NEIL GRAHAM : « Choosing the correct designer to work with the team is one of the key decisions for the project »

26 April : At the beginning of March, Ellen MacArthur announced her decision to take a step back from solo sailing and focus all her energies into a new two-boat Open 60 sailing team for the highly competitive IMOCA circuit 2007-2009. Three weeks later, MacArthur was back at the helm of her trimaran for the start of the eight-week long Asian Record Circuit, establishing new crewed records between key Asian ports, but in her absence the new project continues to move forward with MacArthur staying in the loop in respect of any critical decision making.

“We have been putting the foundation for the new sailing team in place for a while now and the process has not stopped just because I am in Asia – in fact, even here there is work to be done from sponsorship discussions to seeking out new talent,” said MacArthur.

DESIGN DECISION ON THE DRAWING BOARD : Putting a successful Open 60 race campaign together is a long-term, step-by-step process – doing a two-boat campaign does not make it doubly harder but there are more logistics to consider and more time needed. The next 4-5 months are critical in respect of making design decisions and planning for the build of the new boats, without forgetting the most vital component of concluding sponsorship negotiations to fund the new team [see below]. The Offshore Challenges Sailing Team has a wealth of expertise to draw upon and years of experience to avoid the mistakes that can be made by a fledging team.

The technical and boat-building team is headed up by, the experienced, Neil Graham : "We are in discussion with a number of design firms to design two new IMOCA 60’s. The two new 60’s are both optimised for the marathons in the IMOCA World Championship circuit - the double-handed Barcelona World Race in 2007 and the solo Vendée Globe in 2008. Choosing the correct designer to work with the team is one of the key decisions for the project. It is also one of the hardest decisions to make ! From an armchair perspective, it’s easy - you just pick the most talented designer or the designer with the best track record. In reality, the decision is far more complex. All of the design firms we are assessing have the ability to produce a race winning boat. What really makes the difference is the relationship between the designer and the team. If the designers don’t gel with the team, or vice versa, it reflects on the end result.

”We have also commenced our R&D programme. Looking at every element, of the boat, from mechanical systems to sails and appendage design. There is obviously a great deal of benefit to be derived from our previous campaigns with Kingfisher/Skandia (IMOCA 60) and B&Q (75’ trimaran). The lessons learnt from the previous 60ft project are invaluable and directly applicable to our new boats. There is a less obvious benefit to drawn from our multihull campaigns. However, some of the technology, especially in electronic systems, communication technology, instrument systems and auto pilot technology is directly transferable,” reported Graham.

A principal part of the design is who your ‘riders’ are. Kingfisher was custom-built to Ellen’s height and strengths and then custom-refitted to work for Nick Moloney in the last Vendée Globe. The Offshore Challenges Sailing Team, that includes both MacArthur and Nick Moloney, is actively seeking the right sailors to join the programme for short-handed and solo racing.

NEW TITLE SPONSOR FOR THE TEAM TO BE IN PLACE BY THIS SUMMER : However, all of the above is only really ‘writing on the wall’ without the financial support of a new title sponsor. Following the contractual end of B&Q’s sponsorship of Team Ellen, the commercial team at the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team are in discussions with a number of interested parties to take on the role as title sponsor of the new two-boat campaign, headed up by MacArthur. “As always, sponsor discussions can be long and intense to ensure both parties are getting what they want out of the union,” commented Ellen. “But we are hopeful and we know from previous experience that we need to find a sponsorship team that are willing to take a bit of a risk, to understand the passion of what we do. In the beginning, Kingfisher and B&Q had a sound business reasons to invest in us but they also connected with the emotion, and channelled that in the best possible way both internally and externally. We need to have a new title sponsor onboard by the summer to press the button on the build of the two new boats.”

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