The waiting ends on Saturday for the eight teams entered in the Volvo Ocean Round the World Race. Leg one is a 6,500nm sprint to Cape Town – second only to the 12,300 nm leg five across the Southern Ocean. The section through the Mediterranean, shortly after the start in Alicante, will be the first Mediterranean leg in the history of this race. But, once the fleet clears the Straits of Gibraltar and
heads out into the open Atlantic, things will start to look more familiar.

It’s not long after the autumn equinox, traditionally a time of unsettled
weather. So the fleet could face anything in the battle to be first out through the gates of Gibraltar and into the Atlantic.

All of the eight boats have already earned some points in the recent in-port
race in Alicante, and the next opportunity will be as the fleet rounds Fernando
de Noronha, an island off the coast of Brazil during the first leg of the race
from Spain to Cape Town, South Africa. The Volvo Ocean Race is a high scoring
event — the team with highest score is the winner. There are three different
areas where the eight teams can score points: in-port racing, scoring gates and
offshore legs.

To follow the action online: www.volvooceanrace.org