We had the honour and opportunity to have a special tour inside the Volvo Ocean Race Command Centre, which is located in the Volvo Ocean Museum in Alicante. We began our tour going through the administration area before heading into the command centre.

We entered into the command centre which is located in a secure glass enclosed area. Inside the command centre there were staff monitoring the race 24 hours a day.

We gathered around the command centre while our guide explained some of the operations of the centre. They monitor each boat in the race tracking them in real-time by satellite.

They are also in radio contact with each boat. During the race the boats make videos of their activities and send them back to the command centre.

The videos are edited and finalized in the command centre before being put online. There are stories about everyday life on the boat and stories of unique experiences they have during the race. One experience was a “ghost ship”, found by one of the Volvo Ocean Boats. They located an abandoned sailboat approximately 360 miles east of Guam on February 13, 2018. It was the SV Sea Nymph abandoned by Jennifer Appel and her crew member Tasha Fuiava nearly 3 to 4 months earlier on October 25, 2017.

https://youtu.be/L9OgNgiE2MA

We spent about an hour touring the command centre and learning about the logistical challenges of coordinating a world race. The race encompasses twelve countries over six continents and takes nine months to complete.  We found the logistics of coordinating the race very interesting.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”