News and Editorial

In 2011, an event was organised in Alicante, Spain, to bring together crews and boats from previous Whitbread and Volvo Ocean Races. It was a huge success. Over 600 veterans from previous races came from all corners of the globe and gathered together in Alicante, just days ahead of the start of Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race. It was an emotional time. Some had not seen each other for over 30 years.

Old crew clothing was dug out from long forgotten attics and worn proudly and a 1973-74 race tie was a ‘must have’ item. Legends polo shirts and caps, designed especially for the event, sold out in a single day and the dock was swarming with sailors, most of whom people had only ever read about. Even the winner of the very first race, Mexican Ramon Carlin, came to the event with his family, two of whom had sailed with him on Sayula II.

The crews of the Volvo Ocean Race that year were in awe. Their heroes were there in person and so were their boats. Great ketches like Steinlager 2 and Fisher & Paykel. Sleek sloops like Charles Jourdain and Rothmans. Skipper Grant Dalton even found his aviators, which had been lost down the side of the chart table back in 1989, during the famous battle between F&P and Peter Blake and his big red ketch.

Seven years on, boats which have previously raced around the world in the Whitbread or the Volvo Ocean Race are invited to gather Gothenburg and this time, to actually race the final leg of the Volvo Ocean Race from Gothenburg to The Hague in June 2018.

The race will start on the same day as the Volvo Ocean Race fleet, 21 June 2018, and use the same startline but the gun will fire 45 minutes ahead of the start. The Legends Race fleet will race directly to The Hague in The Netherlands. It’s about 462 nautical miles, not quite as far as the famous Fastnet Race, which all boats use as a warm up for the Volvo Ocean Race. 

As part of a rich schedule of events, the Legends Race 2018 will include a prizegiving and a host of social events including a parade of sail, slotting into the Volvo Ocean Race programme in both Gothenburg and The Hague. For more information on this event and details on how to take part, please contact us on legends@volvooceanrace.com

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