thriller
With eight races sailed at the Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco, Ed Wright from Great Britain and Rafa Trujillo from Spain have won six between them. If the others are not careful, this regatta could turn into a two horse race.
Wright has been hunting for the Finn world title for several years. He commented on Thursday's races, “We had some really difficult conditions out there. Very, very gusty and shifty and going from 8-18 knots and all over the place. To come out with a second and fifth I am very happy. The only thing was Rafa had a better day with a 1,3. so gained points on me. Also Giles is still knocking them in. It's all on Friday. The fog rolled in and it seemed pretty cold in the city tonight so I am hoping we can finally get that 25 knots plus that San Francisco has been threatening to deliver for the last year.” The defending champion Jonas Høgh Christensen, who hasn't sailed all year finally found the front on Thursday, but missed a race victory by two boatlengths as Daniel Birgmark from Sweden came blasting through on the final reach to beat the Dane on the line. Høgh Christensen inexplicably broke a finger in training and has been slightly hampered around the boat. “Coming to San Francisco with the world title is tough. I have been out of the boat for a year and I've lost a lot in a year. I have gained a lot of weight but have lost a lot of technique. I was going all right the first day but the next few days I didn't had any luck and I have this broken finger.” He is currently in 15th overall and 23 points off the medal race, not an insurmountable margin in an 87 boat fleet. Although he has no definite plans to return to full time sailing he said, “I still love sailing the Finn. It's a great boat and probably the best boat I have ever sailed. It's fun, it's hard, super technical, very tactical. You have to be a compete sailor to do well in the Finn that's why its the perfect boat for being an Olympic class. These guys here are the strongest in the world. They are big, strong guys. It's really athletic and I think it's one of the best boats ever.”
“My objective here is the same as most championships – I am going to try and win. At the moment I am kind of hanging on in there, so I hope to be in as good position going into the medal race.” All of the British team here have been putting in some very good results. Scott explained, “We all came out to San Francisco for about two weeks about a month ago so we did a lot of training here. Although back then it was a bit windier than it is now, so we all have our hiking legs now.” Trujillo won the world title in 2007 and an Olympic silver medal in 2004. Wright won the Europeans in 2006 and may have won an Olympic medal in 2008, but for fellow countryman Ben Ainslie winning the British place. Trujillo has had an up and down season, while Wright has had an outstanding season. Which one is hungry enough to take the 2010 world title on Saturday? Watch it live on www.finngoldcup.com. Story and photos thanks to Robert Deaves. |
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Russ (In his broad Kiwi tones): "Weelcome everybody, todaaay weee'll annownce the prowgress made in what's been a bizzy evaluation tarm for BMW Oracle Racing but first a video..." |
Brad Van Liew's Lazarus Project finally got some big air sailing in just days before his imminent departure for France and the start of the Velux 5 Oceans race. We missed tonight's sold out going away party for Brad, but we're packing up the OTWA gear and running down to Charleston to see him off, likely on Sunday, and likely streamed live. We're not sure how Brad managed to so perfectly prepare Le Pingouin for sea without a title sponsor, but you can still give some sorely needed financial help to the sole US entry in the race by visiting his "donate" page here. And here's his latest report, with photo from Dustin Ryan/Wingman Media Group. Yesterday was our first real sail following the complete refit of Le Pingouin. We took off from the marina at about 11:00am and headed out of Charleston Harbor. The weather was looking perfect for a true test of our complete new sail inventory. Farley with Quantum Sails was onboard, along with my crew, volunteers, and a computer specialist who continues to dial in the nav station equipment and offshore communications. |
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sa worlds So our big ISAF sportboat bash is growing closer! We have 62 boats signed up so far, with a bundle more coming. From J/125's to Wetas, it is shaping up quite nicely. We'll have the NOR on line next week, SI's to follow. The main event is three days - Sept 24-26 and we are having a charity fun race Thursday afternoon, Sept 23 to benefit the American Cancer Society’s Camp Reach The Sky, whose long tradition of serving young cancer patients and their families is something that we are really happy to be a part of. More on that next week. West Marine is the title sponsor, but we also have Ullman Sails, Open Sailing and now both Velocitek and Driscoll's Boatyard are onboard. We are going to have an amazing amount of giveaways, from a free haul out with a bottom paint job, to tons of the best sailing gear - Puma, Zhik, etc. Plus we'll great food and drink, have some good hotel deals for you as well - stay tuned for that info. Oh, Nick Hayes from Saving Sailing will be speaking, comedian Russ T. Nailz will make you laugh and we'll have some killer local live music too. The racing will be the best in san Diego, we'll have live OTWA coverage, bitchin' new SA ISAF gear and.....Sign up! |
Catamaran fever is running so hot right now that people are stealing fully rigged Inter 20s off the beaches! Seriously, folks in the Southeast US should keep their eyes out for 'cbarmonde's' Ice Blue awl-gripped catamaran over the next few weeks - it was stolen from a private beach on Siesta Key near Sarasota, Florida just the other day. If you have any info on someone trying to sell the uniquely colored cat in the picture without sails or daggerboards, please post it in the thread. |
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Still in college, US Virgin Island native stud Taylor Canfield and his crew of Matt Clark, Alden Reid, Tod Reynolds and Dave Shriner spent his summer kicking ass in the US match racing circuit's "Trifecta" of Grade 2 events; the
Day 3 Preparation- Would-a, Could-a, Should-a…lesson learned!!! It is a well known fact that your performance in a regatta is a direct result of your preparation and pre planning well before the first start ever happens. When the top guys get to the regatta site months before hand to train and get used to the conditions for weeks at a time…take note! When those same guys go out sailing every day, working on boat speed and boat handling…take note! When the top guys are at home and in bed by 9:30 each evening and not out partying and drinking…take note! These are the guys that cross 300 yards ahead of you only 200 yards after the start and make you think “wow how did he get there…the lucky bastard”. It is not “luck!” There is at least one in every fleet, a guy that can always turn on the afterburners and dig his way out of a tight spot or a bad start. They have done their homework and are in top physical shape to be able to take advantage of a favorable shift or a chance port tack the fleet when the situation arises. If you think that you can beat these guys by showing up the day before the event, drinking till all hours each night during the regatta, sailing hung over, and not practicing your boat speed and handling for weeks or months before the event then your ego is going to take a big hit when you realize that you are not even on the same lap as the fast guys. Watch how the top guys in your fleet prepare before the event…they do it for good reason! It was sun tanning weather today before the start of the third day of racing. With the high heat in the bay area, the thermal that drives the wind to a not un-common 20-30kts on most days was much weaker. The Finns were postponed ashore for an hour before drifting out to the start line for first race of the day, which began in 10 kts of breeze. Rafael Trujillo and Ed Wright both had a race win each today in much lighter conditions over all with a max of 15kts in the second race. Ed has now jumped from 3rd to 1st to be the 3rd race leader in as many days. The racing is still tight at the top with any of a half dozen sailors able to take the top spot….Results and Video plus the Kattak replay Day 2 Race one started in very un-typical San Francisco conditions…light wind! The wind here only builds, I don’t think it ever gets lighter, just windier and windier, a vicious cycle that is determined to batter and bruise your body and ego. The start of the first race today was hands down won by the young junior from Brazil, Jorge Zarif, when he port tacked the 87 boat fleet. Ed Wright legged out and won the race after the wind picked up ¾ of the way up the first beat, causing the O flag to be hoisted and the “open pumping rule” to be in effect for the remainder of the race. The wind had filled in to 20+ kts by the start of the second race today, and steadily built from there. Ed Wright was able to sail higher and faster than the rest of the fleet. Ed is a physical beast in the boat, he hikes the boat harder and flatter than the rest, and is rewarded by being able to sail higher and faster. Plenty of stars here, including this guy who was caching his nephew Matt. |
how it went down, part 2 Ronnie Simpson completes the tale of losing the keel on the Jutson 30 Warrior's Wish... With the Coast Guard aware of our situation, we felt a sense of relief that at least several people now knew where we were. Further adding to the sense of relief were hourly comms with the Guard, and the fact they were trying to track down some diesel for us. I chatted then with the owner of the boat on the satphone, and what I thought would be a very awkward conversation turned out to be pretty straightforward, and we got back to getting our boat home. Ed and I were pretty psyched that motorsailing with a jib gave us almost 5 knots over the ground, that we had slight seas, and very manageable breeze. Our horrifying scenario was getting better, and the light at the end of an 800 mile tunnel was growing more distinct. At our second or third hourly Coast Guard radio check, we were notified that a commercial vessel named “Horizon Hawk” had answered our call for diesel and that they would be inbound to our position. We maintained speed and course, notifying the Coast Guard every hour. Just 5 hours after our initial emergency transmission, “Horizon Hawk” was visible and closing rapidly. Once in VHF range, we communicated with them directly and notified the Coast Guard that the ship was in VHF and visible range of us. The “Hawk” explained to us how they wanted to conduct the operation and asked us exactly what we needed. We explained that we needed 50 gallons of diesel fuel and some motor oil. They informed us that they would make very large circles around us, dropping plastic jugs and jerry cans over the side, with poly-propylene line and orange markers on each one. For the moment at least, Ed and I weren’t even that concerned with the keel. We became completely focused on our new mission; driving around the middle of the Pacific in a wounded little boat while a freight ship drops us diesel fuel. The ship made its first pass, dropping 3 jugs. Ed drove while I worked a boat hook off of the bow. Success! We picked up all 3 jugs, not requiring more than 2 attempts per jug. The next 3 didn’t go quite as well. We missed one and as it was drifting away, I just jumped in and swam to two jugs, bringing them back to the boat in one long struggle. We made yet another attempt at the third jug when semi-disaster struck. But before I get to that, there’s a few things you should know about poly-propylene line; first, the stuff floats. Secondly, it doesn’t hold a knot for shit. Having said that, the orange markers were becoming separated from most of the jugs, which is the reason I was having to go swimming for several of them. After Ed and I had more or less run over one of the jugs, the line became wrapped around the prop as I was grabbing the jug. Ed beat himself up over it a little bit, saying he should have avoided it, but given the circumstances, I’m surprised we only wrapped the prop once. I had Ed shut off the motor so that I could cut the line out. Wow. It was wrapped up pretty badly. Not making matters easier was the width of the boat, combined with the extremely fast rate of drift, rolling motion and my favorite rigging knife being sacrificed to Neptune just a few days prior. After about 3 passes, I had the prop halfway cleared. Ed took the mask and fins and went in to finish the job. Success. After another 3 passes, he completely cleared the prop and we were back in business. The freight ship had patiently waited for us to clear the prop, although in the ordeal, two jugs had drifted very far away. They led us to the jugs via VHF and we eventually grabbed them. “Horizon Hawk” made one more circle, dropping 3 more jugs and we were on our way. The guys on the ship were absolute professionals in every sense of the word and I can’t say enough to thank them. In the end, we were 10 for 10, acquiring what we estimated to be 60-65 gallons of diesel and 5 gallons of Mobil 1 oil Saying goodbye to the freight ship and thanking them, we were once again on our way to California. Ed and I briefly joked that we wished we were on the ship, but they were headed west, presumably to China. I’ve already done the whole “freight ship to China” thing before, and as fun as it was, I really wanted to get this boat back to Cali and it’s owner. Besides, we had already promised each other not to give up the ship unless it was our only option. Into a direct head wind and swell on the nose, we struggled to make 4 knots over ground. This was quite frustrating, and would be our slowest day after losing the keel. With the security that a full cargo of diesel represented, we cancelled our hourly comms sched with the Coast Guard, though they asked us to notify them if we had any other problems - I can't say enough about them, and we owe a huge thanks to CG stations in Kodiak, AK, Point Reyes, CA and Alameda, CA for helping orchestrate our fuel drop. With the Coast Guard offline, a new radio schedule found its way into our routine: Pac Cup roll call. We probably should have already been checking in with them, but hadn’t been. I received emails from the Hippy on “Horizon”, who stomped the fleet in this year’s race. He asked us how we were doing, and to come join them on frequency in the morning for a chat and at 2100 for official roll call. For the first few days, “Valis” from Sausalito led the roll call with “Nozomi” taking over duties after that. Chatting with Pac Cup roll call was a happy time for Ed and I. It brought the morale up on the boat significantly, allowing us to chat with other yachts, hear advice, see who was near us, and know that we had several sailors out there monitoring our status. It reminded me of Singlehanded Transpac and took my mind off the constant worry of the boat capsizing. The Pac Cup guys were all great, so again, thank you to all who helped us out along the way. Life on board during the ordeal was, let’s just say very difficult. Not necessarily physically difficult, but mentally so. A strict watch had to be adhered to, monitoring wind speed, angle of heel, the diesel engine, and the rest of the boat. Any sudden puffs of breeze, changes in sea state, or un-caught motor problems could spell disaster for us. Fortunately, I was with a sailor of Ed McCoy’s caliber and discipline. There is not a better person that I could have had on the boat in such a shitty situation. Working as a team, we overcame a number of challenges, while becoming better friends throughout. The boat rolled excessively during that last week at sea, and there were no less than 3 full nights and 2 full days, that we really thought we were going to capsize. It was extremely an extremely stressful time, nursing this wounded boat back to port, just wondering when she was going to roll and potentially send us to a watery grave. And the closer we got to California, the colder and less inviting the water became. Hypothermia became a big concern if we had to abandon ship and get into the life raft. I slept in my foulies and PFD, with my hand on the ditch bag and the life raft lashed down in the cockpit. We each had rigging knives readily accessible to cut the life raft loose when the boat flipped. The stress and anxiety of the situation made me lose 10 pounds in one week. But it never did flip. We had one of the best weather windows imaginable, and while we saw some big, rough seas, by the time the seas built, the wind died off, so nothing got too out of control. But we were never under any illusions: This is about as humbling an experience as I've had - knowing that the sea could take us out any time it wanted with just a few hours of big wind and waves. I certainly don't recommend it! After 7 very long, difficult, and mentally exhausting days at sea, we managed to limp under the Golden Gate Bridge at 4 AM to a small flotilla of close friends. The boat’s owner, Don Gray, had flown into town to see us in. He was joined by Ladonna from Latitude 38 and her husband Rob. My employer and co-workers, Drew Harper and Garrett Greenhalgh greeted us on the Santa Cruz 50 “Yukon Jack”, delivering beer, tequila and Thai food. 3 more boats, all owned by Singlehanded Transpac vets, showed up to greet us and follow us to the boat yard in Richmond. After a very difficult and trying experience, it was truly special to be greeted by my friends and SHTP community in the Bay. But above all, it was my friend Ed McCoy who I have to thank the most. The guy is an absolute trooper. He flew out to Hawaii on his own dime to help me bring the boat back to California. He always told me “if you make it there, I’ll help you bring it back.” He is a man of his word. And even after the keel fell off, the guy stayed rock solid and exhibited a lot of character and inner strength in dealing with the situation. Any way you cut it, losing a keel 760 miles offshore is a bad time, but with Ed it ended up being a good experience, and something I’m proud of. Without him, I honestly don’t know how this story would have ended. The boat has since been hauled out and trailered back to North Carolina. The owner is going to put a new keel on her and hopefully campaign her in next year’s Bermuda 1-2 and with any luck will hit the starting line as my friend and competitor in the 2012 Singlehanded Transpac. As for me, I’m working on acquiring a Mini Transat and racing the 2012 SHTP and 2013 Mini Transat. I’ve got some exciting magazine stuff coming up, and I’m hoping to work on a book to help fund a Mini campaign. Thanks to all of you Anarchists out there for following my Singlehanded Transpac campaign from start to finish, and supporting Ed and I when we were in a very difficult situation. And of course a big thanks to Don Gray for allowing me the opportunity to race to Hawaii this summer. The experience I have gained was invaluable, and hopefully will lead to bigger and better things in the future. And oh yeah, sorry about the keel... |
jabba whacked
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guess who's back?
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Our old friend, occasional rabble rousing contributor, and sailing's original 'hand grenade journalist' Magnus Wheatley has fired up the excellent
light of youth
293 Italian kids started their Youth Championship yesterday under 20 knots of mistral in Marsala, Italy. The regatta goes until the 7th in numerous classes, and we can expect some more beautiful work like this Opti shot from the Borleghi studio at the event site. Credit Carlo Borlenghi/Luca Butto |
killer kiss
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Finn Gold Cup – Strong like bull, smart like tractor!!! Why do I do this to myself, am I some sort of masochistic head case? Explain again why sailing in 25kts is fun. How am I supposed to enjoy myself when I have to straight leg hike an overpowered Olympic heavy weight Finn dingy (which will hence forth be known as “the torture rack”) for 1.8 miles into 2 kts of current and banging into chop that is actually square. Then once finally around the top mark I nearly had both my arms torn off as I had to furiously pump my way down wind making as much progress as a butterfly into a hurricane. To get a Finn around the course is no small feat…it takes the strength of a body builder the balance of a gymnast and the physical fitness of Lance Armstrong. Winning at this level is next to being super human. This boat rewards you when you put the effort in and smacks you down hard if you don’t… and it makes all the effort, pain and trouble worth your while when you come screaming in to the finish on a blinding fast reach grinning from ear to ear. The big winner on the first day of the Finn Gold Cup was Rafael Trujillo with a 2-1, and Ed Wright on day two with a 1-1. Results. - Phil Toth. |
George Szabo tells how the Star NA's were won...
While that is a nice plan, heading to the Star North Americans this year, that was not the case. My crew and I had spent the previous two weeks in Weymouth, England racing at the ‘Skandia Sail for Gold’ regatta. I had two travel days between events, one to get home, and the other to do laundry, pack a Star, get a plumber to fix the backed up plumbing in my house (a fine welcome home) and drive from San Diego to Los Angeles. I was short on time and even shorter on sleep. My crew for the event would be someone I had never sailed with, Frithjof Kleen, from Germany. Frithjof had just won the regatta in Weymouth with another skipper, Peter O’leary. I figured Frithjof would be a good crew – I just had to hope that we’d get over our jet lag quickly. The plan was to sail Mark Reynolds’ Folli (Mark was trying a P-star for the event), but that changed. While flying home, Larry Whipple was unable to go to the regatta at the last minute, and offered us to use his new P-Starboat for the regatta. A great offer, but a tough call because I had a proven Star ready to go. It had been winning local events, and all I had to do was pop the mast in, get the sails up, and go. The new P-star is an American built boat that has been winning regattas this year. This particular boat had only sailed for 2 days, so the rig would still be stretching in, and probably not tuned optimally. Do I put my time and energy (both on short supply) tuning a new boat or go with the ready-to-race Folli? I brought Mark’s boat to the regatta just in case. Our final decision was to take the opportunity to try the P-star. Once we arrived it took us a day to rig, re-rig, measure in, and check the tuning. The following day, we got out on the water, tacked back and forth for an hour, looking up the mast, and adjusting shrouds to get the mast a similar shape side to side, and then we spent another hour tuning against other boats. I figured we were going well, but I was still concerned about the unknowns of racing a boat I’d never been in before. This being Frithjof’s first trip to California, he found time to go to Beverly Hills, Venice Beach, Muscle Beach, and a few other tourist spots.
For the 2nd day of racing, we started out with a 2nd in the first race. Between races, Frithjof was told that the“HOLLYWOOD“ sign can be seen from the water, so he spent most of his time looking downwind, towards Los Angeles, hoping to find it. Eventually he did get a photo of it, but he’s going to have to zoom in pretty close to find it in his picture. The start of the 2nd race didn’t go so well, and found us playing catch up. On the second beat of the 2nd race, we nearly ran over a Sunfish (the fish not the boat) sunning itself on the surface. Day 3, we had another 1st and a 6th. We had to grind back to get 6th after a not so good start. Best entertainment of the day was Frithjof shouting “FINS!!!”, followed by his scrambling out of the mini hike and into the boat. Turns out, there was a channel of current running up the coast. Frithjof had spotted several dolphins crossing under the boat. Then, the dolphins began swimming alongside the boat and playing under the bow. Frithjof was not impressed, and once the wildlife disappeared, it took some convincing to get him to go back over and hike again. Back on land, we were able to compare fin stories with others, and two teams swore they had sighted a small Great White Shark. It seemed plausible because beaches in San Diego, had recently been closed due to White Shark sightings. I wasn’t sure I’d have a crew that would hike the next day. On the final day of the event, only Lars Grael could beat us. We had control after the start, ahead and to weather, and let Lars sail where he wanted on the beat, however we never allowed him to have bow out. We didn’t tack on him by the first mark, and both boats were mid-fleet – sailing our throw outs. On the run, he gained on us, went to the opposite gate, and was able to pass us. We stayed near him on the beat and were able to grind him down, and pass him toward the end of the beat. By this time, we had moved from the 20’s+ to top 8. We were not in a good position because we needed Lars out of the top ten. Considering he had passed us on the first run, and had the potential to do it again, we preferred him to be back a little further. We tacked on him a few times on the starboard tack layline, which kept us in front of Lars on the run. That was enough to give us the regatta win. More pics here, results here. |
life of lia
09/01/10time...
August 31st – Entry deadline for the ‘Barcelona World Race’ The end of the month has not arrived without warning. In fact, I have been hurtling day by day, towards the August 31st entry deadline for the ‘Barcelona World Race’ since I stepped off the rowing boat ‘Dream Maker’ on March 18th. ‘And?’ Someone emailed me this morning… And so it turned out a few weeks ago that the entry fee is not as critical as you (and I) might have thought. Namely, that the race organizers need competitors and frankly what’s 21,400 Euros in the grand scheme of things when a one-year IMOCA 60 campaign starts at £750,000? The reality is that it’s the boat that makes the campaign a serious prospect and thereafter, you hope (and work like hell) to make everything else fall into place. Putting a non-refundable 21k on the table, without a boat to sail, isn’t going to get you anywhere. ‘So, do you have a boat?’ Ah, that frequently asked question which is usually followed quickly by ‘Do you have a co-skipper?’ And if not, ‘Can I come?’ Inevitably, with ‘Does that mean then, that it’s not happening?’ coming next! While we decided to postpone the official OBO ‘Meeting of the Musicians’ due to apparent summer holiday absence, there was an impromptu meeting of musicians that somehow didn’t get the message that the event at Sphere Studios was cancelled and had congregated in the local pub! While no musical advancements per se were made to the project that evening, I did go home and Google every one of the attendees out of curiosity of the caliber and type of musician that the project had somehow come to attract! Thanks to a data file from the IMOCA 60 AORII (Jonny Malbon’s Open 60 ‘Artemis Ocean Racing II’) the following week, director of OBO Music, Mark Ty-Wharton and I were able to formulate a strategy for pairing data streams - NMEA sentences (the language standard of marine electronics) with MIDI functions (the language of music) in the first programming of the OBO Box, which will be sail-tested live on the AORII later this month. Filmmaker Richard Gooderick (http://www.gooderick.com/) will be onboard capturing the moment. If you missed the OBO proof of concept v-blog during the holidays, here it is again. In the meantime my objective is to find investment for OBO Project Ltd and the OBO Box as a commercial product venture. If you can imagine a depth sounder that starts playing hardcore drum and bass when you’re getting into shallow water or a radar proximity alarm set to play Bach’s Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, when a boat is less than 5 miles away… you’ll understand the consumer interest in the OBO technology! In my research, I’ve also highlighted the following as other possible applications of the OBO Box:
While it took a surprisingly number of weeks to recover from the Atlantic Rowing Race earlier this year, a 6 week stint at the no-frills, Swiss-concept, ‘Keiser Training’ gym in North London has brought me happily back on form. I am expecting there to be some physical component to the selection trials for the Artemis Sailing Academy this month, so it’s probably just as well! Thirty-two of us have been selected with the aim, after four 3 day sessions of testing in groups of 8, to whittle that number down to a eight individuals. The number one objective of the Academy is to see British ‘race-winning’ capable campaigns competing in the solo, non-stop round the world Vendée Globe in 2016 and 2020. Wish me luck! And finally… |
Australia's America's Cup legend John Bertrand finally won the elusive Etchells World championship trophy last week last week. He has apparently been after a one-design world championship prize for 20 years. With Andrew Palfrey and Laser hot shot Tom Slingsby as ammunition he swept to victory off the feisty waters of Howth, north of Dublin. Five bullets secured their victory in pretty fruity conditions near Dublin bay. The opening day's race went from 4 to 28 knots and saw three seasons in one leg. The champ was as gracious in his acceptance as the club was welcoming. Typical Irish craic. Thanks to Ingrid Abery, she has lots and lots of pics! |
big pimpin'
09/01/10wake up!
Each rule has clear explanations and illustrations. As an added feature, to see whether you really understand how the rules work on the water, they’ve provided 42 quizzes in 3D animations. Each quiz answer points to specific rules, so you’ll know which ones you need to review. YOU-TACK! Pro also offers a Scoreboard – you and your mates can see how many quizzes were answered correctly. All the official ISAF rules from Part 1 to Part 7, plus appendices A to D, with all the signals, the international flags, and the ISAF definitions are included. The complete app, YOU-TACK! Pro, is $19.99. It’s informative, clarifying, entertaining, and worth the price! YOU-TACK! Pro is available on iPhones, iPods, and iPads. By September it will be on Android phones as well. On top of that you can win an iPAD! But you have to sign up by Oct 31st. You can find out how on: www.you-tack.com |
It’s about time! There have been several attempts to present the ISAF Official Racing Rules of Sailing on mobile phones – so far none have been compelling. But YOU-TACK! Pro has done it. The Racing Sailor’s Illustrated Guide adds life and clarity to an otherwise sleepy subject.
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defenCe John Casey gives us his wrap up report from the Little AC. Note that you can find the guide to every minute of video coverage, highlight reels, and interviews right here, and check back tomorrow for the The Rev Petey's final HD highlight reel and the final Clean report from this awesome event.
Even with one boat running constantly for its life, the prestarts were full of dial-ups, close crosses, boats going from backwards to forwards in seconds, and great cat-and-mouse episodes. Eaton later pointed out "wait until two real match racers lock up in these boats!" In two days of commentating for OTWA at the Detroit Cup, I saw maybe a half dozen passes in one-design Ultimate 20s, yet two of the four match races for the Little AC title saw four lead changes in four legs, and this was in two designs with huge variations in performance. But at the end, the vastly superior power and downwind speed of the Canaan platform in the light to moderate air of the match racing finals sealed the deal, and sent the Little AC title back to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, and they are likely to defend it in Weymouth in two or three years' time. When things in wing world will be much, much different. Here's a note that John Williams wrote on the Catsailor forums the other day after speaking to Pete Melvin. "He said there were lots of AC people in attendance...it is much more than a rumour that the next AC will be on multihulls; it is a fact. "They" are working out the details of the new catamaran box rule. I was very happy to hear that the design race is still an important part of the equation - Pete said we might see, for example, some bizarre and innovative crossbeam arrangements. The take-away for me was that the boats will not look the same at all, which I feel is more in the tradition of Cap'n Nat's goal of building the fastest boat. I'd hoped to get more time with Pete to ask other questions while he seemed jet-lagged and willing, but it was time to go sailing! He spent the day with Matt Struble, Jay and Pease Glaser, Craig Yandow and Bill Westland in an A-cat tuning session. Funniest part of the discussion - Pete was very amused that so many nay-sayers were in attendance at the LAC. He said they'd woken up to the reality of the future of the AC and realized they wouldn't have jobs anymore unless they caught the train already leaving the station. He was chuckling at the assertion by some "johnny-come-lately" firms that say, "Oh, yes... we can design a multihull!" Once again, a huge thanks to all the OTWA supporters for this great event. You still have a day or two to hit up Layline with a 10% discount on anything on their site if you use the coupon code "LittleAC" at checkout. Other sponsors include HBI Boats, Gunboat, Pure Yachting (makers of super light and stiff carbon RIBs), Hall Spars (Ben Hall was present at the I4C and has plenty of experience building wings), Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke and the International C-Class Association, U.S. A-Class Catamaran Association, Ashby Sails, Red Gear Racing, Ion Earth who supplied real time tracking, and Sailfly, who supplied us Petey’s favorite vest. And as a bonus to this report, here's defending champion wing trimmer Magnus Clarke showing us just which string you pull to turn on the afterburners, and how you trim a wing.
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innerview
08/31/10the win Adrian Johnson won the singlehanded Transpac on his Olson 30 idefix. We found out a bit about how he did it. SA: How much single handing experience did you have before the T Pac? AJ: My 500-mile qualifying sail, and two or three sails around the Seattle area. SA: Did you have fun on the race? Would you do it again? AJ: The race was a ton of fun, and a true adventure. This was my first ocean crossing, first ocean race, and first trip to Hawaii, so it was really an extraordinary experience for me. And of course, it was an incredible thrill to win the race. More importantly, the spirit of camaraderie that surrounds the racers, families, and organizers before, during, and after the race is amazing. I met lots of very experienced and talented sailors, but no big egos, and I know that I've made some lifelong friends. As the two competitive twenty-somethings racing 30-foot ultralights, Ronnie and I hit it off well from the start, and the friendly rivalry between us made the race a lot of fun. It'll be hard to top this first experience, but if I can find the time and money, I will do it again. SA: What would you consider to be the ideal boat to do this type of race on? AJ: The Olson 30 worked out really well for me, so it's hard to think of anything else! The boat is easy to singlehand, and very easy to get moving fast, especially with following seas. It's also a relatively cheap boat, which was a big factor for me since I couldn't get insurance. I'd been looking for one of the old Beneteau Figaros, but I don't think it would've been any faster. I'm surprised and a little disappointed no one's done the race in a mini yet. If I had the money, I'd go out and buy a mini or a Class 950 for this race. SA: Tell us a bit about boat prep - what did you do to get the boat ready. AJ: Boat prep was a 12-month ordeal. Turning a 30-year old buoy-racing ultralight into a singlehanded ocean racer is not trivial... I had help, notably from my friend Peter who, as delivery crew, had a vested interest in seeing the boat in good shape. We went over absolutely everything, from the keel bolts to the masthead, replaced a good deal of the rigging and hardware, put in a lot of safety gear, and installed a pretty complex (for an Olson 30) electrical system, with SSB radio, solar panels, instruments, all sorts of lighting and 2 autopilots. We also wasted a lot of time building a fancy emergency rudder. But the hull, mast, and foils are all classic Olson. I suffered several emotional breakdowns, where I just didn't think I could be ready in time. I couldn't have done it without help. In hindsight, though, it was a terrific learning experience. SA: How about getting yourself ready - what did you do to get in shape, physically and mentally? AJ: The qualifier was excellent mental preparation. I did it off of Cape Flattery in November. When I came back from that, I knew I had a solid boat, and that I could live for four days without sleep. I spent a lot of time reading descriptions of the race by previous racers, and the handbooks Skip Allan and Stan Honey did for this race and the Pacific Cup. Unfortunately, the boat prep took a toll on my physical shape. I did a minimum of bike riding and weight training, but in the weeks before the race, several people told me that I looked like shit and needed some sleep! SA: What was the hardest aspect of the race? AJ: I managed to get drenched during a sail change under the Golden Gate bridge. I was wet and mildly hypothermic for the next three days. I also got seasick for the first time in my life. Those first three days seemed to last forever. A couple days later I watched Ronnie pull away from me while I sat in a hole, which was probably more difficult for me. I can imagine it was tough for him when the roles reversed several days later. SA: Did you have any near disastrous moments? AJ: Not really. I've been scared plenty of times sailing, but this race went really smooth. The worst moment was on day 11. I was 300 miles out of Hanalei, and had broken my mainsheet traveler that morning. The wind had picked up and I did a headsail change when the sheave pin for the spinnaker halyards came out. I couldn't fly a spinnaker for the rest of the race. I figured I was out of the race, but after I chilled out, I realized the boat could still make impressive speed with the jib poled out. That same day Dave reported that he'd broken his boom and I knew I had it in the bag. I didn't tell anyone about my gear failures, because I figured someone might try to catch up! SA: Let's talk about budgets. how much did it cost to do the race, including getting the boat back. did you ship it? AJ: I was on a pretty tight budget, so everything was pretty much DIY. Most of my gear was bought used or borrowed. I sailed the boat back to Seattle. The total budget was still $20k, not including my elbow grease and lost pay. That's twice what my boat is worth! I figure the next race would cost me $5k. SA: What things would you do differently? AJ: Not much, actually. I'd find another way to get the boat home, because it's too much time to take off from work. I'd get a satphone so I can send and receive email. I'd also spend a bit of time trying to line up some sponsorship. I think Ronnie, Adam and AJ have shown that it's possible, even for a relatively low-profile event like this one. SA: What's next for you? AJ: I'm back at my day job. Idefix will be back on the local race courses this season with the rest of the crew. We weren't really competitive last season, so we have our work cut out for us. In the spring I'll start seriously thinking about whether there's a 2012 transpac in the cards. SA: Thanks dude and well done! AJ: Thanks! Let Anarchy rule! |
orange crush Phaedo has just splashed…. The owner and Captain went through the boat from stem to stern to seek out, analyse, improve, and invent many new features and technology looking into the past and bringing some of the old Gunboats unique features through and adding some new ones that have now become the standard on Gunboats in the future, a big evolutionary step forward. By a large margin this is the most aggressively built Gunboat, chasing the power to weight ratio, with top speed as the goal. The unique black Quantum taffeta carbon fusion sails are hoisted on a High Modules rig, containing carbon battens supported by PBO rigging, There is an über modern, stylish, interior with open spaces instead of stuffed furniture, with everything from weight saving, clear coat carbon counters instead of corian to being the words fastest cruising cat with a pizza oven. This interior wouldn’t be out of place as a hip New York City Central Park apartment. On board is the largest Mastervolt distributed power system installed to date, cutting edge i-lèd lighting system designed by www.in3design.com. Dancing to the tunes from Bang &Olufsen’s latest BeoSound 5 system nestled in its own unique custom wenge and Acralite unit, back lite by blue LED’s, with drinks coming from the Italian Vitrifrigo drawer fridges. Sitting on the raw buffalo hide sofa surrounded by American walnut custom lightweight cored panelled units. Navigating around the world will be a breeze, as the owner developed an extensive integrated glass bridge system borrowing many ideas from his aviation background where navigation is critical. PHAEDO should be seen monohunting in the Caribbean this season. Lead mines consider yourselves warned. |
the fucking weather Seems like we're always worrying about the fucking weather. Finally a weather site that simplifies it for you. Enjoy. |
| 08/30/10 |
how it went down Ronnie Simpson tells the tale of losing the keel on the Jutson 30 Warrior's Wish... So it's been 11 days since Ed and I came under the Gate and i'm finally just now catching my breath since coming back home. Everyone keeps asking for a write up of exactly what happened out there, so here goes: After a successful Singlehanded Transpac and 2 weeks in Kauai, I took off for Oahu, stopping at Waikiki Yacht Club in Ala Wai Yacht Harbor. It was 125 miles of bumpy, wet, upwind sailing from Kauai to Oahu. Waikiki Yacht Club donated a guest slip to me for 10 days so that I could prep the boat, wait on my crew, and most importantly, spend 3 days racing on the 1D35 "2 Guys on the Edge". Thanks to Dan Doyle and Waikiki Yacht Club for the slip and hospitality.. You guys are all world class sailors and human beings, your yacht club kicks ass, and the Oahu sailing scene, while being small in size, had some great boats, great people and a great venue. After the weekend, Ed and I provisioned the boat and took off for California. The Pacific High looked like it was beginning to re-organize, and conditions looked good for leaving the islands. Leaving Hawaii, we had 18-25 knots of breeze on a close reach, allowing us to move straight north at 7-8 knots over the ground. Within 5 days, we had made it to roughly 35 North and 155 West. We were stoked on our progress, but it was now becoming decision time. The high had become really massive and moved north. With enough fuel for maybe 36 hours of motoring, and 2 hours per day of charging the batteries in neutral, we had to sail like 90% of the way to California. Because of this, we decided to beat straight to weather for roughly 1,000 miles and head south of the high. Heading straight east, we were essentially short tacking across the Pacific which was not exactly what we had hoped for when leaving Oahu, but whatever. The miles became extremely slow and tedious, and our daily VMG runs were pathetic, but we kept in good spirits. The breeze looked like it would eventually clock north, allowing us to beat to weather on a port tack headed straight for San Francisco. After that we would be able to crack off onto a close reach and eventually beam reach, knocking out some serious miles and making it home. On the 13th day of the passage, the breeze finally clocked north, as we had been anticipating. Morale on the boat was great. We were still hard to weather, but we were now pointed directly for the Golden Gate. We both spent time watching the GPS, reveling at the fact that every slow mile was a mile made good. Boat speed was about 6 knots, and with the breeze scheduled to clock left and allow us a reach (Mount Gay 30s reach very well), we were anticipating a 19 day passage. If things went really well, it might even be 18 days. We started talking more and more about eating at my favorite $8 Thai place in Alameda, hitting the Irish pub next door and sleeping on dry land after a long passage. Things were beginning to look great and we were anticipating reaching land after a difficult passage involving lots of upwind work in a somewhat brutal 30 foot sportboat. And then it happened. Ed and I were both lazily laying in our bunks reading. I was reading "Adrift", about the guy who spent 76 days in a life raft after his 21 foot boat broke up in the Atlantic. How appropriate. We both heard a loud pop and immediately jumped into the cockpit to see what was going on. Ed took the helm and evaluated how the boat was driving. I began checking all shrouds, turnbuckles, chainplates, etc. After thoroughly looking the boat over, we could not find anything wrong, so we both went back down below. Right on cue, it was now getting dark. With Murphy's Law in full effect, some really fucked up stuff was going to happen in the middle of the night. Daytime would have been way too easy. We were both down below, laying in our bunks. Or maybe sitting. I don't remember, but neither one of us was sleeping when it happened again. Pop! I shot on deck and again began checking everything rigging related, but all appeared in order. Ed again took to the cockpit, grabbing the helm, de-powering, and evaluating how the boat drove. Everything appeared in order, the boat felt solid, and our speed was unaffected. So we are 800 miles from land and have now heard two very very very bad sounding pops. Nothing appears to be wrong, and we're still on a rhumb line for San Fran. Approximately two hours later i'm at the base of the mast with a head lamp on in the rain, inspecting all of the rigging when I hear a "Pop Pop". My right knee was on the cabin top, and I felt some type of thud through the deck. I yelled "Did you hear that? I felt some type of movement through the boat!" Ed was down below; this time not bothering to come to the cockpit. He was now looking low, moving gear around and pulling up floorboards. His focus was on the stringers surrounding the keel. There were cracks at several of the spots where the stringers intersect. The worst one was on the port side next to the "ice box" where we stored our food. It was completely cracked, and as the boat moved up and over each individual swell, you could feel hull flex through the stringer. The boat was breaking up on us and we were close to 800 miles offshore. Ed and I decided that we would limp the boat home, reducing sail area and altering point of sail/ destination if need be. Anything to keep the boat from slamming in any way. I planned to call Don the next morning on the sat phone and tell him of the situation. With our new plan formed, we headed to the cockpit to reef down. Ed went to grab the helm and point us into the wind, so that I could reef down, as had become our normal routine of reefing. So Ed grabs the helm and says "Ronnie, look at this. I've got 30 degrees of leeward helm". Holding us in a straight line, Ed remained at the helm, while I dropped the jib, as it was easier than putting in a reef. With just a main sail up, Ed attempted to put us into the wind, when the boat tacked itself. With the main unexpectedly coming over, it landed on the tight running backstay, meaning that we effectively could not sheet out until one of us jumped down to blow the runner. This is when we should have flipped in the middle of the night and probably died. The boat heeled over to a very extreme angle, burying the port side of the boat underwater nearly to the cockpit. I jumped down to the leeward side and blew the clutch for the runner just in time, before jumping back to the high side as quickly as possible. I trimmed main while Ed drove. Ed attempted to tack the boat, but it wouldn't tack. In hindsight, this was one of the scariest moments of my life. We were extremely far from land, our boat was having some very serious problems, it was dark, and no one knew of our situation. The really shitty part was that we both had not yet figured out what was wrong. After multiple attempts of building speed and tacking, the boat finally pulled through a tack and flopped over. Immediately de-powering, we kept the boat as flat as possible while I put in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd reefs. With 3 reefs in the main, we hoisted the #4 jib and attempted to sail this way throughout the night, hoping to evaluate what was wrong with the boat at first light. One of the first things that we noticed when sailing was that our wake was sideways, in addition to the whole leeward helm thing. We talked about the possibilities of rudder damage, missing keel bulbs, "bent" or canted keels, etc, but came to no immediate conclusions. All we knew was that something was EXTREMELY wrong with the boat and that the structure itself was beginning to break apart. Our plan remained the same: limp the boat through the night. Driving throughout the night, we noticed that if we got the boat going fast enough, the helm became much more neutral and the boat began to track. The Mount Gay 30's rudder is so massive that with enough boat speed it begins to create lift. That's my theory anyway. I believe we actually hit 7.7 knots over ground that night with the boat being so light, and with the lack of wetted surface, it hauled ass even under very reduced sail. The boat was still heeled over excessively though. At one point I remember setting the pilot and hiking out off the windward side, trying to shine a flashlight down at the keel. Ed went to leeward and the boat heeled another 5 degrees. I told him to quickly come to windward and he did. The boat went flat. We both looked at each other, and without speaking, seemed to say to one another "Yep, the keel's gone." In writing this article, I almost feel stupid for taking so long to really confirm the keel is gone, but it was just such an unexpected failure that we both never immediately suspected that the keel had fallen off. And if it had fallen off, why the hell didn't we flip? At first light the next morning, I jumped over the stern to check out what was going on underneath. I saw the rudder and the sail drive, but not the keel. My brain wasn't wanting to believe what my eyes were telling me, so I asked Ed to retrieve the snorkel mask. Donning a mask, I confirmed my worst fear: the keel was completely, 100% gone. No stub, no strut, no nothing. Instead of seeing that the keel was missing, it was as if I had seen a hungry great white shark. I was so scared at the sight that I hopped back on the boat as soon as possible. The sight made me lose my breath, so with much difficulty, I just said. "Dude. Dude. It's gone. It's fucking gone. The whole thing." Ed calmly replied, "Yeah, I thought so." We immediately dropped the main and sailed under jib alone. Close-hauled, we were drifting so bad that our GPS had us on a rhumb line for Central America. We talked about our options and quickly agreed to not give up the boat unless it capsized and we couldn't right it. Next we decided to call the Coast Guard and ask them how we could obtain more diesel fuel. Ed took the helm while I started making sat phone calls and SSB transmissions, communicating with the Coast Guard in Kodiak, Alaska. They quickly brought someone from Point Reyes CG station onto the net, taking down our information. They put out a notice to mariners asking for a diesel fuel drop at our position. To be continued. |
maxi taxi 2 |
ice queens
The calendar pages are 8.5 by 11 and there are 28 pages in total. It is a 12 month calendar and it includes a map of Antarctica and a few interesting dates in Antarctic history. Each calendar girl has a photo and there is a description about what their role is south. The price is $20 each + postage and packaging. To order please go here. Thank you for the support! - Ashley Perrin. |
community
08/30/10 helping hands San Diego's Challenged America adaptive sailing program for the disabled, is a national (and founding) sponsor of the 3rd Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA's) Summer Sports Clinic for recently injured veterans, held from the downtown Marriott Hotel and Marina, September 19 to 25, 2010. More than 100 recently wounded heroes from around the nation will participate in this year's event. First proposed to the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1996 by the Challenged America program, San Diego was selected as the host city in 2008 for the 1st National Summer Sports Clinic event, with plans to maintain the event in San Diego through 2012, according to Miyares. Along with Challenged America, Sail USA 11, and Hipp Marine have joined to provide the sailing venues for these wounded warriors on San Diego's Bib Bay, from the dock of the Marriott Marina. An estimated 400 to 500 people will be involved in the program, to include participants and their families, medical support and other VA personnel, government officials, celebrities, and volunteers, most coming from around the nation. "Challenged America will have at least 50 volunteers active throughout the Clinic's 5 days of sailing. And the veterans, therapists, and family members will be sailing in the Martin 16, a two-person, 16-foot high-tech sailboats designed to accommodate those having severe and catastrophic disabilities, Harbor 20 (foot) sailboats, and the America's Cup yacht "Stars & Stripes" of SailUSA11.com," says Miyares. "For most, this will be their first time in a sailboat, and we anxiously look forward to making that first experience exciting and fun. After all, many of the volunteer sailing instructors with Challenged America are also veterans, with some being combat-disabled from past wars and conflicts. Veterans helping veterans is on the water is what the Clinic and Challenged America are all about." Challenged America was founded in 1978 by San Diego disabled veterans desiring to direct their own rehabilitation activity. Today, a recognized pioneer in the field of adaptive sailing as a therapeutic activity and innovator of adaptive sailing aids and devices for the disabled, hundreds, some coming from around the nation and world, participate in the Challenged America program each year. Challenged America is a charitable program of the Disabled Businesspersons Association, with its sailing facility on Shelter Island, San Diego. For additional information on the VA National Summer Sports Clinic, September 19 to 25, 2010, visit Challenged America or send an e-mail to Ahoy@ChallengedAmerica.org, or call (619) 523-9318, or visit. |
little AC match it if you can First, check out this highlight reel from the fleet racing portion of the Little AC. For more about Friday's match racing, read below.
Match racing was in full effect today when two forces collided in Newport, RI for the championship round of the Little America’s Cup (I4C). The Defenders, Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke, sailing Canaaan faced the Aussies Glenn Ashby and James Spithill, sailing Alpha in a seesaw battle. The story line of the qualifying races has been bigger breeze-Alpha, anything else-Canaan. There was a little bit of both today. The fleet racing by the other three C-Class yachts in the field was a bit anticlimactic, except for Patient Lady VI dropping her rig right at the finish. The ‘T’ hound at the top of the shrouds failed right at the finish of race one, and she was quickly towed to shore. There was only minor Today, all of the best wing and multihull designers were on hand to view the spectacular prelude to the future of match racing, and OTWA was there to bring you every minute. Our coverage continues tomorrow with races MOVED UP TO 10 AM. Just go to the live link on the Little America’s cup site to view some incredibly intense racing with live tracking. Thanks to Gunboat, makers of the fastest cruising sailboats in the world, Layline (offering a 10% discount on their stock and rigging if you use the code Little AC), Pure Yachting, Hall Spars who happened to help out with the last Cup winning wing, the C-Class especially Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke, U.S. A-Class Catamaran Association, Ashby Sails, Red Gear Racing the best catamaran coaching in the U.S., Ion Earth for the tracking, Hard Bottom Inflatables for supplying us the HBI for coverage and SailFly for great warm gear. Photos: Meredith Block. Check out more photos at the Little AC site here. 08/28/10 |
CANed Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke on the ever sexy Canaan C-Class catamaran caned the competition today with a clean sweep of all three races of the second, much lighter day of the Little AC. Downwind they were just ridiculous, with Fred showing his skiff trapping skills and Magnus bumping the hull up at every chance. Upwind Glenn Ashby and Jimmie Spithill on Alpha kept trying to get inside, but the Canaan crew put the bow down and went for boatspeed every time, not worried about being passed.
The biggest meaning of today’s wins definitely isn’t the points Canaan gained, but the message sent. There was even a little precurser to the Match Canaan followed Alpha on starboard down the line to the pin and tacked for leeward boat advantage for the port start. Canaan will face Alpha in the best-of-nine series for the I4C tomorrow and Saturday, and Alpha has to come up with something to match Canaan’s performance. Or do they? It will be a match race after all, and the tactics will change significantly. Ashby and Spithill will likely attack during the prestart at every opportunity to get a penalty on Fred and Magnus. What is the defense? Canaan knows they are faster at this point, so they may try what has worked for them in the past: Run away prestart and make all of their gains during the race. With the points stuck back on zero, tell us your opinion and pick your horse here. The complete bummer today is the French team sailing Patient Lady VI who ate it going downwind on the way to the course, obtaining some damage when their windward daggerboard went through the wing. Over the past week they’ve spent long hours every night tweaking almost every aspect of the dated wing to make it more competitive. Today, they achieved their highest speed yet right before the flip.
Invictus is sitting in a solid third place. Orion missed all the races yesterday due to breakage, and Invictus beat them two out of three today. Since there are five boats left with two racing in the I4C, it’s likely we will see a three boat fleet race for the next two days. Orion did pitch it on a screaming reach on the way to NYYC from the racecourse and sustained some damage to their wing, but they’ll be sailing tomorrow. Word is they were drag racing Matt Knowles' Moth when they bit it. On the Water Anarchy live coverage starts tomorrow just before 1100, when we’ll give you the lowdown on all the racing on Justin.TV. You can check out the full guide to the recorded races, interviews, and panel discussions here, and if you go to littleAC.com, you can watch the video while checking out the tracker. One thing is for certain, this championship will be intense. One final thing: Thanks to all of you who've been watching, encouraging, and supporting us and our coverage of this awesome spectacle. Special thanks to the C-Class, Canaan, Fred and Magnus, HBI Boats and their new HBI 30, Layline, Ashby Sails, Red Gear Racing, and the US A-Class Catamaran Association, and a ton of appreciation to the sailors and team members down here giving us such great access (Ashby helped commentate during his own race today over our onboard microphone), and to the New York Yacht Club for getting ahead of the curve with their strong support for a class that represents both prestigious history and the most cutting edge of the sport. Meredith Block photos, and check out some great ones from Christophe Launay here. Watch it here: |
AC
02/27/10what dreams may come
So while another month will tick by before the official announcement, it's safe to say that a brave new world at the top of the sport is about to emerge, and the cards are about to get shuffled in a big way. Let's just hope they do it right, and in the process, get millions excited by the art of designing and racing sailboats. |
Well, the day has come: Rumors from both inside the major teams and out are confirming that the 34th America's Cup will indeed be in wing-sailed cats. Sources in Spain and England agree that Mark Turner, the
controlled chaos SurfCityCatamarans checks in from one of our favorite events, the Bridge To Bridge. For some footage from the air of this waterborne melee, check out this clip at the 18footers.com.au site.
Unless you’ve seen the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge Race Hosted by the StFYC, it’s really hard to describe the controlled chaos. With winds blistering over 25 and a bubbling, boiling ebb maxing out at the start, it’s really a stretch to call it ‘controlled’ anything. The course of the B2B is from the Golden Gate to the Bay Bridge, and is held in conjunction with the International 18 Skiff Regatta off of Crissy Field. According to Alan Prussia from Ronstan, “This year was the 12th annual race of an event that started out as a race between the 49ers and sailboards, which at the time were a new Olympic class.” The B2B is almost 8 miles of down-wind blasting and is race number 8 in the Skiff event, and only about half of the 57 entrants finished. After race 7 was a complete yard sale and abandoned, a lot of the competitors called it a day. Most of the fleet ended up on their ears as the wind at Point Blunt peaked above 30. According to sources on the beach, this was the first time in 12 years that a race was cancelled to high winds. There were a few broken bits and broken dudes. The skiff sailors took their lumps and rested up to hit the water again. Even before the races started there was some trepidation, and as my friend Paul Allen, a long time skiff sailor said, “A lot of people are rigging to NOT go out.” Allen, a sailing powerhouse out of Santa Cruz, races occasionally with Pegasus Racing. He’ll sail anything fast, and gave us the rundown on these potato-chips-with-huge-sail-area that they call i-deenfoodas. Lots of carbon, faux wood, and even bamboo make up these incredibly quick boats. John Winning (Woody), the grandfather of the fleet, has been sailing skiffs since before he bought his first one in 1975. Winning has sailed all of the B2B events except one where he broke a rib the day prior to racing a few years back. Early in the day he was thinking about his race strategy for the heavy conditions, “They all go down the bottom end for a hot ride, and we’ll stay up here for survival. We’ll push a lot less tide.” There were lots of wide-eyed competitors as the puffs kicked up clouds of sand on the beach, and a lot of worried expressions on the sailor’s faces, hoping they make it back in one piece. Off the beach they go. At the start it’s mass chaos as a handful of skiffs, kites, formula boards, and this years special guest, a Trifoiler with a kite, jockey for position. In the past, the fleets have been separated, but due to advantages and disadvantages of the pin vs. the committee end, the fleet started as one group. It’s amazing me that the whole thing doesn’t just instantly end up in one giant Dyneema yarn ball. The majority of the kites and boards chose to start on the port end, while the skiffs took it right up the middle. There was a collision between a couple of the 18 footers just before the start, and several kites were downed, but the sequence continued on. The Trifoiler, helmed by Don Montague started a bit late, but when it got up to speed, it simply hauled the mail; accelerating up onto its foils and jetting off like a missile in the powerful puffs. I had my money on the foiler, but as the wind eased toward Yerba Buena Is., the boat lost its foiling ability and dredged a giant hole in the water. They finished 26th overall. The Trifoiler was a treat to see, but in the lighter winds toward the finish line the skiffs had the upper hand, and as Prussia notes, “I think every year the equipment keeps getting more dialed. This year the finish time was 17minutes and 54 seconds, making an average speed of, what, 24 knots?” I think Alan’s close, and you add a 3 knot ebb in there, and regardless, it’s fast! The middle of the course really paid off and the traditional trek up the City Front to seek refuge from the ebb also saw refuge from the huge breeze mid course. I don’t even think the 18s are affected by tidal flow, there’s only about 6 inches of centerboard and rudder in the water for the entire downwind run, so the breeze won out. At the end of the 16 plus minute run, an i-deen-fooda skippered by Michael Coxon took the honors, followed by another skiff helmed by Allex Vallings, and Woody in 3rd. The first non-skiff was in the 4th spot, a kite sailed by Chip Wasson. Several late finishing kiters even had to swim for it, and eventually were picked up by the chase boats. More pics here, and the results are pretty interesting to look at. Radical conditions and radical boats! |
obstacle Team Origin seems to have escaped their mediocre MedCup performance this year, at least in the early stages of the Cartegena TP52 event, which started Wednesday. Ainslie and crew jumped out to a slim lead with a 3-1 score, and we'll see if they can put together a whole event at the pointy end of the fleet. You can watch or download loads of video from the MedCup TV site here, but the best thing we've seen so far from this stop is this HD TP-52 vs. Tanker video from Quantum Racing/Keith Brash.
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big pimpin' From Ullman Sails, one of our great sponsors at the SA Worlds... Sailing Anarchy has always been good to its sponsors and now it is time for the sponsors to return the favor. Ullman Sails a long time sponsor of Sailing Anarchy and returning sponsor of the International Sportboat Anarchy Festival (ISAF) in San Diego is giving 15% off to registered boats of the ISAF for sails to be delivered before the event. If you are planning on attending the ISAF and want new sails to kick some ass contact Ullman Sails West Coast lofts to get it done. Orders need to be in by August 30th. Also Follow the news on Facebook before during and after the regatta. |
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