Orbital Sound Ltd

OC Events' Extreme 40 Sailing Series Concludes in Europe and Moves to Asia

Orbital builds on success of European series, providing integrated event communications for inaugural Asian tour

Tim Sherratt explained:
"A major enhancement for this year's season involved the design and implementation of a sequenced 5-minute countdown to the start of each race, in different languages. This was done to enhance the VIP and general public's experience, building a sense of atmosphere and tension prior to the start of each race. Thanks to our experience of the event previously, we were also able to fine-tune a number of elements, including cutting down substantially on the equipment build and installation times, as well as reducing the storage and transportation requirements - major issues given the tight timescales involved. We introduced several new pieces of kit this year, including the d&b E8 Series loudspeakers, which allowed us to leave the equipment rigged outside all the time, even in the harshest of weather conditions. It has been a great season, and we are looking forward to the inaugural Far East series over the next few months!"

The Extreme 40 Sailing Series is conceived with a uniquely different format to other events, a comprehensive sailing entertainment that packages the sport to appeal to the public and media, while providing VIP client hospitality. Each event comprises five days of racing, across an established format of short, fast-action head-to-head races on open sea, picturesque lakes and restricted canals, plus a media day, VIP sailing days and special events.

Orbital's Event Communications division focuses on providing specialist solutions for a range of events - from large-scale cultural entertainments involving audiences of thousands, to specialist sports programmes, such as OC Events' Extreme Sailing Series. Highlights of 2009 also included the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where Orbital has been providing sound systems and event communications for the past 15 years, covering some 35 venues and supporting over 300 productions per day throughout the Festival.

Orbital Sound is providing the event communications for the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia, kicking off at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in November. Following the success of the 2009 European Series, OC Events has announced three confirmed race events, concluding in Oman in February 2010.
From OC Events' perspective, Orbital was the natural choice to provide support for the Asian series, as Event Manager Stuart Whitman comments:
"We have had excellent support from Orbital over the past two seasons, improving our event communications dramatically. They do a supreme job, whatever the conditions, and we have a great working relationship. We wanted to maintain the continuity for the Asian series, giving us quality communications without drama - as there is more than enough of that in the racing itself! This is an exciting move, as we embark on evolving the Extreme Sailing Series format and bringing it to new audiences around the world."

Orbital has provided a comprehensive communications and multimedia infrastructure for the event over the past two years, providing audio relay capabilities, ship-to-shore communications, UHF radio commentary and multimedia facilities at each of the six European events - co-ordinated by Orbital's Director of Event Communications Tim Sherratt and project engineer Marek Tkacik. As well as handling all the event management communications, Orbital provided the communications systems for the race officials and umpires to handle the scoring and timing requirements, ensuring that all start and finish logistics operated seamlessly.

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Tim Sherratt explained:
"A major enhancement for this year's season involved the design and implementation of a sequenced 5-minute countdown to the start of each race, in different languages. This was done to enhance the VIP and general public's experience, building a sense of atmosphere and tension prior to the start of each race. Thanks to our experience of the event previously, we were also able to fine-tune a number of elements, including cutting down substantially on the equipment build and installation times, as well as reducing the storage and transportation requirements - major issues given the tight timescales involved. We introduced several new pieces of kit this year, including the d&b E8 Series loudspeakers, which allowed us to leave the equipment rigged outside all the time, even in the harshest of weather conditions. It has been a great season, and we are looking forward to the inaugural Far East series over the next few months!"

The Extreme 40 Sailing Series is conceived with a uniquely different format to other events, a comprehensive sailing entertainment that packages the sport to appeal to the public and media, while providing VIP client hospitality. Each event comprises five days of racing, across an established format of short, fast-action head-to-head races on open sea, picturesque lakes and restricted canals, plus a media day, VIP sailing days and special events.

Orbital's Event Communications division focuses on providing specialist solutions for a range of events - from large-scale cultural entertainments involving audiences of thousands, to specialist sports programmes, such as OC Events' Extreme Sailing Series. Highlights of 2009 also included the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where Orbital has been providing sound systems and event communications for the past 15 years, covering some 35 venues and supporting over 300 productions per day throughout the Festival.