大象传媒

Lesley Curwen reports from Cowes, the historic home of sailing on the Isle of Wight, which is tucked under the southern coast of England. She gets soaked to the skin with saltwater as she tries out the most extreme form of corporate hospitality - catamaran racing with Olympic medal winning sailors. But can a sporting event like this, designed primarily to make a commercial return, succeed as a sport?
Lesley speaks to Mark Turner the chief executive of the OC group, which organises the event. He tells Lesley the series was created specially for the financial company ishares. The company wanted a sports event tailor-made for them as sponsors, which focussed on giving VIP clients a different kind of experience.
So what do sponsors get for their money in sailing, or in fact in any sport?
Henri Lloyd, which makes sailing gear and fashion garments, sponsors lots of these events and its joint chief executive Paul Strzelecki, tells Lesley how effective the sponsorship is.