How to follow the Leg 9 Start

It's time for the big one. After two fantastic weeks in Newport, Rhode Island – the home of US sailing – the sailors are preparing for a potentially race-defining transatlantic to Cardiff, a first return to UK shores in over a decade.

The leg is currently pitched to take around 7/8 days – but first, the teams must navigate a tricky exit through a foggy Narragansett Bay, and out into the Labrador Sea.

The fog is only forecast to lift slightly before the scheduled start time, and there is no significant improvement in visibility forecast for this afternoon, but we're not expecting to postpone the start.

There is an option to start the boats in front of Fort Adams and send them straight out to sea. This is the course we may use if conditions do not improve.

MAPFRE currently lead the ranking after reclaiming top spot with a last-minute victory into Rhode Island – and with double points up for grabs, Dongfeng and Brunel know that a win over the Spanish team will go a long way to keeping their trophy hopes alive.

It's going to be an action-packed Leg to Cardiff – and it all starts here. Don't miss a thing by tuning in across our channels.

How to follow the Leg 9 Start:

Racing starts at 1400 local time (1800 UTC), on Sunday 20 May.

On the website:
Head to www.volvooceanrace.com to catch a live stream of the action from 1345 local time (1745 UTC). A post race story summarising the action and with quotes from the skippers will be posted shortly after racing has finished.

Check out Facebook Live:
We'll go live at 1345 local time (1745 UTC). You can go to our page to schedule a reminder so you don't miss it.

Join the conversation on Twitter:
Send us tweet on hashtag #volvooceanrace. We'll be live-tweeting the action, as it happens. Check it out as we share the best content from the teams, stakeholders and fans on our feed.

Join us on our live blog:
We'll be blogging all the moves, previews and news from the racetrack on our live blog, including the best of clips and social content, from 1330 local time (1730 UTC). You can find it at www.volvooceanrace.com under the 'Racing' section.

Download the app:
It's full of great content and fits on your mobile phone. Why wouldn't you want the official Volvo Ocean Race app? Head to the App Store or Google Play to download it. It's called Volvo Ocean Race.

Come down to the Race Village:
We’ve got a fantastic Race Village at Fort Adams in Newport, including the Volvo Ocean Race Boatyard facility, the Volvo Pavilion and Volvo Ocean Race Globe as well as the team bases. The Village is jam-packed full of interactive elements, innovative structures and loads of exciting things to do.

Current Volvo Ocean Race Overall Leaderboard
1. MAPFRE – 53 points
2. Dongfeng Race Team – 50 points
3. Team Brunel – 42 points
4. team AkzoNobel – 36 points
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 28 points
6.Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag – 27 points
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic – 22 points