Starting in Alicante, Lisbon and Cape Town follow, with Melbourne kicking off the 2018 side of the Race. Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff, and Gothenburg follow, with the Race set to end in June 2018 in The Hague.
Following previous editions of the event, the V&A Waterfront will be the host venue of the event for the 11th time, with activities planned around the race itself. A travelling race village will open its doors to visitors from 24 November 2017, allowing local and international fans of the Volvo Ocean Race to experience extreme sailing. The Volvo Ocean Race is owned by the Swedish group of companies.
The boats are expected to arrive in Cape Town around 27 November 2017, allowing the teams to step onto dry land for the first time in 6,300 nautical miles and after three weeks at sea. A full service will be performed in the port, preparing the yachts for the in-port events which lead up to the start of the next leg of the race. The in-port race is scheduled for 8 December 2017 and the boats will the set sail for Melbourne, Australia, on 10 December.
The Volvo Ocean 65 monohull racing yachts will again do duty in the 2017-18 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race after a decision was made before the previous edition to improve cost-effectiveness and sustainability by producing boats that would be suitable for two rounds of the event rather than one, and utilising a formula-based, One Design concept. The One Design concept, which sees all eight teams racing in identical boats designed by Farr Yacht Design, leads to closer competition and produces results based purely on sailing skill on the water rather than potential design and technical advantages.
For more, go to www.volvooceanrace.com.
