In 1972 England's Whitbread company and the British Royal Naval Sailing Association agreed to sponsor a globe-circling regatta, which would be called the Whitbread Round the World Race.
The first race started off from Portsmouth, England on September 8, 1973. Seventeen yachts of various sizes and shapes took part. During the race three sailors were swept over board, never to be seen again.
Whitbread 1973-1974
| Leg | Start | Finish | Leg Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portsmouth, England | Cape Town, South Africa | Great Britain II |
| 2 | Cape Town, South Africa | Sydney, Australia | Pen Duick VI |
| 3 | Sydney, Australia | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Great Britain II |
| 4 | Rio de Janeiro | Portsmouth, England | Great Britain II |
Sayula II skippered by Ramon Carlin won the overall race in a time of 133 days 13 hours.
On August 27, 1977, 15 boats started out from Southhampton under gale force winds and driving rain.
Whitbread 1977-1978
| Leg | Start | Finish | Leg Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton, England | Cape Town, South Africa | Flyer |
| 2 | Cape Town, South Africa | Auckland, New Zealand | Heath's Condor |
| 3 | Auckland, New Zealand | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Great Britain II |
| 4 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Southampton, England | Great Britain II |
Flyer skippered by Cornelius van Rietschoten won the race. All 15 boats finished the 26,780 nautical mile race.
On August 8, 1981, 29 boats started out from Southhampton.
Whitbread 1981-1982
| Leg | Start | Finish | Leg Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton, England | Cape Town, South Africa | Flyer |
| 2 | Cape Town, South Africa | Auckland, New Zealand | Flyer |
| 3 | Auckland, New Zealand | Mar del Plata, Argentina | Flyer |
| 4 | Mar del Plata, Argentina | Portsmouth, England | Flyer |
Flyer, the winner of the 1977-78 race again skippered by Cornelius van Rietschoten won the race. Only 20 finished the race out of the 29 that started it.
L'Esprit d'Equipe skippered by Lionel Pé won the race in a time of 111 days 23 hours.
Steinlager 2 skippered by Peter Blake won the race in a time of 128 days 9 hours.
New Zealand Endeavour skippered by Grant Dalton won the race in a time of 120 days 5 hours.
EF Language skippered by Paul Cayard won the race.
For the 2001-2002 race the sponsorship of the race being taken over by Volvo. The race was renamed the Volvo Ocean Race. Stopovers were added in Germany, France, and Sweden being the Volvo's three biggest car markets in Europe.
Whitbread 1985-1986
Whitbread 1989-1990
Whitbread 1993-1994
Whitbread 1997-1998
Volvo Ocean Race 2001-2002
| Leg | Start | Finish | Leg Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton, England | Cape Town, South Africa | Illbruck |
| 2 | Cape Town, South Africa | Sydney, Australia | Illbruck |
| 3 | Sydney, Australia | Hobart, Australia | |
| 4 | Hobart, Australia | Auckland, New Zealand | Shoebridge |
| 5 | Auckland, New Zealand | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Assa Abloy |
| 6 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Miami, USA | Assa Abloy |
| 7 | Miami, USA | Baltimore, USA | |
| 8 | Baltimore, USA | La Rochelle, France | |
| 9 | La Rochelle, France | Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| 10 | Goteborg, Sweden | Kiel, Germany |
Illbruck Challenge skippered by John Kostecki won the race with 61 points.
The next Volvo Ocean Race will start in Europe in the autumn of 2005.
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