The Ocean Race

Thus far the racing in the 2014-15 VOR has been as close as any in the race’s long history, thanks in part to the fact that this year’s fleet is made up of identical one-designs.

An estimated 50,000 race fans packed both the docks and harbor as the seven-boat 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race fleet set out on the event’s first offshore leg from Alicante, Spain, to Cape Town, South Africa.

If there was ever any doubt Team Alvimedica and its young American leaders—skipper Charlie Enright and watch captain Mark Towill—were ready for the 2014-25 Volvo Ocean Race, those doubts were put to rest Saturday as the team won the opening in-port event in Alicante, Spain.

Abu Dhabi skipper Ian Walker on his team and the one-design Volvo Ocean 65

Even more than most offshore races, the Volvo Ocean Race requires that crews be at the top of the game from the moment the gun fires until they cross the finish line—and this is especially true of the 6,487-mile opening leg from Alicante, Spain, to Cape Town.

In 2014-15, the sailors not only have to deal with an all-new boat and new stopover ports, there has also been a major change to the way the event is scored. What follows is a brief guide to the nuts and bolts of the 2014-15 VOR, so you’ll be able to follow the action out on the water that much better.

Morning starts early for 29-year-old Charlie Enright, a native of Bristol, Rhode Island, who is skippering Team Alvimedica in the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race. The lights flick on at 0600, an iPhone is tapped and a torrent of email begins before the young skipper is vertical.

At press time, the United States duo had just nine months to prepare for their 38,739-mile “lap.” The Volvo Ocean Race starts October 4 with an in-port race in Alicante, Spain.

U.S. Olympic sailor Sally Barkow has signed on with the Swedish-flagged SCA team, after months of helping work up its Volvo Ocean 65 one-design at the team’s base in Lanzarote, Spain, in anticipation of the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race.

The 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race has not only been attracting more participants, it has also become more interesting for sailing fans in the United States.