The race thus far has been exciting, but in a much different way than it was before. The new route is taking sailors and race followers to new places, which is very exciting. The addition on the "media crew" member has increased everyone’s awareness of what "Life at the extreme" is really like, and the constant communication with crewmembers via, video, e-mail, blogging, race trackers etc. has made it possible for everyone to know everything that is happening almost all of the time! The total media saturation is fantastic, especially when you want to really show someone what ocean racing is about. I know I have friends who just didn't get what I was talking about when I would go on about this race and how intense it is, then I'd show them a video, and they are suddenly, "Oh my god!" "That's INSANE!" It is a GREAT reaction when they finally get it. Not only has all this technology made a difference for the spectator, increased technology has also changed the way this race is being sailed. With weather updates coming in every 3 hours strategy has taken a backseat to tactics leaving boats incredibly close. After approximately 5,000 nautical miles, E3 passed the scoring gate off New Zealand a mere 32 minutes behind E4, and Puma was only 10 minutes behind them! Oh, and did I mention that E3 started about 7 hours behind the fleet! Now, I have some friends who are good at math (thank goodness, because it is not my strong point)...and one of them figured the following out. "If you scale the first half of this leg (~5,000 miles) to an 8 mile buoy race, the time between E3 and Puma would have been less than one second and the time between E3 and E4 would have been less than three seconds! That's crazy shit!!” Thank you Graham! Oh yes, and by the way, 10 minutes of separation over 5000 miles, is just over one tenth of a second per mile.... it would be the difference between sneezing while facing forward vs. aft once a mile (also from GW).
Now, this is a whole new kind of excitement that I can get behind! With things so close, there is new excitement every day! When you talk about exciting course racing (think the finish in the final race of the 2007AC.) you think of every second counting, imagine going 5,000 miles, and STILL having every second count! That is WILD! Imagine the endurance, excitement and stress involved! I'm stoked just thinking about it, you can sail all the way around the world, and one second can really matter. We've come a long, long way.
Media and technological advancements have given way to probably the most viewed VOR yet (figure there are currently 175,126 people registered for the VOR game). Yet a little part of me does miss the good old days where we all weren't really sure what was happening. The excitement built waiting for the next report, and you had a few days to let your thoughts sink in before you heard new news. Even as I type this, my above news is old news! In fact almost ironic! E3 crossed the scoring gate and immediately tacked, taking them ENE, in what really is one of the first big strategical moves of the race. They are currently in first 274 miles ahead of E4, proving that while tactics is important for points, strategy could possibly be what pays off in the end. Although, it is really only 1/2 way over, and I certainly don't want to get ahead of myself. So in the end I'm left wondering, I'm I, as a sailor, a fan of this over saturation of coverage? Would I rather go back to the days of heighten anticipation for what happened next, like a good cliffhanger in your favorite T.V. show? Or do I enjoy the On Demand aspect of this edition, the same way I like watching Arrested Development on Hulu every night? The jury is out, as I could easily argue either side, but this is just the beginning of my thoughts on my most favorite of races.
First Photo Credit: Rick Deppe / Puma
SecondPhoto Credit:Gustav Morin / Ericsson Racing Team
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