Stock images of Volvo Ocean Race and Whitbread Legends Regatta - Veteran Boats and Sailors Gather in Alicante for First Official Reunion. Professional skippers, owners and crew of the boats which made the planet their racetrack are invited to sail once again to a round the world race village. The destination will be Alicante (1 - 5 November 2011) and the gathering will be the first ever official reunion of all who have ever sailed in the world's premier ocean race since 1973. The event will include a full racing schedule.
As part of a rich programme of events, which will include a regatta prizegiving and a host of social events in the week running up to the start of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. The Volvo Ocean Race Legends Regatta will slot between the Alicante In-Port Race and the Pro-Am Race the previous weekend and the start of leg one on Saturday 5 November and will include races of their own.
"The Volvo Ocean Race has so much heritage and history and that simply must not be lost. The history of the event underpins every strategy we have for the modern race," says CEO Knut Frostad, himself a competitor in two Whitbreads (1993-94 and 1997-98) and two Volvo Races (2001-02 and 2005-06). "It will be fantastic to see a historic fleet of boats lining up in Alicante alongside the Volvo Open 70s, and we look forward to welcoming the past competitors and hearing the stories they have to tell, " he adds.
This event will be another exciting addition to the festivals, which the Generalitat Valenciana, City of Alicante, the Alicante Port Authorities and Volvo Ocean Race will be producing over the three-week festival in the start port. Today, at the official inauguration of the Volvo Ocean Race Headquarters by the President of the Generalitat Valenciana, President Francisco Camps, who unveiled a commemorative plaque, spoke of the excitement around not only the start of the next edition of the race, but the Volvo Ocean Race Legends Regatta.
"This is another example of how the Volvo Ocean Race will provide entertainment for the local people of Alicante and the Valencian region and will help attract even more Spanish and international tourists," he said. Many well-known competitors from the 10 previous races are looking forward to the event next year. "Count me in," says veteran of four races Skip Novak, whose history includes skippering rock star Simon Le Bon's entry Drum in the 1985-86 race, and putting together the first Russian entry, Fazisi in 1989-90.
The event promises to be a combination of sailing greats, a concours d'elegance, an opportunity to renew old rivalries, and a party not to be missed. Magnus Olsson, a six-race veteran is certainly not going to miss it. "It sounds great," he says enthusiastically. "Count on me."
The aim is to have at least one representative boat from every edition of the race since 1973 and to attract as many people as possible who have ever crewed in any of the races. This is a pilgrimage with no penance at the end of it, a round the world club gathering to be enjoyed by the racers, and to give recognition to all that they achieved. Boat Competed: Copernicus 1973-74 (45’ sloop: the smallest boat ever to race) . Great Britain II/Whitbread Heritage (Maxi ketch - took part in the first five races) . Rothmans 1989-90 (Maxi sloop) Berge Viking 1981-82 (Swan 57) Charles Jourdan 1989-90 (Maxi sloop) Steinlager 2 1989-90 (Maxi Ketch) Fisher & Paykel 1989-90 (Maxi Ketch) Gauloises III 1981-82 (62’ Sloop) sailed by the French crew of Grand Louis/Japy-Hermès and Kriter IX Traité de Rome 1977-78 and 1981-82 (51’ aluminium sloop) Adventure/Dasher 1973-74 and 1977-78 (Nicholson 55) Tauranga 1973-74 (Sparkman & Stephens Swan 55 yawl) ASSA ABLOY/Ambersail 2001-02 (Volvo Ocean 60) Telefónica Black Green Dragon King's Legend Heineken Dasher Tyco Gauloises III
