The fourth leg of the nine-month Volvo Ocean Race around the world set sail from China February 8 towards Auckland, New Zealand and the teams reached the midway point this week in the race. However, it wasn’t long after the teams set sail that they were hit with brutal weather conditions in the South China Sea, including huge waves and winds over 25 knots.
“With each wave we slam into, anyone asleep slides five inches forwards until their head falls off the pillow and their feet touch the next bulkhead,” said Team Brunei’s Lithuanian sailor, Rokas Milevicius. He said the teams have been sleeping feet first this last week to to protect themselves from hitting their head.
“It’s so that you don’t slide forward and smash your head. It’ll break your legs, not your neck,” he explained.
This is the 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, and it is one the world’s toughest ocean races, being held every three years. The race was first launched in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race. This year, the first leg began on October 11, 2014 when the seven teams set sail from Alicante, Spain for Cape Town, South Africa, and the race will conclude in Gothenburg, Sweden on June 27, 2015. The fleet will cover 38,739 nautical miles over the nine month marathon, and will visit 11 ports.
Each leg of the race features non-stop racing, with crew members on deck in alternating four-hour shifts. Points are awarded at the end of each leg: one for first place, two for second and so on, and the race winner will be the team with the lowest number of points overall.
Follow the teams on a regularly updating dashboard at the Volvo Ocean Race website, or with the 3D interactive tracker.