Ken Read om Volvo Ocean Race

Intressant och rakt från Ken Read om Volvo Ocean Race: The Aftermath – sailing’s premier offshore race has some soul-searching to do as it takes steps to ensure its future.

So, here we go, to a one-design 65-footer. There’s no stopping this train. The Volvo Management Group, led by CEO Knut Frostad, believes in the one-design as its salvation because it will reduce the cost of entry and attract more entries. I hope they’re right, but as much as I want to see this race succeed, I strongly believe that event management must do more than simply lower the cost of a campaign. They have to start listening better to the concerns of competitors and sponsors—past and present. This has been a challenge because the event organization is too big and top-heavy. For example, during this past event, there were over twice the number of employees inside the management group than there were sailors in the event. And my experience in big companies is that good communication is often the first thing to break down.

Förutom en tung overhead så tror många att lönerna kommer att skjuta i höjden. Med entyp och färre besättningsmän så måste man ha de absolut bästa på varje position för att ha en chans. Då pratar man månadslöner från 400.000 upp till över miljonen för en skipper. Här finns en artikel i The Telegraph om lönerna förra gången.