Volvo Ocean Race Organizers Unveil '14-15 Route; More Than 45K Miles

The next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race in '14-15 "will be the longest ever," after organizers announced on Monday "a route taking in 10 cities in nine countries and lasting almost nine months," according to Mitch Philips of REUTERS. The "12th edition of the round-the-world yacht race" will begin in Alicante, Spain on Oct. 4, 2014 and visit Recife, Brazil; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Sanya, China; Auckland, New Zealand; Itajai, Brazil; Newport, Rhode Island; Lisbon, Portugal; Lorient, France; and Gothenburg, Sweden, finishing on June 27, 2015. The full race distance "will be 39,895 nautical miles (45,910 miles or 73,885 km)." The previous longest edition, won by French skipper Franck Cammas in '12, was 39,270 nautical miles (REUTERS, 4/8).