Ever since the first live-streamed sailing video hit the web, we’ve dreamed of a day when a major ocean race featured full, live access to the deck of a racing yacht on a round-the-world trip. We imagined a Brady Bunch grid interface, where you can click on the square you want to see life through the eyes of the camera aboard your favorite team. With crew getting in front of the camera at set times for interviews, reports, or comedy routines.
The technology has been there for a while, and hopefully the Inmarsat costs will someday make something like the above vision a reality. In the meantime, we’re stoked to see that the Volvo Ocean Race is launching a primitive version of just what we’re talking about.
Called Live Xs, the live video interviews – nine days of them for the final 6 weeks of the race – will be hosted by Rick Deppe, and if you’ve connected to the Livestream feed, you can post instant comments, questions, and responses in the chat window of the VOR channel.
Head VOR-TV guy Robert Penner sent us a little note with a schedule for Friday’s live shows.
We carried out a series of mostly successful tests with each boat, and on Friday, May 25 we have our next series of Live X interviews to mark the halfway point through Leg 7. You can see examples from yesterday’s test day on our page here.
LIVE VIDEO CALL TIMES – FRIDAY, MAY 25
- 0530 UTC Groupama (if available)
- 0900 UTC Telefonica
- 1300 UTC Abu Dhabi
- 1400 UTC Team Sanya
- 1500 UTC PUMA
- 1530 UTC CAMPER
