Issue date
THE START
The Race Village in Alicante officially opens in one week from today (2 October) and the crews of the seven Volvo Ocean 65s are completing final preparations before the first In-Port Race on Saturday 4 October (0500 NZDT).
The Race proper starts on Saturday 11 October when the fleet heads out of Alicante to race over 6,847nm in Leg 1 to Cape Town, South Africa.
2015 Auckland Stopover Board Chairman Richard Wingfield, Port Director Tom Mayo and General Manager Grant Calder will be in Alicante for final planning meetings with key staff from Race HQ and other Stopovers. New Zealand’s Ambassador to Spain, Michael Swain, will be there for the start of the Race.
KIWI SAILORS
A total of 212 Kiwi sailors have participated in the Race to date. Five will be participating in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15. They are:
Andrew Maclean in Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing
Ryan Houston and Dave Swete in Team Alvimedica
Tony Rae and Rob Salthouse in Team Vestas Wind
All are available for interview on request.
LEG ZERO
Team Vestas Wind, skippered by Chris Nicholson with Race veterans Tony Rae and Rob Salthouse aboard, were the winners of Leg Zero, the final practice race for the fleet.
The race was over 360 nautical miles and was also used to test communications, safety procedures and other processes. Read more here http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/7705_Fine-margins.html
TROPHY TOUR
The Volvo Ocean Race Trophy, which will be awarded to the winning team, is on a six week visit to New Zealand. It will be on show at the Auckland Boat Show from 25-28 September.
THE GAME
It’s time to race… from your armchair. The Virtual Volvo Ocean Race prologue game is now live.
Improve your navigation skills with a challenging course that departs from the Isle of Wight and race to Alicante in your brand new Volvo Ocean 65.
Register for the game now and you will be ready to play when the Virtual Volvo Ocean Race starts on 11 October.
Good luck to all you armchair sailors out there!
MEDIA ACCREDITATION
The application system for media accreditation for the Auckland Stopover is now open. Please apply online her
More 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
