The Mapfre boat heads through big waves during the start of leg seven of the Volvo Ocean Race on Mar. 18 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
In the Southern Ocean, a few thousand miles off the coast of Antartica, extreme sailors can at times be closer to astronauts on the International Space Station than to any other human beings. Few have traveled these parts for good reason: they’re remote and dangerous. Enormous waves and glaciers tower over catamarans, tossing them around like a dog with its toys.
For 45 years, sailors have been racing around the world and across the Southern Ocean in the Volvo Ocean Race (formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race).