Inside SailGP, Part 1: What It Takes To Cover Racing Action From Sea and Sky

Lean, mean remote production relies on Riedel comms and video technology

SVG Audio Editor Dan Daley contributed to this article.

When it comes to the broadcast compound at a SailGP race, the most noticeable thing is that there isn’t one. The vast majority of the production crew is located at Timeline Television in London.

“It’s a completely remote production,” says Jeffrey Strössner, programming director, SailGP, Riedel.

But the lack of an onsite crew doesn’t mean the production and SailGP technical efforts are not impressive. In New York this past weekend, for example, the SailGP tech area, which is similar to a garage area for NASCAR or a paddock for F1, was located at Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, NJ. All 10 race teams had large tents for their yachts and teams as they got ready to race. There was also a small cabin where the audio and video signals coming in wirelessly from the yachts, helicopters, and chase boats were monitored.

SailGP’s Warren Jones: “The technology we use to make SailGP happen and to get it across to viewers is all part of the same package.”

SailGP CTO Warren Jones says that, in the organization’s first year, 2019, he thought that REMI would be the future of broadcasting. That made SailGP one of the first organizations to fully embrace remote production.

“I wanted us to do it from the start rather than later,” he explains. “We did it because the technology was there; we did it because we think the cost is beneficial for us; and we did it for sustainability, as we’re not flying people around the world.”

Riedel technology plays a big part in nearly all aspects of SailGP operations. The event layer provides the critical communications enabling the sailors to communicate with each other as well as with team members on shore, race officials, and even people in the London broadcast center. Modified waterproof Bolero S beltpack systems originally designed for the NFL are worn by the race-team members, and a Bolero antenna is mounted on the back of the hull of each yacht.

“The beltpacks,” says Strössner, “are waterproof, slimmed down, and simplified to what the crew really needs: a power switch, volume buttons, and a waterproof, military-grade connector, which can also do charging at the same time.”

Transmitting all the audio, video, and telemetry feeds is done via the Riedel Mast Head Unit (MHU) custom antenna atop the F50 wing. A waterproof media case on each yacht houses the electronics that feed the audio and video signals to the antenna.

The Riedel gear that handles everything from image and audio capture to transmission from the SailGP racing yachts

Among other Riedel tech, Artist frames and SmartPanels are ubiquitous in the “paddock” area and in the race village, used by team coaches and skippers to talk tactics and strategy. The Riedel MediorNet Micron high-density signal interface are also deployed for overall signal distribution.

“We are literally taking these [comms and camera] signals, transmitting them to shore, and then handing it over to the fiber lines to go back to London, where the final product is produced,” Strössner explains. Riedel’s staff of 14 deployed for the race, he adds, set up and commission the gear onsite before handing the operation over to London.

The Bolero Run, Air Pro, and Max headsets are robust enough to handle the rough rides of the race and the occasional collisions. A coarse windscreen fitted over the mic element allows them to be squeezed like a sponge when they get waterlogged. The Riedel kit also includes a refresher for the cameras: a water hose connected to a small bladder and pump washed away salt as it accumulates on the lens during races (a feature also controlled from London).

Riedel’s Jeffrey Strössner with one of the Riedel PTZ cameras placed on the SailGP racing yachts

For the broadcast production, two cameras, built by Riedel and developed with a technology partner, are mounted on each racing yacht: a PTZ camera and a fixed wide-angle camera, remotely controlled by the SailGP production team at the Timeline facility in London. The PTZ camera can be remotely cleaned during the race to rinse off salt water or debris. In addition, the race is captured by cameras on three chase boats and two helicopters.

“All told there are 25 camera signals,” says Strössner. “We also have a reporter with a handheld RF camera who conducts interviews on the boats after the race. We also have two handheld cameras in the event village roaming around, and a camera that is like a camera on pit lane in F1 shows the coaches and race management situated in the RaceHQ alongside the racecourse.”

The production process is seamless with the UK operation. Commentators and talent interview skippers mid-race in real time from 3,400 miles away with minimal latency. The yachts’ six-man crews are connected wirelessly to team coaches at monitors in the race village (last weekend, the village was on Governors Island in New York harbor). A more traditional MESH network is used for telemetry.

The operation’s event side and broadcast side blend into each other during the race: the same headsets used for team communications are used for the interviews or even for talking to commentators located in London.

“When they do the interview,” notes Strössner, “they use the cameras on the boat and zoom in on the guy at the steering wheel. He uses the same comms headset used to communicate with the team, which is great because that means the microphone is already in the correct location.”

Each SailGP race team on shore can monitor the video feeds and also cut highlighs via Riedel Simplylive.

Because transmitting yacht telemetry data and other parameters is crucial, both an LTE transmission path and a Riedel MESH network are used to ensure that all the data arrives as quickly as possible.

“We’re shifting through the data and processing it for the team in London that produces the graphical overlay,” says Strössner. “[The data goes] directly to the helicopters, so they know where to go without any delay.”

Each race team comprises not just the crew on the yachts but the coaches on shore, who monitor telemetry data and camera signals and communicate with the team on the boat. Technology has allowed coaching to move well beyond being on the water with a handheld radio.

All incoming and outgoing audio and video signals are monitored from a small cabin at the race location.

“There’s a big push towards sustainability and cost with a young series like this,” says Strössner. “The intention was to remove as many on-the-water assets as possible. The first goal was to remove a coach from the [chase] boat. There was a lot of pushback in the beginning because [the coaches] felt like they needed to feel the breeze and just needed to be out there. We put them in front of our Simplylive replay system, which lets them see many more angles. They get to see all the cameras from the boats and the helicopter, and they get to see a data feed. They get a better perspective, and that improves the coaching and the race.

“Simplylive,” he continues, “allows the teams to quickly build highlight clips during the race that are then uploaded into the cloud for each team. Those timely clips are important for each team to use during their race debriefs, which usually happen within an hour of the end of the race.”

Says Jones, “SailGP is an exciting sport, and the technology we use to make it happen and to get it across to viewers is part of the same package — right there at the cutting edge.”