1977–1978 Whitbread Round the World Race
The 1977–78 Whitbread Round the World Race was the second edition of the around-the-world sailing event Whitbread Round the World Race. On 27 August 1977, 15 boats started out from Southampton for the Whitbread Round the World Race under gale force winds and driving rain.
Legs
| Leg | Start | Finish | Leg winner elapsed time | Leg winner corrected time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton, England | Cape Town, South Africa | Flyer | Flyer[1] |
| 2 | Cape Town, South Africa | Auckland, New Zealand | Heath's Condor | 33 Export |
| 3 | Auckland, New Zealand | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Great Britain II | Gauloise II |
| 4 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Southampton, England | Heath's Condor | Gauloise II |
Final standings
| Pos | Boat name | Skipper | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flyer | Conny van Rietschoten |  Netherlands |
119 d 1 h |
| 2 | King's Legend | Nick Ratcliffe & Mike Clancy |  Great Britain |
121 d 11 h |
| 3 | Traité de Rome | Philippe Hanin |  European Union |
121 d 18 h |
| 4 | Disque d’Or | Pierre Fehlmann |  Switzerland |
122 d 10 h |
| 5 | Adc Accutrac | Clare Francis | Great Britain |
126 d 20 h |
| 6 | Gauloises II | Eric Loizeau |  France |
127 d 7 h |
| 7 | Adventure | James Watts, David Leslie, Ian Bailey-Willmot & Robin Duchesne | Great Britain |
128 d 2 h |
| 8 | Neptune | Bernard Deguy | France |
130 d 11 h |
| 9 | B&B Italia | Corrado Di Majo |  Italy |
132 d 2 h |
| 10 | 33 Export | Alain Gabbay | France |
133 d 0 h 31 m |
| 11 | Tielsa | Dirk Nauta | Netherlands |
133 d 0 h 36 m |
| 12 | Great Britain II | Rob James | Great Britain |
134 d 10 h |
| 13 | Debenhams | John Ridgway | Great Britain |
135 d 19 h |
| 14 | Japy-Hermes | Jean Michel Viant | France |
143 d 6 h |
| 15 | Heath's Condor | Leslie Williams & Robin Knox-Johnston | Great Britain |
144 d 0 h |
Most of the second Whitbread Race was dominated by a tight race between Swan 65 King's Legend and Flyer which eventually won the race. The 65ft aluminium ketch Flyer was designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built at the W. Huisman shipyard in 1977 for skipper Cornelius van Rietschoten. All 15 boats finished the 26,780-nautical-mile (49,600 km) race. Great Britain II was winner on elapsed time for the second race in succession.