Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 Racing Schedule

The 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race will visit eight stopover ports on five continents and race through four oceans in under nine months. The Volvo Open 70's will cover 39,270 nautical miles racing around the globe.

The Fastnet Rock will be the last landmark the sailors will sail around before their final sprint up the west coast of Ireland to the finish in Galway. Hopefully the fleet will round Fastnet during daylight hours and allow for some iconic photographs to be taken.

Galway will be the first finish city in the race's history to hold an inshore race after the final leg. This will not only give the teams a chance to add valuable points to their overall scores but also allow the enthusiastic Irish fans to enjoy the racing on Galway Bay.

Dates for your 2011 and 2012 diaries:

Event	Start Port	Finish Port	Start Day	Start Date	Estimated Finish Date	Nautical miles
Pro-Am Race	Alicante	-	Sat	29-Oct-11
In-Port Race	Alicante	-	Sun	30-Oct-11
Leg 1	Alicante	Cape Town	Sat	05-Nov-11	25-Nov-11	6500
Pro-Am Race	Cape Town	-	Fri	09-Dec-11
In-Port Race	Cape Town	-	Sat	10-Dec-11
Leg 2	Cape Town	Abu Dhabi	Sun	11-Dec-11	01-Jan-12	5430
Pro-Am Race	Abu Dhabi	-	Thu	12-Jan-12
In-Port Race	Abu Dhabi	-	Fri	13-Jan-12
Leg 3	Abu Dhabi	Sanya	Sat	14-Jan-12	04-Feb-12	4600
Pro-Am Race	Sanya	-	Fri	17-Feb-12
In-Port Race	Sanya	-	Sat	18-Feb-12
Leg 4	Sanya	Auckland	Sun	19-Feb-12	08-Mar-12	5220
Pro-Am Race	Auckland		Fri	16-Mar-12
In-Port Race	Auckland		Sat	17-Mar-12
Leg 5	Auckland	Itajai	Sun	18-Mar-12	04-Apr-12	6705
Pro-Am Race	Itajai		Fri	20-Apr-12
In-Port Race	Itajai		Sat	21-Apr-12
Leg 6	Itajai	Miami	Sun	22-Apr-12	06-May-12	4800
Pro-Am Race	Miami		Fri	18-May-12
In-Port Race	Miami		Sat	19-May-12
Leg 7	Miami	Lisbon	Sun	20-May-12	31-May-12	3590
Pro-Am Race	Lisbon		Fri	08-Jun-12
In-Port Race	Lisbon		Sat	09-Jun-12
Leg 8	Lisbon	Lorient	Sun	10-Jun-12	17-Jun-12	1940
Pro-Am Race	Lorient		Fri	29-Jun-12
In-Port Race	Lorient		Sat	30-Jun-12
Leg 9	Lorient	Galway	Sun	01-Jul-12	03-Jul-12	485
Pro-Am Race	Galway		Fri	06-Jul-12
In-Port Race	Galway		Sat	07-Jul-12
Reserve Day	Galway		Sun	08-Jul-12

The 2nd Coming: Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 to Finish in Galway

 Face in the crowd, Torben Grael, skipper Ericsson 4, Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. (Copyright 2009 Sailpix Ireland)

Torben Grael looks pleased to be in Galway as he walks past one of the city's institutions - McDonagh's Fish and Chip shop, Quay Street. It had taken Ericsson 4 just over seven days, ten and a half hours sailing before arriving from Boston to a tumultuous Irish welcome just after midnight on Sunday, 24 May 2009. Over the next five hours or so the remaining six boats completed the 2,550 nautical mile transatlantic crossing to an equally rapturous welcome including home port hero, Green Dragon which arrived in 3rd - the team's first leg podium of the campaign.

Green Dragon skipper Ian Walker summed up the experience from the crew's point of view:

When I saw the welcome we received on arriving in Galway I was speechless but when we left 2 weeks later it was with tears in my eyes. I knew Galway was a great city and a city that loves to party but never in my wildest dreams did I think Galway and Ireland would take so much to the Volvo Ocean Race. I can only say thank you from all of us for such a wonderful 2 weeks... What fantatsic memories we have of Galway Bay and I look forward to returning soon. 

 
Following the huge success of Galway in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09, it was today (10 Mar 2010) announced Ireland will again feature in the new route for 2011-12.  The fleet will race from Lorient in France back to Galway on Ireland’s west coast. 

Galway, whose twin town since 1975 is Lorient, has fought an intense contest against the other bidding ports to win back the event for a second edition and the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 will complete its lap around the globe in Ireland’s ‘cultural heart’, where the final prize giving will be held. 

The Taoiseach (the Prime Minister of Ireland) Brian Cowen stated:

“The 2009 stop over in Galway made an abiding impression on the sailors, support crews, organisers and media, who were immersed in the warmth of an Irish welcome.

Their presence, in turn, had an enormous beneficial impact on Galway, the west of Ireland and indeed the entire country. Their arrival here was spectacular and their visit helped generate a massive 55 million Euros for the regional economy, more than one third higher than the original projections.

Given its economic benefits and its importance to Irish tourism, I am more than happy to welcome the return of the Volvo Ocean Race to our shores and pledge our support for the event”.

The stopover in Galway during May 2009 fuelled the public imagination as never before.  Over 600,000 supporters visited the race village during the stopover, with the crowd peaking at 62,000 people on in-port race day alone.  The seaside resort of Salthill drew a further crowd of 120,000 to watch the dramatic close combat race from the shoreline.

Green Dragon, Inshore Race Galway, Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 (Copyright 2009 Sailpix Ireland)

Galway’s ‘home town boat’, Green Dragon, became Ireland’s second entry in the race - the first was NCB Ireland in 1989-90.  Double Olympic medallist, Ian Walker, guided the team to a fifth place finish overall and claimed the third spot on the podium when the fleet crossed the finish in Galway, delighting the huge crowd that had gathered to welcome them. 

“The interest in hosting the Volvo Ocean Race, particularly in Europe, has been quite overwhelming,” said Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Knut Frostad, as the last of the European ports was unveiled. 

“I am very proud to confirm Ireland’s participation and Galway will be a magnificent port to stage the finish of the event.  We have already experienced the enthusiasm that abounds in Ireland for the race and we are looking forward to bringing the competition to its conclusion in a country that really knows how to celebrate,” he said.

Today's announcement completes the list of European cities hosting the event.  The remaining ports will be introduced throughout March.


Galway Map HERE

Lorient to be Penultimate Stopover in Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12

Lorient, Brittany on the northwest coast of France will host the Volvo Ocean Race in the summer of 2012. It will be at the end of a 700 nautical mile leg from Lisbon. Lorient will be the penultimate stopover in the race.

Groupama, skippered by Franck Cammas, who is currently taking on the Jules Verne Trophy, has Lorient as its home base and will be France’s entry in the next two Volvo Ocean races. Ireland's Damian Foxall will form part of Groupama's crew as watch leader.

Damian Foxall on Green Dragon - Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 (Copyright 2009 Sailpix Ireland)

Great YouTube video below showing what we can expect from Lorient HERE.

Lisbon to be end of Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 Transatlantic Leg

Lisbon has been chosen as the first European port for the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. It will be the finish of the transatlantic leg of the race during the summer of 2012. The second European port will be announced on Wednesday 03 March. The entire route will be revealed by the end of the month.

What odds now on a return visit of the Volvo Ocean Race to Galway in 2012?

Cape Town is First Stopover Port for Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012

The racetrack for the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race, due to start from Alicante in Spain in autumn 2011, is now set and the first port of call will once again be Cape Town, South Africa. This marks the beginning of the port announcement process for the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012. The rest of the course will be revealed before the end of March. Over 80 bids from ports around the world, including Galway, want to host the event.

Leg 1 at 6,500 nautical miles, which in 2008-2009 took the eventual race winner Ericsson 4 almost 22 days to complete, is one of the longest in the race and historically the team that wins this leg has gone on to claim the winner's trophy.

The European ports of call for the Volvo Ocean Race in 2012, including the finish port, will be the next to be announced and the entire route is set to be revealed before the end of March.

Update 26 Feb 2010: A press release will be issued at 1200 GMT/1300 CET on 01 March and 1100GMT/1200 CET on 03 March.

Start of Leg 8 Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 Galway to Marstrand

 

Credit: Race diagram courtesy of Volvo Ocean Race S.L.U.

Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4 (Copyright 2009 Sailpix Ireland)

Telefonica Black (Copyright 2009 Sailpix Ireland)

Delta Llyod (Copyright 2009 Sailpix Ireland)

Telefonica Black (Copyright 2009 Sailpix Ireland)

Ericsson 3 (Copyright 2009 Sailpix Ireland)

A blustery Galway Bay on the 06 June 2009, scene of the start of Leg 8 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09, Galway to Marstrand.



Leg 8 (Galway Start) Photo Gallery HERE

Map HERE