Ross residents with an interest in ocean sailing should know that Cardiff has been chosen as the destination for the first Volvo Ocean Race transatlantic leg to the United Kingdom in 12 years.

The transatlantic leg is traditionally one of the nine-month event’s biggest highlights and toughest tests for sailors in often challenging conditions.

Sailors will leave Newport, Rhode Island, U.S., on May 20 and will cover approximately 2,900 nautical miles until they reach Cardiff, which will be the only stopover for the race in the UK.

The leg will start in Newport, US, which made a hugely successful debut as the race’s only North American stopover in May 2015. It was reselected to host a stopover in the next edition from May 8, with the in-port race on May 19.

Other stopovers already announced for the 2017-18 edition include Alicante (Spain), Cape Town (South Africa), Auckland (New Zealand), Lisbon (Portugal) and Gothenburg (Sweden).