Volvo Ocean Race

Volvo Ocean Race. It was a premier around-the-world team sailing event, often described as one of sailing's "Big Three" trophies alongside the America's Cup and The Ocean Race. Originally founded as the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973, the competition evolved into a grueling test of human endurance and cutting-edge technology, covering approximately 45,000 nautical miles. The race's final edition under the Volvo name concluded in 2018, after which the event was rebranded as The Ocean Race.

History

The event was conceived in 1972 by the Royal Naval Sailing Association and announced at the London Boat Show, with sponsorship from the British brewery Whitbread. The inaugural 1973–74 race started from Portsmouth, United Kingdom, and featured a fleet of diverse yachts, with the winner being Cornelis van Rietschoten's Sayula II. Under Whitbread's stewardship, the race grew in prestige and scale, attracting legendary sailors like Peter Blake and Grant Dalton. In 2001, Swedish automotive manufacturer Volvo acquired the rights, renaming it and introducing a new era of professionalization and media coverage. The race concluded its tenure under Volvo's ownership with the 2017–18 edition, won by Dongfeng Race Team, before the property was sold to a consortium led by Atlas Ocean Racing.

Format and rules

The competition traditionally followed a cloverleaf route around the world, starting in a European port like Alicante or Cape Town, passing through the Southern Ocean, and finishing in Northern Europe. The course included multiple marathon offshore legs and shorter in-port race series held in host cities like Auckland, Itajaí, and Newport, Rhode Island. Teams competed for points across both offshore and in-port racing, with the overall winner determined by cumulative score. A strict one-design rule was implemented in later editions to ensure competition focused on crew skill, and the event was governed by the World Sailing's Racing Rules of Sailing with additional special regulations for safety and competition integrity.

Boats and equipment

Early editions featured a wide variety of yacht designs under the International Offshore Rule, but the race later moved to strict one-design classes to control costs. The Volvo Open 70 (VO70) design, used from 2005 to 2015, was a powerful canting-keel monohull that pushed the boundaries of offshore speed. For the final two editions, the race introduced the Volvo Ocean 65, a identical one-design boat built for durability and intense media broadcasting. Crews utilized state-of-the-art navigation technology from B&G and wore survival suits from Musto, while onboard Media Crew Members captured the action for global broadcasts.

Notable editions and winners

The 1989–90 race was historic for the victory of Peter Blake's Steinlager 2, which achieved a clean sweep of all six legs. The 1997–98 edition was tragically marked by the loss of Tony Bullimore and the rescue operations coordinated by the Australian Defence Force. In 2001–02, the first under Volvo, John Kostecki skippered illbruck to victory. The 2011–12 race featured a dramatic final-leg showdown into Galway won by Franck Cammas's Groupama. The final 2017–18 edition saw a thrilling victory for Charles Caudrelier and the Chinese-sponsored Dongfeng Race Team, after a close battle with MAPFRE and Team Brunel.

Impact and legacy

It significantly advanced the technology and safety standards of offshore sailing, influencing designs seen in events like the Vendée Globe. The race's emphasis on onboard media revolutionized the broadcast of ocean racing, bringing dramatic Southern Ocean footage to a global audience. It also served as a pinnacle career achievement for countless professional sailors from nations like New Zealand, Spain, and the Netherlands. Its legacy continues under the new name The Ocean Race, which launched its next edition in 2023 from Alicante, maintaining the event's core identity as the ultimate fully-crewed around-the-world challenge.

Category:Yacht races Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1973 Category:Volvo