Volvo Ocean Race: Crew announced for Leg One

Alicante, Spain (October 20, 2017) – With the first offshore leg of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race to get underway on October 22, the seven teams have revealed the crew which will take on the 1450 nm leg from Alicante, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal via Porto Santo.

New for this edition of the race is a major rule change to give world-class female sailors a much clearer pathway to compete at the highest level of offshore sailing in the 2017-18 edition. The rules of the race limit all-male teams to seven sailors, one fewer than in 2014-15, and give mixed teams a significant numerical advantage.

All seven teams have opted for this advantage. Here are the crew lists:

Note: This list was updated on October 21.

Vestas 11th Hour Racing:
Charlie Enright (skipper)
Simon Fisher
Mark Towill
Damian Foxall
Nick Dana
Tom Johnson
Tony Mutter
Stacey Jackson
Hannah Diamond

James Blake (OBR)

Dongfeng Race Team:
Charles Caudrelier (skipper)
Pascal Bidégorry
Stuart Bannatyne
Jérémie Beyou
Daryl Wislang
Marie Riou
Carolijn Brouwer
Jackson Bouttell
Chen Jinhao (Horace)

Richard Edwards (OBR)

team AkzoNobel:
Simeon Tienpont – skipper
Brad Farrand
Antonio Fontes
Martine Grael
Luke Molloy
Ross Monson
Emily Nagel
Nicolai Sehested

Konrad Frost (OBR)

Team Brunel:
Bouwe Bekking (skipper)
Carlo Huisman
Alberto Bolzan
Kyle Langford
Andrew Cape
Maciel Cicchetti
Peter Burling
Annie Lush
Abby Ehler

Martin Keruzoré (OBR)

Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag:
David Witt (skipper)
Alex Gough
Annemieke Bes
Ben Piggott
John Fisher
Luke Parkinson
Steve Hayles
Tom Clout

Jeremie Lecaudey (OBR)

Turn the Tide on Plastic:
Dee Caffari (skipper)
Nico Lunven
Martin Strömberg
Liz Wardley
Annalise Murphy
Francesca Clapcich
Bianca Cook
Lucas Chapman
Bleddyn Mon
Bernardo Freitas

Jen Edney (OBR)

MAPFRE:
Xabi Fernández (skipper)
Joan Vila
Pablo Arrarte
Rob Greenhalgh
Antonio “Ñeti” Cuervas-Mons
Blair Tuke
Willy Altadill
Sophie Ciszek
Támara Echegoyen

Ugo Fonollá (OBR)

Note: OBR is the acronym for the onboard reporter.

Race details – Tracker – Scoreboard – Race route – Facebook – YouTube

The first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race will start on October 22 and extend 1450 nm from Alicante, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal via Porto Santo.

2017-18 Edition: Entered Teams – Skippers
• Team AkzoNobel (NED), Brad Jackson (NZL)
• Dongfeng Race Team (CHN), Charles Caudrelier (FRA)
• MAPFRE (ESP), Xabi Fernández (ESP)
• Vestas 11th Hour Racing (DEN/USA), Charlie Enright (USA)
• Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (HKG), David Witt (AUS)
• Turn the Tide on Plastic (POR), Dee Caffari (GBR)
• Team Brunel (NED), Bouwe Bekking (NED)

Background: Racing the one design Volvo Ocean 65, the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race begins in Alicante, Spain on October 22 2017 with the final finish in The Hague, Netherlands on June 30 2018. In total, the 11-leg race will visit 12 cities in six continents: Alicante, Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff, Gothenburg, and The Hague. A maximum of eight teams will compete.

Source: Volvo Ocean Race