Not many people make the connection between Volvo and 100 year old ocean racing, but we just chalk this up to yet another little known fact about this great car company.
It all started with two sailors and their solo voyages around the world: British adventurer Sir Francis Chichester and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail single handed and non-stop around the world between June 14,1968 and April 22,1969.In 1973 the Whitbread round the World Race contest was held using fully crewed yachts. Dangerous and perilous doesn’t begin to describe the situation. In fact, three sailors were lost after being thrown overboard during storms. From that point on, they ran a similar contest every four years.
In 2001-2002, Volvo claimed the race as the first Volvo Ocean Race, which some refer to as the “Everest of Sailing.” The race lasts nine months, and this year we began in October 2011 in Alicante, Spain and will end in early July 2012 in Galway, Ireland. According to a Volvo press release, “teams will sail over 39,000 nautical miles of the world’s most treacherous seas via Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, around Cape Horn to Itajaí, Miami, Lisbon, and Lorient.”
Each sailing team includes 11 professional crew members, and, depending on the leg of the journey, a team member could race day and night for 20 days straight with only freeze-dried rations for sustenance. This is a major mental and physical challenge for sailors who will endure sleep deprivation and hunger while providing off-the-charts strength and tenacity in temperature variations from -5 to +40 degrees Celsius. Crew members are allowed to bring only one change of clothes, and each takes on a different job while onboard the yacht. Among the 11 crew members, at least two sailors will have had medical training, one sailmaker, an engineer and one dedicated media crew member.
The boats are 70 feet long mono-haul designs recognized as the fastest sailing vessels of their kind and reaching speeds in excess of 25 knots. In fact, the 24 h our sailing record of 592 nautical miles is held by a Volvo Ocean Race 70!
This race is not for the weak of heart or mind and includes extreme conditions, real-life drama and a true test of one’s ability to work as a team coupled with incredible endurance.
You can log onto this website and follow the race live:
http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/home.html
You can sign up to watch live streaming video here:
http://new.livestream.com/volvooceanrace
It all started with two sailors and their solo voyages around the world: British adventurer Sir Francis Chichester and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail single handed and non-stop around the world between June 14,1968 and April 22,1969.In 1973 the Whitbread round the World Race contest was held using fully crewed yachts. Dangerous and perilous doesn’t begin to describe the situation. In fact, three sailors were lost after being thrown overboard during storms. From that point on, they ran a similar contest every four years.
In 2001-2002, Volvo claimed the race as the first Volvo Ocean Race, which some refer to as the “Everest of Sailing.” The race lasts nine months, and this year we began in October 2011 in Alicante, Spain and will end in early July 2012 in Galway, Ireland. According to a Volvo press release, “teams will sail over 39,000 nautical miles of the world’s most treacherous seas via Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, around Cape Horn to Itajaí, Miami, Lisbon, and Lorient.”
Each sailing team includes 11 professional crew members, and, depending on the leg of the journey, a team member could race day and night for 20 days straight with only freeze-dried rations for sustenance. This is a major mental and physical challenge for sailors who will endure sleep deprivation and hunger while providing off-the-charts strength and tenacity in temperature variations from -5 to +40 degrees Celsius. Crew members are allowed to bring only one change of clothes, and each takes on a different job while onboard the yacht. Among the 11 crew members, at least two sailors will have had medical training, one sailmaker, an engineer and one dedicated media crew member.
The boats are 70 feet long mono-haul designs recognized as the fastest sailing vessels of their kind and reaching speeds in excess of 25 knots. In fact, the 24 h our sailing record of 592 nautical miles is held by a Volvo Ocean Race 70!
This race is not for the weak of heart or mind and includes extreme conditions, real-life drama and a true test of one’s ability to work as a team coupled with incredible endurance.
You can log onto this website and follow the race live:
http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/home.html
You can sign up to watch live streaming video here:
http://new.livestream.com/volvooceanrace
