Following an in-port race on October 14, the first leg of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race, begins in Alicante, the permanent headquarters of the race, on October 22.

The route again begins in Alicante followed by Lisbon – Cape Town – Melbourne – Hong Kong – Guangzhou – Auckland – Itajai – Newport – Cardiff – Gothenburg and completing in the The Hague on June 30 2018.

The seven teams this time are:

Team AkzoNobel (Holland)         MAPFRE (Spain)                      Donfeng (China)

 

Vestas 11th Hour Racing        Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (Hong Kong)
(USA/Denmark)

 

Turn the Tide on Plastic                Team Brunei

 

All yachts are built to a standard design, the Volvo Ocean 65 to enable One Design racing where the true difference between teams is skill, rather than unique design advantages.
See the official video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJkru-PXB8Q

With my 2015 Volvo XC60 Ocean Race special edition.