February 2004
Rack 'Em Paul Bieker sends us this little 7.65m sportboat that they've been racing down in NZ. Word is that it is very quick and certainly look as much. Those of you who want to get in touch with Paul, click here. Photo courtesy Boating New Zealand. 02/27/2004 |
| 52' Cant I was talking to one of my few remaining friends who is leaving today on the San Diego to Manzanillo race aboard the former Andrews TP 52 "Victoria 5", which is now the Andrews/Brown canting keel 52 "Victoria 5." What was interesting about the conversation, besides my usual witty banter, was just how complex these things are to sail. V5 has a daggerboard just ahead of the keel, and we talked about the constant adjustment of the foils and rig to get the thing to speed and keep it there. It has taken them some time to get the systems figured out, and initially they were worried that the boat was a dog, but they think the boat is now pretty dialed in. It will be interesting to see how they fare against a pretty good class which includes an Andrews 61, 77, and 80, all modern and very fast! Look for a report of what it's like to sail one of these machines 1,200 miles here in the next few weeks. 02/27/2004 |
Jump Start Orange gets off to a nice start in their chase for the RTW record. Geez, with Cheyenne, Orange and Geronimo all at sea, this actually is a pretty amazing thing to follow. We'll do our best to keep up with it all. Or not. Photo from G. Martin-Raget. More info on the Orange effort can be found here. |
Blown in Frisco It rained and blew really hard up in SF yesterday. Apparently this new JS 9000 didn't much care for it. At least the mast didn't break. Photo from Gareth Orkney 02/26/2004 |
"Say, is that Bondo?" They
can put the bondo away. For now. Orange is finally underway to
see what they can break next on their RTW record attempt. We're
just kidding about breaking again. As Triumph
the Insult Comic Dog says "I keed, I keed." 02/26/2004 |
Orange Crush Maxi
catamaran Orange 2 skippered by Bruno Peyron when it came back
Sunday in Lorient after breaking its starboard crash box during
its attempt against the Jules Verne Trophy. I guess this is the
"technical problem" they were speaking about! 02/23/2004
|
| Cheyenne: 578 nm in 24 hours Meanwhile while Orange is licking their wounds, Team Fossett have got that monster hauling ass now! Over 400 miles ahead of the 2002 RTW record as of Sunday, and firmly in the "roaring forties", Cheyenne is doing a superb job, especially considering their slow start. Click here for the latest. 02/23/2004 |
| Dutch Oven
According
to the group Hiswa, which organizes boatshows in the Netherlands,
this, called a G2 is what they voted as Boat of the Year for 2004.
2004? It's only February! Neat looking in that old school way, but hardly Boat of the Year material. Must not be much happening over there. Check out the G2 here. 02/23/2004 |
| Finn Win
Ben
Ainslie did what hasn't been done in over thirty years: he won
his third consecutive World Championship in the Finn Class. The
kid is something special. Click here
for the overall results. 02/23/2004 |
| The Man
Here
are a couple shots of Ben Ainslie kicking ass at the Finn Gold
Cup at Rio de Janeiro. He has a seven point lead with three reaces
to go. Click here
for the full results. 02/19/2004 |
| Swingin' Single!
This is a peek at a new Robert Hick 39' just under build. Designed for short handed sailing for some anarchists down under, this one looks like fun. We don't know much more than it'll have a canting (30 degrees) and lifting keel, and the owners don't give a rat's ass what it rates, but reckon it'll move right along. We reckon they're right. More as we get it. 02/18/2004 |
| Ugly Again
Last week we submitted a couple of pictures of the most recent interpretations of ugly design, both in IMS and F-1. We were reminded however, that the ugliest (and perhaps slowest, thankfully) has to be this hideous IMS 600 designed by German "Mani" Frers Jr. And some people wonder why we bitch about a rule that allows boats like this to be designed? By the way, what marketing genius from Mercedes Benz decided that that particular part of the boat would be a good place for their logo? You want your company to be identified with that? 02/17/2004 |
| Wankers You may know that we are putting together a little string sail comparison among the lofts that provide such a product. We've decided to use the Mumm 30 as the vehicle because it best represents a size boat that is most likely to be considered by the audience. To their credit, all the sailmakers have been great in providing the info that we have requested. Except one. Any idea who that would be? Of course it is the sailmaker formerly known as Sobstad.Tthey are still Sobstad, but in name only. I have even tried e-mailing some of their various "agents", and not one has even bothered with a reply. How many of you remember what a great name and product Sobstad once represented? Under Peter Conrad's leadership, this company has taken so many missteps and miscalculations (and flat pissed off a lot of people, both associates and customers), that they are a mere shadow of what they once were. What's actually very funny about this is not only are they missing out on an opportunity to make a good presentation of their Genesis product, but you have to know that the reason none of their "agents" has replied is because they have been directed not to do so. I'd love to have a copy of that e-mail! It might read something like this: "Dear Agent: Do not respond to anything from Sailing Anarchy. They are bad, bad men. Especially Scot Tempesta who is a disgruntled former employee." Naw Conrad, we're not bad men, not even disgruntled. We just call 'em like they are. 02/17/2004 |
| Testing J/133 Jeff Trask from Sail California (SoCal J Boat dealer) has been cool enough to ask me up to Newport Beach for a little test sail on the new J-133 later next week. I'll go give it a spin and report back to y'all. Also, Jeff claims to have just sold the first J/100 on the west coast, and look for us to do a review in June when the boat gets here. Should be fun. 02/19/2004 |
Cool Tool
Apparently the keel mechanism is easy to use with minimal loads, and the boat is heard to fairly fly. We'll get some more info and hopefully a report from the designer himself. 02/12/2004 |
| Ed Buys A Racer Cruiser! Some of you know I've been looking my version of a racer cruiser for some time. I'm pretty god damn picky, and I want it all: advanced design, good looks, fast, well built and versatile. After a year-long search, I found it. I spent a bit more than I wanted, but every time I look at it and experience how it performs, I couldn't be happier. Oh yeah, did I mention that it hauls ass and my kids??? Read on. 02/12/2004 |
| Brand New Risky Business One of the more intriguing new builds would seem to be the new Dubois/Oliver designed canting keel '90, Genuine Risk. Not much press has been put out about it, but we have managed to get a pretty accurate report anyway. -Ed. Randall
Pitman’s slightly delayed Genuine Risk is still under construction
at McConaghy’s in AUS. The 90’ canting keel Dubois/Oliver
design is stalled with the build team installing a bowsprit/prod
on the boat. The boat had planned to make this year’s Ensenada
race its inaugural race (Pitman splits his time between his new
digs in San Diego and the Mid West) but that has been pushed back
to the Great Lakes this summer for both Mac events. The Bermuda
race was considered but vetoed. 02/11/2004 |
| "Hey, Thanks for the Plug!"
What Big Time sailmaker, known for endless plugging, self-promotion and worldwide market domination, just featured a competitor's sails in touting their latest class participation?
The first correct guess posted in the forum gets a SA hat. Not only must you identify the competitor's brand and model, you must identify who from that brand is standing in the back of the bus. Good Times. Update: SA fan aka GP guessed correctly: UK Ultra with the legendary Butch Ulmer in the photo. Big Time sailmaker has since changed the photo to the one below, but it was fun to have a little fun, right? Photos courtesy North Sails. 02/10/2004 |
| Good Move Mattering
little to most of us, but a sure sign that the final death of
IMS is near, The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has announced
the Overall Winner of the 2004 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race will be
the boat that wins the IRC (International Rule Club) fleet overall,
not IMS as in years' past. Surely pissing off the three guys who
bought IMS boats to win such a thing, it signals that something
better, in terms of handicap boats and handicap racing, should
be ahead for at least one big race. Now, if they'll dump the antiquated
upper rating limits that neutered boats like Skandia and kept
others like Shockwave from even going, they'll be on to something. 02/10/2004 |
Double Ugly Coming or going, these two are just plain fugly.
There are definite parallels between what has happened to both IMS boats and F-1 cars. They have become technological prisoners of their repetitive restrictive, numbing and inbred overdeveloped rules. Both now turn out awful looking vehicles that, because every nuance of their rules have been exploited (particularly F-1), look just like everybody else's. Although truthfully the brand new Williams FW 26 in the top picture must take some kind of Ugly Award for what is being described as a "twin keel" design. Oh boy, it had better be fast.
|
| Get Along, Cheyenne Steve Fossett and team's (including SA contributor Paul Van Dyke) quest for the around the world sailing record got under way Sunday morning off the French island of Ouessant. They got off to a good jump, but are currently encountering some predicted light air. I know we say this all the time, but once they get cooking, this one really should be fascinating to follow. Click here to do so.
|
TP 52? Yes it is, sort of. It's the deck and rig from the old IOR Farr 50', Margaritaville attached to a new Andrews TP 52 hull, and as far as we know, counts as a TP52. Dennis "Mr. Personality" Choate put the whole thing together for a great owner and bunch of guys out of Marina Del Rey here in SoCal. We'll get some sailing pics and info on how the project has turned out. Speaking of TP 52's, it is interesting to see how the right coast has taken hold of another west coast idea. We heard that the TP52 “Alta Vita” apparently has been sold and on it’s way to the new owner on the East Coast. That makes 5 TP52 on the right coast – Trader, Esmeralda, Bright Star, Sjambok, Alta Vita – and 6 on the left coast – Beau Geste, Yassou, Rosebud, Braveheart, Flash and Margaritaville. The boats are awesome and there is almost no way the class won't continue to grow. 02/06/2004 |
|
Odd Duck To those of us who don't know, Scows always look just a bit strange. We know that they haul ass, and you lake sailors swear by them and we can see why - they do look like a blast to sail. I don't think we've ever featured one here at SA, and we just received some info on the building of this A-Scow. It's a pretty good story - have a look. Photography by Dayton Walker. 02/04/2004 |
| Hall of Fame Speaking of weird boats (kidding), we hear that that the F-27 was inducted into the American Sailboat Hall of Fame at the Chicago Strictly Sailboats Show. We didn't even know such a thing as the American Sailboat Hall of Fame existed, but the F-27 seems a worthy candidate on a number of fronts. More info can be found by clicking here. 02/04/2004 |
| Disney Takes a Swing The long-simmering battle between Roy Disney (Pyewacket) and Walt Disney Co. chief Michael Eisner was ratcheted up a few notches today by Disney. This one is turning into a beauty. 02/04/2004 |
Well Done! He's finally done: Francis Joyon crossed the finish line off Brest this morning to conclude his epic 26,000-mile journey in an official time of 72 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes and 22 seconds, beating the the nonstop solo round-the-world record by more than 20 days. He sailed IDEC, his 90ft. trimaran to break the single hull record of 93 days held by his fellow Frenchman Michel Desjoyeaux, which was set in the 2001 Vendee Globe, and Olivier de Kersauzon's multi-hull record of 125 days. A fantastic accomplishment that is nothing short of incredible. Photo courtesy of Gilles Martin-Raget. 02/03/2004 |
|
02/03/2004 |
We
hear of a pretty rich guy named John Sweeney based in Frisco who
wants to start an
| Cheyenne Update You know that Steve Fossett's big cat Cheyenne (formerly known as Playstation) is getting ready for an attempt to break the Jules Verne, and we just learned that Steve Fossett is switching Stan Honey for Adrienne Cahalan (AUS) for the upcoming JV. There is a weather window late next week which might work for them. Stan has time commitments that is forcing him to leave the boat. This one should be great to follow. 02/03/2004 |
| Large
and in Charge
The rather imposing bow of Skandia Wild Thing from Geelong Race Week in Australia. Photo brought to you by Andrea Francolini. Click on their banner ad on the lower right to see their latest work. 02/02/2004 |
