Newport lands Volvo Ocean Race 2015

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Volvo Ocean Race - Photo via Flickr Creative Commons

Newport will host the Volvo Ocean Race in 2015. The City by the Sea will be the only US stopover for the around the world race.

They call the Volvo Ocean Race the Everest of sailing, because it’s so hard to complete. It’s a race around the world. There’s no prize money for winning. But the victor gets automatic respect in the sailing world. Sail Newport's Executive Director, Brad Reed, says Newport is a perfect place to host, as many competitors call the place home. But he adds it took hard work to become a port city for the race.

"It’s about six months of work. It requires hundreds of pages of requirements that Volvo needs to have accomplished, and it's a daunting task," he says. "But with our team with the help of Discover Newport we got in a great bid and ultimately prevailed.”

Reed says the success of the America's Cup World Series race last summer helped convince Volvo race organizers that Newport could pull off the event. Volvo says the race will come to port for about 11-12 days and create a festival like atmosphere at Ft. Adams State Park.

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