Thank you very much for all your very interesting questions as well as your general feedback. We have replied to quite a few questions in the comments and we have also called in with Abby Elher, Boris Herrmann, Sam Davies and Annie Lush to discuss many of the topics. Watch this space for their explanations!

These Ocean Race Shows are by far my favourite format in all of sailing. The background information and explanations are fantastic, I wish there were more of them 👍😃

Nice job Niall and team! Please consider increasing the frequency of these shows - they are great!

Niall is wonderful and knowledgeable host, yet again. Please continue with the technical bits that teach and the gorgeous inspirational shots

I enjoy all of the videos and information from The Ocean Race Show to the Race Reports to the On boards - Thanks to all who contribute to make details of the race available to us! I look forward to the Q&A info ... BUT, I also want to point out and say thank you for all of the pre-race information that was/is on this channel as well as the website. I started learning and following IMOCA60 via Vendee Globe 2020 and have since followed many of those teams as they built/refitted their boats and also the VG2024 qualifying races. And via some guests on the VG daily show I became re-interested in The Ocean Race which I first watched via documentary when it was The Whitbread. There is great footage as well as history of the evolution of what is this round: The Ocean Race.

Escoffier is a cool customer. Bro has seen some s**t, so he doesn't sweat the small stuff!

It is often quite a revelation for my sailing students when they start to understand that weather and wind is a 3D phenomenon rather than 2D

Nice video good commentary

Excellent stuff ! Both in terms of analysis and footage . We want it more often . Looking forward to watching it on wednesday

Really enjoyed this. Great mix of explanation and illustrative video plus entertaining!

We miss daily coverage! Is the plan to do every two days throughout the entire race?

Niall you've got to convince the powers that be that you need a daily show. Once every few days has you reporting stuff that we have seen already. Your daily reporting kept us closely connected to the race as it happened in the last VOR and that kept our interest up. It'll be a long 7 months without your daily shows as we had in the pre-covid Volvo Ocean Race. I'll even say pretty please.

more about doldrums weather and navigation would be great, how do they position themselves relative to the clouds, do they get lines of clouds like you see over land sometimes.

This coverage is much better than the “live” coverage of the start of the legs. Good background information and pathos, not to much drama, a coverage for real people. Could you cover how the teams make their weather decisions? What models do they use? How do they get that data?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Teams are allowed to download weather data at sea. It is up to them which forecast is the most accurate at that time and what the best strategy will be. As for the weather models, sailors will be looking at anything available.

GREAT show!!! A+ Niall is great and the footage the boats are sending in are great!

More information on sails and why each are chosen !! Quickly getting hooked on this race. Very cool

My favourite sailing channel, thanks for the clips and moderation!

Fantastic, my son-in-law is racing aboard 11 Hour so the wife is thrilled to have your constant up-date.

@niallmyant-best8923

Жыл бұрын

amazing - Jack? Amory? Charlie? Sifi?

Loving any drone footage when they get going again ... especially in the southern ocean later ...

Excellent reporting! Thank you so much for all your doing.

Love the detailed content look forward to every update.Well done keep em comming.

Hello from Austria, love your Show and Naill`s Explenations but please more onboard without the soundfilter. The cracking sounds of the Boat and the loud Winds makes it more facinating. Maybe with subs.

Really thoughtful comments, thank you for this! Looking forward to the next show

That was very good. It's great inside info that I was afraid wouldn't be coming out. Glad it's back on track!

I'd love to hear what the veteran V065 skippers think of the new class, differences between the Imoca and V065 in the doldrums, etc.

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

We sat down and talked to IMOCA skipper and skipper of SCA in 2014-15 about this, stay tuned as it will be covered shortly.

Love the show! You are doing a great job!

It’s pretty crazy seeing the night shots of the water over the cockpit catching the deck light until it looks like an aurora- it really shows just how much water is coming over the bow.

Nice work!

Good coverage. I love the educational aspect.

Cheers from the Land Downunder, we crossed the same Ocean in 2015 and it is either famine or feast out there. Love what you do

#question Who'll be out of the Doldrums first? And how decisive will it be for the Podium in Cape Town? And as a General request. Please focus more on the upcoming events (ie. Doldrums, southern Tradewinds,...) so we can interpret what we see on the Tracker until the next update in 2 Days. Or come back daily like the last time round :D

@joostvandenbossche1107

Жыл бұрын

Fully agree with your request!

@Masus04

Жыл бұрын

Yes, more insight into strategic options would be great👍

A question for in the next show: what does Jack Bouttell from 11th hour racing mean exactly when he says they are going to be 'cloudhopping'? I understand it must have something to do with there being wind around/beneath these clouds, but a more detailed explanation would be nice!

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

There is always a little bit of breeze on the edges of clouds, so if you can "hop" from one to another you can keep yourself moving.

Love your commentary!

Great report! Many thx! More on the VOR as well pls!

Fascinating, thank you

Good video!! thanks!

Great coverage!

Fascinating stuff. Love this channel and look forward to every update. Question: can you dive into some of the tech everyone is using? Instruments, data and maybe even video kits. Thanks!

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Hi Noel, we've asked Boris Herrmann about this. Stay tuned 😉

Great show. Boats all close but first out of the doldrums will have a big advantage! winds the other side of the doldrums also look tricky to navigate back east to Cape Town

@BRMCaptChaos

Жыл бұрын

Bit breezy, and looks like a beat in. Ouch.

allez Kévin et ton équipage, vous l'a prenez aussi la 2 ème étape !!!

Love the reports and love the ocean race, just wish there were more boats than 5.

Question - Have we seen enough yet to call which boat is the "fastest" in optimal conditions? Would be great to know who has raw boat speed and who has great strategy!

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

We have learned too many time to not call anything until the end, so keep watching!

Thanks for the pics and the explanations - see you in 2 days (why not in one ?) - regards from the Bodensee - Klaus

Fantastic update. Plenty to learn here with the data and trackers to back it. Really useful to an experienced TransAt racer. Guyot still so fast to the east. Malizia out west, fortune favours the brave? I follow this in real time on a cheeky 2nd monitor tab, just wish the boat data updates were in real time too. A lot happens in an hour!

Love the ocean race 🏁 now what's my team what's my team. Loved Herman during the Vondae, but let's see

#Question: Can we draw any comparisons between the imocas and the VO65s from prior editions yet? How different is the performance? How come the Imocas only have half the number of sailors on board, is it only the autopilot?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Although we only have 5ft of length difference between these boats, they are designed in an entirely different way and therefor there is a lot less space on an IMOCA. As for the performance aspect, we sat down with Sam Davies so stay tuned for her ideas.

Could you explain some of TOR basics - like how they manage food and drinking water given unknown leg lengths? Or whether and how they communicate with their teams in port (getting additional weather info perhaps)?

@Masus04

Жыл бұрын

There are watermakers on board of every boat of this size, which turn saltwater into freshwater using electricity. That part is not very complex to plan for. It might be different for food though

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

The teams are not allowed to get any outside routing and navigational help from anyone not on the boat.

Good episode.

I really would like to know what happened with Mirpuri on their way out of Gibraltar. Great show guys, amazing job from everyone! Thank you

Heya, great commentary and coverage to date, thanks so much. A question about the doldrums... We only get to see a two dimensional view of the wind patterns at sea level on the tracker and most other weather data sites, but Will talked about the vertical movement of air and how this resulted in the doldrums. Is there any way you could explain this further, ideally graphically in some sort of 3d model?

I’m presuming even Expedition nav software struggles in the doldrums if they have it onboard? Used it on a transat delivery in November for the first time amazing bit of software. But nothing wrong with good old school VMG ⛵💨

please give us a history of the doldrum crossings. How have teams faired in the past? What challenges or revelations have occured?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Great question Pieter! We will be covering this on Wednesday's show.

Hi niall , Sorry to ask a late question : Why there are fewer boats in this Ocean Race compare to the previous races ? ⛵⛵⛵⛵

Love the updates. Can't wait for the race to come to Newport RI! What model watch is Niall wearing?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Hi Mike, Niall is wearing a "Diver X The Ocean Race 44mm" watch from our Official Timing Partner Ulysse Nardin,

Superbes explications techniques et magnifiques images. dommage que les coupures de publicités soient si nombreuses...

Absolutely stunning. Is there anything in nature in the sea or air (dolphins, whales, fish patterns, or birds) that can give the crew information about the doldrums? Can the teams send up the drones and collect information about the winds (I am unfamiliar with the rules on what is allowed)? Can the send up a smoke canister with a drone, ignite it, drop in, and examine the wind flows? Or drop a very long streamer that dissolves in the ocean, perhaps?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Very interesting question, we spoke to Boris about this so stay tuned for his explanations.

I like the show, have a question for next time. How is the route decided in advance? Are there rules with the cities/port or is it diced :D?

Really enjoying the great coverage done by "The Ocean Race Show"! Great work. A couple of questions... 1) what is the schedule for the VO65s? 2) Are the IMOCA crews set to sail all the way around or are there replacements to relieve members at some of the ports?

@matthiasteubner1923

Жыл бұрын

1) see TOR website 2) Yes, crew rotation is allowed and has already been done on most boats - see also listings on the website

Why are the VO65's not included in this part of the race? The Ocean race was advertised as a 2 class race but that does not make much sense now. It would have been great to see how the VO65's would have compared with the Imocas!

Question. the crews say that the forecast model for the doldrums is not accurate. I assume the weather on the race tracker is equally accurate too(as in not). Boats speeds do not match expected speed from map winds and angles?

Great show, I love watching it! Do the onboard reporters participate in the sailing, too?

@Guennibert97

Жыл бұрын

No, not allowed.

You guys are doing a great job. Question: Can you explain what the 5 persons does all day? Are they just there to document and record every moment? Do they partake in any activity? Do they hide away when winds get strong to be out of the way? Are they trained with the crew? Can they assist and if they do, is it cheating?

@zoepaulastrassfield2664

Жыл бұрын

Yes, the Onboard Reporter is only allowed to film, photograph and (I think?) cook, it’s cheating if they assist with anything else outside of an emergency situation.

@ianaereo

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the answer that was also my question...

Can the boats use the drones to spot for clouds/wind?

Hello! Very interesting content, been following you since day 1! One question, we have read that some people say that the autopilot on the Imocas has undermined the race, lessening the abilities of the pilots. To which degree these autopilots imply lesser merit to the current ocean race in comparison with other ocean races in the past? P.S we are newbies in this world and we got fascinated when visiting the official opening in Alicante!

@Masus04

Жыл бұрын

Without the autopilot, Imocas would be almost unable to race such a race, as one person would be required to steer full time, which is a huge energy drain. Imocas have a crew of 4 while VO65 had up to 10 sailors last edition.

@claudiaschaidreiter8490

Жыл бұрын

@@Masus04 Thank you for the insight, this was helpful!

Yessssssss

Why is there so little attention for the VO 65 because there is much more to see than the cockpit of a Emoca.

Here's a question, why aren't the VOR60s not racing the full race? Are they too beaten up (they aren't new anymore, right?) or is a funding issue? While I do like the Imocas, I think it would be nice to still see the open boats and bigger crews. At least until we get used to the "space shuttles". Though on that latter point, I have to say I'm pretty much already there. Same with the ACC, I guess. The thought of foiling boats doing match racing was kinda weird, but then when the races were on, it took no time getting used to.

Are the foils slowing the boats down below a certain speed? More drag could be rather painful in the doldrums? Any boats have an advantage regarding this?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

We asked Boris Herrmann about this, his answers will be available shortly!

What does the food onboard taste like?

Itwould be a great helpto fllow the race and the tactics, if we could see the wind charts, the real opposition on a geographical map and the general course to take... thanks if you woild serve with that

@matthiasteubner1923

Жыл бұрын

The tracker on the website provides more or less all of this when you toggle on the different layers

Please tell us what happened to the VO65 fleet and Bouwe Bekking (my hero).

Please give info & regular status updates on vo65 fleet

Awesome coverage by Niall as always! Great job. Question - Do the boats have a motor on board? (diesel,electric?) I thought I saw one in one clip. If so, I assume used pre/post race and emergencies?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Yes they do have have an engine which can be used in case of emergencies. It is also used quite often to recharge the batteries when solar or hydro-generators are not an option. However in this case the propeller is not engaged.

Q: Is there any impact of currents on the way to cape town? I‘m aware of the atlantic circular currents going up the coast of Brasil. But is it a factor for boats west in the fleet?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

It is always a factor in navigation, but unless the fleet sails wildly apart there should not be different currents for different boats.

Inspector Clouseau is back. And he has cloned himself.

Great Show! Question: has the ITC changed lately due to climate change, or do former crossings help the teams still?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Very very interesting question. We asked Boris Herrmann about it, stay tuned for his answer.

Kind of a small detail but what kind of headlamps do the sailors use and how are they charged?

@ferdypl322

Жыл бұрын

I think most teams use Exposure headlamps which are changed from the boats batteries, which are powered by solar, hydrogenerators or the diesel generator.

I hear there's a team that went thru the center of the Duldrums in 2012, and they are still there . 😳

And I would love to know why there is a knife beside the nav instruments on 11th hour?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Nicely spotted! Teams have a few knifes all around the boat for safety reasons as they might be brought to cut a line at any time.

Question: What kind of wind informationen do the sailors have? Is it the same we have in the online tracking map? And is the alowed information limited and standardized between the teams (like in the Vande Globe)?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Teams are allowed to download weather data at sea. It is up to them which forecast is the most accurate at that time and what the best strategy will be. As for the weather models, sailors will be looking at anything available.

@lokvid

Жыл бұрын

@@TheOceanRace Thank you!

By the way, what will happen regarding the crossing of the prohibited zone on the stretch of gibraltar by team Holcim PRB? In a previous video you mentioned fhat there might be a penalisation for them.

@niallmyant-best8923

Жыл бұрын

that was another team which was racing in The Ocean Race Sprint. They retired from the leg, so there was no penalty.

@claudiaschaidreiter8490

Жыл бұрын

@@niallmyant-best8923 Thanks for clarifying. We confused them

Can the onboard reporters assist in any way or not?

@Masus04

Жыл бұрын

Nope

Talk more about cloud watch jumping in race.

Question: Do keels whistle like an Imoca hydrofoils' whistle if they are thin? Like a canting keel for exemple.

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Yes they can. They are not as thin as foils but it is all about the shape of the trailing edge.

@cestusfr

Жыл бұрын

@@TheOceanRace Thank you for your time and knowledge. ^____^ Following the Ocean Race is an absolute delight!

This was good however the coverage is quite sporadic. It would be great to have a daily show like we have during the Vendeewith interviews and discussions on weather, tactics etc.

@BluesAlmighty

Жыл бұрын

I bet the teams would like to prevent spilling their tactics to the other teams. The fans are not the only ones watching 😉

@stuipooey1

Жыл бұрын

@BluesAlmighty of course, I wasn't expecting the skippers to divulge their strategy and tactics, more the pundits and other sailors as was the case during the last vendee

I'm confused about the VO65's. Are they part of the Ocean Race too? Just a different class? Are they ahead of or behind the IMOCA's?

@jelle8071

Жыл бұрын

They are not racing until june in Denmark… only imocas for the next legs

@Masus04

Жыл бұрын

VO65 Teams are only participating in the shorter european legs

@pablootero5782

Жыл бұрын

@@Masus04 why is that? I really missed the VO65 crews on deck struggling... it was spectacular. Thxs!

Question are the OBR allowed to have anything to do with sailing the boat…..are they considered a full part of the team or in a media role where they are only documenting. I was wondering because at times in calm winds people have gone up the mast for a view of conditions. Why don’t they use the drones instead.

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

We do have strict rules in place as to what the OBRs can do: they are not allowed to participate in the performance of the boat. They are part of the crew and are allowed to cook, clean and bail.

Love the coverage. I am however struggling to understand some of the sailors through the noise of the vessels and lovely French accents. Would it be possible for the team to provide subtitles ?

How high of a risk are (severe) Thunderstorms in the Doldrums?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Very high indeed, have we even seen waterspouts which you can see in the montage at the end of this video. However the crews do try to avoid them.

@SpeedBird6780

Жыл бұрын

@@TheOceanRace What is protocol for when a waterspout approaches and there's not enough wind to avoid it?

Are there crew rotations for each leg; Amy Elher appears not to be sailing this leg ditto Boris Hermann ?

@zoepaulastrassfield2664

Жыл бұрын

Boris sat this leg out because he burned his foot during Leg 1.

How do these teams pick their crew?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Hi Klaas, we spoke to Annie Lush about this so stay tuned for her explanations.

sorry for this missspellings:; Again ,,, It would be a great help to follow the race and the tactics, if we could see the wind charts, the real opposition on a geographical map and the general course to take... thanks if you would serve us with that. Great work anyway

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Hi Helmut, you can activate the wind option on our tracker.

@helmutdiez4306

Жыл бұрын

@@TheOceanRace Thank you

I would like some clarity on the broadcast schedule for the channel. Currently, there is the (1) Ocean Race show, (2) From the Boats/Onboard, and (3) Race Recaps. It appears that the Race Show is the flagship content but the Onboard Report footage is 1/2 days ahead of the Race Show so Niall's updates are old news by the time he reports from HQ. Secondly, the Onboard reports lack context and structure because they don't specify on which dates/days things occur and don't show the tracker or the map in any capacity. At least put dates or race days in the title card (e.g., L2D3 or similar) or use small map in the corner of the B-roll. Thirdly, the race reports are obviously formatted for Instagram (portrait/square) and look terrible on YT as videos (landscape) with big black bars on the sides--post as Shorts or leave for Insta / TikTok or reformat with wide shots for YT. The kicker? they're not even posted on Instagram!! lol Lastly, even simple things like saying, "follow along on Insta/Shorts for daily recaps", or "check back tomorrow for onboard footage" are missing from Race Show outro. Or the fact that the thumbnails/titlecards for the Race show and the From the Boats use the same formatting so it's impossible to tell them apart without reading to the end of the title (which is often hidden on mobile). Overall, it makes the video/social team look uncoordinated and unprepared that they don't have these basic elements worked out by this point in the race. It makes it harder to follow along with the boats on the water and harder to enjoy the content because the production quality isn't polished or up to the standard of the racers.

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Hi Bee, we'll try here and explain the format choice. One thing to keep in mind is that over 60% of KZread users watch content on their phone, so this 4/5 format works quite well in that regard. The 4/5 ratio is more of a mobile friendly format rather than an Instagram format (which would be 9/16, fully vertical), and it also works on other platforms as Race Report also goes out on Twitter and Facebook which have a much higher percentage of mobile users. So to sum up, we use this format because it works well accros multiple platforms. You'll have noticed that most of the content on KZread is 16/9 horizontal, and some of it is also shared to Facebook for example. So we're trying to make the best of all worlds. If you are unhappy with the infos given out by Niall we invite you to go on our website and consult our daily press release and the "live" from the boat section.

When will the. VO65 start Leg 2?

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

HI Brian, the VO65s are not racing this leg. We will see them again in Aarhus in June.

Why do none of the sailors clip in while on deck?

@Masus04

Жыл бұрын

Because they're not usually filming when clipping in is required and they are currently doing very low speeds

Sory to say but the Imocas should stick to the Vende Globe. Bring back the VO65 big fleet and inport match racing with daly coverage!

@suebunce

Жыл бұрын

I agree totally. I don’t want to see the inside of a boat for more than a few minutes. It gives no perspective of where the other boats are on the water. As soon as they took out the Auckland stopover, for me, that destroyed the race and now to remove, the major class has left it almost unwatchable for me. Sailing is about being outside and getting wet, it’s about being at one with nature. I have so little interest compared to the incredible racing I watched since 1989, when they had the Maxis and the Whitbread 60s. I have avidly followed this and been to many starts and finishes for over 30 years. But alas, it’s now just the Vendee globe with a couple more people on board.

Why nothing about VO65

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Hi Lasse, the VO65s are not sailing this leg. They are not going all the way around the world but participating in the VO65 Sprint which consists of Legs 1, 6 and 7 of The Ocean Race. The next time we will see them will be in Aarhus in June.

When you had Sam Mendes on the show, she did a great job highlighting that the race is a team effort. More of that please, and less of this outdated "skipper-focused" commentary. Great job with the video content and race updates.

@TheOceanRace

Жыл бұрын

Sam Davies 😉 And yes she is brilliant!

In terms of content, some more sophisticated analysis of the models etc for more experienced sailors (eg like Sea Wolves) would be great. It’s possible you need to split your content (like chess does) a bit so that you cater for both a general audience and an expert audience.

it is very disappointing that they neglect the VO65.... is this a new strategie to introduce a new future campaign. These heroes are also risking everything living and fighting a dream!

@marcusbatty9464

Жыл бұрын

They are not on this leg of the race hence the coverage is less!