With 11 legs covering nearly 40,000 nautical miles of around-the-globe racing, the Volvo Ocean Race is one of the longest and toughest professional sporting events in the world. Teams spend countless hours preparing their boats and crew members for the big day when racing begins.
Part of that preparation started in August when the teams competed against each other in the Around the Island Race. The crews experienced 40-knot winds that provided thrilling racing conditions. A helicopter was on scene to capture this thrilling video of the boats sailing around the Isle of Wight:
The 2017-2018 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race officially begins on October 22 from Alicante, Spain. On October 8, seven teams departed from Lisbon, Portugal, for the phase-zero leg of the race called the Prologue. It’s a non-scored race that delivers fleet to the official starting point in Alicante. The fleet is expected to complete the approximately 680-mile journey later this week. Crews will then prepare for the October 14 in-port race, which is followed by the official October 22 start. The first leg is from Alicante to Lisbon. Leg two is from Lisbon to Cape Town, South Africa.
You can track the teams and learn more about the Volvo Ocean Race by visiting volovooceanrace.com.
