The Ocean Race

History

In 1972 England's Whitbread company and the British Royal Naval Sailing Association agreed to sponsor a globe-circling regatta, which would be called the 'Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race'.

Seventeen yachts and 167 crew started the first race of 27,500 nmi, which began from Portsmouth, United Kingdom on 8 September 1973. Approximately 3000 spectator boats set out to witness the historic start. The first race was won by Mexican amateur Ramon Carlin in a Swan 65 yacht, Sayula II. Sayula II was followed by Adventure, Grand Louis and Kriter.

The original course was designed to follow the route of the square riggers, which had carried cargo around the world during the 19th Century.

From 2001 the ownership of the race was taken over by Volvo and Volvo Cars and the race was renamed the ‘Volvo Ocean Race’. Stopover ports were added in Germany, France, and Sweden being Volvo's three biggest car markets in Europe.

Winning the race does not attract a cash prize, as the feat of competing is presented as sufficient reward.

Many of the crew in the Volvo Ocean Race race crew other professional teams in other high-profile events, such as the Olympic Games, Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the America's Cup, or the Fastnet Race.

The worst weather conditions are usually encountered in the Southern Ocean where waves sometimes top 150 ft and winds can reach 70 kn.

The 2017–18 race covered 45,000 nautical miles, which is the longest route in its history.

The yachts

Early races had a very wide range of boat types, but concerns after the 1989–1990 race led to the development of the Whitbread 60 single design. This was a reaction to increasing costs of the biggest, "maxi", boats, and their advantage over the rest of the field – Steinlager 2 won every leg in the maxi division and was the winner overall, with many of the smaller boats finishing legs more than ten days after the winner.

The Whitbread 60 design was used for all smaller boats in the 1993–1994 race, and for all in the 1997–1998 race. The race continued to be restricted to a single class for the next seven races – but moved to the Volvo Open 70, then the Volvo Ocean 65.

Two classes of boats were used for the 2023 edition of the race: the Volvo Ocean 65 and the IMOCA 60.

The route

Though the route changes to accommodate various ports of call, the race typically departs Europe in October, and in recent editions has had either 9 or 10 legs, with in-port races at many of the stopover cities. The 2008–09 race started in Alicante, Spain, on October 11, 2008. The route for the 2008–2009 race was altered from previous years to include stopovers in India and Asia for the first time. The 2008–09 route covered nearly 39,000 nmi, took over nine months to complete, and reached a cumulative TV audience of 2 billion people worldwide.

During the nine months of the 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race, which started in Alicante, Spain in October 2011 and concluded in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012, the teams were scheduled to sail over 39,000 nmi of the world's most treacherous seas via Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, around Cape Horn to Itajaí, Miami, Lisbon, and Lorient.

As in the previous editions the 2014–15 Volvo Ocean Race started in Alicante, Spain on October 11. Destination was Gothenburg, Sweden, scheduled for June 2015, with stopovers in the ports of Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Lisbon, Lorient, and with a Pitstop at The Hague through the last leg.

List of races

Notable records

• Netherlands, only country to have three wins
• Conny van Rietschoten, only skipper to win the race twice
• Steinlager 2, only yacht to ever win all six legs

Horrevoets Trophy

In May 2009, The Ocean Race launched the Hans Horrevoets Rookie Award to recognize the outstanding under-30 sailor in each edition of the race as nominated by the respective skippers.

Recipients:

• 2008–09 - Michael "Michi" Mueller - Puma Ocean Racing
• 2011–12 - David "Dave" Swete - Team Sanya
• 2014–15 - Sophie Ciszek - Team SCA
• 2017–18 - Bleddyn Mon - Turn the Tide on Plastic
• 2023–23 - Will Harris - Team Malizia

References

References

1. (24 April 2018). "Drastic early days of broken boats and high drama in Whitbread Round the World Race".
2. Balman, Simone. (2018-04-26). "Volvo Ocean Race Menus {{!}} Oceans from Overindulgence".
3. Volvo Ocean Race. (2014-10-21). "Life at the Extreme – Ep. 2 – 'Time to say goodbye' {{!}} Volvo Ocean Race 2014–15".
4. Moynihan, Tim. "Grueling 39K-Mile Yacht Race Tests the Sanity of Cramped Crews". WIRED.
5. "Volvo Ocean Race – History". Volvo Ocean Race.
6. Weber, Bruce. (May 10, 2016). "Ramón Carlín, Casual Sailor Who Won a Round-the-World Race, Dies at 92". The New York Times.
7. "The Weekend Sailor |".
8. "The Weekend Sailor".
9. "Volvo Ocean Race – talkSailing". talksailing.co.uk.
10. "Volvo Ocean Race Trophy".
11. "2014–15 – 10 ports, 40,000 miles". Volvo Ocean Race.
12. "Volvo Ocean Race to stop in Newport, RI". Yahoo!.
13. "Volvo Ocean Race 1989-90".
14. "The Volvo Ocean 65 – cool design, emotional impact". Volvo Ocean Race.
15. "United Kingdom – Volvo Car UK Ltd". volvocars.com.
16. "Volvo Ocean Race – Race Schedule". Volvo Ocean Race.
17. "Volvo Ocean Race – Marketing". Volvo Ocean Race.
18. (2023-01-14). "Future of The Ocean Race explained".
19. "New Hans Horrevoets trophy for Volvo Ocean Race Rookie".
20. "Hans Horrevoets Memorial Race - Rookieprijs voor Michi Müller".
21. "Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 | Hoops scoops MCM prize as glittering ceremony brings Race to a close".
22. (2 May 2016). "Sophie Ciszek: Keeping the Flame Lit >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News".
23. https://www.facebook.com/TurntheTideonPlastic/posts/congratulations-to-bleddyn-mon-who-was-awarded-the-hans-horrevoets-rookie-award-/1868671209819757/ {{Webarchive. link. (2023-07-22 {{User-generated source). (May 2022)