The Volvo Ocean Race

The 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race has arrived in Boston Harbor. Boston is the 6th port city for the eight teams which will race around the globe for nine months over 37,000 nautical miles split into 10 legs. The ships they sail are Volvo Open 70 class racing yachts, 21.5 meters (70.5 feet) long, manned by a crew of 11. While the ships are in port, they hold in-port races as well as hosting events and entertainment for local residents. Tomorrow (Saturday, May 9th), the fleet will hold its in-port race in Boston Harbor, and later, on May 16th, they will depart for leg 7 of the race, to Galway, Ireland, concluding the race in St. Petersburg, Russia in late June. Oskar Kihlborg, team photographer for Ericsson Racing with nearly 15 years experience as a sailing photographer has been kind enough to share the following photos with us. (31 photos total)
[Author's note: I will be on vacation next week. Big Picture entries will resume May 18th.]

Team russia chases Team Ericsson's E3 in the Volvo Ocean Race in-port race in Alicante, Spain. (© Oskar Kihlborg)

ABN AMRO ONE heads out of Port Phillip Bay and round The Heads in the Volvo Ocean Race restart Melbourne to Wellington (1,450Nm) (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Ericsson Racing Team training in Lanzarote, Spain for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Ericsson 4 skipper Torben Grael (Brazil) in close battle with Green Dragon Racing Team. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Bowman Phil Jameson (AUS) is 25 meters up the mast to check for wind during the in-port race in Qingdao, China. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Sailtesting in foggy Qingdao, before the longest leg in the history of Volvo Ocean Race - 12,000 nautical miles from China to Brazil. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Shorecrew Jimmy Hellberg checks the keel before sailtesting in Lanzarote, Canary Islands. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Anders Dahlsjo (Sweden) and Stefan Myralf (Denmark) on the bow for a sailchange in wet conditions. This is the everyday life of a bowman. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Ericsson 3 helmsman Thomas Johanson (Finland). (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Chinese fishing nets seen in Cochin, India during the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Phil Jameson (NZL) on the bow of Ericsson 4 for the In-port racing in Rio de Janeiro. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

A tired but happy crew of Ericsson 3 arrives in Rio de Janeiro with the first morning light. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Pirates of the Caribbean with skipper Paul Cayard (USA) in Pirate conditions off Melbourne. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Ericsson 3 skipper Magnus Olssonn reaches Qingdao some 8 hours after the rest of the fleet due to breakage and repair in Taiwan. But Magnus keeps the spirits up and eventually wins the 44-day leg to Rio de Janeiro. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Volvo Open 70 Ericsson 4 is moored by the dock in Cochin the night before the start of leg 3 from Cochin to Singapore, seaweed floating by with the current. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Family farewell at the dock before the start of leg 4 in Singapore. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Start of leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Cochin, India to Singapore. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

The start of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 in Alicante, Spain. Ericsson 4 leading the fleet out of the Mediterranean. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Ericsson 4 in Lanzarote. Onboard Media Crew Guy Salter is in the mast to take pictures. Another day at the office. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Ericsson 3 in the Volvo Ocean Race in-port race Alicante, Spain. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Dark clouds welcome Ericsson 3 in Rio de Janeiro, as they win the 44-day leg fron Qingdao to Rio. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Ericsson 3 celebrates winning leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 from Qingdao, China to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

The statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooks the fleet of Volvo Ocean Race as they depart on Leg 6 from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Ericsson 3, seen reflected in the waves, arrives a few hours after the start of Leg 5 in the Volvo Ocean Race from Qingdao, China to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

The two Volvo Ocean 70 ships Ericsson 3 and 4 train in Lanzarote, Spain before the start of the race. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Navigator Jules Salters' (UK) son Fred is eager to tie daddy's boat to the dock as he arrives in Boston harbor. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

Ericsson 4 arrives as the first boat into Boston, winning Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race. From left: Horacio Carabelli, Skipper Torben Grael and Joao Signorini. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #

The Volvo Open 70 Ericsson on its way into the Southern Ocean after the start of the Volvo Ocean Race leg 4 in Wellington via Cape Horn to Rio de Janeiro. (© Oskar Kihlborg) #