It’s not going to be easy according to the Volvo Ocean Race fleet as it sets out for what could be the hardest fought ocean race ever, which begins in Alicante on October 11. In addition to it being an intense race, it will be rewarding as racing fans can view footage, thanks to a combination of Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband service and Thrane & Thrane’s SAILOR 500 FleetBroadband terminals, which are installed on every Volvo Open 70 Class in the race.
“We have worked extremely hard to take the media coverage of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 to the next level. We want to get viewers as close to the action as possible, to see just how challenging and demanding the race is for the crews, boats and equipment,” said Harold Anderson, Executive Editor, Volvo Ocean Race Broadcast Team. “We will achieve this through the use of SAILOR 500 FleetBroadband and Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband service, which will ensure the smooth, fast delivery of onboard footage, by the Media Crew Member (MCM) on each boat. We have a huge amount of confidence in the systems onboard but we also welcome Thrane & Thrane’s support throughout the race as representatives from its worldwide support network, Onboard Service Centres (OSC), will be present at every stopover.”
Thrane & Thrane has supplied systems for both broadcast/media, and safety and communication. In addition to SAILOR 500 FleetBroadband, each Volvo Open 70 is equipped with one SAILOR Fleet33 and two Inmarsat-C terminals as well as MF/HF and fixed and portable SAILOR VHF radios. Additionally, Volvo Ocean Race officials and race umpires will carry the recently introduced SAILOR VHF Scrambler portable radios for secure and confidential communication during race starts and stopovers.
Thrane & Thrane also recently delivered two EXPLORER® 700 land mobile systems; one for use as back-up communication at the Volvo Ocean Race headquarters near Portsmouth, England, and one for mobile use by the official Volvo Ocean Race Broadcast Team who will be present in every race stopover. The radios performed well during Saturday’s in-port racing, for both the teams and the organizers and will be put to the test as the fleet leaves for Cape Town, Africa.
