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October 27, 2008
Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09
Photo: Telefonica Blue officially suspended racing having reached landfall near Gibraltar to undertake repairs to the steering gear they damaged soon after the race start in Alicante. (© Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race)
Photo: Telefonica Blue and Black training off Alicante. (© Maria Muina/Equipo Telefonica)
The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 is the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain, on 4 October 2008, it is, for the first time, taking in Cochin, India, Singapore and Qingdao, China before finishing in St Petersburg, Russia for the first time in the history of the race. Spanning some 37,000 nautical miles, visiting 11 ports over nine months, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier ocean yacht race for professional racing crews.
Photo: PUMA Ocean Racing heads into the Gibraltar strait during leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race. (© Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race)
(Photo © Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race)
Photo: Telefonica Blue sail testing off Alicante, prior to the in-port race. (© Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race)
Photo: Telefonica Blue breaks away from the start line in Alicante, Spain for leg 1 of The Volvo Ocean Race. Next is a 6,500nm battle to Cape Town, South Africa. (© Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race)
The Volvo Ocean Race is an extreme sport, where boats, equipment and crew push the limits at very high speeds, over very long distances and out of reach for any coast guard. Since Volvo bought the race in 1997, safety has been improved for each race.
A new design of boat, the Volvo Open 70, was introduced for the 2005-06 event. It is faster and more dynamic than any boat previously sailed in the race. This state-of-the-art class of boat, with canting keel and a sail area as large as three tennis courts is being used again in this race, with some slight modifications.
Each Volvo Open 70 has two Volvo Penta engines onboard that are provided by Volvo. One is an engine that can propel the boat, the other creates electricity for all the equipment onboard: the navigation gear, the desalination device etc. The waste is stored onboard and is recycled in the ports.
All major sport events face similar environmental challenges. Therefore, a major United Nations conference on sport and the environment was held in Alicante in conjunction with the start of Volvo Ocean Race. The conference focused on how to make global sport events more sustainable.
Photo: Volvo S40, Gekko Green
According to Volvo Car Corporation, in Volvo Cars' brand value pyramid, (1) Safety is followed by (2) Care for the Environment and (3) Modern Scandinavian Design, and all these three brand values are tied into Volvo Ocean Race as well.
|GlobalGiants.com|
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 10:44 AM | Link to this Post
