February 2005
Eight the Hard Way
Thought
you would enjoy the image of Hollandia, the new Int. 8-Metre
designed by Ian Howlett & Doug Peterson. She is built for
Ruud van Hilst and Jos fruytier to defend their World Championship
and Coppa d'Italia title. The yard is Vels Advanced Composites
in Medemblik, Holland. Her hull is woodcore, Sitka Spruce strips
& glass. Spars come from Hall, hardware Harken. Launch is
planned for April/May. She will be skippered by Philip Crebbin
from England. Great project and two more new moderns are under
construction, one by German Frers and one by Juliane Hempel. |
| Mimimum Max
If things keep going the way they are, 100' might be considered a "small" maxi. Until then, here is the new 100' "super maxi" Maximus under sail for the first time. Looks a hell of a lot nicer than Maiden Hong Kong. 2/25/05 |
GO
The brand new Cookson 50 High 5 smoking right along (clocked at around 20 knots). At least 10 of these canting rockets are on order. No wonder! 2/24/05 |
| NO GO
The TP 52 Bright Star has become a monument at Derecktors - it hasn't sailed since the BBS. It was shipped here to race in KW, Jamaica and then the Caribbean but hasn't even been put back together since it arrived. Apparently the owner gave up after being beaten by Esmo and Rosebud and he is also thought to be going through a divorce, (which has a way of cooling off race boat projects.) An offer to buy the boat by a west coast guy with a big sailing program was tendered, but the deal fell through, so the boat, for now, is now a rather expensive sun shade for the yard guys as evidenced by the photo. Too bad. 2/24/05 |
| Good Deed
After smashing at 30-odd knots into what is now believed a tree trunk swept out to sea by the Boxing Day tsunami (and seriously damaging a cross beam) the high speed monster had limped from the Indian Ocean to the nearest port, near Perth Western Australia. At 2:00 am local time, despite the presence of moonlight, navigation of the 22-metres wide tri into the club for repairs promised to be a further nightmare. But Kersauson needn't have worried - the maritime hospitality that has made Fremantle a favourite racing venue and stop-over for racing sailors from the America's Cup, to the Whitbread and the Volvo Race was in full force. Venturing out into the early hours in dark was not only the club rescue boat with an expert crew but five RIB's manned by club volunteers - who delicately manouvred the massive yacht alongside a berth in the centre of the marina to allow repairs to begin. Dde Kersauson was exceedingly grateful for the unexpected welcoming party but unfortunately the news was not going to be so good about the time that would be required to make repairs. Be sure to take a close look at that canting mast step in the picture! Read about the progress here. Best
regards, 2/24/05 |
F1 Sailing?
2/23/05 |
Another
"pro" series, offering the carrots of TV coverage,
g stars, and big prize money? How many times have we heard of
this and seen it fail? There is a new attempt, theFly'er
Very interesting, no? Check it out for yourself. 2/22/05 |
Happy Monday!
A click on this photo from Andrea Francolini from the J.J. Giltinan International 18 foot skiff regatta in Sydney conveys the message of love and understanding that we all feel on a Monday. 2/21/05 |
|
"Are We Over?"
"Hell,
I don't know." 2/18/05 |
FU BQ Apparently not everyone appreciates B&Q's ( A huge UK home improvement retailer) sponsorship of Ellen MacArthur's around the world record. Below is allegedly an e-mail received by B&Q customer services! Dear Sir/Madam: My congratulations to you on getting a yacht to leave the UK on 28th November 2004, sail 27,354 miles around the world, and arrive back 72 days later. Could you please let me know when the kitchen I ordered 96 days ago will be arriving from your warehouse 13 miles away? Yours Sincerely, (Name Withheld) 2/18/05 |
| Good Work
And if that sounds like an ad - good! SPORTSCAR 2/17/05 |
"Sportscar"
sailed at Geelong Week 2005 with support from long time Sailing
Anarchy advertiser and Anarchy fan Dirty Dogs Eyewear and were
generously provided with the sensational new Dirty Dog Wetglasses
for the entire crew. They are great glasses to sail in with anti-fog
vents, hydrophobic lenses that shed water instantly. Light, strong
and comfortable to wear, they also have removable elastic headstraps
so no matter what you are doing on the boat, you can't lose them!
And they block glare like nothing else we have ever worn. Great
glasses Dirty Dogs and many thanks from the grateful crew of "Sportscar",
shown here expressing their appreciation! Thanks again Dirty Dogs
- You guys rock!
| Old Dog, New Trick? The Bill Lee classic Merlin was spotted at Driscoll's yard in Mission Bay, San Diego, getting ready to have a new canting keel installed. On Merlin? Of course it had some sort of a canter before, but why bother? Is it because it has already been previously spoiled by the Lief Beily modifications, so why not continue carving up an all-time classic? We'll try to get some pictures and the scoop. 2/17/05 |
Fun!
1st or 50th, the I -14 is a pretty spectacular boat to sail. Their worlds are under way in NZ at the Takapuna Boating Club and results can be found here. Photo from Renee Speak. 2/16/05 |
Rocket, Man
The new Rocket 22 is happening and making the boat show rounds. They are getting orders and are stoked at the reaction when people see the little thing. Cool. More pics at their site. 2/16/05 |
| Yeah!
The Ventilo yard in Rolle (Switzerland, ) designed a brand new wave-piercer catamaran of 28 feet, the so-called "Ventilo 28 M2". This new cat weights in at around 390 kg with a 15m carbon fiber mast; it is designed to be sailed with a crew of 3. The sail area amounts to 70sqm upwind and 140sqm downwind, split as follows: mainsail 50m2, jib 20m2 and gennaker 76m2. Foils will be added to the rudders, to enhance longitudinal stability at high-speed. This cat is designed to be sailed in cat-boat configuration above 12 knts TWS upwind. Since the order for the first boat was passed, 7 other teams have decided to join this new class. 8 identical boats will thus be launched during the next 5 months. The first one should hit the water on April 1st, 2005. All 8 boats will participate, together with the existing 28' cats and tris to the brand new M2 Championship. Seven races will count for the 2005 M2 Championship, three on the Neuchatel Lake (in May 2005) and four on the Geneva Lake (in June 2005), including the Bol d'Or Rolex. They expect about 20 competitors within the M2 class during this famous regatta. 15-Feb-2005 |
Cool School
The I 14 Worlds are underway. A couple of Aussie teams are out in front with Zach Berkowitz from the US in 5th. Check it out here. This great shot courtesy of Renee Speak. 2/14/05 |
Star Worlds
2/14/05 |
Fortunate
This is the new Frers designed 60' Fortuna III taking first to finish in the brutal Buenos Aires - Rio de Janeiro Race, which punished the fleet with gale conditions for much of 1,200 miles. Full results here. Photo courtesy of Claudio Cambria 2/14/05 |
Raving About Canting We hear of a brand new R/P 66 canting keel race boat - a sort of Wild Oats development - built by Westerly Marine for a Southern California owner. We hope to do a quick Innerview with Lynn Bowser from Westerly to get the flavor of custom boat building on the left coast. 2/11/05 |
What
Lurks Within...
The rocket fast R/P30 The Cone of Silence has blown away everything of its size and much larger for a couple of years. All carbon, cleverly designed and always very well sailed, this blitz machine holds within it a terrible secret revealed here for the very first time.In a Sailing Anarchy exclusive, your intrepid reporter was allowed aboard during Skandia Geelong Week for a brief inspection but his wife was politely ( and fortunately) declined a boarding permit. Now, at last, you too can see what drives these guys to such superlative performance whenever they race. 2/10/05 |
New Feature We are going to have a new feature here at SA - a page dedicating to getting you info on new boats, gear and whatever else we think fits. But we don't know what to call it. We're thinking Fresh Meat. Any ideas? 2/10/05 |
What A Dame We're admittedly not much into the English royalty thing, but it is fairly interesting to note that Queen Elizabeth made Ellen MacArthur a Dame (female version of Knight) and a Lt. Commander in the Royal Navy Reserve. Now when does she sign her Nike deal? 2/10/05 |
Flying Insect Indeed
Getting all flighty at Skandia Geelong Week 2004. Photo from SA friend Andrea Francolini. 2/9/05 |
| Big Rigs Change of Guard We hear that Dave Ullman has been hired as sailing master aboard the 90' Genuine Risk, replacing Keith Lorence who stays with the boat in another "management" capacity. The program has been somewhat star crossed, with less than stunning results and a lot of personnel turnover. It is likely that Ullman brings a calming and experienced voice to the program and it will be interesting to see the results. Their first race together will be the 1.125 mile Marina del Rey to Puerto Vallarta race starting next week and culminating with the Transpac this summer. By the way, GR has a PHRF rating of -274 for the PV race! 2/9/05 |
Grrrrl Power!
Yo,
Girl. All Ellen
MacArthur did was break the record for single-handed sailing
around the world, in 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds
knocking more than a day off Frenchman Francis Joyon's previous
record in the process. An epic achievement and one that y'all
will be talking about for months to come. 2/8/05 |
| Beef Power!
Wanted: Lonely world traveler looking for fun and adventure in the sun - clothes optional. Ha - it's Bruce Schwab looking very manly en route to his finish in the Vendee Globe. Now, if we could only get Ellen to pose like that..... 2/8/05 |
Vinsanity!
Vincent Riou completed the Vendee Globe in record time in his first attempt to become the fifth straight Frenchman to win this incredible race. The 33-year-old from Brittany crossed the line at Les Sables d'Olonne in France at 11:49 p.m. local time yesterday after completing the 25,000-mile r ace in 87 days, 10 hours, 47 minutes and 55 seconds. Not much to say after that except, wow. Photo courtesy Gilles Martin-Raget. 2/3/05 |
Maximus Bigus
Large
and soon to be in charge? We shall see. This is the mondo 100'
maxi Maximus
due to be launched Feb 14. Is there any end in sight to these
things? Photo: Paul Todd / Outside Images. |
Whoa!
What
is it? Stay tuned.... |
