2014–2015 Volvo Ocean Race

The 2014–15 Volvo Ocean Race was the 12th edition of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race. It started on 19 October 2014 in Alicante, Spain, and concluded in June 2015 in Gothenburg, Sweden. After 38,739 nautical miles of ocean racing, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing led by skipper Ian Walker claimed the overall trophy.

2014–15 Volvo Ocean Race
Event title
Edition12th
Dates19 Oct 2014 – 27 June 2015
YachtsVolvo Ocean 65
Competitors
Competitors7
Results
WinnerAbu Dhabi Ocean Racing

Yachts

For the first time, the race is a one-design event. The Volvo Ocean 65 was designed by Farr Yacht Design in response to concerns about safety and cost. The Volvo Ocean Race ensures a minimum of eight boats are built.[1]

The aim was to reduce participation cost to around 15 million euros per entry.[2]

The boats are maintained by a common team, The Boatyard. They manage the spares, repairs, and maintenance for all the teams.[3]

Onboard reporters

For this edition of the race, each yacht had an onboard reporter. They are responsible for producing 4 minutes of video, 200 words, and 8 photographs a day.[4] These media assets are sent to the Volvo Ocean Race Media Center in Alicante for editing and wide dissemination. OBRs were allowed to perform additional activities beyond producing content, however, they may not assist in the sailing of the boat.

Participants

Seven teams are participating in this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. One of them, Team SCA, is a women-only team.[5]

TeamFlag and SailSkipper
Team SCA SWE 1929 Samantha Davies
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing UAE 2 Ian Walker
Dongfeng Race Team CHN 1969 Charles Caudrelier
Team Brunel NED 1 Bouwe Bekking
Team Alvimedica USA 4 Charlie Enright
MAPFRE ESP 1 Iker Martinez
Team Vestas Wind Chris Nicholson
Sailors by nationality[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
CountrySailors
 France12
 United Kingdom10
 Australia8
 United States8
 Spain7
 China6
 Netherlands6
 New Zealand5
 Denmark3
 Argentina2
 Switzerland2
 Belgium1
 Brazil1
 Ireland1
 Italy1
 Lithuania1
 Sweden1
 United Arab Emirates1

Route

EventStart dateFinish dateStartFinishDistance
In-Port Race4 October 2014 Alicante
Leg 111 October 20145 November 2014 Alicante Cape Town6,487 nm
In-Port Race15 November 2014 Cape Town
Leg 219 November 201413 December 2014 Cape Town Abu Dhabi5,185 nm
In-Port Race2 January 2015 Abu Dhabi
Leg 33 January 201527 January 2015 Abu Dhabi Sanya4,642 nm
In-Port Race7 February 2015 Sanya
Leg 48 February 201528 February 2015 Sanya Auckland5,264 nm
In-Port Race14 March 2015 Auckland
Leg 518 March 201515 April 2015 Auckland Itajaí6,776 nm
In-Port Race18 April 2015 Itajaí
Leg 619 April 20157 May 2015 Itajaí Newport5,010 nm
In-Port Race16 May 2015 Newport
Leg 717 May 201527 May 2015 Newport Lisbon2,800 nm
In-Port Race6 June 2015 Lisbon
Leg 87 June 201511 June 2015 Lisbon Lorient647 nm
In-Port Race14 June 2015 Lorient
Leg 917 June 201522 June 2015 Lorient Gothenburg960 nm
Pit stop19 June 2015 The Hague
In-Port Race27 June 2015 Gothenburg

Notes (157 sailing days for race winners and 10 In-port racing days):

  • ^1 Originally scheduled to begin on 15 March 2015, but delayed because of Cyclone Pam.[13]

Results

The point standings are done via low points. The winner of each leg/in-port race will receive 1 point, runner up will receive 2 points, and so on down to the final finisher who will receive 7 points. Failure to finish a leg is counted as 8 points. The overall winner will be the one the lowest number of leg points, with the in-port points being used for tie-breaking.[14]

Overall Leg standings

Leg 1

Leg 2

Leg 3

Leg 4

Leg 5

Leg 6

Leg 7

Leg 8

Leg 9

Penalty/
Redress
Total
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing13221253524
Team Brunel31554315229
Dongfeng Race Team2213DNF214741533
MAPFRE74412424334 534
Team Alvimedica553435361-1334
Team SCA6666566172551
Team Vestas Wind4DNF1DNSDNSDNSDNSDNS2660

Notes:

  • ^1 - Team Vestas Wind was grounded on the Cargados Carajos Shoals near Mauritius. They re-joined the race for leg 8.[15]
  • ^2 - Dongfeng suffered a broken mast near Cape Horn and had to abandon leg 5.[16]
  • ^3 - Team Alvimedica finished leg 2 in fifth place, but were awarded 1 point redress for standing by the grounded Team Vestas Wind[17]
  • ^4 - MAPFRE finished leg 5 in second position, but were given two points penalty for rules breaches.[18]
  • ^5 - MAPFRE and Dongfeng (1 point each) and SCA (2 points) were handed penalty points after leg 7 for infringing sailing rules.[19]

In-port series

Ali
CT
AD
San
Auc
Ita
NP
Lis
Lor
Got
Total
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing213262324631
Team Brunel422421556132
Team SCA631514445235
MAPFRE376635112337
Team Alvimedica165356231537
Dongfeng Race Team544143663440
Team Vestas Wind75DNSDNSDNSDNSDNS77773

Overall Results

PosSail NumberYachtCountryYacht TypeLOA
(Metres)
SkipperPoints
1UAE 2Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing-Azzam United Arab EmiratesFarr Volvo Ocean 6520.37Ian Walker24
2NED 1Team Brunel NetherlandsFarr Volvo Ocean 6520.37Bouwe Bekking29
3CHN 1969Dongfeng Race Team ChinaFarr Volvo Ocean 6520.37Charles Caudrelier33
4ESP 1MAPFRE SpainFarr Volvo Ocean 6520.37Iker Martínez34
5USA 4Team Alvimedica United States
Turkey
Farr Volvo Ocean 6520.37Charlie Enright34
6SWE 1929Team SCA SwedenFarr Volvo Ocean 6520.37Samantha Davies51
7DEN 65Team Vestas Wind DenmarkFarr Volvo Ocean 6520.37Chris Nicholson60
References:[20][21]

Media

The race was chronicled in a daily show hosted by Genny Tulloch called Inside Tack - Life at the Extreme, and a weekly show -Life at the Extreme.

References