As recently as the late 1980s, the idea of an all-female sailing team in the Whitbread Round the World Race (the predecessor to the Volvo Ocean Race) seemed laughable to many. How could women handle the competition? They weren’t strong enough. They wouldn’t be able to take the ...read more
Images trigger memory. Preparing to interview the golden boy of American sailing, I thought I would find a picture that would show Ken Read at the peak of his sailing career, his heyday, to share and have a warm and fuzzy start to our conversation. It was a commanding image from ...read more
The most recent edition of the Volvo Ocean Race ended with one of the most exciting finishes in the race’s long history. It all came down to the last few hours of the final leg of the race from Gothenburg, Sweden, to The Hague when the three leading teams—Spain’s Mapfre, China’s ...read more
There are plenty of reasons to do a Chicago-Mac race, and Rich Stearns, who has done literally dozens of ‘em should know. This year, though, he’s doing the Solo-Mac for an especially important reason: to help those with prostate cancer. “Two years ago, I was diagnosed with ...read more
After winning three of the last four legs in the Volvo Ocean Race (and coming in second in the fourth), Dutch-flagged Brunel is now tied for first overall with Spanish-flagged Mapfre and Chinese-flagged Dongfeng following the completion of Leg 10 from Cardiff, Wales, to ...read more
It’s looking to be a case of feast or famine for the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean fleet as it continues the epic struggle that has been Leg 10, with it having been all famine thus far. Painful is the only word to describe the light-air start in Cardiff, Wales, on June 10, as the 11-boat ...read more
Before the start of Leg 9 from Newport, Rhode Island, to Cardiff, Wales, Dutch-flagged Team Brunel skipper Bouwe Bekking described it as a “must win” for his crew after finishing first and second in the previous two legs. Well, win it they did, and in the process, they not only ...read more
The Volvo Ocean Race stopovers are a chance for sailors to rest between grueling legs of the race and for fans to enjoy seeing their favorite boats in person. Behind the scenes of the festivities, however, Nick Bice and his team of expert riggers, boatbuilders, sailmakers and ...read more
. Despite the usual tactical and strategic challenges that are part and parcel of sailing up the coast of Brazil in the South Atlantic, a mercifully swift doldrums passage and strong northeast trade winds have the Volvo Ocean Race rocketing toward a finish in Newport as soon as ...read more
It’s a very different kind of sailing from what the fleet experienced in the course of a windy Leg 7, as the Volvo Ocean Race wends its way north from Brazil to Newport, Rhode Island. As expected, the St. Helena High, which dominates the weather in the South Atlantic, has made ...read more
. In an exclusive video for SAIL, AkzoNobel skipper Simeon Tienpont reflects on his team’s recent first-place finish in Auckland, the state of the team overall, and what he thinks will be the key to success in Leg 8 of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race through the Southern Ocean. ...read more
Vestas 11th Hour Racing co-captains Mark Towill and Charlie Enright discuss the collision near the end of Leg 4 as well as the efforts the team has made to get back into racing trim Just over a month after 11th Hour Racing’s fatal collision with a commercial fishing vessel ...read more
No, this ain’t Cape Horn, it’s the Volvo Ocean Race fleet a couple of days ago battling through the Strait of Gibraltar. Sorry, but anyone who says a boat needs to be a full-foiler to be exciting, needs to have their head examined! Alas, things have gone a good deal lighter in ...read more
Foiling boats bring the racing classic into the 21st century The Volvo Ocean Race recently announced some design changes for the 2019-20 event, and I for one am very pleased. It’s true I have been ranting on Sailfeed (sailfeed.com) against the unimaginative slab-sided boats ...read more
In what is being described as a return to the Volvo Ocean Race’s roots, the route for the 2017-18 will feature almost three times as much Southern Ocean racing as the previous running. No longer will crews have to contend with an often light-air slog north through the Indian ...read more
Even as the America’s Cup continues to drift farther and farther away from North American sailing fans, the Volvo Ocean Race continues to sink deeper roots in U.S. soil. First, there was the decision to return to Newport, Rhode Island, site of one of the more successful ...read more
U.S. sailors Charlie Enright and Mark Towill, co-leaders of Team Alvimedica in the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race, have announced they are in for the 2017-18 event, in which they will be partnering with the environmental group 11th Hour Racing and past VOR sponsor Vestas. Vestas, a ...read more
An upset, an incredible comeback and what looks to be the crowning of a new champion: Leg 8 of the Volvo Ocean Race may have been a short one, but there was certainly no lack of drama. First and foremost, the 647-mile sprint from Lisbon, Portugal, to Lorient, France, provided a ...read more
So much for the match race between Dongfeng and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam. In the run-up to Leg 7 from Newport, Rhode Island, to Lisbon, Portugal, it was pretty much assumed that, barring any kind of catastrophe, overall leader Azzam had the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race well ...read more
Short But Rough Atlantic Leg Ahead It seems the six-boat 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race fleet only arrived in Newport, Rhode Island, yesterday, and already the sailors are getting ready to set out on the2,800-mile seventh leg to Lisbon this Sunday. By VOR standards this one will be a ...read more
How tough has the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race been on the competitors? Perhaps Dongfeng skipper Charles Caudrelier put it best just south of the equator. “We’re feeling the pain, but I’m not too worried. It’s not just us, it’s the other boats too. When a competitor comes up to ...read more
After months of following the fleet online, Volvo Ocean Race fans will soon have the opportunity to meet the crews in person as the fleet is scheduled to depart Itajaí, Brazil, this weekend bound for Newport, Rhode Island, in the sixth offshore leg of the race. In contrast to ...read more
The fixed camera on the stern of Vestas Wind captured the worst possible unintended gybe. That’s when you’re blasting along at 19 knots through a tropical night offshore, and your Volvo Ocean 65 suddenly smashes its way up onto a reef, shearing off the rudders and spinning 180 ...read more
