The 7-team Volvo Ocean Race 2017-2018 that crisscrossed all the oceans of the world ended on Sunday, June 24, at The Hague in Netherlands with Dongfeng team, the Chinese flagged team, beating the rest had clinched the coveted cup.

The 11-leg race was the most watched sailing competition in the world because of its scale of operations, the number of people involved, the type of arrangements and coordination involved as it was a 45,000 miles race around the world stopping at 12 port cities were some of the unique traits of the race.

Gothenburg aka Göteborg, the second largest city in Sweden, was the host city for the final leg of the race, 11th, from Gothenburg to The Hague. The 7 teams sailed out from Gothenburg on 21 June to a warm farewell at Frihamnen – the Race Village. Gothenburg hosted the race for a week from June 14-21, and the Race Village glittered with a range of activities and visitors. The only damp squib in the event was the rain, and it rained incessantly saving for the Summer Solstice as the sailors sailed out from Gothenburg.

The winning team, Dongfeng the Chinese-backed team, had two women sailors out of twelve, Carolijn Brouwer and Marie Riou, and skippered by Charles Caudrelier. It touched the finish line in the last 30 miles of the race. Dongfend was followed by MAPFRE the Spanish team and Team Brunel the Dutch team.

Carolijn Brouwer represented Netherlands thrice in the Olympic Games, and she is named as the ISAF sailor of the year. The 2017-2018 was her third Volvo Ocean Race.

Marie Rio represented France twice in the Olympic Games, and has won Nacra 17 catamaran class four times along with her sailing partner Billy Besson. The 2017-2018 was her first offshore race. Marie and Carolijn were part of the winning team Dongfeng.

The next ocean race will take place in 2021. Though Volvo Group has been the main owner of the event for the last 20 years but it is unlikely to happen in 2021. According to Volvo Ocean Race, the next edition will take place in 2021, and “Atlant Ocean Racing Spain, led by Richard Brisius, Johan Salén and Jan Litborn, will take over the Volvo Ocean Race from Volvo Group and Volvo Cars, the co-owners of the event for the past 20 years.”

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