Volvo Ocean Race in Galway

Volvo Ocean Race brought record breaking crowds to Galway

As the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 continues and the Volvo Open 70 fleet has left the Irish waters, the echo is still strong and vibrates within many of those who visited Galway over last couple of weeks.

Only during the first week of Volvo Ocean Race stop-over over 238,000 visitors have passed through the Galway Race Village and Salthill while thousands more flocked to Galway over the In-Port racing weekend to avail of the sailing, music, entertainment and street spectacle provided
as part of the two-week Festival of events.

On a glorious morning on Saturday 30th of May, crowds arrived in their thousands to the Volvo Ocean Race Village in Galway and walked the Green Dragon Route to Salthill to ensure a prime view of the breath taking Red Arrows Air Display .

 The level of skill and precision flying displayed by the Red Arrows was remarkable, captivating the visitors with daring synchronised manoeuvres, painting the bright and clear Galway sky with streams of red, white and blue.
 

The action in the sky was matched by the on-water spectacle as hundreds of boats took to Galway Bay to cheer on the home boat Green Dragon and the Volvo Open 70 fleet as they competed for valuable points during the In-Port Race. Live commentary was provided as spectators lined the Salthill Promenade, beaches and any space they could find to view the magnificent Volvo Open 70 yachts with their colourful sails on the bay. The crowd also availed of the big screens in the Race Village and Salthill to watch all of the action while the race was broadcast live on TG4 (Teilifis Gaelige - Irish language television channel) and streamed online to a 2 billion worldwide audience on Volvo Ocean Race TV.

Puma’s il mostro won the In-Port Race in Galway after two thrilling races were held on Galway Bay. This is the first time that Puma has taken top podium position during this Volvo Ocean Race season. Telefónica Blue was in second place while Ericsson 4 took third place. At the prize giving all three teams received a rapturous applause from the crowds who surrounded the Harbour and welcomed in all 7 boats earlier that evening.

On Sunday morning thousands of visitors had a second opportunity to view the Volvo Open 70 fleet in action during the Pro-Am Racing, where the teams could relax while they raced for spectacle rather than competing on this occasion. Despite light winds the mighty Volvo Open 70s made for great viewing as they dashed across Galway Bay and thrilled the crowds.

Volvo Ocean Race hosted a special Prize giving Ceremony on Monday, 1st of June for the winners of Leg 7 from Boston to Galway which included Irelands own Green Dragon who received their trophy for third place while first place winners Ericsson 4 and second place winners Puma received a warm Irish welcome from the audience. CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, Knut Frostad stated ‘of all the stopover ports they have visited around the world in this 2008-09 series, Ireland’s stopover in Galway has by far exceeded all other stopover ports and is a model to be followed for future ports’.

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