Teams preparing for final start in the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18

After nine months, 45,000 miles of offshore racing and 10 In-Port Races, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet is preparing to take the final start of the event at the Brunel In-Port Race on Saturday afternoon in The Hague.

It will be a bittersweet moment for the sailors, many of whom may be racing together for the last time after spending many miles at sea as close teammates.

Although MAPFRE won the overall In-Port Race Series with their performance in Gothenburg, there is still much at stake on Saturday, including a tie-break scenario on the overall leaderboard.

SHK/Scallywag and Turn the Tide on Plastic are on equal points for sixth place on the overall Volvo Ocean Race leaderboard. David Witt’s Scallywags currently win the tie-break based on their lead in the In-Port Series. But Dee Caffari’s Turn the Tide on Plastic is just three points back. A good performance on Saturday, with some boats in-between, could lift Turn the Tide on Plastic into sixth place for both the In-Port Series and the overall Volvo Ocean Race.

There is also a battle between Dutch skippers Simeon Tienpont and team AkzoNobel and Bouwe Bekking’s Team Brunel for the final podium spot in the Series as just two points separate the teams.

And AkzoNobel has an outside chance at catching Dongfeng Race Team for second place, although the gap is five points.

Racing starts earlier than usual, at 1330 local time (1130 UTC), and will be broadcast live on all of the usual Volvo Ocean Race outlets.

Current Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Race Series Points Table
1. MAPFRE – 61 points
2. Dongfeng Race Team – 50 points
3. team AkzoNobel – 45 points
4. Team Brunel – 43 points
5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 33 points
6. Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag – 24 points
7. Turn the Tide on Plastic – 21 points

How to follow the Brunel In-Port Race The Hague

Racing starts at 1330 local time (1130 UTC), on Saturday, 30th June.

On the website:
Head to www.volvooceanrace.com to catch a live stream of the action from 1315 local time (1115 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 1315 local time (1115 UTC). You can go to our page to schedule a reminder so you don’t miss it.

Check out Twitter Live:
Join the conversation on Twitter with the live broadcast at 1315 local time (1115 UTC) by tweeting us with #volvooceanrace. We’ll be live-tweeting the action, as well as broadcasting the race feed. 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 1300 local time (1100 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 along the beach at Scheveningen Harbour in The Hague, 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 with a fantastic beach ambiance.