Volvo Ocean Race Galway
650,000 people visited the Race Village during the Galway stopover in the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. 10,000 people lined the harbour walls at 3am on the morning of 24th May 2009 to welcome the Volvo Ocean Race fleet into Ireland, culminating in record crowds of almost 200,000 for the In Port and Pro Am Race. Now it’s back!
Ireland’s most exciting Festival Event the Volvo Ocean Race Grand Finale is set to enthral the city of Galway again from the 30th June to the 8th July 2012. The Volvo Ocean Race fleet will arrive in from Lorient to Galway on the 3rd July 2012 to the biggest festival in Ireland, that will embrace all cultures from each of the race stopovers. The Volvo Ocean Race Grand Finale 2011-2012 will be an 8 day festival of marine, sport, culture and arts, entertainment and food. Galway will extend the festival to include the Global Village across the harbour which will add to the entertainment and hospitality focus of the Race Village with a networking, exhibition and conference area for the business to business sector. The Galway Global Village will feature shows, exhibitions, entertainment and an unprecedented Grand Finale to the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012. The In-Port race is on the 7th July, after which the winner of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 will be declared.
Galway is a vibrant city with a labyrinth of winding medieval streets, waterways and a maritime history and culture dating back centuries. Situated on the west coast of Ireland along the shores of Galway Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, Galway has long been considered a centre of cultural excellence and looks forward to extending a céad míle fáilte (a hundred thousand welcomes) to the Volvo Ocean Race Round the World.
For more information on the Galway Global Village Please CLICK HERE to download the E-Brochure in PDF format.
The Volvo Ocean Race is the longest professional sporting event in the world. The event is a nine-month marathon of the seas, passing through four oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Southern Oceans) and five continents (Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe). The competitors risk their lives every day in the most extreme conditions of any sailing event. The race covers the greatest distance of any professional sailing event, in total 39,270 nautical miles. The Volvo Open 70 racing yacht is the fastest monohull in the world. It boasts a heritage of excellence stretching back to the first race in 1973 – 74, when Sayula II won what was then called the Whitbread Round the World Race. The Volvo Ocean Race shares cutting-edge technology with respect for the environment and is contested by the best sailors in the world.
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The Volvo Ocean Race is the most extreme, most dangerous, and most challenging sailing event on the planet….
This race is a dream young sailors aspire to, and brings together the best talent from around the world. Often referred to as the ‘Everest of Sailing’, the Volvo Ocean Race is a test of skill and endurance.
The crew are bound for the most treacherous waters on earth on a mission to smash things – speed records, huge waves, the will of the competition. These boats are being sailed in an extreme manner in extreme conditions. ‘The sacrifices, the risks, the human dramas these sailors go through are simply incredible, and all for the simple prestige of winning.
Many have tried, including the late Eric Tabarly, France’s most famous sailor, while the late Sir Peter Blake finally won at the firth attempt with Steinlanger 2 in 1989-90.
In Galway in July 2012 we will have a new winner but not before the boats have covered more than 39,000 nautical miles, passing through extremes of conditions that will test the teams to the very limit.
Knut Frostad, CEO, Volvo Ocean Race
THE SIX TEAMS
Eleven crewmembers on each of the race boats push themselves to the limit of human endurance over periods as long as 25 days at sea, in the most hostile oceans of the world
The teams will face extremes of temperature ranging from-15 degrees in the Southern Ocean to 45 degrees at the equator
Three of the onboard sailing team must be aged 30 or under.
This allows young sailors to gain Volvo Ocean Race experience and helps secure the legacy of the race
The 2011-12 race is the 11th edition of the event
In addition to the offshore legs, in-port racing will give the public front row seats to watch a spectacular show of speed, technology and skill
as the Volvo Open 70s race in the Host Port harbours
There are 10 Host Ports: Alicante (Spain), Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Sanya (China),
Auckland (New Zealand), Itajaí (Brazil), Miami (USA), Lisbon (Portugal), Lorient (France) and Galway (Ireland)
The race starts in Alicante, Spain on October 29, 2011 and finishes on July 7, 2012 in Galway, Ireland
Ericsson 4 (Leg 1, 2008-09) holds the world mono-hull 24-hour speed record, 596.6 nautical miles. That is an average speed of 24.9 knots.
Sailors in the 2011-12 race have 8 Olympic medals between them, 4 gold and 4 silver. Team Telefónica have 5 while Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing have 3.
The race has sailors from 15 nations, 20 NZL, 9 AUS, 8 FRA, 8 ESP, 5 USA, 5 GBR, 2 IRL, 3 RSA, 2 SWE, 2 UAE, 1 GER, 1 NOR, 1 BRA, 1 CHN, 1 BEL
221,000 people played the official Volvo Ocean Race game during the last race. The prediction for this race is for over a million players
Close to 4 million people came to the Volvo Ocean Race villages in the last race.
The Trophy
Volvo Ocean Race Trophy
- As with the Olympic Games, there is no financial reward for winning this 39,270 nautical-mile race around the world
- Made by Proximma Communicacin, after a highly competitive bidding process
- Made of aluminium and silver plate
- Weighs 9kg and is 70cm high
- Comprises 11 wave-shaped rings that represent the 11 editions of the race
- The first 10 rings are engraved with the year of the race, the route, the winning boat and the skipper
- The 11th ring will be engraved in Galway in July 2012, at the end of the race
Past Winners of the Volvo Ocean Race
April 23rd Volvo Ocean Race Update
Team Telefonica, skippered by Iker Martinez of Spain, hold the overall lead with 149 points, followed by Groupama Sailing Team with 133. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand lie in third place with 124, 7 points ahead of PUMA, who has 117. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing is a distant 4th with 58 points, and last place Team Sanya has 25.
They now race north around the east coast of Brazil, past the Caribbean to the Bahamas, and arrive will arrive in Miami around May 6th.
Good afternoon. I would like to contact the Volvo Ocean Race organisers to advise them about a 3D Seismic Survey which will be taking place off the West Coast of Ireland during June, July and August 2012 on behalf of Shell E & P Ireland Ltd. Seismic survey involves placing large cables on the ocean floor which are attached to surface buoys. Another ship will tow cables over the ocean floor spread. I would like to make sure your vessels have details of this Seismic work, so that they can avoid the area in question. Please let me know whom I should contact with these details?
Eimear Stafford, Offshore Support, Sinbad Marine Services Ltd, Shore Road, Killybegs, Co. Donegal