Ericsson 4 with Torben Grael at the helm - deserved overall winners of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009.Departing Galway on the 06 June 2009. Gallery to be uploaded soon.
Boats, camera, action!
Ericsson 4 with Torben Grael at the helm - deserved overall winners of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009.
Could a virtual Volvo Open 70 sailing in real time, in real weather and in the same waters beat the circumnavigation of the island of Ireland 704 nautical mile Round Ireland course record of 65 hours, 48 minutes and 47 seconds set by Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard 3 in Wicklow Sailing Club’s Round Ireland Yacht Race 2008?The challenge started at 14:00 UTC/GMT, 15:00 Local Time Galway or 16:00 CEST on Saturday 06 June 2009 - same time as start of Leg 8 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
So did a virtual Volvo Open 70 break Leopard 3's Round Ireland record? Click on the logo above to go directly to the online dedicated race website to find out:
Puma won the in-port race series in Galway yesterday (30 May) after two thrilling races were held on Galway Bay. This is the first time that Puma has been on top of the podium for the Volvo Ocean Race and it brings her closer to second place in the overall standings.


Had the very great pleasure of meeting 'THE MAN' near Spanish Arch in Galway on Sunday afternoon. For a man of his legendary sailing achievements I found Torben Grael to be quite friendly and approachable and completely devoid of any airs or graces. He even posed for a few photographs!
So get down to Galway during the race stopover and bring all the family. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. To find out what's happening, visit the dedicated Galway Stopover Website HERE
The ferry LORELEY (nearest to camera) majestically links The Island - home of Waterford Castle - to the mainland via the 'King's Channel'.
ISORA (Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association) Race 2 and Lee Overlay / RAYC (Royal Alfred Yacht Club) - Captain's Trophy Race: Dun Laoghaire to North Arklow and return (52 nautical miles).
Argentina: Buenos Aires.
Australia: Canberra, Brisbane (Queensland), Perth (Western Australia), Richmond (Queensland) and Sydney (New South Wales).
Austria: Innsbruck (Tirol) and Vienna.
Belgium: Antwerp, Brugge (West-vlaanderen), Brussels (Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest), Dendermonde (Oost-vlaanderen), Gent (Limburg), Hasselt (Limburg), Liege, Lokeren (Oost-vlaanderen), Mortsel (Antwerpen), Ninove (Oost-vlaanderen) and Tienen (Limburg).
Benin: Cotonou (Atlantique).
Brazil: Rio de Janeiro.
Canada: Calgary (Alberta), Duncan (British Columbia), Edmonton (Alberta), Halifax (Nova Scotia), Kingston (Ontario), Nanaimo (British Columbia), Ottawa (Ontario), St. John (New Brunswick), Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria (British Columbia) and Toronto (Ontario).
China: Beijing.
Cote D'ivoire: Yamoussoukro.
Croatia: Zagreb (Grad Zagreb).
Cyprus: Limassol.
Czech Republic: Prague (Hlavni Mesto Praha).
Denmark: Bjaeverskov (Zealand), Copenhagen (Kobenhavn), Fredericia (Vejle), Herning (Vestsjalland), Hillerød (Frederiksborg), Naestved (Storstrom), Odense (Fyn), Roskilde and Skanderborg (Arhus) , Slagelse (Vestsjalland) and Tranbjerg (Arhus).
Egypt: Cairo (Al Qahirah).
Finland: Imatra (Southern Finland), Kuopio (Eastern Finland) and Porvoo (Southern Finland).
France: Albi (Midi-pyrenees), Annecy (Rhone-alpes), Grenoble (Rhone-alpes), Lille (Nord-pas-de-calais), Lyon (Rhone-alpes), Montpellier (Languedoc-roussillon), Nantes (Pays De La Loire), Orange (Provence-alpes-cote D'azur), Paris (Ile-de-france), Reims (Champagne-ardenne) and Toulon (Poitou-charentes).
Germany: Berlin, Bochum (Nordrhein-westfalen), Bremerhaven (Bremen), Duisburg and Dusseldorf (Nordrhein-westfalen), Frankfurt (Hessen), Freiburg Im Breisgau and Friedrichshafen (Baden-wÜrttemberg), Fürth (Bayern), Hamburg and Hamm (Nordrhein-westfalen), Kassel (Hessen) and Wuppertal (Nordrhein-westfalen).
Ghana: Accra.
Greece: Athina.
Hong Kong: Hong Kong (sar).
Hungary: Debrecen (Hajdu-bihar).
India: Chennai (Tamil Nadu).
Ireland: Cavan, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.
Israel: Tel Aviv.
Italy: Bergamo (Lombardia), Genoa (Liguria), Milano (Lombardia), Rome (Lazio) and Prato (Toscana).
Korea, Republic Of
Latvia: Riga.
Lithuania: Kaunas (Kauno Apskritis) and Vilnius (Vilniaus Apskritis).
Malaysia Johor Baharu (Johor).
Mexico : Sayula (Veracruz-llave).
Netherlands: Alkmaar (Noord-holland), Amsterdam (Noord & Zuid), Den Helder (Noord-holland), Kapelle (Zeeland), Rotterdam (Zuid-holland), Sneek (Friesland), The Hague (Zuid-holland), Utrecht, Weesp (Noord-holland) and Woerden (Utrecht).
New Zealand: Auckland and Wellington.
Norway: Bergen (Hordaland), Moss (Ostfold), Oslo and Tromsø (Troms).
Philippines: Manila.
Poland: Gdansk and Gdynia (Pomorskie), Poznan (Wielkopolskie), Warsaw (Mazowieckie), Warszawa and Wroclaw (Dolnoslaskie).
Portugal: Evora, Faro and Lisbon (Lisboa).
Slovenia: Celje and Ljubljana.
South Africa: Cape Town (Western Cape) and Pretoria.
Spain: Alicante (Comunidad Valenciana), Barcelona (Cataluña), Las Palmas (Canarias), Madrid, Pamplona (Navarra), Puerto De La Cruz (Canarias) and Requena (Comunidad Valenciana).
Sweden: Lessebo (Smaland), Linkoping, Lund (Skane), Stockholm and Vallentuna (Stockholms Lan).
Thailand: Bangkok (Krung Thep).
Turkey: Ankara and Istanbul.
Ukraine: Kiev (Misto Kyyiv).
United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi.
United Kingdom: Aldershot, Billericay, Birimingham, Blackburn, Bournemouth, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol, Burnley, Camberley, Cambridge, Chatham, Colchester, Coventry and Crawley (England); Douglas (Isle of Man); Edinburgh and Glasgow (Scotland); Grimsby, Huddersfield and Ipswich (England); Isles of Scilly; Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Luton, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Norwich, Nottingham and Oxford (England); Perth (Scotland); Peterborough, Poole, Portsmouth, Reading, Sheffield, Shrewsbury, Slough, Southampton, Stevenage and Sunderland (England); Swansea (Wales); Swindon, Warrington, Watford, Welwyn Garden City, Winchester and Worthing (England).
United States: Albany (Oregon), Allen Park (Michigan), Allentown (Pennsylvania), Andover (Massachusetts), Atlanta and Augusta (Georgia), Baltimore (Maryland), Bartlesville (Oklahoma), Beaufort (South Carolina), Bedminster (New Jersey), Champaign (Illinois), Charlotte (North Carolina), Charlottesville (Virginia), Cincinnati (Ohio), Cohoes (New York), Concord (North Carolina), Corinth (Vermont), Dearborn (Michigan), Dunedin (Florida), Falls Church (Virginia), Fort Collins (Colorado), Georgetown (Massachusetts), Germantown (Wisconsin), Greenville (North Carolina), Great Neck (New York), Hamlet (North Carolina), Hempstead and Homer (New York), Houston (Texas), Hudson and Hyde Park (Massachusetts), Fresno (California), Irving (Texas), Jacksonville (Florida), Joplin (Missouri), Keyser (West Virginia), Knoxville (Tennessee), Lexington (Kentucky), Livingston (New Jersey), Los Angeles (California), Lubbock (Texas), Malvern (Pennsylvania), Miami (Florida), Middletown (Rhode Island), Milton (Massachusetts), Mountain View (California), Newton (Massachusetts), New York (New York), New York (New Jersey), Oakland (California), Ocala (Florida), Omaha (Nebraska), Palo Alto (California), Panama City (Florida), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Plano (Texas), Portland (Oregon), Providence (Rhode Island), Redwood City (California), Reston and Richmond (Virginia), Riverside (California), Rochester (New York), Rockville (Maryland), Ruckersville (Virginia), Sacramento (California), Salt Lake City (Utah), San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Clara (California), Somerset (Massachusetts), Spokane
Uruguay: Montevideo.