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From Andrew Peters
Round the Island is a race for everyone and for me the race was spoilt by the attitude of one of the so-called professional boats on the start line. We started at 8.10 and were about 1/3 down the line on starboard with about a minute to go. A Farr 40 approached on port and basically tried to intimidate us by shouting to get out of their way. As the boats closed the shouting got louder and more coarse - the helm was f'ing and b'ing away. Eventually we had to tack onto port to avoid a collision. The Farr was then to windward. Having mistimed their run (some professionals there?) they bore down on to us (again with much shouting) and hit our side.

Some consideration for other sailors would be nice from these pro-ed up yachts. If all disregarded the rules in the way these guys did there would be carnage at crowded starts like Round The Island. Luckily there was no damage - and we didn't protest - but there could have been. So come on - if aspirational boats like Farr 40s don't set an example and at least attempt to sail to the rules why should others?

From Mark McCafferty
What should the next Volvo Ocean Race boat be? A powerful water-ballasted monohull is the right sort for this event as other events are there for catamarans etc. The good thing about the Vo60 is that they are fairly applicable to your average sailor in that they are designed to be raced fully crewed, and are designed to go both upwind and down, unlike the Open 60s and Sleds. They are also closer to what people want to sail, being lighter displacement (relatively) than some of the other boats used for top level events. That said, however, the boats need to be modernised extensively. Carbon should be allowed for hull and deck - kevlar just makes the boats softer but doesn't significantly decrease build costs. 60ft is too small, 70-75ft is probably a better size to accommodate crew and equipment comfortably. The box rule is probably the way to go, though the restrictions should enable fairly radical yachts to be produced. The sport needs development classes, particularly at the top end, in order to progress generally.

From Charlie Bird, Burnham
What should the next Volvo Ocean Race boat be? An Open 80 with eight crew, route Soton, Cape Town, Sydney or Auckland, Baltimore, Goteborg. Faster and more exciting boats, ample crew to drive them hard, fewer stops to return it to the status of a true Ocean Race. Start at the home of the race and finish at the home of the sponsor. Dates would need to change to October start and April finish, with three week stops. Budget would probably be slightly less as the number of stops will have halved and three to four fewer on the crew. Boats more expensive, but they are a minor part of the budget. Keeps the spirit of the race, but updates it to today's standards without getting too extreme or dangerous.

From Mark
What should the next Volvo Ocean Race boat be?A two division race as was held in the past would be interesting. But instead of two monohull divisions differing only in length have two very differing classes like an open 60s and multihull. Longer legs fewer and shorter stopovers and two fast (safe) classes would be both gruelling (for the sport) and flashy (for the media).

From Alex Nolan
What should the next Volvo Ocean Race boat be? I think that looking at the new boats for the Volvo should be done very carefully, especially with regard to One Design boats and/or sails,The Whitbread and Volvo has been an excellent test bed for new developments in offshore racing and sails and it would be a shame to lose this aspect of the race and development. Limiting costs is a good idea, but for this race I think One Design is not the answer.
From Chris Caldecoat

What should the next Volvo Ocean Race boat be? Hi, One Design, open 60 for starters, with six crew. The boat needs to be generic to a number of events staged by the sponsor. Ellen's boat and rig set-up would be a great starting point. For more entries the cost of a two boat campaign will be eliminated with the ability of sailing one design against other teams in one's own country. To reduce running costs and shore crews, the One Design builder and provider of yachts worldwide should provide all campaigns with spares and manpower. During the event. This would be a big saver.

With the advent of further regattas, the boats actually qualifying for the event would use leased boats, the boats then being sold following the event. A major tax write-off for worldwide sponsors. Let the sailmakers have a free rein. Keep all the stops. And look at giving naming rights to each leg. This would present national companies from each leg with a great opportunity. And with the inclusion of the leg stop over, each receiving country must enter/qualify a minimum of one or two boats. That's just off the top of my head.

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