2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race - Media Crewman?

http://volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2007/january/ontherecordjan07/index.aspx
http://www.gizmag.com/go/6747/
So the VO 70 class is now going to carry a crewman whose sole job is to manage the media aspects of the race. This crewman will not assist with sailing the boat. Race officials say this will make for better coverage and put landlocked viewers more in touch with the race. Any thoughts?

 

In the context of making sailing more interesting as a spectator sport the logic is good. I can't wait to tune in to watch endless hours of spray and a clear horizon with no other boats in sight ...

If there was a one hour daily program covering the race, it might be 45 minutes of coverage and 15 minutes of advertisement. With 7 boats you might air 5 minutes out of the last 1440 minutes for each boat. Is there really 5 minutes everyday that aren't going to look much like the 5 minutes from yesterday? Will the 5 minutes from one boat look much different than the 5 minutes from another boat? Or will it look like the same 5 minutes repeated 7 times day after day?

Adding an extra crew as a riding reporter to get better coverage puts a non-sailor at risk, and it might have the effect of making the racing look boring.

It's an interesting idea though.

Randy

 

I've done video for a few years and with something like that you will need to do it so it attracts new audiences. The best way to do that sadly to say is trying to make it a "reality" type thing. "The Life of a Ocean Racer"

Thats just my .02

 

I don't like this 'Big Brother' kind of business top races are becoming.
More news on this:
http://www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2007/july/sandv/index.aspx

 

From Scuttlebutt:

MOVING ON - MOVING FORWARD
Bouwe Bekking, skipper of the movistar Volvo Ocean Race campaign in 2005-06,
experienced a spate of well-documented breakages and unscheduled stoppages
with the Spanish entry, but none so great as when he had to make the call to
abandon ship on the leg seven Atlantic Ocean crossing due to a keel-related
structural failure. Now for the 2008-09 race, Bekking has moved on, and will
spearhead a two-boat campaign backed by the region of Alicante, teaming up
again with long-time sparring partner and Spanish syndicate head Pedro
Campos. Bekking says he toyed with an "office job" but not for long.

"We talked honestly about who we would we put in place as skipper if it wasn
't me," Bekking said. "We decided I was best suited as skipper for this
particular campaign and I still think I'm pretty handy on a boat. If I would
have been with a different campaign I might have had a different role."
Armed with an exclusive deal with Farr Yacht Design, the Spanish campaign is
well advanced. Construction is under way on the first boat which is due to
be launched in the spring of 2008 and nearly all the pieces of the crew
selection jigsaw are in place. -- Complete article:
http://tinyurl.com/2jeo4v

* The historic Russian port city of St Petersburg has been officially
announced as the race finish for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. This will be
the first time in the race's 34-year history that the fleet will visit a
Russian port and follows the confirmation in late May that Russia will have
its own entry in the race backed by St Petersburg businessman Oleg
Zherebtsov. -- Full announcement: http://tinyurl.com/35xfkj