Feedback

Each contribution may be subjected to a rigorous process of editing for language, taste and imparted wisdom. The opinions expressed in From the Feedback do not necessarily reflect those of the management, staff or investors of madfor sport.com. Instead, and much more importantly, they reflect your views.

Editor's plea: If you write to us and want to see your thoughts in print, then please include your full name and where you live on your e-mail. Anonymous contributions will not be published.


From Andrew Banks
Could Team Philips have worked? The fact that bits of Team Philips have started to turn up in vastly disparate parts of the Atlantic Ocean doesn't really provide any clues as to whether the boat would have 'worked' or not. The fact that pretty much a whole hull seems to have been found in Iceland, and the section seen off Ireland now seems to have part of the central pod (and not one of the bows as originally suggested) is particularly interesting. This, coupled with the problems they had with the pod prior to abandoning would seem to suggest that the 'fatal' problem was caused by an unforeseen degree of twisting between the two hulls. This could have been brought on by the impact damage to the pod which, as I understand it, was part of the load-carrying structure.

It is extremely unlikely we will ever know for sure what happened to Team Philips after she was abandoned, but those who criticise the engineering element of the design as being 'amateurish' or 'wacky' would do well to remember the following; Firstly the designers of Team Philips were not amateurs, SP Systems is a world leader in composite engineering, as is High Modulus who worked with the team following the bow breakage. Martin Smith didn't exactly design Concorde's nose cone in his garden shed, and Adrian Thompson and Barry Noble have cut their teeth designing innovative multihulls over the past two decades.

Finally it is also worth remembering that immediately prior to and after her abandonment, she experienced conditions which were of greater severity than was encountered during 'The Race'. Given the problems that the Ollier boats encountered during The Race, it is doubtful they would have fared better, and left to their own devices in the storms of the north Atlantic, is doubtful any large multihull would remain in one piece for long.

From Richard Lee
Could Team Philips have worked? I still think the concept was sound but was foiled by lack of time for proper testing, TP obviously became waterlogged after she was abandoned and with the added weight of water in the hulls would have soon broken up which is evident from the photo of the broken hull. It's a great shame that so much was learnt from the design and now Pete and his companies have now gone under is a real loss to the sailing community and the country.

From Sander Geelen
Could Team Philips have worked? It may have worked and possibly spectacularly. However, I get depressed about how a company like Philips has spent millions on a project that was likely to be very high risk from the very first start. Too many unknowns at the same time. That same Philips was reasonably succesful in its sponsorship of the 1985/86 Whitbread Race but then refused to sponsor any such Whitbread boat afterwards. Their decisions do not seem very lucky here. If they would have spent the same serious money on a Whitbread / Volvo 60 instead of a very wild card in The Race, they would have received much much more positive publicity around the world at a greatly reduced risk. Too bad. They (and possibly others) may now conclude that sponsorship of ocean racing is not a good idea and that is a great pity for the sport of ocean racing.

From Nather Holts
Could Team Philips have worked? My God, it did work and how? There are just a few minor technical details to work out, that is all. And oh by the way the north Atlantic in December has taken many vessels larger and stronger than Team Phillips to their watery grave. Pete Goss is a legend for having guts to try and fail within view of all of us. I hope you remember that Edison and the Wright Brothers had many hundreds of false starts between their successes. I heartily congratulate Pete for having his priorities squarely in order "Crew, Vessel, Sponsors , Race". If only politicians and businessmen could see their responsibilities that clearly.

From Simon Orgorman
Could Team Philips have worked? Absolutely, beautiful concept - poor execution. It was magnificent to see those hulls pierce through the water at 20 knots in 10 knots of wind. It was a pity that the fabrication and the particular materials let them down. Given sufficient time and money it would have more than given the French cats a run for their money.

More coments on other subjects on page two........