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What is the Volvo Ocean Race?

The Volvo Ocean Race is often described as the longest and toughest professional sporting event in the world, sailing’s toughest team challenge and one of the sport’s Big Three events, alongside the Olympics and America’s Cup.

To truly understand the race, though, it’s better to think of it in a way the athletes who take part will recognise immediately.

 Put simply, the Volvo Ocean Race is an obsession, and many of the world's best sailors have dedicated years, even decades of their lives trying to win it.


Take Sir Peter Blake, who competed in the first edition of what was then the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973-74 and came back again and again until he finally conquered his Everest, securing an overwhelming victory with Steinlager 2 in 1989-90. Only then was he able to fully turn his attention to other projects. 

The race sits, just as it always has, at the intersection of human adventure, and world-class competition. Thanks to the work of the Onboard Reporters embedded with every team, fans are given a unique insight into just what it takes to win a race that is relentless in its demands – as teams give everything they have, 24 hours a day, in pursuit of the tiny advantages that can make all the difference.


Because make no mistake – the competition is fierce. In the current era of One Design racing, the only way to win is by sailing harder, and smarter, than your competitors. The race is won out on the water; not in the design phase.



There is no prize money for the winners, but seeing your name etched into one of the silver rings of the Volvo Ocean Race Trophy is a prize beyond compare for sailors who grew up with dreams of emulating the legends of the race – heroic figures who dedicated their professional lives to chasing victory – people like Blake, Éric Tabarly, Conny van Rietschoten, Grant Dalton, Paul Cayard, Ian Walker.


The race’s concept is simple: it’s a round-the-clock pursuit of competitive edge and the ultimate ocean marathon, pitting the sport’s best sailors against each other across the world’s toughest waters.


Racing one-design Volvo Ocean 65s, the world’s best professional ocean racers drive themselves to out-work and out-perform their competition around the globe.


It’s relentless: the importance of winning, the adventure of life on board, the transformative effect on the sailors — all of these combine to give the race its power and depth.


In 2017-18, there is a renewed emphasis on the Southern Ocean and a new set of rules too – incentivising mixed crews of male and female sailors and more strategic innovation out on the racecourse.


A total of 2.4 million people visited the Race Villages in the last edition, to get a first-hand taste of the race. Millions more followed the action on our digital platforms and this time fans will be able to get even closer in person and online, with a newly imagined pit lane experience at the Host Cities and more live updates from the boat than ever.


After 12 editions and half a million miles, racing resumed again on October 22 when the teams set sail from our home port of Alicante and will conclude in The Hague in June 2018.


Volvo Ocean Race Trophy

In-port race series, facts & figures, the legends race.

Are You Tough Enough? This Round-the-World Race is Known as the ‘Everest of Sailing’

There are grueling sports and then there’s the Volvo Ocean Race.

The “Everest of sailing” is a triennial sporting event that sees seven teams battle it out on the world’s oceans. For nine months, the 66 ft. racing vessels pursue a 45,000 nautical-mile marathon, stopping in 12 cities in five continents before crossing the finishing line at the Hague, on the west coast of the Netherlands, in June.

“Imagine that you’re sitting there in your little boats in the middle of the ocean,” Bouwe Bekking, the Dutch skipper of Team Brunel, recently told TIME during a stopover in Hong Kong after a 5,600 nautical mile fourth leg from Melbourne, Australia. “There are huge waves, huge winds, and you’re just on a tiny nutshell in the middle of nowhere. You realize actually how vulnerable you are. “

Bekking, 54, is the most experienced sailor in the race’s history. This year is his eighth attempt at winning. During an in-port race in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor, his eight crew members demonstrated the agility of the yacht they call home for most of a year. They haul at ropes and heave on grinders that winch the main sail up the 30 ft mast. The boat heels suddenly while the crew lets out a ballooning spinnaker to catch even more wind as Team Brunel swerves to within a few meters of a competitor. For a non-sailor, it’s a hair-rising ride. For Team Brunel, it’s nothing compared to the untrammeled fury of the open ocean.

“It’s a very wet job. When we’re sailing faster than 30-40 knots, there’s water on the deck all the time,” Bekking says. “But it’s a special thing, especially because it’s 24/7, and I think that’s what makes it so unique.”

It began as an adventure. In 1973, British brewing company, Whitbread, and the British Royal Navy Sailing Association, teamed up to sponsor a global regatta. The Whitbread Round the World Race, as it was then called, followed a 27,000 nautical mile route once plied by nineteenth century cargo ships.

“It used to be an ocean voyage,” says Barry Pickthall, author of Sailing Legends: Volvo Ocean Race . “Now, it’s an ocean sprint.”

Today, the race is a professional machine, with millions of corporate dollars pumped into it. The course length has nearly doubled and teams sail identical 12,500 kilogram carbon yachts. With on-board reporters documenting each day, fans can practically live stream the race through social media. The race has become a vanguard in the sport of sailing, with an “important trickle down effect” for the advancement of sail design and technology, says Pickthall. “It’s the pinnacle of the sport.”

But for all its technological innovations, life on board is primitive. Each leg spans 20 to 25 days. To reduce weight, the crew subsists on freeze dried food. There’s nowhere to shower or wash clothes. It’s cold, it’s wet, and there’s no privacy. Sleep takes place in narrow net bunks hung below deck, where it’s noisy. On a good night, crew members get two to four hours of sleep.

“You just get on with it,” says Team Brunel helmsman Peter Burling, a New Zealand Olympic gold medalist and 2017 World Sailor of the Year. “That’s part of offshore racing.”

When mother nature is referee, things can go horribly wrong. Take Annie Lush, a Team Brunel trimmer, who’s previously competed in the Olympics and the Volvo Ocean race once before. During Leg 3 from Cape Town to Melbourne, the team was battling relentless winds of up to 60 knots (about 69 mph). A massive wave crashed down on the boat, slamming Lush several meters back against the deck. She broke three bones: two in her foot, one in her back — and the boat was not even halfway through the voyage. Lush was crippled for ten days on the roaring seas, thousands of miles away from a doctor’s aid, until the crew reached land on Christmas Eve.

“When you choose to do something like the Volvo Ocean Race … it has dangers with it as it would if you were going to climb Everest, or I suppose anything where you’re somewhere where you won’t be able to get rescued,” says Lush.

“It might sound horrific, which it is sometimes,” Lush says. “But it’s also amazing. I can’t really say words that would justify some of the sunrises and sunsets you see. We see some pretty beautiful things — whales feeding, dolphins — everything you can imagine.”

They see some shocking things too. No matter how far from land these crews sail, from Chile’s southernmost Cape Horn to the fringes of Antarctica, issues such as pollution and plastics are inescapable.

Lush recounts seeing rubbish along countless coastlines, trash caught on the boat’s keel, and a seal playing with a plastic bag somewhere in the expanse of the Southern Ocean.

“We travel to some of the most remote places on the planet, and sadly we’re seeing the reality that microplastics are existing, even in the Southern Ocean,” says Dee Caffari, legendary British sailor who was the first woman to sail solo, nonstop around the world in both directions.

Her team, Turn the Tide on Plastic, is promoting the United Nations’ Clean Seas campaign to rid the ocean of marine plastic litter. The boat is also doubling as a laboratory for ocean health. Volvo has equipped each vessel with instruments to collect data on ocean pollution over the course of the race, but Turn the Tide on Plastic is testing specifically for microplastics — tiny plastic fragments that can ultimately contaminate the food chain. The ultimate goal is to build a map of microplastic concentrations around the world.

Every year, eight million metric tons of plastic end up in the world’s seas. Coral reefs, sometimes called the rainforests of the sea, are being infected by billions of pieces of plastic . And according to some estimates, by 2050 the world’s oceans will be filled with more plastic mass than fish mass.

“This year we decided to take a step further integrating sustainability … especially tacking plastic pollution,” says Anne-Cecil Turner, sustainability program leader of the race. “Empowering people to take action at every level, from the general public to the government.”

Research from Turn the Tide on Plastic found microplastic particles in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, west of South Africa, in Australian waters, and even near the far reaches of the Antarctic Ice Exclusion Zone.

Says Caffari, who’s the only female skipper in this year’s race: “This is my sixth time around the world and I see it deteriorating each time I go around.”

Since departing Hong Kong last week, the yachts are now on Leg 6, charging their way through the Coral Sea to Auckland, New Zealand. After a stopover in Auckland the crews will take on the toughest and most important leg — 7,600 nautical miles across the mighty Southern Ocean, where they will contend with storms, huge waves, icebergs and the legendary Cape Horn — as they race to the Brazilian city of Itajaí.

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What is The Ocean Race?

The Ocean Race is often described as the longest and toughest professional sporting event in the world, sailing’s toughest team challenge and one of the sport’s Big Three events, alongside the Olympic Games and America’s Cup.

To truly understand the race, though, it’s better to think of it in a way the athletes who take part will recognise immediately. Put simply, The Ocean Race is an obsession, and many of the world's best sailors have dedicated years, even decades of their lives trying to win it.

Take Sir Peter Blake, who competed in the first edition of what was then the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973-74 and came back again and again until he finally conquered his Everest, securing an overwhelming victory with Steinlager 2 in 1989-90. Only then was he able to fully turn his attention to other projects.

The race sits, just as it always has, at the intersection of human adventure, and world-class competition. Thanks to the work of the Onboard Reporters embedded with every team, fans are given a unique insight into just what it takes to win a race that is relentless in its demands – as teams give everything they have, 24 hours a day, in pursuit of the tiny advantages that can make all the difference.

The race’s concept is simple: it’s a round-the-clock pursuit of competitive edge and the ultimate ocean marathon, pitting the sport’s best sailors against each other across the world’s toughest waters. It’s relentless: the importance of winning, the adventure of life on board, the transformative effect on the sailors — all of these combine to give the race its power and depth.

The last edition of the race was the closest in history, with three teams virtually tied, approaching the finish line. After 126 days of racing spread across 11 legs, the winning margin for Charles Caudrelier’s Dongfeng Race Team was only 16 minutes. The top three teams were separated by just four points.

A total of 2.5 million people visited the Race Villages during the 2017-18 event, getting a first-hand taste of the action. Millions more followed the action on our digital platforms, television and via the news as the race set new high-marks for international coverage.

Now we enter a new era as the event continues to evolve. Two classes will compete in the 2022-23 edition of the race with the addition of the high-tech, foiling IMOCA 60 class adding a design and technical element. The one-design VO65 fleet will race for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup over three legs: Leg 1 from Alicante, Spain to Cabo Verde, Leg 6 from Aarhus, Denmark to The Hague in the Netherlands, and Leg 7 from The Hague to Genova, Italy.

Following the success of our ground-breaking and award-winning sustainability efforts in the last race, sustainability will continue to be a core value of the race as we go forward, as we redouble our efforts to restore ocean health and lead, inspire and engage on this critical issue.

The 14th edition of The Ocean Race started from Alicante, Spain on January 15th 2023, and will finish in Genova, the Grand Finale, in Italy early in the summer of 2023. The race visits nine iconic cities around the globe over a six-month period (Alicante, Spain - Cabo Verde - Cape Town, South Africa - Itajaí, Brazil - Newport, RI, USA - Aarhus, Denmark - Kiel Fly-By, Germany - The Hague, the Netherlands - Genova, Italy) and features a leg with the longest racing distance in the 50-year history of the event - a 12,750 nautical mile, one-month marathon from Cape Town, South Africa to Itajaí, Brazil. The IMOCA fleet of mixed crews will pass all three great southern Capes - Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin, Cape Horn - non-stop, for the first time.

How the race is won

Although at its most fundamental level the perfect strategy for  winning The Ocean Race comes down to simply scoring more points than  your competitors, there is much more involved in emerging victorious  from a five-month, 32,000-nautical mile (36,825-mile / 60,000-kilometre)  race around the world.

The Ocean Race uses a high points scoring system with the winning  team on an offshore leg awarded points equal to the number of entries in  the race. Second place gets points equal to the number of entries minus  one – and so on down the finishing order.

However, double points are up for grabs on two of the legs: the  monster 12,750-nautical mile (14,672-mile / 23,613-kilometre) Southern  Ocean passage on Leg 3 from Cape Town, South Africa to Itajaí in Brazil –  the longest in the race’s 50-year history – and the transatlantic  crossing on Leg 5 from US city Newport, Rhode Island to Aarhus in  Denmark.

The points on Leg 3 will be split between the order in which the teams  pass the longitude of 143 degrees east – and their finishing order at  the end of the leg. On Leg 5 the points will be doubled based on the  teams’ finishing order on the 3,500-nautical mile (4,028-mile /  6,482-kilometre) transatlantic crossing.

With the rules dictating that teams which fail to finish a leg shall  receive no points, the crews will need to manage their instinct to push  their boats and themselves flat out with the need to avoid sustaining  damage that might slow them down or even force them to retire.

As well as avoiding damage the sailors need to avoid incurring penalty  points that can be awarded for any transgressions to the race’s rules,  such as entering race imposed exclusion zones, measurement violations,  and anything else deemed to be a breach of the regulations.

The final standings at the end of the race are determined based on the  teams’ total score for all of the legs – less any penalty points. The  team with the highest series score wins with others ranked accordingly.  Ties on overall points are throughout the race broken in favour of the  boat with the highest overall position in the In-Port Series.

In The Ocean Race 2017-18 after racing for eight months around the world  the top three teams were so close on points starting the final leg from  Gothenburg, Sweden to The Hague in the Netherlands that the eventual  winner – China’s Dongfeng Race Team – was not decided until the last few  miles to the finish line.

Europe 2021

Published on January 15th, 2023 | by Editor

The Ocean Race 2023 gets underway

Published on January 15th, 2023 by Editor -->

Alicante, Spain (January 15, 2023) – The 14th edition of The Ocean Race, the fully-crewed, around the world yacht race, got underway today for the 32,000 nm course that will take six months to finish in Genova, Italy.

Five IMOCA class yachts – the high-tech, foiling, flying race boats that are in The Ocean Race for the first time – started in glamour conditions on the waters off Alicante’s Ocean Live Park just after 16:00 local time.

Two hours earlier, a fleet of six VO65 one-design yachts set off on the first stage of their shorter, European-focused event, The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint, which features three stages of competition.

While both fleets are now racing on Leg 1 to Cabo Verde, some 1900 nautical miles away, the IMOCAs continue their race around the world, while the VO65s will pause in Cabo Verde, before rejoining the IMOCA fleet in Europe in the spring for the final two legs of their race.

While the Alicante start period featured perfect January weather with warm temperatures under sunny skies, the sailors are expecting gale force westerlies overnight, with a forecast for gale-force westerlies to build overnight, with a heavy sea state making the passage to Gibraltar and the trade winds in the Atlantic a treacherous one.

With the weak weather front having passed through the race area earlier in the afternoon, the wind conditions settled at WNW 12-14 knots for the start of the five IMOCAs.

Nevertheless, as the race got under way two hours after the start of the VO65s, it was clear from the aerial view that there were still some shifts and puffs to be had.

On the water and as the start gun went it was Paul Meilhat’s brand new Biotherm (FRA) that was to set the pace, on time, at speed and on the foils. It was an impressive display, not least because last week was the first time that this crew had sailed together aboard a boat that has only recently been launched.

After a few unstable moments on the fast reach to the first mark, when the boat leaped into the air, it was clear that while the French team were fast they were not yet properly trimmed.

Behind them, hot on their heels, Kevin Escoffier’s Team Holcim-PRB (SUI) was also leaping into the air from time to time as both boats set a blistering pace.

The second leg of the inshore lap saw the fleet sail downwind. With the boats now under less load, teams were able to re-trim and re-set before the next fast leg. Seconds after Biotherm had rounded mark 3 it was clear that they had made some essential trim changes.

This time the boat was faster and better trimmed as Biotherm accelerated away on the third leg and extended their advantage over the rest of the fleet.

Meanwhile, after a disappointing start, 11th Hour Racing Team (USA) skippered by Charlie Enright hauled themselves back from last to third. Experience was showing already from a team that many have considered as the favorites.

As 11th Hour Racing Team made their charge towards the front of the fleet, Boris Herrmann’s Team Malizia (GER) had slipped out to the back but were able to pass GUYOT environnement – Team Europe (FRA/GER), skippered by Benjamin Dutreux after the French/German team had a problem with their code zero sail which forced them to press pause as they sorted the issue.

As the leaders passed through the final gate, Biotherm was hitting 29 knots in the flat water. Their advantage had already stretched out to 500m over second placed Holcim-PRB. After just 40 minutes of sailing it was an impressive performance.

Before the start, skipper Meilhat had explained how comfortable he and his crew would be with sailing the boat in a manual mode if required. Now, having performed a blistering lap of the inshore course with the tiller in his hand and sailing outside for the entire period, this was a good example of what he had meant.

Others had explained the importance of taking things carefully. But if the inshore lap had revealed anything, boat speeds regularly exceeding 30-knots as the fleet moved away from the shore and into the stronger breeze illustrated what the new world of fully crewed IMOCA racing means along with a demonstration of the relentless pace that is in store for this 1900 nm leg to Cabo Verde.

Race details – Route – Tracker – Teams – Facebook – YouTube

IMOCA: Boat, Design, Skipper, Launch date • Guyot Environnement – Team Europe (VPLP Verdier); Benjamin Dutreux (FRA)/Robert Stanjek (GER); September 1, 2015 • 11th Hour Racing Team (Guillaume Verdier); Charlie Enright (USA); August 24, 2021 • Holcim-PRB (Guillaume Verdier); Kevin Escoffier (FRA); May 8, 2022 • Team Malizia (VPLP); Boris Herrmann (GER); July 19, 2022 • Biotherm (Guillaume Verdier); Paul Meilhat (FRA); August 31 2022

The Ocean Race 2022-23 Race Schedule: Alicante, Spain – Leg 1 start: January 15, 2023 Cabo Verde – ETA: January 22; Leg 2 start: January 25 Cape Town, South Africa – ETA: February 9; Leg 3 start: February 26 or 27 (TBC) Itajaí, Brazil – ETA: April 1; Leg 4 start: April 23 Newport, RI, USA – ETA: May 10; Leg 5 start: May 21 Aarhus, Denmark – ETA: May 30; Leg 6 start: June 8 Kiel, Germany (Fly-By) – June 9 The Hague, The Netherlands – ETA: June 11; Leg 7 start: June 15 Genova, Italy – The Grand Finale – ETA: June 25, 2023; Final In-Port Race: July 1, 2023

The Ocean Race (formerly Volvo Ocean Race and Whitbread Round the World Race) was initially to be raced in two classes of boats: the high-performance, foiling, IMOCA 60 class and the one-design VO65 class which has been used for the last two editions of the race.

However, only the IMOCAs will be racing round the world while the VO65s will race in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint which competes in Legs 1, 6, and 7 of The Ocean Race course.

Additionally, The Ocean Race also features the In-Port Series with races at seven of the course’s stopover cities around the world which allow local fans to get up close and personal to the teams as they battle it out around a short inshore course.

Although in-port races do not count towards a team’s overall points score, they do play an important part in the overall rankings as the In-Port Race Series standings are used to break any points ties that occur during the race around the world.

The 14th edition of The Ocean Race was originally planned for 2021-22 but was postponed one year due to the pandemic, with the first leg starting on January 15, 2023.

Source: The Ocean Race

Tags: The Ocean Race , TOR23-Leg 1

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Volvo Ocean Race’s bold new vision creates professional sailing’s ultimate test

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The Volvo Ocean Race today unveiled a series of radical initiatives that will create the toughest all-round test in professional sailing and strengthen the appeal of the 44-year-old round-the-world race to pro sailors, team owners and their sponsors, race partners, host cities and fans. 

While the final preparations are being made for the 2017-18 edition, starting 22 October, race organisers used a live event at the Volvo Museum in Gothenburg, the home of the race’s owners and title sponsors, to present a bold vision for the next decade and beyond.

Highlights include the choice of a new 60-foot (18.29 metre) foil-assisted One Design ocean racing monohull, designed by France’s Guillaume Verdier, plus the introduction of a One Design ‘flying’ catamaran for In-Port Races, for which a new design tender process was launched today. The offshore legs will remain the key to winning the Volvo Ocean Race, but the inshore racing will count slightly more than now (where it acts as a tiebreaker).

“Three hulls, but not what you might have imagined,” said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Mark Turner, revealing the choice of the next generation One Design boats, and referencing the difficult decision of whether to opt for a monohull or multihull design for the ocean legs, a subject that has been passionately debated by Volvo Ocean Race fans.

The race also announced new initiatives including:

• Putting sustainability at the heart of the race with the Clean Seas campaign of UN Environment, and key partnerships with 11th Hour Racing and AkzoNobel that will significantly amplify the global campaign. The sustainability platform is central to the positioning of the race going forward.
• Race activity every calendar year, and the launch of a three-edition Host City tender process with options for tradition-busting new routes and stopover formats.
• Building the pathway to the Volvo Ocean Race for sailors and sponsors, via a partnership with World Sailing, the sport’s governing body.
• A sponsor-focused Global Team Challenge that will form the centrepiece of a Leadership Development and Team Performance Programme – capitalising on race learnings for business and re-using the Volvo Ocean 65 boats after the 2017-18 edition for the on-water part.

“We had a lot of debate about multihull versus monohull and, in fact, the final solution for us is to do both - so there will be three hulls in future editions – a foil-assisted monohull and a ‘flying’ catamaran,” said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Mark Turner.

“The Volvo Ocean Race has always been the ultimate test of a team and with these changes – collectively the most radical since the race began in 1973 – we are taking it up another level. The obsession that has led to generations of sailors putting everything on the line to win this race will continue, but to lift the trophy will require more skill, dedication and sacrifice than ever.

“We are staying true to our DNA as an ocean race but we will now also be testing the world’s best sailors to their limits inshore as well.

“At the same time, the commercial offering has so many extra elements added to it. We remain one of the few global, professional, world-class sporting events with a great commercial package that goes with it, with an outstanding Business to Business product, along with a rich heritage and strong consumer, media and employee activation options, much of it built into the campaigns.

“We are fortunate as well to have such strong and consistent backing from our owners Volvo, two decades on from their acquisition of the event. The race has never been in such a strong position as we look to the next decade and beyond.”

Volvo announced the agreement to buy the race from former owners Whitbread 20 years ago and has provided vision and staunch backing ever since.

“Volvo said at the time that the race successfully brings together adventure, sport and high level technology,” said Volvo Group’s Henry Sténson, Executive Vice President for Communication & Sustainability Affairs.

“So while much has changed in the last 20 years, fundamentally, nothing has changed. We’re particularly excited to see the Volvo Ocean Race reinforce that commitment to innovation – an area that is so important to us at Volvo Group.”

In addition, Björn Annwall, Senior Vice President for Strategy, Brand & Retail at Volvo Cars, highlighted the race’s renewed commitment to sustainability.

“Volvo Car Group has been involved in sustainability projects for a long time and we’re excited to see the race strengthen its position as a sporting event that is so in tune with its ocean environment and one that inspires such passion.

“The world truly is our racetrack and we’re thrilled to see our commitment to the future underlined here.”

Key announcements from the Gothenburg event:

• Sailing’s ultimate test: From the edition after 2017-18, the Volvo Ocean Race will be contested in a combination of a 60-foot (18.29 metre) foil-assisted monohull for the ocean legs and a ‘flying’ catamaran for use in the In-Port Race Series. Together, they will establish the Volvo Ocean Race as sailing’s ultimate all-round test and strengthen its reputation as the ultimate test of a team in professional sport.
• Foil-assisted monohull: The One Design monohull from the in-demand French naval architect Guillaume Verdier will use the latest generation foiling technology to make it incredibly fast to sail and spectacular to watch. Crew numbers are likely to be between 5 and 7, with incentives continuing for mixed male-female crews and youth sailors. The race will build eight of the new monohulls and deliver them from January 2019 onwards. They will be available to lease by teams to reduce campaign start-up costs, with sponsors involved in the current 2017-18 race to be given first option when Notice of Race and Commercial Participation Agreements are published this October.
• IMOCA compatibility: Uniquely, the design brief retains an option to allow the boat platform to be converted, inexpensively and quickly, to a fully rules-compliant short-handed IMOCA boat, and therefore eligible to be used in other major IMOCA circuit races, including the two-up Barcelona World Race and the solo Vendée Globe.
• ‘Flying’ in-shore catamaran: Additionally, the race is launching a tender process for a new One Design 32-50 foot (10-15 metre) ‘flying’ catamaran for use in the In-Port Race Series – a boat that will use some of the technology familiar from the America’s Cup and other new multihulls, albeit in a non-development One Design mode.
• A sustainable future: The race has three pillars of action on sustainability – reduce its own footprint, maximise its impact using its global communications platform, and leave a positive legacy wherever it goes. Centred on a partnership with the United Nations Environment Clean Seas campaign, the focus will be on the call to action ‘Turn the Tide on Plastic’. A founding partnership with 11th Hour Racing is providing the resource to permit significant amplification across all Science, Education and Ocean Summit programmes. AkzoNobel will further boost the education and awareness programme. The Volvo Ocean Race’s long term ambition is to reduce and then eliminate the use of fossil fuels on future boats, while maintaining safety and communication performance, as well as developing new construction methods and operational strategies for the race overall.
• New racecourse and stopover formats: The race is planning big changes to the racecourse and stopover formats over the next decade – moves that will strengthen commercial appeal while preserving its sporting integrity. While the race is committed to two more starts from its home, and important partner, in Alicante, some future races could start and finish outside Europe, and potentially feature a non-stop leg around Antarctica or even a non-stop lap of the planet. But while routes may vary, the race will commit to visiting North America, South America, Australasia, Greater China, and at least 5 major European markets at least once every two editions, providing commercial clarity for any two-cycle plans even without the precise route being known. In addition, Host Cities will be able to choose from a range of flexible stopover formats – from the 24-48 hour pit-stop, to shorter form stopovers of five days, through to traditional ‘two weekend’ stopovers with full activation. The bidding process for the next three editions is launched today.
• Race activity every year/Potential shift to two-year cycle: The Volvo Ocean Race Board has asked race management to look into the feasibility of shifting the race to a two-year cycle. That process is still ongoing but what is already certain is that in future there will be race activity of some kind in every calendar year – a clear evolution from the current situation, with a gap of over two years between editions.
• A pathway to the Volvo Ocean Race: The race and its co-owners Volvo Car Group and Volvo Group will become official partners of World Sailing, as part of a long term strategic plan to develop the next generation of offshore sailors and their sponsors by providing a clear developmental pathway. The race will establish Volvo Ocean Race Academies as part of future Host Venue partnerships and will also provide a stepping stone for future offshore sailors into the Olympics, if and when offshore sailing is included, which could be a showcase event as early at Tokyo 2020.
• Leadership Development and Team Performance Programme / Global Team Challenge: Organisers will introduce a new Leadership Development and Team Performance Programme for businesses, focusing on learnings from the race in areas such as leadership and teamwork. The programme will feature a ‘shadow’ ocean race called the Global Team Challenge, designed for sponsors to give their employees a unique experience of the sport under near identical conditions to those faced by the professionals. The Global Team Challenge will be safety focused, raced along part of the Volvo Ocean Race route, in detuned versions of the current generation Volvo Ocean 65s and with a ratio of 3 professional sailors to 8 amateurs. The basic package will be included in the commercial offering for team sponsors, with activation opportunities to support employee development HR programmes, Employer Branding (recruitment and talent acquisition) as well as additional opportunities for B2B and media activation.
• 50 th anniversary celebration: The Volvo Ocean Race began life in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race and 2023 marks its half-century. The race is considering plans for a special 50 th anniversary race that will honour the sailing legends who have taken part.

The next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race starts from Alicante on 22 October 2017 and will visit a total of 12 Host Cities on six continents. The teams will compete over 46,000 nautical miles (83,000 kms) to the finish line in The Hague at the end of June 2018.

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Volvo Car Group in 2016

For the 2016 financial year, Volvo Car Group recorded an operating profit of 11,014 MSEK (6,620 MSEK in 2015). Revenue over the period amounted to 180,672 MSEK (164,043 MSEK). For the full year 2016, global sales reached a record 534,332 cars, an increase of 6.2 per cent versus 2015. The record sales and operating profit cleared the way for Volvo Car Group to continue investing in its global transformation plan.

About Volvo Car Group

Volvo has been in operation since 1927. Today, Volvo Cars is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales of 534,332 cars in 2016 in about 100 countries. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) of China since 2010. It formed part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999, when the company was bought by Ford Motor Company of the US. In 2010, Volvo Cars was acquired by Geely Holding.

As of December 2016, Volvo Cars had over 31,000 employees worldwide. Volvo Cars head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars head office for China is located in Shanghai. The company’s main car production plants are located in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium), Chengdu and Daqing (China), while engines are manufactured in Skövde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China) and body components in Olofström (Sweden).

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Yachting World

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Volvo Ocean Race confirm next race will be held in IMOCA 60s – but opinions are divided among crews

• Helen Fretter
• July 3, 2018

Volvo Ocean Race organisers have confirmed that the 2021 edition will be held in IMOCA 60 designs. We spoke to sailors and team organisers about what a change of class might mean for the race:

After months of speculation – Yachting World broke the story than the IMOCA 60 class were in the final stages of negotiation with the Volvo Ocean Race back in April – organisers have confirmed that the next edition of the crewed multi-stage round the world race will take place in IMOCA 60 class yachts.

In the very final days of the race, a confidential Educational Session for interested parties was held around the IMOCA Class Rules in The Hague last week. The announcement was only publically confirmed on July 2, after the prizegivings for the 2017-18 event had been held and the Volvo Ocean Race teams and sponsors dispersed.

At the session, sailors and team managers from the most recent Volvo Ocean Race and IMOCA events, along with yacht designers currently involved in construction of new IMOCA Class boats such as Guillaume Verdier and Juan Kouyoumdjian, discussed the changes.

Co-President of the Volvo Ocean Race, Johan Salen, presenting at the IMOCA 60 partnership information session in The Hague, 28th June 2018.

“This is a first step of many in preparing for the next edition of the race in 2021,” said Johan Salén , co-President of the race. “There is an ongoing co-operation process to put in place the elements we need to make the next race a success from a sporting and business point of view.

“This is a complex matter with many perspectives, and we are respectfully welcoming continuous input from all key stakeholders, from World Sailing to individual sailors, teams and partners. We are confident that this is the right way forward.”

Organisers are certainly likely to receive plenty of input – during my visit to the last stage of the Volvo Ocean Race, before the announcement was made, I spoke to numerous sailors about the possible choices of boat for future editions of the race and found almost no consensus.

Team Brunel skipper and eight-time race expert Bouwe Bekking was a big proponent of the IMOCA 60 plan. Peter Burling, helmsman on Brunel, speculated: “I’m not sure if the exact IMOCA rule would work well for the Volvo, maybe a variant of that rule. For me it’s just got to be fast and modern, and I think they’ve got to make the race shorter as well.”

David Witt, skipper of Sun Hung Kai Scallywag, told me: “I think the IMOCA 60 would be a mistake. I have a feeling their [organisers’] motive is to try and get the Hugo Bosses and big corporates to come in from the Vendée Globe.” Witt was concerned the move might make the Volvo Ocean Race a second-tier event in the IMOCA calendar to the single-handed Vendée Globe.

Chris Nicholson, watch captain on Team AkzoNobel and a veteran of six Whitbread/Volvo races, supported using the one-design 65s again [Ed note: it was announced in a second announcement in late July that the 65s will be also return as a second class for the next race] . He was among those that raised concerns about the robustness of the existing IMOCA design.

“A current IMOCA boat won’t handle a crew of four or five, so that has to be a complete structural redesign,” Nicholson said. “I wouldn’t sail around the world in an IMOCA boat with five of us Volvo-type sailors. If you had a race like we’ve just had, I don’t believe it would handle it.”

Bruno Dubois, team manager for winners Dongfeng Race Team, felt that the race needed to modernise: “I think if we go with a boat with no foils we are in the Stone Age,” he said.

“We have to be at the forefront of what’s going on. I think IMOCA are strong boats, they would have to be modified to sail with crew, but it is a way to go to get development.” Dubois also suggested using the 65s as a ‘B’ fleet, restricted by a gender, age or nationality rule – at the time the future of the Volvo 65s hadn’t been announced, but organisers have since said that the class will have a strong focus on youth.

The current crop of IMOCA 60s more usually race single- or double-handed. ‘Fully crewed racing’, with four or five crew, is limited to a few events such as the Rolex Fastnet Race are. Photo Carlo Borlenghi/Rolex

Organisers say a joint committee is being formed to draft a specific section of the IMOCA class rules for a crewed IMOCA 60, “respecting the spirit and intent of the partnership, which includes cost control, security and sporting fairness”.

The committee will have to consider factors such as whether any more components are made one-design to reduce costs, and any necessary structural modifications to ensure the boats’ reliability – many have speculated that the race could once again be dominated by rig failures, after just two rig breakages in 14 circumnavigations by the robustly over-built 65s across the last two editions of the race.

Critically, the rule relating to crew numbers on board the IMOCA class is still to be determined and among the items under consideration. Organisers say they have “the goal of retaining an On Board Reporter role”.

One issue with the IMOCA 60 plan is that it is likely to greatly reduce the number of crew racing at any one time – although sailors may be rotated in a squad. This could put one of the biggest legacies of this race, the gender crew rule that saw 23 women sailors racing in mixed crews, in jeopardy, although organisers have said it is a trend they hope to continue.

“Moving the race into foiling monohulls under the IMOCA class will motivate more sailors, teams and the wider marine industry to prepare for the next edition,” Salén commented in the press release. “Partnering with the existing IMOCA infrastructure means the professional offshore sailing calendar becomes more unified and efficient, this helps the sport as a whole and helps to build a sustainable business model for teams and sailors.”

Tough audience? IMOCA designer Guillaume Verdier talks to sailors and team managers in The Hague.

Part of this plan is likely to involve extending the calendar of events beyond a single round the world race every three or four years. “It has been quite difficult, and also not sustainable, to build a boat that is not very well adapted to use for other events,” Salén told me by phone before the announcement.

“So we are trying to get more continuity for the teams. To achieve that the IMOCA class is a very attractive option because there is so much in place already. The teams can go to a sponsor with an agenda with events every year and a four-year cycle, much more continuity and a much better resale value for the boats.”

Salén says they are considering options that include a round Europe race to cover key sponsorship markets, as well as ocean courses, such as a transatlantic, but the current IMOCA calendar is governed by the next Vendée Globe, starting in November 2020.

Winning skipper Charles Caudrelier of Dongfeng Race Team has competed in the IMOCA class previously. “This change is very exciting,” Caudrelier said in the event press release. “The Open 60s are just amazing boats. I really enjoy sailing on these boats and I think when people see it, they will enjoy it. If the two best offshore races in the world are going to join the same class, to me it’s good news.”

“I think as a sailor, this is very exciting,” said Bekking. “For the younger generation of sailors, they’re all about foiling and surfing and going fast and you have to get the best sailors involved in the race. With the Open 60s, they’ve nailed it, because this is what the sailors want.”

“We’re trying to make a boat for the future that is capable of doing both short-handed and fully-crewed races,” said the highly successful IMOCA designer Guillaume Verdier. “My opinion is that it is doable with a bit of compromise from both worlds to meet in the middle.”

Nick Bice, who has been running The Boatyard shared maintenance department for the Volvo 65s, is leading the development of the new rule.

“The process is just starting,” said Nick Bice, who is leading the project to develop the Open 60 rule for the next race. “We’ll forward everyone’s input to the joint committee and get started on developing the rules that will be used for Open 60s to participate in the next race. Our goal is to have this ready to go by the end of the year.”

We look at more of the questions surrounding the future of the race, including opportunities for female crew and possible future routes, in the August issue of Yachting World, out on Thursday 5 th July. We also have a personal account from Dongfeng Race Team’s skipper Charles Caudrelier and shoreside navigator Marcel Van Triest of how the final leg and overall race was won.

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OUR HISTORY WITH THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE

Since the 1981-1982 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race (formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race), Farr Yacht Design has been designing competitive boats that race in the toughest sailing race in the world. We have designed a total of 36 different designs. In the 2014-15 and 2017-18 editions, the race has changed into a one design format, using the Volvo Ocean 65 (design № 757).

VOLVO OCEAN 65

Design № 757

OUR VOLVO OCEAN RACE DESIGNS

Sorted by year & design number

Design № 757 (2012)

Design № 715 (2010)

VOLVO OPEN 70 "AZZAM"

Design № 635 (2007)

VOLVO OPEN 70 "TELEFONICA BLACK"

VOLVO OPEN 70 "TELEFONICA BLUE"

Design № 550 (2003)

VOLVO OPEN 70 "MOVISTAR"

Design № 545 (2003)

VOLVO OPEN 70 "BRASIL 1," "BLACK PEARL," "ERICSSON"

Design № 476 (2001)

VOLVO OCEAN 60 "AMER SPORTS TOO"

Design № 476 (2000)

VOLVO OCEAN 60 "ASSA ABLOY"

Design № 474 (2003)

VOLVO OCEAN 60 "TEAM NEWS CORP."

Design № 473 (2000)

VOLVO OCEAN 60 "TEAM SEB"

Design № 472 (2000)

VOLVO OCEAN 60 "TEAM TYCO"

Design № 471 (2000)

VOLVO OCEAN 60 "ILLBRUCK CHALLENGE"

Design № 396 (1996)

WHITBREAD 60 "SILK CUT"

Design № 394 (1996)

WHITBREAD 60 "SWEDISH MATCH"

Design № 392 (1996)

WHITBREAD 60 "KVAERNER INNOVATION"

Design № 390 (1996)

WHITBREAD 60 "MERIT CUP"

Design № 388 (1996)

Design № 386 (1996)

WHITBREAD 60 "CHESSIE RACING"

Design № 384 (1996)

WHITBREAD 60 "ELLE RACING"

Design № 382 (1996)

WHITBREAD 60 "TOSHIBA"

Design № 378 (1996)

WHITBREAD 60 "EF LANGUAGE," "EF EDUCATION"

Design № 293 (1991)

WHITBREAD 60 "YAMAHA"

Design № 292 (1992)

WHITBREAD 60 "INTRUM JUSTITIA"

Design № 287 (1992)

WHITBREAD 60 "WINSTON"

Design № 286 (1992)

WHITBREAD 60 "TOKIO"

Design № 284 (1993)

WHITBREAD 60 "GALICIA PESCANOVA 93"

Design № 282 (1991)

WHITBREAD 60 "HEINEKEN" (EX-"YAMAHA" & "HETMAN SAHAIDACHNY")

Design № 278 (1992)

WHITBREAD MAXI "MERIT CUP," "LA POSTE"

Design № 274 (1992)

WHITBREAD MAXI "NEW ZEALAND ENDEAVOUR"

Design № 195 (1988)

WHITBREAD MAXI "THE CARD"

Design № 191 (1987)

WHITBREAD MAXI "FISHER & PAYKEL"

Design № 190 (1987)

WHITBREAD MAXI "STEINLAGER II"

Design № 183 (1985)

WHITBREAD MAXI "MERIT"

Design № 144 (1981)

WHITBREAD MAXI "ATLANTIC PRIVATEER"

Design № 131 (1983)

WHITBREAD MAXI "UBS SWITZERLAND"

Design № 90 (1980)

WHITBREAD MAXI "CERAMCO NEW ZEALAND"

Design № 81 (1981)

WHITBREAD MAXI "DISQUE D'OR"

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