#VOR - SailRacing Magazine recently sat down with Volvo Ocean Race veteran Neil Cox to get his views on the new design VOR 65 that will sail in the next edition of the round-the-world race next year.

A project consultant for the early stages of the build process, Cox - previously a shore manager for the PUMA and CAMPER crews - says the designers started from scratch "with a blank canvas" as opposed to previous designs based on iterations of "the Volvo rule".

He also enthuses about the change to one design racing in the VOR, which "means the greatest speed advantage will come from being able to push the boat harder than anyone else".

SailRacing Magazine has much more on the story HERE.

Meanwhile, TVNZ reports that Auckland in New Zealand has been announced as the latest stopover port for the 2014-15 edition of the global yachting challenge.

Volvo Ocean Race chief Knut Frostad described the race's return to New Zealand in 2015 and again in 2018 as a "no brainer" after last year's visit to the country's largest city on the Southern Ocean leg.

Two stopovers in Brazil were previously unveiled for the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, the most recent of which enjoyed a memorable conclusion in Galway last summer.