Starting in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, on 26th July and finishing in Cherbourg, France, after rounding the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland, the 2025 biennial event marked its Centenary year and saw more boats participating than ever before. Building on the successful broadcast of the start of the race in 2023, Optical Media further extended its use of LiveU’s live production solutions with the addition of LiveU IQ (LIQ™) to deliver the best available cellular connectivity in this most challenging environment.

In order to fully capture the excitement as the 3,000 sailors prepared to take on this immense endeavour, Optical Media produced a 15-minute build-up show. The team then live streamed the start of each class, showing the many challenges the crews have to manage, as these huge boats jostle to get the best position at the Royal Yacht Squadron start line – without colliding or accruing a two-hour penalty for setting sail too early. Coverage of the race was broadcast live to the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s YouTube channel and to two European broadcasters.

Optical Media deployed several LiveU LU600 units to live stream in 4K including one on a high-speed RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) equipped with a specialised stabilised camera system. The RIB followed the fleet as they powered across the Solent delivering close-up footage of crews pushing to secure prime positions. LiveU’s LIQ, which dynamically and intelligently switches mobile network operators to provide the highest performing set of cellular connections available, was used on the RIB to ensure a reliable signal would be maintained in these most demanding circumstances chasing the fleet at up to 15-20 knots.

To complement this dynamic coverage, a second LiveU unit was strategically placed at Egypt Point, which is a pivotal vantage near to the start line, while a third unit provided elevated shots from a hilltop framed with the picturesque Hurst Castle in the background.

Optical Media also used LiveU’s LU-Link, which enables a plug-and-play cloud service as part of LiveU's on-site production solution. LU-Link eliminates the need for a custom firewall configuration, enabling the LiveU server to be hosted seamlessly on an unmanaged network.