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Shtp 2012

A

Astolfo

New member
I would love to do the shtp in 2012 and would like to start getting some budget numbers, where to get the qualifiers race schedule, and answers to the regular questions a first SHTP has. I am in Seattle and although I would love to sail it to SF and back from HI I can’t afford the time away from my job so I would have to get the boat shipped to SF and from HI back to Seattle.
Thanks
Astolfo
 
Astolfo,

I'm in Seattle too and just did the race. Maybe we can get together sometime and I can answer your questions. I'll send you a PM with my contact info.

Adrian
 
Good luck in putting together a campaign for 2012. As you probably know, Adrian won the race this year, so if he's offering you advice.... take it. He had a really successful qualifier, race and delivery home, and he did it on a serious budget.

See you in 2012.

And Adrian, it will most definitely be on in 2012...
 
Sponsorship... how'd you do it?

In the recent Lat 38 article Adrian mentioned he wishes he'd gone after sponsorships like Adam and Ronnie.

I'm wondering if you guys or any other who gained support, wouldn't mind discussing how you approached your sponsors and how much of your budget/equipment you were able to obtain?

As I start looking at my shopping list, it's pretty overwhelming.

Thanks,

Jake
 
Any of this year's racers want to share actual numbers for expenses?

I suspect I did it cheaper than most. I've been adding up figures and I'm at about $8k. It might get closer to 9 if I could find a missing credit card statement.

That total doesn't include several weeks of lost income, since I had nowhere near enough vacation time saved up to cover the 7 or 8 weeks that I was off work.

Max
 
My situation, as well as Adam and AJ's, was a bit unique.

I was approached by a very generous individual who works with a wounded veteran non-profit on a volunteer basis. This individual agreed to loan me his boat for the race, with basically no strings attached. The non-profit had a program that grants a "Warrior's Wish" to wounded veterans. I qualified for the Wish, so I said my wish was to race the SHTP, and as such, I asked for them to pay my entry fee and buy a SSB, auto tuner and radio modem. This came to 5 grand in total. So truth be told, I wasn't really "sponsored" by the non-profit. I was granted some funding which was actually available to any wounded veteran who qualified.

On top of that, I had a boat yard pull the boat off the trailer, give us a few days of yard time, and then splash us for free. The marina gave me a free slip, I got 1 gallon of free bottom paint, free foul weather gear and PFD, and some free halyards. I got some free video cameras, discounts on batteries, discounts on this, discounts on that. Pretty much everyone that sponsored me was either just super nice and wanted to support me (a wounded veteran) and what I was doing (raising money and awareness for a wounded veteran non-profit). I approached every sponsor individually, generally with a packet containing pictures and information about what I was doing. Some people never replied, while some said "sure, what do you want?" and some said "we'll sell to you at cost.". Getting stuff at cost can be a good deal, often times 75% off of retail. If this can cover the additional $900 or so in entry fee (for being sponsored) then it's a good deal. It costs a sponsor nothing to sell to you at cost. Free exposure for them, so it' s a win-win.

I am working on some big time sponsorship for 2012, but it will be completely different and will again be a situation that is rather unique.

Having said all of this, I would not advise you to rely heavily on sponsorship. The race does not have much of a media presence, and a sell for big sponsorship will be difficult.

All in all, I would say Warrior's Wish spent 10-15k on the race, and that doesn't include any new sails. The boat was already more or less entirely equipped, just requiring some parts being replaced, boat repairs, maintenance, etc. It's definitely not a cheap endeavour and I will bet that most competitors went over their budget for what they originally thought it would cost. I know I did. It wiped me out this year and i'm still getting back on my feet financially.

But it was most definitely worth it.

Good luck on your campaign in 2012.
 
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I'm a CPA in my other life, dealing mostly with businesses (vs. individuals).

Clients are looking for a measurable return on their advertising dollars, including sponsorships. As Ronnie said, his situation was the exception. AJ's was also unusual, being based more on personal relationships. Each of the three guys (Adam, AJ and Ronnie) is a "Mr. Personality" and could sell ice to eskimos.

You'll need to work hard to promote your sponsor's business and given the SHTP's limited exposure (for that matter, sailing's limited exposure), it's a hard sell showing how you will do that.

Local marine businesses who already benefit from our boat prep dollars are the most likely candidates. We had several who sponsored the race this time and last. Even getting that sponsorship (for the organization vs. an individual racer) wasn't easy. (Thanks Rob, Ruben and Bill!)

I would plan on funding your own race and if you pick up some discounts along the way, that's great. If those discounts require advertising on your hull or sails, you will probably have to pay the higher entry fee as a sponsored entry.
 
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Sponsorships

Interesting question. As part of the club's and race's culture, commercial sponsorships haven't been aggressively sought and if the SHTP stays true to its past profile, sponsorship won't be a common feature of future races.

I've raised money for non-profit organizations for almost the past 40 years and helped raise sponsorship funding for a US-based Whitbread syndicate in the late 80's. I know a lot more about raising money than sailing (yes, Phil, Rob, Dan, Bob, Al, Greg, Adam, Mark, Ken, Steve, Jeanne, Jim, Synthia, etc. I know that isn't really saying much). The trade off for sponsorship money comes in the form of sponsor expectations/demands/control and this changes the event. It could change an amatur sailboat race into a marketing campaign in which money trumps skill. SSS will probably never go down that road but in this era of reality TV, it could be a temptation.

I hope the SHTP remains the "race for the rest of us" for a long time.

Regarding budget, my advice is to sit down and figure out the most it could possibly cost then double it. Then sit down and figure out how long it will take to get the work done then triple it and in the frenzy of rebuilding your percfectly good already boat leave a bit of time to learn how to use all the new gear before the race starts. Oddly enough this formula worked even the second time I did the race except for the learning part. I didn't get that right either time.

Best of luck.

Bill Merrick
 
more on "sponsorship"

I totally agree with Bill's take on the cultural change should sponsorship grow. Furthermore, I really appreciate Ronnie's openess about his entry. "Carpe Diem" is definately an understatement in regards to Ronnie!

What I meant in regards to "sponsorship" was the ability to buy at cost or deep discount. I recognize the low profile of the SHTP would make it very difficult to garner an out and out commercial sponsorship. The ability to gain free product would be great but probably the exception to most competitors experience.

I've been looking for somekind of part-time work to get into an employee discount program but I'm finding Denver is pretty shallow in boating venues and none seem to be hiring. I think I might need to reapproach some of these guys with an invitation to help me by selling at cost and see what they say.... I guess they can only say no.

Thanks for this discussion and your feedback. I see many challenges in making a go at 2012 with outfitting a small 40yr old boat from scratch reasonably is my first big rock. Next on the docket is layout, prioritization, not to mention west coast blue water experience. 22 months already... feels like the race has already begun.

Off to a NEW (and only) dedicated sailing shop in Denver today... wish me luck.

jake
 
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got mentor?

I figure while I'm at it, I'll just go ahead and ask...

I've connected with Jeff Lebesch but he's pretty tied up until November so I'm reaching out to find any other SHTP vets willing to connect offline to learn more about me and my 26' floating brick :), to offer some experienced advice on making the most of my time and resources.

Hopefully this kind of request isn't taboo.

Thanks!

jake
720.220.7035
jakesuesam at yahoo dot com
 
This is the best place Jake and it's definitely not "taboo." Others probably have the same questions you do.

I've been getting some inquiries about SHTP 2012 on the SHTP e-mail but since my tour of duty is over, I'm suggesting they post here.


@AJ and Paul: To quote a famous Canadian singlehander/circumnavigator whose boat name is Haulass (or similar):

"You guys are choking me up, eh."
 
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In 1996 when I tagged along but didn't do the race, the SSB wasn't a requirement. You could have either an SSB OR a 406 epirb. That year, I bought no new sails, went with an engine I couldn't run for more than fifteen minutes without overheating, and had new standing rigging put on my Ranger 29. I didn't have an autopilot, but I had a Navik windvane. I maxxed out a credit card at $10K.

With Ankle Biter in 2008 I went *extremely* cheap and spent about $8K but I had a lot of gear left over from my Santana 3030, including one autotiller and the SSB and the EPIRB and another Navik. I didn't really much use the nifty new spinnaker I bought from Synthia and in retrospect I wish I'd gotten two 110% headsails stitched together instead. Not that Synthias chute wasn't nice, I just didn't happen to use it that much. That would have brought it down to $6500.

If you add in the flights, the house that Joan and I stayed in, the meals over there, etc. etc it would be at least another $2500 more.
 
How much have I spent over 3 races?? I'd really prefer not to think about it.....and I was sponsored for the first one in '02 to the tune of $30K....

The one thing I can tell you, is that by the time you are counting fly specks on the ceiling for the last 5 minutes before you die.....the money you spend sailing to Hawaii in the SHTP one summer will be of little consequence.

Jim/Haulback
 
After reading Alan's post, I thought I'd fill in some of the background for my low expenses.

- No new sails. I bought three used sails (2 spinnakers and a staysail), and Rui at Rooster Sails rehabbed my main and #3. Actually the only time I used the #3 was between the start and Pt. Bonita.

- I borrowed an SSB (thanks Scott!) and Monitor vane (thanks Phil!). For the SSB I worked up a rope-covered antenna at negligible expense.

- Nobody flew out to Hawaii to meet me, and I stayed on the boat in Hanalei.

- I took shameless advantage of Jim Kellam's offer to provide taxi service, including a trip to the ER in Kapa'a when my gashed foot wasn't healing satisfactorily. Thanks Jim, I owe you.

Max
 
C.A.R.D. is AWOL?

Anyone know how to get in touch with the makers of the C.A.R.D.? I found their number in Virginia but no answer and their website are static pages that describe the product but no links to buy it. Who sells these things?

Thanks,

jake
 
If you really want a C.A.R.D. you can buy mine - I took it off the boat about a year ago. It works but I found it to be pretty ineffective.
 
C.A.R.D. is AWOL?

JakeinDenver said:
Anyone know how to get in touch with the makers of the C.A.R.D.? I found their number in Virginia but no answer and their website are static pages that describe the product but no links to buy it. Who sells these things?
Click to expand...

Hopefully, nobody sell them any more. They were a good idea back in the day. With continuous transmitting low power broadband radar signals being put out by the more modern radars.... not likely to work....

Come to think of it do active responders like SeeMe work when your vessel is swept with broadband radar? http://www.sea-me.co.uk/about.html

AIS and a VHF radio ( those on the bridge are notorious for watching neither AIS or radar displays, but a call to their vessel gets their attention) might be a better way to go.

John
Blueberry
 
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