In This Issue
• At the Sharp End: BANG!
• Updated ORC Speed Guides Now Available
• Mike Sanderson on his three decades maxi racing
• French Class 40 Yachts Eye Round Ireland Race's August Start
• What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
• Francois Gabart: "Offshore Racing Plays A True Role In Our Society"
• Barcolana Presented By Generali: Doctors And Scientists Join The Advisory Board
• National Yacht Club Sesquicentennial Regatta Cancelled
• Industry News
• Letters to the Editor
• Featured Brokerage:
• • Swan 77 RS - BANDOLERO
• • CNB Bordeaux 60
• • Excess 12 - NEW BOAT
• The Last Word: Perdita Weeks
Brought to you by Seahorse magazine and YachtScoring.com EuroSail News is a digest of sailing news and opinions, regatta results, new boat and gear information and letters from sailors -- with a European emphasis. Contributions welcome, send to editor [AT] eurosailnews [DOT] com
At the Sharp End: BANG!
Heightened anticipation filled the air as the seconds counted down to the start gun. Heavyweights of the maxi yacht world judging the last seconds, gauging the line, too fast and it's an OCS, too slow and you're on the back foot. Illusion, a 30M Southern Wind sloop was looking too early, went to dip behind another but misjudged the distance. Bang! Not a transom kiss, not a scrape but a full on T-bone into the 24M Swan Kora. The impact was undeniably substantial. A few miles off Porto Cervo, Sardinia, a crew member did an involuntary back-somersault off the yacht. The rest of the fleet swerved to cross the line and left the pair with clean pairs of heels.
Illusion reversed leaving a healthy V-shaped imprint on the Swan and sustained a reworked bow in the process. A swift reaction saw crew on Kora handing laptops and guests quickly onto passing tenders while other team members began to plug the gaping hole with sails. Damage took the incision inches from the waterline.
With the yacht's Wally tender at the beach for the morning our press boat driver elected the tow the Swan back to port. A cautious hour long trip back gave all time to assess the situation as the rest of the fleet navigated the enviable conditions further up the course. Allegedly the damaged yacht had agreed a sale prior to race start but it would be sometime before Kora was transformed from a navy to a white hull that turned heads on the Balearic circuit.
For the rest of the sequence go to IngridAbery.com
Updated ORC Speed Guides Now Available
New updates include calculations and graphics for all sail types, will benefit all sailors to help develop performance targets in inshore and offshore sailing
While inshore and offshore races are shut down all over the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the technical team at the Offshore Race Congress (ORC) has nonetheless been hard at work updating its system for use when racing resumes.
Just completed among the projects is a revised and updated version of the ORC Speed Guide, a product available online through the ORC's publicly-accessible Sailor Services website. The Speed Guide is a complete report of the boat's performance as calculated by the ORC's Velocity Prediction Program (VPP) in both graphic and digital formats for all wind angles and wind speeds from 6 to 20 knots.
The Speed Guide has been updated according to the changes in the ORC VPP and the 2020 ORC rules and with these, several new features are now possible. Previous versions, for example, could only depict the performance of the largest of each sail type in the boat's inventory. Now multiple sails of the Headsail set Flying and Asymmetric spinnaker <85% midgirth (ie, Code Zero) types may be plotted, in addition to a "blended" summary performance of all sails of these types.
In this way tests may be made on sails of different sizes and designs to determine which is fastest within a wind speed and wind angle range of interest.
What's also new is the HTML format of the Speed Guide report, which allows greater functionality than the past PDF format. For example, tick boxes on each page allows the user to have a choice of which sail curves are plotted on the polar diagrams of wind direction and boat speed. All curves are now both color coded with varied line types, and show the optimal Velocity Made Good (VMG) upwind and downwind for each of seven true wind speeds.
This polar table data is also made available for download in an Excel-readable SYLK format or a format readable directly by Expedition routing software. This then helps users develop optimal performance targets available through their on-board instrument systems.
To order an ORC Speed Guide in the ORC Sailor Services system, first register for a free login credential at https://www.orc.org/sailorservices, and use the Search command to find your boat of interest in the ORC database – there are >125,000 measurement records in the system. If the boat has a 2020 ORC certificate of any type (Club, International or Double Handed), and a Speed Guide is needed for this boat in its certificate configuration, then simply click on the green Speed Guide button.
The price of an ORC Speed Guide is 50 credits (€60, or about US$65), with credits purchased through Pay Pal on the Sailor Services site. The Speed Guide is delivered in HTML format with links to download the Speed Guide explanation book in PDF, as well as the Expedition and SYLK data files.
If the boat is in the database from previous years, a new ORC test certificate will need to be run once the boat's measurement record is added to the user's online My Boats folder, and then a new Speed Guide may be ordered. Test certificates are 10 credits and then a Speed Guide costs an additional 40 credits. Measurement records from the online My Boats folder may be edited by the user to generate additional test certificates and Speed Guides as desired, there is no restriction or limit...in this way the user my gauge the effects of changes in parameters such as rig and sail dimensions or crew weight changes to the performance and rating of the boat.
"As we sit waiting for racing to re-open, this is a perfect use of our open Sailor Services system," said Bruno Finzi, Chairman of ORC. "No other rating system has this kind of open, self-serve approach to explore the effects of different sail, boat and crew trim scenarios. With Sailor Services this can be tested to help decide how the owner wants to race his boat this season.
"This new Speed Guide will benefit all sailors, not only those who are interested in knowing rating effects, but all those who want to more about their boat's performance potential and thus help to improve their sailing skills."
From New Zealand Endeavour to Bella Mente: Mike Sanderson on his three decades maxi racing
In yacht racing circles he is best known for skippering ABN AMRO One to victory in the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race, and more recently in the industry as the new owner of Doyle Sails, but, as a sailor, for almost three decades Mike Sanderson has been involved in more consistently top level maxi racing yacht projects than perhaps anyone. Moose, as he is known, spoke to the International Maxi Association about his trail-blazing career.
There was some consternation when in 1988 a 17-year-old Sanderson quit the top public school he was attending in his native Auckland a year prematurely in order to become a sailmaker. This, he rightly anticipated, would be step one towards his ultimate aim of becoming a professional sailor. His inspiration came through this being the first halcyon era of Kiwi yachting: the Chris Dickson-led Kiwi Magic had proved an exceptional challenge for the 1987 America's Cup, comfortably winning the round robin stage, while offshore Peter Blake was mounting his Steinlager campaign that would go on to win every leg of the 1989-90 Whitbread Round the World Race.
James Boyd's interview (this is part 1) at the IMA site:
www.internationalmaxiassociation.com
French Class 40 Yachts Eye Round Ireland Race's August Start
As preparations continue for the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race's new start date on August 22nd, there is speculation that the postponement could play into the hands of the Irish offshore race with a larger than normal French entry as the international Class 40 fleet eye the late summer fixture.
There are no additional French yachts registered so far for the 700-miler but it is understood the cancellation of Class 40s Transatlantic race due to COVID-19 in May has led the French sailors to look further afield for racing this year.
It may well be that Round Ireland Race Organiser Kyran O'Grady's pioneering efforts at the Paris Boat Show last December may yet bear fruit with a bumper international Round Ireland fleet.
As regular Afloat readers will know, Class 40 are no strangers to Irish waters or Round Ireland itself over the years with top Figaro sailor Nicolas Troussel competing off Wicklow two years ago.
Seahorse May 2020
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
World news
Unbowed, and growing, a rush to new builds (amen to that), staying (120 per cent) focused, a blinding return to form and a mood change in the US of A. Patrice Carpentier, Ivor Wilkins, Halvard Mabire, Kevin Shoebridge, Ben Ainslie, Tom Slingsby, Blue Robinson, Dobbs Davis
Let strong classes lead the way
When you've been the world's biggest sailmaker and the king of two major sporting disciplines, then your opinions warrant a proper audience. Neil Pryde talks to Oyvind Bjordal
Stay classy
We've seen some shockers in recent years but the standard of racing yacht motherships appears to be back on the rise again. Iain Mcallister
Phoney war
The enigma of four completely different AC75s was only made worse with the cancellation of the AC World Series in Sardinia. Andy Claughton
Planting the seed
Seems strange but the Botin-designed Deep Blue is the first new racing Maxi launch for close to 10 years. Jocelyn Bleriot and Adolfo Carrau
Simple pleasures
Will Ricketson
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Francois Gabart: "Offshore Racing Plays A True Role In Our Society"
How have you been organized at MerConcept since lockdown on March 17 and what is the program from next Tuesday, the so called day of deconfinement?
The trimaran Macif, which had been launched on March 12, just before confinement, remained at the dock in Port-la-Forêt and will get back under way when the rules allow it, so pretty soon, depending. Right now, today we do not know exactly what we will do in terms of the programme. What is certain is that we will do everything to continue to optimise and progress the boat and to feed ideas into the future trimaran . We will also try to carry out PR operations to take members and guests of Macif sailing and also nursing and medical staff who have helped so much in this crisis. The Imoca Apivia will go back in the water next week with the objective of preparing it for the Vendee Globe. As for the build of the new Macif trimaran and the new Imoca, part of MerConcept, the design office has continued to operate by teleworking since March 17. Building stopped initially and then gradually resumed.
On Tuesday you participated in the videoconference meeting which was organized by the FFVoile to propose measures to resume sailing to the Ministry of Sports. Was it necessary for the ocean racing to be one united body to challenge the public authorities?
Yes, it was important to collaborate together, because so many things are happening in this very uncertain period, that it is by working together that we will be able to get out of all of this in the best shape possible. So it's good that everyone can present their good ideas. We can't afford to hold them back in our own corner today, they have share ideas to find solutions fast so we can revive and repeat races that remain the backbone of our ecosystem. I think that this ecosystem has a very strong capacity to prove resilient. But in the days, months and years to come, we will have to be smart, that we try to react intelligently, and we help each other so that we adapt and we transform. There are lots of projects to set up so we can deal with the 'storm' that we are experiencing.
"If the Vendee Globe enables some people to have a better winter, it has to go ahead"
Is it important in the crisis we are currently going through that the Solitaire du Figaro and Vendee Globe, which were given priority at this meeting, take place by the end of the year?
It's very hard to answer that, as if you step back a bit, there are bound to be things that are more important, such as people's health. When I say health I mean it is linked to the virus that is killing people. It's horrible, but there are also some indirect effects, as it affects those people who are unable to be given the treatment they need. If we look more widely at the question of health and well-being, there are also all those people who are going to find themselves without work. So given that context, is it important to have the Solitaire or Vendee Globe? I would like to say yes, if they can offer something to society. If the Vendee Globe enables people to have a better winter, yes, they should go ahead.
Barcolana Presented By Generali: Doctors And Scientists Join The Advisory Board
The Board of Directors of both Barcolana Llc. and the Società Velica di Barcola and Grignano have merged their Advisory Boards, (usually comprised of sailing experts), with a team of doctors and scientists. These new members are themselves avid sportsmen and sea enthusiasts who studied and trained in Trieste and have vast international experience. This group is comprised of Alessandro Bavcar, the point person for Disease Prevention & Control within the Department of Health of the Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Giuliano Isontina. Joining him is Stefano Fabris, physicist and director of the Institute of Materials for the National Research Council, Paola Storici, biochemist and senior researcher at the Synchrotron of Trieste, and Serena Zacchigna, Associate Professor at the Department of Medical Sciences at the University of Trieste and Director of ICGEB's Cardiovascular Biology Lab. In May, these four scientists will join the Advisory board, which, for the last five years, has advised the organizers of the Barcolana presented by Generali regarding the introduction of new ideas and innovations for the event.
The expansion of the Advisory Board is motivated by the desire to work with a tireless group of science and health experts who can support the Barcolana organizing committee in the great challenge that is being faced: to create, together with the authorities, an event that is safe and in full compliance with the rules and the guidelines to date (which may be subject to change); an event that may be different from the past but with a commitment that will remain firm: a beautiful event to be experienced first-hand, while ensuring safety.
National Yacht Club Sesquicentennial Regatta Cancelled
With the Government announcement last week of the phased plan to relax restrictions, sailing can begin preparing for a resumption of sailing activity in accordance with the phases of that plan. The National Yacht Club has now cancelled its special 150th-anniversary Regatta originally scheduled for the 10th to the 13th of June.
The NYC will be working with the other Dun Laoghaire waterfront clubs to put on the 'Dun Laoghaire Combined Clubs Solidarity Regatta 2020' planned for 31st July to 3rd August if circumstances allow, and with a fallback Plan B date of September 5/6 also in the Irish Sailing and DBSC diaries.
Industry News
Maryland Boating Ban update
Effective Thursday, May 7, at 7 a.m., recreational boating activities, including motorized and non-motorized vessels and personal watercraft, are permitted, however:
- Boaters must be with immediate family members or people with which they reside.
- No more than 10 people can be on a boat at one time, including captain and crew.
- Boats must be distanced from each other by at least 10 feet and are prohibited from rafting up, beaching, or having rendezvous events.
- Boats are prohibited from docking at restaurants or bars.
- Vessel and boat races remain prohibited.
- Marinas can reopen to recreational boaters, but must adhere to Maryland Departments of Commerce and Health guidelines.
- Pump-out stations and boats may resume operations under the Departments of Commerce and Health guidelines.
- Local jurisdictions may choose to open public boat ramps, but must ensure social distancing guidelines.
- All normal boating rules and regulations are in effect and must be followed.
See the DNR website for additional information on other activities.
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In a bid to boost Development for the sport of Sailing, ASAF (Asian Sailing Federation) in association with World Sailing, decided to conduct Sessions every Tuesday on the Development of Sailing.
The first session of the series was held on Tuesday 28th April'20, on the topic of 'Creating Access', by Mr. Rob Holden (Training Development Manager), World Sailing and Dr. Malav Shroff , President ASAF.
The aim Dr Shroff said, is 'to find a way to grow the sport of sailing in Asia and to prevent youth from leaving the Sport'
The Webinar delved upon how the sport can be evolved from the grassroots, by creating programs in clubs, schools or centers, Importance of having Goals and Plans and Creating Access through Financial Models, Markets, Facilities, Staff and Equipment.
There was a Q&A round at the end.
The session saw encouraging participation across MNAs and was very well received.
The second webinar will be held on 5th May (Tuesday) on the topic of 'Retaining Sailors in the Sport'.
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A joint statement from the governors of three neighboring Northeastern U.S. states with substantial coastlines outlined the reopening of marinas, boatyards and marine manufacturers.
Governors Ned Lamont of Connecticut, Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Andrew Cuomo of New York said the businesses can reopen following strict social distancing and sanitation guidelines.
"Aligning our polices in this area is another example of that strong partnership and will help ensure there is no confusion or 'state shopping' when it comes to marinas and boatyards," Cuomo said.
While some marinas, ramps, repair facilities and manufacturers have remained open during the pandemic, others - such as Viking Yachts - closed voluntarily for a while.
"Our states share workforces, resources, public transit, and we all have a shared connection on the water," Lamont said. "This is yet another example of how our states have shared interests. ...This decision provides uniformity across our marinas."
Boat rentals and charters are still prohibited, and marina restaurants would be under the same take out or delivery-only guidelines as other food service establishments in the three states.
"We've committed to working with our regional partners throughout this crisis to align our policies when and where appropriate," Murphy said. "A unified approach is the most effective way to alleviate confusion for the residents of our states during the ongoing public health emergency."
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In discussion with analysts on the company's first quarter results today, FLIR Systems has confirmed that it has withdrawn the sale of Raymarine initially announced in late February.
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The Greek National Commission for the Protection of Public Health has announced that all private leisure boats and commercial craft, regardless of flag, are prohibited from departing or arriving within the Greek Territory between Monday 4 May at 6am until Monday 18 May at 6am for precautionary public health reasons.
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The Yacht Racing Forum is pleased to announce a partnership with B&G, the leading manufacturer of Sailing Electronics, including chartplotters, instruments & autopilots around the world.
"B&G is a major player in its field and we are proud to welcome them as a sponsor", says Bernard Schopfer, the organiser of the event. "The Design & Technology Symposium, which is part of the Forum, has been showcasing the latest innovations and cutting-edge technologies for more than a decade. B&G's involvement is a tribute to the respectability of this event."
Knut Frostad President & CEO, B&G, said : "We are extremely proud and excited to be sponsoring the Yacht Racing Forum. It is an exceptional and important industry event in normal times, but it is even more so during this critical time, when it is more important than ever for us all to be working together, as an industry, for the better of sailing and yacht racing."
The Yacht Racing Forum will take place on November 23-24, 2020 in Portsmouth, UK, an iconic venue for the sport of sailing.
About B&G: www.bandg.com/en-gb/
For more information and registration: www.yachtracingforum.com
Letters To The Editor - editor [AT] eurosailnews [DOT] com
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.
* From Paul Newell:
IRL 55248, when googled, came up with an Irish 420 sailed by a Lucy Kane.
No idea if that's who is thrashing the best of you and I doubt that whoever it is will want to be revelled any time soon.
Happy sailing, once we get back on the water.
Featured Brokerage
1997 Swan 77 RS 'Bandolero'. 1,600,000 EUR. Located in Canary Islands, Spain.
Designed by German Frers, the Swan 77 is known for blending superb sailing performance with luxurious interior accommodations typically found only on much larger vessels. BANDOLERO takes this one-step further, being the only yacht in this class incorporating a pilothouse featuring a second completely protected steering station as well as protected on-deck seating aft. A versatile five-stateroom layout, both American and European power capability, and the completion of an exhaustive one year refit in May 2012 make her ready to travel anywhere in the world reliably and in top condition.
See listing details in Nautor's Swan Brokerage
Contact
Giorgio Passarella
Nautor's Swan Brokerage
T. +377 97 97 95 07
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2013 CNB Bordeaux 60. 765,000 EUR. Located in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.
Beautifully presented following a thorough programme of upgrades over the past 2 years including new Raymarine instruments and freshly painted (AwlGrip) hull in Blue. Skipper maintained from new to a very high standard with huge spec. EU VAT paid.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
Matt Abbiss - Grabau International (London)
Tel: +44 (0)7973 301668
Email: matt [AT] grabauinternational [DOT] com
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Excess 12 - NEW BOAT
Excess 12 is for those who dream of a cruising catamaran that provides real sailing sensations
Like all the catamarans of our range, Excess 12 is for those who dream of a cruising catamaran that provides real sailing sensations. The view from the helm, the finesse of the sail trimming, the friendliness of the cockpit, the sliding sunroof, allow the whole crew to fully live the experience on board.
See listing details in Seahorse's RaceboatsOnly
Contact
www.excess-catamarans.com
See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/
The Last Word
I like my name, but I do share it with a lot of dogs and cats. -- Perdita Weeks
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