Crowdsourced Sailing Sponsorship With A Twist For British Keelboat Academy.

Sponsor the British Keelboat Academy for 5 miles and win a day sailing on a TP52

There are not many opportunities for UK companies to sponsor UK sailing in UK waters. While TEAMORIGIN are putting together a team of current keelboat rockstars to compete for the America’s Cup, there is no obvious place for the next generation of talent to come from. While offshore sailors now have the Artemis Academy, those wanting to make the step up from dinghies or Olympic classes to larger boats have to make their own path to success.

The British Keelboat Academy has a lot of potential, but hasn’t quite cracked the right business model to give it the recognition it deserves. Those taking part in the program have been getting good results and the RORC Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is a great opportunity to showcase the talent developed via the academy to a wider audience.

The British Keelboat academy has access to a TP52 “John Merricks II”. The team have worked to convert that boat from an inshore racing yacht to a platform capable of taking on offshore challenges.

From a sponsorship point of view, the ‘Round Britain and Ireland Race’ is quite an opportunistic deal. Just as Jaguar tipped in some cash to get some benefit out of TEAMORGIN’s participation in the 1851 Cup, so too could a sponsor pick up the sponsorship of the British Keelboat Academy at the last minute for much less than it would typically cost to sponsor a boat of the same size in the same race.

The team at the Academy say:

Our budget for running the boat for a season is less than similar boats spend on one mainsail, all of our work had to be done creatively in house. This said, it’s impressive what you can do if you have the right people, time and a little guidance or advice from our supporters within the marine industry. Some big modifications include building and fitting a nav. station from scratch, rig modifications, sail modifications and offshore sheeting options to list but a few.

From our Fastnet experience we had a long list of obstacles that had to be tackled before we could think about leaving the dock for the startline: watermakers, batteries, safety equipment, crew experience. All of which have been overcome bar one, unfortunately we are still just short of our target budget to be able to start the race. With this in mind a couple of the team have designed a website where supporters of our campaign can sponsor miles of our race.

The sponsorship campaign is a nice twist on the crowdsourcing model that has been tried with limited success in the past. Rather than sponsor a percentage of the boat or hull, the team is looking for a more traditional ‘per-mile’ sponsorship campaign to get to the start line.

It’s a big ask in a short period of time. The team needs over 1500 people to contribute to the campaign, but they are asking for just £5 you can sponsor a mile. For corporates, there is an added bonus: Anyone who sponsors 5 miles will be entered into a prize draw to win a day sailing with the team, which will provide the once-in-a-lifetime chance to sail a high performance 52’ racing yacht. £5 for a day’s sailing on a TP52 – that sounds like a good deal to us!!

Sponsor the British Keel Boat Academy at www.johnmerricks-rbi.co.uk

Audi Sponsors All4One to Compete in Audi Med Cup.

Despite the brief rule of Multihulls in the last America’s Cup, those with pretentions to the next edition have returned to monohull racing. The Audi Med Cup has announced that another ‘America’s Cup’ team will join TEAMORIGIN and Emirates Team NZ competing in the 2010 cup. Series title sponsor Audi will sponsor the Franco-German ALL4ONE team in the TP52 events.

ALL4ONE? squad was established originally by Stéphane Kandler and Jochen Schümann in September of 2009. Other German sponsors include Adidas. The Audi A1 Team powered by ALL4ONE boat will not only contest the five regattas of the Audi MedCup between May and September but also the TP52 World Championships in Sicily in October.

Lothar Korn, AUDI AG Head of Marketing Communications said:

“We’ve been partnering with the Audi MedCup for several years now and are equally thrilled with the top-caliber sporting competition and the possibilities for presentations on water and along the coast? The additional support of the Franco-German boat now provides us with close links to the team and enables us to offer our guests and customers an unforgettable sporting experience?.

The TP52 represents the Kieler Yacht Club (GER) and the Cercle de la Voile de Paris (FRA) and is currently located at its home yacht harbor in Valencia. From there, the yacht will be taken directly to the Audi MedCup season opener to be staged in Cascais (Portugal) from May 11 to 16.

Audi MedCup Circuit Director, Ignacio Triay said:

“This is great news for the Circuit, not just because we see an increase in terms of entries, but also because of the rise in quality of team competitiveness. Audi A1 Team powered by ALL4ONE means the first French team in the history of the Audi MedCup, and the combination of Jochen Schümann and Stéphane Kandler promises to prove tough competition for the other 10 teams.”

Audi to Sponsor Hamilton Island Race Week for Another 3 Years.

The automotive industry continues to keep competitive sailing afloat. Earlier this week, Volvo announced it’s continued support of Team GBR and brands like BMW and Accura support sailing around the world. The other carmaker that continues to invest in sailing around the world is Audi. The German company is once again the title sponsor of the Med Cup for TP52 and in Australia, Audi is a prolific sponsor of the sport.

Audi has announced that it will support one of Australia’s premier keelboat regattas for another three years, bringing its title sponsorship of Audi Hamilton Island Race Week to six years and its involvement in the event to seven.

The 27th regatta is scheduled to take place from 20-28 August, 2010 and will feature the inclusion of a new division for superyachts, including Lang Walker’s magnificent new 58-metre sloop, Kokomo. In contrast to an event that hosted 93 yachts in 1984 on an Island under early construction, 200 boats now race from the start-line of the newly opened Hamilton Island Yacht Club. Australia’s premier yachts and well-known faces flock to the Whitsundays Island for the week-long spectacle that many now consider a central fixture on Australia’s social and sporting calendar.

Javier Degen, Hamilton Island Marketing Director stated,

“Race Week has grown immensely over the last few years and we are delighted with the continuation of our partnership with Audi. Last year’s social program further raised the bar of what people have come to expect of the event and plans are in full swing to ensure that we do not disappoint this year. The stunning new Hamilton Island Yacht Club will form a central venue for the week’s events and the new Hamilton Island Golf Club will provide an extra element to the week for those who are looking for an alternative to the sailing.”

Anna Burgdorf, General Manager of Corporate Communications at Audi Australia, stated,

“Our sponsorship of Audi Hamilton Island Race Week is one of the key events in our national sailing sponsorship program. It is the jewel in the crown of our annual program for customers and guests who attend the event, and importantly it is also the final race in our prestigious four-part Audi IRC Australian Championship series. The competition and carnival atmosphere of the regatta makes this a special event on which to conclude the championship. We take our sponsorship of the event very seriously – awarding a brand new Audi vehicle to the winning team of the week’s racing.”

Audi Med Cup Confirms 2010 Calendar with Barcelona and Cascais.

Now that some of the uncertainty around the America’s Cup has been replaced by a different type of uncertainty, the professionals have to amuse themselves somehow for the 2010 season. Two contenders for AC34, TEAMORIGIN and Emirates Team NZ will be going head to head in the Audi Med Cup along with several other teams with America’s Cup talent.

The Audi Med Cup series has managed to establish itself as one of the most recognisable and prestigious annual series in professional yacht racing. The series attracts the world’s best sailors and has stayed true to it’s concept, not over-reaching with events in new markets. The TP52 has shown to be a boat that can be adapted to suit the competitive nature of owners and in the absence of an AC34 rule, provides teams with a training platform to keep teams at the top of their game.

Audi MedCup organisers have announced that two of Europe’s most desirable cities, Barcelona and Cascais/Lisbon, have now been confirmed as venues for the 2010 calendar.

Nacho Postigo, Technical Manager of the Circuit said:

“ It’s realising a dream for us in many ways. We have been wanting to go to Barcelona for a long time. In sailing it is one of the most renowned Spanish venues for every sailor, and also to Cascais, where strong wind should be assured”

Cascais, in May

The Audi MedCup Circuit 2010 schedule opens with an entirely new venue. The year’s first event will take place between the 11 and the 16 of May in Cascais, Portugal.

Few cities in Europe can offer the weather conditions which the Portuguese city enjoys in spring and summer.. The reputation for strong, consistent winds was apparent when the city hosted the 2007 ISAF World Sailing Championships, and the venue is open to the Atlantic which should ensure big swells.

It could be the Estoril Circuit of sailing, potentially one of the most exciting regattas of the season, a great curtain raiser, which would have a good chance to provide images reminiscent of the ones which emerged from the big days off Cartagena, where the boats surfed spectacularly on, and through, lumpy swells several metres high.

Barcelona, in July

Barcelona will host the third event of the 2010 Audi MedCup Circuit between the 20th and the 25th of July. At this time the Catalan capital city enjoys great thermal winds of the southwest, known as Garbí.

As well as the pleasant summer weather conditions, Barcelona is the perfect showcase for the Circuit, richly endowed with the experience and infrastructure of a city which holds many sailing competitions in Spain including the 1992 Olympic Sailing Regatta. The 2010 Audi MedCup Circuit event benefits from the full participation of the city hall in the organization of the events which will ensure a lively public village while the races take place on the water. And of course as a backdrop, the major European city needs no introduction as a cultural, architectural, culinary and nightlife capital that few can rival.

Audi MedCup Circuit’s Schedule 2010:

• Event 1: Cascais (Portugal), 11th to 16th of May
• Event 2: Marseille (France), 15th to 20th of June
• Event 3: Barcelona (Spain), 20th to 25th of July
• Event 4: Cartagena (Spain), 24th to 29th of August
• Event 5: Cagliari (Italy), 20th to 25th of September

Emirates Team NZ Drop Volvo Ocean Race Plans in Hope of New Cup Attempt.

Emirates Team New Zealand boss, Grant Dalton has told NZ Media that the team will not compete in the next Volvo Ocean Race. While race organisers have said that stopovers will not necessarily be tied to competing teams, the news probably means that Auckland will not be a stopover for the next edition of the round the world race.

The Volvo Ocean Race had been seen as a platform to deliver value to the Emirates, the team’s long time sponsor in the absence of a recognisable America’s Cup campaign.  According to the most recent news,  the Volvo race has been ditched for two reasons: it was proving too expensive and was superfluous to the team’s needs. Emirates Team NZ are committed to a TP52 campaign in the Audi Med Cup and the new Louis Vuitton Trophy.

Dalton hopes that with the DOG Match now happening in Valencia, the future of Emirates Team NZ in the America’s Cup will be more certain, once a winner is determined. Notwithstanding more court cases and the lack of wind in Spain, Grant Dalton is hoping to move on. He said:

‘I don’t for a minute discount the possibility of more delays but there’s now, for the first time in a long time, light at the end of the tunnel. ‘There’s a future for the team beckoning within days really. we are still here’ and ‘ready to race again’ once ‘there’s certainty in the future of the event’.

‘Above all else that is what we want, certainty. The best result for us is for the winner [of the deed-of-gift match] to announce a Challenger of Record and say the defender will enter into dialogue with the challengers. That’s about the best result we can hope for.’

‘My focus needs to now turn to raising money and getting the team back together again. My heart is still in a Volvo but it would have been a massive distraction and the board felt we needed to change course.

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