The public is invited to attend the Sail Newport Volvo Ocean Race press conference and Pep Rally on Tuesday, March 21 at 10am. The major announcement will feature speakers from the Volvo Ocean Race and Sail Newport.
The press conference will be held at Belle Mer, 2 Goat Island, Newport, RI, USA. The public is invited to attend as space permits and coffee and pastries will be served starting at 9:30 a.m. at Belle Mer.
“We’re encouraging sailing fans to come and help us show Newport’s excitement about the Volvo Ocean Race coming back to Rhode Island,” says Brad Read, executive director of Sail Newport.
Also, Sail Newport will host a reception to celebrate the announcement at the Clarke Cooke House, at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cash bar will be available.
The Volvo Ocean Race Newport Stopover in 2015 was a huge success as over 130,000 people attended and enjoyed the racing, entertainment and hospitality of the public shore side festival. The Race starts October 22, 2017 from Alicante, Spain and will make its only North American stop in Newport, RI, May 8-20, 2018.
LIVE STREAMING:
The event will be live streamed for those who can’t make the event. Check the home page at sailnewport.org on Monday for information.
The Volvo Ocean Race is the ultimate ocean marathon, pitting sport’s best sailors against each other across the world’s toughest oceans. The legendary race that began in 1973 will start from Alicante, Spain in October 2017 and finish in The Hague, Netherlands in June 2018. Featuring almost three times as much Southern Ocean sailing as in the previous edition, the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 will be contested over the longest distance in the race’s history at around 45,000 nautical miles, crossing four oceans and taking in 12 major cities on six continents.
ABOUT THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE NEWPORT STOPOVER
The only North American Stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race will be hosted by Sail Newport, Rhode Island’s Public Sailing Center, the State of Rhode Island Dept. of Environmental Management (DEM), Discover Newport, and the City of Newport. This two-week stopover celebration and festival will be open to the public for free and will include a Race Village (opens May 8, 2018) with entertainment, a marine Exploration Zone (opens May 12, 2018), kids activities, a food court, team compounds, sponsor pavilions and a theater. On-the-water activities and sailing events are scheduled for each day such as Try Sailing for families, M32 and other sailboat racing, up-close viewing of the race boats at dock and racing during the Pro-Am Race, the In-Port Races, and the boat parade and Leg Start to Cardiff, Wales (May 20, 2018) All sailing will take place within yards of the Race Village on the shoreline at Fort Adams State Park.
