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Volvo Ocean Race - Longer legs with Stealth Play

Fleet members able to hide

Until the 1997-98 Whitbread Round the World Race, which became the Volvo Ocean Race from 2001-02 onwards,  the fleet sailed over the horizon and had little or no contact with the rest of the world or the boats they were sailing against.  Now it is different, with data-packed position reports issued to the fleet and the world every three hours, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.  But today that changes again, as StealthPlay is introduced, giving each boat competing in the 10th edition of the race, the chance to hide once more, although not for an entire leg.

The idea behind StealthPlay is to allow a team to make a tactical break from the fleet without the rest of competitors knowing what they are doing and where they are on the race track.  Once a team opts to use StealthPlay their position will not be visible to the rest of the fleet, or the public, and they will ‘disappear’ for 12 hours, adding a new thrilling tactical dimension to the race. 
If, having analyzed their own position and those of their competitors from a position report, a team decides to activate StealthPlay, they must call Race Headquarters within 30 minutes of the position report being released.  The play will last for the next 12 hours and boat’s position will not be shown on the three scheduled reports normally released within that period.  The boat will become visible again at the next position report after that period.   

StealthPlay is an option and is not mandatory, and it can only be called on the longer offshore legs.  It will be in action for the first time on leg one from Alicante to Cape Town (starting this Saturday) and then on leg two (Cape Town to Cochin), leg five (Qingdao to Rio), leg six (Rio to Baltimore) and leg seven (Baltimore to Galway).  If it is not used on one leg, it cannot be accumulated for use on a following leg.

When a boat in play passes a scoring gate and there are seven gates around the course, her rounding time and points scored will be made public.  Her position will also be made public when the team is within 50 nautical miles of the finish. 
Race Headquarters in the UK will continue to monitor each boat’s progress every 15 minutes for safety reasons, but this information is never made public. 

Position reporting times will be every three hours at 1000, 1300, 1600, 1900, 2200, 0100, 0400, 0700 throughout the duration of each offshore leg of the race.  Position reports are circulated among the fleet as well as being published on Volvo Ocean Race website along with other technical data.
The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 is the 10th running of this ocean marathon.  It started from Alicante in Spain, on 4 October 2008 with an in-port race. 

Leg One from Alicante to Cape Town will start on 11 October and the course will, for the first time, take in Cochin, India, Singapore and Qingdao, China before finishing in St Petersburg, Russia for the first time in the history of the race.  Spanning some 37,000 nautical miles, stopping at 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s premier yacht race for professional racing crews.• 7-10-08

Volvo Ocean Race – Onshore and handheld

Online communication technologies

The Whitbread Round the World Race of 1997-98 pioneered the use of the internet for global communications and was considered the benchmark of its time. Its ‘total immersion’ strap line is a guiding philosophy that echoes to this day, as that site changed not only the way the story of ocean racing was told but also set the tone for how future global sports were covered online.

From that proud heritage of cutting-edge communication, comes the re-launched Volvo Ocean Race website.

Developed in partnership with digital agency twentysix London, the new site boasts a number of design features and improved navigation which will enhance user interface and usability.
 
The site is filled with all of the news and feature stories one would expect from a major sailing event website. But among the biggest advances with the new site is the Race Data Centre. Here, for the first time, the race organisers will share insider information from the fleet’s on-board telemetry.
 
During racing, the Race Data Centre’s unique features include predicted positions based on weather routing, a form guide that builds performance tables for the boats as the race progresses and historical data graphing.
 
Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad has been the driving force behind the Data Centre in conjunction with author and professional navigator Mark Chisnell, who will provide tactical analysis and commentary throughout the race.

“I was keen for the web audience to experience the race as the sailors do – at least as much as possible. With that in mind, we’ve shifted the focus more towards ‘what happens next’, with predicted positions, and on tactics, as well as developing an understanding of which boat is faster. The Race Data Centre is a big step towards that,” Frostad said.

“This has never been done before. We are creating an online environment where users can immerse themselves in data and put themselves in the place of the skippers and navigators as they take in all the available information and decide what to do next. Hopefully, it’s a window into the mental side of the race as well.”

The race data will also be used to drive Virtual Spectator, the 2D and 3D animated race tracker, which will enable users to follow the progress of the fleet along with the predicted positions. Virtual Spectator will run inside a web browser, meaning it is available for both Mac and PC users.

Other innovations include a fully interactive 3D tour of a Volvo Open 70 that shows in graphic detail the inner workings of the boat as well as the key design features of these groundbreaking yachts. Upgraded image and audio galleries including regular podcasts and live on-board interviews round out the package.
 
Volvo Ocean Race TV, launched earlier this year, will show video content including news, features, on-board footage and interviews when the boats are at sea. Volvo Ocean Race TV will also show live coverage of all in-port races.
 
Fans will also be able to follow events on the race’s mobile channel so there’s no excuse for ever leaving the race.
 
“Having done the race myself I felt that there were a lot more stories we should be telling about life on board via our web site,” said Frostad.
 
“As a race organisation we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to content generated by the race particularly the material which comes directly off the boats – from the front line.
 
“And now, with the Media Crew Member on board, our ‘embedded reporters’, we now have the ability to play to our strengths in capturing every ounce of the action, the sheer speed of the Volvo Open 70s, as well as the emotional highs and lows endured by the guys on board.”
 
“It is how we package that material that matters most both for avid followers of the race and those who are new to it. With that in mind, the new site will serve both audiences.”
 
The official website will be available in four languages, reflecting the diversity of the new race course along with the eight teams. The Spanish version of the website will launch later this week, with Chinese and Russian editions to follow in turn.
 
The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon.  Starting from Alicante in Spain, on 4 October 2008 with in-port racing, it will, for the first time, take in Cochin, India, Singapore and Qingdao, China before finishing in St Petersburg, Russia for the first time in the history of the race.  Spanning some 37,000 nautical miles, stopping at 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s premier yacht race for professional racing crews. •

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Delta Lloyd ready in Alicante

All boats will show their power and beauty to 12,000 people

Team Delta Lloyd (Ger O’Rourke IRL) has arrived safely in Alicante with a day and a half in hand before the official opening of the Race Village tomorrow night, 19 September. The team, which used the six-day crossing from Cork as its 2,000-mile qualifier, is the last team to reach the start port and joins the other seven boats completing the fleet of eight.

The team still has plenty of preparation yet to do but skipper Ireland’s Ger O’Rourke is up-beat yet realistic about the team’s performance in the early stages of the event.

“I don’t imagine we will be super competitive in the first leg because we need more time to learn about this boat, but by the second and third legs I think we can be up to speed,” he said as he stepped ashore.

Meanwhile in Alicante, the final touches are being put on the Race Village Opening ceremony due to take place tomorrow, 19 September. The gates to the village will open at 1930 local time with a spectacular ceremony scheduled to begin at 2000 hours.

The fleet of eight boats taking part in the Volvo Ocean Race is expected to parade into pool adjacent to the Race Village one at a time, to the accompaniment each boat’s chosen team music, after which the teams will parade to the main stage to be formally introduced to an expected crowd of more than 12,000 people.

Francisco Camps, President of the Region of Valencia, Sonia Castedo, Mayor of Alicante, and Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad will make welcome speeches.

The opening ceremony itself will involve 700 or more performers and will conclude with a spectacular fireworks display using 1000 kilograms of explosives.

The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain, on 4 October 2008 with in-port racing, it will, for the first time, take in Cochin, India, Singapore and Qingdao, China before finishing in St Petersburg, Russia for the first time in the history of the race. Spanning some 37,000 nautical miles, stopping at 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s premier yacht race for professional racing crews. •