PROVIDENCE — Newport-based Vestas 11th Hour Racing began the eighth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race Sunday from Brazil and is en route to Newport, along with six other Volvo Ocean 65s, for the lone North American stopover scheduled for next month.
The 5,100-nautical mile leg is expected to last approximately 16 days and take the crews through several challenging areas in the Atlantic Ocean, including changing wind patterns and colder conditions as crews make their way to Newport.
The Newport racing village opens May 8. The in-port race is scheduled for May 19 and the teams will depart from Rhode Island the following day on May 20. The average expected arrival date for racing teams is May 11.
Vestas 11th Hour Racing has suffered multiple setbacks during this year’s race. In late January, the boat was involved with a fatal collision with a non-racing boat about 30 miles from the Leg 4 finish line in the port of Hong Kong. The collision killed one person on the other vessel – which sank.
Two months later, Vestas, about 100 miles south of the Faulkland Islands, suffered a dismasting. The crew was uninjured in both incidents, however Vestas hasn’t scored a point in 2018, Vestas skipper Charlie Enright said in a release. But Enright said his team is “going to fight really hard for a good position into Newport.”
The crew, though, including Vestas co-founder Mark Towill, is looking forward to the stopover in Newport – which will be held May 8-20 – as it will be a homecoming of sorts.
“Rhode Island is like a second home to me,” said Towill, a Hawaii native and a Brown University graduate, in a release. “I am looking forward to the stopover because of the warm welcome we have always received from the community.”
Both Enright and boat captain Nick Dana are Rhode Island natives.
As of Monday at 11 a.m., the team was in fifth place, although the pack remained tight so early in the leg, back just over 2 nautical miles from the leg leader Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag.
The Vestas team is currently in sixth overall with 23 points on the leaderboard.
Dongfeng Race Team is in first place overall with 46 points.
James Bessette is a PBN staff writer. Email him at research@PBN.com.
