Conrad Humphreys

How can Plymouth ensure it creates a social and economic legacy from hosting the ACWS?

2011-04-04T07:19:00.001-07:00

The acting Chief Executive of Plymouth City Council, Anthony Payne and each of the city partners that met behind closed doors with the America’s Cup management team to hammer out a deal for the 2nd leg of the America’s Cup World Series are to be congratulated for taking such an important and bold step. This decision has already generated significant return with positive press coverage and commentary spreading around the globe. We have been tracking the coverage since Friday and the results have been very positive for a city that is in the midst of a new rebranding exercise.

The big challenge now is to ensure that the America’s Cup event, which is less than 6 months away, creates a lasting positive social and economic impact for the City. Not an easy task, given that there likely to be limited resources planned for legacy objectives and the incredibly short timescales will prove challenging for all but the most enterprising of businesses that can react quickly to the opportunity. I have been quite vocal in the past that Plymouth needs to start focusing more on developing a long term event strategy that supports its economic objectives, rather than simply reacting to every event that comes along needing support. Central to this is identifying those significant events that really support economic reform and then securing long term, multi-year contracts so that the events can be properly aligned across multiple agendas (social, economic, environment, media etc).

Securing a major event with just a few months left to maximise the opportunities would normally be considered a crazy investment. However, on this occasion, winning the right to host an America’s Cup leg is, I believe a very shrewd move for Plymouth. Despite the high profile political turmoil and the recent revolutionary switch to high speed, solid wing sail catamarans, the America’s Cup remains one of four “Holy Grails” of sailing (the others being the Olympic Games, Volvo Ocean Race and the Vendee Globe) and a premier international sporting event. To have secured even a small piece of this Event and its history, will cement the City of Plymouth into the inner circle and will open the doorway for new opportunities in the future. The challenge now for Plymouth, will be to react swiftly to maximise the long term opportunities that this investment now offers.

Plymouth has won this bid on the strength of its natural assets and its experience at hosting large events on the Hoe. It must now play to its strengths and use the significance of this announcement to really drive the much needed social and economic reform. Yes, Plymouth does have its shortfalls, it isn’t Porto Fino or the Algarve, but what it does have is a unique venue that enables tens of thousands of people to share in the action and a sailing arena that rivals anywhere in the world.

So what should be at the top of the Agenda for this Monday morning’s emergency event meeting? My suggestion, would be to focus on one single achievable legacy objective that aligns with the vision for the waterfront and get out there and tell the world that Plymouth, the Original is open for business.

Blog action day

2009-10-16T01:33:00.001-07:00

15.10.09

Today, October 15, is the annual Blog Action Day, a day that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. This year’s topic is Climate Change. Blog Action Day 2009 will be one of the largest-ever social change events on the web.

I believe that through education and experience of the natural environment, we can grow a community that loves and cares for the environment. Through this experience, we will change how the communities look at the world around them and learn how to live in a more sustainable manner. Every little action and choice that we make can make a difference and contribute to a global effort, that is needed to slow down the impact we are making on climate change. Just by cycling into work at least once a week means that I now feel healthier – both in myself and for the environment. By choosing groceries with less packaging has reduced our household waste. By being more a little more conscious of our water usage has reduced our bills and our garden is happier for it. All of these are easy-to-do, every day actions that require so little effort, and that’s all we need to do… make more of an effort.

I am passionate and love our ‘BLUE’ environment and so through The Blue Climate and Ocean Project (www.theblueproject.org) and the launch of the new mass-participation event, The Blue Mile (www.thebluemile.org), am hoping that by encouraging more people to enjoy our blue environment, they will be encouraged and hopefully inspired to care for it.

Conrad Humphreys

08.10.09 - Blog update

2009-10-08T08:54:00.001-07:00

After the intense racing during the Archipelago Raid in Sweden, I managed to take a week off and had a relaxing time back at home in Devon. It was great to be

back and enjoy the local beaches and catch up with my family.

I’ve since been busy with continuing work on The Blue Mile (www.thebluemile.org), which will take place July 2010 in Plymouth. We have had an enormous amount of enthusiasm about the mass-participation event, from every corner of the planet from Hawaii, to Australia as well as nationally and locally and will soon be formally taking entries via our website.

I’ve also been working in collaboration with the Global Sports Alliance who has published a new book called “Champions for Change: Athletes Making a World of Difference”. Along with five of our Ambassadors for The Blue Climate and Oceans Project (www.theblueproject.org), I feel privileged to have been asked to be one of the 38 athletes to contribute towards this book which includes three-times Tour de France winner Greg LeMond, four Olympic Gold Medallist sprinter Michael Johnson, world-record breaking long-distance runner Haile Gebrselassie, and surfer Jack Johnson amongst other athletes. The book is due to be launched on 4^th November at the United Nations in New York.

More locally, I am pleased to be invited as the special guest for the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s (JST) Charity Black Tie Ball to be held at the New Continental Hotel on Saturday 24^th October. The JST is a charity which aims to integrate able-bodied and disabled people through sailing their two magnificent tall-ships, Lord Nelson and Tenacious. If you are interested in getting togged up, having a three-course dinner and dancing the night away in support of the charity, please contact Alan Puddicombe the Secretary of the JST Plymouth branch for more details (01752 862868 or email thepuds@toucansurf.com).

The following weekend (30^th October-1^st November) The Drake Foundation (www.drakefoundation.co.uk) is organising an event with one of our Blue Project Ambassadors, Antony Jinman. The challenge is to “virtually ski” 600 miles to the North Pole in just three days and this will be taking place in the Drake Circus Shopping Mall, Plymouth, using three cross-trainers provided by Nuffield Gym. Antony will be helping the Drake Foundation to raise funds for the Plymouth community and volunteer groups – so do come along to show your support, see Antony’s great photos and video footage and ask him questions about his polar expeditions. Everyone can take part and can “ski” alongside Antony in teams of six. There will be also be prizes provided by Cotswold Outdoor. For more information contact The Drake Foundation on 01752 764455 or email drakefroundation@gmail.com

We hope to see you there!

Conrad

Final Update from the Archipelago Raid 09

2009-08-23T01:36:00.001-07:00

The previous six days' raiding now seem like a blur, but the blisters on the hands, the bruises on the knees and the broken daggerboards are the evidence of another enduring event.

A mixed result overall, we came with high hopes of repeating our 2008 result, where perhaps a more conservative approach yielded a strong closing performance. This year we took too many risks and were not on top of our navigation, which resulted in broken daggerboards. To win this event you need to balance the risk. I think we pushed too hard at times.

This event is for me still the highlight of the sailing calender. It produces amazing friendships between competitors, who are drawn from all over the world to test themselves. It is brilliantly organised by Christine Salen and the Atlant team who understand how to push the boundaries of sailing and the limits of the sailors.

The real magic of the event is that over the six days you are forced to make good with what you have. It's a wonderful metaphor for today's world where we must learn to be more resourceful. Onboard you carry just enough food and spares and if you break something you find a way to fix it.

It is also an event that perfectly complements the ambitions of the Blue Project. It is a "quest through nature" with every competitor experiencing the breath taking surroundings of the Archipelago through the power of extreme sport.

Conrad and Ryan, Team Blue 2009.

www.conradhumphreys.com

Down but not out

2009-08-21T15:51:00.001-07:00

21.08.09 - Blogging on Day 5 of the Archipelago Raid

Today was without question the toughest day for me personally. The course was set back in the Swedish Archielago and involved six checkpoints, scattered about hidden in small beaches and narrow gullies.

We got off well and by the third checkpoint we were up to 4th and going fast. We were sailing downwind in the gusty conditions following Will Sunnucks and Eric Proust when suddenly a rock appeared under the water and we smashed both daggerboards.

Ryan was flung around the forestay slamming his knee against the hull. The boat survived but both daggerboards were in pieces. We carried on towards the next checkpoint and tried to tape the flailing carbon skins together to effect a repair.

We arrived at the finish in 9th and set about relaminating one of the boards. We only had a two hour pitstop, to eat, rest and rebuild the boards.

I was on my knees, tired, hungry and feeling like the race was beating me. It's an understatement to say this race is hard. Everything aches, hands are covered in blisters, arms and legs are stiff and you a contantly feeling like you need more calories.

With no rest you're off again for another 100 mile leg. Somehow you dig deep enough to find the strength. Ryan and I have eaten 5000 calories today and still need more food

And sleep.....

Final day tomorrow back to Stockholm. A top ten finish is on the cards, assuming we get through the day without hitting another rock at high speed.

Cheers Conrad

Daily blog, images and tweets live from Conrad Humphreys during the Archipelago Raid starting from Monday 17th August 2009.

For more indepth visit www.conradhumphreys.com

Folllow tweets www.twitter.com/conradhumphreys

Follow the race www.archipelagoraid.com

Day 3 of the Archipelago Raid

2009-08-19T12:46:00.001-07:00

19.08.09 - Big Wednesday

Just a short update as I’m shattered and need some sleep. The day got off to a great start as we led off the startline in big breeze and sailed out in front for most of the first checkpoint, not bad for the old tiger!

Problems with the starboard rudder caused an early swim leaving the checkpoint, but we made some ground and finished in the top ten.

Second leg the breeze had built to 20 knots and in true Archipelago Raid style we had an amazing down hill run through the rocks at blistering speed. We had some great speed and passed through the fleet to record our best finish of the Raid so far with a 5th.

Tomorrow we will cross back to Sweden before the wind picks up. It’s going to be a 30 miler upwind- ouch.

More tomorrow

Conrad

Daily blog, images and tweets live from Conrad Humphreys during the Archipelago Raid starting from Monday 17th August 2009.

For more indepth visit
www.conradhumphreys.com

Folllow tweets
www.twitter.com/conradhumphreys

Follow the race
www.archipelagoraid.com

Archipelago Raid Day 2 - not our best day

2009-08-18T09:32:00.001-07:00

18.08.09 - Conrad's Blog

Night arrivals on day 1 and a lot of paddling on day 2.

Yesterday we left Stockholm with around 10-12 knots of wind heading north east for the nature reserve on the eastern side of Bjorko. There were 5 checkpoints before the finish. As the breeze died, the paddles came out and the slow progress caused the race to be shortened at checkpoint 5. The leaders crossed the line just before midnight with many of the fleet spread across the Swedish archipelago.

Day 2
With most of the teams still feeling the effect of the late arrival a large number of the boats were late for the start, including us. By the time we had our tent up and got into our sleeping bags, it was 2am last night and we were woken up at 4am to be informed that the start had been delayed until 8am to allow time for the wind to fill in.

We never really recovered, the late start meant that we were playing catch up for the crossing to Aland and with a dying breeze the back markers were left with a 10 mile paddle.

The good news is that the second leg has been postponed due to bad weather (there's currently no wind and tropical-like downpours) so we can catch up on some sleep tonight and start fresh at 3am tomorrow morning.

Cheers
Conrad

Leg position: 14th
Blue Miles covered: 72 miles

Daily blog, images and tweets live from Conrad Humphreys during the Archipelago Raid starting from Monday 17th August 2009.

For more indepth visit
www.conradhumphreys.com

Folllow tweets
www.twitter.com/conradhumphreys

Follow the race
www.archipelagoraid.com

The Archipelago Raid 09 starts today

2009-08-17T01:20:00.001-07:00

17.08.09 - Last Breakfast

Nice banter during breakfast, everyone has their own ideas about what
spares to take. The mood is upbeat as crews tuck into the last proper
breakfast. The next 6 days the diet will be power bars and lucozade
gels.
The weather forecast is for the wind to die and I suspect we will have a
long paddle to Fejan. It could be a long one! After that it's anyone's
guess, the race organizers are keen for to go north of Aland which would
put us over 60 degrees north, better pack some more thermals.

Crewman Ryan Crawford said:
"woke to the sound of rain on the tent and breeze, now there's nothing.
Not looking forward to paddling on day 1!"

Daily blog, images and tweets live from Conrad Humphreys during the
Archipelago Raid starting from Monday 17th August 2009.

For more indepth visit
www.conradhumphreys.com

Folllow tweets
www.twitter.com/conradhumphreys

Follow the race
www.archipelagoraid.com

Count down to the start of the 2009 Raid

2009-08-13T15:06:00.001-07:00

13.08.09 - Preparing for the Archipelago Raid

Great to finally arrive in Stockholm, we are in good shape with no big jobs list and time to enjoy the City and surroundings. It’s been a busy few months with the media launch of the Blue Mile which was a great success and so nice to see so many Blue ambassadors together in Plymouth for the launch. Pre-registration has gone well and what is really pleasing is the number of schools who want to get involved. We will be announcing more details in September so make sure you register for updates at www.thebluemile.org

Great to see Tonnerre have a good Fastnet and also Sam Davies and team getting the most out of AOR. It would have been nice to take up the call to navigate Tonnerre, but with a light forecast it was too tight to then travel to Sweden for the Raid.

So tomorrow we will get rigged out on the water for a tune up. We spend the next few days fattening up and getting plenty of sleep. Nice to see so many Brits here, maybe it’s time someone organized a UK Raid?

Cheers
Conrad

The OSTAR

2009-05-26T03:43:00.000-07:00

25th May 2009 - A sad day for the ocean heroes that started the 13^th edition of the OSTAR

Today saw the start of the 13^th Edition of the OSTAR and whilst I stood watching from Plymouth Hoe, I wondered what Sir Francis Chichester and Blondie Haslar, who conceived the idea, the 'grand father of ocean races' would have made of it. The 31 yachts that departed Plymouth today, bound for Newport Rhode Island are set to compete in arguably the toughest of all single-handed races and yet for these heroic sailors it was sad to see just a few 100's of people turn out to see them off.

This same weekend in France, the 30 sailors that started the 2008-09 edition of the Vendee Globe race were honoured in front of 120,000 people at a public prize giving event held on the beach in Les Sables D'Olonne.

The OSTAR, which was conceived over a ½ Crown wager first started in 1960 and has been held every four years since that original race. In 1964, the legendary French sailor, Eric Tabarly was awarded the Legion D'Honneur by President Charles De Gaulle after winning the race. Over the years the event has grown in stature on both sides of the Channel until 2003, when the custodians of this remarkable race, the Royal Western Yacht Club (RWYC) took the difficult decision to split the event and sell the professional element to Offshore Challenges (a company jointly owned by Dame Ellen Macarthur and Mark Turner) whilst retaining the right to run the Corinthian element of the race.

I feel that sadly, this decision was ill thought out, as many of today's young sailors aspire to compete alongside their sailing heroes and without the big name competitors and sponsors, the event now barely gets a mention in the local press and media and a comparison of the images taken on Plymouth Hoe from 2008 and yesterday illustrate the point. As such, the young heroes that set off today to battle across the harsh north Atlantic will do so with relatively few people following their exploits.

Last year, Plymouth also hosted the professional element of the race, named The Artemis Transat and with a substantial budget in place for marketing and pr, the event delivered extraordinary scenes in Plymouth's Sutton Harbour, with 120,000 people passing through the race village in the lead up to the race start. Sadly, today's race start almost went by un-noticed by the public and the media and if this trend continues, and Plymouth does not fight for the right to host the professional race in 2012, I fear that this incredible race, the grand father of all ocean races may become confined to the history books in the near future. I sincerely hope that this will not be the case.

Conrad Humphreys

25^th May 2009

Reporting from Carnac

2009-05-05T09:11:00.001-07:00

4th May 2009

The first big F18 event of the year took place at Carnac,France over the bank holiday weekend and this year saw over 140 F18's and many of the world's top sailors take part.

It has been over ten years or more since I raced in a fleet of this size and we were here to work on boat handling and speed to ensure that we were on the pace come this summer's Archipelago Raid.

It still surprises me, that the 12 year old design of the Hobie Tiger is still such a competitive design amongst a fleet comprising two brand new designs. This event was the first outing for the much hyped Hobie WildCat and also the new Loday-White Shockwave. Neither boat's have had much time on the water, but with the star studded team's sponsored by Hobie, including world and Olympic sailor, Darren Bundock it was tantalising to see the new designs in action for the first time.

First race and we were inside the top ten at the windward mark - unbelievable after a poor start. No problem with our pace up wind. The downwind leg saw a number of team's pass us by, it was just a case of not pushing hard enough but as the confidence grew we started holding our own here as well. We finished 14 in the first race, our best result of the weekend and an opportunity to see that we had good overall speed.

On Saturday, the 300 strong fleet took part in the 30mile offshore race and after a light upwind start we had a 7 mile reaching leg. Tactically the fleet held high and we managed to soak off down this long reaching leg which paid massively as the tide was racing around the Quiberon Penisula. Gybing through the islands was just breath-taking with a large swell running and lots of rocks scattered around it felt a bit like the Archipelago. After around 50 gybes, we were around the back of the island and back on the wind for a long fetch home. We were in good company with Andrew Macpherson and Mitch Booth close by. We crossed the line with less than twenty ahead of us, which was fantastic. It was a good chance to see that our tactics were good and so was our speed.

Overall, the weekend was superb, and really impressive to see Carnac with such an active race scene for Catamarans. The event management was superb with over 200 volunteers involved in making the event happen and with the onshore activities, there was certainly a buzz for the whole town. Well done Carnac Yacht Club for a great event.

Plymouth Winter Training completed, Eurocat 09 next up

2009-04-07T04:54:00.001-07:00

It’s been a great start to the season, with the 16 race series sponsored by Gul coming to a close last weekend. Big thanks to Jon Buckler and RPCYC for organising such a great series.

Ryan and I managed to bump ourselves up to second overall after a strong last day with two bullets taking our total of race wins to 6.

The boat is in good shape and we are now just a few weeks away from Eurocat, Europe’s largest Catamaran event held in Carnac, France.

The focus of Eurocat, will be boat speed and tactics sailing in a fleet of over 100 F18’s will be a first for me. Ryan has already finished in the top 6 in this event, so he’s pushing for a good result!

The focus for 2009 will be the Archipelago Raid and aiming for a podium finish.

Cheers

Conrad

The year so far has had many contrasts

2009-02-12T08:36:00.001-08:00

10^th February 2009

The year so far has had many contrasts. In contrast to the big boat sailing and winter sun that I enjoyed during the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race in December, I’ve since been back in the UK and training in the cold and blustery conditions in Plymouth sound. Onboard the 70 foot “Ichi Ban” we had a fast downwind race with fantastic reaching conditions on the approach to Hobart. We finished in 2^nd place in our class, and 3^rd in line honours – a great result for our boat.

We were deeply saddened by the news that one of the ambassadors for our BLUE Climate and Oceans project, Rob Gauntlett, was tragically killed in a climbing accident in the Alps last month. Rob and his expedition partner James Hooper had only just been awarded the “National Geographic Explorers of the Year” award at the end of last year. Rob was an inspiration to all who met him and followed his expeditions, and will be greatly missed by all of us.

Many of us have been avidly following Sam Davies’ performance in the Vendee Globe, and she is due to cross the finish line over the weekend. She has shown immense strength, determination and her level-headed approach has enabled to sail well – Sam is currently placed in 3^rd out of a starting fleet of 30 yachts.

Meanwhile, Ryan and myself have been getting in some early season training on the Hobie Tiger in preparation for this year’s Archipelago Raid starting in Sweden in the summer. We are hoping the snow will stay away for this weekend’s racing!

Cheers,

Conrad

Wednesday 05 November 2008 - This weekend, I will travel to Les Sables D'Olonne for the start of the Vendee Globe 2008/09...

2008-11-17T06:26:00.001-08:00

When I finished the Vendee Globe race in 2005 I had high hopes of returning with a new IMOCA Open 60 to race this time around, but within a matter of 18 months or so it became clear that it would be too hard to land enough funding to do it properly and step up a level.

Now we are using sailing, and sport in general, to spread a message of ecological responsibility, and in this edition of the race Sam Davies on Roxy is an ambassador for The BLUE Climate and Oceans Project - www.theblueproject.org.

We were in remarkably good shape four years ago at this time, we had Joff Brown who is leading AVIVA this time around. He had done an exceptional job and we had done everything in advance of us arriving in Les Sables d’Olonne and it just meant that we tinkered, we had some nice jobs left to do, and so that meant I could thoroughly enjoy the event, and get really wrapped up in the atmosphere which is really just electric. In many ways it was just some of the most special moments of my life was there, those last few days before the off.

I think the main thing is just the affection that is extended to each and all of the teams, no one is excluded. Everyoe who comes down, runs their hands along the boat, looks you in the eye and there is such a sincerity about it. And so you really feel that everyone is going to be watching you and your boat through the race. There are just not that many sporting events quite like that.

In many ways I finished that race on such a high, there is just that feeling, and so I was sure I wanted to do it again, but as far as getting close to this time around we were a long way off. I made it very clear that if I came back it would be with a campaign that was capable of being a top boat. I do have aspirations to be back. It is very difficult not to be pulled by this race. But that cycle out, missing a race, can fuel the hunger to come back in four years time.

I have launched an environmental project in February 2007 called The Blue Climate and Oceans Project, so we launched a project based on our climates and oceans using sports and sports men and women who have a profile in those sports to really harness their profile and image to pass on the environmental message.

I am an oceanographer by background, Vikki my wife is a marine biologist. I have not known a sailor who is not passionate about the environment, the Blue Project is trying to capture those images and messages and pass then on those who are nor as fortunate to experience these things for themselves. It is going incredibly well. We have 15 ambassadors, we have ambassadors in snow, ice, air as well as watersports, so all the elements are covered.

Sam is an ambassador so she will be sending us material and comment, live phone interviews and video which we will cut together with our environmental message sending them to schools around the UK. From a media perspective as well we have had about 40 magazine articles in key consumer lifestyle media around the ambassadors and their roles.

I hope to be on the start line for the next edition of the Vendee Globe.

Conrad

Back in Stockholm

2008-06-19T07:09:00.001-07:00

Well, I’m now back in Stockholm, Sweden, after 6 intense days of endurance sailing in the eighth edition of the Archipelago Raid. This event is also known as the “Extreme race of the 100,000 islands” – and it certainly lives up to it’s name. It involves racing through the most incredible scenery of the Scandinavian islands. The race area consists of hundred and thousands of islands, islets and rocks encompassing the Swedish, Finnish and Åland archipelago.

I teamed up with Ryan Crawford again this time round (we sailed in the event last year together) to sail the Formula 18 catamaran “Team BLUE Oceans” and this time we knew what to expect! We were better prepared this time and so we carried the most suitable materials for boat repair, and took less food onboard this time. We even took a pop-up tent so that we could save time putting it up so allow us to get as much rest as possible. With most days starting the racing at 2 in the morning, it was really exhausting.

Last year we finished in 13th position of the 29-strong fleet. This afternoon, we completed the course and finished in 4th position – we are really pleased with the result as we were competing against some of the most experienced F18 sailors in the world! It has been a hard six days – the gusty conditions along with the sleep deprivation has really pushed us to the limit. Last year I said I would never do the event again… how come I’m here again this year?!

Maybe we’ll be back again next year – once Ryan’s hands have healed from all the blisters he has!

Cheers,
Conrad

Tuesday, October 10

2008-05-29T02:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog for the Evening Herald, where I hope to share a few thoughts on recent events in the region and activities on the water.

September's big news of the planned go-ahead £300m regeneration of Millbay in Plymouth is brilliant. Having witnessed similar scale waterfront developments around the world in Spain and Melbourne this year (during the Volvo Ocean Race), the opportunity for Plymouth as the gateway of Europe to bid for and host a number of iconic maritime sporting events will improve dramatically.

If you want to see the effect of hosting a well organised mega event, then look no further than across the Channel to St Malo this October, where the sailing world will again turn its attention to the Route du Rhum. Held every four years, the town of St Malo hosts the start of the single-handed transatlantic race which has become arguably one of France's premier sporting events. Over one million people will visit the town during the two week build up, with 300,000 watching the start from the surrounding cliff tops.

In 2008, it will be Plymouth's chance to once again host the oldest and most prestigious transatlantic race, The Transat. The race organisers, Offshore Challenges, have put out a call for bids, and the city of Plymouth will need to put forward a proposal along with other host venues in order to be in with a fighting chance of keeping the start of this historical race in Plymouth. I'd like you to fast forward to 2012 when London and Weymouth are hosting the XXX Olympiad and imagine 300,000 people on the Hoe and throughout the newly created Millbay Docks, showing the rest of Europe that Plymouth has once again become the UK's home of ocean racing. In 2008, Millbay will be a building site, but if we are to create this vision for our city we must get behind a renewed bid to secure this race in 2008. More on this to follow.

Last week, I was competing at Weymouth Speed Week with the Extreme 40 and I was fortunate to be able to attend a keynote presentation by Lord Coe. He made a particular reference to how the younger generations are more likely to follow Tony Hawks of international skateboarding fame, than the more traditional sports like the World Athletics championships. Here in the South West, we have a fantastic reputation for extreme sports that utilise and promote our natural environment. I'd like the South West and extreme sport to be synonymous. Sport is a powerful thing; it brings people together, challenges attitudes and has the ability to change people's lives. As a promotional tool for our region, the Olympic Games are the most powerful catalyst for positive, lasting change and I'd like to see the South West confidently standing on the world stage winning the right to host life-changing events long after 2012.

Back at base here in Plymouth, we continue to work on a number of exciting projects. The boats will be shortly going into refit for 2007 as we work around the clock to secure a new Title sponsor for the next Vend?e Globe. The new European Extreme 40 grand prix circuit is soon to be announced with new teams and new events in the calendar for 2007. I look forward to sharing more news on this and other events in the region next time.

Fair winds
Conrad

Saturday, May 10

2008-05-10T04:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I put up a blog, I know, but it's been a busy few months to say the least and my feet have hardly touched the ground.

The BLUE Climate and Oceans Project has been growing from strength to strength and we now have 9 sporting ambassadors who are all passionate about the environment.

You can read all about their expeditions and exploits on www.theblueproject.org

We have also been extremely busy with the lead up to the start of the Artemis Transat Race.

Since we wrote and submitted the bid document to OC Events, back in January 2007 and subsequently won the bid for the City of Plymouth to host the start of the event, it's been non-stop with the preparation for the event.

In 2004, the race suffered badly from a lack of marketing and awareness which resulted in a very poor public turnout to this historical event.

Plymouth City Council was widely blamed for not promoting the event so this time with support from the South West RDA undertook to fund a regional marketing campaign in the run up to this year's event which has proved to be very successful.

The Artemis Transat Race Village in the Barbican and Sutton Harbour officially opened to the public on Saturday 3rd May, with the race boats arriving over that weekend.

The number of visitors have surpassed my wildest expectations. On the opening weekend we had 2000 people come onboard the Tall Ship 'Earl of Pembroke' alone.

With an educational programme run by the National Marine Aquarium and the BLUE Climate and Oceans project, face-painters, a visit by BLUE Ambassador Sam Davies skipper of Roxy in the Artemis Transat, as well as the Black Thunder Crew from Plymouth Sound onboard, the Tall Ship has proved to be very popular with children and adults of all ages.

It was estimated by OC Events that as many as 25,000 people came through the race village over the opening Bank holiday weekend, which has just been brilliant for Plymouth and it's businesses.

The awareness of the event raised by the City and SWDRA has been central to the visitor numbers experienced for this event.

Dan Thompson and his team from Kaos Productions have created the most wonderful Barbican Jazz and Blues Festival, and the live music and street entertainment has given the whole event a fantastic ambience.

In addition, the University of Plymouth's widening participation officer, Beau Le Bredonchel has created the learning and education programme that will see the start of the most ambitious schools' programme ever achieved in a sailing event outside France.

Amongst all that's been going on in the race village, it is easy to forget that the race skippers will soon be facing the hostilities of the North Atlantic when they leave Plymouth on Sunday, 11th May for Boston, USA.

Although it is with a tinge of sadness that I will not be participating in this edition of the race, I do hope to be there on the start line in 2012 with a new Open 60 racing yacht.

In the meantime, I have the endurance sailing event the Archipelago Raid to prepare for, which starts in June, in which I will be competing against some of the best sailors in the world, including Ellen MacArthur.

I hope to see you all in the Artemis Transat Race Village in the Barbican/Sutton Harbour over the next few days until the race start day on Sunday.

You might even be able to get a place onboard a spectator boat to see the race start (email teresa.page@eventsouthwest.co.uk for details).

Cheers,

Conrad

Tuesday, December 18

2007-12-18T04:05:00.000-08:00

The Herald Sports Personality of the Year awards took place at the Plymouth Pavilions last Monday evening and showcased a wealth of home grown talent across a wide variety of sports.

Sport can be a catalyst for many things.
Through my involvement with Sport England, I’ve seen how it can mobilize some pretty immobile communities.
Through projects like the BLUE Project it can be a voice for the environment and for climate change.
And, if the department of health ever wakes up to the opportunities it can present, then sport can also combat our growing obesity crisis.
Plymouth is a remarkable city to those that know. It is a world leader in marine science to those that know. It is producing some remarkable talent in sport to those that know… Why is it then that only we all know?
The Artemis Transat is the sixth largest sailing event in the world worth an estimate 1.6 million to the regional economy and in 2004, generated over 16.3 million euros worth of media coverage, but it has been one of Plymouth’s great secrets.

Conversely, just the other side of the channel, over 1 million people went to see the start of the French transatlantic race making it the fourth largest participation event in France.

We need to invest and protect what we have and at the same time look beyond Plymouth to attract some of the world’s top sporting events to this City. Over the next few years Plymouth will be investing millions of pounds changing its seascape, with ambitions to establish itself alongside the Dubai’s, and the Barcelona’s of this world. If it really is serious, it also needs a sports event strategy to propel its image around the world.
The Artemis Transat, will deliver more international media coverage than any other single sporting event in the South West in 2008. There will be some impressive corporate hospitality venues to invite your clients to and a great cultural programme to engage our community. I hope that some of you will grab the opportunity the event offers and help us make Plymouth very proud.
Well done to all the sporting winners at the awards ceremony on Monday night and congratulations to young diver, Tom Daley who took the top prize as the Herald Sports Personality of the Year and yesterday won the BBC young sports personality of the year award.
Fair winds

Tuesday, October 24th

2007-10-24T03:40:00.000-07:00

Hi All, its blog time again...
The first of two big sailing races got under way this month with the start
of the Velux 5 Oceans round the world race from Bilbao. British skippers, Mike
Golding, Alex Thomson and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston are all competing and they
left into the teeth of a depression that will certainly give them a bumpy ride
for the first part of their campaigns.
It's never nice starting a race with a bad forecast. You often need a few days
to settle into your stride in ocean racing and having to face a full gale on
your first night at sea does nothing to settle the nerves. I remember four years
ago setting out on my first single-handed race (the Route du Rhum) into a storm
that would ultimately cause over half of the fleet to retire with traumatic
consequences for the 60 feet Multihulls. I too became a statistic of the 2002
race as I was dismasted 350miles west of Brest in the Bay of Biscay.
The second big race this month is the Route du Rhum, arguably the most famous
sailing race in France. I will be heading over to St. Malo to watch the start
and do my homework on the new Open 60's that have been built over the summer.
I find it quite difficult to watch a race start as I know that I will have to
fight a compelling feeling of wanting to join them and in many ways this race
represents unfinished business as it is the only transatlantic race I have failed
to finish. On the otherhand, our business this winter is to secure a new Title
sponsor and that is where our focus and attention lies. The Route du Rhum will
keep until 2010.
Both the Route du Rhum and the Velux 5 Oceans will form part of the topics
of a lecture series that I will be giving at the University of Plymouth this
winter as I stand in and teach the Meteorology course on the BSc Ocean Science
degree. Understanding the weather is a key component to winning major ocean
races and it will be very interesting to watch these races unfold whilst trying
to second guess there tactical moves. I have been lucky to enjoy a great relationship
with the University of Plymouth over several years and they have become a superb
resource to our team. During the Vendee Globe, we worked with the University's
nutrition, sports science and meteorological departments.
Good luck to Sir Robin, I hope I am still able to contemplate sailing round
the world when I get to his age….good on him!

Tuesday, August 7

2007-08-04T04:02:00.000-07:00

04 August 2007: I am sitting in Stockholm airport, hardly able to keep my eyes open after a very tough Raid.

Overall, the experience was incredible. Being only my first F18 event, with only three days practice in the boat beforehand, it was a steep learning curve, the navigation was insane at times and the conditions made for some of the most demanding sailing we've ever undertaken.

The last minute change in Bernard Stamm's plans for the Barcelona World Race meant I switched to sailing the Raid with Ryan Crawford (who normally occupies the front slot for Hugh Styles). His knowledge of the boat, strength and superb crewing certainly raised my game. He is currently sitting next to me on this flight and the sight of his hands tells me a great deal about his level of determination. He gave it all.

Some of you will know that I decided to use this race to learn about Bernard Stamm?s abilities, as a test for the Barcelona World Race. Sadly this will not happen as Bernard decided after the Calais Round Britain Race to focus on the Vendee, a decision that I was pretty gutted about.

However, the Archipelago Raid has been the biggest two person test and challenge that I have undertaken and for this reason alone, it has been an amazing experience. It certainly ranks up there with the Vendee in terms of mental and physical duress.

For the BLUE Project, this race has been perfect and the level of awareness is gaining momentum daily. The decision by the Archipelago raid organistion to allow us to partner the race with individual teams sailing as ambassadors for the environment was brilliant and as a result we have increased the awareness further through this event than I expected. The feedback from the competitors was very positive and I know that their efforts will continue to build the awareness for BLUE on their return home.

The highlights were many. The camaraderie of the teams and organisation was exceptional. Christine and her team ran an incredible event, always putting the efforts of the competitors first and there was a great bond with them even if they got us up at 3 o'clock in the morning!

Day three produced some of the greatest sailing with a monster downwind leg over 100 miles in 20-25 knots through rock alley. After an early capsize, we pushed hard and got back to score one of our best results of the week. It was insane and the footage taken from the chopper by the APP team was remarkable.

The lowest part of the race was the gut wrenching sound as we destroyed both our dagger boards in a collision that could have ended our race. I guess the lesson is to make sure you hit it hard, the boards exploded but we suffered no damage to the boat. The last two days had us sailing and tacking upwind having to switch the board on every tack, not easy in 20knots!

The other worst part of the raid was the bites from the mosquitoes. I resemble something like the elephant man after suffering over a 100 bites to my body on Wednesday night in Orland.

So overall a top experience, I'm sure at some stage I will go back and race again. It is one event that I have wanted to do for a number of years and having completed it at the first attempt in the top half of the fleet was really pleasing.

Big thanks to Matt and Jamie for sailing as Team BLUE and to Disc Manufacturing Services, Navico and Corum for supporting us at the event.

Friday, May 25th

2007-05-25T03:57:00.000-07:00

I'm just on my way back from Brest after training with Team Cheminees Poujoulat for the Calais Round Britain Race, which starts from Calais on the 3rd June. Bernard Stamm crossed the finish line of the Velux 5 Oceans and his feet haven't touched the ground since stepping onto his new boat (ex. Virbac) for the new season.

Yesterday we sailed both boats together and I think all of us where surprised at the speed difference between the old and the new generation Open 60's. The new Cheminees Poujoulat II is a proven fast boat and I think Bernard has chosen wisely to buy this boat for the next Vendee Globe. This week we have been learning the differences between the new boats and for me, a chance to brush up on my French!

It's been a busy couple of months for CHR. Since we launched the BLUE Project we have been designing the new website, which will go live on World Ocean Day - Friday 8th June. The interest in the BLUE Project continues to grow and we have been filming for BBC News 24, ITV and will be doing a piece with the BBC 1 later in June.

Last week we pulled off a fantastic photo shoot with the newly branded Extreme 40. The weather cleared at the eleventh hour and with 25 knots of wind and a good swell running offshore we headed outside the breakwater to "send" the boat. Mark Lloyd, strapped in to the chopper worked his magic and the rest can be seen in the photo gallery. The sailing was just amazing - I enjoyed looking at the guys faces as we made the first bear away and launched BE BLUE BE COOL down a nice blue wave.

Next week I'm in Calais with Bernard and the Team. We have two days inshore racing and then we line up against a strong fleet to battle around Britain and Ireland. This will be my fourth time racing around the UK, but my first time in the Calais Round Britain Race. It?s going to be a great race, to see how the new Chemin?es Poujoulat II competes against the new Farr designs. I can't wait.

Fair winds.

Conrad

Friday, March 16th

2007-03-16T03:54:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, Honda unveiled its new radical livery for their Formula 1 racing car for the forthcoming season. Where the car used to display the logos of its numerous commercial sponsors, a large image of planet earth now covers the car in a bid to promote the companies ethos of being an ecologically minded automobile constructor.

Running in line with a campaign called "My Earth Dream", Honda aims to use the mass media coverage of Formula One Racing to promote the effects of global climate change to a worldwide audience. However, where there is no doubt that Formula 1 has the media coverage to support the end goal, as motor racing is recognised as being among one of the biggest sporting polluters, is Honda F1 sending out a confused message?

If you look at the facts, the two RA-107 racing cars of Honda F1 drivers, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, will pump out 17 tonnes of Carbon dioxide into our atmosphere by the end of the 2007 season, creating the same amount of pollution as 18 new road cars. Then, there are numerous flights for the drivers, mechanics, technicians, and other members of the staff race team to and from each race venue, test site and marketing appearance not to mention the carbon dioxide created by the hundreds of thousands of spectators who drive to each race venue. If you take all of this into consideration, you cannot deny the irony of their campaign!

Where Honda is on the right track is their recognition of the huge influence of sporting activities on the ideas and perceptions of the world's public. So, by moving away from the motor sports industry, can adventure sports including sailing do a better job of conveying the key messages of global climate change?

On 22 February, a week earlier than the launch of Honda's Earth Car, we launched a new and inspiring initiative called the BLUE Climate and Oceans Project. Using clean, healthy sports such as mountaineering, surfing and sailing, the BLUE Project aims to inspire individuals and companies to be active in choosing to care about the health of our planet.

But how, I hear you cry? There is no doubting that sport, adventure and human endeavour play a major part in highlighting the beauty of our natural environment and by using the image linked with the adventure sports world of today, the BLUE Project aims to make caring about the environment a cool thing to do. BE BLUE BE COOL, the key message of the BLUE Project challenges us all to change our way of thinking and to make lifestyle changes to help slow down the effects of global climate change.

These lifestyle changes can be anything ranging from a company making best efforts to reduce its carbon footprint to a child recycling a plastic bottle. Much like the My Earth Dream campaign, individuals can visit the www.theblueproject.org website and post their name in support of the campaign by making a lifestyle pledge. Companies too, can participate by applying to become environmental partners of the BLUE Project. CHR Ltd states that lifestyle changes no matter how big or small, collectively will make a difference. If you take this line and refer it back to Honda F1, after you wade through the scepticism, you have to commend them for making the effort.

The first sporting entity to compete under the BLUE brand will be our Extreme 40 sailing team during the forthcoming European Series racing season. Carrying the striking BLUE Project livery on the sails and the BE BLUE BE COOL message across the full length of both hulls, around the circuit that includes multiple European destinations, Team BLUE will use one of the most environmentally friendly sports as an effective promotional platform.

But, is transporting a 40ft catamaran around the world together with all its sundry kit, team members and back up crew not the same as transporting a Formula 1 team to each race venue? Not really - the difference in budgets for an Extreme 40 race season and that of a Formula 1 team are simply not comparable! Most adventure sports are completed on a shoe string budget keeping support crew and travel to an absolute minimum. The BLUE Climate and Oceans Project is about using pure sport to educate and highlight a global problem and these sporting activities are non exclusive and non elitist, achievable by anyone.

However, where sailing and adventure sports clearly have the upper hand on the clean image stakes, do these sports lack in other areas, media coverage being one? But hey, that's a whole separate debate!

Friday, February 23

2007-02-23T03:52:00.000-08:00

Today we launched the long-anticipated BLUE PROJECT. If we had the chance to look just for a moment from space at our planet we would see a Blue sphere.

The same colour as when we look into the sky or into the ocean. If we saw a different colour, we would have deep concerns. The BLUE CLIMATE AND OCEANS PROJECT aims to help our planet stay BLUE.

From my earliest memory, I have been fortunate to discover the wonders of our watery world and over the last 17 years I have covered a career that has taken me across the Atlantic over ten times and around the globe three times. I've long been fascinated by images of the globe, the weather and the oceans. This fascination led me to explore and then study the climate and ocean here at the University of Plymouth.

It is very relevant that today, here in Plymouth we launched the first BLUE PROJECT at the National Marine Aquarium, the pivot of Plymouth & the South West's Water World.

Plymouth and the South West is also the home of the most world-renowned institutions for ocean and marine science (which includes the Met Office, PML, MBA and UoP), a legacy that we should be extremely proud of. Plymouth, as a city also has a very important historical and economical link to the sea.

This is something we need to promote and more importantly, use its uniqueness to inspire our generation to embrace. I'd like to see Plymouth be the first BLUE City, a city that leads a wave across the country from the South West, (like the prevailing winds) to encourage us all to make a difference, however small to reduce our impact on the Climate and Oceans.

And that is part of the message for today's launch. The BLUE PROJECT would like to be part of this new wave of public and media interest in climate change and in turn, encourage people to be active in making one small change to their lifestyle, be it leaving the car at home for a day, or leaving the TV turned off for an evening.

The first BLUE PROJECT launched today was the BE BLUE BE COOL message across the UK and Europe this year. Just for today, outside the NMA we placed the fastest and most powerful 40ft catamaran in the world - this is capable of speeds of up to 50mph, driven purely by the wind.

The catamaran is an Extreme 40 class yacht and we will be competing in several high profile events throughout the UK and Europe in 2007. Following this series, we hope in the coming months to be able to announce a new round the world project that will also carry the BLUE message. And it doesn't stop there.

We want to hear about every human endeavour, adventure and sporting project that inspires and encourages leadership to write to us at info@theblueproject.org so that we can support your BLUE PROJECTS, by linking onto to www.theblueproject.org - the You Tube for BLUE CLIMATE & OCEAN PROJECTS.

Conrad

Monday, January 7

2007-01-07T04:08:00.000-08:00

Conrad Humphreys reflects on the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race 2007

When Nick Maloney asked if I might like to navigate Ichi Ban, the Jones/Volvo 70 in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race this year I jumped at the chance.

The last time I competed in this race was in 2001, a year after the BT Global Challenge and it has always held a significant pull so I was keen to come back. Ichiban finished second in 2006 and given the normal harsh conditions of this race, she is well suited.

We just needed the Bass Strait to live up to its normal reputation.

In the week leading up to the start I started running some early weather routes and was surprised at how stable the models were behaving.

Whilst the early indications were for a fast downwind run, in the final few days before the start a weak trough crossed the Bass Strait bringing with it a southerly change.

This would however be short lived with the breeze clocking back round to the north soon after. Overall conditions weren't going to be boat breaking and that was perhaps our only real chance of taking line honours against the 30m maxis.

The day of the start was hot, with a light north-easterly which gave us a beat out through the Sydney Heads. With Ian Walker and Michael Coxon calling the shots we lined up on the starboard end, but found ourselves a little squeezed out.

The start wasn't the best, but we soon shrugged off the smaller boats and by the first turning mark we were clear.

Opting to sail high of the rhumb line to get well offshore and to get through the considerable spectator chop, we quickly found better pressure and started to move up the fleet.

I chose to stick to Expedition for the all the weather routing together with Deckman and used Steve Hayles' user friendly UGrib to pick up the 6 hourly weather grib files.

With the official race website being updated every 15 mins, it was very easy to track the competition, in fact, it could be argued that the website is too up-to-date because your every move could be monitored making it difficult to slip away and do something different.

Our game plan was to sail down the east of the track where I felt there was stronger pressure and given that Sydney had been experiencing some pretty unseasonable weather, we chose to opt for pressure over any current.

The models were indicating a nice bit of southerly push of a 1-1.5 knots on the continental shelf off Gabo Island, but the GFS weather also had the breeze lightening inshore during the southerly shift and it just didn't look as attractive as being offshore.

By that stage we would be over 100 miles to the east so we decided it wasn't worth shooting for. This decision, I think was our best move we made in the race and I was glad to see the boats inshore struggling to get south into Bass Strait.

05:32 27/12/07
Pos 37.33.03S 151.49.3E
BS 8.5, HDG 165

Throughout the afternoon the breeze built to 20-25knts from the north east and slowly back around to the north and north west, we worked little further offshore from the main pack, opting to put a couple of gybes in through the night to remain in better pressure.

The anticipated southerly change worked its way north up from the Bass Strait and by 0300 local time on the morning of the 27th, the breeze off Gabo Island was showing a southerly 4-5 knots.

To the east, we maintained a position well offshore to avoid the light cell with the aim to stay in the old north-westerly for a little longer. At 0400 we met the southerly change; at this point we were 40 miles further east than the fleet.

It seemed that most boats had gybed inshore to meet the southerly and pick up the favourable current running down the continental shelf.

Whilst offshore we had a little adverse current, at times setting us east with 2-3 knots, we still maintained good pressure and the boats inshore all slowed dramatically between 0300-0500.

04:24 28/12/07
Pos: 41.13.53S 150.00.02E
BS 19ks, HDG 200

The weather grib files have shown a remarkable consistency over this race.

Having worked our game plan of keeping out to the east of the fleet we've avoided some of the big park-ups that the fleet have experienced and are now coming into Tasman Island with a sweet spot wind angle of 130 TWA and 25knts of breeze.

At the moment, we have closed to 40 miles of Skandia and we have another 150 miles of fast sailing to Tasman Island. My hope is that we open up enough distance on Rosebud to claw back some of the 2-3 hours of corrected time we need.

Conditions are fantastic, with a bright moon lighting the deck, the guys are pushing
every bit of speed out of Ichiban hoping to average over 20 knots to the corner.

This would give us an early afternoon crossing of Storm Bay and hopefully some good breeze up the Derwent to the finish in Hobart in time for the Pub!

12:18 28/12/07
Pos: S431048 1480944E
BS 12ks, HDG 213

At just after 10:00am, whilst power reaching towards Tasman Island, we heard a crack and shortly afterwards the port rudder blade sheared off the back.

It's a cruel blow to an awesome performance, as we were looking good for the overall race win. Having pulled back to within a 100 miles of Wild Oats and less than 90miles to City Index L, we only needed to cover the last 60 miles at an average of 12knots to be within sight of the top prize.

The boys have been ribbing me about the rudder, suggesting that if we pull into Tasman bay, I can dive under the boat and fix it! I told them the water was a lot warmer in Cape Town!

We rounded Tasman Island just after midday and crossed Storm Bay in reasonable good order with the broken rudder.

When we reached Iron Pot (11miles from the finish), the gradient breeze in the Derwent was being met with an incoming sea breeze and we spent a painful few hours becalmed between the zones.

The Derwent can through anything at you and towards the bridge we could see a mass of white horses coming towards us. Sure enough, we crossed the line in 30knts, with the damaged rudder on display for the waiting press and media boats.

Overall, I was pleased with the race. We were always going to need to do something a little different from the Maxis to have any chance of winning overall.

Rosbud crossed the line an hour after we did and given that we lost two hours from the rudder breakage, I think we may well have had the race this year. The final results placed us 5th overall from an 89 strong field.

Thursday, December 28th

2006-12-28T03:47:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how this year has flown by - I cannot believe that Christmas has come round so quickly this year. To think that this time last year, we had just completed the first event of the VX40 Grand Prix Series in Sanxenxo, Spain.

The same time the year before, I was in the Southern Ocean competing in the Vend?e Globe without the luxury of central heating (in fact my generator has broken down so I had no heat at all!) but I did have the smallest of Christmas puddings you can buy (to save weight on the boat)! It was all worth it though and I'm looking forward to a new and exciting campaign for the next Vendee Globe Race which starts in 2008.

As we see 2006 coming to a close, I can look back on a busy year where we had been racing the Extreme 40 catamaran in five of the Volvo Ocean Race stopovers - we raced in Brazil, USA, UK and the Netherlands which has been an exciting and a great experience sailing with a team again. As well as the Grand Prix Circuit, it was great fun participating in the JP Morgan Round the Island Race where the Extreme 40 class took line honours, and Skandia Cowes week where our class turned a few heads as we flew the hulls close to the race village. At the end of the summer, we saw our successful title partnership of four years with Motorola conclude, and I now look forward to taking all the experience of this relationship to another level with new partners.

As we head into 2007, it's a time of big announcements as several of our projects get the green light. We are looking forward to the announcement of a new Title sponsor for the Extreme 40 European Series for 2007 to be run by Offshore Challenges, and we will be announcing a new partner and team for our Extreme 40 campaign later in the year. We will also be launching a new environmental and educational project which will be a central part of our future campaigns. With the addition of the new double-handed, non-stop Barcelona World Race to the IMOCA 60 calendar, which starts in November 2007, this year is shaping up to be a really important one in preparation for the Vendee Globe the following year.

In between, I have been training for the coastal half marathon in February with the opportunity to do some mountains runs during a recent trip to Hong Kong, For those still brave enough to be Kitesurfing at Bantham this Christmas, hope to see you out there getting some serious air!. All these events has made being at home for Christmas this year a welcome break though, which has allowed me to recharge my batteries, ready to take on all an exciting new year!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors, partners and supporters who are as such an important part of our team. Wishing you all the very best for 2007 and may all your dreams and ambitions come to fruition.

Conrad

Tuesday November 14, 2006

2006-11-14T03:44:00.000-08:00

After heading to St.Malo two weeks ago, to watch the start of the 3,543 mileTrans-Atlantic Route du Rhum race, I returned to Plymouth with a renewed sense of energy with many new ideas on the design and build of a new Open 60 yacht.

The race start was amazing, with an estimated 10,000-12,000 spectators on the water (including myself!), and brought back many memories of the shear volume of boats on the water when I started the last edition of the race in 2002.
Thankfully, the weather conditions for the start was no where near as fierce as they were in 2002, and were in fact quite favourable for fast sailing conditions - after only 7 days 17 hours of racing, Gitana skippered by Frenchman Lionel Lemonchois smashed the previous multihull Trans-Atlantic record by nearly 5 days and crossed the finish line in Guadaloupe.
Although envious of the sailors that are racing, I know that my working on proposals and securing a new title sponsor is highest on my list of priorities.
The skippers in the Velux 5 Oceans were not so lucky with the weather.
The fleet was hit by winds up to 72 knots as they crossed the Bay of Biscay, resulting in three of the six starters suffering damage to their boats and having to make for land within 2 days of starting the race.
Unlike the race rules of the Vendee Globe, the competitors in the Velux 5 Oceans are allowed to stop in harbour and use outside assistance to make repairs.
However, the rules stipulate that the boats may not resume racing until 48 hours after they switch their engines to make for harbour.
This has meant that the two boats who survived the storms of the early part of the race were able to make good gains on the rest of the fleet.
Amongst those battered was Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, and he had to head to La Coruna to make repairs to the mainsail track. All of the boats which started the race are all well underway now.
By following the racing both in the Route du Rhum and the Velux 5 Oceans, I have been able to plot my own theoretical courses and sail the race from the comfort of my own office.
This has been beneficial for practicing tactical routing and for analysis of the weather information for the meteorology course I have started some lecturing on - all without having to get wet this time!
In the meantime, I'm looking forward to presenting a talk at the National Marine Aquarium this coming Thursday evening and sharing a few stories of my experiences from the three round-the-world races I have completed, and to talk about plans for future races.
For those of you who would like to come, check out the details on the National Marine Aquarium's website http://www.national-aquarium.co.uk/news/article.asp?lngNewsID=231

Hope to see you there!

Conrad

Monday, 12th February

2006-02-12T03:49:00.000-08:00

2007 has so far been as busy as it possibly could be! At the Collins Stewart London Boat Show at the beginning of January, the announcement of the new title sponsor “Barclays IShares” for the Extreme 40 Grand Prix Series was made.

This will be organised by OC Events and will comprise at least four events hosted in various European countries including Germany, France, The Netherlands and UK. In advance of this, we are in the process of finalising our racing team and refitting the catamaran to keep it in tip top condition for the racing season.
It was a great relief to see that all five of the remaining skippers that are competing in the Velux 5 Oceans arrived safely in Fremantle, Australia after a gruelling leg through the Southern Ocean. Congratulations to Bernard Stamm for a well-sailed first leg – my hat goes off to Sir Robin Knox-Johnson who has done so well so far and is now the only remaining British entrant in the race. The fleet have since restarted the race and are now on their working their through the Southern Ocean storms towards Norfolk, USA.
Some of you may have read recently that we have also been busy with the preparation and delivery of a tender, for Plymouth to host the Transat Race in 2008 (and future years) to OC Events. The Transat (originally known as the OSTAR, the Observer Single Handed Transatlantic Race) is the oldest of all solo offshore races. Since it’s inception in 1960 it has been held every four years and has previously always started from Plymouth. In 2003, the race was bought by OC Events, the event management company owned by Ellen MacArthur and Mark Turner, and the company invited cities from around the UK to put forward bids to tender for the right to host the race in 2008 and beyond. Naturally, I would love for the race to start from Plymouth, and with the support and backing of key individuals in the region including the Sutton Harbour Company, the South West Regional Development Agency and Plymouth City Council, we have put together what we feel is a strong proposal. If won, Plymouth will benefit from significant economic returns and an international awareness of the City and the Region. We should hear the outcome OC Events’ decision at the end of March.
Conrad