Often the sport of sailing’s direction is susceptible to fashions and trends. At the moment, multi-hulls and one-design classes are fashionable, and as a result, the MOD70 is well placed to attract sailors and sponsors (and perhaps even fans).
The MOD70 used the Dusseldorf Boat Show to announce the 2012 MOD70 European Tour. The stopover based event will start in August and cover 5,000 miles of offshore racing as well as in-port races in five European cities. The tour will start in Germany and visit Ireland, Portugal and France before finishing in Italy.
Six 70 foot trimarans, will be driven by well known names – sailors like Michel Desjoyeaux, Sebastien Josse, Sidney Gavignet, Roland Jourdain, Steve Ravussin and Yann Guichard.
Marco Simeoni, President of MOD Ltd. said:
“Today we’re happy to be able to present the first edition of the race around Europe, aboard MOD70s. Since 2009, we’ve been working on putting together a one-design class and a coherent circuit for racers, boat owners and our partners. With the current economic context colouring Europe, things haven’t been easy but we’ve managed to pull it off.
The cities of Kiel, Marseille and Cascaïs are the first three cities to have signed up alongside us and the contracts with the remaining two cities involved in this project will be signed in the coming days.”
The MOD70 European Tour 2012 Calendar & Host Cities
- Kiel (Germany) from 29 August to 2 September
- Port to be announced (Ireland) from 5 to 9 September
- Cascaïs (Portugal) from 12 to 20 September
- Marseille (France) from 23 to 30 September
- Port to be announced (Italy) from 3 to 7 October
The MOD70 European Tour Route
The MOD70 European Tour has been developed in conjunction with OC Thirdpole, the organisers of the Extreme Sailing Series, and a company with a long history of offshore logistics through campaigns like BT Team Ellen.
Hervé Favre, Event Manager OC ThirdPole says:
… there’s the marketing aspect, with our desire to select cities whose image and notoriety are recognised on the international playing field, and who are keen to communicate their outward-looking attitude to the sea. We’ve also endeavoured to involve the Teams and their partners, who have guided the final decisions.
The teams will start from Kiel in Germany, on the Baltic Sea and sail towards the east coast of Ireland. The route will be via the North coast of the Shetland Islands which will see the teams reach 60° North – as far north as Cape Horn is south.
After the stopover in Ireland, the teams will sail in the North Atlantic, heading south for Cascais in Portugal. The MOD70s will cross the Mediterranean Sea to Marseille (France), before a looped circuit around the islands of Corsica and Sardinia to an Italian port looking out onto the Ligurian Sea.
Kiel Start Supported by Betfair
Kiel will host the start of the MOD70 European Tour. Local authorities were the first to commit themselves wholeheartedly to the project announcing the backing of online gaming company Betfair in December 2011. Betfair is also a sponsor of Kiel Week, held in June.
Uwe Wanger, Managing Director of Kiel Marketing GmbH said in December:
“In collaboration with Betfair, we’re proud to play host to the first leg of the European Tour, an event that forms part of the MOD70 circuit, for their first race in Germany. These spectacular boats represent technology at its highest level – a point they have in common with our new partner Betfair. With this stopover, we’ll be punctuating a series of prestigious sailing gatherings and we’re hoping for between 50.000 and 80,000 spectators at the heart of Kiel to witness the racing.”
Sidney Gavignet, skipper of the MOD70 Oman Sail also has marketing on his mind. He said:
This European Tour really ties in with the agenda that my partner OMAN had in mind, which involves promoting tourism among the European public across the sultanate.”
