For the past couple of weekends I have been working with Bruce Schwab on
his wood, foam and fiberglass Open 60, Ocean Planet. It's an interesting
boat with two layers of fin birch laid over the mold, an inch of foam
and then glass, with carbon fiber scattered throughout. A Tom Wylie
design, built at Schooner Creek Boatworks, the mast is unstayed.

Bruce has been pushing hard for more than three years in preparation for
the upcoming Vendee Globe, a non stop, single handed round the world
race, starting on November 7, 2004.

The boat has been built, upgraded and maintained almost entirely with
individual donations. Money by some, and labor by others (like me .
While he has had some supplier sponsors, like Maas Epoxy, Nobletec
software, and Doyle sails, and many others, he has not been able to hook
up with a major sponsor. He finished the Around Alone, while not knowing
if he would have enough money at each stop to provision for the next leg
of the race.

It would seem to me that an American company would be interested in
supporting the drive to be the first American to officially finish the
Vendee Globe. A producer for KCSM-TV, the local education channel in the
San Francisco Bay Area, where Bruce is from, and who wants to do a
documentary on the race, has said, " "The Vendée is unlike any other
race -- in any sport --- anywhere in the world. Only a fraction of the
skippers entered will complete the three-month journey. The physical,
emotional, and psychological strength needed to survive the months of
solitude against nature's toughest ocean waters are demanding and
deadly. Disaster isn't just a possibility - it is a daily occurrence. It
is so dangerous, expensive, and difficult that more people reached the
summit of Mount Everest last year, than have ever finished the Vendée Globe.


These links www.oceanplanet.org and www.bruceschwab.com
will take you to the original Ocean Planet website, and to the newer
site, engineered by the marketing guys at everyocean.com. Also, Sailing
Anarchy , www.sailinganarchy.com has archived all posts, from the
start of the trip to Newport, RI from California to the end of the
Around Alone.

I've seen a lot of really bright people on this forum over the years,
with a lot of insight into different aspect of the sailing world, and I
am hoping a dialogue might develop as to why American corporations, in
general, so far, are not interested. Also, if anyone might have ideas,
or relationships with any large companies who might be interested.

I thank anyone who reads this through and responds, and apologize if it
crosses any boundaries. A lot of us dream about circumnavigation, this
guy is out and doing it, indeed, practically commuting that way.

Thanks,

Jonathan

Jonathan wrote:

I've seen a lot of really bright people on this forum over the
years, with a lot of insight into different aspect of the sailing
world, and I am hoping a dialogue might develop as to why American
corporations, in general, so far, are not interested ...

First of all, _some_ American Corporations _are_ interested. Until it was
subsumed by BOC, Airco, a New Jersey-based industrial gas company then
headed by Richard Giordano, was a big supporter of sailboat racing. The
reason was simple: Giordano liked boats. Later the "BOC" Round-the-World
Race merely _appeared_ to be a Brit-only effort. Giordano had moved to the
UK to head up British Oxygen.

Similarly, Larry Ellison of Oracle and one or another of the Disney brats
have been supporting sailing and sailboat racing for a very long time,
thanks both to big wallets, and to a personal interest in the activity.

This is nothing new. Corporate America, in the guise of individual business
moguls, has contributed heavily to funding yacht racing for a very long
time. You won't find a lot of the McDonald's set on the membership lists of
the Cruising Club of America or the NYYC, and that's where the "old" Cup
money originated. Corporate support for this rich man's pleasure dates back
beyond the days when the yacht "America" was stealing all the silverware
over in the UK.

The simple fact is that American corporations are not interested in spending
money to promote sailboat racing because American _consumers_ are not
interested in sailboat racing. The average American considers the activity
an elitist affectation, and he or she is not going to devote a precious
Sunday afternoon to watching an ESPN presentation on the sport. You are
talking about an activity that is essentially unknown, and unloved, on Main
Street USA.

Until you can convince corporate marketers and advertisers that there's
money to be made by plastering their names on the sides of a few arcane and
slightly dangerous racing boats, you will not have much luck.
For my part, I'd rather see the money go to better and more ethical
accounting and business practices. Once Enron has repaid the millions in
retiree pension money that has somehow vanished into Ken Lay's swimming
pool, and once Halliburton has refunded the millions in overcharges _still_
going on in the Mideast, there'll be plenty of time for yachting.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.tripod.com

Jonathan wrote:

I've seen a lot of really bright people on this forum over the
years, with a lot of insight into different aspect of the sailing
world, and I am hoping a dialogue might develop as to why American
corporations, in general, so far, are not interested ...

First of all, _some_ American Corporations _are_ interested. Until it was
subsumed by BOC, Airco, a New Jersey-based industrial gas company then
headed by Richard Giordano, was a big supporter of sailboat racing. The
reason was simple: Giordano liked boats. Later the "BOC" Round-the-World
Race merely _appeared_ to be a Brit-only effort. Giordano had moved to the
UK to head up British Oxygen.

Similarly, Larry Ellison of Oracle and one or another of the Disney brats
have been supporting sailing and sailboat racing for a very long time,
thanks both to big wallets, and to a personal interest in the activity.

This is nothing new. Corporate America, in the guise of individual business
moguls, has contributed heavily to funding yacht racing for a very long
time. You won't find a lot of the McDonald's set on the membership lists of
the Cruising Club of America or the NYYC, and that's where the "old" Cup
money originated. Corporate support for this rich man's pleasure dates back
beyond the days when the yacht "America" was stealing all the silverware
over in the UK.

The simple fact is that American corporations are not interested in spending
money to promote sailboat racing because American _consumers_ are not
interested in sailboat racing. The average American considers the activity
an elitist affectation, and he or she is not going to devote a precious
Sunday afternoon to watching an ESPN presentation on the sport. You are
talking about an activity that is essentially unknown, and unloved, on Main
Street USA.

Until you can convince corporate marketers and advertisers that there's
money to be made by plastering their names on the sides of a few arcane and
slightly dangerous racing boats, you will not have much luck.
For my part, I'd rather see the money go to better and more ethical
accounting and business practices. Once Enron has repaid the millions in
retiree pension money that has somehow vanished into Ken Lay's swimming
pool, and once Halliburton has refunded the millions in overcharges _still_
going on in the Mideast, there'll be plenty of time for yachting.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.tripod.com

In article ,
Jonathan wrote:

I've seen a lot of really bright people on this forum over the years,
with a lot of insight into different aspect of the sailing world, and I
am hoping a dialogue might develop as to why American corporations, in
general, so far, are not interested. Also, if anyone might have ideas,
or relationships with any large companies who might be interested.

I thank anyone who reads this through and responds, and apologize if it
crosses any boundaries. A lot of us dream about circumnavigation, this
guy is out and doing it, indeed, practically commuting that way.

Sailing, to the normal person (admit it, none of us is really normal),
is an elitist sport, of little interest to them. The only TV ad I can
recall that uses sail boats is for a bank or broker, as a symbol of
their excellence.

The corporations that sponsor races, particularly the bleeding edge ones
like the Vendee, either are in the biz or have an executive that is so
into sailing that he (usually) doesn't care about how few people see the
ads or logos.

Most of us cruising or working towards it are being pretty cheap to
build up the cruising kitty. If we could bankroll Bruce, we'd be out
there, doing it.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

In article ,
Jonathan wrote:

I've seen a lot of really bright people on this forum over the years,
with a lot of insight into different aspect of the sailing world, and I
am hoping a dialogue might develop as to why American corporations, in
general, so far, are not interested. Also, if anyone might have ideas,
or relationships with any large companies who might be interested.

I thank anyone who reads this through and responds, and apologize if it
crosses any boundaries. A lot of us dream about circumnavigation, this
guy is out and doing it, indeed, practically commuting that way.

Sailing, to the normal person (admit it, none of us is really normal),
is an elitist sport, of little interest to them. The only TV ad I can
recall that uses sail boats is for a bank or broker, as a symbol of
their excellence.

The corporations that sponsor races, particularly the bleeding edge ones
like the Vendee, either are in the biz or have an executive that is so
into sailing that he (usually) doesn't care about how few people see the
ads or logos.

Most of us cruising or working towards it are being pretty cheap to
build up the cruising kitty. If we could bankroll Bruce, we'd be out
there, doing it.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/