Volvo Ocean Race Boats Begin Leg 9 to Cardiff, Wales

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Monday, May 21, 2018

GoLocalWorcester Sports Team

The Volvo Ocean Race boats left Newport on Sunday afternoon to begin leg nine of the race to Cardiff, Wales.

The boats rounded turning marks off Castle Hill, in front of Gurney’s Resorts on Goat island and north of the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge.

After that, they were required to pass through the starting line one more time before heading off to sea.

The leg to Cardiff is the third-to-last of the Volvo Ocean Race. From there the race visits Gothenburg, Sweden, before finishing in The Hague, Netherlands, at the end of June.

Volunteers Impact at Volvo Ocean Race

The Volvo Ocean Race Newport Stopover used a total of 885 volunteers in the two weeks.

“The volunteers are the face and heart of this event. We’ve been asked to fill 3,000 shifts through the stopover. Sailing is why we’re here, but without the support of the volunteers the stopover wouldn’t happen,” said Mary Smith, the manager of the volunteer center and a member of the volunteer committee.

According to Smith, volunteers ranged from age 14 to 86 with an average age of 55.

They came from 31 states and 11 countries.

“Where better to have the premier sailing race in the world than the capital of sailing in the world, Newport. What the sailors and race officials really like is the community’s involvement. No matter where they go, especially the folks wearing the team or race gear, people all want to talk to them about the race. That’s a shopkeeper who’s never been sailing to people who’ve sailed across the Atlantic. Everybody’s involved,” said Mayor Harry Winthrop.

Newport hosted the only North American stopover of the circumnavigation race for the second consecutive time and, as with the first stopover in 2015.