The Volvo Ocean Race is the most highly anticipated event on the sailing calendar. It’s also the most gruelling, which is why it’s only held every three years. The 2008/2009 race lasted about 8 months and covered an epic 37,000 nautical miles. It was also the first race to include stopovers in the Middle East and Asia. When the even first began in 1972 it was sponsored by Whitebread (and was known as the Whitebread Ocean Race) and boasted 17 yachts. In 2008/09 there were only 8 teams but that doesn’t make the race any easier.
The winner is the team that wins the most legs of the race, and this year that racing team was Ericsson 4, skippered by Brazil’s Torben Grael. Grael has an established reputation as one of the world’s sailing greats with five Olympic sailing medals and six world titles, and now he has the Volvo Ocean Race to add to his resume. Proving their mettle amongst the other racing teams, team Ericsson 4 won the first two legs of the race, as well as three of the last four legs and also achieved a couple of podium finishes in other legs.
Grael is relatively modest about his achievement, saying, “It was very tough, the boats were very close for most of the race. It was intense. To win you had to make the right decisions at the right time and work hard on speed of the boats the whole time.” He added, “We had good moments and bad moments. You make mistakes. The winner is the boat that makes the least number of big mistakes. We managed to do that.”
For landlubbers who dream of sailing a yacht around the world there is the Virtual Volvo Ocean Race, which is nine months and 37,000 nautical miles enjoyed from the comfort of your desktop. Although participants don’t experience the thrill, or the terror, of 100 foot waves and 60 knot winds, or have to find a crew or yacht charter company, they compete in real time and in the same weather conditions as ocean-going competitors without completing a physical sailing course. The only requirement is regular access to an internet connection and an original name. All important information, such as weather forecasts are freely available on the website.
The game was developed by UnitedGames in partnership with the Volvo Ocean Race and was designed to be as close as possible to the real thing. Marijn Harinck, CEO of UnitedGames, says, “We built the game together with our partners from Virtual Regatta who are sailors too. Their knowledge about virtual sailing and our knowledge about gaming make this game unique. It is a game by sailors for sailors.”
Over 220,000 racing teams crossed the Virtual Volvo Ocean finishing line, with POWEROF7 taking the flag. Unlike the real Volvo Ocean Race, which doesn’t award any prizes beyond crystal cups and the satisfaction of completing the toughest sailing race on the planet, first prize in the virtual race was a Volvo C30 complete with a trip to St Petersburg to meet the real teams. Other prizes in the Virtual Volvo Ocean Race included a trip to a Real Madrid or AC Milan soccer game, a VIP trip on the Holmatro Extreme 40 catamaran and a new Sailmaster MKII watch. Proof that while courage is priceless, computer nous continues to reap more rewards.