Volvo Ocean Team Spirits Time Sail to Destination 2015

Source and Courtesy Volvo Ocean Race

Volvo Ocean Race -the toughest five ocean regatta is on. Teams will face the most extreme conditions, strongest winds and the most difficult navigation circuits and natural elements known to human navigation. Volvo Ocean Race spans out the five oceans and is planned to outlast over 9 months covering 38.739 nautical miles-71.790 kilometers. Time and team spirit are decisive factors.

Onboard each of the boats a group of men and women, all professionals athletes will have to live side by side in a confined space for months at a time meeting the necessary strengths and skills to break through the ocean conditions and other times working for sheer survival. In these conditions the Spirit of every Team will rise in different ways deciding positions.

On October 18^th international press reported that the Race kick started leg 1 Alicante Cape Town. This year's highlight are the digital onboard reporters equipped with new technology to deliver the “most up and close” experience for world viewers. Onboard reporters continue blasting impressive media -images, videos, news and updates online, on the Volvo Ocean Race media site who covers the race like no other media out there.

Time breaking like waves endless on the vessels that circumnavigate with speed the world can be often dismissed as a challenge by reporters who tend to focus on positions, mappings, climate and other classical regatta issues. But time can break down a crew as easy as waves break down massive mountains to form cliff-hanging shores. Time and team work, relationships and life on board, communication and psychological aspects of the most extreme regatta are opened up like a book in the Volvo Ocean site.

Nine months at sea, ocean after ocean, wind after wind, day after night, stars after rude storm morning awakenings and calm days after days sure brings forward the best and the worst of every team member and every crew.

Teams will have a series of in port coast stops. The route lists 11 ports Alicante -Spain, Cape Town -South Africa, Abu Dhabi, Sanya -China, Auckland -Nueva Zelanda, Itajaí -Brasil, New Port -USA, Lisboa, Lorient -Francia, La Haya -24 hour technical stop and Gotemburgo -end line.

These stops will give teams a chance to breathe in the land with shaky legs and at times meet with friends and family. Out there in the oceans crews members are establishing individual relationships with the ocean as well as with their team members. The Sporting Spirit Team is not only shaped by the ocean conditions, crew members and the long “around-the-world” through breathtaking environments and amazing oceanic views. The Volvo 65 –unique boat design is a personality and has its own spirit which it shares generously and equally with all teams.

Volvo explains that every team will sail under the same boat design. "It is not just a boat," Volvo Ocean Race says.

"The new Volvo Ocean 65 is what we call a monotype. It is constructed based in just one set of strictly controlled plans (signed by the prestigious study Fartr Yacht Design). Teams do not need designers, the boat has already been designed for them," Volvo ended the debate on boat equality conditions Volvo concludes

"The 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race will be won and lost by the athletes, out on the water. There will be no one else to blame," Volvo concluded.

Personalities within each team begin to rise leading the spirits ahead. Team SCA –the 100% "All-Female" Team, the Abu Dhabi -"ruddered" by Ian Walker from UK, Dongfeng Race Team from China -daring to venture beyond usual Asian sports, Team Brunel Dutch team –lead by veteran regatta skipper Bouwe Bekking, Team Alvimedica -hoisting a double flag US-Turkey, Team Spain mastered by Iker Martínez and Team Vestas Wind -last to be inscribed, all dream of taking home the Volvo Ocean Race.

An inclusive international and global spirit has overtaken this year edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. Out there in the ocean, throughout Leg I sailors continue their ocean life living minute to minute knowing that every moment counts. Their focus remains on every drop of wind, chart, angles and strategy. In the long run they are all aware that the Race is just warming up and that their final destination is Destination 2015.

Ocean Life News in Brief

Ocean Level Increase Dropping Oceans Floor: International Press reported on December 5 on the findings of new research which assures that due to ocean level increase the ocean floor is sinking. The study published online in Geophysical Research Levels used mathematical equations to accurately measure the Ocean's floor impact driven by the increased of water volume weight. Using data from 1993 to 2014 researchers found that ocean level increase is causing the Ocean floor to drop globally by the milimeters. Ocean Dead Zones Up By Four: On January 8 New York Daily reported that Ocean Dead Zones have quadrupled.Researchers warned in a new study that oxygen-starved ocean dead zones, where animals and plants are struggling to survive, have increased fourfold and it may not be reversible. The new study was published in the Journal Science. The increase of Dead Zones was linked to climate change. La Niña´s Polar Wave Hitting Hard the US -Freezing Oceans: International Press reported on the Polar Wave hitting hard the US. The event is linked by experts to the influence of La Niña. “For the past couple of weeks, parts of North America have been chilling down to record temperatures, with massive snowfall and icy cold conditions putting life at a standstill for many,” media reported. The US East Coast has been particularly badly hit with the likes of Boston down to Philadelphia reaching bone-chilling lows of near 0°F , with icy winds making it feel closer to around -10°F to -20°F. Officially 18 were dead and 100 million affected. Government of Bali Declares a Garbage Emergency: On January 5 Ocean Conservancy reported on a New Waste Management Emergency in Bali. Massive amounts of ocean debri are affecting the island. The situation has reached its peak as the Government of Bali declared a “Garbage Emergency”. Clean up works have began. “Ivory Coast Village Swallowed by Ocean Increase,” Aljazeera Reports: On January 8 Al Jazeera reported that ocean increase levels are affecting infrastructure in the Ivory Coast. “Rising tides and more frequent, devastating storms are slowly destroying what is left of Lahou-Kpanda, the offshoot of what was once a major colonial town near the mouth of the Bandama River, the longest river in Ivory Coast,” Al Jazeera reported. Arctic Ocean Radioactive Levels on the Rise: IFL Science reported on January 3 on the findings of new report which assures that radioactive levels in the Arctic Ocean are on the rise. “Concentrations of radioactive radium-228 in the Arctic Ocean increased between 2007 and 2015,” the report reads. While levels have not yet reached a mark of concern the trend is worries experts. Lauren Kipp of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution addressed the issue. New World Wide Ocean Turtle Study Says 90% of Plastic Pollution Cases Result in Death: Earth Sky Org reported on January 7 that hundreds of marine turtles die every year after getting tangled in trash in oceans and on beaches. A research published in the journal Endangered Species Research took on a World-Wide Survey covering the major oceans where turtles live. They discovered that 91 % of the entangled turtles were found dead. They also suffered serious wounds from entanglement, leading to maiming, amputation or choking. Double Whirlpools Discovered for First Time: December 4 Press reported that Double Eddies have been registered for the first time in History. Tangled up Double Eddies can travel great distances affecting ecology significantly. Eddies are a natural part of the ocean environment but double whirlpools had only been theorized by mathematicians.