Volvo Has the Wind in its Sails
Volvo and the sport of sailing are riding on the crest of a wave.
Harnessing the natural elements of wind and wave power, sailing and Volvo make the ideal match, the brand’s three core values of quality, environmental acre and safety enshrined in a world-class sailing portfolio.
The Volvo Ocean Race has been sponsored by Volvo since the 2001 / 2002 round-the-world epic, a race, the de facto world championship for professional offshore crews likened to the ‘Mount Everest of sailing.’
The next Volvo Ocean Race, which starts in Alicante, Spain on 4th October 2008 plots an exciting new course, seeing the fleet of state-of-the-art Volvo Open 70’s into uncharted waters with
first-time stopovers in India, Singapore, China, Ireland and finishes in Russia in the summer of 2009.
Nine months and 39,000nm of punishing offshore sailing with America’s Cup in-port sailing thrown in for good measure makes the Volvo Ocean Race the ultimate adventure, man and machine against the elements, the sail of the century.
And, in order to help develop the Volvo Ocean Race skippers and crews, the Olympians and America’s Cup sailors of the future, Volvo has, for many years sponsored the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship, Olympic champions like Ben Ainslie and Shirley Robertson and winning America’s Cup skipper Russell Coutts amongst those who cut their teeth at the Volvo Youths.
Around the world, the Volvo brand is to be found supporting sailing, initiatives such as the UK’s Team Volvo for Life campaign helping ensure that sailing continually achieves a high-water mark at Olympic Games and other major regattas.
Volvo’s core values of quality, environmental care and safety are interwoven with the sport of sailing’s key components of teamwork, endurance, courage and skill to ensure that the partnership has the wind in its sails.
“Volvo’s contribution to sailing over the years has helped take the sport in general and the Volvo Ocean Race in particular onto a different level and its support not only for the headline-grabbing events but also the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship and various national initiatives worldwide demonstrates a care and responsibility for the sport from top to bottom. Paul Cayard, Volvo Ocean Race skipper, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ 2005 / 2006.
www.volvooceanrace.org
www.sailing.org