Sailing
Volvo Ocean Race takes boats across open seas – and while there’s no land, there’s plenty to see.
On October 11, seven sailing teams set out from Alicante, Spain for Capetown, South Africa, in the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. When you cross approximately 7,000 nautical miles of ocean, you're bound to see a few things – from storms to sunsets, bottle-nose dolphins to birds. We rounded up our 10 favourite on-the-water and on-the-boat scenes from the first leg to show the stunning scenes the sailor enjoy during their epic voyage. Check 'em out below.
Need to know more about the Volvo Ocean Race? Check out this preview. Want to get the latest from the race? Watch the most recent episode on Redbull.tv!
Dolphin diving (Photo above) With glassy water and light wind, it's easy to spot dolphins, especially as the curious creatures often follow the boats for kilometres at a time.
Watching the weather Ocean racing is about keeping a constant eye on the weather. Team Alvimedica preps for a coming storm.
Boat bird A swallow takes a rest on board the Team SCA boat. No word on how far said swallow had to fly from land but the real question is this: is it an African Swallow or a European Swallow?
Running from the storm When a cloud like that is headed your way, it's generally a good idea to get away from it – as quickly as possible!
Now that's the wave Team Alvimedica takes a big wave right over the bow while training on a transatlantic crossing. Just because these are big boats, doesn't mean it's not a wet ride.
Are those... motorcycle helmets? Team Vestas keeps the spray out of their eyes with visored helmets. In big seas with rough winds, spray over the deck is a constant reality. Maybe that's why they call it 'beating' upwind.
Spotting the sunset Gerd-Jan Poortman works a sail as the sun sets on the horizon. Even though the sun goes down, the sails don't – the boats will keep racing through the night.
...and seeing the sun rise Team Vestas sees the sun rise on their first morning at sea. There will be many, many more.
The ocean is a lonely place Yes, there's a boat in this picture – look closely at the horizon. While the boats may appear to be relatively close to each other on the tracking map, in reality, they're not at all.
Stormy Spanish seas The Dongfeng racing team in a stiff breeze on the Spanish seas during the first day of racing.
Did you know you can see more of the Volvo Ocean Race on Redbull.tv? Check it out.