Oceanography and yacht racing –a handful of competitors,
millions of spectators
David Griffin
George Cresswell, Kim Badcock
Madeleine Cahill, Chris Rathbone, Peter Turner
Why do we ruin our own Christmas?
• we don’t really care if the record is beaten or not, or who wins
• we do care about competitors’ safety
• yachtsmen are fine test-pilots of the ocean forecasting system
• we reach a huge audience, with the message that the ocean is incredibly dynamic, and that techniques exist for monitoring it
• we’re proving that its possible to base real-world decisions on present-generation ocean-observation technology
Ocean racing is like Formula-1
• it’s a proving ground
• fishermen are just as savvy as yachtsmen
• but many potential stakeholders have been slow to see, or believe, the benefits of ocean information to their industries
• without more user-pull, the golden years of four altimeters flying will not be repeated