get the job done.

Having constructed a replacement fairing, members of Allen’s team met at 0400 on Wednesday, when the tide height and weather conditions were optimum, to careen the boat over at the dockside using a halyard.

Before proceeding, the team had checked the loads with Azzam’s designers Farr Yacht Design to make sure there were no undue risks. Then, with several of the team sitting on the semi capsized boat, shore crew members Ben Davies and Ben Clifford successfully completed the two hour repair.

Afterwards, Allen commented:

“The guys onboard have fought very hard for every point in this race and we weren’t about to give away two points unless we absolutely had to.

“Ian Walker is adamant that whatever the overall race standings, you must fight for every point”.

Groupama’s shore crew completed their general maintenance schedule and also put right a problem at the top of their mast with the mainsail halyard locking system — also avoiding a two point penalty.

“If the part had been faulty, the team could have ended up in a very disadvantageous position for the rest of the race,” said mast and rigging specialist Marine Villard.

“We soon found a solution to get the part working correctly again, so we realised that we no longer needed to unstep the mast. We’ve managed to get our head around what was preventing it from working properly and chose not to carry out the laborious process of unstepping the mast, which would have incurred a penalty.”

Sanya shore manager Nick Bice said a necessary underwater repair to one of the dagger board covers had tested his team’s ingenuity, but reported that aside from cosmetic work, the job was all but complete.

“Unfortunately we sustained some underwater damage during the last leg and due to the rules of the stopover we were unable to haul the boat and therefore we have had to be quite resourceful in our repair methods,” Bice said.

“it has made the job more difficult from a timescale point of view but we are into final paint stage now, so it’s all good.

“All other jobs have been related to checking all major components after quite a strenuous leg from Lisbon. All in all, for a boat that has almost completed two laps around the world, she’s looking quite smart.”

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

Articles about Legends Regatta.

Want to be on a Spectator Yacht? Just send us an Email.

Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

Source: http://volvooceanrace.com
Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway

(c) volvooceanrace

The museum, designed by architects Mather & Co., is the first in the world to offer visitors a chance to experience the extreme challenges faced by the elite sailors competing in the Volvo Ocean Race, the longest and toughest professional sporting event in the world, which has its headquarters in Alicante.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db6uc7QglZs

The opening was attended by

• Alberto Fabra, President of the Valencian Regional Government,
• Sonia Castedo, Mayor of Alicante and
• Knut Frostad, CEO of Volvo Ocean Race.

“The Volvo Ocean Race has helped the city of Alicante gain recognition throughout the world,” said Fabra. “In this permanent museum people will learn about the effort of the competitors in the race, which should serve as a stimulus for all those coming to visit us. This is the sort of spirit we need in these times.”

TIM STONTON/Volvo Ocean Race

Adults and children will have a unique opportunity to see the action as it unfolds from inside the high-tech Race Control room, where the nine-month, 39,000 nautical mile race is monitored around the clock.

Situated at the port of Alicante’s former maritime station, the Museo will transport visitors into a world of entertainment and fun. Using cutting edge technology, visitors can engage with the Volvo Ocean Race through interactive touch screen panels that explore the history of the race, life on board, marine ecosystems and telecommunications among many other themes. The Museo will also play host to a changing programme of exhibitions that are sure to keep everyone interested.

With an aim to engage land lubbers and sailing enthusiasts alike, the museum will offer an educational programme that will inform curious minds about the values of life at sea, sailing and sport through various activities aimed at schools and the general public.

The shop and the café, located on the first floor with direct access to a spacious terrace, round off the facilities at this magnificent new museum, which organisers expect will become a point of reference for culture and leisure in the city of Alicante.

“It is with tremendous pride that we are opening the doors to the Museo Volvo Ocean Race, a new and unique project that will surprise, delight and inform thousands of visitors each year,” said Knut Frostad, Chief Executive Officer of the Volvo Ocean Race and himself a four-time competitor in the race.

“Alicante is our home and we are thrilled to say we can welcome our neighbours to visit. It is also gratifying to be able to welcome our first visitors while the closest Volvo Ocean Race in our 39-year history is taking place. As we wait to see who will take the overall prize in Galway in July, we look forward to educating and inspiring new generations of fans at this magnificent new museum — a striking investment in the future.”

For more information about the museum, visit www.museovolvooceanrace.com.

Articles about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.
Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9
The Resume of the race 2011-2012

Articles about the Youth Academy.

Articles about Legends Regatta.

Want to be on a Spectator Yacht? Just send us an Email.

Amazing Episodes from the Race 2008-09 / Videos.

Source: http://volvooceanrace.com
Museo Volvo Ocean Race, Alicante: museovolvooceanrace.com

The VENUES of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12:

1 Alicante 2 Cape Town 3 Abu Dhabi 4 Sanya 5 Auckland
6 Itajaí 7 Miami 8 Lisbon 9 Lorient 10 Galway