Varan
Super Anarchist
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How about a The Ocean Race thread?
- Thread starter Varan
- Start date
SCARECROW
Super Anarchist
Does anyone really believe this race is going to happen?
jack_sparrow
Super Anarchist
- 37,393
- 5,094
jb5
Super Anarchist
another race with a mickey mouse course in the making with more upwind legs and hence boats that will need to differ from VG IMOCA boats. all seems pretty pointless.
JeronimoII
Anarchist
good to have new thread about the TOR. The VOR auction one served its purpose.
I am also very sceptical about the future of the race. It has morphed from the prime crewed round the world race in technological advanced yachts, to being a corporate event for Volvo activation and now an add-on on the (crowded) IMOCA circuit. But a very expensive IMOCA race (just the stopovers make for a huge chunk of expenses) plus the changes required on the boat. Some teams mention 25 Mn EUR as budget, which is not reached by any of the current IMOCA teams. Maybe the sheer number of IMOCA boats manage to do the trick, but the old VO65 team budget of 12-15 Mn EUR proved to be very steep to sponsors forcing Volvo to finance many of the team. So a budget increase of 50-70% is surely not going to help bringing teams on board now than Volvo is gone. The small team left in Alicante must be scratching their heads. I would reduce the race to 4-5 legs max. That would help. Also clarifying its value proposition. What is the TOR and what stands it for?? (apptly they are going the sustainability path and message... but this needs to be clarified and communicated).
I am also very sceptical about the future of the race. It has morphed from the prime crewed round the world race in technological advanced yachts, to being a corporate event for Volvo activation and now an add-on on the (crowded) IMOCA circuit. But a very expensive IMOCA race (just the stopovers make for a huge chunk of expenses) plus the changes required on the boat. Some teams mention 25 Mn EUR as budget, which is not reached by any of the current IMOCA teams. Maybe the sheer number of IMOCA boats manage to do the trick, but the old VO65 team budget of 12-15 Mn EUR proved to be very steep to sponsors forcing Volvo to finance many of the team. So a budget increase of 50-70% is surely not going to help bringing teams on board now than Volvo is gone. The small team left in Alicante must be scratching their heads. I would reduce the race to 4-5 legs max. That would help. Also clarifying its value proposition. What is the TOR and what stands it for?? (apptly they are going the sustainability path and message... but this needs to be clarified and communicated).
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The incredibly difficult sponsor ask in the current environment is the insistence for the imoca to make more than 2 equator crossings and cape horn in March- all on the speculative nonsense re "if you host an event in PRC" the eyeballs will be worth it.
For the imocas teams, the Chinese consumer market is basically null advertising. It is like advertising Dong Feng trucks in the New England.
It'll be cheaper and reach more actual marketing eyeballs to spend 50,000 euros on a film production budget and put together a "Road to VG" miniseries in French with English and German subtitles and throw it on YouTube.
For the imocas teams, the Chinese consumer market is basically null advertising. It is like advertising Dong Feng trucks in the New England.
It'll be cheaper and reach more actual marketing eyeballs to spend 50,000 euros on a film production budget and put together a "Road to VG" miniseries in French with English and German subtitles and throw it on YouTube.
mad4it
New member
Not disagreeing with you at all, but just to clarify numbers. Both TTTOP and Brunel were sub €9 million including charter fees, entry fees etc. DFRT was in the region of €20 million with OC Sports taking a hefty 'management fee'.
TTTOP was underwritten by VOR and the science project was paid for by Volvo Cars.
I think the sustainability story with the new Ocean Race is purely down to how well it was received in the last edition, rather than any belief in it. I am a little cynical about Atlant admittedly.
And a fiscal disaster that would have killed the VOR two cycles ago. Folks don't seem to appreciate how shitty the coverage was before the VO65 and how by Cape Town, you could look at the results between diff boats and know who has a realistic chance and who will only win if everyone else had serious boat damage.
If you think OD free to watch coverage is hard to monetize in 2019, think about how impossible it is to monetize a 9 month event where the result is almost predictable by 2nd month and the onboard coverage is so slow and far removed it is like 1980.
Miffy,
I’m not saying it was better, just that I enjoyed it more. I personally feel that the race has passed its sell by date. Sponsorship has changed and the race lost its adventures appeal. I also always thought that there should be more focus on finishing every leg, at virtually any cost. When shipping came into play I think the race lost its way and encouraged fragile solutions over actually racing around the planet.
RIP WRTWR
I’m not saying it was better, just that I enjoyed it more. I personally feel that the race has passed its sell by date. Sponsorship has changed and the race lost its adventures appeal. I also always thought that there should be more focus on finishing every leg, at virtually any cost. When shipping came into play I think the race lost its way and encouraged fragile solutions over actually racing around the planet.
RIP WRTWR
10thTonner
Hazard to Navigation
Liberty is trying hard to turn it around - but too early to say but the reforms are being stifled by current interest holders who won't go with it and will ride the ship to the bottom.
Latest word on the street is all the non-visible spec proposal is dead, V6 MGU-K and MGU-H continues. Ferrari won't relinquish veto and legacy money despite under performing. Williams barely a F1 team.
Meanwhile F1TV has been terrible at launch. It isn't easy times.
It says nothing, just bla bla.
At least someone is talking about!
https://www.grottaglieinrete.it/it/ultimora-taranto-capitale-mondiale-della-vela-arriva-la-volvo-ocean-race-un-evento-incredibile/
Machine translated:
"An incredible event in Taranto strongly backed by Mayor Rinaldo Melucci and unanimously approved by the city council. An event that will bear the name of Taranto throughout the world. Well, I would say that this city is really at a turning point."
Thus the Councilor for sport of the Municipality of Taranto Fabiano Marti commenting on what was announced by the Mayor Melucci in the City Council that is: the Ocean Race in Taranto,
What is the Volvo Ocean Race:
The Volvo Ocean Race (formerly of the Whitbread Round the World Race) is a sailing competition around the world, held every three years. It takes its name from its current owner, Volvo. The Netherlands currently holds the record for absolute victories with three successes. The Dutchman Conny van Rietschoten is the only one to have won the race twice.
The regatta generally starts from Europe in October, and in recent editions has had 9 or 10 stages, with various in-port races in many of the cities of call.
The 2008-2009 edition of the race started in Alicante, Spain, on 11 October 2008. It was shot in India and Asia. The 2008-09 route covered almost 39,000 nautical miles (72,000 km), took more than nine months to complete, worldwide.
During the nine months of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 starting in Alicante, Spain, in October 2011 and ended in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012, the teams raced over 39,000 miles in the world's most dangerous seas, touching Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, passing from Cape Horn to Itajaí, Miami, Lisbon and Lorient.
Each of the participants has a sailing team composed of 9 professional crew members who can race day and night for more than 20 days at a time in some stages. Each of them takes on different tasks on board the ship, and on top of these there are two sailors with medical training, a sailor, an engineer and a dedicated crew member dedicated to communications.
At least someone is talking about!
https://www.grottaglieinrete.it/it/ultimora-taranto-capitale-mondiale-della-vela-arriva-la-volvo-ocean-race-un-evento-incredibile/
Machine translated:
"An incredible event in Taranto strongly backed by Mayor Rinaldo Melucci and unanimously approved by the city council. An event that will bear the name of Taranto throughout the world. Well, I would say that this city is really at a turning point."
Thus the Councilor for sport of the Municipality of Taranto Fabiano Marti commenting on what was announced by the Mayor Melucci in the City Council that is: the Ocean Race in Taranto,
What is the Volvo Ocean Race:
The Volvo Ocean Race (formerly of the Whitbread Round the World Race) is a sailing competition around the world, held every three years. It takes its name from its current owner, Volvo. The Netherlands currently holds the record for absolute victories with three successes. The Dutchman Conny van Rietschoten is the only one to have won the race twice.
The regatta generally starts from Europe in October, and in recent editions has had 9 or 10 stages, with various in-port races in many of the cities of call.
The 2008-2009 edition of the race started in Alicante, Spain, on 11 October 2008. It was shot in India and Asia. The 2008-09 route covered almost 39,000 nautical miles (72,000 km), took more than nine months to complete, worldwide.
During the nine months of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 starting in Alicante, Spain, in October 2011 and ended in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012, the teams raced over 39,000 miles in the world's most dangerous seas, touching Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, passing from Cape Horn to Itajaí, Miami, Lisbon and Lorient.
Each of the participants has a sailing team composed of 9 professional crew members who can race day and night for more than 20 days at a time in some stages. Each of them takes on different tasks on board the ship, and on top of these there are two sailors with medical training, a sailor, an engineer and a dedicated crew member dedicated to communications.
eastern motors
Anarchist
- 748
- 160
OD multihulls will be more expensive, more dangerous, limit your weather windows even more so.
I'd go as far as to say OD multihull ocean racing is fundamentally unsafe - it rewards/encourages pushing harder and harder on a sailing platform that is fundamentally safe only when the folks on board remain disciplined and race against time with self-selected weather windows of opportunity.
I'd go as far as to say OD multihull ocean racing is fundamentally unsafe - it rewards/encourages pushing harder and harder on a sailing platform that is fundamentally safe only when the folks on board remain disciplined and race against time with self-selected weather windows of opportunity.
jb5
Super Anarchist
have to agree with you on these points. the last RDR sort of underlined this as well with a set departure time and bad weather expected. i don't think any of them would have set off on a record run in that sort of window.
and the OR just looks kind of lost.
