December 2003
Nice Cruiser! Come on, if you are going to build a real cruiser, isn't this about what it should look like? Of course it is. Make the cockpit a bit bigger and she's about right. This 65' "Performance Cruising Yacht" is the latest from the clever fellows at Owen Clarke Design Group. |
| A BendyToy Wins Hobart! A
bit of an afterthought after all the Skandia/Zana/Grundig hoopla
(though not to the corrected time winner, however!), a Beneteau
40.7, First National Real Estate, skippered by Michael Spies, is
the Overall winner of the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, winning both
the IMS and IRC divisions! Truly impressive and I'm sure it must
royaly frost say, the guys on Yendys, eh fellas? The
horror of not only losing to the Beneteau, but also losing to your
old boat (Bounder) too! Bummer. Full results here. |
| Hauling Ass!
Not first
in, but very likely to have delivered the most impressive performance
in the Sydney Hobart Race, Sean Langman's Andy Dovell designed,
and much modified Open 66 Grundig has given the big boys quite a
scare. Here their 8 man crew are smoking along, looking very fast
indeed. Check out that aft windward rudder. More on that and the
modifications to the boat can be found here |
One of Three This is Esmerelda, the 1st of 3 Farr designed TP52s under construction at Goetz. Its good to see this class contuniue to carry momentum. Also interesting is how this box rule class has drawn designs from a wide range of folks - from the early Andrews boats; four from Farr; Nelson; Davidson; Reichel/Pugh; Bakewell-White, and now Jim Donovan. Really, if one was to consider building a custom boat, short of a 70' plus, this has to be the place to be. |
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Okay perhaps not, but a damn fine boat to own. And that is the Synergy 1000, from one of our advertisers right here at SA. They have just one boat available from their original production run, so anybody looking at a quick, great looking 33 foot sport boat would be smart to look here. Since Synergy started advetising here, they have sold one to New Orleans (should be racing in a few weeks) and would like to offer one for you in your area. SA readers who are interested in getting this last 1000, can get it for $64,995.00, a $5,000 discount off list price. Click here to get to their web site for more info. Above photo courtesy Sean Trew. 12/22/2003 |
Stocking
Stuffer?
| On Their Way
Skandia WildThing and Zana, the two 90' plus monsters sporting double head rigs on their way in the Sydney to Hobart Race in decidedly less than ideal conditions. Suprisingly though, the 66' Grundig-AAPT, having split from these two, is hanging very close by. WildThing has the lead for now. Follow the action here. This picture is from our friend Andrea Francolini. 12/26/2003 |
Merry Xmas! This
little Christmas drawing comes to you courtesy of SA friend all
around good guy, Bob Perry. Clearly a rule-beater if I've ever seen
one. Peace Out, The
Ed |
| Code
Orange
No,
not the by now tiresome "security" warning that the US
is curently under (I believe the term for the blase reaction to
such a warning is now called "threat faigue"), but rather
one big, bad and yes, Orange 125 ft cat designed by Gilles
Ollier. This big pussy is going to gear up for a shot at the
Jules Verne Trophy record sometime in early '04 with Bruno Peyron
as skipper. That should be a wild ride. Photo courtesy Gilles Martin-Roget
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| Comin' at Ya!
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| I SPY
These are some shots that came our way of the latest version (and perhaps retail ready?) of Quantum's new string (or load path) sails. That Quantum has been developing this product is not exactly a secret in the industry, (we caught wind of it months ago), but it looks like Q is getting these things looking quite nice. They appear to have a lot of fiber, and word is that they are quite light. We maintain that the first sailmaker that gets a good version of a string sail to market at a good price will make huge inroads. Word also is that Q is going to try to do just that. Known for an excellent product at a premium price, It remains to be seen how good this final Quantum product is, how they are priced and how the market reacts. 12/17/2003 |
| Happening!
This is the Jim Donovan designed TP 52 well under way. We know little other than it will be the new Trader, it is being built by MLBoatworks in Brazil, Novis Composites is doing the rig, and UK Detroit will get to show what their Ultra sails can do. It's great to see some, if not new blood, different blood enter the ring. Jim has deserved a shot like this, and we're pulling for 'em. 12/16/2003 |
900 Pound Gorillas
Now that the world is swimming with Le Monstres - the huge (and getting huger) maxis of all sizes and configurations, and given that many of them don't rate well (or exceed rating limits) under various rules, they often need a class of their own to race in. Some of the more famous events like Sydney to Hobart and the Transpac have restrictions, and now we see that the next Newport to Bermuda race will have a class for these mammoths.
One would think that there would be no restrictions at all for this, but lo and behold, even this class has limits.
The Big Boat Demonstration Division is open to IMS Racing yachts with speeds between 413.9s/m GPH and 344s/m GPH, based on the 2004 IMS Rule, and not exceeding 30 meters LOA.
The question remains; why have any rating restrictions at all? Many of these big boats aren't (or shouldn't be) designed with any B.S. IMS rule limitations in mind. They are designed to be big and bitchin and fast. Granted, 30 meters and 344 s/m GPH is hardly slow, but if you are going to give these things their own class, screw the restrictions. To use an old auto racing phrase from back in the day when they weren't too concerned about silly things like rules, "Run what ya brung."
12/16/2003
| (What's the Story) Morning Glory
No its not Pyewacket, rather the equally new R/P maxZ86 Morning Glory on her first sea trial in Sydney Harbor. No doubt a superb program, any bets that these guys will be faster than the guys on Pye? Oh and apologies for the lame Oasis reference in the title - couldn't resist. 12/12/2003 |
| On Sale Now!
One of you clever readers with way too much time on your hands sent us this sneak preview of the February Sailing World. I see they are responding well to their core audience. 12/12/2003 |
| Name Game
Here's an oldy, but perhaps never a goody. Name the year, the boat, the builder, the sailmaker, and the series. Bonus points for crew/skipper. First correct answer posted in the forum wins SA swag. Have fun! 12/11/2003 |
| Phucket!
We've not seen this little dude before, nor frankly have we heard of the Australian designer, John Duncanson either, but that means little when it comes to showing something like this. Called the Phuket Sports 8, it is (we think) built in Thailand and retails sailaway for $35,000 US. Apparently it had unreal speed at the King's Cup, expecially considering it is 25'. If nothing else, although they lose points for having the outboard hanging off the transom, they get bonus points for the hottie sitting in the back!
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| A Bit Tippy!
Nice Though
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| The Brits Are Coming!
This is one of the new C Class cats fron Team INVICTUS, a UK Challenge for the 'Little Americas Cup.' Looks interesting and they have quite a lot to say about their effort. Check them out www.team-invictus.co.uk. |
Sailing Hall of Fame Museum?
I suppose we all like the idea of the above headline, but a couple of questions spring to mind: A) who would actually finance such a thing; and B) who the hell is going to go to the St. Lucie County land on the South Beach Causeway in Florida to see it?
"Hey kids, guess where we're going for vacation? The Sailing Hall of Fame Museum St. Lucie County land on the South Beach Causeway in Florida!!" Gee that's great, Dad.
The man behind the idea, Joseph H. Vars Sr., envisions a "$10 million-$15 million International Sailing Hall of Fame along with a Boating Hall of Fame and Museum to spotlight the history and accomplishments of sailors." Hard to imagine, but we've been wrong before. Here's the whole story.
12/03/2003
Hey, Mind If I Steer?
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First onboard shots from the new 98' Skandia Wild Thing. Jeez that looks like fun. Courtesy of Andrea Francolini
Welcome Aboard
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12/01/2003