Sail Newport will host a viewing event in Newport with live coverage of the Volvo Ocean Race start in Alicante, Spain on Sunday, October 22 at 7:30 a.m.
The event will take place at Sail Newport’s new headquarters in Ft Adams State Park. Seven teams will participate in the 2017-2018 edition racing 45,000 nautical miles around the world, across four oceans, touching six continents and 12 landmark Host Cities including Newport, RI, the site of the race’s only North American stopover.
Since 1973, the Volvo Ocean Race has provided the ultimate test of team and human adventure like no other. It’s often described as the longest and most grueling professional sporting event in the world, sailing’s toughest team challenge and one of the sport’s “Big Three” events, along with the Olympics and the America’s Cup.
The Volvo Ocean Race is a round-the-clock, relentless pursuit of competitive edge and the ultimate ocean marathon, pitting the sport’s best sailors against each other across mountainous sea conditions. In 2017-18, there is a renewed emphasis on the Southern Ocean and a new set of rules which include mixed crews of male and female sailors.
Rhode Island sailors Charlie Enright (Bristol, RI), Nick Dana (Newport, RI) and Brown University graduate Mark Towill will sail on Vestas 11th Hour Racing in the global marathon and are expected to video message in during the viewing event at Sail Newport.
The Volvo Ocean Race will stop in Newport, RI, May 8 -20, 2018 and will finish in The Hague, Netherlands in June 2018.