Game of Boats

The 1 percent is often blamed for America’s economic downfall. The vast majority of them find tax loopholes and keep their millions in foreign bank accounts, keeping poor folks poor while maintaining a steady stream of undisclosed income. But it’s the top 1 percent who make racing astronomically high-priced sailing vessels every three years a reality. Without their support, there’d be no Volvo Ocean Race, the ten-stop, ten-country sea trek that covers 39,000 nautical miles through what the event calls “the planet’s most treacherous oceans.” After all, affluent fans of this seafaring sport are “2.5 times more likely to be in the highest income bracket,” according to Volvo Ocean Race organizers. Since kicking off the 2011-12 race in Alicante, Spain, teams have duked it out on the high seas everywhere from Abu Dhabi to Auckland. Sailing into Miami, Team Telefónica, skippered by Spaniard Iker Martínez, remains the heavy favorite. Though the Miami leg of the race won’t start until May 18, the Downtown Miami Race Village (Biscayne Boulevard at NE Eighth Street) opens this Sunday. Fans can get up close to the six Volvo racing vessels and test their skills on a mock pedestal grinder.
May 6-18, 2012