Auckland is one of the Volvo Ocean Race’s most storied stopovers – the ‘City of Sails’.
It’s also New Zealand’s most populous city, and first featured in the second edition in 1977-78. It’s only been missing from two editions since then – and these days it’s a very cosmopolitan place, with a population of about one and a half million people. Volvo Ocean Race icons such as Sir Peter Blake, Grant Dalton and Mike Sanderson are still legends around these parts – mention their names, and you’ll see for yourself the high regard in which the Kiwi public holds this race and its heritage.