Volvo Ocean Race 2012

yer man!

Discodog wrote: »

Amazingly even the rest of Ireland seemed to miss it's importance. I was listening to radio all day & there wasn't one mention of the Volvo on any of the national sports bulletins.

Really? I heard it on, 2FM, GBFM, 4FM and Today FM on the news this morning and the odd mention over the past few weeks.

Discodog

fishy fishy wrote: »

was all over RTE 1 news bulletins this morning. All morning.

Good old RTE - only a day late

What I meant was that there was no mention that I heard on the radio yesterday. I was expecting hourly updates on where the boats were, who was leading etc. Seems bonkers that RTE will report from a tiddlywinks contest but not from the Volvo.

ratracer

Discodog wrote: »

I fully appreciate the nature of sailing but I disagree on this point. The final leg was very short & the winds in the area, whilst variable, are usually present. The most likely arrival time was always going to be at night if they left Lorient at lunchtime. Had the wind not dropped they would of arrived in daylight.

I suspect that they focus on the start time, in the sense of making it the middle of the day, so good for the start town. But as this was the final leg it might have made more sense to adjust it so that the tens of thousands lining the route had a better view & it would of given better TV coverage.

I agree that, as with any large commercial event, TV coverage will dictate start times, but in terms of the wind, they couldn't even predict the arrival times at 6pm yesterday such was the changing nature of the winds on one day, let alone when the event was planned a couple of years ago.

I would have loved a daylight arrival though.

biko

Dan_Solo wrote: »

@biko
Can I ask why did you thanks this post?

Aren't these the people who you said earlier "don't like the craic"?

Nope, those are elderly people, kids and pets.

You might have noticed that I aslo thanked this post

whineflu wrote: »

I don't think people are complaining about last nights event or the Ocean Race in general but crappy dance music and screaming into a microphone for 3 hours in the middle of the night and clearly audible from 2 miles away is not exactly fair to city residents especially those of us with kids and pets. Our dog wouldn't come out from under our bed and the noise woke the baby too. Ear plugs not an option!

So while I think we regualr citizens should be able to cope with a bit of noise for one night, having the PA cracked up to 11 of course isn't good for anyone.

Dan_Solo wrote: »

I'm mad for the craic I am. Where do you live, I want to have a big all night party in your garden whenever I feel like it.:rolleyes:

This is not the same thing as having the VOR in the city.
Please chill out a bit.

Discodog

ratracer wrote: »

I agree that, as with any large commercial event, TV coverage will dictate start times, but in terms of the wind, they couldn't even predict the arrival times at 6pm yesterday such was the changing nature of the winds on one day, let alone when the event was planned a couple of years ago.

I would have loved a daylight arrival though.

The finish of any race is always way more important than the start. By 6pm we all knew the arrival time plus or minus a couple of hours. The speed isn't that variable. Even in the dead calm of last night they managed 8 knots & peak speed was around 18 knots. That may sound like a big difference but it isn't really over a 24 hour timescale.

I bet that any of the skippers or strategists could of guessed the journey time a year ago to within a few hours. So had they started at 9am there would of been a pretty high likelihood of arriving during daylight & in the evening when people are free to watch.

I think that it's a pity that we don't have an entrepreneur who could offer a cash prize for a race from Galway then around the Aran Islands & back. This would attract huge crowds & give everyone a chance to see the boats really racing rather than the in port race.

biko

Btw, VOR people if you're reading this - please consider the noise pollution for the reminder of the races.

squonk

Given the hour that the boats showed up, it might have been helpful if they fast tracked them a bit. Instead of going out around the Aran Islands, they could have come the Clare side of the islands. That would have shortened the route and saved a bit of time. Also, they were so far off the islands themselves that an opportunity was missed to have spectators view from Clare. Routing them the long way round was bollox, pure and simple.

connemara man

The boats were great the crowd that showed were great i really enjoyed the whole night, annoying pa lady aside. Like the captain of telephonica or camper said it really was a good turnout for a monday night.

also unless the boats were in the bay before 10 they wouldn't have been able to get into the docks there wasn't the water for them.

this is the most concise version I have given as due to sleep depravation I'm going around work saying mumble mumble mumble volve mumble mumble mumble boats mumble mumble mumble fun

coleria

Some people in this thread make me sad:(

I was at the docks last night and it was brilliant, wasn't sure if they'd get the same crowds but they did and prob more.

The MC was the only thing that annoyed me, it was like listening to I Radio,
Keith Finnegan would of been better.

re, race around aran
http://galwayindependent.com/stories/item/2680/2012-24/Solstice-Round-Aran-Race

ilovesleep

Heard on the radio that an estimated 10,000 came out to greet the boats. That is a good turn out and fair play for everyone who came out and made that number. Late on a monday night and all. I would have liked to but couldn't. I was sick, tired and had no lift so took to the bed.

Are tonights concerts going to go ahead as planned or by any chance will they be cancelled due to the downpour. It's very wet out. Tonight is probably the only night that I can make it in. Would like to go in again tomorrow night for the fireworks but will be broke. Don't have much money to begin with. Would like to make it in saturday night too but it's doubtful. Sharon shannon will be one not to be missed.

mikom

coleria wrote: »

Some people in this thread make me sad

People, people, whingers need their beauty sleep too, ya know.

ben.schlomo

Discodog wrote: »

Good old RTE - only a day late

What I meant was that there was no mention that I heard on the radio yesterday. I was expecting hourly updates on where the boats were, who was leading etc. Seems bonkers that RTE will report from a tiddlywinks contest but not from the Volvo.

RTE have had it on the Six One for the last number of days. There is no demand for hourly updates etc so i dont see the point in them wasting resources.

spurscormac

ben.schlomo wrote: »

RTE have had it on the Six One for the last number of days. There is no demand for hourly updates etc so i dont see the point in them wasting resources.

To a certain extent I agree - it was possible to follow the action live all the way online, which I did while standing on the shore @ salthill

However, had this race been finishing in Dublin, you can bet they would have been constant updates on all radio stations, live TV coverage via an outside broadcast etc, etc. #justsayin

PhoenixParker

Discodog wrote: »

I fully appreciate the nature of sailing but I disagree on this point. The final leg was very short & the winds in the area, whilst variable, are usually present. The most likely arrival time was always going to be at night if they left Lorient at lunchtime. Had the wind not dropped they would of arrived in daylight.

I suspect that they focus on the start time, in the sense of making it the middle of the day, so good for the start town. But as this was the final leg it might have made more sense to adjust it so that the tens of thousands lining the route had a better view & it would of given better TV coverage.

With knowledge like that you should really get yourself a job with the Volvo team. I'm sure they'd appreciate your rather fantastic abilities at wind predictions. Their own, multi-million dollar models are no match for you!

The leg was 485nm, even a small change in average boat speed over that distance changes the arrival time by several hours. Each nm difference is 3 hours. The projected arrival time when the race was planned was about now. The speed is very very variable, even as they approached the finish line, they lost about twenty minutes because the wind dropped. You may have noticed the lack of fireworks last night - it's because they were expecting a day time finish. It's quite probably also why you're hearing noise complaints.

but that's the fun of a race like this. It's unpredictable, you never quite know what's going to happen. It's man against nature and there's only so much we can control.

Last night was fantastic. The atmosphere was electric. A whole heap of people out to cheer on 66 guys who've sailed in some incredible weather, in ridiculously uncomfortable conditions, pushing themselves to the limit of what man can do.

Sappa

As annoying as that mc was lastnite,we dodged a bullet there were rumors Ryan Tubridy was to be mc,ohh could you imagine how worse that could have been.

Mrs OBumble

Discodog wrote: »

If you live around the docks then tough. After all you get the benefit of nice views etc all year long & the docks are a working area.

I live a block or two back: all the noise, lovely views of concrete walls. :rolleyes:

But for a once-in-three-years event, that brings a lot of tourist dosh (=jobs) into the area, I'm not complaining. And I knew when I moved in that it'd be loud at all sorts of times.

However if residents in Shantalla et al could hear too, then something was definitely wrong.

Funk It

Personally I thought it was great being down in the docks again to welcome in the boats.

Ok people need to be up for work and live close to the docks, fair enough. But in all fairness, it was one night.

I actually couldn't believe hearing some people giving out down the docks about how long it was taking for the boats to come in. Come on folks, the Volvo Ocean Race wasn't built around your schedule (and apparent ignorance), and these things happen when the elements are involved. That was a slim minority, and the rest of the craic down the docks was fantastic as expected, it was a spectacle to witness again.

Think we can all agree that the MC was annoying and was just shouting on the microphone for the sake of it. Could still hear her back at the far side of Newcastle when I got back myself.

Looking forward to tonight and the rest of the week

Funk It

spurscormac wrote: »

However, had this race been finishing in Dublin, you can bet they would have been constant updates on all radio stations, live TV coverage via an outside broadcast etc, etc. #justsayin

On Dublin based radio stations and Dublin based TV stations, then yes. Don't think that the whole country would be particularly interested getting hourly updates on the VOR which was coming into Galway.

Discodog

PhoenixParker wrote: »

The projected arrival time when the race was planned was about now.

That would give an estimated average of 10 knots which seems very low for a Volvo boat - they were managing that in a virtual calm. It also seems low given that the route was strongly favoured by the prevailing wind.

ben.schlomo

spurscormac wrote: »

To a certain extent I agree - it was possible to follow the action live all the way online, which I did while standing on the shore @ salthill

However, had this race been finishing in Dublin, you can bet they would have been constant updates on all radio stations, live TV coverage via an outside broadcast etc, etc. #justsayin

Id be shocked given RTE's notorious poor showings of live events outside the GAA.

squonk

Funk It wrote: »

I actually couldn't believe hearing some people giving out down the docks about how long it was taking for the boats to come in. Come on folks, the Volvo Ocean Race wasn't built around your schedule (and apparent ignorance), and these things happen when the elements are involved. That was a slim minority, and the rest of the craic down the docks was fantastic as expected, it was a spectacle to witness again.

People aren't ignorant just because they complained about the lateness of the boats. I think everybody did enjoy it but it would have been enjoyed more if they thought more about the crowd. Up til about 1 you could track the boats on the Volvo app. After that the updates went dead. The board wasn't of any particularly great help. I hung out at my spot from after the end of Lizzy and by the time the boats arrived I was getting cold, tired and hungry. All they had to do was shave a bit of time off the friggin race around the aran islands and bring the fuggin boats in as soon as they reached the channel without the flotilla and all the liggers and hangers on. Also, if the boats have engines, put the damn things on coming up the channel instead of wasting time arsing around. I'm tired and ratty today. Waiting for the 4 main boats to finish before any of them showed up was just taking the piss.

Funk It

squonk wrote: »

People aren't ignorant just because they complained about the lateness of the boats. I think everybody did enjoy it but it would have been enjoyed more if they thought more about the crowd. Up til about 1 you could track the boats on the Volvo app. After that the updates went dead. The board wasn't of any particularly great help. I hung out at my spot from after the end of Lizzy and by the time the boats arrived I was getting cold, tired and hungry. All they had to do was shave a bit of time off the friggin race around the aran islands and bring the fuggin boats in as soon as they reached the channel without the flotilla and all the liggers and hangers on. Also, if the boats have engines, put the damn things on coming up the channel instead of wasting time arsing around. I'm tired and ratty today. Waiting for the 4 main boats to finish before any of them showed up was just taking the piss.

I was talking about a certain few individuals I heard giving out last night, and I wont repeat their language. They were taking it as a direct attack on themselves that the boats didn't arrive at a more suitable hour.

Lets be fair, they weren't go to shorten the route by cutting out going around the Aran Islands, so that the race ends earlier at a more appropriate time. These things happen, its sailing and not waiting for a bus to give out when it is late (a certain Malibu add comes to mind).

Brad768

PhoenixParker wrote: »

With knowledge like that you should really
but that's the fun of a race like this. It's unpredictable, you never quite know what's going to happen. It's man against nature and there's only so much we can control.

man can do.

+1 What did you guys want them to do? wait around until 7:30 so that the majority of people would be out of bed? It's one night every 3 years....

squonk

Funk It wrote: »

I was talking about a certain few individuals I heard giving out last night, and I wont repeat their language. They were taking it as a direct attack on themselves that the boats didn't arrive at a more suitable hour.

Lets be fair, they weren't go to shorten the route by cutting out going around the Aran Islands, so that the race ends earlier at a more appropriate time. These things happen, its sailing and not waiting for a bus to give out when it is late (a certain Malibu add comes to mind).

Fair enough. Myself and the people I was chatting with for most of the evening were getting a pit peeved by the time things kicked off but knew there wasn't heaps of control over it but I do think they sort of massaged things to put on a display rather than just letting things flow.

Funk It

Brad768 wrote: »

+1 What did you guys want them to do? wait around until 7:30 so that the majority of people would be out of bed? It's one night every 3 years....

Completely agree, and I can only wish it comes again at all, would love to see it every 3 years

Raging_Ninja

squonk wrote: »

People aren't ignorant just because they complained about the lateness of the boats. I think everybody did enjoy it but it would have been enjoyed more if they thought more about the crowd. Up til about 1 you could track the boats on the Volvo app. After that the updates went dead. The board wasn't of any particularly great help. I hung out at my spot from after the end of Lizzy and by the time the boats arrived I was getting cold, tired and hungry. All they had to do was shave a bit of time off the friggin race around the aran islands and bring the fuggin boats in as soon as they reached the channel without the flotilla and all the liggers and hangers on. Also, if the boats have engines, put the damn things on coming up the channel instead of wasting time arsing around. I'm tired and ratty today. Waiting for the 4 main boats to finish before any of them showed up was just taking the piss.

These guys have just raced round the world in sailboats and you're bitching and moaning because they couldn't finish it sooner?

Nobody forced you to be there.

Pen Rua

I was on a roof watching the whole thing. The MC drove me maaaaaaad. "Are you awake Galway?!" etc, etc all night. I could hear the music all the way from my house, and I feel bad for the residents. That music didn't stop until near enough 6am...

ratracer

A lot of tall about waiting for the first four boats, ah.... they finished within about half hour of each other...the rest of the time was the boats making up their sails and equipment

squonk

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

These guys have just raced round the world in sailboats and you're bitching and moaning because they couldn't finish it sooner?

Nobody forced you to be there.

When was the last time you were on a boat?

Nobody forced me to be there, you're right about that but if you'd read my post fully you'd have seen that the primary cause for annoyance was the lack of proper information and the fact that it was starting to get very late, coupled with the crap MC. People who did make the effort of camping out for a good spot were tired, cold and hungry, unlike those who turned up at the last minute. What time did you show up?

What has the lads sailing around the world got to do with anything? The last leg was relatively short.

dinneenp

renmorescout wrote: »

Some Photos from Last night !

Did you take them? Great first one.