A group email has just gone out regarding Venture '15, and other related items. Some of the main points now follow:
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The adVenture continues
Learned lessons will ensure a solid series of Venture events
It's been less than two months since the Venture '14 fleet ran along the Cote d'Azur and into Monte-Carlo to complete Venture '14, and the intervening weeks have seen a lot of behind-the-scenes work undertaken to see how we can, or should, move forward.
The starting-point was a very clear "we're going to go again", but all agreed that it was important to take soundings, advice and guidance from as many sources as possible. Lessons needed to be learned, and a more solid structure needed to be created to deliver such adventures in the future. Finally, the 'spirit' which was the hallmark of Venture '14 needed to be closely protected.
The result is an entirely new organising entity, which will work diligently to deliver great events, with teams at the very heart of all decision-making. At the core of this are three of the 2014 teams - Grey Ghost, Hot Lemon and Cube52 (Tally-Ho is planning a solo run to St Petersburg and we'll use their insights to inform a future Venture event along that route). Aidan Foley has been asked to come in and manage the day-to-day planning and delivery, and two specialists have also been added to the team.
The first of these is Robert Daly, who's joined as Commercial Manager. Rob has an extensive professional background which is well suited to this role, including:
- Divisional Sponsorship Manager, DIAGEO
- Sales & Marketing Manager, Choice Hotels Ireland
- Sales & Marketing Director, Ames True Temper Europe
- Former Chairman of Marketing Institute Ireland, Southern Region
The second person on board to assist with future events is Steve Conlon. Among other areas, Steve will assist in ensuring that all the correct paperwork and permissions are realised in good time, while also drawing on his experience to help mould the event into something even more attractive for all concerned. Steve's bio includes:
- 34 years with the 'Irish Trade Board' and 'Enterprise Ireland'
- MBS in International Marketing
- Over 10 years delivering management development services to the Irish Marine Federation and the Irish Marina Operators Association
- Management of 2 EU INTERREG programmes, covering the Irish Sea
In addition, we've taken on board much of what we've learned, and what you've told us in our recent survey (see below). We need to move to a 2-year planning cycle in order to ensure that events are properly delivered for all. This means we're planning NOW for 2016 (see below), but we also don't want to let 2015 pass us by. For that reason, we're going to run something very special - but very realistic - next year. An event of almost 2,000 miles, covering four countries .....but starting and ending in England. This, we believe, is the sensible way of moving 'Venture' along. We can organise a genuinely exciting event, which will also be economical to participate in. Those that enjoyed the adventures of the 2014 fleet can now join them in 2015, and create their own stories.
An initial outline of the proposed course is attached below
We'll start again in London - on a Saturday - and finish on the Sunday of the following weekend in Liverpool. That's 9 days in total. In between, the teams will cover the South Coast of the UK, Wales, Ireland ....including a very special leg from Cork to the Fastnet Rock and back ...and Scotland.
The Venture '14 teams, and onlookers, all enjoyed the ability of crews to determine elements of their passage-planning and this is something we want to retain for 2015. For that reason, we'll make the start, finish and only a select few other venues mandatory ....everything in between will be decided by each team based on weather, range, etc. The dependability of the Plant-i tracking means that such a plan is easily managed. The route shown is a working-sample, and it indicates London, Solent area, Falmouth, Cardiff, Cork, Cork-Fastnet-Cork (Fastnet Rock is pictured above), Dublin, Oban and Liverpool. These indicate distances of between 200 and 250 miles, which 2014 showed to be the ideal average daily length.
It's our desire that Venture '15 will run as a fully sanctioned 'race', and we'll now be working extremely hard with all of the necessary stakeholders to ensure this is indeed the case. However, be in no doubt - Venture '15 will 100% run. The teams showed very clearly this year that they simply don't quit, and that's going to be equally true for 2015.
We're not taking entries for Venture '15 just yet. This is merely an initial advisory notice, and we're going to wait until enough solid details are in place before we invite teams in. We will be limiting overall numbers to between 12 and 15 to ensure the unique experience encountered this year is carried into this wonderful 'Celtic Challenge'.
If you've any specific thoughts on this, please contact us at any time.
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Venture '16 - The Caribbean
Planning is already underway for an amazing 2016 event
We mentioned above that to do things properly, we need to move to a 2-year planning cycle, and here's the perfect example of why that's the case. 10 days of racing around the Caribbean in 2016 ....sound like the kind of powerboat adventure that might float your boat?
The planning for this is extensive, but already underway. We're looking at everything from how can we transport the fleet to/from the Caribbean at reasonable/no cost? .....can we introduce a USA v Europe 'Ryder Cup' type challenge into the mix ....and much, much more.
This is exactly the type of adventure we want to bring to racers and to the public, and we look forward to bringing you more details as they develop. For now, we'll leave the final word on this particular adventure to our great lead contact down there -
"For more than 50 years, Antigua has been the centre of yachting in the Caribbean, well known for its famed annual regatta, Sailing Week, and its highly respected Classic Yacht Regatta together with the Caribbean's only yacht show and, more recently, the very challenging RORC 600 mile yacht race. Therefore, there is no better choice of venue for the first Round the Caribbean powerboat race, starting and finishing in Antigua with stop-overs in several other islands. The Antigua Yacht Club looks forward to working with the Venture organisation to bring this project to fruition in 2016."
- John Duffy
Commodore, Antigua Yacht Club
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Note: This is a new thread, a new team, a new approach and a new vision for how we want to deliver this type of racing. No doubt there'll be those who will reach for the Boatmad diss-jar immediately, but it'd be helpful if they at least waited until we bugger something up on this before letting fly
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