Finally Online!
Finally Online!
Sorry to all of you who have been eagerly waiting for news about the Caribbean Edition. In good Caribbean style things did not go as we had planned. This is the first time we have any access to the internet. On the 28th of November, our first training day, the internet provider at Bonaire had problems. This meant that there was no internet available in a wide circle around the Plaza Resort. Where in The Netherlands everybody panics when there is no internet, the people at Bonaire are a lot more relaxed. Any questions about the internet connection where answered with: “They will fix it this afternoon, maybe tonight or maybe tomorrow.” Apparently not having access to the internet is not such a big deal here.
On the first rally day, the 29th of November, the internet connection was finally fixed while we were out at sea. Of course we were happy to hear that we could finally share our stories and photos with the rest of the world. As soon as we attached the boats to the pontoon our media crew spurted to their rooms to see if it was working. Unfortunately, the only thing they found at their rooms was that the power was out on a large part of the island. So even though they had gotten the internet working again, the problem had now gotten even bigger. Now we did not have anything except the 1,5 hours of battery time on the laptops. Luckily this was a big problem even for the people of Bonaire so around 23.30 all the lights lit up again.
Our internet connection is very slow but we are doing the best we can to get some footage online.
Patience and puzzling with 7,85m pieces
It has been a long week and weekend for us. With The Caribbean Edition getting closer, the time had come to prepare and load the boats for transport. In the last few weeks all the boats we need in Curacao and Bonaire have had a full service and perform as if they are new!
Last week was all about the final boat preparations. All the sponsor stickers had to be removed from the tubes and hulls. Of course they all had to be renewed again! This means that we spent many hours on Thursday and Friday to resticker the boats. With a 6 men strong crew it still was a nervewrecking assignment to get it all done in time. However, rushing it was not an option because the stickers have to look neat and symmetrical on the boats. Still, we were stuck on a tight schedule because the stickers also need time to attach to the boat. After placing them they need to rest for at least 24 hours for the best result. Seeing the things our boats have to go through during the Rib Rallies, they might even need 48 hours in our case!
Of course after stickering the inevitable loading started. We ship two boats (and a lot of loose equipment) per 40 feet container so it is a big puzzle on how to get the boats to fit in the containers. Eventually (and luckily) we found a way where we only had to remove the propellor from one boat and could leave the rest in one piece. This saves us a lot of reassembly time in Curacao. The boats will arrive in Curacao in a few weeks and our tech crew will be there to welcome them to the sunny Caribbean.
Rib Rally VSTourTrac website online!
Hello and welcome to our VSTourTrac website! On this new website you can find everything you need to know about the Offshore Rib Rally 785. We will regularly update it with photos, videos and blogs. For the release of the website we have a special quiz planned. Everyone who visits our new website can take the quiz. Anyone who answers all questions correctly has a chance to win cool Rib Rally merchandise. Amongst the prizes there will be caps, blouses and jackets. This clothing is not for sale in any store so the lucky winners will have a piece of clothing that no one else has! Next to clothing we will also be giving away other cool ORR785 merchandise like official Offshore Rib Rally 785 binoculars. When equipped with these you don’t have to miss anything of our rallies!
The start of the Offshore Rib Rally 785 – The Scheveningen Triangle is getting closer. At the time of writing it is less than a week away! For us at ORR785 HQ this is an important and busy week. We have to make sure that everything is set and that nothing can go wrong. We are currently finalising subscriptions and promotions for The Scheveningen Triangle. We have sent invitations to various press bureaus to make sure there is some good media coverage of the event! However, it is a lot more fun to watch The Scheveningen Triangle live from the beach or the pier. That is why we invite everyone who is interested to come and watch this spectacular event in Scheveningen! The first race starts off at 11.00hrs over a distance of 40NM. Because the course is an 8NM triangle the teams will make multiple passages at the beach. Tension and excitement are guaranteed! At 14.00hrs the teams will start off with the second 40NM rally. This rally will follow the same course as the first one. It is not going to be the same rally though. With the ever changing North Sea the rally courses might be the same but they are in fact miles apart! With these two rallies there is enough action to watch for everyone! Be sure to check out The Scheveningen Triangle!
The Scheveningen Triangle is a good test case for our website. In the week following The Scheveningen Triangle we will upload footage of the Rally to the website. We will also add extra footage of the 2008 Caribbean Edition. Speaking of the Caribbean Edition… Preparations are going smoothly so far! In a few weeks the boats will be shipped to Curacao where they will arrive a week prior to the event. Before they can be shipped however, the boats we used in Scheveningen will have to be cleaned and checked. When all boats are given the ok signal they have to be partially taken apart before they can be put in containers for the trip to Curacao. Our full tech crew and management will follow the boats to Curacao to rebuild them and make them race ready in just a few days time. The rally starts off in Bonaire so the boats have to travel in convoy from Curacao to Bonaire and wait there for the start of the rally. The convoy will surely be something special to watch! With Bonaire as starting base the first two days of rallying will take place around the island. Day three will take the rally from Bonaire round Klein Curacao to Curacao. The last stages of the rally will be held at Curacao. Of course a sporting event is not a real sporting event when there is no big party at the end! Luckily this has been taken care of perfectly by Offshore Rib Rally 785. The venue for the Offshore Rib Rally 785 party is the beautiful Kontiki Dive & Beach resort at Curacao. After a long week of rallying, running and swimming the teams finally have a chance to let all their stress go at this big final party of the Offshore Rib Rally 785 – The 2009 Caribbean Edition!
In the weeks to come we will keep you updated on progress towards the 2009 Caribbean Edition. Whenever important information becomes available you will find it here asap. So check back here regularly! Also be sure to take the quiz to have a chance at winning some of that amazing Offshore Rib Rally 785 clothing!