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2011 Volvo Ocean Race

24K views 116 replies 25 participants last post by  PCP 
#1 · (Edited)
There are good news about the race:

It will be bigger (more boats) and probably more competitive than the last one.

They talk about 10 boats. Two new entries already: Italy 70 and Groupama, with Frank Cammas. French and Italian. Frank Cammas is one of the world's best sailors and it will be a very strong contender.

More, about the boats: Very few changes (to permit the last year boat's to be competitive). More changes about the type and number of sails, to reduce costs.

Volvo Ocean Race

We know that the race will begin in Alicante (Spain), a very nice port with the marina almost inside the city, that they will sail to Cape Town (South Africa) and then they will return to Europe, to Lisbon.

Lisbon choice was announced yesterday:

"Lisbon has been chosen as the first of the European ports for the 2011-12 race. It will be the first time that the historic Portuguese port has hosted a stopover.
Lisbon, located in the west of Portugal, will be the finish of the transatlantic leg of the race during the summer of 2012.

Interest in hosting the race in Europe was received from 34 cities, 15 of which went through to the final phase of the bidding process. Europe was by far the most competitive continent in the selection procedure.

"It is great to have such an iconic city included in our list of stopovers and Lisbon, especially, has wonderful sailing conditions, which will make for a very exciting in-port race," said CEO Knut Frostad.
"Lisbon is a delightful city with much to offer the race. This will be a stopover to look forward to after the rigours of the transatlantic leg.
---------------------------------------
The second European port will be announced on Wednesday 3 March. The entire route will be revealed by the end of the month".

Volvo Ocean Race

Regards

Paulo
 
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#4 · (Edited)
Next port of call: Lorient, 700km north of Lisbon.
<O:p</O:p
Till now the choice of Ports has been great. All great places, with a strong connection with sailing and sailors.
<O:p</O:p
About Lorient (Brittany-France):
<O:p</O:p
"We are extremely pleased to have a strong French presence in the race," said Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Knut Frostad. "It has long been our goal to reignite the passion of this classic event among the French people and we are delighted to have reached an agreement with the city of Lorient to host the event for two consecutives races."&#8230;."Over the last 10 years, Lorient has transformed its submarine base into a European-wide sailing cluster, hosting a business centre dedicated to yachting activities where maxi trimarans 'Banque Populaire V' and 'Groupama 3' were built. It also hosts an offshore sailing centre of about 50 teams including France's most famous skippers," according to Norbert Metairie, Mayor of Lorient and President of Cap l'Orient Council.<O:p></O:p>
&#8230;..<O:p</O:p
In the heart of the French 'sailing valley', the region also hosts the 'Cite de la Voile Eric Tabarly', a site dedicated to modern sailing race and bearing the name of the famous French skipper who sailed on four occasions in the Whitbread ... During the stopover in Lorient, the 'Cite de la Voile Eric Tabarly' will be located right in the centre of the race village&#8230;"It has been a personal mission for me to get France back (into the Volvo Ocean Race)&#8230;."We are planning to raise the level of communications for the next race. Our ambition is to engage more and more French sailors and the French public."
<O:p</O:p
Groupama, skippered by Franck Cammas, who is currently taking on the Jules Verne Trophy, has Lorient as its home base and will fly the French flag in the next two races."<O:p></O:p>
 
#5 ·
I have some new movies to share, but first the full program of the 2011 race:

http://volvoocean.vo.llnwd.net/o29/u/downloads/2010/racing-schedule/Volvo-Ocean-Race-2011-V3.pdf

The Volvo Ocean race ports are :

Alicante, Cape Town, Abu Dhasi, Sanya, Auckland, Itajaí, Miami, Lisbon, Lorient, Galway.

On all those cities we can watch the in-port races. I am going to be in Lisbon and Alicante and maybe I take a tour to know Ireland and renew my knowledge of Britany (fantastic region) and Lorient. If you plan to be on those spots at the right time, just say so, maybe we can drink some wine together;)

The videos:

A very "human" one:D :

YouTube - Funnies from 2005-06 - Volvo Ocean Race Redux

Some about the race great history:

YouTube - Legacy Revealed - A Brief History of the Volvo Ocean Race

YouTube - Evolution Of A Race - Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12

YouTube - A Hard Race - Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12

YouTube - VOLVO OCEAN RACE

YouTube - Volvo Ocean Race

And the 2011 race:

Watch out this two:

YouTube - Cat and Mouse - Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12

They are among the big favorites.

And some about the places and the race:

YouTube - Lisboa, capital mundial da vela

YouTube - The Race to Cape Town - Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12

YouTube - Itajaí in Brazil to Host the Volvo Ocean Race in South America

YouTube - Auckland the City of Sails to Host Volvo Ocean Race 2011 2012

YouTube - Lets do it Galway Volvo Ocean Race Promo

YouTube - Miami, Florida, a host port for the 2011 2012 Volvo Ocean Race

Regards

Paulo
 
#6 ·
Paulo,
Great links, thanks.
I took great interest in the last Volvo mainly cos I got mixed up with the Cruising Anarchy team for the Virtual Volvo. Very time consuming, probably ruined a couple of marriages but a lot of fun.
One thing I have to say though, "you could not pay me enough money to crew on one of those things".
Would you do it if you had the opportunity ?
Cheers
Andrew
 
#7 ·
Hum! You are going to think I am crazy and probably I am but I couldn't do that, but probably not for the reasons you think. I am kind of a loner and all those guys living in close quarters for such a long time ...I wouldn't probably be able to handle that. But alone or in duo in an Open 60...that's more my style:) . Make it a class 40:D , an Open 60 is just too scary for a beginner.

Regards

Paulo
 
#16 ·
IT STARTED!

And with a surprise on the first port race: The Arabs won:D Who would have guessed? It is not even a new boat:rolleyes:

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing surged to a commanding victory in the Iberdrola In-Port Race in Alicante, taking maximum points from the first competitive action in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 to gain an early advantage over their rivals.

The crew, led by British skipper and double Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker, roared home to a massive 14-minute win over their closest rivals to make it a dream debut for the first team from the United Arab Emirates to enter the race.

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG were second, ahead of CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand in third. Team Sanya edged Groupama sailing team in the battle for fourth and fifth, with Team Telefónica trailing home.


Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 | Abu Dhabi surge to victory in first in-port race

look at the movie:

volvooceanracevideos's Channel - YouTube
 
#19 ·
yep im playin the game. just finished 3 thousandth and something in the practice race. I was a dummy about the start of the race, got a 4 hour late start.....note to self, subtract 4 hours from the announced utc start time to arrive at the proper eastern standard start time. this game could be very addictive.......its also gonna be a great way to get my sailing fix while waiting for the snow and ice to melt
 
#21 ·
I thought that you guys just have something against French organized offshore races, but it seems that is not only that. How it is possible that there are no post about this race? The biggest crew circumnavigation race?

It could be because it was boring, but it is just the opposite, it is been incredible!!!

What's wrong with you guys?:D

Teams are set to receive some relief from the battering, with the westerly winds and short, choppy sea state due to ease...Two of the six boats in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 were forced to suspend racing inside the first 24 hours offshore as the teams were beset by brutal sea conditions while still in the Mediterranean.

Well, that's why the old navy French sailors (when the warships were sailboats) called the Med, "la Garce" that means the "*****:D"

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing came back into Alicante under engine this morning after the mast on the team's racing yacht Azzam had broken in five-metre waves and 30 knots of wind the previous night, just six hours and 85 nautical miles from the start of Leg 1, a 6,500-nm haul to Cape Town.

While Ian Walker's team were on their way back to the start port, rivals Team Sanya were reporting damage to their hull while sailing upwind in 35-38 knots.

The boat was approximately 30nm southeast of Motril, on the coast of Spain. The wind was blowing 43 knots and the waves were around 10.5 metres, the team reported. They suspended racing and made their way to the port of Motril to assess the damage. Sanya bowman Andy Meiklejohn injured his foot during a sail change and once ashore sought medical advice. Doctors have confirmed his foot is broken.

In a graphic demonstration of the problems all the boats were facing, an interview filmed on board CAMPER with Roberto "Chuny" Bermúdez resulted in the Spaniard being blown to the ground and slammed across deck.

"The Mediterranean sometimes gets like this &#8230; but the boat is going fine," the video shows him saying to camera, just as he is knocked off his feet. Unscathed, he continues the interview below deck.


... Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad, who competed in the race four times himself, twice as skipper.

"These are some of the toughest conditions boats can run into in the Volvo Ocean Race but the teams and their shore crews are fully prepared for these types of incidents and they will be working around the clock to get the boats back racing as soon as possible."


movie:

Brutal wave smashes Abu Dhabi - Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 - YouTube

Look at the race tracker:

Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 | Race Data Center

And Groupama with a comlptely different approach. It is going to make the Strait near the African coast. If you go on the middle you can lose 2 to 6K against the current, much less near the coast (I have done that strait 6 times:D).

The other ones have to cross it while Camas will sail along the coast. I am curious to see if that strategy pays off:D.
 
#25 ·
I got hooked early, but haven't posted about it. I got up Saturday for the 0800CDT start, and it was very exciting. Two boats out already, what a beating. I imagine Abu Dhabi will be back, but I wonder about Sanya, hull's aren't quick to fix.
I also wonder why Groupama is going so much slower than the rest of the fleet?
 
#28 ·
...but I wonder about Sanya, hull's aren't quick to fix.
They are probably out for this leg. But, remember Ericsson 3 in 2009... Major hull work in the Philippines resulted in them pulling into Qingdao as the rest of the fleet was leaving on leg 5. But, after a quick turn around and a departure seven hours after the rest of the boats, they went on to win that leg. Magnus Olssen flopping around on the stage at the award ceremony in Rio is one image I will never forget.
 
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