Team Vestas of 11th Hour Racing Arrived in Newport, Rhode Island Friday Morning
Team Vestas of 11th Hour Racing left Lisbon, Portugal on Wednesday April 19th and completed its transatlantic crossing Friday morning in front of a welcoming crowd, withstanding the fog and rain in Newport Harbor. The completion of a transatlantic crossing signifies two major landmarks for the team in regards to their 2017-8 Volvo Race preparations- the first real sailing test of their boat as well as an invaluable opportunity to test our potential crew members. The skipper of Team Vestas is Rhode Island native, Charlie Enright. The team will be staying in Rhode Island for two-weeks.
The Volvo Ocean Race, often described as the longest and toughest professional sporting event in the world, is the ultimate test of a team and a human adventure like no other. The 2017-2018 Volvo Ocean Race will be featuring 45,000 nautical miles- making it the longest distance in the race’s history. With three times as much Southern Ocean sailing as in the previous edition, the race will begin in Alicante, Spain in October 2017 and finish in Hague, Netherlands in June 2018. Sailors will cross four oceans while taking in 12 major cities on six continents!
The only North American Stopover of the race will be in Newport, RI. This two-week stopover celebration will be hosted by Rhode Island’s Public Sailing Center Sail Newport, the State of Rhode Island Dept. of Environmental Management, Discover Newport, and the City of Newport. The celebration and festival will be open to the public for free and will include a Race Village with entertainment, a marine Exploration Zone, activities for kids, a food court, team compounds, a theater, and sponsor pavilions. Additionally, on-the- water-activities that are scheduled for each day include: Try Sailing for families, M32 and other sailboat racing, front-row access viewing of the race boats at dock and racing during the Pro-Am Race, the In-port Races, and the boat parade. All sailing will take place within the yards of the Race Village on the shoreline at Fort Adams State Park.
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