From the Feedback - 5/01/2001

We'll be publishing the choicest moments from the stuff you send us - but each contribution may or may not be subjected to a rigorous process of editing for language, taste and imparted wisdom. And of course, as they so famously say at the start of anything like this, the opinions expressed in From the Feedback do not necessarily reflect those of the management, staff or investors of madforsport.com. Instead, and much more importantly, they reflect your views.

From Steve D,
On Team Philips I think it is always easy to see an answer after crisis - hindsight being 20/20. But at the same time I have thought the increased vulnerability of the freestanding rig style and the missing structural enhancement offered by conventional rig choice opened a wider door for failure. At some time in the past I believe the bullet should have been bitten and someone in the driving area stuck up their hand and said, "Let's back-track and review our design options. Let's ask ourselves what sort of horses the other jockeys have in this race." It's great to be bold, but not so great to be foolish.

From R Doornbos, Norway,
Team Philips, good or bad for British sailing? The greatness of British sailing is demonstrated by the wide span of enterprises undertaken by Ellen MacArthur and Pete Goss. Only in a great sailing nation will there be the guts for both. Failing also means learning. If there is one thing hurting the British sailing image it must be your consistent poor performance in the America's Cup. So there is still some distance to go ...

From Paul Rayson,
I agree - to achieve what Pete Goss set out to do, he needed significant funding and most importantly time, neither of which he had. Team Philips was essentially a prototype - would you want to sail in the Southern Ocean in a prototype? I think this highlights how out of their depth the whole team was. To win a round the world yacht race you need more than determination and courage. It is very unfortunate for sailing that a project with as high a profile as this one has failed so badly. Let's hope it doesn't deter sponsors from a possible America's Cup campaign.

From David HJ,
Happy New Year Ellen. I was at Hull Marina (Warehouse 51) in late-1993 doing a one day VHF course, when I first met Ellen - the smallest person in the room. She is so petite it's hard to understand where she has all her strength. I soon found out that her strength comes from her love of sailing and she loves it more than the sun on her face. If any decisions can be hammered out within her they are going to be 150% better than she gives herself credit for. It's tough at the top and that's where you will find her.

From Michel Cape,
A possible major problem for Desjoyeaux? If your [Philippe Jeantot's] calculations are correct, he will have to do without the modern navigation equipment the others have. I'm sure that one of the runners-up will overtake him. I'm puzzled though with the fact that he really is so dependent on the engine, and that his other power generating systems are basically insufficient to cover his needs. A bad planning job. And supposing he has the same Air Marine wind generator that I have on my boat I can assure you that this gizmo produces more than 10 to 15 amps in the Southern Ocean - 20 to 25 is more likely. Furthermore, his huge battery bank is a buffer between power consumption and power production, so the average rate of consumption can be higher - for a while - than the amps produced. I think he will be able to download a few sat images each day.

From J Falsone,
Can PlayStation get back into the game?Playstation can definitely get back in the game. The front-runners are not moving that fast right now (OK, 16 knots isn't slow either), and there're 23,000 miles left in the race. With good weather routing, and perhaps the ability to push a bit harder when the big breeze comes in the Southern Ocean, I expect to see Playstation back up with the Ollier boats in two weeks or less.

From S.Ejnarsson,
I think that Tony Bullimore and Team Legato - or whatever is left of it - should rethink their starting in The Race. Ocean racing and circumnavigations are all about preparations and Bullimore doesn't seem to have any at all. The only reasonable thing for them to do is to stay ashore! The team doesn't even have a crew!? This race is a chance taking operation from the beginning and without a well prepared crew - I mean, come on!

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