Luxury photo journey to the Volvo ocean race in the U.S.

The Luxury Photo Journey is an occasional series here at Dandelion Chandelier. Sometimes we find ourselves in a place so stunningly beautiful that words fail us. In those instances, we’ll let the images do most of the talking.

The 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race sailed into Newport, Rhode Island in May for its only North American stopover. To catch a glimpse of the race boats, the crew, and the stunning setting for the festivities, our intrepid Staff Photographer joined in the fun and shared some stunning images with us. It was a misty, moody day on the New England coast, just the kind of day that mariners, romantics and poets live for.

We can just imagine the crisp salt air, the low ringing of the fog horn and the bells of the buoys in the harbor, the smell of fresh oysters and the taste of rosé. That’s a little slice of New England heaven right there.

Often described as the longest and most difficult professional sporting event in the world, this year’s Ocean Race set a course for teams to race Volvo Ocean 65’s for 45,000 nautical miles around the world: across four oceans, to six continents and 12 host cities.

The start of the 9-month race was in Alicante, Spain in October, 2017. The finish line is at the Dutch seaport The Hague on June 30, 2018. For the first time the port of Scheveningen will host the grand finale – we’re guessing that many of the spectators will be cheering for their hometown teams, AkzoNobel and Team Brunel.

Despite its duration and grueling conditions, there is no prize money for the winners of the Volvo Ocean Race; other than thrills and bragging rights, the only prize is that the names of the crew of the winning vessel are etched into one of the silver rings on the Race Trophy.

This year’s race had stopovers in 12 ports around the world. The only stop in North America was Newport, Rhode Island, so sailing fans made their way to the charming resort town to see the vessels, talk with crew members, and have some seaside fun with their families.

From May 8 – May 20, the place to be was Fort Adams State Park. There, the Volvo Race Village featured several free family-friendly activities, and the opportunity to see as many as seven VO65 race boats at a time docked within yards of the shore. There was a covered viewing area for VIPs.

But most of the tightly-packed crowd watched the sailboats from rocks along the shore as the sailing teams headed out on the next leg of the race. Then they turned to some of the other pursuits on offer, including a fiercely competitive round of corn hole-tossing.

Among the amenities at the Race Village was a lovely little tent filled with premium rosé from Whispering Angel.

Of course, there are many other joys of Newport, which we’ll visit in a future post.

In the meantime, in just a week racing aficionados will turn their attention to Holland, where the longest race in the world will come to its dramatic close. And then the sailors will finally get to come home from the sea.

Forward This Article