1977–78 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 |
| 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 | Skipper | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flyer | Rietschoten, Conny van Conny van Rietschoten |  Netherlands | 119 d 1 h |
| 2 | King's Legend | Ratcliffe, Nick Nick Ratcliffe & Mike Clancy |  Great Britain | 121 d 11 h |
| 3 | Traité de Rome | Hanin, Philippe Philippe Hanin |  European Union | 121 d 18 h |
| 4 | Disque d’Or | Fehlmann, Pierre Pierre Fehlmann |  Switzerland | 122 d 10 h |
| 5 | Adc Accutrac | Francis, Clare Clare Francis | Great Britain | 126 d 20 h |
| 6 | Gauloises II | Loizeau, Eric Eric Loizeau |  France | 127 d 7 h |
| 7 | Adventure | Watts, James James Watts, David Leslie, Ian Bailey-Willmot & Robin Duchesne | Great Britain | 128 d 2 h |
| 8 | Neptune | Deguy, Bernard Bernard Deguy | France | 130 d 11 h |
| 9 | B&B Italia | Di Majo, Corrado Corrado Di Majo |  Italy | 132 d 2 h |
| 10 | 33 Export | Gabbay, Alain Alain Gabbay | France | 133 d 0 h 31 m |
| 11 | Tielsa | Nauta, Dirk Dirk Nauta | Netherlands | 133 d 0 h 36 m |
| 12 | Great Britain II | James, Rob Rob James | Great Britain | 134 d 10 h |
| 13 | Debenhams | Ridgway, John John Ridgway | Great Britain | 135 d 19 h |
| 14 | Japy-Hermes | Viant, Jean Michel Jean Michel Viant | France | 143 d 6 h |
| 15 | Heath's Condor | Williams, Leslie 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. The maxi ketch Flyer was designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built at the W. Huisman shipyard in 1977 for skipper Cornelius van Rietschoten. She won the race. 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.