The Yacht Racing Forum

This is a must attend event for media representatives, yacht racing photographers, cameramen and TV production companies from all over the world:
• The annual conference for the business of sailing and yacht racing.
• The place where you will meet your future clients and partners.
• The time in the year when the present and future of the sport gets debated by its key personalities.
• Award ceremonies for the best sailing photographer and sailing video production.

The two-day conference will be held alongside the Yacht Racing Design & Technology Symposium, dedicated to professional designers, builders and suppliers of racing yachts.

The conference will focus amongst others on youth sailing, risk management & safety, new classes and events, social networks and new media, the latest technologies and much more.

An intense social programme will also give everyone the opportunity to have fun and provide numerous networking opportunities.

The conference programme is almost complete, with totally renewed subjects and numerous new speakers. No less than 19 conferences, 17 thematic presentations and two award ceremonies are planned during the two days event.

Our speakers will amongst others discuss how to bring more youngsters into the sport and keep them once they have completed their junior sailing career, how to deal with the new risks associated with foiling and competitive sailing, race boats insurances, injuries prevention through a proper diet, social media, sailing equipment for women etc.

The sports’ most popular, dynamic or extreme classes and events will be discussed, including the America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race, Class Ultime, foiling Figaro, Classe 40, IMOCA and more.

Run alongside the business & marketing conference, the Design & Technology Symposium will evoke the future of foiling and sailmaking, the importance of aerodynamics in performance yacht design or the structural design of IMOCA 60s. Our speakers will present the latest tools for data analysis, boats paints that improve performance whilst being respectful of the environment, as well as race boats life cycle.

The Yacht Racing Forum has been promoting sustainability since 2011; the subject will once again be at the heart of the conference, thanks amongst others to new ideas and concepts brought forward by our partner 11th Hour Racing.

We are proud to announce that Marcus Hutchinson (IRL), Andy Rice (UK), Gary Jobson (USA), Dobbs Davis (USA) and Luca Rizzotti (ITA) will be our conference’ Masters of Ceremony.

Vice President of World Sailing, TV commentator and producer, Gary Jobson will chair the module dedicated to youth sailing and the future of our sport.

Owner of Sailing Intelligence, journalist, broadcaster and marketing consultant, Andy Rice will be in charge of the session dedicated to marketing & media.

Director at Vivi Resources Limited, and involved in top level yacht racing for decades, Marcus Hutchinson will chair the sessions entitled “Regatta and teams management” and “Top of the Sport”.

Dobbs Davis will chair the “Design & Technology Symposium” whilst Luca Rizzotti will present the conferences dedicated to foiling.

Two prestigious keynote speakers are expected to open both conference days: Charles Caudrelier, winning skipper of the Volvo Ocean Race onboard Dongfeng Race Team and Richard Brisius, the new owner and CEO of the race known until today as the Volvo Ocean Race.

Both Caudrelier (on October 22) and Brisius (October 23) will share their vision for the future of the sport and discuss its strength and weaknesses.

Akzo Nobel Boat to Be Exhibited At YRF
AkzoNobel is the title sponsor of team AkzoNobel, who recently completed the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18, finishing fourth overall. The gruelling eight-month event – which involved sailing 45,000 nautical miles around the world – is considered to be one of the world’s toughest sporting challenges. Team AkzoNobel’s record-breaking race boat will be making a special visit to Lorient in October, offering guests of the Yacht Racing Forum a unique opportunity to visit the first boat in Volvo Ocean Race history to travel more than 600 nautical miles in 24 hours.

AkzoNobel.
pic by Thierry Martinez

Akzo Nobel will also invite the entire Yacht Racing Forum community on Sunday evening, October 21, for a pre-event drinks reception.

“The Volvo Ocean Race was a fantastic showcase for our coatings and colour expertise because the entire fleet was coated with AkzoNobel’s International and Awlgrip yacht coatings,” explained Nathalie Quéré, team AkzoNobel Campaign Director and Brand Director of AkzoNobel. “All the boats required custom-made colours, which were developed by our own colour experts. It was exactly the kind of extreme test of endurance and performance that our products are made for. We are delighted to bring team AkzoNobel’s history-making VO65 to the Yacht Racing Forum and give our friends from the yachting and racing industry a chance to see the boat – and how great it looks – for themselves.”

The Yacht Racing Forum 2018 will take place on 22-23 October in Lorient, France.

For More Information and Registration HERE

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