#venturecup – 2,400 miles of the very toughest conditions which the ocean can muster up, forcing teams to crash mercilessly through wave after relentless wave for hours on end over 15 days. This is the Venture Cup, the world's longest, toughest and most prestigious powerboat race, where technical excellence, bravery and courage join forces to do battle against the elements. This is a powerboat race of epic proportions featuring multi-leg, multi-day, multi-country racing for boats capable of competing in ultra-marathon events .....an event which The Sunday Telegraph in England recently declared the "return of the ultimate glamour race"
The Venture Cup is specifically designed to appeal to mainstream audiences, and in the past this would have been an impossible task. With the racing taking place miles out to sea it's never going to be a 'spectator sport' - outside of pit areas and finishing lines - but modern technology means that it can be a 'consumed sport' where all of the excitement can be brought directly to fans wherever they may be. As a sporting event in the mainstream this race isn't about boats, or horsepower, drives, legs and propellors ....it's about adventure, challenge, risk and reward, bravery and achievement.
The crews of the ultra-endurance Venture Cup will be forced to hammer across, through and sometimes under the waves in a brutal, bone-shaking marathon that will often last more than 5 hours a day, every day, pushing men and their machines to the limit. Boats and crews alike will experience ankle-smashing and hull-snapping forces in excess of 30g, with hearts beating at 150+ bpm, hour after hour, wave after wave. The organisers will be bringing all of this exhilarating action to consumers in a dynamic way, virtually putting them in the boat with the crews, to experience the tension, drama, and excitement each day brings.
In a few weeks time we'll be hosting a major mainstream media launch in London, and in advance of that we're now bringing our story to the marine-leisure sector.
Background
Recent years have seen a number of high-profile offshore powerboat races and series cancelled for a variety of reasons, and the race-teams associated with these events came together for a meeting at the London Boat Show in January of this year to see if there was a better way to move the sport forward. The outcome of that meeting has seen the establishment of an entirely new structure which combines some of the very biggest and best names in powerboat racing with some highly experienced international event professionals. This new approach has already yielded some major successes and the organisers are fully confident that the Venture Cup will fulfill its potential of becoming not only a top-end powerboat racing name, but a major international sports property. Racing will be conducted with the full support and oversight of both the UK national authority (RYA) and the sport's global governing body (UIM).
2013: Venture Cup Prologue
On June 8th of 2013 the Venture Cup Prologue will set off from Tower Bridge in central London to begin a 750 nautical mile, 4-day, 3-country adventure. This prologue is designed to allow us to test crews, boats, officials, processes and technologies in advance of the big race in 2014. The main race will involve distances and challenges that haven't been faced by anyone in more than forty years, so it's appropriate that we should ensure that all elements are battle-hardened in a prologue event.
2014: Venture Cup Race 1
The first full Venture Cup revisits what many consider the all-time greatest powerboat race, which was run once before in 1972 from London to Monte-Carlo. At 0900 on Saturday the 31st of May 2014, right in the heart of London at Tower Bridge, the inaugural Venture Cup will begin. The following 15 days will see the fleet race over 2,400 miles across treacherous seas, visiting 11 cities in 5 countries.
Future Races
The main Venture Cup race will run every two years. At present the following routes are under active consideration:
- New York to Miami
- Abu Dhabi to Mumbai
- Cowes to St. Petersburg
- Tokyo to Hong Kong
- Belem to Rio de Janeiro
Race in the Venture Cup
Entries are currently being taken for both the 2013 Prologue and the full race in 2014, with many major international teams already on board. Aside from a world-class adventure, there are considerable supports available to entrants. If you've a team that would like to know more about entering, or if you're interested in finding out how to get a seat in one of the boats, please send an email to [email protected]
Environmental Responsibility
The Venture Cup is exciting, ambitious and new - as are our environmental objectives. We will build in all the possible safeguards we can and we will also learn along the journey and get cleaner and greener as we go. To aid our learning we will set up comprehensive monitoring systems and carry out research on environmental aspects that aren't fully understood. We will work with the best academics, environmentalists and institutes and we will share our learning. As we race across different parts of the world, we will adapt our activities to meet the local and national environmental requirements and we will always be conscious of our cumulative as well as our direct impact. We will encourage efficient use of materials in the design of boats and we will help drive new engine designs with innovative clean technology and we will give awards to the best exponents. The environmental credentials of the Venture Cup are not a green wash, afterthought or an added extra, they are at the start and heart of the adventure and we expect to be judged accordingly.
Our Ocean
We know that the oceans are the key component in the 'earth system' , not only do they provide 50% of the air that we breathe but they are also play a fundamental role in the carbon, nutrient, thermohaline and water cycles. The Venture Cup will invest in this asset for now and the future.
Carbon
We will calculate and offset the carbon used during the race, but this is not enough. We are developing methodologies to measure as much of the peripheral activity that surrounds the race and we will be constantly seeking ways of reducing our footprint.
Habitats and Species
We will take every feasible step to avoid disturbing the wildlife of our estuaries, coasts an oceans by carefully plotting our course in conjunction with the relevant conservation authorities. If we have to go around we will, if we have to slow down we will and at all times we will watch and learn.
Racing Green
The Venture Cup will comply or exceed the environmental rules laid down by the sport's governing bodies. Environmental aspects of these rules include:
- Air quality
- Noise levels
- Waste reduction, recycling and disposal
- Refueling, washing and servicing
- Contamination risks from fuel, oil and other fluids
Economic Innovation
The advanced technologies required to build modern powerboats directly feeds into the production of mainstream, military and rescue boats. Therefore, The Venture Cup represents an economic force for change that will raise engineering skills and provide jobs and growth in the marine sector. We will also carry out unique and much needed research for example we will study the impact on high speed hulls and humans. This research element is currently being led by industry-pioneer Dr. Johan Ullman. In addition to the research element of the race, many of our teams are building completely new boats for this challenge - some in excess of €1 million. This is a significant investment in the marine sector at a time of widespread doom and gloom.
Social Responsibility
Most water based sports properties carry little or nothing to encourage new people on to the water. In contrast, right across all of our public-facing activity we will activity inform, engage and encourage new people to get out on the water and enjoy all of the associated health and well-being benefits. We will respect the people and communities where we race and whilst we will may not arrive unnoticed we will always depart as friends
Further Information
Anyone seeking further information on Venture Cup racing, partnering or any other related item can contact the organisers on [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Additional information is also available at:
Event website: www.ventureoffshorecup.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ventureoffshorecup.com
