TV News and a Bright New Paint Job

Big news this week!  First, the announcement of the reality TV show for the North American market related to the Velux 5 oceans is a HUGE step forward for getting attention to the sport of single-handed racing in the US market. Phil Keoghan is a big name in Hollywood and he is committed to hosting and producing a show that brings major exposure to the sport. Can we actually get the sport to the same revered status here in the US as in France and England? If so, then Katy bar the door on the future of this sport!

Second, the boat will be very yellow.  At least until a title sponsor tells us to cover it with their branding.  We are talking bright yellow… “watch out, here I am yellow.”  Things are going well and thankfully we have some supporters that feel the passion of what we are trying to do for the sport of sailing and allowing the project to stay on track.  However, we do need to secure a Title/Naming Sponsor that sees the value in 10,000 square feet of branding and 12 months of media exposure worldwide. Supporting sponsors are a big help and collectively make a big impact, plus add credibility to all we intend to do. There is no doubt we have real evidence of the media return and benefits to sponsors, with Balance Bar and Tommy Hilfiger seeing $25 million+ in media value.

For now the campaign is about all of us that love the sport of sailing and what it offers in so many ways.  Please take pride in the bold and brash statement this boat will make when it comes out of the shed.  Race cars have nothing on the adventure of sailing the world’s oceans. It is time for the rest of the world to reunite with the sport that spawned the way the world was explored and traded upon for thousands of years!

Regards and more info soon,
Brad

Photos courtesy of Kurt Oberle, High and Dry Boat Works and Awlgrip

Paint is Flying

At this point we have really turned the corner with the refit of the boat.  We are putting new paint on and next we will be putting all the systems back together.  This will involve electronics, deck hardware, rudder bearings, standing rigging, running rigging and everything else that makes a race boat ready, right down to the line bags in the cockpit.  While we are behind our original schedule, we are still very much focused on getting the boat launched with plenty of time to be fully up to speed for the delivery back to France later this summer. 

The fun part over the next two weeks or so will be sharing the re branding of the boat as the paint continues to fly.  As with any paint job, the rewarding part is to see the primers and colors start to go down. After weeks of prep work the payoff is when you lay paint on the boat to see the fruits of all the labor that went into sanding, filling, sanding again and again and then finally prepping for the color. Thanks to Awlgrip for their support and the many others that have contributed to the refit.

More pictures of the painting will come soon.

All the best,
Brad

Shop Talk

Sailing Anarchy stopped by the shop for a 19-minute interview about the campaign, the challenging nature of corporate sponsorship in ocean racing, and the meaning of 'Full Noise or No Noise!', Team Lazarus's slogan.  Check out the Sailing Anarchy Innerview below!
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=406307449338&saved

Or visit www.sailinganarchy.com.