The waiting ends on Saturday for the eight teams entered in the Volvo Ocean Round the World Race. Leg one is a 6,500nm sprint to Cape Town - second only to the 12,300 nm leg five across the Southern Ocean. The section through the Mediterranean, shortly after the start in Alicante, will be the first Mediterranean leg in the history of this race. But, once the fleet clears the Straits of Gibraltar and heads out into the open Atlantic, things will start to look more familiar.
It's not long after the autumn equinox, traditionally a time of unsettled weather. So the fleet could face anything in the battle to be first out through the gates of Gibraltar and into the Atlantic.
All of the eight boats have already earned some points in the recent in-port race in Alicante, and the next opportunity will be as the fleet rounds Fernando de Noronha, an island off the coast of Brazil during the first leg of the race from Spain to Cape Town, South Africa. The Volvo Ocean Race is a high scoring event -- the team with highest score is the winner. There are three different areas where the eight teams can score points: in-port racing, scoring gates and offshore legs.
To follow the action online: www.volvooceanrace.org
The waiting ends on Saturday for the eight teams entered in the Volvo Ocean Round the World Race. Leg one is a 6,500nm sprint to Cape Town - second only to the 12,300 nm leg five across the Southern Ocean. The section through the Mediterranean, shortly after the start in Alicante, will be the first Mediterranean leg in the history of this race. But, once the fleet clears the Straits of Gibraltar and 
