Welcome to this edition of Yacht Business partly recorded in Jeddah where one of the preliminary rounds of the America’s Cup has just been delivered – in style. There is a lot to unpack here – from prejudiced pre-event commentary by sections of the western and social media to lessons in destination marketing and stakeholder management to direct comparisons between this event and the SailGP Dubai event.

I’m going to try and cover all of these things.. BUT FIRST we have a special interview with David Graham, CEO of World sailing…

The Script…

Welcome to this edition of Yacht Business partly recorded in Jeddah where one of the preliminary rounds of the America’s Cup has just been delivered – in style. 

There is a lot to unpack here – from prejudiced pre-event commentary by sections of the western and social media to lessons in destination marketing and stakeholder management to direct comparisons between this event and the SailGP Dubai event. 

I’m going to try and cover all of these things.. BUT FIRST we have a special interview with David Graham, CEO of World sailing…

Live interview… 

In the interests of disclosure, we were not paid to attend this event. Not one flight. Not one room night, not one kick-back. We have no sponsorship from any of the organisations mentioned. 

However, unlike many of the armchair pundits, we probably have a better understanding of what the reality of life in Saudi Arabia is really like. We’ve spent months on the ground around the country talking to business leaders and extra ordinary people. 

Which brings us to the artificial ‘controversy’ and hypocrisy from sections of the sailing community and media in the lead-up to the event. 

I want you to Imagine a regime. Since coming to power, these leaders have thumbed their noses at the international community in relation to human rights. You know exactly who I’m talking about – of course it’s the current UK conservative government. 

Now imagine booking a trip to London to watch the Premier League or Wimbledon and being asked why you were supporting a government that is committed to pulling out of the European convention on Human Rights so they can send refugees to Rwanda.

Do any of us really want to be judged by some of the words and actions of our leaders? Should the next Ashes cricket test in Australia be boycotted on ‘sustainability’ grounds because a previous Prime Minister held up a lump of coal in the parliament and proclaimed it as the future? 

Or maybe we should not attend the F1 in Texas on the basis of oppression of women by banning their access to abortion. 

I’m tempted to say, “let he who is without sin, cast the first stone..” and speaking of throwing stones, doesn’t the USA still have the death penalty? 

Of course, there is a lot of work to be done to change hearts and minds when it comes to the (re)building of brand Saudi in the eyes of the international community. 

One way to do that is to invite people to visit, to experience it for themselves. To be made to feel welcome in a genuine way. That’s easier said than done. 

There are thousands of tourist destinations to choose from all around the world. So how to give people a reason to visit. 

Sport is a tried and tested way of literally putting cities on the map. 

In fact, Sport may be the Ultimate Destination Marketing Tool.

Quick, think of a city in Saudi Arabia. Now think of an Australian city. 

Competition for visitors and inward investment isn’t just between countries, it’s also between regions and cities within countries. 

Back in the early 90s, the Australian Grand Prix was held in Adelaide. The MotoGP was raced at Eastern Creek in NSW. But Melbourne had a strategy to change all that. 

Bringing the F1 Grand Prix to Melbourne was controversial. More controversial than running an America’s Cup preliminary event in Jeddah. 

Firstly there was the cost. The right to host a Grand Prix is expensive. Money that could be spent on ‘better things.’ 

The race is a street circuit on public roads causing disruption to traffic and users of Albert Park for weeks before the race. Then there is the noise from the cars and helicopters and general disruption to thousands of local residents.  

The first race was in 1996, and nearly 30 years later, some still complain about the nuisance. 

But… for a few hours a year, the MELBOURNE brand is broadcast live around the world to a desirable demographic who follow Formula 1…. And with the popularity of new formats, like the Netflix documentary – Drive to Survive, the coverage reaches a wide audience. 

Some of that audience might say – why don’t we go to Melbourne for the Grand Prix next year or… why don’t we hold our APAC regional conference in Melbourne next year or… why don’t we relocate our APAC HQ to Melbourne?

But Jeddah and Saudi Arabia has something that Melbourne doesn’t and it’s the thing that makes the strategy to host an F1 Grand Prix and an America’s Cup event so clever.

Let’s start with a geography lesson. Saudi Arabia is the 13th biggest country in the world by land mass. Smaller than Greenland, larger than Mexico. 

The total coastline of Saudi Arabia is 2,640 km or 1640 miles.. That’s roughly double the coastline of California 

The Red Sea coastline of Saudi Arabia is 1,760 kilometers (1,100 miles) which is very-roughly double the length of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race or the Fastnet Race… 

Here’s a fun fact – according to the Inter web net, there is only 3 nautical miles difference between the length of the Sydney Hobart race and the Fastnet race. 

Like many countries in the Middle East, there is a rich maritime history in a city like Jeddah. With the right conditions, a desire to compete with the rest of the world as a venue for high-profile sporting events, and the backing of key leaders Jeddah is well placed to position itself as a world-class sporting destination for a very specific kind of sports fan.   

If you listened to our report from the 2023 Dubai Boat Show, you will know that the goal of many of the ports in the Middle East is to tempt Superyachts to spend the Northern Hemisphere in the Red Sea rather than the Carribean. 

Jeddah is closer to Mykonos than St Barts, but proximity is not enough. Many superyacht owners are sports fans. They will move their yachts to be close to the action. Whether it be the Football World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, the Olympics, the Monaco Grand Prix or the America’s Cup. 

This elite target market could explain why the preliminary regatta was sponsored by Neom. 

In addition to the mind-boggling LINE city project, Neom’s developments include SINDALAH, a purpose built Superyacht Island and Yachting Hub. 

This isn’t just buying a Premier League team. This is a long-term strategy which includes building infrastructure and facilities, creating jobs and attracting inbound investment. 

And  so to the event.. The America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Jeddah, presented by Neom…

Where does the experience begin? Well… that depends on who you are. 

I’m going to digress a little bit more here before I get into our thoughts about the event, because it’s important to understand that experience is a relative concept. 

A 10 year old Saudi girl who lives in Jeddah is going to have a different experience to a VIP Guest, watching from a Superyact or a jaded sailing pundit, albeit with a good understanding of the region. 

To be fair, many events get this wrong. EIther there is no differentiation between the buyer personas and stakeholders, or only one group are focussed on – for example, VIP guests. 

As a foreign fan considering visiting Saudi Arabia, probably for the first time, the journey was very much a ‘sort it out yourself’ kind of affair. Perhaps it is not the job of the organisers to make it easier for people to attend the event, but simply linking out to the Visit Saudi website is not really sufficient. 

I would imagine that most fans of New Zealand, USA, UK, Italy, France and Switzerland don’t know that passport holders of those countries can get a tourist visa for Saudi Arabia on arrival and that there are low-cost airlines that service Jeddah and there are both 5 star and 3 star hotel options throughout the city. 

Most of the comms leading up to the event was not – SEE YOU THERE, but ‘THIS IS HOW YOU WATCH ON YOUTUBE IN YOUR TIMEZONE’

It would be very hard to work out what the foreign visitor impact of the event was. There were several other large events happening on the same weekend, including the ATP Next Generation Tennis finals… 

I would imagine that when you fly into Barcelona in 2024, there will be signage and promotion for the America’s Cup at the Airport. There might be already. But flying in from Riyadh, there was nothing to advertise the event’s happening. Even the Red Sea Film Festival had decals on the floor of the airport, welcoming visitors. 

I did spot a small, AC branded booth in arrivals, which presumably was used a few days earlier to welcome teams and their entourage. Again, for context, I arrived on Friday morning – 1 day into the 3 day event…

A note on scheduling. This is a tough one for events coming to the Middle East. The working week in Saudi is Sunday to Thursday. Foreign fans would need to take days off to attend the Thursday and Friday racing. International sporting audiences are used to the final day or race being on Sunday. So again, which stakeholders are you designing for? Locals? The Superyacht crowd? Die-hard fans who will take holidays to try something new? A Live TV audience? 

Anyway… My experience is that I arrived into the domestic terminal. There was no presence or awareness building, not like the Red Sea Film Festival or the ATP Next Generation final or the FIFA Club World Cup. 

In year’s gone by, for other events, there would be a Volvo waiting for me to take me to the venue… that was BU – Before Uber. Both UBER and the local equivalent Careem have designated pick up points at the airport. Tick. There is no public wifi at the airport. 

Now if you are optimising for the local or the superyacht crowd, then global data roaming is assumed. Luckily… and this is one of the wonders of Saudi hospitality – if you ask a nearby stranger to turn their phone into a hotspot long enough to order an Uber, they will do it gladly. 

Incidentally, If I was Uber or Careem, I would install free Wifi hotspots next to their pick up points for those who don’t have international data roaming plans. Think of the edge cases! 

The only venue I had seen relating to the event was the Jeddah Yacht Club and Marina. So that’s what I entered as the destination for the driver. Here is a free tip for event organisers – Do a deal with Careem. Have a promo code for rides to and from the venue and get Careem to educate their drivers where to go – because the driver relying on Google Maps is not enough. 

About 1600 meters from the venue, flags promoting the event began to line the main road into the precinct. Signage began to appear about 600 meters out, along with traffic control and security. 

Maybe the organisers were expecting 5,000 cars. Certainly there was parking for about 5,000 cars. But let’s just say that the negotiation with security from 600 meters out from the Jeddah Yacht Club (which is where I thought I was meant to be going) was not frictionless. 

In fact, I had to go to the Jeddah Yacht Club Academy to pick up my credentials… but the entrance to the FanZone was another kilometer away. 

If you somehow managed to get to the official entrance to the Fanzone, you would have been greeted with a world-class setup. 

Some of the sailing events in the Middle East take place on building sites or makeshift marquees hastily set up by the water’s edge – the Jeddah Corniche is a perfect spot to have a day out, eat, shop, watch sailing and more.

It’s not a coincidence that the Saudi Sailing Federation offices are located in this park. This is the difference between working with the local community to deliver an event and jetting in and out with no real understanding how the city works. 

The Fanzone included an ‘immersive experience’ and an impressive stage where the final prize giving was held in front of a sizable crowd. 

Though touted as ‘Stadium Racing’ this was not really the case. The prevailing wind for the last two days meant that the start line ran parallel to the shore about 2 or 3 hundred meters off the beach and boats sailed away from the crowd. 

There were however numerous big screens which could be watched in the shade! 

The only downside of the Fanzone was that I couldn’t find any merchandise. It would have been nice to have a memento of being at the first sailing event of its kind on the Red Sea. 

Probably the best fan experience of any sailing event I have ever attended in the Middle East and better than many established western events. 

Let’s face it, this is the only experience that matters – right?

Again, thanks to the investment in infrastructure at the Jeddah Yacht Club and Marina, VIPS got to experience the racing in luxury at ‘the Pyramid’. 

Rather than suffering the heat in an non-air conditioned tent, the AC Club featured a balcony view of the racetrack, hosted pre-race talks in English and Arabic, visits from sailors and the America’s Cup itself, a big screen and some great catering. 

This was almost the ultimate seat in the house, because as we said, the prevailing wind meant that even from the balcony, the yachts looked rather small at the top mark and as the sun got lower in the sky in the afternoon and the mist rolled in, the boats became mere silhouettes on a gold / grey sea.

The best seat in the house (apart from watching on a big screen) was probably from the 51 meter superyacht Pearl. 

Events like this are a success or failure through conditions that are almost totally out of control of the organiser. No matter how good sailing rights holders get at designing boats that create a great spectacle in as wide a wind range as possible, the fact is that if the boats were drifting around in displacement mode, no amount of event management or organisation is going to make it memorable. 

In other words, if the wind doesn’t blow, there is no show. 

Fortunately, fans in Jeddah and those watching around the world were treated to some thrilling racing on the limits of the boat’s design. One local journalist asked me in awe – “they have no engine?” 

Those watching the AC40’s foiling past at speed didn’t need to be patronised by converting knots to kilometres per hour. For some, this might have been, probably was, the first competitive sailing they had ever seen and it was nice to see that the coverage sought to educate rather than pander to the lowest common denominator. 

There is hours and hours of content dedicated to the racing and the on-the-water action, that’s not what we are about. From what I heard from seasoned sailing commentators, they were impressed. 

The America’s Cup Preliminary event in Jeddah delivered way above my expectations. This was a world-class event that showed off the city’s investment in marine related infrastructure and the hospitality of the people. 

Small annoyances can be forgiven, since this is the first time the event has been staged. The production values and the delivery was better than many events that have been running annually for decades. 

Jeddah could host the America’s Cup, but… there are challenges that probably make Barcelona a better choice, at least for 2024. 

The biggest challenge is the weather. Even in early December it was hot and humid. It’s bearable for a few days, but it would be extremely difficult to run a longer event like the larger America’s Cup. 

Hopefully, the event changed some people’s minds. Not the armchair whingers who pine for 12 meter yachts plodding miles off the coast of Newport, or those ignorant to the reality of life in Saudi Arabia and not willing to see for themselves, but people who were surprised by the warmth of the reception and the quality of the event and those who came expecting something and got something completely different. 

Here are some soundbites from the prize giving ceremony in front of a big crowd… As with many sailing events – the number of people is not important, what matters is who they are. First up, the Chairman of the Saudi Sailing Federation Hassan Kabbani…

That’s it for this episode of the Yacht Business Podcast. 

2024 will be a big year for sailing with the America’s Cup proper scheduled for the back end of the year, but before that we need to finish off 2023 with events like the Sydney Hobart race. 

Don’t miss an episode, be sure to subscribe via your favorite podcast app, sign up to our newsletter or follow us on Linkedin where you can comment and join in the discussion. 

I’m David Fuller. Thanks for listening. 

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