NEWPORT, Rhode Island, USA, May 17 – Volvo Ocean Race fans around the world are being given a front row seat this weekend as the fleet races in Newport, Rhode Island, thanks to fantastic new app (see story below).

– New app proves huge hit with fans

– Front seat views later today for Newport departure

– Follow the action all the way to Lisbon

NEWPORT, Rhode Island, USA, May 17 – Volvo Ocean Race fans around the world are being given a front row seat this weekend as the fleet races in Newport, Rhode Island, thanks to fantastic new app.

Three teams, hometown heroes Team Alvimedica plus Dongfeng Race Team and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, allowed curious viewers the chance to jump onboard during the Team Vestas Wind In-Port Race Newport yesterday, right into the heart of the action, by streaming live from the field of play using Periscope.

The app, which was launched by Twitter in March, is already making waves across the sport industry – and the Volvo Ocean Race has embraced this breaking technology to give fans an even closer look at what it takes to sail in the toughest adventure on the planet.

And if you missed it – don’t worry. The start of Leg 7, from Newport to Lisbon, which will take place at 1400 EST/1800 UTC today, will also be broadcast live.

Viewers will be invited onboard Dongfeng Race Team via the Volvo Ocean Race Periscope account – and with the French-Chinese boat battling for first place in the rankings, there’s sure to be plenty of action and effort onboard.

Yesterday’s streams, which attracted over 3,500 viewers from all over the globe, proved unanimously popular to those desperate for a glimpse of life onboard.

Team Alvimedica grabbed second place in front of their hometown crowd, but they fared even better on the app.

Broadcasting over the Volvo Ocean Race account, they topped the chart of most popular global streams, with users flocking to view the frantic start of the Race.

“As a sport on the fringes, sailing really benefits from finding innovative ways of reaching a new audience,” said Amory Ross, Onboard Reporter for Team Alvimedica.

“This Race has taken to the simplicity of social media and this is a great opportunity to benefit from the growing global audience provided by Periscope.”

He walked viewers through all that a race day entails – from the Sailors’ Parade in front of thousands of adoring spectators, to stepping on to the boat, docking out and even broadcasting live from the racecourse.

Follow the Volvo Ocean Race teams on Periscope:

Volvo Ocean Race @volvooceanrace

Team Alvimedica @Teamalvimedica

Dongfeng Race Team @ VO65_Dongfeng

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing @ADORLog

via Up Periscope!| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

Spanish boat MAPFRE (Iker Martínez/ESP) dominated from start to finish to claim their first victory in the Volvo Ocean Race in-port series here on Saturday, watched by a packed dock of thousands of Newport sailing fans (full story below).

– Martínez returns in Newport to cruise to first victory

– Third-placed Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing go top of overall table

– Follow the fleet all the way in the next leg to Lisbon

NEWPORT, Rhode Island, USA, May 16 – Spanish boat MAPFRE (Iker Martínez/ESP) dominated from start to finish to claim their first victory in the Volvo Ocean Race in-port series here on Saturday, watched by a packed dock of thousands of Newport sailing fans.

The MAPFRE victory in the Team Vestas Wind In-Port Race Newport, achieved after they grabbed a narrow advantage at the first mark, will be particularly sweet for skipper Martínez who was returning to the crew after missing the previous leg through other commitments.

They were chased all the way by the home-town favourites, Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA), who were delighted to finish second on the podium, but never really threatened to mar MAPFRE’s day after Martínez led them from an early advantage in overcast conditions.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) could be forgiven for being almost as happy with the result as the two boats that beat them, having trailed during the first leg.

A positioning error by the women of Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) gave them the break they needed to claim the final podium place in third.

This result gives them the lead in the in-port race series on 19 points.

Now knocked back to second place, one point behind the Emiratis, Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) had an uncharactistically poor start, and seemed destined to bring up the rear until finally edging out Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) for fifth.

The day, though, belonged to Martínez and his ever-improving MAPFRE team whose win ensured that every boat in the fleet – with the exception of the absent Team Vestas Wind (Chris Nicholson/DEN) – has now won at least one race in this excellent in-port series.

“We are improving slowly and that’s the way we want to do these things,” he said, trying to make his voice heard about the hoards of fans surrounding him.

“Today we were first and we’re feeling super good.”

The victory will put MAPFRE in an excellent mood ahead of Sunday’s Leg 7 departure for Lisbon, Portugal (1400 EST/1800 UTC).

The stage is by far the shortest so far at 2,800 nautical miles, but also potentially treacherous as the fleet crosses the Atlantic.

The boats are expected to arrive in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon in eight to nine days before taking on the final two legs to Lorient, France, and then Gothenburg, Sweden, where the race will conclude on June 27.

Newport Team Vestas Wind In-Port Race results: 1. MAPFRE (Spain) 14:55:41 1pt, 2. Team Alvimedica (Turkey/USA) 14:56:39 2, 3. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 14:57:38 3, 4. Team SCA (Sweden) 14:57:57 4, 5. Team Brunel (Netherlands) 14:58:17 5, 6. Dongfeng Race Team (China) 14:59:09 6, DNS. Team Vestas Wind (Denmark) 8.

In-Port Race Series overall standings (after seven races): 1. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 19pts, 2. Team Brunel 20, 3. Team SCA 24, 4. Dongfeng Race Team 27, 5. Team Alvimedica 28, 6. MAPFRE 31, 7. Team Vestas Wind 52.

via MAPFRE dominate in Newport| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad unveiled an exciting, high-tech future for the event to stakeholders in a presentation on Saturday and set an ambition of eight to 10 boats for the next edition for 2017-18 (full story below).

– CEO Frostad unveils ambitions for 2017-18

– ‘New, improved’ Volvo Ocean 65s will cost same as in 2012

– Plans to simplify rules, upgrade communications

– Newport in two-month negotiations for 2018 return

NEWPORT, Rhode Island, May 16 – Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad unveiled an exciting, high-tech future for the event to stakeholders in a presentation on Saturday and set an ambition of eight to 10 boats for the next edition for 2017-18.

He revealed that the costs for a newly built, Volvo Ocean 65 one-design boat had been pegged at the same basic price of €4.5million as it cost at its launch three years ago.

“That’s a massive achievement,” he said. All seven identical boats, which will finish the 12th edition in Gothenburg, Sweden, on June 27, will be returned for use in 2017-18, but the race will build more depending on demand.

“You could order a new boat from today,” said Frostad, although the eight-month construction would not actually start until from July, 2015.

“We want new teams to join us – eight to 10 boats is the optimum – but our priority is to get as many existing teams as possible back on the start line.”

Frostad said improvements would be made to the existing Volvo Ocean 65s, which have been built for two editions, although the current key elements of reliability and safety would remain central to the project.

The race will look into what can be done to improve the boats on a number of fronts including energy generation and consumption, and communications.

These improvements would be announced at the METS boat suppliers’ trade show in Amsterdam from November 17-19 of this year. The fleet would then be refitted between November 2016 and May 2017.

Frostad, CEO since 2008, added that a new and better sail design would be ready for delivery by March 1, 2017, ahead of the next race start in October that year.

The chief executive also admitted that the race, which celebrates its 42nd anniversary in September this year, needed to make it easier for new sponsors to enter and that would be spearheaded by a major editing of its rules book for teams and ports.

It currently runs to 247 pages “and that’s too long”, said Frostad. The new, more concise version would be ready by September this year.

Frostad said he also wanted to see onboard communications improvements to keep pace with the ever-changing media landscape.

One would be the introduction of GPS-directed camera drones, which could offer fans far more aerial coverage of the boats at sea than is currently available.

“Each boat will carry one of these drones. I’m 100 per cent sure that will happen,” he said.

He also announced plans for longer and better training for Onboard Reporters, starting in the summer of 2016, and said that the route for the next edition would be revealed in January that year.

Several ports, including the start in Alicante, had already been settled for 2017-18 and Newport, Rhode Island, has been given a two-month exclusive period to negotiate a new deal for the next race.

“Newport has been a great success so far for us. I’ve been to an American stop seven times since I did my first race as a sailor and I cannot recall anything as good as this,” he said of the current stopover between Legs 6 and 7.

“It’s been a fantastic achievement and I’d like to congratulate Brad (Read) and his team.”

He added that the governor and senator of Rhode Island plus local politicians in Newport had given a return to the East Coast port in 2018 their backing.

Frostad also told the audience that across all areas, including media, television, social media and race village footfall, the current edition had shown strong growth.

He also flagged, in particular, that the event had proved a much more effective vehicle for business-to-business activity than ever before.

Before the Newport stopover, more than 19,000 business guests had attended and in the short, two-day pit stop next month in The Hague, 11,000 corporate places had been sold by the Dutch city alone.

Frostad added that Gothenburg would “at least, match that number”.

It meant that the previous record of 25,000 corporate guests achieved in the 2011-12 edition would be at least doubled by the end of the race on June 27.

The Team Vestas Wind In-Port Race Newport starts later on Saturday at 1400 local time (1800 GMT/UTC) with the start of Leg 7 across the Atlantic to Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, starting at the same time on Sunday.

via A vision of the future| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

This weekend, celebrities and athletes will join the Volvo Ocean Race teams for the Team Vestas Wind In-Port Race Newport on Saturday and departure of the fleet for Lisbon on Sunday. Below you will find the agenda for the race days, media boat procedure, details on The Future presentation with Knut Frostad, as well as the special guests that will join the sailors on the water.

Click here for the crew lists.

RACE SCHEDULE – (All local times EDT, UTC -4)

Saturday, May 16 – In-port race day

0930 · 1130 · Media centre opens and media boat check-in

0930 · The Future presentation (more detail below)

1215 · In-Port Race parade 
(starting from North Gate, Fort Adams)

1300 · Media boat departure – meet at media centre

1400 · Team Vestas Wind In-Port Race Newport 
- Live on Youtube and volvooceanrace.com

1530 · Media boats return to Race Village

1600 · Public prize-giving (approximate timing)

Sunday, May 17 – Leg start day

0930 – 1130 · Media centre opens and media boat check-in

1150 · Departure interviews in crew holding area. 
Interview requests must be made in advance with team press officers.

1200 · Departure Ceremony (starting from North Gate, Fort Adams)

1223 · National Anthem, city handover and blessing of fleet

1300 · Media boat departure – meet at media centre

1400 · Leg 7 Start to Lisbon –  Live on Youtube and volvooceanrace.com

1530 · Media boats return to Race Village

Confirmed VIP guests to date:

In-port Race guests onboard

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

Zdenko Chára: Slovak professional ice hockey defenceman, currently serving as captain of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. He won the James Norris Memorial Trophy while playing for the Bruins in the 2008–09 season.

– Interview opportunity: 1100-1130 in Sailors Terrace. For more information contact KT Newman

Leg Start – jumpers

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

Ryan Kwanten (or ‘Jason Stackhouse’ from series True Blood): Australian film actor and heartthrob. Kwanten first found fame playing Vinnie Patterson in the Australian soap opera, Home and Away, but is best known in the role of Jason Stackhouse from the smash hit HBO series True Blood.

– Interview opportunity: 1115 – 1145 in Sailors Terrace. For more information contact KT Newman

Team Brunel

Ken Read: Former Volvo Ocean Race sailor and one of America’s most accomplished yachtsmen. Read skippered PUMA in the 2008-09 and 2011-12 edition of the race and was also onboard Ericsson during the last 4 legs in 2005-06. He is now the President of North Sails Group. Read will be commenting from onboard during the live Leg Start show, so make sure to tune in!

– For interview opportunities contact: Tim Kelly

THE FUTURE: Volvo Ocean Race Presentation by Knut Frostad

On the morning of the Team Vestas Wind In-Port Race Newport 
this Saturday, May 16, Race CEO Knut Frostad will give a presentation to teams and race stakeholders at 0930 (Newport local time) outlining the future plans and strategy for the upcoming edition of the event.

The presentation will be hosted in the The Dome, Newport Race Village and doors will open from 0910 for seating. There are a limited number of seats available for media, but everyone that hasn’t been given access can watch live from the Media Centre screen in the Newport Race Village.

If you can not make it to Newport and would like to stream it live at 0930 EDT/1330 UTC on YouTube, the link is here.

MEDIA BOATS FOR THE WEEKEND

Procedure: On the day of the In-Port Race and Departure, media are required to ‘check-in’ at the Media Centre before 1200 to be assigned to a boat and receive a pass for boarding. Boarding is right after the ceremony at 1300 from Sail Newport Alofsin Piers. Media can come to the media centre or meet directly at the dock entrance.

via Volvo Ocean Race in Newport – Weekend race schedule and The Future presentation| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad and Team Alvimedica skipper Charlie Enright have been invited to address a United Nations (UN) convention later this year focusing on the growing problem of rubbish in the oceans (full story below).

– Delegates to Marine Debris summit hear of growing problem

– Frostad and Enright invited to address United Nations convention

– We must all help solve this, says Volvo Group sustainability chief

NEWPORT, Rhode Island, USA – Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad and Team Alvimedica skipper Charlie Enright have been invited to address a United Nations (UN) convention later this year focusing on the growing problem of rubbish in the oceans.

The invitation was extended to them by a UN delegate attending the Volvo Group’s Ocean Summit on Marine Debris here on Friday, where Frostad and Enright were speakers.

Ambassador Eden Charles, of Trinidad and Tobago, said Enright and Frostad would be ideal witnesses to the UN on the increasing rise of rubbish to be found in the oceans around the world.

“Our challenge is not only to bring this issue to the attention of the world’s nations, but to get regulations to clean up the oceans implemented by all of them,” said the Ambassador.

“To hear a current sailor speak on this issue with first-hand knowledge, plus the Race’s head, will be a very strong message indeed to our convention in New York.”

Both Frostad and Enright, 30, who is the youngest skipper in the Volvo Ocean Race, said they would be delighted to address the convention, which is likely to take place in November this year and represents some 170 nations.

Delegates and media at Friday’s packed Summit heard from a list of speakers who represent all sides of the issue, including academia, national and local government, pressure groups, philanthropic agencies, and the corporate world.

“Marine debris is negatively affecting the oceans and oceanic life, and it’s clear that we all have a responsibility to help institute changes,” said Henry Sténson, executive vice president of Corporate Communications and Sustainability Affairs for the Volvo Group, who welcomed delegates to the three-and-a-half hour discussions.

Enright gave some graphic examples of how choked up with rubbish some of the areas the 2014-15 race has visited have become.

Describing the Malacca Strait, which divides the Indonesian island of Sumatra from Malaysia, he commented: “It was just disgusting – you almost felt like you could walk across that stretch of water on the trash there at one stage.”

He said that the Strait was by no means the only example of such a littering of all kind of debris in the oceans.

The Rhode Islander said he believed young, round-the-world sailors like himself could play a vital role as witnesses to the issue since they sailed through waters rarely, if ever, seen by others.

Delegates also heard from the influential Rhode Island Senator, Sheldon Whitehouse, who speaks regularly on marine conservancy and other environmental topics at national government level in the USA and who has also helped introduce new legislation to conserve coastal areas.

“Debris is a serious problem for marine ecosystems and coastal economies,” Senator Whitehouse said.

“In Rhode Island, I’ve seen first-hand how it can foul our coastline and hamper economic development and recreation.

“The Volvo Ocean Racers have seen how far offshore this pollution reaches. I’ve also seen how partnerships between government, private industry and motivated citizens can deal with this problem.”

Gina Raimondo, Governor of Rhode Island, spoke on how the state was committed to cleaning its own coasts while Wendy Schmidt, a leading environmental philanthropist who is president of the The Schmidt Family Foundation, commented on how private foundations are helping tackle the problem with well targeted investment.

The event was hosted by Professor Dennis Nixon, a leading Rhode Island-based academic based in the state university.

After hearing the warning from delegate, Dr Sandra Whitehouse, senior policy advisor for Ocean Conservancy, that, left unchecked, there could be one tonne of plastic in the oceans for every three tonnes of fish by 2025, he suggested a 15-year deadline to reverse the trend.

“The sailors have given us a call to action and we ignore it at our peril,” he said.

Summit attendees also heard from Bjӧrn Lyrvall, Ambassador of Sweden to the USA; Catherine Novelli, Under-Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, USA State Department; Dr. Lisa Svensson, Sweden’s Ambassador for Ocean, Seas and Freshwater; Kersti Strandqvist, senior vice president for Sustainability, SCA, a leading global hygiene and forest products company; and Daniel Wild, Head of Sustainability Investing Research and Development, RobecoSAM, an international investment company with a specific focus on sustainability investments.

via A call to action| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

The six Volvo Ocean Race skippers facing their second and final Atlantic crossing spoke on Thursday of how dangerous and challenging Leg 7 to Lisbon is likely to be (full story below).

– Potentially lethal Leg 7 across Atlantic

– It’s far from over, says leader Walker

– Follow all the action in Sunday’s leg start

NEWPORT, Rhode Island, USA, May 14 – The six Volvo Ocean Race skippers facing their second and final Atlantic crossing spoke on Thursday of how dangerous and challenging Leg 7 to Lisbon is likely to be.

The sailors rarely voice their fears, but Monday (May 18) is the ninth anniversary of the tragic day when Dutch sailor Hans Horrevoets lost his life in the 2005-06 edition of the race. He was swept overboard on the same Atlantic leg.

The 2,800-nautical mile (nm) leg, from Newport, Rhode Island, is considerably shorter than the six legs that have preceded it, but all the skippers underlined the perils of the North Atlantic stage.

Bouwe Bekking (NED), of Team Brunel, summed up the threats to a packed press conference in Newport ahead of Sunday’s departure to the Portuguese capital.

“If you just look at history in this next leg, lots of rigs have been broken, a boat has sunk, a person has lost his life and we know we’re going to Europe so people will push so hard on this leg,” he said.

Bekking knows better than most. His movistar boat sank in the equivalent leg during the 2005-06 race and his crew were rescued by Horrevoets’ team-mates on board ABN AMRO TWO.

He did, however, point out that the one-design Volvo Ocean 65 boats are better maintained than in the past, ‘so hopefully this time we won’t get any breakages’.

Bekking feels his third-placed boat has little chance of catching current overall leaders, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR), with a 10-point deficit.

Walker is not so swift to write them off – and certainly not second-ranked Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA), the Chinese team, who this week welcomed well-known French sailor Sidney Gavignet in to their crew for Leg 7.

“Charles and I could go out of here, bash rigs and both our masts fall down. That could happen just like a hundred other things could happen,” he said.

“I’m a great believer of not looking at the points overall. It sounds a cliché but I think you should take each leg as it comes.”

Caudrelier and his team, not surprisingly, have by no means given up hope of preventing Walker from winning.

He pointed out that a third of the points are still up for grabs with the shortest legs still to come including Leg 8 from Lisbon to Lorient, France, and then finally to Gothenburg, Sweden, via a pit-stop in The Hague next month.

Iker Martínez (ESP), the MAPFRE skipper, returns to the Spanish boat’s helm after missing Leg 6 and insisted he was happy with his team’s current position of fifth, level on 24 points with Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA).

He is relishing another battle with the North Atlantic despite bitter memories from 2012 when his Telefónica campaign began to disintegrate during this stage, allowing Groupama to win the overall title.

“The leg is very risky for all of us,” he said. “It is tough, difficult and dangerous.”

For Rhode Islander Enright, skipper of Team Alvimedica, Sunday will mark the end of an exhilarating but tiring stopover during which his hand has been pumped by dozens of well wishers as the local boy made good.

Asked what was the biggest threat in the fleet to a return to the podium for the Turkish/American boat, he replied simply: “Ourselves”.

Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) are finally giving a breather to Briton Annie Lush as part of their rotation system.

They have not been rewarded yet for the steep learning curve in offshore experience they have garnered during the race, and the shorter legs undoubtedly are their best chance to trouble their male rivals.

Already, however, Davies has one eye on the legacy her crew has built as the first all-female crew in the race for 12 years. She would jump at the chance of another shot at her sport’s toughest challenge given all that Team SCA have learned.

“We need another all female crew in the next race to reap the rewards,” she told a separate team media conference.

Meanwhile, Team Vestas Wind (Chris Nicholson/AUS) are sitting out a stage for the final time since they ran into an Indian Ocean reef midway through Leg 2 back at the end of November.

Nicholson reported they are right on track for a return to the fleet for Leg 8 between Lisbon and Lorient at the beginning of June.

Tom Touber, Race Chief Operating Officer, confirmed that and added that the largely rebuilt boat had been weighed on Thursday morning and was within a kilogramme or two of all the other one-design Volvo Ocean 65s.

Considering that the entire vessel weighs 12,500kg (27,557 lbs) that is an incredible achievement by the Persico boatyard in Italy.

The tiny discrepancy will, in any case, be corrected.

First, though, the fleet will contest the Team Vestas Wind In-Port Race Newport on Saturday (1400 local time/1900 UTC).

Team Brunel hold a one-point lead over Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing with Team SCA four points further behind in third.

via ‘Tough, difficult and dangerous’| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

An arm infection has forced Team Brunel’s (Bouwe Bekking/NED) bowman, Gerd-Jan Poortman, out of Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Newport to Lisbon starting on Sunday (full story below).

– Team Brunel sailor sidelined by arm affliction

– Reserve Hagoort gets chance to show skills

– Milevicius takes over as bowman

NEWPORT, Rhode Island, USA, May 13 – An arm infection has forced Team Brunel’s bowman, Gerd-Jan Poortman, out of Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Newport to Lisbon starting on Sunday.

The 39-year-old Poortman’s (NED) place will be taken by the third-placed Dutch team’s first reserve, Timo Hagoort (NED). Rokas Milevicius (LTU) will assume the role of bowman for Leg 7.

The infection, called elbow bursitis, is a common affliction for offshore sailors, especially bowmen.

“It all started a couple of days ago. I’m taking antibiotics now,” said Poortman. “According to the doctors, it’s not certain that it will be cured within four days.

“And even if the infection is cured before the start of the next leg, I still can’t use my arm on a professional sailing level.

“Because the next leg is very demanding from start to finish, I have decided, together with our physio (Mark Haak), and skipper Bouwe Bekking, not to participate in the this leg which will take us to Lisbon.“

The popular Dutchman is confident that his stand-in will ensure his absence is not badly missed by the in-form crew, which finished with a podium third-placed finish in the last leg to Newport, Rhode Island, from Itajaí, Brazil.

“Timo is a hard worker and a fine replacement,” said Poortman. “And Rokas has enough training to take on the role of first bowman.”

He continued: “I‘m happy that I was able to sail all stages, including rounding Cape Horn, so I’ve actually already been around the world. Of course I’m disappointed, but I find it especially hard to let the team down. In Lisbon, I will step back onboard.”

Meanwhile, skipper Bekking is happy that Hagoort has already gained a lot of experience with the Dutch team.

“I really wanted someone who had previously sailed on the boat,” he explained. “And during the preparation for the Volvo Ocean Race he sailed many miles with us, so that’s why the choice fell on him.”

For Hagoort, who has been patiently waiting for his chance ever since joining the crew, the call-up is a dream come true.

“I got a call this afternoon,” he said. “When he told me that I can sail to Lisbon onboard Team Brunel, I let out a little cry of joy and immediately afterwards I asked who had to be replaced.

“I know Gerd-Jan very well and I learned a lot from him. Since I became the first reserve, the team has grown a lot, so I don’t know exactly which role I will get, but my strengths are that I can trim and work on the foredeck.”

via Infection forces out bowman Poortman| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

Leading French offshore sailor Sidney Gavignet, fresh from breaking a record last week, has been called up by Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) for Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Newport to Lisbon (see story below).- Oman Sail skipper takes over from Peron – Gavignet broke 20-year-old Irish record – Wolf replaces Black for Leg 7 to LisbonNEWPORT, Rhode Island, May 12 – Leading French offshore sailor Sidney Gavignet, fresh from breaking a record last week, has been called up by Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) for Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Newport to Lisbon.The 46-year-old is also skipper of the Sultanate of Oman’s MOD70 trimaran, Musandam-Oman Sail.With a largely Omani crew, they broke Steve Fossett’s 20-year-old Round Ireland course record last Wednesday, in a yet-to-be ratified time of 40 hours 51 minutes and 57 seconds.Gavignet will take the place of fellow Frenchman, Eric Peron, on board Dongfeng. Peron is taking a breather before the final two European legs.“Sidney is an excellent driver,” said Dongfeng Race Team skipper, Charles Caudrelier.“He’s a Volvo Ocean Race expert, and I’ve been wanting to sail again with him for a long time. We sailed together 12 years ago and it went really well so I can only hope this leg will be just as good.”Dongfeng Race Team are already in fine form, having won their second leg of the race from Itajaí, Brazil to Newport, Rhode Island, last week, to cut Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s overall lead to six points. They had earlier won Leg 2 to their home port in Sanya.The team has also announced that Yang Jiru (English name ‘Wolf’) will take over from fellow Chinese Liu Xue (‘Black’) for the 2,800-nautical mile leg across the Atlantic, by far the shortest leg contested so far.Gavignet’s experiences in Leg 7, which starts on Sunday, will be watched very carefully by Oman Sail’s CEO, David Graham.“The movement of the Volvo Ocean Race to one-design racing has a far greater affinity with Oman Sail, our strategic plans of and its pathway to achieve them,” said Graham.“We are observing the current race with great interest and in particular, the progress of the Dongfeng Race Team, given the similarities between our two entities.”Gavignet is a four-time veteran of the race. He competed for the first time in 1993-84 on board Eric Tabarly’s La Poste and followed up with Assa Abloy (2001-02), winners ABN AMRO ONE (2005-06) and PUMA Ocean Racing (2008-09).Dongfeng Race Team’s team director, Bruno Dubois, explained the reason for standing down Peron for the stage, after helping them win Leg 6.“With complete transparency we can say that although the Chinese sailors have exceeded our expectations, they still have a long way to go,” he explained.“This means that the non-Chinese sailors are naturally over-compensating for their lack of experience, spending more time on deck, more time explaining, teaching and above all more time supervising.“Some of them are tired, and the rotation allows us to keep on top of this. Only Charles (Caudrelier) and Kevin (Escoffier) have not stepped off the boat yet since Alicante – and we don’t envisage that part changing.”Caudrelier’s rotations so far have seen Figaro sailor, Jack Bouttell (dual national Australian/British), contesting Leg 3, French navigator, Erwan Israel, on Leg 4 and Irish Volvo Ocean Race veteran, Damian Foxall, on Leg 5.After the leg to Lisbon, the race will conclude in June with stages to Lorient (France) and then to Gothenburg (Sweden), via The Hague for a pit stop. The event will finish on June 27 with the Gothenburg In-Port Race.

via Gavignet bolsters in-form Dongfeng Race Team| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

Never one to avoid what will inevitably put people’s noses out of joint, I’m going to comment on Team SCA’s less than impressive performance in the Volvo Ocean Race.

We know that the organisers had decided to grant the female team three extra crew, which I would assume was a concession to strength and endurance issues. So this is a clear acknowledgement of a disparity between the genders.

Then we know for a fact that Team SCA’s boat was the first off the blocks and the team has had the most time on the water training. We must also assume that this team has the best female sailors money can buy. Indeed, their inshore sailing skills are beyond question, as seen from stellar results in the in-port races.

On the Volvo PR material it is stated: ‘The entry of the all-female team is no coincidence given that the new boat design puts less of a premium on physical strength and means an all-female team can be just as competitive as any other professional team.’

If all three of these facts hold water, then there is no harm in asking the question: What is happening? If a level playing field was created by the organisers and no expense spared in the crew selection and the training, I wonder if there is more at play here.

Dare I offer the conclusion that women are inferior to men offshore? How can this be when we have seen the likes of Ellen Macarthur and Florence Arthaud, you say. Indeed there have been many female single-handers, mainly French and British, that have impressed.

Is single-handing as intense as a fully crewed race where there is no respite from your shipmates? It is no secret that peer pressure on board can be dramatic. It must also be accepted that going 100 per cent all time while single-handing is impossible and throttling back at times to recoup is all part of that equation.

Catching your breath is not the case in today’s Volvo. If you are female and feeling indignant by this stage, note that there is not one female crew member in any of the other entries. Does that tell you something?

Well, carrying on in this discussion will only land me in hotter water than I am already in for bringing up the subject in the first place. So I will let the reader ponder these things while they cool down.

In the meantime, I will offer a solution that can possibly eliminate any further discussion, and one that I am sure many people have contemplated and even suggested to the organisers if they haven’t thought of it themselves. Simply, crews comprised of 50 per cent guys and 50 per cent girls, which is a good ratio when you consider world population demographics and a lot else, including procreation for that matter. It takes two to tango, right?

This simple and elegant solution will once and for all quench these awkward comparisons between the genders in fully crewed offshore racing. It’s a ‚we’re all in it together’ concept. There is another benefit here in that having more female sailors involved by a simple rule requirement will bring more female sailors up to speed in offshore sailing. And, from the human point of view, imagine the great stories that would unfold both on and off the water!

It has been a long passage for women making their mark offshore. I am thinking of Claire Francis skippering ADC Accutrac in the 1977/78 Whitbread, Tracy Edwards’s ground-breaking all-female crew in the Whitbread of 1989/90, but then we see the all-female team of Heineken in 1993/94 coming 9th out of a ten-boat fleet, EF Education in 1997/98 last and in 2001/02 Amer Sports Too also last.

Might persisting in the all-female crew concept for this pre-eminent event be a step backwards?

If you see me on the dock at the finish I will be the one wearing a hard hat and body armour.

Skip Novak – high latitudes guru

Skip Novak is a columnist and regular contributor to Yachting World, and author of our acclaimed Storm Sailing Series, which you can also find on our website. He was born in Chicago in 1952 and started sailing at an early age. He has raced in four Whitbread Round the World races and in 2001 co-skippered the 108ft catamaran Innovation in The Race round the world in 65 days, an event in which his future wife, Elena, also raced. In 1987 he built the steel cutter Pelagic and has since spent 26 seasons in Tierra del Fuego, South Georgia and Antarctica, sailing and mountaineering.

via Team SCA.

New Zealander Adam Minoprio, the youngest sailor to become match-racing world champion, has been called up by Team Brunel for the last three legs of the Volvo Ocean Race (full story below).

– Talented young Kiwi boosts Dutch campaign

– De la Plaza steps aside through other commitments

– New boy was youngest world champion

NEWPORT, Rhode Island, May 11 – New Zealander Adam Minoprio, the youngest sailor to become match-racing world champion, has been called up by Team Brunel for the last three legs of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Minoprio replaces Spain’s Javier de la Plaza, who has pulled out of the Dutch crew because of other sailing commitments, a team statement issued on Monday announced.

The 29-year-old newcomer brings a formidable in-shore and offshore pedigree to Bouwe Bekking’s crew, which finished third in Leg 6 from Itajaí to Newport.

At the age of seven, Minoprio experienced competition sailing for the first time. Aged 11, he won his first national competition in an Optimist and a year later he sailed in his first world championships in the same class.

In 2009, at the age of 24, Adam Minoprio became the youngest sailor to become match-racing world champion, joining an élite group of illustrious sailors such as Chris Dickson, Dean Barker and Russell Coutts.

He was helmsman and trimmer in the CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand crew that finished second in the 11th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2011-12.

At the beginning of 2014, Minoprio was wing trimmer and tactician for the America’s Cup team, Luna Rossa, but after the Italians withdrew from the Cup, it left space for a new adventure.

“The Volvo Ocean Race is more physically demanding than inshore races,” said Minoprio.

“When I sailed in my first Volvo Ocean Race with CAMPER, I thought the toughest bit was carrying and stacking all the sails, the food, the spares and the tools when changing tack or gybing. But the principles of sailing are the same and nothing changes there.

“It’s an honour that Bouwe Bekking asked me to strengthen Team Brunel. Together with the America’s Cup, the Volvo Ocean Race is the summit of sailing.

“I think that my knowledge and skills will enable me to make a contribution to the development and performance of Team Brunel. I always go for the best result possible.”

Bekking added: “Adam has sailed in the Volvo Ocean Race before and has been match racing world champion. As an experienced match racer, he could just make the difference in the last three short legs.”

The teams will contest the Team Vestas Wind In-Port Race Newport on May 16 before setting out for the seventh leg of nine to Lisbon, Portugal, the following day.

In all, the crews will visit 11 ports and every continent in the nine-month, 38,739-nautical mile race.

It will conclude in Gothenburg, Sweden, on June 27 after visiting Lisbon, Lorient, France, and The Hague, Netherlands.

Team Brunel currently lie third in the overall standings after six legs with 21 points, 10 points behind leaders Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) and four behind Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA).

via Team Brunel call on Minoprio| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.