Editorial Andrew Hurst Reset
The move by the Volvo Ocean Race to drive teams to mixed-sex crews confirms that after a neces- sary period of consolidation a key offshore event is on the front foot again.
Following the extinction – for it was – of the mighty but costly VO70s after the 2011/12 edition, then race CEO Knut Frostad had to grab
his now fragile event and take drastic action. The escalation in costs over the previous two races had inversely tracked the declining corporate appetite for big sponsorship and the event was in trouble. Frostad’s switch to one-designs was adept and, as Volvo racer Bouwe Bekking said at the time, ‘Without this change there may be no Volvo Ocean Race.’ A reactive manoeuvre but a good one. The race’s new CEO, Mark Turner, is making equally decisive moves and now with the benefit of the firmer foundations laid down by his predecessor. The sponsorship market remains tough, but the cost savings brought about by the switch to one-designs moved budgets closer to reality (to put the VO70s into perspective, Groupama’s 2011/12 race-winning budget almost dollar for dollar matched the entire 2016 budgets of both the Sauber and Manor F1 Grand Prix teams. In terms of ROI the maths is not pretty). Some positive discrimination for crews for the forthcoming event is smart – for competitors, for spectators and for sailing. A similar rewriting of the male-female split in Olympic sailing brought about a transformation. The dinghy park became more vibrant and sud- denly felt ‘normal’. Former Olympic sailors visiting today’s regattas are sometimes amazed at what they find. An equal number of Olympic classes for women has also transformed youth sailing, with many of the young girls now entering the sport showing more enthusiasm, skill and determination than those poor young lads... Less so offshore. In big boat racing it is only getting harder for an ambitious young sailor to find the opportunity to learn. For women aspiring to a high level it is near impossible. There is a very limited number of female racers with top-level offshore experience and the
boys, understandably, don’t want to know. Sailing is a physical sport and in physical sports men and women normally compete separately (actually, in that area sailing is among the most progressive sports).
Mixing up crews for the Volvo will make the race better, more interesting and, most important, see a sailing event leading the way in promoting women in sport. For sailing, more women with ocean racing success will also mean more out there with the back story to try to raise a team of their own – mixed or otherwise. Above all, sailing suddenly becomes more interesting to the outside world where the media interest – and the cash – comes from. But providing the opportunity to advance the skill-sets of women who make it onto a Volvo team next year, that is the biggest win. Positive discrimination… not something we generally vote for but in this case it’s the right solution.
My word!
We start banging the drum for an offshore singlehanders’ medal at the Olympics and the electronic postbox fills up with cries of ‘look over here’. For sure, we knew about the growth of shorthanded Corinthian events like the Transquadra, but something bigger had fallen below the Seahorseradar.
This year in a small Danish harbour 418 singlehanded skippers turned up to race a 154nm overnight course (pg10). Some unusual ingredients are involved, but they are summed up in two words: ‘simplicity’ and ‘fun’.
Sailing needs re-energising from the bottom up. I know I am a
bête noire of the Optimists, advocating that kids are much more likely to stay in the sport if they associate sailing with planing in
‘ More money than sense (above)… and (top) clearly no sense at all
optimist – Peres
an O’Pen Bic rather than plodding in a box. Olympic medallist and ultra-enthusiast Luca Devoti is more fundamentalist, advocating that kids should not even race until they are at least 11 or 12 but just enjoy themselves on the water.
Simple and fun works. Ask the folks in sleepy old Svendborg. q
THE SAXON WORK ETHIC We’ll have no ashes on the mantle, put him in the hour-glass.
Grandpa has to work – Snipe sailor Helmut Schneider (and many others…), after the funeral
THE CUP, ELITIST? Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin,
fourth Earl of Dunraven
and Mount-Earl – is a Hall of Famer at last HONEST
A flower is a weed with
an advertising budget – Rory Sutherland, Ogilvy Group
BEAUTIFUL Optimists and pessimists die the same way. They just
live differently – the late Shimon Peres I prefer to live as an
NON-OLYMPIC SAILING A mission statement is not required. Hurry back please, Paul [Henderson]
– Dr Frank Newton, Finn sailor, GBR team doctor, F1 medical officer, legend
OBVIOUS Like tax, complexity
breeds loopholes – an (anon) rival observes the Scugnizza rating scandal unfold (pg26)
BLEEDIN’ OBVIOUS I do think we’ll want to offer round trips – a lot more people will be willing to go if they think that they can
ROCK ’N ROLL We could alleluia
Seahorse magazine and our associate raceboatsonlybrokerage site are both at:
seahorsemagazine.com The editor is contactable by email at:
andrew@seahorse.co.uk
SEAHORSE 7
always come back – wannabe space pioneer Elon Musk on his Mars shuttle
with the best, man – Yes, Keef was once a choirboy
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