99 days to go!

It's just 99 days to go until the fleet is scheduled to arrive in Auckland for the fourth Stopover of the 2011/12 Volvo Ocean Race.

And the crew of Emirates Team New Zealand's CAMPER can't wait to get here! Media Crew Member Hamish Hooper shot a special video out at sea just before CAMPER arrived in Cape Town (celebrations pictured left) to mark the 100 days to go milestone and the boys talked about what they're looking forward to when they return home to their team base in Auckland.

View the video on our Facebook page here

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Schools Programme

The Auckland Stopover, in conjuction with the Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum, has devised a free programme of learning for schools, comprehensively linked with the New Zealand Curriculum.

The programme is based on the Volvo Ocean Race's ocean conservation project Keep the Oceans Clean!, designed to communicate an ocean conservation message around the globe throughout the Race.

The Keep The Oceans Clean! Schools Programme gives students and their school communities real opportunities through the authentic context of the Volvo Ocean Race to:

• discover their own coastline/waterways and the activities that take place on and in them
• identify issues affecting their environment
• take action for a sustainable future
• discover that art can bring communities together

In addition, free guided visits to the Race Village are being offered to schools in the Auckland area and a competition for schools nationwide.

Visit the schools section of our website here to read more and look at our schools e-book

Sponsor update

The Auckland Stopover's commercial team, headed by Grant Calder, has been working hard over the past months setting up sponsorship packages.

French wine giant Pernod Rickard, under its Stoneleigh Latitude wines brand, was the first to sign up as a Port Partner.

“We’re proud to partner with the Auckland Stopover of this prestigious event. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase our new Stoneleigh Latitude wines for the duration of the Stopover at the Race Village”, says Jamie Marfell, Stoneleigh winemaker.

During the Stopover, Latitude Island, named after Stoneleigh’s new label of premium wines, will feature a pop-up wine bar and entertainment hub, including an events stage, live music and large screens.

Further sponsorship announcements will be made in December.

Watch the Race on TV One

For our NZ readers, remember there's further coverage of the Volvo Ocean Race coming up on TV One:

3.00pm on Sunday 4 December: Finish of Leg 1

3.00pm on Sunday 11 December: In-Port Race, Cape Town

11.00pm on Monday 12 December: Start of Leg 2

2.30pm on Sunday 1 January: Update programme

All the programmes will also be available on demand via the TVNZ website www.tvnz.co.nz as soon as possible following broadcast.