To sail around the world is a challenge that most dream about. Those who have, know what it takes to stay alive! The Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) “Whitbread Round the World Race” will take eight competing boats about 39,000 nautical miles, stopping in nine ports (including Qingdao), to the edges of the earth and back around. In 2008-2009, Teams will race the fastest open-ocean single-hull class of sailboats ever built. The Volvo Open 70 Class (VO70) made its record-breaking race debut in 2005-06 as the world’s fastest and most technically-advanced monohull ocean racing yacht in the world.
This years teams include: Telefonica Blue, Telefonica Black, Puma, Ericsson 3, Ericsson 4, Green Dragon Team, Delta Lloyd, & Team Russia.
The race will start in Alicante, Spain, in early October 2008. After In-Port (IP) races in Alicante the fleet will head south on its first leg to Cape Town, South Africa on October 11th, 2008. The VOR teams will sail around Cape Town (South Africa) on their way to South-East Asia, KoChi, & Singapore, before its stop-over in Qingdao. After a short rest (about 15 days) in Qingdao the VOR will make the harsh journey around South America to Rio De Janeiro and then Boston, Masachutes USA. The final streach will include Galway, Goteborg, Stockholm, and St. Pertersberg.
Source:
www.volvooceanrace.org