As the two-week Cape Town stopover of Volvo Ocean Race yachts draws to an end, Capetonians have a final opportunity to come out and see some of the world’s top sailing teams in action.
The highlights of the weekend’s activities at the VA Waterfront are a Pro-Am race at midday on Friday 9 December; an “All Hands On Deck” party at the Puma Social Club on Friday night; Keep the Oceans Clean workshops and the second in-port race at 15:00 on Saturday; and the departure of the six participating boats on leg two of the race at 15:00 on Sunday 11 December.
There will be public vantage points at the Waterfront, Signal Hill and Milnerton beach for the in-port race on Saturday.
The departure on Sunday will be preceded by a departure ceremony at 13:40 and a water signal at 14:50.
Boats will sail out of the Waterfront, north towards Blouberg and back again, hugging the Milnerton coastline, before passing the Waterfront again and heading out past Mouille Point, meaning that spectators will have a number of vantage points to see the departure.
The teams participating in the race – known as one of the toughest sporting events in the world – have had a chance to recuperate from their gruelling first leg from Alicante in Spain, as well as repair their boats and prepare for the second leg to the United Arab Emirates. Because of the threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean, the boats will be protected by armed guards and have a secret route.
Meanwhile, the race village at the Waterfront has been a hive of activity since the arrival of the first boats on 25 November, with a busy events programme keeping visitors and participants entertained.
This has included concerts; exhibitions; sailing and youth programmes; a beach clean-up; and features such as a Cinema Dome in a container building; a simulator (The Ride) which gives a feeling of what it’s like to be in a yacht at speed on a choppy ocean; The Grinder Challenge – a simulation of an onboard grinding manoeuvre; floating bumper boats; mini Volvo cars circuit and more.
The Race Village is open from 09:00 to 21:00 until Sunday 11 December.
For more information about the Volvo Ocean Race, see its website or follow it on Twitter or its Facebook page.
