Sailing Around Australia - sailors design event -Complete the Survey

2:43 AM Mon 12 Jan 2009 GMT

'Bob Williams'

West Australian Bob Williams has sailed all around the world, now he is busy designing a new event, with the help of hundreds of sailors.

'Building an ocean sailing event from scratch is a challenging enterprise. Its one thing to arrive at an event concept it's another for that concept to appeal to the yachting community at large.

When Rob Kothe, the Managing Editor at Sail-World.com heard about my endeavours to create a regular race around Australia - the Great Australia Ocean Race - he suggested we do an online survey on Sail-World, perfect for getting quick and accurate data from a very big audience.

So we made a made a list of questions and have been running this on-line survey to gauge interest from both the racing and cruising yachting world- both on the Australian scene and internationally.

Please Click here to start on the survey.now!

The response to the on-line survey has been well beyond my hopes. Of the almost four hundred responses received so far, about equal numbers from racing sailors and cruising sailors, there is much enthusiasm and a clear indication of a preferred event format for the two groups.

We have many offers from clubs and associations to participate in the event development and ongoing event logistics.

The event is designed to celebrate the vast attributes of Australia's tourism and hospitality industry with each state and territories of Australia being exposed to the yachting world. The wealth of interest evidenced by the survey results will be a compelling factor in attracting underwriting of the event logistics from public and private corporations.

We took a caning over the $10,000 entry fee mentioned in the survey. This was more aimed at the racing competitor and a contribution towards a comprehensive multi-media production and distribution program including satellite tracking systems etc. We have now removed that from the survey as it plain that a different lower cost concept is what is needed.

We appreciate that cruising sailors require less in this regard and an entry fee for them similar to the ARC Rally is now envisaged.

Of behalf of my event development team I thank Sail-World.com for their efforts in giving you, the racing and cruising community the opportunity to give us your feed-back and all those people who have completed the survey to date.

The more the better so please keep them coming - we are going to close off the survey soon, so would apprecaite your responses.

Please Click here to start on the survey.now!

Bob Williams

Sunset - BW Media

Bob has built and campaigned two successful ocean racing yachts during this time. His races include the infamous Fastnet Race of 1979. The 1979 Parmelia Race, Plymouth to Fremantle in the 46' fibreglass boat 'Parmelia'. Shes sailedc in five Sydney Hobart Races (Winner Division A 1985), The Pan AM Clipper Cup. The South Pacific Maxi Championship, (Winner 1985) in the 62' aluminium, Frers, IOR pocket-maxi 'Freight Train' and now he's turned his ttention to design a major new Australian yachting event.

Sailing Round Australia

I'd like to sail around Australia before I die! For every 1000 Australian sailors who've said that 999 have sailed off into the sunset without completing that dream. But it does not have to be in your case, maybe.

And of course you dont have to be a local to sail around the Big Island. Would you like to help design an event to allow you to race/rally around Australia? There is a survey here...

The logistics of such a voyage are significant, but the successful completion of such a magnificent adventure would be much easier if the passage is made under an organisational umbrella or a race and rally.

West Australian Bob Williams, his team, and professional yacht industry advisers, think the absence of such an event is denying the yacht racing world of a great event and plan to rectify this.

The 'Great Australia Ocean Race' www.ozirace.comhas been conceived and is in the open for appraisal by the world yacht racing community.

Rather than take a 'build-it-and-they-will come' approach Bob and his team have compiled a survey questionnaire and invites all interested racing and cruising yacht owners, skippers, interested sailors, to complete to provide pertinent feedback.

If you'd like to Sail around Australia before you fall off the perch, or kick the bucket... completing the online survey, could be your first step in sailing around the big island, as owners or crew, racing or cruising.

This is a 6,750 nautical mile journey around a fascinating coastline - ruggedly carved in the south by gales and swells from Antarctica to tropical coral seas above and below the Tropic of Capricorn.

This event has it all and can be completed inside 20 days to six months depending on the size of boats competing and their priorities of the participants.

This is an event for 'Grand Prix' racers, the multitude of amateur racers, and the cruising enthusiast.

Please Click here to start on the survey.now!

by Sail-World.com

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