Volvo Ocean Race: Bringing the real life story home

The 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race is nearing the starting gate, with a buoy race on October 4 before the seven teams depart for the first leg from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa on October 11. When the teams fade over the horizon, race fans will rely on each team’s Onboard Reporter to tell the story. Here’s an update from Dongfeng Race Team on how the plan should work…

As it stands we have two crucial tools in place to share our team’s story far and wide. One, is the magnificent Volvo Ocean 65 which has been built with five fixed onboard cameras and an Inmarsat satellite connection – not quite as solid or fast as the broadband connection you might be used to home – its still very difficult to maintain a connection on a boat being thrown around the sea. But enough to allow us to share life onboard via video conference streaming, video clips sent back, photos and phone calls.

The second is Yann Riou, our Onboard Reporter (aka the OBR). The Volvo Ocean 65 media system and its OBR go hand-in-hand – one does not function without the other. To be the OBR for a team means is so much more than just being able to work a camera. To say sailors aren’t very receptive when it comes to having cameras thrust in their faces is an understatement. However, since the Volvo Ocean Race created the OBR position as part of the team, the race has seen a small rise in media-friendly crew members; although they are a still a scarce species. For the majority of sailors it is about racing, it is about competing and it is about winning. It is not about posing for the camera – which can make the OBR’s job very difficult at times.

Though forbidden to participate in sailing the boat, the OBR must act as part of the crew regardless, helping with the most basic things, such as, cooking and cleaning. An OBR must also be trusted by his teammates. The most obvious examples of trust come in times of difficulty, as there can be sensitive issues onboard, such as injury, where a judgment call needs to be made. What does the OBR film? Does the OBR film? For the audience these can be the most fascinating parts of the story but for the OBR it is the hardest part of the job. He (or she) must first earn the respect and trust of the crew before filming these difficult and sensitive moments; they must be able to dig deep into the personalities onboard and hold a bond with each individual sailor in order to share the true emotions and the story with the world.

If we manage to tell even 10% more than usual of this epic human story our team has to tell then we will have succeeded.

Follow Yann’s work and interact with the team on all social media channels and the team’s official website.

Dongfeng Race Team – All competing teams – Race website