ocean racing

Eight fast, squirrelly boats, 11 crew on each, and a whole globe on which to pit their skills.  For crewed ocean racing, this is the high end, and despite having started only last Saturday, the mass of the fleet from the 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race is already around 1,000+ miles into its 37,000 mile route.  This race was once known simply to sailors as “The Whitbread,” and while the sponsor has changed, the concept has remained the same:  Get your boat and crew around the world, faster than anyone else. 

Swiss skipper Dominique Wavre and French yachtswoman Michele Paret crossed the finish line in their IMOCA Open 60 “Temenos II” to become the third boat to finish in the Barcelona World Race.

They crossed the finish line at 18.09 GMT on Sunday just off the Olympic Port of Barcelona among family, friends and supporters who accompanied the ecstatic skippers back to shore.

New York has claimed a Valentine’s Day victory at the end of Race 6 from Singapore to Qingdao, China, arguably the toughest race so far of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race.

Rio de Janeiro, Brasil - In winds over 35 knots, and waves over 5 meters, "Abbey Sea Baccarat”, an Aries yacht, has lost thier mast while enroute to Rio. This is the second yacht to fall out of the Offshore Race Rolex from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro due to mechanical failures.

Preparations for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 are well underway. Spanning some 37,000 nautical miles, stopping at around 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is a premier yacht race for professional racing crews.  Starting from Alicante in Spain on October 4th, it will for the first time, take in ports in India, Singapore and China. This will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon.