Sail-World New Zealand- February 26, 2014 - Team NZ stays in spotlight

by . on 25 Feb 2014 Welcome to Sail-World.com's New Zealand newsletter for February 26, 2014

In Breaking News we have featured and updated on the speculation emanating from Europe overnight that Emirates Team NZ are putting together a Volvo Ocean Race partnership, which team boss, Grant Dalton has responded to on his return to Auckland from Spain.

Emirates Team NZ left the Extreme Sailing Series with many unanswered questions. As much as you could answer anything on the tight marina circuit in Singapore, which is surrounded by high rise buildings.

The team did look like it had a chance of finishing second overall on the final day, with a flying start and a win in the first televised race of Day 4. But it all fell apart from there, with unforced errors in the next race, after a premature start. A tack left too late in the final race got the America’s Cup Challenger off the podium.

In the end the New Zealand team finished fourth in their first outing in the Extreme 40s since 2011. Maybe the three year break is maybe one reason for the team's erratic performance. Factor in that the top three teams were all returning from last year, and it would seem that Emirates Team NZ lacked a bit of the polish of the more established circuit teams.

Factor in too, that winds can vary from almost zero 25kts in the space of a race, sometimes a leg. And some would argue that the racing is a bit of a crapshoot.

But the good sailors always seem to have all the luck – and do the bulk of the winning.

The second placed boat won nine of the 29 races - almost a third of those sailed. Alinghi has the series won before she started in the last race which counted for double points.

All in all, one comes to the view that comparing Extreme Sailing Series results with the America's Cup is like trying to compare Sevens Rugby with an All Black Test.

For Emirates Team New Zealand fans looking for some redemption in the Extreme Sailing Series, they would have come away disappointed. On the positive side they were the best performed of the current America’s Cup teams – depending on where you place series winner Alinghi on that spectrum.

For sure, the live sailing was excellent viewing on the streamed coverage over the interweb.

If you missed the live coverage, in this edition of Sail-World.com's newletter we have the links for the full replays of the last three day's racing.

A spot of boat-carnage in the second and third days of the ESS did no harm to the general media interest, and certainly livens up the race intensity for the online fans. But it also underline the fact that in this series, anything can happen and frequently does.

Every now and again we dust off the list of do's and don't of how to get media coverage of your regatta or event, or class or even your own campaign news.

Today, Sailing Scuttlebutt (USA) did the number for us, with an excellent list of suggestions as to how to get more media attention for your event, and to be able to give those so hard to find sponsors some real value for their money - and get them to sign up again for the next year.

Getting publicity for an event is quite easy if you follow the formula in Click here for the full Scuttlebutt Media Guide including media email lists. There is a full media list - for the USA and also international media. While the latter may not be that relevant to NZ clubs and classes, it should give you a few pointers on where your media outlets are. Make sure you get your reports out in plain text form (no pdfs) and have an image gallery with about 6-12 shots from the day in it.

A second link click here! takes you to a series of five features explaining how to do a better PR job for your class, club or regatta - or your own sailing program.

The point with sponsorship is that it is much easier to retain a sponsor, than it is to go and find a new one.

While the role of publicity officer (as they used to be known) is usually the last and lowest on the job’s list for the Event, it is probably one of the most vital - as that person controls the view that others have outside the immediate regatta bubble.

In New Zealand it is always surprising that at the event those involved in the organisation are keen to preach how great it has been, going from strength to strength etc, yet drive for a mile and away from event bubble and you'd never know there was a regatta on.

One of the standout events for doing things right is the Australian 18fter League, based in Sydney. Their feature event, the JJ Giltinan Trophy, starts later this week.

Frank Quealey does a fantastic job for the class each week - with a report, and great pictures, every Sunday night throughout the season. He goes into overdrive when the JJ's get underway.

The 18fter League also runs streaming video of the event, and there ill be live coverage of each race of the JJ's on the League’s own internet channel.

One of the weird things about the interweb is that as technology has advanced, it seems that the take up of it, for publicity purposes, has actually dropped.

In our day, it was the usual deal to sail in a race or regatta, compose your thoughts over a beer (not two), scribble down a few notes and then find the nearest phone box and telephone a report through to the 8 O'Clock (a Saturday night sports paper) dictate some copy and then hope that you had made the deadline to got something in the paper for that evening.

That situation is eons away from today, with mobile phones that double as audio devices and cameras, iPads/tablets and laptops - where you can just type your report and press send, and it is done.

Next time people start talking about numbers dropping in your fleet or club, or the lack of sponsors, look at the amount of publicity you are putting out.

With a steady stream of news, it is easy to talk up a market, which in time will get more people on the water. The best advertisement for any club or class is for people to see a cloud of boats on the water. If they don’t get out themselves then hopefully they will tell a friend, or a would be junior sailor, the next time the subject comes up.

Good sailing!

Richard Gladwell
NZ Editor

sailworldnzl@gmail.com

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