Issue date
On Friday 27 February, exactly six months from tomorrow, the Race Village for the Auckland Stopover will open for business ready to welcome the fleet contesting the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15.
Seven boats – the new one-design Volvo Ocean 65s – are due to contest this edition of the Race which starts in Alicante (Spain) next month and the fourth Leg will see the fleet race from Sanya (China) into Auckland.
Once the fleet arrives, the boats will moor in the Viaduct basin, in front of the Viaduct Events Centre. Each boat will be hauled out of the water for maintenance and repairs to prepare for the testing challenge of Leg 5, through the southern ocean to Itajai (Brazil).
During the Auckland Stopover, there will be a series of Pro-Am races on 12/13 March followed by the all-important In-Port Race on 14 March, when the teams have the chance to accumulate points for the In-Port Race Trophy.
At the last Auckland Stopover back in March 2012, more than 270,000 visitors enjoyed the huge range of free entertainment on offer in the Race Village and organisers promise that the Village will be even bigger and better in 2015.
CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, Knut Frostad has said “Many of the world’s best-known sailors are from New Zealand, and we are proud to bring the race back to the City of Sails, where we will be sure of a huge reception”.
“We are planning live entertainment on the stage on Te Wero island for twelve hours a day every day,” says Grant Calder, General Manager of the Auckland Stopover. “There will be the chance to walk through the Boatyard to view the racing yachts up close both on and off the water, a special exhibition in the Voyager Museum and all sorts of interactive fun for visitors of all ages. And it’s all free.”
Sponsors already signed up for the Auckland Stopover include FX Networks, Heineken, Stoneleigh and The Radio Network.
For further information, please contact:
Geraldine O’Kane
Marketing and Communications Executive | Auckland Stopover
Email: Geraldine@mayoand.com +64 (0) 27 205 5787
Website: www.volvooceanraceauckland.com
About the race
- The Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 starts in Alicante (Spain) on 4 October and features nine Legs with Stopovers in Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Sanya (China), Auckland (New Zealand), Itajai (Brazil), Newport (USA), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lorient (France) with a 24 hour pitstop in The Hague (Netherlands) before the finish in Gothenburg (Sweden) in June 2015.
- The Auckland Stopover runs from 27 February– 15 March 2015.
- 27 February 2015 (tbc): boats scheduled to arrive for finish of Leg 4 from Sanya (China)
- 13 March: Pro-Am Race
- 14 March: In-Port Race
- 15 March: Start of Leg 5 to Itajai (Brazil)
- The last Auckland Stopover was during the 2011-12 Race. There was a brief 48 hour pitstop in Wellington in 2005-06.
- The 2015 Stopover will be the ninth time the Race has come to Auckland. This is the twelfth edition of the Race which was first held back in 1973/74.
- Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) owns the rights to stage the Volvo Ocean Race Auckland Stopover (VORAS), and is the primary funder of the event.
- Government support for the event has been confirmed, including a grant from the Major Events Development Fund.
- ATEED has appointed Auckland major events company Mayo& to deliver the Stopover on its behalf.
- For more information on the Volvo Ocean Race Auckland Stopover, please visit www.volvooceanraceauckland.com
