Multihull sailing specialist Glenn Ashby will join Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup according to Australian newspaper the Bendigo Advertiser. Ashby was part of the BMW ORACLE team that won the trophy earlier in 2010.

Ashby told the paper:

“I’ve just signed up with team New Zealand for the next America’s Cup. I’m going to have more of a sailing role this time rather than focusing on the actual boat like I did last time.”

With the Cup changing to catamarans, sailors like Ashby, with multihull success will be in high demand for the next edition. The Beijing Olympics silver medallist said the offer to work in New Zealand rather than in America or Europe was the best one for him and his young family.

“The offer from Team New Zealand was just too good to refuse. The offer was obviously closer to home than the US, and the sailing role was very attractive to me.”

Ashby was in Bendigo to give support to grass roots sailing in Australia. He competed in and won the  A Class Fleet Catamaran event at the inaugural Cairn Curran Classic.

“My reason for coming down was to support the local country clubs. I did quite a lot of sailing at Cairn Curran when I was younger, but it wouldn’t have been for about 15 years. These sorts of clubs have been struggling financially in previous years, but after the success of this year’s event I’m sure that next year’s event will be 2 to 3 times bigger, which is just great for the club. It’s really nice to able to come home and support clubs in the country areas.”

Ashby said that Cairn Curran being at 97 per cent of capacity and perfect weather conditions contributed to the success of the event.

“It was great to see so it so full and it brought back a lot of fond memories for me,” he said. “There were shifty winds, which were tricky sailing conditions and it was a lot of fun.

More America’s Cup Updates…

By Lynn Fitzpatrick

Australian 470 Men’s World Champion sailors, Mat Belcher and Malcolm Page have two new girls on their team. Australian World Champion gymnast, Lauren Mitchell, joined the team to officiate at the christening of Belcher and Page’s new 470 Olympic dinghy and bestow a name to the boat that they are hoping will win them an Olympic gold medal and other trophies along the way.

After having taken delivery of their new boat and getting to know her better, Belcher, Page and their coach, Victor Kovalenko, settled on a name. The name was unknown to the crowd gather at The Royal Perth Yacht Club Fremantle Annexe until Mitchell poured champagne over the bow and christened her My Life while Kovalenko wrote her name on the transom.

The Australian gymnast, Lauren Mitchell, joined Belcher and Page to celebrate a year of triumphs. She earned her mark in Australian sports history annals when she won gold in the floor exercise at the 2010 World Gymnastics Championship in Rotterdam, which was the first world championship title for a female Australian gymnast. Earlier this summer at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, Mitchell won 4 gold medals and a silver in the team, all-around, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise, respectively. Her gold medal count matches an achievement held by gymnast Lori Strong of Canada since 1990.

The bubbly gymnast was happy to give her Institute of Sports and Olympic colleagues, Belcher and Page a hand with the christening. ‘I met Malcolm during the run up to the 2008 Olympics and know what an effort he has put in to become a five-time world champion. I hope that Mat, Malcolm and I will continue to share good luck and good fortune all of the way to London. Besides, I’m eager to learn some of Mal’s techniques on the trapeze,’ said Mitchell, who will christen Belcher and Page’s new 470.

Page has won two 470 World Championship titles and an Olympic gold medal with Nicole, named after Australia’s favorite actress, Nicole Kidman. Page, like many sailors is bit superstitious and considered Nicole and Sunday Rose among other names for the boat that he and Belcher will use for upcoming world championships, Olympic qualifiers and possibly the 2012 Olympics.

‘We’ve been dreaming about this new boat for nearly a year and she is exactly what we hoped for. We couldn’t be happier,’ beamed Page as he ran his hand over her smooth deck. ‘It took us longer than we expected to agree upon the right name. In the end, we settled on My Life. It’s the name of a movie that Nicole Kidman starred in, but My Life also speaks to how consuming an Olympic campaign is. Sailing right now is our life. It takes all of our time, commitment and financial resources. We have made a lot of personal and team sacrifices to achieve our goal. Once again, we took our guidance from Nicole Kidman and My Life seemed appropriate.’

Belcher and Page plan on sailing My Life at the Perth International Regatta, the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta and the European Olympic classes regattas. Nicole is nowhere near ready for retirement. We will use her for training and competitions in New South Wales and Queensland.’

Belcher and Page are in Fremantle practicing for the Perth International Regatta, which starts November 16th -21st and has attracted over 230 boats representing 40 nations. The regatta is the test event for Perth 2011 where 75 percent of the nations to participate in the 2012 Olympic sailing events will be selected.

Shortly thereafter, Belcher and Page will leave for Athens and the 2010 ISAF Rolex World Sailor award ceremony. They are among six male nominees for international sailing’s prestigious award.

The Belcher & Page London Challenge 2012 470 Olympic sailing campaign appreciates all of its sponsors and supporters, especially those who have contributed to the Belcher & Page Dream Raffle. Grand prizes include the use of an Audi of the winner’s choice for a fortnight, a 6-night Sunsail bare boat charter from its Hamilton Island or Tahiti base, or a 5-night stay at qualia Great Barrier Reef, Hamilton Island’s ultra luxury resort. Raffle tickets can be purchased through a secure online site through BelcherPage2012.com. Tickets are also on sale at yacht clubs and sailing clubs throughout Australia. The drawing will be on March 15, 2011.

More Olympic Sailing News…

Zhik will replace Puma as the title sponsor of the International Moth Worlds. The event will be held on Lake Macquarie, Australia in January 2011. The clothing brand and the moth class fit well together, both being edgy and innovative.

Moth Class Australian President, Scott Babbage, says:

“Zhik is a natural fit to sponsor the Moth Worlds, with their clear dominance in the fleet, we now also look forward to building an even stronger relationship as title sponsor”

Managing Director of Zhik, Brian Conolly said:

“Zhik has always been a strong supporter of the Moth fleet. Moth sailors and Zhik designers have the same philosophy, both being attracted to technical innovation. Zhik has enjoyed working with the top sailors in the Moth class to help design faster wet gear”.

Nathan Outteridge will be looking to use build on the success of the recent European championships with the help of a little local knowledge.  He said:

“To some extent I feel I have home waters advantage, I’ve spent my life sailing on the lake… It’s a great place to sail. There are many people who could win the worlds… past world champs John (Harris), Bora (Gulari) and Simon (Payne) come to mind straight away and no doubt there will be a handful of other top sailors who are new to the class like Tom Slingsby. I think it will be a close fought regatta and I am really looking forward to it.”

The sponsorship by Zhik should do well. Many of the sailors have personal deals with the brand and they like wearing the gear which fits the Moth style of sailing more than the Puma range.

Zhik are also backing the Perth 2011 World Championships.

More Sailing apparel news…

While some in the sailing world have grumbled about Jessica Watson’s record attempt, the young Australian has managed to do something that no other professional sailor has managed for a long time – become a household name.

While the Defender of the America’s Cup trials monohulls against catamarans and mounts cameras at funny angles to try and make sailing more exciting. The public don’t care. The general public want stories about people. If sailing really wants to become a mass-market sport, then it will have to create rock-stars. Not technically brilliant athletes who scurry away from the media or begrudgingly do a piece to camera for the benefit of their sponsors. Sailing needs the top people in the sport to be larger than life, PR savvy, merchandising machines.

No doubt there will be some who find this kind of commercialism a sad sell-out, but in order to survive sailing needs a Tiger Woods or a Venus Williams or a Lewis Hamilton and it can be done.

Perhaps it takes more aggressive PR to punch through to the mass-media. Take this statement that appeared on the web yesterday:

No. 1 sailor Jessica Watson has become a No. 1 author this week, when Hachette Australia announced that the teenage sailor’s memoir of her recent voyage had become the biggest selling book in Australia.

Number 1 sailor? By what measure? In a week when Australian sailors picked up gold medals in four classes at the pre-Olympic Sail for Gold regatta,  no-one talking about Nicky Souter, Nina Curtis and Olivia Price in the Women’s Match Racing, the Skud-18, won by Daniel Fitzgibbon and Rachael Cox, Tom Slingsby’s gold in the Laser Men or Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen who took gold the 49er class.

We’re not attributing the statement above to Jessica or her team, but a certain percentage of people who know no better will believe it. In other words, its not the best sailors who win the battle for hearts and minds but the best salespeople.

According to the publishers, Australians purchased more than 10,000 copies of Jessica Watson’s book True Spirit in 10 days. The latest Nielsen BookScan, based on data from 1000 retailers nationwide, shows True Spirit at No.1 for the week ending August 7.

Perhaps the Defender of the America’s Cup is going down the wrong path. Perhaps sailing doesn’t need to be more exciting – it needs to be more interesting. Sailors, not their boats need to be more interesting. There is an opportunity for an athlete in the sport who is willing to be famous to step forwards and become a rock-star. If Jessica Watson can do it, then so can others.

More Jessica Watson News..

Perth 2011 have teamed up with Fairfax Media to promote the Sailing World Championship to an Australian audience. Director of Commercial Operations Darren Beazley has announced that the event will partner with WAtoday.com.au, who will become a silver level sponsor and official online partner to the regatta.

Mr Beazley said:

“Two of our main aims at Perth 2011 are to increase awareness of the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships and to raise the profile of the sport of sailing. The partnership with WAtoday.com.au will provide a significant boost to the Sailing World Championships with promotion of the Event and the sport, through local and national coverage via its sister sites – smh.com.au, theage.com.au and brisbanetimes.com.au – and through international readership opportunities.”

WAtoday.com.au Marketing Manager Nicola Brandon agreed that the collaboration was exciting saying:

“WAtoday.com.au is thrilled to come on board as the media partner for Perth 2011. This is a great event for sailing and for Perth. WAtoday.com.au delivers Western Australia with high quality breaking news and we look forward to sharing this Event with our visitors.”

The partnership should assist in driving traffic to the Perth 2011 website, however a quick search of the WAtoday.com.au website shows that the media outlet is a little light on sailing content, despite Perth being the home of some of Australia’s best sailors. While the portal reports on Belcher and Page winning the 470 World Championships last week, a search for Torvar Mirsky – who represents Western Australia in the World Match Racing Tour and is ranked 3rd in the world, returns zero search results.

More Olympic Sailing News…

Rolex SA will extend its naming rights sponsorship of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and its associated regattas, the Rolex Trophy One Design and Rolex Trophy Rating Series, up to and including the 2015 race.

Rolex has been the naming rights sponsor of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race since 2002.

Outgoing Commodore Matt Allen said:

“As one of my final duties as Commodore of this great club I am pleased to announce that Rolex will continue to sponsor one of the greatest ocean races in the world – the Rolex Sydney Hobart, for a further five years. Their commitment to the sport and to the Rolex Sydney Hobart greatly assists the international reputation of the race. From the time of Rolex’s involvement we have seen an increasing level of international interest combined with a strong Australian fleet from the smallest yachts at just over 30ft to the larger maxis at 100ft.”

“The CYCA has had a close collaboration with Rolex since it first entered into the sponsorship of the blue water classic. Their association with us has greatly enhanced the Rolex Sydney Hobart and lead up Rolex Trophy Series for the competitors and the interested followers of these events. The CYCA is delighted to make this announcement and thanks Rolex for its ongoing involvement and support.”

Seven Network to be exclusive TV broadcaster through 2015.

The CYCA have also granted an extension of the exclusive rights to broadcast the start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race from 2011 to 2015 to Seven Network.  The new agreement takes effective from the 2011 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and will continue up until the end of the 2015 race.

The Seven Network will produce and broadcast nationally a 90 minute live program of the start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht race, with commentary provided by CYCA member Gordon Bray, who has hosted the last three start broadcast programs. The broadcast will be supervised by Saul Shtein, Seven Network’s Head of Sport, and a former competitive sailor. Having managed the live broadcasts for the last five years Shtein knows the intricacies and technical challenges of covering yacht races and has a great idea of what the public wants.

Further, the CYCA has granted the Seven Network, through its online affiliate Yahoo!7, the exclusive worldwide internet/online rights to webstream the live 90 minute broadcast of the start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2010 and the regular in race updates.

More Rolex Sailing News…

By Lynn Fitzpatrick

Australia’s Golden Boys, Mat Belcher and Malcolm Page, are a traveling billboard for Audi. By the time this year’s ISAF World Cup circuit comes to a close in Weymouth at the 2012 Olympic sailing venue, they will have hoisted their spinnaker, which is emblazoned with the Audi rings in Australia, USA, France, Spain, Holland, Germany and the UK. Last week they were in Holland, not far from the frigid North Sea and next week they will be in Germany, the home of Audi.

While the Audi rings bear some resemblance to the Olympic rings, Olympian Malcolm Page says, with a straight face, that seeing them billow out in front of him every time the spinnaker is launched “makes me think about the amazing drive I have experienced in the Audi. It also makes me want to get to the finish line quicker so that I can get into the car and warm up. In Holland the seat warmers are a necessity and bring us back to life after a cold day on the water.”

Page has the privilege of driving an A4 in Australia and the Belcher & Page London Challenge 2012 Men’s 470 Olympic sailing campaign has been traveling throughout Europe this season in an Audi Q7. Says Page of the Q7; “It’s a life saver for the four months that we are in Europe this year. The larger car allows us to cart our ‘lives’ from country to country, and the single best thing about the Q7 is its ability to tow the coach boat and our two 470′s around Europe. The ride is so smooth that we don’t realize that all of our equipment is attached to or on top of the car.”

Belcher and Page estimate that they will only drive about 8,000 kilometers throughout Europe in 2010 because their regattas are relatively close together this year. During the remainder of the year, when they are home in Australia, both sailors will put nearly 25,000 kilometers on their A4′s. “They are a work of art, not just a motor vehicle,” says Page. “They seem to have the best balance between style and performance.”

Speaking for his teammates, Page continues, “We feel very privileged to have the support of Audi. We are trying to achieve the same standards of excellence in our campaign that Audi has attained with its cars. They have developed reliable, industry-leading equipment that is attractive… although looking good is a little bit beyond our control.”

Arriving in Marseille, France in our lovely Q7 3.0TDI. Photo taken by Victor Kovalenko

The Belcher & Page London Challenge 2012 campaign is sponsored in part by AUDI, Acuity, Estate Master Sailing, Sands Resorts, Australian Sailing Team, Australian Institute of Sport, Austin Brothers, Professional Investment Services, Ronstan and generous employers, family and friends. Join the Challenge contact them at http://www.belcherpage2012.com/

More Audi Sailing News…

A large percentage of sailing sponsorship, especially for major events, comes from tourism authorities. In most cases, the campaigns are pretty unsophisticated – a bit of branding on the spinnaker to increase awareness, but not a lot of activation. Events like the Volvo Ocean Race stopover in Galway have shown that people will travel to see yacht racing and buy hotel room nights and spend money to boost the local economy, however these marine tourists usually have to make their own arrangements.

It’s interesting then to see the new campaign from Queensland, Australia. The state of Queensland does tourism promotion as well as anyone else in the world. It helps that they have some great attractions, like the Great Barrier Reef, world heritage rainforest and stunning beaches, but we like the way the new ‘Season of Sailing’ joins the dots between sailing, specifically yacht racing and productised packages for tourists.

There is a microsite (www.queenslandholidays.com.au/sailing) which understands that not all tourists to Queensland are looking for theme parks and the skyscrapers of Surfers Paradise and actually supports event organisers by making it easier for visitors to attend sailing events.

The site of course positions the charter, cruising travel products that are usually the focus of sailing travel promotions, but it also highlights racing as a key part of sailing. The promotional material includes:

Choose from a range of charter boat experiences from catamarans to racing yachts; day sail options including reef and sunset cruises; or sail and stay packages that include accommodation at some of Queensland’s best tropical island resorts and beachfront apartments.

The Hamilton Island Race Week Package, for example, allows people to book with Prosail onboard one of their famous maxi yachts, live onboard the yacht berthed in Hamilton Island, enjoy the festival atmosphere by night and join in the race event by day.

This isn’t some local promoter or travel agent, capitalising on this valuable market, it is the central tourism authority.

Individual race events for Queensland’s Season of Sailing include:

• Brisbane to Keppel – August 6-10
• Airlie Race Week August 12-19
• Hamilton Island Race Week – August 20-28
• Magnetic Island Race Week – September 3-7

More Tourism News….

On Saturday, Australian teenager Jessica Watson sailed into Sydney Harbour to complete an amazing journey. The 16 year old has spent 7 months sailing around the world, on her own, without stopping. The voyage will have a huge impact on the way sailing is regarded and also has big implications for the sponsorship of sailing activities. This is not about old men like the America’s Cup, this is about character.

Jessica’s story is not about sailing, not really. The reason that her arrival back in Australia received live television coverage and was reported in media that would never normally carry a sailing story, is that it is a human interest tale of achievement. It is the story of an individual who set out to accomplish a dream and succeeded.

The stories in media outlets like New Idea, 60 Minutues and ‘Stock & Land’ will not mention sail area or hull displacement. This story will now be turned into a ‘battler overcomes all odds’ tale, even by those who said she would never make it.

Amongst the flag waving (because there is a large nationalistic element involved) there is controversy, but the sailing world needs to sit back and listen to the public. This is an opportunity to understand what it is that allows sailing to jump out of the small niche media and appeal to a mass-market.

And it’s not a revelation. Those involved with the elite end of solo-offshore racing know that the human story is the essential element to capture the imagination of an audience who are not interested in the machine. This is an important reminder. Too often, the sport of sailing is reduced to the names of the tools. Take this example from an article about this weekend’s Audi Med Cup:

“Through the five events of the 2010 Audi MedCup season, regatta trophies are a bonus, and this is Emirates Team New Zealand’s fifth successive regatta title in a row, but the dominant Kiwi crew will be even more content to leave Portugal with a comprehensive lead of 20 points over Franco-German Circuit newcomers AudiA1 powered by All4ONE.”

While the bean-counters at Emirates Airlines and Audi will be happy with the association of their brand with a high-end event, there is nothing in this statement for a fan to get excited. One TP52 boat beat another TP52 boat. They might as well have been sailed by remote control. Here’s another one from the  RORC De Guigand Bowl:

By the time Apollo had reached St.Catherine’s Point, they had caught up the entire fleet and crossed ahead of rival TP 52, John Merricks II.

I disagree with those who say that sailing needs to be dumbed down to appeal to a wider audience. Sports like American Football are complicated, yet still attract huge numbers of spectators. Instead, sailing needs to do more to create ‘rock-stars’ out of the men and women who are competing. Boats don’t sail themselves, just as Formula 1 cars don’t drive themselves.

Jessica Watson deserves to benefit from any commercial deals that arise as a result of her adventure. With a bit of luck, sailing may also benefit from people who are inspired by her actions to get out on the water. Those who seek to promote the sport to the widest possible audience need to take note.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has announced that accounting and business advisory firm, Grant Thornton has extended its sponsorship of the Grant Thornton Short Haul and Grant Thornton Short Ocean Pointscore Series for a further two seasons.

The Grant Thornton Short Haul and Grant Thornton Short Ocean Pointscore Series are an integral part of the CYCA’s Summer Sailing Program. Conducted from September to March, the series comprise 25 races and see combined fleets of up to 60 yachts competing in Sydney Harbour and its surrounds. The Grant Thornton Short Ocean Pointscore Series consists of 11 races (including the Australia Day Regatta) which are sailed off Sydney Heads. Each race is approx.

The Grant Thornton Short Haul Series is a non-spinnaker series that comprises 14 races (including 5 passage races). The majority of races are sailed off Sydney Heads with some races conducted in the Harbour and at night.

Matt Adam Smith, Grant Thornton Sydney Managing Director said.

“We have come to value highly our association with the CYCA, where many of our clients are members and enjoy their sailing throughout the year. The Club’s reputation of being at the forefront of the yachting fits well with Grant Thornton’s global reputation for quality and innovation and the ethos of summer sailing – serious racing in a spirit of friendly rivalry – also sits well with us. We look forward to seeing the series’ grow in coming years.”

CYCA Commodore Matt Allen said:

“I thank Grant Thornton for continuing support of the CYCA Summer Series on behalf of those who enter the series. With the support of Grant Thornton we have seen greater levels of participation in the Short Haul Pointscore Series and consistent entrants in the Short Ocean Pointscore Series.”

The Grant Thornton Short Haul Series will commence on Sunday 19 September with the 15th Monica Geddes Memorial Trophy, and concludes on 26 March 2011.

The Grant Thornton Short Ocean Pointscore Series will commence on Saturday 2 October with the 43rd Rubber Kellaway Plate, and concludes on 26 March 2011.