2017–2018 Volvo Ocean Race

The 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race was the 13th edition of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race. It started in Alicante, Spain,[1] and concluded in The Hague, Netherlands.[2][3] GAC Pindar provides logistic support for the race.[4] At the stopovers, teams had premium bases for better fan interaction.[5]

2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race
Edition13th
Dates14 October 2017 – 30 June 2018
Competitors7
YachtsVolvo Ocean 65
Results
Winner Dongfeng Race Team
2020–21 →

Volvo made a number of changes to this edition. Sailors were able to provide social media updates,[6][7] new male/female ratios were introduced,[8] Onboard Reporters rotated between teams, a new scoring system was used,[9] the yachts were upgraded with Hydro generators for back-up power[10] and all teams sailed the 2017 Fastnet Race.[11]

During Leg 7 of the race, John Fisher, 47, a British citizen who lived in Adelaide, was swept overboard from Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag and lost at sea 1400 miles west of Cape Horn.[12]

Yachts
Main article: Volvo Ocean 65

For the second edition running, the race was one-design, racing the Volvo Ocean 65.[13] The VO65 was designed by Farr Yacht Design to be a cheaper and safer alternative to the ageing and expensive Volvo Open 70.[14]

All Volvo 65's have undergone repairs and refits by The Boatyard. This ensured that all the yachts are the same.[15] The estimated cost of the refit was 1 million euros.[16]

Participants

Despite an eighth boat being produced for this edition, only seven teams participated, as in the previous edition:[17]

Team Skipper
Team AkzoNobel Simeon Tienpont1
Dongfeng Race Team Charles Caudrelier
MAPFRE Xabi Fernández
Vestas 11th Hour Racing Charlie Enright
Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag David Witt
Turn the Tide on Plastic Dee Caffari
Team Brunel Bouwe Bekking
  • ^1 — Skipper Simeon Tienpont was released from Team AkzoNobel on 13 October, one day before the first in-port race, and replaced by Brad Jackson.[18] Two hours before the start of leg 1, Tienpont was re-instated by an arbitration panel.[19]

Route

The full route for this edition was announced in June 2016, with the announcement of the addition of Melbourne in January 2017.[20][21]

This edition of the race included "Leg 0", a set of 4 offshore races to help generate interest. They included the 2017 Round the Island Race, and the 2017 Fastnet Race.

EventStart dateFinish dateStartFinishDistance
In-Port Race14 October 2017 Alicante
Leg 1[1]22 October 201728 October Alicante Lisbon1,650 nm
In-Port Race3 November 2017 Lisbon
Leg 25 November 201724 November Lisbon Cape Town7,000 nm
In-Port Race8 December 2017 Cape Town
Leg 310 December 201727 December Cape Town Melbourne6,500 nm
Leg 42 January 201819 January Melbourne Hong Kong6,000 nm
In-Port Race27 & 28 January 2018 Hong Kong
Leg 5 (non-scoring)1 February 2018 Hong Kong Guangzhou100 nm
In-Port Race3 February 2018 Guangzhou
Leg 5 (non-scoring)5 February 2018 Guangzhou Hong Kong100 nm
Leg 67 February 201827 February 2018 Hong Kong Auckland5,600 nm
In-Port Race10 March 2018 Auckland
Leg 718 March 20183 April 2018 Auckland Itajaí7,500 nm
In-Port Race20 April 2018 Itajaí
Leg 822 April 20188 May 2018 Itajaí Newport5,500 nm
In-Port Race19 May 2018 Newport
Leg 920 May 201829 May 2018 Newport Cardiff3,300 nm
In-Port Race8 June 2018 Cardiff
Leg 1010 June 201814 June 2018 Cardiff Gothenburg1,230 nm
In-Port Race17 June 2018 Gothenburg
Leg 11[3]21 June 201824 June 2018 Gothenburg The Hague520 nm
In-Port Race30 June 2018 The Hague

Notes (134 sailing days for race winners and 10 In-port racing days):

Results

As opposed to the previous edition, scoring was based on a high-points system, with the winner of every leg scoring one bonus point (7+1 bonus point for a win, 6 for second, 5 for third, etc.). The two Southern Ocean legs – from Cape Town to Melbourne, and Auckland to Itajaí, plus the North Atlantic leg near the end of the race, Newport to Cardiff – all scored double points. There was a bonus point for the first team to round Cape Horn in a nod to the historic significance of this turning point in the race. A further bonus point was awarded for the team with the best total elapsed time overall in the race. The In-Port Series didn't count in the overall points but remained the tiebreaker should teams be tied on points at the finish in The Hague.[22]

Overall standings
Leg 1

 Leg 2

 Leg 3

 Leg 4

 Leg 5

 Leg 6

 Leg 7

 Leg 8

 Leg 9

 Leg 10

 Leg 11

 Bonus Total
Dongfeng 5 6 12 6 1 4 12 4 10 4 7 2 3 73
MAPFRE 6 7 14 4 1 5 6 7 6 6 5 3 70
Team Brunel 2 4 8 3 1 2 14 6 14 7 4 4 4 69
AkzoNobel 4 3 2 5 1 7 10 3 12 5 6 1 59
Vestas 11th Hour 7 5 10 Ret 2 DNS DNS Ret 5 8 2 1 1 39
Turn the Tide on Plastic 1 1 4 2 1 3 8 2 4 3 3 - 32
Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag 3 2 6 7 1 6 Ret 1 2 1 2 1 32
Source:[23]
  • ^2 — Retired from leg after damage sustained from collision with commercial fishing vessel approximately 30 miles from the finish in Hong Kong. The collision resulted in the loss of the fishing vessel and the fatality of one of the crew members several hours later in a local hospital. Vestas 11th Hour Racing issued a Mayday distress call on behalf of the other vessel and undertook a search and rescue mission immediately following the incident.[24]
  • ^3 — 1 point for leg win, 1 point for elapsed time.
  • ^4 — 3 points for leg win, 1 point for first around Cape Horn.

In-port series
Ali
 Lis
 CT
 HK
 Gzu
 Auc
 Ita
 NP
 Car
 Got
 DH
 Total
MAPFRE 7 6 6 6 7 5 7 6 6 5 3 64
Dongfeng 6 5 7 7 2 7 5 3 7 1 6 56
Team Brunel 4 7 2 4 6 3 3 7 5 2 7 50
AkzoNobel 2 4 5 5 5 6 6 2 4 6 5 50
Vestas 11th Hour 5 3 4 DNS DNS 4 2 5 3 7 2 35
Turn the Tide on Plastic 1 1 3 2 3 1 4 1 1 4 4 25
Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag 3 2 1 3 4 2 DNS 4 2 3 1 25
Source:[25]

References
  1. "Edição de 2017 da Volvo Ocean Race arranca em Alicante". SAPO Desporto (in Portuguese). 18 May 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  2. Haynes, Reagan (19 May 2015). "Newport seeks to secure another Volvo Ocean Race stopover". Trade Only Today. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  3. (in Dutch) NOS.nl (2016): Den Haag wordt in 2018 Champs-Elysees van Volvo Ocean Race
  4. "GAC Pindar returns as official logistics provider for Volvo Ocean Race". Ajot.Com. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  5. "Premium team bases to enhance fan 'pit lane' experience - Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18". Volvooceanrace.com. 2016-10-13. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  6. "Rule change allows sailors to provide social media updates from the oceans | Volvo Ocean Race". YouTube. 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  7. "Sailors can use social media onboard - Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18". Volvooceanrace.com. 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  8. "Race changes rules to attract world's best female sailors - Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18". Volvooceanrace.com. 2016-10-10. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  9. "New scoring system to open up fleet - Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18". Volvooceanrace.com. 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  10. "Upgraded boats to use hydropower - Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18". Volvooceanrace.com. 2016-10-19. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  11. "Fastnet Race in 2017-18 qualifying schedule - Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18". Volvooceanrace.com. 2016-10-17. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  12. Mather, Victor (2018-03-27). "Sailor in Round-the-World Race Is 'Lost at Sea'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
  13. Bramley, Jon (16 May 2015). "A vision for the future". Volvo Ocean Race. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  14. "Design № 757 - Volvo Ocean 65". Farr Yacht Design. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  15. "The Boatyard - Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18". Volvooceanrace.com. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  16. "Volvo Ocean 65s to feature new hydropower units as part of one million euro refit per boat". Volvo Ocean Race. 2016-10-19. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  17. "Meet the teams – Volvo Ocean Race". volvooceanrace.com.
  18. "A message from our sailing and shore teams". Team AkzoNobel. 15 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2017-10-15.
  19. http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2017/10/22/volvo-ocean-race-courts-settle-akzonobel-nightmare/
  20. Race, Volvo Ocean. "'Returning to our roots'".
  21. "Revised Course for Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18". sailingscuttlebutt.com. 26 January 2017.
  22. "How to win". volvooceanrace.com.
  23. Scoreboard
  24. "Fatality Confirmed of Fishing Vessel Crew Member"
  25. Scoreboard
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