The liberating cannon shot of the great ocean races never sounds at a round hour.
Vendée Globe, Route du Rhum, Transat Jacques Vabre… There’s never a round hour when it comes to the start of the world’s greatest sailing races. Scheduled for Sunday lunchtime, between pear and cheese, the starting gun never sounds at 1:00 p.m. on the dot, as we might have imagined, but always two minutes later.
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The reason for this slight delay is to ensure the best possible television coverage. At 1:02pm, the start of the 40 competitors in the solo round-the-world race will be broadcast live on as many channels as possible during prime time.
The organizers are obviously aiming for the 1 p.m. news without upsetting the sacrosanct driver. In this way, the credits of the newscast can be aired and the headlines announced before the start of the live broadcast and the liberating cannon shot for the fleet.