2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race
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| Edition | 13th |
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| Dates | 14 Oct 2017 – 30 June 2018 |
| Yachts | Volvo Ocean 65 |
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← 2014–15
2020–21 →
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The 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race is the 13th edition of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race. It started in Alicante, Spain, and will conclude in The Hague, Netherlands. GAC Pindar provides logistic support for the race. At the stoppovers, teams will have premium bases for better fan interaction.
Volvo have made a number of changes to this edition. Sailors will be able to provide social media updates, new male/female ratios have been introduced, Onboard Reporters will rotate between teams, a new scoring system will be used, the yachts have been upgraded with Hydro generators for back-up power and all teams will sail the 2017 Fastnet Race.
For the second edition running, the race will be one-design, racing the Volvo Ocean 65. The VO65 was designed by Farr Yacht Design to be a cheaper and safer alternative to the ageing and expensive Volvo Open 70.
All Volvo 65's will be undergoing repairs and refits by The Boatyard. This will ensure that all the yachts are the same. The estimated cost of the refit is 1 million euros.
Despite an eighth boat being produced for this edition, only seven teams participate, as in the previous edition:
The full route for this edition was announced in June 2016, with the announcement of the addition of Melbourne in January 2017.
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.
Notes (134 sailing days for race winners and 10 In-port racing days):
As opposed to the previous edition, scoring is 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 Hong Kong, and Auckland to Itajaí, plus the North Atlantic leg near the end of the race, Newport to Cardiff – will all score double points. There will be 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 will be awarded for the team with the best total elapsed time overall in the race. The In-Port Series won’t count in the overall points but will remain the tiebreaker should teams be tied on points at the finish in The Hague.
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