Innovation

Innovation has always been the signature of the Volvo Ocean Race and a new design of boat was introduced for the 2005-06 event. With development in mind, a forum of skippers, boat designers, sail and rig manufacturers, syndicate heads and representatives from the Volvo Ocean Race collaborated to produce a state-of-the-art 70' monohull race boat, the Volvo Open 70.

Record breaking

Even before the start of the 2005-06 race the VO70 showed her potential; in April 2005, movistar broke the 24 hour world monohull speed record when she sailed 530 nautical miles. By the end of the race, two other boats would claim that record, ABN AMRO ONE achieving 546nm and the current record holder, ABN AMRO TWO, sailing 562.96nm in January 2006 en route to Melbourne.

Problems - but no wholesale changes

As with any new design, the VO70 has certainly had its share of problems in the early stages of its development. There will be no wholesale changes made to the design, but the lessons learned on the last race will be utilized to amend the rule and guide the designers as they endeavour to produce faster, safer, more reliable boats.

The VO70 Rule Version 2 has now been released.