Auckland to host longest, toughest Volvo Ocean Race in 2018
The organisers say the new round-the-world route will be faster and take a month less time.
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The Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 will be the longest and toughest yet after organisers announced a new route overnight.
Auckland remains one of the stopovers in the 43-year-old around the world yachting race of around 45,000 nautical miles (nm), crossing four oceans and taking in 10 other major cities on five continents.
The will start from Alicante, Spain, in late 2017 with a 700nm sprint to Lisbon, Portugal. From there the fleet will head south toward Cape Town, South Africa, before racing through the Southern Ocean and then back north across the equator to Hong Kong SAR, China in what will be one of the longest legs in race history.
After a non-scoring transition to Guangzhou, China, where an in-port race and full set of stopover activities will be held, the ocean racing will resume from Hong Kong to Auckland.
The fleet will then head back through the Southern Ocean, around Cape Horn, and up through the Atlantic Ocean to the southern Brazilian city of Itajaí.
From there, the boats will head back into the northern hemisphere to Newport, Rhode Island, before crossing the North Atlantic to Cardiff, the first return to British shores in 12 years.
The fleet will then head around the top of the British Isles to the penultimate stopover in Gothenburg, Sweden, and then the finish at The Hague in the Netherlands.
While the teams will sail more distance than ever before, the race itself is scheduled to be one month shorter than in most of the last 12 editions.
Volvo Ocean Race chief executive Mark Turner says the shorter time promises “More action, more speed, more tough miles and more host venues … it’s an evolution in the right direction and a move that takes the race closer to its original roots and heritage, while improving its strong commercial value and an excellent business case for sponsors.”
The route
(Click to zoom)
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Nevil Gibson
Thu, 30 Jun 2016
Thu, 30 Jun 2016
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Auckland to host longest, toughest Volvo Ocean Race in 2018
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