The Volvo Ocean Race is going to announce their next stopover tomorrow (March 18). So far, the stopovers are a mix of familiar and new adventures. The race is again going to begin in Alicate, Spain. Then it’s off to Cape Town, a traditional leg, that has seen lots of fast sailing. Ericsson 4 broke the 24 hour mono hull record during the Leg 1 of the 2008-09 race.

Once the fleet leaves Cape Town, it’s a 5,430 nm trip to Adu Dhabi. This new stopover is the first time the Volvo Ocean Race will stop in the Middle East. Then it’s off into the unknown…maybe the next stop to be announced will be China?

For the homestretch of the 2011-12 race, the fleet will sailing from a North America port (still not determined) to Libson, Portugal. From Libson, it’s the short, quick sprints that will put the teams through their paces- up to Lorient, France and a finish in Galway, Ireland. During the last race, Galway put on a great show for the first European stopover, it’s going to be exciting to see what they come up with for a finale.