As part of the entry agreements each vessel carries identical media equipment and event sponsors Volvo called in broadcast specialists BHP to design and specify the on board A-V system. All eight yachts are equipped with cameras and A-T mics for sophisticated online coverage via relayed web cams and audio feeds, allowing visitors to the official website to ‘catch up with the action, as well as supplying the sounds and pictures for a world wide television audience.
The crews wear compact ATWU101 UHF belt pack radio systems with MT830CT5 miniature lavalier mics, while super-directional AT877 shotgun microphones provide the ambient and below-deck coverage.
Systems designer, BHP’s Steve Selfe, explained that the specification for the project was one of the most demanding he has ever encountered: "There is probably no harsher climate for audio-visual and multi-media equipment than the Volvo race. The gear has to work day in, day out, in what are often atrocious conditions, for the duration of a 10-month race. Following numerous conversations with Audio-Technica, I was convinced that A-T had both the range of mics and the build quality required for such a specialist project. We are now nine months into the race and the fact that I haven’t had to replace one single microphone is a testament to their incredible reliability. The performance of the mics has been nothing short of exceptional throughout the race."
(Ruth Rossington)
