The Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s toughest sailing event, an exceptional test of sporting and human endeavour featuring the elite of the sailing profession. It is a marathon on the seas lasting over eight months, passing through four oceans and five continents, and it will push the athletes to the limits of endurance.
The race will start in the Spanish port of Alicante in October 2011 and finish in Galway, Ireland in July 2012. On the way, the race will visit Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Sanya(China),Auckland (New Zealand), Itajai(Brazil), Miami (USA), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lorient (France).
The race is contested by 11-strong crews of professional sailors, who will experience temperatures ranging from -15 to +40 degrees Celsius over the course of the race. They will trust their lives to the boat skipper and experience hunger and severe sleep deprivation on legs lasting as long as 22 days. No fresh produce is taken on board during the race, meaning the teams will survive on freeze-dried food.
