Vestas 11th Hour Racing to rejoin Volvo Ocean Race

VESTAS 11TH HOUR RACING will rejoin the Volvo Ocean Race for Leg 7 from Auckland, New Zealand, to Itajaí, Brazil. / COURTESY VOLVO OCEAN RACE
VESTAS 11TH HOUR RACING will rejoin the Volvo Ocean Race for Leg 7 from Auckland, New Zealand, to Itajaí, Brazil. / COURTESY VOLVO OCEAN RACE

PROVIDENCE – Vestas 11th Hour Racing will rejoin the Volvo Ocean Race in its seventh leg, from Auckland, New Zealand, to Itajaí, Brazil.

The team had been forced to stop racing after a collision with a Chinese fishing vessel in the port of Hong Kong in which one of the fisherman died. No Vestas crew members were injured in the encounter. The Vestas 11th Hour Racing boat’s port bow was repaired and the boat was shipped to New Zealand.

The team did not finish the race into the port of Hong Kong, did not take part in the Hong Kong in-port race, the Guangzhou, China in-port race, or the leg from Hong Kong to New Zealand.

AS the race is scored on a points system, the team remains tied for fourth place with team AkzoNobel (winners of the sixth leg of the race to New Zealand) with 23 points. The MAPFRE team leads with 39 total points, Turn the Tide on Plastic remains in last place with 12 points.

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The upcoming leg from New Zealand to Brazil is one of the legs in the race that rewards teams with double points. The route is approximately 6,700 nautical miles. The race also has another double-scoring round when the participants sail from Newport for Cardiff, Wales, later this spring.

Newport will host the race following its stop in Brazil. The race village opens May 8, with racers expected around May 11. The Newport in-port race will take place on May 19. The race will depart from Newport on May 20.

This year, Rhode Island’s Charlie Enright and Nick Dana are on the Vestas 11th Hour Racing team. Enright is skipper for the Vestas crew following his debut campaign as skipper of Team Alvimedia in 2014-2015.

Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.

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