#VOR - The Volvo Ocean Race will come to the Irish Sea for its 13th edition as Cardiff has been announced as a host port for the 2017-18 race.

It will be the first time the UK has hosted the round-the-world yachting challenge since the 2005-06 edition, and the first time ever that Wales has welcomed the race.

"Cardiff made a particularly impressive bid to win one of the coveted European slots and with such outstanding facilities and great enthusiasm I'm convinced that we will have a stopover to remember," said VOR COO Tom Touber at the announcement in Cardiff Bay.

"The fact that we are making this announcement five years in advance is a very strong signal about the future of the race and the commitment to it from the Volvo companies."

Cardiff Council Leader Cllr Heather Joyce said the event "will bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city, and be hugely beneficial to the local economy."

She added: “Being awarded the successful bid for one of the most important sailing events in the world once again demonstrates Cardiff’s ability to deliver major international sporting events on the world stage.

"It proves our reputation as an event city as well as providing an opportunity for many non sailors to try the sport through a co-ordinated programme of sailing activities before, during and following the event.”

The good news for Cardiff comes just says after Lisbon was announced as the latest host port for the 2014-15 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. Ireland will sadly have no host port in the next running of the VOR despite the success of Galway's race finale last summer.

#VOR - Lisbon will again feature in the Volvo Ocean Race route after striking a two-race deal with organisers.

The Portuguese capital - which made its VOR debut in last year's edition of the race, hosting the start of the penultimate leg - will again welcome the VOR fleet in 2015 after the North Atlantic crossing leg from Newport in Rhode Island, and will repeat the celebrations in 2018.

"What Lisbon achieved in the last race was remarkable when you think that the city was making its debut," said VOR COO Tom Touber.

Lisbon is the eighth host port to be announced for the 12th edition of the round-the-world yacht challenge, following the return of Abu Dhabi to the calendar a few weeks ago.

#VOR - Abu Dhabi will return to the Volvo Ocean Race in 2014-15 both with a sailing team and a stopover in the UAE capital, it was announced earlier this week.

Once again skippered by Ian Walker, the team is the third confirmed entrant in the 12th edition of the round-the-world yacht race, after the all-woman Team SCA and a team representing the Brazilian state of Pernambuco.

The Abu Dhabi team joined the last edition of the race under the auspices of former commercial director David Hassett, who was previously instrumental in bringing the race to Galway for the first time in 2009, and was one of the team behind Ireland's underdog entry the Green Dragon, which surprised the yachting world by clinching three podium finishes.

Meanwhile, the stopover will be the end point of Leg 2 from Recife in Brazil, making for "one of the longest and most challenging in the 40-year history of this race" according to Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad.

"Heading into the Southern Ocean is never easy and this route will test the sailors to the limit," he added. "The finish line in Abu Dhabi will be one of the most eagerly awaited in the race.”

The news comes two weeks after Newport in Rhode Island was announced at the sixth host port of the race - and an understanding that no Irish ports will feature in the final route, according to The Irish Times.

Elsewhere, the VOR website visits the Persico factory in Italy in where the hulls are being completed for the new design VOR 65 in its latest video update - and also takes a look at the construction of the rigs for the new boat at Southern Spars in New Zealand.

In other news, it's emerged that Puma is pulling out of the sailing market, cutting its support for the Oracle team in the America's Cup and permanently dry-docking its Volvo Ocean Race team.

Reuters reports that the decision was made in the face of dwindling profits at the German sportswear brand.

Puma came third in the last edition of the VOR, which has its successful climax in Galway last summer.

#VOR - Newport in Rhode Island has been announced as the latest stopover for the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2014-15.

The popular sailing base in the 'Ocean State' will be the North American port on the race route for its 12th running as the end point of the leg from Itajaí in Brazil, and is hosting the event for the first time.

"It's about time the race came to the city of Newport and we are looking forward to a real festival that will delight and inspire sailing fans and those who are new to the sport," said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad at the announcement.

Conveniently located between the Irish-American hotspots of New York City and Boston, the crowds in attendance are sure to feature a prominent 'green' element.

As reported at the weekend on Afloat.ie, Gothenburg in Sweden has been awarded the honour of hosting the VOR finale, much to the disappointment of Galwegians after last summer's successful event.

#VOR - Despite hopes within Galway after last summer's successful conclusion to the Volvo Ocean Race, it's been announced that the next edition of the round-the-world yachting challenge will have its finish line in Sweden.

Gothenburg was chosen last week as the final stop for the 12th running of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2014-15. It will be the second time the city - also the headquarters of the title sponsor - has hosted the race after the 2005-06 running.

"Gothenburg is the perfect place to finish a global event of this stature," said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad. "It's great to know that after sailing tens of thousands of miles around the world we'll be coming to a host port with all the facilities and knowhow to make this a great event, and the history to make it feel like a real homecoming."

The deal announced on Friday also secures Gothenburg's place on the race route for the 13th edition of the race.

It is the fifth of the hosts port announced so far, after the race start at Alicante in Spain, two stopovers in Brazil and a return visit to Auckland in New Zealand.

According to Galway Bay FM, the City of the Tribes is still in the running among 100 host cities that have registered an interest to host the VOR on its next sail around the world.

This is despite claims that last summer's finale organiser Let's Do It Global could be faced with liquidation due to failure to meet its outstanding debts from the event, said to amount to almost half a million euro.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Dun Laoghaire may consider its own tender to host the race to cash in on the success of the event for local business and tourism in Galway last year.

#VOR - SailRacing Magazine recently sat down with Volvo Ocean Race veteran Neil Cox to get his views on the new design VOR 65 that will sail in the next edition of the round-the-world race next year.

A project consultant for the early stages of the build process, Cox - previously a shore manager for the PUMA and CAMPER crews - says the designers started from scratch "with a blank canvas" as opposed to previous designs based on iterations of "the Volvo rule".

He also enthuses about the change to one design racing in the VOR, which "means the greatest speed advantage will come from being able to push the boat harder than anyone else".

SailRacing Magazine has much more on the story HERE.

Meanwhile, TVNZ reports that Auckland in New Zealand has been announced as the latest stopover port for the 2014-15 edition of the global yachting challenge.

Volvo Ocean Race chief Knut Frostad described the race's return to New Zealand in 2015 and again in 2018 as a "no brainer" after last year's visit to the country's largest city on the Southern Ocean leg.

Two stopovers in Brazil were previously unveiled for the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, the most recent of which enjoyed a memorable conclusion in Galway last summer.

#VOR - Brazil will now have two stops on the route for the 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race as Itajaí joins the previously announced Recife on the list of host ports.

Itajaí, in the state of Santa Catarina, staged a memorable stopover in the 2011-12 edition with huge crowds packing the Race Village throughout, and the port’s return to the route means the south of Brazil is joining the north east in the race.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, a boat backed by the state of Pernambuco was confirmed at last week’s announcement which race organisers say will ensure a distinct Brazilian flavour for the race's 12th edition in 2014-15, at a time when the focus of world sport will be on the country.

"Making two stops in Brazil makes perfect sense at a time when the country will be the beating heart of sport between soccer's World Cup in 2014 and the Rio Olympic Games in 2016," said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad.

"We are thrilled to be going back to Itajaí, which proved to be one of the most successful stopovers of the last edition with a rhythm all of its own.

"We had huge numbers of fans in attendance on all the key dates and with the support of the city and the region we're looking forward to breaking those records next time."

Once again, Itajaí will provide the long awaited finish line for the teams following their rounding of the iconic Cape Horn in the Southern Ocean.

"The leg through the Southern Ocean, around Cape Horn and on to Brazil, was an instant classic in the last edition," said Volvo Ocean Race COO Tom Touber, who made the announcement at the Castelo Montemar in Itajaí today (22 January).

"Going twice now to the vast, diverse and sports-mad country of Brazil is a privilege for us."

Speaking at the announcement, Itajaí mayor Jandir Bellini added: "Hosting the Volvo Ocean Race once again is proof that Itajaí is capable of staging the biggest events in the world.

"It is our goal to confirm Itajaí as a national capital of sailing."

Exact dates of the Itajaí stopover will be announced next month. The remainder of the route for the 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean race will be revealed over the coming weeks.

#VOR - The Volvo Ocean Race has launched its search for a team of onboard reporters for the 2014-2015 edition of the epic round-the-world challenge.

For the third consecutive edition, each team taking part in sailing's biggest offshore race will have on board an embedded multimedia reporter, formerly known as an MCM.

For the 2014-15 edition, each onboard reporter must be approved by the Volvo Ocean Race in a step introduced to make sure all teams make best use of the enhanced media capabilities of the new one-design Volvo Ocean 65.

"We're starting the hunt for proven media professionals to tell the real story of this extraordinary race," said director of communications Jon Bramley. "We need people who can be at the top of their game despite conditions that test even the world's best professional sailors to the core."

Selected candidates will be required to spend five weeks at the Volvo Ocean Race headquarters in Alicante, Spain for training. Those approved will then be matched up with one of the teams for the pre-race period plus the event itself.

Interested candidates should send a CV and covering letter to [email protected]. More details on the job can be found at www.volvooceanrace.com.

#VOR - The Galway City Tribune reports that Taoiseach Enda Kenny has sanctioned a bailout for outstanding debts owed by the organisers of this summer's Volvo Ocean Race finale in Galway.

Minister for Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar had previously ruled out any Government assistance to cover the €400,000 in debts owed by Let's Do It Global to numerous suppliers.

Let's Do It Global was subsequently moved to declare that a decision on bidding to host a third stopover is "postponed" while it concentrated on settling with its creditors.

But now unconfirmed reports suggest that Government funding will be provided in January to cover €360,000 of the debt.

Galway West TD Brian Walsh told the Tribune he is "confident that the issue in relation to debts will be sorted out, and that the creditors - many of whom are small businesses - will be paid."

Though it is unclear when Galway will be prepared to tender for a third hosting of the round-the-world yacht race, organisers for Dun Laoghaire have recently announced their intention to bid for the 2016 race - and cash in on the success of the event in the City of the Tribes this year.

#VOLVO OCEAN RACE - The organisers of this summer's Volvo Ocean Race stopover in Galway are set to hold meetings with stakeholders in what Galway Bay FM calls a 'last ditch' effort to make a third bid to host the event.

Let's Do It Global will meet in the coming weeks with Galway City Council, Galway Port officials, publicans, hotel owners and the media with a view to drumming up much needed financial support for a bid submission, the deadline for which is the end of this month.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Galway City Council has already announced it is not in a position to underwrite the bid, leading Let's Do It Global to describe its application as "unlikely" without a "different mechanism" of funding support like the city or state partnerships in other host ports.

Organisers have also questioned the will at Government level to back up their hosting of the round-the-world yacht race, despite expressions of support and assurances from Galway TDs.

Meanwhile, the organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race are currently recruiting for a brand and marketing managers to join their commercial team in Alicante as plans build up steam for the next edition of the race in 2014/2015.

Full details of the postion are available on the Volvo Ocean Race website HERE.