2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race

The 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race started 29 October 2011.

The 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race was the 11th edition of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race, yacht race which started with an in-port race in Alicante, Spain on 29 October 2011 with six Volvo Open 70 yachts at the start line and ended with an in-port race in Galway, Ireland on 7 July 2012. The 39,270 NM route involved stopovers and in-port races in Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, Itajaí, Brazil, Miami, Lisbon, Lorient. The race consisted of nine ocean races and ten in-port races. Overall winner was Groupama.

Participants

Six teams started and finished the race. Of the teams only Team Sanya raced a second hand boat, Telefónica Blue, which took third place in the 2008-09 race.^[1]

Team & Boat name	Flag & Sail	Design Firm	Builder	Skipper	Boat
Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg Propulsion Mar Mostro	USA15	Juan Kouyoumdjian	New England Boatworks	Ken Read
Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand Camper Lifelovers		Botin Partners	Cookson Boatbuilders	Chris Nicholson
Team Telefónica Telefónica	ESP1	Juan Kouyoumdjian	King Marine	Iker Martinez
Groupama Sailing Team Groupama 4	FRA17	Juan Kouyoumdjian	Multiplast	Franck Cammas
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing Azzam	UAE1	Farr Yacht Design	Persico	Ian Walker
Team Sanya Sanya Lan (formerly Telefónica Blue)	CHN99	Farr Yacht Design	King Marine	Mike Sanderson

Team Telefónica

• Team Telefónica announced their participation in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 on 12 April 2011. The company will sponsor Pedro Campos’ team for the third consecutive time. The team could not use the former Telefónica boats as training boats, because the deadline for using second generation boats as training boats ended in March 2011. Their new boat was built at the King Marine shipyard in Valencia, Spain and is skippered by Iker Martinez.

Groupama

• Groupama was a French team skippered by Franck Cammas. The team acquired Ericsson 4, the second generation Volvo Open 70 that won the 2008-09 event, for training purposes. Their new boat Groupama 4 was built at the Multiplast shipyard in Vannes, France.

Team Abu Dhabi

• Team Abu Dhabi acquired Puma Avanti (formerly ABN Amro Two, a first generation Volvo Open 70) as a training boat was led by Ian Walker. Their new boat Azzam was built at the Persico shipyard in Bergamo, Italy.

Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg Propulsion

• Puma Ocean Racing, powered by BERG Propulsion was skippered again by Ken Read. Their training boat, Il Mostro is Puma's boat from the 2008-2009 race, which placed second in that event. Their new boat Mar Mostro was built by New England Boatworks in Newport, Rhode Island.

Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand

• Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand was skippered by Chris Nicholson with a new Volvo Open 70 boat that was built by Cookson Boatbuilders in Auckland, New Zealand.

Team Sanya

• Team Sanya was skippered by Mike Sanderson (skipper of ABN Amro One, 2005-06 event winner). This team announced their entry on 17 June 2011 and are racing in the refitted second generation boat Sanya Lan (formerly Telefonica Blue).

The Race

the 39,270 nautical mile- 9 leg- race around the world

The race used a scoring system where the overall winner was the team with the most points at the end of the race. All races counted with no discards allowed. The boats were awarded points in every race, six to one in in-port races and 30–5 points (30, 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5) for ocean races (legs). The race had a total of nine ocean legs and ten in-port races. Due to piracy the legs to and from Abu Dhabi were given two scores with the same total as the other legs. The scores were to be divided 80+20% and 20+80% respectively.

In addition to the ocean and in-port races there were no-score pro-am races in every port where sponsors and guests were given an experience as close to that of true professional sailing.^[2]

Summary

The race began in Alicante on 29 October 2011 and ended in Galway on 7 July 2012.^[3][4]

Event	Start Date	Finish Date	Start	Finish	Distance	Points
						Abu Dhabi	Camper	Groupama	Puma	Sanya	Telefónica
In-Port Race	29 October 2011		Alicante			6	4	2	5	3	1
Leg 1	5 November 2011	25 November 2011	Alicante	Cape Town	6,500nmi	0 (DNF)	25	20	0 (DNF)	0 (DNF)	30
In-Port Race	10 December 2011		Cape Town			3	5	2	4	1	6
Leg 2	11 December 2011	4 January 2012	Cape Town	Malé	5,430nmi	8	20	12	16	4	24
			Sharjah	Abu Dhabi		2	4	6	3	1	5
In-Port Race	13 January 2012		Abu Dhabi			6	4	5	3	2	2
Leg 3	14 January 2012	4 February 2012	Abu Dhabi	Sharjah	106nmi	6	2	4	5	1	3
			Malé	Sanya	3,051nmi	8	16	20	12	4	24
In-Port Race	18 February 2012		Sanya			4	3	2	5	1	6
Leg 4	19 February 2012	8 March 2012	Sanya	Auckland	5,220nmi	10	15	30	25	5	20
In-Port Race	17 March 2012		Auckland			2	6	4	5	3	1
Leg 5	18 March 2012	4 April 2012	Auckland	Itajaí	6,705nmi	0 (DNF)	15	20	30	0 (DNF)	25
In-Port Race	21 April 2012		Itajaí			3	5	6	4	0 (DNS)	2
Leg 6	22 April 2012	6 May 2012	Itajaí	Miami	4,800nmi	10	25	20	30	0 (DNS)	15
In-Port Race	19 May 2012		Miami			6	3	5	4	2	1
Leg 7	20 May 2012	31 May 2012	Miami	Lisbon	3,590nmi	30	10	25	20	5	15
In-Port Race	9 June 2012		Lisbon			3	4	6	5	2	1
Leg 8	10 June 2012	17 June 2012	Lisbon	Lorient	1,940nmi	15	25	30	20	5	10
In-Port Race	30 June 2012		Lorient			2	5	6	4	1	3
Leg 9	1 July 2012	3 July 2012	Lorient	Galway	485nmi	5	30	25	20	10	15
In-Port Race	7 July 2012		Galway			2	5	3	6	1	4
In-port Race Series						37	44	41	45	16	27
Total score						131	231	253	226	51	213

Alicante In-Port Race

On 29 October 2011 Abu Dhabi won the first In-Port race with Puma second and Camper third.^[5] The winds were very light on the race day.

Alicante to Cape Town

The 6,500 NM leg started 5 November 2011 at 1300 UTC.

Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand led the fleet out of Alicante and through the Gibraltar straits.

On 5 November 2011, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing lost its mast within hours of the race's beginning during heavy winds and high seas near Alicante. On 6 November 2011 Team Sanya was forced to head to port after damaging its hull.^[6][7][8][9] Team Sanya withdrew from the first leg on 7 November after an assessment of the damage.^[10]

The fleet were led round the turning mark near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha by Puma Ocean Racing, powered by BERG Propulsion on 17 November.^[11] Several days later at 1500 hours on 21 November their mast failed, splitting into three bits. They retired from the first leg on 22 November and headed to Tristan da Cunha.^[12]

Telefónica won the first leg, followed by Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand. Groupama placed third, several days after the leaders, as they missed the lowpressure system Telefónica and Camper used to cross the southern Atlantic at high speed.

Cape Town In-Port Race

On 10 December 2011 Telefónica won the In-Port race with Camper second and Puma third.

Cape Town to Abu Dhabi

The 5,430 NM leg started on 11 December 2011. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing led the fleet out of Cape Town. Team Sanya were forced to suspend racing following a rigging failure and missed the cargo ship from the secret port to Abu Dhabi.^[13]

Due to the threat of piracy around Somalia, the fleet headed from Cape Town to a secret port, later revealed to be Malé, and were then transported by ship to Abu Dhabi, closer to the finish line for a sprint into Abu Dhabi. The first part of the leg gave 80% of the points (24, 20, 16, 12, 8 and 4 points) and the second part 20% (6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points) for the same total of 30 to 5 points as the other ocean legs. Team Telefónica were the first boat into the secret port while Groupama Sailing Team won the sprint leg. Telefónica won overall points on the leg.

Team Sanya resumed racing on the 6 January with a six-man crew and finally finished the first part of leg 2 on 19 January, also scoring points for the sprint part of leg 2 and the in port race that they had missed.^[14][15]

Abu Dhabi In-Port Race

Was held on 13 January 2012 and was won by Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, with Groupama coming second, and Camper third.

Abu Dhabi to Sanya

The 4,600 NM leg started on 14 January 2012. Due to the threat of piracy around Somalia, the fleet was transported once again by ship to Male from where the third leg of the race began.^[16] From the new port they will then head through the Bay of Bengal and then pass the Malacca Strait. The first part give 20% of the points (6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points) and the second part 80% (24, 20, 16, 12, 8 and 4 points) for the same total of 30 to 5 points as the other ocean legs.

Sanya In-Port Race

On the 18 February 2012 Team Telefónica took their second in-port victory in perfect sailing conditions with flat waters and winds gusting up to 20 knots. Team Puma came in second, followed by Abu Dhabi, Camper, Groupama and Sanya.^[17]

Sanya to Auckland

The 5,220 NM leg started on 19 February 2012.

Auckland In-Port Race

Was held on 17 March 2012.

Auckland to Itajaí

The 6,705 NM leg started 18 March 2012. This leg, the longest in the race, included safety waypoints which were designed to keep the boats north of the main areas of iceberg risk.

Team Sanya suffered rudder and hull damage on 22 March and were forced to return to New Zealand. They rejoined the race in Miami.^[18] Both Team New Zealand and Abu Dhabi stopped in Puerto Montt, Chile. Team New Zealand repaired the boat and continued on while Abu Dhabi was shipped from there to Itajai, Brazil.^[19]

After 17 days at sea, with 677 nautical miles to go to the finish line, Groupama (Franck Cammas/FRA) dismasted 60 nautical miles (nm) south of Punta del Este. Groupama motored to Punta del Este and following the creation of a jury rig rejoined the race and was placed third.^[20]

Itajaí In-Port Race

Was held on 21 April 2012 and won by Groupama.

Itajaí to Miami

The 4,800 NM leg started on 22 April 2012 and was won by Puma.

Miami In-Port Race

Was held on 19 May 2012 and won by Abu Dhabi.

Miami to Lisbon

The 3,590 NM leg started on 20 May 2012.

Lisbon In-Port Race

Was held on 9 June 2012.

Lisbon to Lorient

The 1,940 NM leg started on 10 June 2012. From Lisbon the fleet travelled to a turning point at São Miguel Island before heading to Lorient.

Lorient In-Port Race

Was held 30 June 2012.

Lorient to Galway

The 485 NM leg started on 1 July 2012. This leg was the shortest offshore leg in the race.

Galway In-Port Race

Was held on 7 July 2012.

References

1. "Volvo Ocean Race 2011/2012: Teams". volvooceanrace.com. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
2. Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 racing schedule
3. "Volvo Ocean Race 2011/2012: Route". volvooceanrace.com. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
4. "Volvo Ocean Race 2011/2012: Racing schedule". volvooceanrace.com. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
5. Branigan, David (31 October 2011). "Walker wins first Volvo in-port race". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
6. "Irish hopeful in world yacht race damaged". RTÉ News. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
7. "Chinese Volvo Ocean Race entry suffers hull damage". Reuters. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
8. "Volvo Ocean Race 2011: Ian Walker's Abu Dhabi entry breaks mast". BBC Sport. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
9. "Volvo Ocean Race 2011: devastated Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing skipper Ian Walker returns to Alicante after mast breaks". Telegraph. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
10. China’s Team Sanya retire from first leg of Volvo Ocean Race volvooceanrace.com, 7 November 2011
11. Oh Fernando! PUMA first round Leg 1 waypoint volvooceanrace.com, 17 November 2011
12. PUMA Ocean Racing retires from Leg 1 volvooceanrace.com, 22 November 2011
13. Sanya pulls out of second leg New Zealand Herald, 20 December 2011
14. Sanya poised to resume racing volvooceanrace.com, 6 January 2012
15. Team Sanya celebrate Leg 2 Stage 1 finish volvooceanrace.com, 20 January 2012
16. http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/4822_Safe-and-sound-Volvo-Ocean-Race-boats-arrive-at-no-longer-secret-port-.html
17. "Telefónica seal victory in Sanya showdown". volvooceanrace.com. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
18. Team Sanya to ship to Miami as fastest route back into race volvooceanrace.com, 26 March 2012
19. Camper due to arrive in Chile New Zealand Herald, 2 April 2012
20. "volvooceanrace.com", 9 May 2012

External links

• Volvo Ocean Race – Official site
• Volvo Ocean Race Press Information – Press releases etc.
• The Volvo Open 70 Rule – Volvo Open 70 2.0 Rule
• Volvo Ocean Race Official Image Gallery – (For Media Use, but browsing is unrestricted)
• Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 report