June 2004
| From The Boat Live From The Pacific I just got a phone call (via satellite phone) at 9am PST from Dwight Jefferson onboard the TP 52 Flash on their way to Maui via Victoria. We're not queer for these guys, but it is fun to hear from someone 1,000 miles from anywhere. They are currently half way through the 2,300 mile race on day 7, an agonizingly slow race pace so far. This morning the had their 1A kite up in 11 true, going about 10. They f-ed up pretty bad tactically, (see Flash Flushed, below) and are 60-80 miles directly behind an Andrews 70 and Davidson 72'. They are on pace for maybe an 11 day race and have plenty of water but are already finding "an amazing amount of ways to prepare food with ketchup." Despite finding themselves in a deep hole, Dwight reports the boat is moving well, the tunes are playing, and they are having a great time. Personally, I would have killed myself by now, but maybe that is why I don't do these sort of races anymore! - Ed 06/30/04 |
| Props We
forgot about this, but did want to give these guys their props
for a nice win in a good class. - Ed 06/30/04 |
| Local Knowledge Last week we asked for you guys to send us stuff about what is going on in your area, and the response has been great. We'll start getting to some of it tomorrow, but still want to know "what up" in your neck of the woods. It can be almost anything - race results, inside info, rumors, bitch sessions, whatever. Send your shiznit to The Ed. 06/30/04 |
| NoGo Ellen MacArthur just missed the solo transatlantic west-east record by what looks like about an hour. She gave it one hell of a good go, as we all expected, and even though doing the distance like that is incredible, it remains a disappointment. Read more about it here 06/29/04 |
| Watch out Suspect BN's? If you start seeing crew members or BN's showing up wearing turbans while clutching the Koran and an AK-47, there might be a problem. According to an article at CNN.com, the FBI issued a warning for authorities to be on the lookout for booby-trapped floating material in and around the nation's marinas, warning they could contain explosives. Those wacky terrorists! So if your bowman now insists on being called Akmed, and constantly refers to the crew as "bloated American swine", you may want to take precaution.
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Pacifico Solo We know, we know, the single-handed race to Hawaii is already underway. The truth is that we just didn't get this preview from Sportboat up in time because we are lame. But it is still interesting nonetheless. Really. -Ed The SSS Singlehanded Transpac (San Francisco to Kauai) has been around for a bit over 20 years. The 2100 mile non-commercially sponsored event is sailed every other year. The Singlehanded Sailing Society runs several in the San Francisco Bay races through out the year. Participants can sail either singlehanded (preferred) or doublehanded. I have been participating in the races since 1998. So in 2002 I decided to give a little back and volunteered to be on the board and run the SSS website. By February the SSS did not have a race chair for the 2004 SSS Transpac which starts June 26th. The lengthy post writer Alan H took on the position temporarily, but could not stay on since he was planning on racing the event this year. No one else wanted the job as race chair so I stepped up. To his credit, Alan H did a great job organizing several seminars including one where Stan Honey (of Pyewacket fame) and gave skippers his informative one hour weather and routing presentation. Read on. 06/29/04 |
| Grrrrl Power Ellen MacArthur is just about on a record pace on her so far grueling transatlantic solo record attempt. She's something like 40 miles and a couple of hours behind the current record pace. You go Grrrrl. Follow along here. 06/28/04 |
| Race Report Disappearing...... The TP 52 Flash was planning on sending us daily reports on their Victoria to Maui race, but are apparently having e-mail problems. Here is their Friday report to us. Friday,
June 25, 2004 - 07:14 PM The crew is having a great time and enjoying the mild sea conditions. The food is great onboard and the crew is enjoying the peaceful sea conditions that make racing offshore that much more enjoyable. Presently the boat is enjoying 15 knot winds and close reaching at max speed in 6 to 8 foot seas to the SWS. Like the rest of the fleet, Flash has been adjusting to the mixed weather conditions which seem to be very local at the moment. The hope is for more steadier winds and warming weather as the dive S continues for the Trades and the corner to turn W on. Best wishes to all the crews that the normal weather pattern will show and eliminate the roll of the dice for this years Vic-Maui. Today's Details:
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| Designer's Corner R/C Deluxe
John Corby is pretty well known in England for doing some quick boats, and he sent us some info on his new 41, which is kicking ass at Block Island Race Week as we speak with four bullets in four races. - Enjoy. Just launched, by Vision Yachts in Cowes UK, is Henry S Fretz' latest ' Wahoo', a new custom male-moulded Corby 41.5. Henry's previous yachts include a Synergia 40, and Bashfords 41 and 36. This new design is a development of the 41.5 Barlo Pastics/ Carphone Warehouse but with an emphasis on offshore rather than round-the-cans and will race mainly on the East Coast USA.
As far as rules are concerned the goal was to build a nice sensible proper modern yacht. Here in the UK, IRC rates this yacht fairly. God knows what PHRF will make of it. The only IMS considerations were the interior and cockpit. Go to John's site for more info. 06/24/2004 |
| Ellen She's On It Ellen Macarthur is on track, if slightly behind the current record on her transatlantic solo record attempt. She's averaging 17.5 knots and has covered well over 500 miles at the time of this. A good story and fun to follow. You may do so here. 06/24/2004 |
| SA Gear Flag Hag
Oh yeah, we have brand new t-shirts, both long and short sleeve, that have the same design on the back. Get with it, would ya? Free SA sticker with each order. And thank you very much. 06/23/04 |
| The Wave We're
down with our friends from south of the border (as long as they're
here legally of course), and we love it when they get in the swing
of things. Check out their
big and fantastic interpretation of an American phenomenon.
Dare we say poetry in motion? 06/24/2004 |
| Girl, Uninterrupted
Ellen is obviously a phenomenal sailor and we'd love to see her break the record. Check out her site for the latest. 06/23/04 |
We've got you. No, we've got you. The Big Boys at the UBS Trophy. We're not getting into all the pro driver, owner driver nonsense, and we frankly couldn't care less who wins, but the boats still have a modern majesty that is worth looking at. Photo courtesy of Ryan O'Grady. 06/22/04 |
| Swag Too Much Good Stuff
Plus we have a new edition vest (it has the small anarchy logo on the back), and we also got a run of stickers made up too. Various sizes and designs, check them out while you're at it - they are at the bottom of the page.. And, if you order any SA gear, we'll throw in a sticker for free. All prices include free shipping. Such a deal!
06/22/04 |
| New Design Big Rig Ludde
Ingvall (Nicorette) has started building his new super maxi. Here's
what we know:
Woolwich docks in the middle of Sydney Harbour will be the “Assembly hall” where the whole boat will be assembled to be ready for end of the year SH regatta. Interestingly, it will be open to public to see how a super maxi is assembled together. Also, a webcam will be setup soon to allow continous and easy access to anyone that wants to follow the construction.
06/22/04 |
| Bermuda
06/20/04 |
See Ya! The Newport to Bermuda Race gets under way with a couple of TP 52's leading the 75' R/P Titan out of the blocks in the IMS Class. More info here. 06/18/04 |
Full On Yep, this is the very light, very powered up, very extreme Jo Richards designed 36' Full Pelt. No doubt very fast as well, eh? Fun to see what happens in 25 true in big waves. Or maybe not. 06/18/04 |
| J/OK?
It
is a 2001 stars and stripes blue Awlgrip hull. named Kanzeon,
located in San Diego. Kanzeon is one of the best equipped and
maintained J/105 on the market today with B & G Electronics
and a great sail Inventory. For more info contact Jeff
Brown. Call 619-224-6200 or 619-709-0697. 06/17/04 |
| PHRF Not Hucked We told you that PHRF was taking a hard look at throwing out a SoCal sailor for some rule and weight manipulations with his J/80 for the Newport to Ensenada Race. After hours of testimony and deliberation, the International Jury involved decreed the PHRF rules concerning displacement were unclear, and decided the ploy technically broke no rule. So he got a verbal admonishment, and no penalty of any kind, despite the fact that a number of area reps wanted to ban him. We will provide a look at the entire incident in the next day or two. 06/17/04 |
|
Sailing
a brilliant race and putting himself squarely on the map in the
process, Kip Stone did a fine job winning the Open 50 monohull
Class in the '04 Transat. He completed the course in 15d 5h 20m
27s aboard Artforms, ultimately dominating what had been a close
fight with Wells Fargo (ex Tommy Hilfiger) sailed by fellow New
Englander Joe Harris. The full story can be found by clicking
here. Photo courtesy Outside
Images. 06/16/04 |
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Merf the Surf By the way, anybody notice how the design team of Owen Clarke headed by lead designer Merf Owen, has kicked some major ass in the Transat? Not only did Kip Stone win the 50 Class, but Mike Golding sailing Ecover won the 60 Open mono Class with Mike Sanderson on Pindar in third and Nick Moloney on Skandia finishing fourth. Good guys doing superb work. 06/16/04 |
Ouch! This is what happens when you let a woman steer. We're kidding of course, but there is nothing funny about this one: The N/M 43 Vim took a hard hit from a non- racing Catalina 47 while racing in Dago this past weekend. The story goes that Vim was on starboard downwind, and the 47 sailing upwind on port tack, which Vim hailed repeatedly, either didn't understand or simply freaked out, and plowed into Vim doing well over 7 knots. The 47 had a bow anchor which didn't help matters. The owner's wife was steering at the time, and she got thrown into the wheel, breaking it as seen in the picture. She suffered some bruises, but is okay. Vim however is not, and will be trucked to Choate's yard for repair. The owners are real nice folks and we're sorry that this major bummer got dropped in their lap. 06/15/04 |
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xThis is a picture of the Jim Donovan designed Transpac 52 on the truck! Jim has mad skills and we think his 52 will kick some ass. This might as well be called the Anarchy 52 as it is not only is penned by Jim, but has Novis spars and UK Sails. Hey maybe I should be driving! We're going to have a full feature on the new 52 tomorrow, be sure to tune in. . 06/15/04 |
| Swedish Match Achtung, Baby
06/14/04 |
| Stupidity Reigns Chu in Trouble, Maing Showing
that our government knows no bounds to idiocy (particularly this
administration), federal prosecutors last week charged the organizers
of several Key West-Cuba sailboat races with violating the US
embargo of Cuba. Get
a load of this "statement" from your government: ''National
security laws like the Trading With The Enemy Act are in place
to protect the people of the U.S., while hindering the endeavors
of communist or oppressive regimes that threaten the freedom-starved
people of those countries,'' Molly Millerwise, a Washington-based
Treasury spokeswoman said Thursday. 06/14/04 |
| A Win Is A Win I'll
be honest, I haven't won a sailboat race in a long time. Of course,
I'd have to actually go racing in order to win, but that is another
story. So it was no small joy (okay, it was fucking delightful)
to win a couple races yesterday in the IOM Class here at the Mission
Bay model boat pond. We sailed three scored races (5-3-2), and
then a few non-scored. and I got on a roll with 1-1-1-2. No great
shakes mind you, but damn!, racing these things is fun. A Good
group of guys, good boats and good racing. 06/14/04 |
Follow up Yesterday
we told you about these new 35 multi wonders (see Thank
You Jesus
below), called the Décision
35, built for lake sailing, and here's a little update on
the class. Oh by the way, is the rig tall enough for y'all? Hoo-wee! 06/11/04 |
| In Decline We've wailed for a while now that this sport is in trouble, on a number of fronts. One of the areas we and many of you have talked about is that participation is declining. It's a potentially disastrous trend, and apparently US Sailing thinks so too. Perhaps some of you have seen this document but some have not, so here is their discussion on the topic, and their notion of changing US Sailing in response to same. Click here. 06/11/04 |
| Transat 06/11/04 |
Appearing to be heaven sent, this is a new Schmidt designed D35, a multi for among other things, racing on Lake Geneva. The truly blessed Ernesto Bertarelli has the first of five delivered so far. Word is that it the things are scary fast, and of course it scores very high in the Too Cool Department. Picture courtesy of builder DECISION SA 06/10/04 |
| Triple Whammy
With a seemingly endless list of ocean going skippers deserving huge accolades from Francis Joyon to Steve Fossett, we now must add (if he wasn't already) Frenchman Michel Desjoyeaux to the list for his brilliant victory in the '04 Transat. Not only was he first boat to finish at 2338GMT Tuesday, and first in the 60ft ORMA multihull class, he set a new transatlantic race record from Plymouth to Boston with a time of 8 days, 8 hours, 29 minutes and 55 seconds. He averaged 13.61 knots for the 2800 mile course. The previous record for the race was held by Francis Joyon who also set a record of 9 days, 23 hours and 21 minutes in the 2000 race. This of course is nothing short of phenomenal. Read about it by clicking here. Photo © Benoît Stichelbaut 06/09/04 |
And Oh So Close..... Finishing a scant 2 hours 8 minutes and 5 seconds behind Desjoyeaux, countryman Thomas Coville finished second in the 60ft ORMA multihull class of the Transat. Photo Yvan Zedda. 06/09/04
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| Testify! Every guy I've ever known is perpetually in the state of either buying or selling something. Perhaps nothing is as much fun as looking for a new boat, and our classified section is a good place to look for your new ride or sell your current one. Here's a recent testimonial from an Anarchist who sold his Viper 830 with us: I
sold my boat thanks to your site and got full price. It has been
listed for a while and I have had dozens of inquiries and negotiated
with some. I had three looking at the same time when it sold.
Thanks again. It's
a mere 20 bucks to put your boat in front of a whole bunch of
eyeballs, so pony up cheapskate! 06/09/04 |
Mast, Man This one takes a bit of looking, but the story has it this is a 50' yacht that shall remain nameless having a worse than bad day. The incident occurred before a Friday afternoon rum race in Auckland New Zealand. The yacht tried to sail under the harbour bridge and misjudged the height of the mast and ended up stuck between the bridge supports. Oops. 06/08/04 |
| Emma Rescues Stamm
Meanwhile Michel Desjoyeaux's Geant is projected to finish late Tuesday night, and is holding off a late charging Thomas Coville's Sodebo. Great stories a- plenty from this wild, wild race and they can and should be read by clicking here. 06/08/04 |
| Shaka
The
University of Hawaii (Honolulu, Hawaii) has won the 2004 ICSA/Gill
North American Coed Dinghy Championship after three intense days
of racing on the Columbia River (June 2-4). It is the second Inter-Collegiate
North American sailing championship in three years for The Rainbows. 06/08/04 |
| Numbers The
folks at B&G
want to invite you East Coast sailors to a seminar focusing on
how to better understand and get the most out of your sailing
instruments. This is not just for B&G users, but anyone who
wants to know more about their instruments. The event is free, and for more info contact bobc@bandgusa.com or lspinney@msn.com Oh and by the way, we couldn't be happier to announce B&G as our new title sponsor of the forums here at SA. The forum title sponsorship became available and B&G jumped right on it. These guys have long been comitted to this sport, and we look forward to a good association with them.
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| Over and Out
Bernard
Stamm sailing his open 60 Cheminées Poujoulat-Armor Lux,
suffered a keel failure and has capsized. Sailing in 45 knot breeze,
and known for pushing his boats very hard, Stamm was apparently
trying to slow the boat down when the boat lost its keel. He is
currently inside the boat wearing his survival suit waiting for
rescue. It doesn't get more intense that this. In
addition, The Open 60 PRB sailed by Vincent Riou was dismasted
early this morning. The skipper is fine and not requiring any
outside assistance. Meanwhile Jean-Pierre Dick's Open 60 Virbac,
which was rolled and dismasted on Saturday, continues under jury
rig, awaiting rescue. Ecover sailed by Mike Golding has a slim
lead in this class, and Kip Stone maintains his slim lead in the
50's. |
Now Taking Orders The press release from Farr Yacht Design says their Volvo 70 Primary design package is available to programs that need a complete package, and need it now. "Alongside our normal Custom design services, we're offering this Primary design for groups who need to fast track their program," said Russ Bowler, President of FYD. We assume this is intended for programs that are running behind (mostly funding) and when they do order up, they will want the most complete design the can get. Plus it wouldn't be too smart to bet against Farr designing a winning boat, now would it? 06/07/04 |
| N/A at the NA's A whopping 12 boats showed up for the Farr 40 North American Championship at LAYC in So Cal, ending yesterday. That is a weak turnout for the NA's in the lone Grand Prix One Design fleet of any note in this country, and gives further question about the ultimate strength of the class. Granted it is expensive to travel to regattas, but that is the name of this class. Perhaps a NA regatta at LAYC is not the greatest place to be, but there should have been double that number of entries. The full results can be found here. Expect no surprises. 06/07/04 |
Other Worlds...
06/06/04 |
| Pimp Daddy Custom Fit We are pleased to present a new advertiser here at SA that specializes in making custom and precise gear for one designs and big boats. JCD Custom Race Parts, (see their banner upper left) based in Connecticut, is known for building gear that is not only superbly designed and constructed, but also works the way good gear is supposed to work. These guys are known in the tough OD classes for their quality, and can also do custom work for your exact specifications. Give em a look! 06/03/04 |
New Tool
We
always like to see the new stuff, and we eapecially like it when
one of the smart guys inthe sport makes something for himself.
One of our intrepid readers from Down Under sent this one in.
Enjoy. Iain Murray's new harbour toy. Local gossip has it that he has built it for his missus to use in Harbour/Pittwater/Twilight races.... Hull was laid up using the plug from the mould for the Sydney 32... except it was extended two feet to make it a Syd 34...naturally. The mast is a carbon Syd 40 mast but with only a single spreader. If you look closely at the gunwhale there is a cut-out that allows them to rotate the mast through 60 degrees!! Now this boat is the business!!!!
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| 2004 Transat One Down
06/02/04 |
| Olympics Greek Style Let's face it, the Greeks are wacky people - I know, I married into a Greek family. Great people, but a bit nutty, in a good way. What is interesting and perhaps a bit nutty about the Greeks )and everybody else involved) is in relation to the upcoming Olympics. Apparently a total of 5.3 million tickets were set aside for Athens -- 3 million for the public and 2.3 million for the ``Olympic family'' of International Olympic Committee officials, sponsors and others. But just 1.8 million tickets have been sold so far - not surprising given the current global political climate. But
here's the kicker: So far the most popular sports event is
sailing on Aug. 19, which is 99 percent sold. Why that day
alone, we're not sure, but certainly it is pretty interesting
that sailing would be the sales leader at this point. We'll try
to see how the final numbers play out. |
| Lift off!
The
2004 Transat is underway. 37 hardy single handed souls are en
route to Boston, 2,800 miles from their breezy start in Plymouth,
England. The fleet this year includes 17 60 ft Open monos, 12
60 ft multis, six 50 ft multis and four 50 ft Open monos. A few
boats are already having difficulty in the 20 plus knots of breeze
and rough seas. These outstanding pictures are courtesy of Rick Tomlinson. Be sure to click on them for the expanded view - very cool. 06/1/04 |
| Swedish Match Pacé Not Passé'
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| Old Bastards The senior citizens, 141 of them to be exact, busted out the Geritol and Ben Gay at the Harken Laser Masters Championship sailed in Bitez, Turkey. The truth is most all of these guys could crush me like a grape so we say the above with a healthy dose of humor. Full results of the geezer giddy-up can be found here. 06/1/04 |
| New Swag Bag It
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