Issue date: 09 Jul, 2018
VOLVO OCEAN RACE 2017-2018. ALICANTE START PORT
Alicante has been the start port in the last four editions of this round-the-world sailing race, considered the longest and toughest race in professional sport. On 22 October 2017 the city waved goodbye to the fleet, which voyaged over 45,000 nautical miles around the planet, stopping at 11 cities, ending the race in The Hague (Netherlands) on 30 June 2018.
Alicante has been the home of the regatta organisation since 2010, and in 2012 opened the only museum in the world on the Volvo Ocean Race, one of the three big events in sailing alongside the Olympic Games and the Americas Cup.
For over 40 years, the regatta has had an almost mythical attraction for some of the greatest sailors in history, many of whom have spent years or even decades trying to win it.
The regatta stands at the intersection of the thrill of adventure and the toughest competition, which can often be extreme and unforgiving. These days, with sailors competing on board monotypes (identical boats), the only way to win is by sailing harder and smarter than your rivals. The regatta is won in the water, not at the design stage.
There is no monetary prize, but seeing your name engraved on one of the silver rings that form the Volvo Ocean Race trophy is an unrivalled reward for sailors who have grown up dreaming of following the achievements of its legendary winners. Heroic figures who spent their lives in pursuit of victory, such as Blake, Eric Tabarly, Conny van Rietschoten, Magnus Olsson, Grant Dalton, and Ian Walker.
The concept of the regatta is simple: it is the definitive ocean marathon, a race around the world, anticlockwise, in dogged pursuit of your rivals, where the world’s greatest racers compete on the planet’s wildest oceans.
The photograph on the stamp shows a moment of the competition with several boats on the open sea.
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
Rate B - €1.65. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to Europe (including Greenland), up to 20 g.
Rate C - €1.75. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the rest of the world (except USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand), up to 20 g.
Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.