Please select your home edition
Edition
Palm Beach Motor Yachts

Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 – Schedule announced

by Volvo Ocean Race on 20 Apr 2010
The course and dates for the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 have been officially announced today. This edition of the race will see a new format for the racing programme in the host cities, including the start city of Alicante, Spain and finish city of Galway, Ireland. For the first time, the Volvo Ocean Race will finish with an In-Port race in Galway.

The iconic islands of the Azores in the Atlantic, Fernando de Noronha off the Brazilian coast and the Fastnet Rock, the southern most point of Ireland, all make an appearance on the course.

The new racing schedule for the stopovers will conclude with an action-packed long weekend in the host cities. 'We had two aims when changing the stopover programme,' said Knut Frostad, CEO Volvo Ocean Race. 'Firstly we have reduced the time the teams are onshore and the time they have between the In-Port race and the Leg start.

Traditionally the teams would change their yachts from an offshore sailing mode to an inshore racing one and back again for the Leg start. By bringing the two events together we lower the costs to them and their sponsors. In fact, we have also achieved more time for the shore crews to work on the yachts and subsequently the sailors get more time off.'

'Secondly we can entertain the local public with the spectacle that is the Volvo Ocean Race on the water, for a long weekend of great racing and thrilling viewing. We hope by providing the local spectators with this on-the-water display, we will increase the public’s awareness and passion for the sport of sailing.'

The Pro-Am races will be first on the agenda for the weekend, where the sheer power of the yachts and the onshore glamour of the race are showcased to the public and race guests. These races do not count to the teams’ overall points.

The second day sees the Volvo Ocean Race teams battle it out in two In-Port races, which count to their overall scores. The short course of the In-Port races and the proximity to the stopover harbours and beaches, will allow the public to watch the exciting racing up close, as the teams push the yachts to the limits trying to gain the important extra points.

The finale to the long weekend is the Leg start, where the teams say farewell to the host city and begin the offshore battle to the next destination.

The start and finish ports also have a new look schedule. Alicante will have a week of festivals between the In-Port and Pro-Am race weekend and the start of Leg one to the popular host city of Cape Town, South Africa.

Galway will be the first finish city in the race’s history to hold an inshore race after the final leg. This will not only give the teams a chance to add valuable points to their overall scores but also allow the enthusiastic Irish fans to enjoy the racing on Galway Bay.

There will be no scoring gates in this edition of the race but the fleet will still pass round some famous islands on their course round the world. Leg one will see the fleet pass the island of Fernando de Noronha, 200 nautical miles off the Brazilian coast as the first proper rounding mark of the race.

Due to increasing pirate attacks and hijacking off the coast of Somalia, the fleet will sail around an exclusion zone, which will be added to this area nearer race time to help reduce the risk to the yachts.

On Leg eight from Lisbon, Portugal to Lorient, France the fleet heads offshore again for a 1,940 nautical mile leg, rounding the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores before heading back towards the northwest coast of France.

The Fastnet Rock is the last landmark the sailors will sail around before their final sprint up the west coast of Ireland, to the finish in Galway.

The race will visit eight stopover ports on five continents and race through four oceans, in under nine months. The Volvo Open 70’s will cover over 39,270 nautical miles racing around the globe.

Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 racing schedule

Event

Start Port

Finish Port

Start Day

Start Date

Estimated Finish Date

Nautical miles

Pro-Am Race

Alicante

-

Sat

29-Oct-11

 

 

In-Port Race

Alicante

-

Sun

30-Oct-11

 

 

Leg 1

Alicante

Cape Town

Sat

05-Nov-11

25-Nov-11

6500

Pro-Am Race

Cape Town

-

Fri

09-Dec-11

 

 

In-Port Race

Cape Town

-

Sat

10-Dec-11

 

 

Leg 2

Cape Town

Abu Dhabi

Sun

11-Dec-11

01-Jan-12

5430

Pro-Am Race

Abu Dhabi

-

Thu

12-Jan-12

 

 

In-Port Race

Abu Dhabi

-

Fri

13-Jan-12

 

 

Leg 3

Abu Dhabi

Sanya

Sat

14-Jan-12

04-Feb-12

4600

Pro-Am Race

Sanya

-

Fri

17-Feb-12

 

 

In-Port Race

Sanya

-

Sat

18-Feb-12

 

 

Leg 4

Sanya

Auckland

Sun

19-Feb-12

08-Mar-12

5220

Pro-Am Race

Auckland

 

Fri

16-Mar-12

 

 

In-Port Race

Auckland

 

Sat

17-Mar-12

 

 

Leg 5

Auckland

Itajai

Sun

18-Mar-12

04-Apr-12

6705

Pro-Am Race

Itajai

 

Fri

20-Apr-12

 

 

In-Port Race

Itajai

 

Sat

21-Apr-12

 

 

Leg 6

Itajai

Miami

Sun

22-Apr-12

06-May-12

4800

Pro-Am Race

Miami

 

Fri

18-May-12

 

 

In-Port Race

Miami

 

Sat

19-May-12

 

 

Leg 7

Miami

Lisbon

Sun

20-May-12

31-May-12

3590

Pro-Am Race

Lisbon

 

Fri

08-Jun-12

 

 

In-Port Race

Lisbon

 

Sat

09-Jun-12

 

 

Leg 8

Lisbon

Lorient

Sun

10-Jun-12

17-Jun-12

1940

Pro-Am Race

Lorient

 

Fri

29-Jun-12

 

 

In-Port Race

Lorient

 

Sat

30-Jun-12

 

 

Leg 9

Lorient

Galway

Sun

01-Jul-12

03-Jul-12

485

Pro-Am Race

Galway

 

Fri

06-Jul-12

 

 

In-Port Race

Galway

 

Sat

07-Jul-12

 

 

Reserve Day

Galway

 

Sun

08-Jul-12

 

 

 

Henri-Lloyd Dynamic RangePalm Beach Motor YachtsSwitch One Design

Related Articles

Armstrong Foils Demo Days return for 2025
Test the latest gear, get expert advice, and ride with the pros. Armstrong Foils is proud to announce the return of Armstrong Demo Days for 2025. Test the latest gear, get expert advice, and ride with the pros.
Posted today at 5:41 am
International 5o5 Euro Cup Leg 2 at Lake Garda
Stunning scenery, fresh water and great Ora breezes Between May 29th and 31st, 41 505's from 10 countries arrived in the small town of Riva at the Northern end of Lake Garda in Italy for leg 2 of the 2025 505 Euro Cup series.
Posted today at 5:29 am
49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 Europeans Day 1
Austrians Prettner and Flachberger tip into early lead Keanu Prettner with Jakob Flachberger (AUT) were locked in a light air duel with defending European Champions Hernan Umpiere with Fernando Diz (URU). The two teams were tipped by their fellow competitors as the ones to watch in light winds and delivered.
Posted on 3 Jun
New Dynamic Range of T-Shirts and Shorts
Just the ticket at sea and on shore Packing for a weekend away on the water and having fun onshore has never been easier, thanks to the new range of Dynamic shorts and t-shirts from Henri-Lloyd.
Posted on 3 Jun
Galicia 52 Super Series Royal Cup Day 1
Top level consistency gives 2024 champions a strong start in Baiona The 2024 overall circuit champions, Doug DeVos' American Magic Quantum Racing, lead the GALICIA 52 SUPER SERIES ROYAL CUP after two good races on the beautiful but challenging race area off Baiona on the NW corner.
Posted on 3 Jun
Getting excited for the Van Isle 360
Quoting a famous line from Pink Floyd's "Time" As I pack for the first half of the 2025 Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race, I find myself thinking about the last time I did this race, a certain Pink Floyd song, and the great adventuring, sailing and time with friends that awaits.
Posted on 3 Jun
5.5 Metre titles head to Poland for the first time
Scandinavian Gold Cup and World Championship to be held back to back Over the next 12 days the International 5.5 Metre Class heads to Sopot in Poland for the Scandinavian Gold Cup and World Championship. It is the first time the class has held any of its major events in Poland.
Posted on 3 Jun
Robert Burke on HRCS's Dyckman Marina facility
Robert Burke discusses the upcoming closure of HRCS's Dyckman Marina facility Community sailing organizations are a fantastic and affordable way of drawing new sailors into the sport. Unfortunately, the Hudson River Community Sailing is being forced to close one of its two locations in January.
Posted on 3 Jun
Mirror dinghy Tuning Guide with Ben McGrane
A detailed guide to maximising speed with Hyde Mirror Sails Continuing the new series of tuning videos from Hyde Sails, One Design Sales Manager Ben McGrane gives a detailed guide to maximising speed with Hyde Mirror Sails.
Posted on 3 Jun
Rodkicker 50 - manual rigid vang for larger yachts
Specifically sized for yachts measuring between 50 and 55 feet A rigid vang is designed to enhance sail handling during reefing, preventing the boom from falling into the cockpit or onto the coach roof. Equipped with gas springs, it automatically elevates the boom upon release of the kicking strap.
Posted on 3 Jun