The Worlds Toughest Race?
What is the most challenging race you can think of? The Grand National, A Formula 1, or Le Mans 24-hour maybe? How about a race that takes nine months, travels over 39,000 nautical miles and visits ports across the world. That is a very gruelling competition and it starts on our very own doorstep in Alicante on October 11th. The Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) began life as the Whitbread Round the World Race and continued to start from British ports until 2005 when it changed to Galicia, Spain.
This years VOR, which is the 10th and longest race to-date, is also the first to start from a Mediterranean port. The action begins on October 4th with an in port race then the state-of-theart racing yachts set off a week later on the demanding challenge with their first destination, Cape Town South Africa.
A 40,000 m2 `Race Village´ has been constructed in the Alicante port area to accommodate the VOR organisers facilities including offices, crews base, etc. A public area of almost 15,000 m², where all types of entertainment will be organized for the visitors including children’s events, will open on September 19th. It will have leisure areas, bars and restaurants so everyone can enjoy a varied programme of concerts, shows, and activities. The organisers say the village will create 1,500 jobs and around 70 million euros income for the city.
The entries include Swedish, American, Russian, Irish, and Spanish yachts with teams up to a maximum of 14 crew, depending on the mix of the sexes. The race includes in-port ones as well as the long distance legs, which in 10 stages will take them around the globe. The Indian stopover, Kochi where a new marina has been constructed, will come at the end of the second leg of the race from Cape Town. With India’s new found wealth yachting is fast becoming big business and this event will boost local interest. As part of the global integration they will, for the first time ever, call into a Chinese port in Qingdao. From there they will set sail for the longest leg to Rio de Janeiro Brazil, via the legendry Cape Horn.
The `Whitbread´ as it became known dates back over 35 years to 1971 when a group of determined deep ocean sailors were enjoying Cowes week and came up with the idea for a round the world yacht race. They had many organisational obstacles to overcome and they badly needed a sponsor. The idea gained support from the Royal Navy who had the resources and technical know-how to play a major role in the race. Whitbread, the then brewing giant, became involved in 1972 and encouraged by the Navy’s involvement agreed to be the main race sponsors. The first race, which claimed some brave sailors lives, started in 1973 from Portsmouth harbour. The 1989 race saw the first ever all female crew skippered by Tracy Edwards. Volvo took over race sponsorship from Whitbread in 2001.
This punishing event will stretch the crew’s ability and also the yachts equipment to their maximum limits as they sail in some of the world’s toughest conditions. Mountainous seas, extreme cold and high winds will have to be endured and overcome by the crews and their equipment to become the overall winners. The use of the Internet is forbidden so no outside assistance is available to the hardy sailors.
The competition will complete in St Petersburg Russia during June 2009 by which time I do not doubt that the exhausted crews will well and truly know that they have taken part in the world’s toughest race and will have become part of the legend. This years VOR is scheduled in be the biggest and best race ever organised, let’s hope everyone reaches the finishing line safely.
FACT FILE
The most significant dates:
19th of September: grand opening party of the Village.
4th of October: in port race and award ceremony.
5th of October: Pro – Am Race.
6th to the 10th of October: Extreme 40 catamaran race.
11th of October: the start for the first leg to Cape Town in South Africa.
For more information visit:
http://www.volvooceanrace.org
http://www.alicante2008.com/main.php
First published TIM September 2008
