VOR LEG 2 to start Wednesday ...OR?

Yes, the VolvoOceanRace website has improved. The important elements to follow the race are easier to find and grouped together.
The information on the Race and coming Legs,however, is still minimal, little details if any and spread all over the site.

When will VOR understand the needs from armchair sailors, that are keen to follow the VÓR via the internet?

What I was looking for yesterday and today for the coming start of Leg2 of the VOR from Cape Town to AbuDhabi is:

• the start location
• the start time
• the details for the route

Via the menu Route and Leg2, you find nothing of this at all; apart from a stylistic route indication, that lacks all required details on Marks, Ice zones, and Exclusion zones.

Start Location.
Luckily, when clicking on Cape Town, the good people of CT have in their part given a nice map for the Starting circuit, to be sailed before the Boats can choose the open water and find the best route to Abu Dhabi.

VOR Leg 2 Start Circuit

Thanks for the Start location.

Starting Time.
The Time mentioned in this map, seems to be the only time indication for the Start of VOR Leg 2 on the whole VOR website and ........ is not correct or rather not complete enough. The time mentioned is South African local time, and that for an International Global Sailing Race.

The correct Starting time for VOR Leg 2 is 16:00 UTC.


If you like puzzles, you could have  found out, maybe, by looking at the countdown counter that shows part-time in the right top of the screen. Better maybe the countdown counter at the bottom of my blog-pages.

Route Details
As for any details on the route to be followed and marks to be validated by the Boats, there is nothing at all easily available. There is a Leg specific story on meteo, but without route details.

I had to dig deep into the cellars of the VOR website and there I found a document called Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 Leg 2 Addendum Final.(check it out via the link Noticeboard, complete in the bottom of the VOR web-pages)

There I found some information  in m30627 pdf document on Marks, Exclusion Zones and Ice Gates, be it correct ?

- East African Exclusion Zone
25° 58.573'S --32° 59.295'E  mark on African Coast
25° 35.407'S --45° 08.599'E  mark on Madagascar
20° 30.609'S --57° 23.786'E  mark on Mauritius
Boats have to sail, south of the lines connecting these marks, keeping the lines on Port side.
-Ice Gate
The ‘Ice Limits’ are positions used to form an imaginary line that Boats shall leave to Starboard. 45º 00.000S 20º 00.000E, 45º 00.000S 30º 00.000E
-and there are exclusion zones on the Iranian coast and strait of Hormuz, these to make a more narrow sailing channel in the natural water channel with the intend to keep the boats away from Iranian waters.


Pending any missed amendments, this is it.

For my virtual sailing a nice Map is made that shows the important details for Leg 2. For more details please visit the Forum of LiveSkipper Virtual Sailing Game.

Route details Leg 2

I hope that this give the required details to be able to follow the fleet and understand the route of the Boats and some of the maneuvers the Boats will be making.

Fair winds and Safe Sailing