Volvo Ocean Race COO Tom Touber today joined Sail Newport’s Brad Read and Governor Gina Raimondo, to announce that the Race will be heading back to the Ocean State for the 2017-18 edition (full story below).<\/p>\n
Heading back to Newport!<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rhode Island town to host race for a second time in 2018<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Governor Raimondo heralds Newport\u2019s achievement<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 More port announcements to come in the New Year<\/p>\n
NEWPORT, Rhode Island, October 30 \u2013 Newport, Rhode Island, will once again host the North American stopover for the 13th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2017-18 following the success of the sailing-mad coastal town\u2019s hosting of the world\u2019s leading offshore event in May.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re delighted to be able to confirm that Newport will be staging a second consecutive stopover in 2018,\u201d said Race COO, Tom Touber, at Friday\u2019s (October 30) official announcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything worked brilliantly in Newport in May thanks to the great work of Brad Read and his team plus the backing of the Governor, legislative leaders and State of Rhode Island agencies, and we were delighted with the large amount of spectators from our major fan base in the U.S. and elsewhere, who supported the stopover.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoreover, the Newport stopover was greatly valued by our stakeholders, who very much enjoyed visiting the area for its history, culture and, of course, the commercial opportunities it provided.\u201d<\/p>\n
The news that Newport will again be hosting the event means that seven ports for the next edition of the 42-year-old race are already known.<\/p>\n
The east coast port joins Alicante (Spain), Cape Town (South Africa), Auckland (New Zealand), Cardiff (United Kingdom), Lisbon (Portugal) and Gothenburg (Sweden) on the list of confirmed stopovers for the 2017-18 edition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe route is already shaping up very nicely, although we have several more key port announcements to come, probably early in the New Year,\u201d added Touber.<\/p>\n
Rhode Island Governor, Gina M. Raimondo, who joined Volvo Ocean Race officials and Stopover Director Brad Read in Friday\u2019s announcement ceremony at the State Room in the State capital, Providence, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cRhode Island looks forward to welcoming back the Volvo Ocean Race in 2018, and we\u2019re honoured to be among this list of world-class port destinations.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cThis year\u2019s event was a great success, drawing more than 130,000 fans from across the U.S. and abroad. We look forward to once again showcasing Rhode Island as a great place to visit – and do business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brad Read, who heads Sail Newport, which masterminded the stopover this year, was delighted to have the chance to repeat – and improve on \u2013 the success of their inaugural hosting of the round-the-world marathon.<\/p>\n
\u201cSail Newport, the Department of Environmental Management, and State Leadership, together with all of our outstanding partners, organised and hosted the most successful North American stopover in Volvo Ocean Race history,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did this as a non-profit organization combined with a whole lot of community heart and passion because we knew the event would be a remarkable success.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cI believe strongly that tourists, fans, sponsors and media will travel from all over the world to Rhode Island to be part of the next Newport stopover.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone wants the Race back here. The State, the marine, business, education communities, and fans, will follow the Race until it arrives back at Castle Hill in 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n
The precise dates of the fleet\u2019s visit in 2018 are not yet known but will be announced when the full route is unveiled early next year.<\/p>\n
To access the Newport 2018 promo video, please log-in to our FTP using the following details:<\/p>\n
via Heading back to Newport!| Volvo Ocean Race<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Volvo Ocean Race COO Tom Touber today joined Sail Newport’s Brad Read and Governor Gina Raimondo, to announce that the Race will be heading back to the Ocean State for the 2017-18 edition (full story below). Heading back to Newport! … Continue reading