Leg 4 to Hong Kong: "Technical, tricky, full of opportunity"

Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Melbourne, Australia to Hong Kong, is a 6,000 nautical mile race north, up the east coast of Australia, with the navigational challenge of dodging islands as well as another doldrums crossing, before arriving in Hong Kong for the first time in the history of the race.

“It’s going to be very tough, close racing,” says Phil Harmer, who is returning to Vestas 11th Hour Racing after an injury for his first race action. “There is going to be someone next to you the whole way."

The skippers have described Leg 4 as:

"Technical"

"Tricky"

"Full of opportunity"

"The one I'm scared about... very, very complicated... very stressful"

"We have to be ready for anything"

See the video preview of Leg 4 with skipper comments here

Leg 4 is scheduled to start at 2pm local time in Melbourne on Tuesday January 2 (0300 UTC).

Watch it on the website:

Head to www.volvooceanrace.com at 2225 UTC (Jan 1)/09:25am local time on Jan 2 for interviews from the sailor's terrace and the dock-out parade and 0245 UTC/1:45pm local for the racing, to catch a live stream of the action.

Check out Facebook Live:

We'll go live at 2225 UTC (Jan 1)/09:25am local time on Jan 2 for the sailor's parade and interviews and 0245 UTC/1:45pm local for the Leg start – you can visit our page to schedule a reminder so you don't miss it.

Join us on our live blog:

We'll be blogging all the moves and news from the racetrack on our live blog, including the best of clips and social content, from 0100 UTC/1200 local. You can find it at www.volvooceanrace.com 

Make sure you follow us on Twitter:

We're at @volvoooceanrace... and we'll be live tweeting the action, as well as sharing the best content from the teams, stakeholders and fans on our feed.

Download the app:

It's all-new, full of great content and fits on your mobile phone. Why wouldn't you want the official Volvo Ocean Race app? Head to the App Store or Google Play to download it. It's called Volvo Ocean Race.

Come down to the Race Village:

Based in Melbourne's iconic waterfront, there's a fantastic Race Village and it's jam packed full of music, food, entertainment and loads of exciting things to do.

Play the Game:

Test your skills against some of the best virtual sailors in the world with the Volvo Ocean Race Game. Play it here.