The fleet is due to arrive in Qingdao at the end of January, 2009.

To sail around the world is a chalange that most dream about. Those who have, know what it takes to stay alive!  The Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) "Whitbread Round the World Race" will take seven competing boats about 39,000 nautical miles, stopping in nine ports (including Qingdao), to the edeges of the earth and back around. In 2008-2009, Teams will race the fastest open-ocean single-hull class of sailboats ever built--Volvo Open 70 (VO70).

The race will start in Alicante, Spain, in October 2008.  The VOR will sail around Cape Town (South Africa) on their way to South-East Asia, KoChi, & Singapore,  before its stop-over in Qingdao.  After a short rest in Qingdao the VOR will make the harsh journey around South America to Rio De Janeiro and then Boston, Masachutes USA.  The final streach will include Galway, Goteborg, Stockholm, and St. Pertersberg.  

Bourke said, "At the conclusion of the 2005-06 race, our attention turned to the course which the race has taken in the past and, turning our backs on history, we decided to make some big adjustments. Taking the race to Asia was a decision we did not take lightly, but one which resulted first in interest, and then in the shape of race entries, from large, well-known corporations, whose commitment gives further credence to the race."

www.volvooceanrace.org