Volvo round the world race delays decision on how to deal with threat of pirate attacks
Eight boats, all built to the new 65-foot design, are expected to leave Alicante, Spain
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
The threat of pirate attacks on the competing boats in the next Volvo round the world race has been relegated to the back burner as the route for the next race starting from Alicante on 4 October next year is announced.
Eight boats, all built to the new 65-foot design, are expected to leave Alicante, Spain, for a new first stopover in Recife, Brazil before setting out on what is the longest leg, around South Africa and up to Abu Dhabi, a distance of nearly 10,000 miles.
In the last race, the leg from Cape Town was cut short at Malé, in the Maldives, from where the boats were shipped to Sharjah to avoid attack as they entered the Strait of Hormuz.
A similar move could still be made, and also on the third leg from Abu Dhabi to Sanya, China, if the pirate threat is high at the time. But, as pirate activity has declined, any decision on that has been postponed.
The race then takes the competitors to Auckland, New Zealand, round Cape Horn to Itajai, also in Brazil and a stopover last time, up to Newport, Rhode Island, across the Atlantic to Lisbon, then north to Lorient and finally around the British Isles to the finish in Gothenberg in June 2014.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments