Madrid, March 15: Abu Dhabi will be a host port in the Volvo Ocean Race for the first time during the 2011-2012 edition of the world’s most gruelling offshore yachting event, the organisers said Monday.
A team from the Gulf emirate will also take part in the race, which starts in the Spanish port of Alicante and concludes in Galway, Ireland.
The organisers have already announced that Cape Town in South Africa, Lorient in northwestern France and Lisbon will be among the other stops.
“We found in Abu Dhabi an incredible synergy,” said race director Knut Frostad. “This destination has a long maritime history which it wishes to elevate to a new era while celebrating the achievements of the past.”
Team Abu Dhabi will tackle the event in a newly-designed boat to be built in the UAE by the Abu Dhabi Mar Group.
Between 10 and 12 teams are expected to take part in the next edition of the race.
Sweden’s Ericsson 4 won the 2008-09 edition, a 37,000-mile course that began in Alicante and ended in St Petersburg, Russia.
—Agencies