Potter

Well the same two people are running Akzo who were the coaches for SCA. Maybe the issue is there?

It may not be your cup of tea, but the Extreme Sailing Series has never claimed to be anything other than stadium sailing. There are so many different types of racing out there, that everyone has an option. I am just pointing out that it is what it advertises, and obviously not what you like. I personally agree that Barcelona should have had slightly longer races, but going over a mile is not what the ESS is about. There are other circuits for that, you just can't always watch them from the shore. Interestingly enough I do disagree with the lottery comment, if that was true then the best teams would not always win. I think that is where the ACWS went wrong, they went for short courses and city venues (therefore more likely to have extreme shifts) but they did not run enough races to take the lottery out of the results. With over 15 short races over a weekend this is eliminated from the ESS results, I think if ACWS had even done 4 races a day (shock horror there would have been over 3 hours of racing...) then the results would have evened out. That said, I am not sure anyone wanted to sit through 3 hours of NY ACWS! Interesting comment about the boats being down speed 80% of the time. Actually is that not what we would actually look for in a good match race? Not that this is relevant to ESS in any way, just an observation. Funny isn't it how some things are important in one arena and less so in another.

My mistake... I had forgotten.... I should know better, feeding will now be stopped!

SO you ask if anyone wants to bet about MOB procedures, and then follow it up by saying safety files are confidential. WTF? Also, why should the coming VOR be any more dangerous than the previous one? Sailors now have to be actually qualified, the safety training is well done, the coverage from shore is like never before.

Retractable shelters have been on the IMOCA 60s since at least 2008. What do you mean about the MOB procedures, can you elucidate?

Not announced yet.

You have taken one single point to fit your own agenda. Most of what I wrote was saying that the journalists can take what they want from any interview. Anyway, this has been covered enough. Dee has spoken about it previously, nothing is being hidden or managed; you are just determined to make out that it is.

You don't have to subscribe, just to register. There is only a paywall if you go over a certain number of articles per month. As for Dee answering the question directly. Quite often the answer you give for an interview is longer than the one that appears in print. How do you know that she did not answer directly and then expand on the answer. Maybe she did, or maybe not. The point is that she has answered it before. As an example the interview with The Times was over an hour in length, but obviously that cannot all be printed. The journalist will write the story they are interested in, and then the editor will cut it to fit the space/agenda. The Tempus article is to fit the messaging/agenda of the Muripuri foundation, and the OFF. That answer may have just been show-horned in to tick a target; it does not mean that Dee is avoiding a question.

I think I can answer that in part. Aside from the OBRs each team has a crew communicator. Essentially a 'transmit only' smartphone, that crew will use to show raw photos and videos. No idea how well it will work, but it certainly shows a shift in attitude.

Sara is in Russia climbing mountains, and prepping for Everest. There is also Stacey Jackson, currently on Alive I think. Abby Ehler is currently on Vestas, but was not committed at the start of the Fastnet. Cecile Laguette is Figaro sailing but could be available I believe.

Just reading through the forums after a week or so in Germany, and wanted to add some thoughts. a) Leg 0 was probably not designed to draw fans in, but as a method of testing VOR systems and ironing bugs prior to the real thing. Mark Turner specifically commented on testing all their systems during this few weeks; including comms, emergency ops, race direction, etc. However, I can see that it is already showing the characters of the teams and their style. b ) Links to videos and diaries have previously been on VOR trackers. It is only new on YB, but for some reason was not on the last VOR tracker...but then that was horrible in general. If I remember correctly they first did this when they brought out the 3D tracker (2005?). I don't understand why every race tracker does not do this, but I assume there is a degree of manual input and editing required to ensure there is not a huge amount of clutter. c) Raw footage. Looking at the TTTOP twitter feed it seems there is raw stuff coming off the boats, done by the crews rather than the OBR. This could mean good, raw unedited stuff as well as the polished professional stuff. Good decision by the Comms team if so. It also seems that just going to the VOR website get you the OBR stuff and some links. I am hoping there will be a content 'aggregator' that can show where the latest online info is: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Team websites, YouTube, VOR website, news website articles, and interviews. The best place for all of this last time was this forum for sure, but must be bloody hard to find it all...or I am just getting old. d) Sails - speaking to Dee before the start she had chosen to go with her new sails, as what they really need is accurate polars (rather than designer VPPs) and the distance sailed on the Leg 0 is negligible compared to the actual VOR. DFRT and Akzo (don't know about the others) have a set of sails for this year, and then a set for the race; but I guess that is what time and funds will get you. Others are using sails from the previous edition for training. e) YB tracker - If you are on a mobile device and have not downloaded the app then, when it says you need the app, select the webpage menu and choose 'Request desktop site'. This is a free work around, but is definitely harder to use than the app. Leg 0 was free on Android App, but I was more than happy to pay the 0.99 for the Fastnet. I have a very full time job, and anything more than 3 hour position reports would just kill me over the next 10 months...but I also hate it when I press refresh and there has not been an update (despite it only being 5 minutes since I last looked)... f)Witty - Everyone I have spoken to on the dock says he is an excellent high winds down wind driver. The crew he has are all good, and skilled, and professional. Parko and Jules are both serious talents. They all seemed really friendly and helpful on the dock in Gosport. Witty's comments about a 'social experiment' are Witty's, and really should not be taken as the attitude of the rest of the crew. I have already noticed how he is rowing back on that, and has mentioned in interviews how 'we may have to look at the number', or 'in our light airs crew configuration'. I would not be surprised to see women on board at some point, and I do not think it would be as bad as this forum is making out...possibly better than some of the other crews. Anyway, my thoughts, and no doubt I am wrong about some of them. Personally I love the 70s, would love to see a design battle, but truly believe that without the One Design the VOR would be dead.

There is an interview with Dee on the RORC Facebook page, and various videos during the race from TTTOP on their Facebook as well. Not sure where else it might be. Yes, she is upbeat but also a little deflated after having got into 5th. Lots to debrief tomorrow.

Pretty slow race for Concise so far, in the last two Fastnets the MOD 70s have been nearly finished by this point... Not saying it is Concise's fault, just pointing out how quick they can be in the right conditions.

MOD70 Concise

Hi Bucc, the reason DFRT came fourth was a mistake / clusterfuck on a sailchange as they reentered the Solent. That took the from a close second to fourth. No lack of heart, no lack of 'sailing in the moment's. Just bad luck at an important part of the race. Obviously you have no way of knowing this, as it was not reported. Out of interest, would you think they have a lack of heart if they had finished second?