Round Ireland 2013 Victor's Press Release

[tonto]

Originally Posted by Siochair

I don't know about anyone else but I found myself absolutely enthralled by the tales on here from (Oops! Almost said the competitors) the participants. Everyday on here we were treated to riveting narratives of the adventure.

I was eagerly awaiting each new installment and update as they came in.

The guys who I had the most admiration for were those who were doing this off their own backs, and doing for the Challenge, which was exactly as it was promoted, not a race.

The adventures, hardships, highs and lows that we were treated to daily were enough to keep me wanting to know more, and to hear more updates. I read of the challenge before it started, and wished I was there, I read the threads during the buildup, and wished I was there, I read the updates and wished I was there, even during the bad weather, and the long days, I wished I was there, and in the future I hope I could be, but if I thought that the same final press release would be put out, I would not wish to be there!

The stories did not need embelishing with tales of 75Mph winds, and other crap. This really put a sour note on the event, as it was enough of a challenge to compete, and complete the challenge.

Obviously for some, there was bad luck involved and for whatever reason, some entrants could not complete the entire challenge , or needed assistance.

I have only so far seen the comments of 1 person/team who seem to think that they need to gloss over that fact and basically pretend they completed the whole challenge, and to boot, won a race that never was.

This I find very selfish, and is insulting to the other teams. this seems to be in direct contradiction to so many other comments from other teams about team spirit, helping each other, and comraderie. However as I did not take part, I cannot really put words into the mouths of the other teams, but thank them all for their words, blogs/updates, and to let them know, that I think of all the teams except team Mazda, to be the real challenge winners.

[Boats&Outboards]

So it would seem team Madza may claim to have won the "race" but have lost all credibility in doing so! That's a nice return for their investment

Peter @ Boatsandoutboards4sale ~ www.BoatsandOutboards4Sale.co.uk ~ 07930 421007

[tonto]

Originally Posted by Boats&Outboards

So it would seem team Madza may claim to have won the "race" but have lost all credibility in doing so! That's a nice return for their investment

Peter @ Boatsandoutboards4sale ~ www.BoatsandOutboards4Sale.co.uk ~ 07930 421007

In my eyes yes.

If a company support claims by an individual which turn out to be false, then it makes you wonder what other "little white lies" they may be happy to tell you. Maybe all of Mazda's advertising, and "facts" about their products should be taken with the same pinch of salt?

Not a very good advert for Mazda for sure.

Not that I am thinking of buying a Mazda, but if I were, and I knew this story, I would be thinking again

[Nos4r2]

No comment from the team in question? I see they've been checking the thread at least twice a day since it started.

[tonto]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

No comment from the team in question? I see they've been checking the thread at least twice a day since it started.

Maybe he is lost for words

[ashbypower]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

No comment from the team in question? I see they've been checking the thread at least twice a day since it started.

Probably to busy reporting back to Mazda how this forum is discussing the Article and the "Race" and what a positive and longlasting impression the "Race" has made on Fourmites and how enthralled we all are at their great Victory !!

[M.Thornton]

Getting a bit tired of all the Tom and Hugo knocking by a load of arm-chair
critics. The event was fantastic and greatly enjoyed by all those who participated.It's Tom's job to get every bit of publicity for his sponsors that he can and he is not the first nor will he be the last journalist to gild the lily.

I for one couldn't give a damn what label was put on the event Cruise,Race,
Challenge or whatever Bring on the next one Hugo and put my name down now

[two stroke mick]

M. Thornton. I would have to agree there sometimes appears to be a bais against HMS and now TMS which I find unpleasent. I have never met HMS or TMS but reading and reviewing events orgainsed by HMS has brought me a lot of pleasure over the years
TSM

[MustRib]

I am inclined to agree with Mike on this.
I would do the event again in a heart beat whether or not it was called a race, challenge or a dog and pony show.
I would happily do it as a private entrant as before, but if an opportunity came along for some or all of the considerable costs associated with doing it to be absorbed by a sponsor or ten, yes.... I would dance with the devil to get to the finish line. The press releases are clumsy spiel, they read like Mazda's PR department junior has been at work and maybe they have. We like the thought of plucky amateurs battling through etc, so I understand why this seems so at odds and wrankles, but I dont think this thread is helping anyone now, its just dragging something I remember as a brilliant experience through the dirt.

[boristhebold]

I can understand many of your frustrations, from an outsiders point of view it does tend to suggest very strongly that he 'won' the 'race' which is a shame as it distracts from the main reason for the event being the challange, the team effort and not to mention the charity fund raising oppourtunity.

I greatly enjoyed reading the post updates while the event was taking part.

Maybe its just some PR person from mazda getting it very wrong.

Maybe he just needs to explain about the PR, people understand mistakes and accept honesty but they dont forgive if no explanation given.

Your all winners in my view, well done for taking part, well done for completing and well done for raising some charity funds.

Best Wishes

[HUMBER P4VWL]

I too followed the build up to the event and of course the event itself, including the stories and was impressed that HMS had put the event together. I even felt sorry for the grief he got when last minute costs came in for fuel.

I've never met him personally but have been in contact with over the last couple of years on a coupe of things. I bought the mag, "liked" pages etc

... However, I don't like being taken for a mug and from what I have read in articles, there are statements that aren't gilding or elaboration, they are just lies. Why not just say how it was, the "challenge" was very challenging and how you put your boat together made no odds.

For someone to then make false claims and say they won etc creates a bad image, and when combined with a "very fortunate" lifestyle, you can't expect people not to comment, criticise or be slightly angry and take the piss.

No ones perfect but it all seems a bit of a farce.

[Rogue Wave]

+1 For the above post

Call me old fashioned but I'm no lover of lies.

Out of interest is there any discussion of this on the Official Rib Website

[freespirit3]

+1

It's still such a shame that this has brilliant challenge has been tarnished with such a poor self centred article.

I understood that the boat actually broke down and had to be towed by another competitors boat i mean associates boat hence Lewis Hamilton wouldn't have finished his race and claimed a win. I wonder how ribeye now feel about this, it is a real shame. HMS did such a good job organising this, shame that silly talk put a tarnish on the event.

This press release could have been so much better and the article from the Mazda pr man was equally very arrogant and weak.

[Dan Gurney]

Normally wouldn't comment on such matters, but have had a couple of drams so here goes...

To me, the whole thing has exactly the same tone that has put me off PB&R and persuaded, me long before the round Ireland challenge, that I wouldn't be renewing my subscription. PB&R reads like a collection of adverts and puff pieces loosely cobbled together with some 'filler' (has anyone actually fitted a gas cooker to their RIB, or indeed powerboat?), and the fact that the whole thing is now being spun as a great achievement for their (relatively) underachieving custom build is no great surprise.

I suppose it's a bit of a lose/lose scenario in a way. If you make it round in your super-spiffy custom build but then so does someone in a self-prepped SR it kind of takes the shine off the 'Challenge' as a PR exercise. But if your ICE-equipped exotic gets TOWED IN, while yer man in his SR plugs on, then your kinda left with no option but put your ear plugs in and stick with the original narrative you sold the sponsors.

Mazda's association seems a bit tenuous too. Are we genuinely being asked to swoon with admiration? The MAZDA support vehicle covered ALMOST 2500 MILES without breaking down! Whilst CARRYING THINGS! Than again, as TMS pointed out, they needed a "stylish" support vehicle, so all the obvious candidates were out.

Sorry to bang on, I don't know why I continue to be surprised by the self serving nature of most media outlets. They're all the same, some are just better at hiding it and allowing you enjoy the spectacle and forget your just watching a bunch of corporate shills. I suppose all I'm really pointing out was that in this case it was/is all so poorly disguised.

Anyway, as you were.

[Alan Priddy]

This is all very well but everyone that paid to take part in this event helped TMS get his sponsorship so he could do it for nothing and then claim that he won a race that had never taken place. Without you guys paying out your hard earned money there would be no event and it wrong for Tom to make the claims he has to justify his own pumped up excistence. How does Tom earn his money? Alan P

Originally Posted by MustRib

I am inclined to agree with Mike on this.
I would do the event again in a heart beat whether or not it was called a race, challenge or a dog and pony show.
I would happily do it as a private entrant as before, but if an opportunity came along for some or all of the considerable costs associated with doing it to be absorbed by a sponsor or ten, yes.... I would dance with the devil to get to the finish line. The press releases are clumsy spiel, they read like Mazda's PR department junior has been at work and maybe they have. We like the thought of plucky amateurs battling through etc, so I understand why this seems so at odds and wrankles, but I dont think this thread is helping anyone now, its just dragging something I remember as a brilliant experience through the dirt.

[TomLinley]

Statement for Team Linley Swan:

I have read this thread as it has developed and also spoken on the phone to various people who I thought it was appropriate to do so.

Before this goes any further I wanted to make a statement and put right a few key facts concerning the press release that was issued.

Firstly and above all my apology goes to those that entered the event and may, understandably feel upset by reading a release in this nature, as most completed the challenge with their own savings and made the event what is was, without corporate backing or support from various sponsors.

In the nature of sponsorship, marketing and PR there is always a commercial angle or story that needs to be made out of an event, to gain a return on investment. As we all know a dramatisation of the event or story is common place and to be expected from a PR team, their role and salary comes from looking at the subject matter and making from that a news worthy piece.

If you take a moment to look at our own teams website: www.roundireland.co.uk you will see no where a statement of competition or race terms. Rather the page listing the details of the event is labelled expedition and throughout the text, reads challenge, adventure and expedition. Words that are factual of the event while at the same time emotionally capturing the spirit of the event.

For our team, we wanted to build a special boat that improved the bread in the 6m category. We believe we did this, building a boat that had a new internal structure, custom built around a special seating structure with a redesigned lay-up, thus meaning the boat could maintain high speeds and operate in rough weather, with great comfort and zero fatigue on the structural elements of the vessel or crew.

Where possible we used our sponsors ethos of lightweight, fuel efficient design paired with good looks and race boat handling. Again we achieved this, with a new layup structure and weight distribution the A600 can achieve speeds of over 48knots, out performing many phantoms and hard sports boats of a similar size in a recent Poker Run. The boat during the Round Ireland challenge was extremely fuel efficient averaging close to 1.8-2nm per litre at an average speed of 27knots, thanks to weight of the boat, its set up and distribution.

The set up of activation with a sponsor is run through various avenues, out sourced PR companies, internal teams and external, you cannot police at all times the language used or messages from other departments, no matter how hard you try.

In this case, I was given a draft copy of the submitted press release. In this it refers to the "race" and "class win", "chequered flag" etc, also use of bio oil and fuel, a matter taken from a previous LS concept from 2 years ago and not relating to the current vessel in question!

I made several changes to this document, carefully balancing fact with marketing emotion. My changes were not copied into the final document thus the final version was not approved. Neither myself or my company had sight of the end release before its final release. In answer to those that have commented about the boat not completing the challenge due to the RNLI and travelling by road, I would again like to clarify this. At no time did we call the coastguard or RNLI for outside assistance in coming into Fenit. The weather was horrid this particular day, and at the time we turned tail en route to Dingle the A600 was running beautifully. As we neared the headland with the goal of gaining protection from the wind we came into the fistral, where the wind was accelerating down the mountainous hills and hitting the water, creating water spouts on a wind speed recorder showing wind speed figures twice the strength of that in the bay.

We made the decision that to round the headland was too dangerous and we headed back for Fenit. Approx 6nm from Fenit, we saw the coastguard helicopter above us, who after having tried to reach us on CH16 to monitor our progress (at the request of the land support crew) and could not reach us (we were running on channel 8 between the three boats), they made the decision to launch the lifeboat and helicopter as a safety precaution and shepherd the fleet into Fenit.

At about this time, my boat developed a fuel issue where a fuel switch-over leaver had become faulty, the boat would run for about a mile and then cut, we decided that rather than rectify this situation at sea we would take up a tow with one of the other RIBs and sort the minor issue in the safety of the marina. Once the lifeboat had arrived and monitored the situation they suggested they take up the tow, as they were a bigger vessel with more hands on deck, and suggested we come onboard for a cup of tea, there was no issue or hectic situation, they took up the tow for the last few miles and we enjoyed a ride in the wheelhouse. Who, after being at sea for several hours in a small boat in rough conditions, would turn this down?

We ran the boat in Fenit for the sponsors crew without problems, the coastguard advised the organisers that due to the weather not decreasing they strongly suggested we did not run the event the following, therefore the organizers grounded the event the next day, although as a crew we wanted to go by sea early the following day, it left no choice but to cross the headland by road. (We missed around 30 miles of the course, although we had re-done that amount returning back to Fenit!) Once in Dingle, we had the help of the engineers from Teams Blackhawk, Option 4 & Top Cat and were able to fully rectify the issue with the fuel line and we continued without problem for the rest of the trip.

We understand the frustration from some that believe this release gives the impression of something else, however I want to assure you, as Linley Swan we have always billed this event as an offshore challenge, building a boat to not only complete the trip but do so, testing new technology and maintaining a higher level of comfort, performance and fuel economy, we believe for our size we completed our goal, often the boat ran better at higher speeds than some boats in the fleet could maintain, thus meaning, as with several others, we had to back off and burn more fuel, even when paired with boats of similar size and horsepower.

It is worth to highlight the positive sides to PR companies and social media, through the event teams were able to raise funds for charities, our own team managing to raise over 28,000 for Great Ormond Street, a massive amount of funds which will be hugely beneficial to children who need it most, this was only made possible through our sponsorship platform and marketing assistance.

Anyone who would like to demo or test the boat and its equipment is more than welcome to book themselves in with Linley Swan, I would welcome reviews of the boat and comments from those that have actually seen the vessel and had the experience of helming her.

Likewise if anyone has further comments or questions in relation to the event, our team, boat or sponsors I welcome your call or email. I would be happy to settle any issues privately and personally.


Best

TMS

[Barrowboy]

Quote 'In the nature of sponsorship, marketing and PR there is always a commercial angle or story that needs to be made out of an event, to gain a return on investment'.

As a seasoned PR practitioner and a proud member of the professional body for more than 20 years I couldn't disagree more.

The Institute of Public Relations defines PR thus: 'The planned and sustained attempt to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics'.

In the cold light of day only you will be able to calculate your return on investment but from where I sit, some planned and sustained 'professional' assistance might yield a greater return for you in the years ahead.

And no, I'm not pitching for business.

[Dirk Diggler]

Originally Posted by TomLinley

Statement for Team Linley Swan:

with a new layup structure and weight distribution the A600 can achieve speeds of over 48knots, out performing many phantoms and hard sports boats of a similar size in a recent Poker Run.
Best

TMS

TMS, or "Billy Liar" as we like to call him, he can't even lie straight in bed!

Hey Billy, sold any Vectors lately?

[tonto]

Originally Posted by TomLinley

I made several changes to this document, carefully balancing fact with marketing emotion. My changes were not copied into the final document thus the final version was not approved. Neither myself or my company had sight of the end release before its final release.TMS

Mazda PR at work? Shame on them

[tonymac]

I think there are lessons learnt for everyone here.
Also the feelings of the Ribnet supporters and members has been very clearly spelt out.

The main thing is that the Challenge was a wonderful event. I read with bated breath all the reports and watched the weather and AIS avidly.

Congratulations to ALL who took part and who finished. A fabulous achievement.
Well Done!