Var och en av de sju båtarna har fått en översyn som heter duga på Volvo-varvet i Lissabon.
Den service som Volvo-varvet i Lissabon ger de sju VO 65:orna, överträffar det mesta som en kappseglare kan drömma om. Båtarna har i dagarna avslutat en minutiös service genom nyordningen sedan förra racet med en centraliserad och obligatorisk ordning. Raceledningen liknar den vid att lämna in sin bil på 50 000 mila service. Skillnaden är bara att få bilar rullar lika långt som VO 65:orna seglar och inte utsätts för samma påfrestningar.
Här berättar varvet vad man gör för att båtarna ska fungera felfritt.
'
Italienska Cariboni har levererat kölsystemet och har kontrollerat konstruktionen och funktionen.
With nearly 9,000 nautical miles until the next big service in Cape Town, the Boatyard will do a lot more than just kick the tires. The masts will all come out to be scanned by non-destructive testing specialists to confirm all is well, and that's just the start.
To guarantee the best level of service the Boatyard uses the original manufacturers to maintain the equipment on the Volvo Ocean 65s.
This means that, for example, Harken has worked alongside the Boatyard hardware specialists to service the winches, Dutch Mastervolt electricians has checked the Lithium Ion batteries, Italian hydraulics specialists has serviced the Cariboni keel system, and British electronics experts from B&G has calibrated the instruments.
"We're confident they’re in great shape and by the time we're done with them, the boats will be fit to go the distance, all the way to Cape Town," reports Neil Cox, Head of the Boatyard.
I alla förhållanden ska VO-65:orna klara påfrestningarna. Hård kryss blir tuffaste testet för båtarna.
Different legs will put different levels of wear and tear on the boats and their crews, and the level of service waiting on shore reflects that. Major overhauls (where the boats will be taken out of the water, and the boats given a full service) are reserved for Cape Town, Hong Kong, Auckland, Itajaí and Cardiff.
Lighter touch ups are reserved for Melbourne, Newport and Gothenburg, where the boats must stay in the water during the stopover.
Beyond carefully checking over the boats after an estimated 12,000 miles of pre-race testing, the Boatyard is charged with confirming that the boats are perfectly identical, and will issue the measurement certificates that allow them to race as a one design fleet.
This involves adding corrector weights to individual components like the boom and the mast so that the boats weigh exactly the same, piece by piece and as a whole boat.
Once the teams got the boats back after September 30, they returned to Alicante, Spain to be ready for the first In-Port Race on October 14. And then Leg 1 starts October 22 and will take the fleet approximately 700 nm from Alicante to Lisbon.
Volvo Ocean Race Press Office
Seglen från North är nya för racet, men har redan gått en del och kollas efter eventuella brister.
Frjärde gången gillt blir det för Martin Strömberg, den här gången som vaktkapten på Dee Caffaris båt.
Och sedan Lägg till på startskärmen.
