Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) won an excruciatingly drawn-out Team Vestas Wind In-Port Race Itajaí in the Volvo Ocean Race on Saturday when a lack of breeze tested the sailors’ patience and seamanship to the full (full story below).

– Skillful Bekking guides Team Brunel to in-port victory

– Windless conditions put premium on seamanship in Itajaí

– Watch Sunday’s Leg 6 start on our fabulous App

ITAJAÍ, Brazil, April 18 – Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) won an excruciatingly drawn-out Team Vestas Wind In-Port RaceItajaí in the Volvo Ocean Race on Saturday when a lack of breeze tested the sailors’ patience and seamanship to the full.

The very hard-earned victory takes the Dutch boat to the top of the in-port race series overall standings on 15 points (see panel above), one point clear of second-placed Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR).

For so long this morning it was not clear if the packed docks of fans in Itajaí would even see an in-port race, with wind pressures barely passing three knots.

Race management postponed the start for 10 minutes before the boats were finally able to cross the start line.

MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández/ESP) were happy simply to be on the racecourse, after their shore team and the race’s Boatyard crew were forced to work all night to reinforce a section of their mast, ensuring the rig was robust enough.

Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) were the first to show in the shortened, two-lap, four-leg contest as they chased their third win in the in-port series, and second in a row after their success in Auckland.

They narrowly reached the first gate ahead of overall race and in-port series leaders, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, with the all-female crew and Emirati crew opting for different sides of the course.

The pair completed lap two virtually neck-and-neck all the way as they desperately sought the little wind pressure Itajaí was offering on an overcast, but bright early afternoon.

Slowly but surely, however, the crew of Azzam began to eke out an advantage over the women, but then the wind dropped completely and the entire fleet slowed to a virtual standstill.

Team SCA were rocked by a 360-degree penalty turn for fouling, who suddenly moved from towards the back of the fleet into second place.

The Dutch, though, then took their turn to feel total frustration as the wind deserted them and instead, Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) claimed the pace.

With the finish at last in sight, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Team Brunel and Dongfeng Race Team found themselves virtually in a dead heat for the lead, but still struggling desperately to find pressure.

Finally, Bouwe Bekking’s men shook off what they must have felt was concrete from their hull to win their first in-port race of the series.

Azzam then eased past Dongfeng for second with Team SCA pipping MAPFRE for fourth and Team Alvimedica had to settle for sixth.

Team Vestas Wind In-Port Race Itajaí results:

1. Team Brunel 15:31:47 (local finish time) – 1pt

2. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 15:33:10 – 2pts

3. Dongfeng Race Team 15:33:21 – 3pts

4. Team SCA 15:33:43 – 4pts

5. MAPFRE 15:34:10 – 5pts

6. Team Alvimedica 15:35:58 – 6pts

Team Vestas Wind – DNS 8pts

Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Race Series overall standings (after six races of 10):

1. Team Brunel – 15pts

2. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing – 16pts

3. Team SCA – 20pts

4. Dongfeng Race Team – 21pts

5. Team Alvimedica – 26pts

6. MAPFRE – 30pts

7. Team Vestas Wind – 44 pts

Race statistics:

Start time 14:10 local time

True Wind Speed: 5-6 knots at the start dropped to 3 knots

True Wind Direction: 090 at the start shifting from 370 to 090 during the race

Bearing to gate bottom gate: 270 for the first lap move to 050 for 2nd rounding.

Distance 1nm, 3 laps shortened to 2 laps.

via Victory in slow-motion | Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) take a seven-point advantage into Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Sunday, but their team are taking nothing for granted (full report below).

– Skipper Walker warns there’s all to play for

– Enright relishes leg to home town port

– Scene is set for thrilling in-port race – follow on our App

ITAJAÍ, Brazil, April 17 – Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) carry a seven-point advantage into the start of Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Sunday, but their team are taking nothing for granted.

As skipper Walker told a press conference on Friday in the south-east Brazilian port of Itajaí, there are plenty of points still to sail for with four stages left to race.

“Last leg was obviously very good for us, to win the leg and the misfortune that happened for Dongfeng has changed the leaderboard somewhat,”  he said.

Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) broke their mast midway through the leg from Auckland to Itajaí, and were forced to retire, falling seven points behind Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

“We’ve got 45% of the points left and what that last leg shows is how easy it is to lose a lot of points. In the next leg, it could be us or anybody else,” added Walker.

“I think for us, nothing has really changed. We have to keep doing the same thing.”

As rival skipper, Bouwe Bekking (NED) of Team Brunel pointed out, in the last race in 2011-12, Team Telefónica retained a similar advantage by the time they reached Brazil, but ended up fourth overall.

“We know from previous races that the game starts very often here in Brazil,” he said. “In that sense, there will be a lot of pressure on Abu Dhabi.”

Caudrelier is aiming to follow in the footsteps of a mentor, Franck Cammas, his compatriot who skippered French boat Groupama to success in 2011-12. They too broke a mast on Leg 5, only to bounce back and win the trophy.

“We are reminded once again that anything can happen, we are reminded that our goal at the beginning of this race was to be on the podium,” he said.

“We realise that maybe we were having a good time until now and in light of what has happened we only have one option and that is to come back fighting.”

Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR), meanwhile, were disappointed by a decision by the independent ISAF international jury not to allow them to replace a key sail which was damaged in the previous leg when the all-female crewed boat suffered a Chinese gybe, crashing on its side.

Instead, they must use their repaired fractional code zero sail (FRO).

“Not being able to use the FRO for two thirds of Leg 5 had a major impact on our performance,” said Davies.

“We will now look to do everything in our power to try to make this sail as usable and as safe as possible.”

For Team Alvimedica skipper Charlie Enright (USA), it was more a case of counting down the hours before setting off on Leg 6 for their ‘homecoming’ to Newport, Rhode Island.

“Sailing into our home port with friends and family is a dream come true and I couldn’t ask for more,” said Enright, who grew up in the area.

“If there ever were a leg where we could get some extra motivation and hit that next gear, it’s certainly this one. Coming into Newport will be special for a lot of reasons. It is where the journey began so many years ago just learning to sail on Narragansett Bay.”

First, though, the teams will contest the Team Vestas Wind Itajaí In-Port Race, starting at 1400 local time (1700 UTC) on Saturday.

Team SCA, who won the previous race in Auckland to become the only team to triumph twice in the series so far, are currently in third place (see panel above) with the first four teams all within four points of each other.

via ‘The race starts here’| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

The Spanish team MAPFRE were given a two-point penalty on Thursday by the ISAF-appointed independent jury for rules breaches during Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. In separate decisions, the jury made key rulings about the use of replacement sails for three teams (full story below).

– MAPFRE protest hearing – ISAF jury decision here

– Dongfeng Race Team permitted to use replacement sail in Leg 6

– Team SCA and Team Vestas Wind refused permission to change their sails

ITAJAÍ, Brazil, April 17 – The Spanish team MAPFRE were given a two-point penalty on Thursday by the ISAF-appointed independent jury for rules breaches during Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. In separate decisions, the jury made key rulings about the use of replacement sails for three teams.

After hearing evidence from Race Management and the team on Wednesday, the jury, headed by Bernard Bonneau, ruled that the Spanish team had applied repairs and alterations on the hull and on an outrigger without informing the Volvo Ocean 65 Class Authority (VCA) and therefore broke the Volvo Ocean 65 class rules as well as the race rules.

The Volvo Ocean 65 class rules require that if a team considers that a repair is necessary, it shall inform the VCA immediately.

Bonneau added that the five-strong jury had decided that the work was not done with the purpose of improving the performance of the Spanish team during Leg 5 and their second place in the stage stands.

The ruling, however, means that their overall points total is now 20 after five legs and they thus drop from fourth to fifth in the standings (see panel above).

The team had earlier argued in the hearing through their rules advisor, Luis Sáenz Mariscal, that in both cases with their bow and outrigger, skipper Iker Martínez had made the reinforcements because of fears that both were damaged.

Sáenz Mariscal added that the outrigger had broken on previous occasions in the race and the crew had heard a bang from the bow and feared it was delaminating.

He said that in Southern Ocean conditions, Martínez feared that the boat and crew were in danger if the measures were not taken. He said the crew had not informed the VCA, but had openly shared video content showing repairs to Race Control in Alicante, Spain.

Martínez was also a skipper in the last edition in 2011-12, when his boat’s bow delaminated and he was forced to nurse the boat to Argentina for repairs.

In a separate decision by the ISAF Jury, Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) was given permission to replace their damaged race mainsail with their pre-race mainsail for the forthcoming Team Vestas Wnd Itajaí In-Port Race as well as Leg 6, which starts on Sunday (April 19).

Dongfeng Race Team had nursed their boat to safety in Argentina after the top of the mast fractured, 200 nautical miles from Cape Horn, during Leg 5. Caudrelier explained they had no option but to cut the mainsail to prevent further damage, potentially endangering the crew.

However, similar applications from Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR), to replace their fractional code zero sail, and Team Vestas Wind (Chris Nicholson/AUS) to replace their J3 when they return to the race following their grounding on a reef in Leg 2, were denied.

Team SCA’s sail was unusable during the stage after it was badly damaged during a Chinese gybe. It has since been repaired but according to skipper Sam Davies, may tear again once the boat returns to sea on Leg 6 from Sunday.

The race rules specify that if a boat damages beyond repair or loses a sail and does not have a spare race sail of the same code, it may apply in writing to the VCA and to the international jury for permission to use her pre-race sail of the same code.

The international jury’s full decisions can be found here: http://noticeboard.volvooceanrace.com

via The jury decides| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

Team Vestas Wind (Chris Nicholson/AUS) shore manager Neil Cox has paid tribute to the joint efforts to return the Danish boat into the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 – and is cautiously optimistic they are on track (full story below).

– We still face big challenge to meet deadlines – Cox

– Shore crew chief pays tribute to joint effort to rebuild boat

ITAJAÍ, Brazil, April 16 – Team Vestas Wind (Chris Nicholson/AUS) shore manager Neil Cox has paid tribute to the joint efforts to return the Danish boat into the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 – and is cautiously optimistic they are on track.

The team, who did serious damage to their Volvo Ocean 65 on November 29 during Leg 2 when they collided with a reef in the Indian Ocean, are rebuilding the boat in the Persico boatyard in Bergamo, Italy.

They have set themselves a very tight schedule of returning to the current 12th edition by the Lisbon stopover in late May/early June to sail the final two legs. The fleet is scheduled to depart from Portugal for Lorient, France, on June 6.

There have already been huge efforts to help facilitate Vestas Wind’s return with Race partners, Maersk Line, and sponsors, GAC & GAC Pindar, overseeing the boat’s crossing from Malaysia.

Cox hopes they can make that deadline, but warns it is still a huge challenge despite the great teamwork between the various cogs in a big wheel, including Persico and Green Marine (Britain).

“Like all intense build projects, you can see the signs of wear on the guys, but to their credit they have not yet shown any sign of things being in the ‘too hard’ basket,” he said on Wednesday.

“The reality is, though, that we are going to have some challenging days in front of us to hold this all together as required. But we have a pretty determined group.”

The immediate target is have the boat ready to be loaded on to a truck from the shed at Persico for the long journey to Lisbon in six weeks.

Cox listed the progress so far.

“The deck is on, the boat is out of the mould. All the primary structure is in the boat and a large percentage of the internal secondary structure and detailing is underway,” he said.

“The hull surface has come out of the mould nicely and we have the paint team starting on all the surface prep work here, filling in any pin holes before the application of primer/undercoat.

“With this done, we want to offer the teams from Diverse, Navtec, Livewire, Cariboni (working on internal components such as the electronics and hydraulics) as much uninterrupted runway through the boat as possible.

“We are still receiving required equipment daily by the pallet load and have had the support of both Green Marine and Volvo Ocean Race shared services helping with the transfer of both information and parts.”

Meanwhile, work on the racing boats that contested the treacherous Leg 5, has progressed without major issue.

That includes Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA). The boat’s mast, which was fractured during the stage and forced their retirement, is being replaced.

Caudrelier and his crew expect to return their boat to the Itajaí waters on Thursday, ahead of Saturday’s Team Vestas Wind Itajaí In-Port Race.

The other teams – Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR), MAPFRE (Iker Martínez/ESP), Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA), Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) and Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) – had much smaller repair lists and are all back in perfect shape for race weekend (April 18-19).

via Vestas Wind shaping up nicely| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

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It was no April Fool’s gag…

09 Apr 2015

Artemis Racing’s AC45 – photo: Sander van der Borch/Artemis Racing

AMERICA’S CUP: The item we ran on April 1st from Eurobutt suggesting the America’s Cup was going to be a one design seems to have had rather more basis in fact than an April Fool joke, writes Peter Nash.

Because the latest we hear from Mr Ellison and Co is that the next AC is likely to use boats that are – essentially – one design catamarans.

And they’re small. At 48ft loa, the AC48 is smallest boat ever used for the 165 year old America’s Cup.

The boats were designed by Oracle’s designer and the wing, sails, hulls, platform/crossbeams are “standardised”.

So we now have an America’s Cup that was – for 165 years – always sailed in majestic monohulls, now brought down to 48ft catamarans that have absolutely no sense of power and majesty whatsoever.

They will, of course, be incredibly fast. Foiling has come a long way since the last AC. But is this going to be enough to make a sailboat series that was always a spectacle seem anything other than a few very small, very fast little boats racing around?

As one commentator put it – a small foiling catamaran offers nothing in tactical sailing. So there will be no real pre start jousting. There will be no tactical sailing upwind or downwind. All it can offer is speed, speed and more speed.

But, according to Ben Ainslie, the new America’s Cup wing sail foiling catamaran will be “more manoeuvrable” and “better suited” to Bermuda’s racecourse.

Mr Ainslie insists the new class is “absolutely essential for the long term good of the Cup”.

I hear far more people asking for a return to modernised 12 Metre boats. Or how about TP52s? That would give fast and furious sailing people could understand.

Mr Ainslie continued, pointing out the new boats “will be able to achieve speeds of close to 50 miles an hour, far faster than any other current racing series in global sailing, and a match for the 72ft boats that raced the 34th America’s Cup.”

But the speed of the new boats may be matched perfectly by the speed of Luna Rossa in withdrawing from the new look America’s Cup with its new choice of the AC48 after having spent millions in developing Luna Rossa’s AC62.

But as well as the change of boat, there are arguments about the elimination series, with the Australian round likely to be eliminated itself.

And, as the Australian government was due to be a major sponsor of Emirates Team New Zealand if the elimination series went to Auckland, that now seems to have put the team’s entry in doubt.

So now we have just Ben Ainslie Racing and the Swedish Artemis down as challengers against Oracle.

What a mess, eh? Not much of a spectacle in there. Except the spectacle of interested parties fighting for what THEY think is the right way for the AC to go.

And the latest is it seems the French squad led by Franck Cammas has been given some help by Oracle.

“We have some very good news: the Americans, Oracle, have decided to share their design and to collaborate with Team France,” Cammas told French radio station Europe 1.

As French AC sailor Bruno Troublé put it – rather well, think most people – “Golden Gate Yacht Club, and their Oracle Team USA, are great sailors but hopeless guards of the Myth.

“They managed to kill the style and elegance which prevailed for decades, those unique aspects of the America’s Cup for which was our main aim at Louis Vuitton for 30 years.

“What we have now is a vulgar beach event smelling of sunscreen and french fries. This is definitely NOT the Cup.”

I think Mr Troublé hit the nail on the head there…

via Boating Business – It was no April Fool’s gag….

13 Apr 2015

Bob Fisher offers a few thoughts on how AC35 is progressing…

AMERICA’S CUP: Bob Fisher has jumped into the debate over the 35th running of the America’s Cup that seems to be floundering in disarray after the previously agreed AC62 was replaced by the smaller AC48.

In an open letter to the America’s Cup Events Authority, The Fish says:

“I cannot escape notice of what you are doing to the America’s Cup – it has been nothing short of a disgrace to the premier event in the sport of sailing. You have abused it, misused it and reduced it to no more than an average regatta, losing on the way its prestige and at the same time driven away the most serious competitors.

“In the last America’s Cup event, held on the waters of the Golden Gate Yacht Club, for whom you act in a management role, the two challengers that came up to the mark were those from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and the Circolo della Vela Sicilia – Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa. In the course of the past week you have made it virtually impossible for ETNZ to raise the necessary funds to continue by removing any chance of a major regatta in Auckland, and, by a huge change in the size of boat, caused the Italian team to withdraw. Is this what you really want?

“Gone is all semblance of stability and adherence to rules unanimously agreed at the outset and in their place is an undercurrent of commercial misunderstanding and constantly changing rules without the unanimity of the challengers as initially agreed. Both of these are a disgrace to the cup and to yourselves.

“It was brought to my notice by you, in Auckland, that it was important for a part of the Challenger Final Selection Series to be held in the City of Sails in order to generate publicity for the America’s Cup in Asia and the reason for that was a Japanese team would shortly emerge, and that this would encourage television networks to purchase the rights.

“Subsequently ACEA has made it clear that ALL Challenger Selection races will be held in Bermuda, effectively slapping ETNZ in the face and reducing the Kiwis’ chances of government sponsorship (which hung on a major AC regatta in Auckland), possibly even eliminating this team from AC35.

“It is unnecessary for the America’s Cup to have a television audience. For many years there was no television coverage, and later only inserts into news programmes. Televising the event began in 1983 and was carried to a new height by ESPN in 1987 in Fremantle. Even then it didn’t need catamarans on hydrofoils sailing at 40 knots to be attractive – just 12-Metre yachts in boisterous conditions with some live sound from the boats.

“Now, thanks to the wizardry of Stan Honey and his colleagues, full details of the speed and direction of each of the competitors is overlaid on the live pictures of the racing. The technology of other sports has improved television for even the non-sailor, but this does not drive the America’s Cup. Money does. And there will certainly not be enough from television rights to pay for the somewhat unnecessary regattas that take place using the name of the event that has, over 164 years, taken place only 34 times.

“The America’s Cup is a one-off event. It does not need promoting with pseudo regattas in the intervening years, which use its name. The Challenger Selection Trials, together with the long lost Defender Selection Trials, are adequate and the responsibility for their expense is down to the individual teams. Now there is a state of affairs in which the Defender trials have been eliminated. In the Protocol, Item 17 clearly states:

‘Defender means GGYC and the sailing team that represents GGYC in AC35;’

“You have excluded any chance of another US Yacht Club from competing for the cup, maybe even giving GGYC the type of competition it needs to retain the cup. Not even the New York Yacht Club felt sufficiently confident to resort to that.

“Neither did the NYYC resort to changing the boats at a late date – the move from the AC-62 to the AC-48 has been very last minute and particularly hard on the teams that had set up their design groups well in advance to produce the smaller AC-62, as announced soon after the last AC match. It is hardly surprising that you have put Patrizio Bertelli’s feelings in disarray to the extent he has withdrawn Luna Rossa from AC35. His team had been working since early January 2014 at its headquarters in Cagliari with a design office of 40, all working on the design of a 62-footer. I suppose you comment will be: “Silly him,” but you have lost one of the biggest commercial sponsors of the Cup – just look where the Prada advertisements for Luna Rossa appear.

“To throw fat on the fire, you are offering to give design and financial support to the French team, which has made little progress, and what is worse attempting to justify this with the terms of the Deed of Gift, where it indicates that the event is to be: “a friendly competition between foreign nations.” But you may well counter this with the quote from the judge of the New York Court of Appeals in the case between the Mercury Bay Boating Club and San Diego Yacht Club, who queried: “Where in the Deed of Gift does it say the America’s Cup is supposed to be fair?”

“The loss of Louis Vuitton, after 30 years, is another huge loss of commercial sponsorship, but the writing for that was on the wall in San Francisco.

“Everything this time around has been late, and bringing in new entries at this stage is another breach of the Protocol. I implore you to get your act together, remember the event with which you are dealing, with its glorious past, and begin to act in a proper manner.”

Bob Fisher

via Boating Business – Fisher in on AC35 debate.

Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) breathed a huge sigh of relief on Monday after the boat arrived right on schedule ready for the refit of a new mast (full story below).- Caudrelier breathes sigh of relief as damaged boat arrives- Target now is to return Dongfeng to water on ThursdayITAJAÍ, Brazil, April 13 – Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) breathed a huge sigh of relief on Monday after the boat arrived in Itajaí right on schedule ready for the refit of a new mast.It has been a long journey for the stricken boat since the top of its mast fractured 200 nautical miles (nm) from Cape Horn in heinous Southern Ocean conditions on March 30 during the treacherous Leg 5 from Auckland to Itajaí, south-east Brazil.Suppliers, Southern Spars transported a new mast from Dubai, via Amsterdam, to Brazil and despite some major logistical challenges, that had arrived safely too by Sunday.The boat itself was sailed by a shore crew team plus two Chinese sailors under jury rig, partly under motor, for 2,000nm through the Southern Ocean and South Atlantic for its rendezvous in Itajaí with the new mast.It had earlier found refuge in Ushuaia, Argentina, following the breakage.Volvo Ocean Race Boatyard chief, Nick Bice, and his team will be working flat out with the Dongfeng Race Team shore team to ensure the boat is in optimum condition for the weekend’s Team Vestas Wind Itajaí In-Port Race on Saturday.The ambition is to have the boat back in the water by Thursday with the new rig fitted and any other minor repairs carried out.“Today we know we’ll be ready for the next leg,” said Caudrelier early on Monday following the boat’s arrival. “Well done to the shore team.”He continued: “We hope to be ready on Thursday and go sailing in the evening to race on Saturday.“Breaking the mast was a difficult moment. We lost the joint lead of the race, we lost eight points. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) are now far ahead and they have a big advantage.“It will be difficult to come back and we’re close in points with the boats behind – we could very well finish fifth.“We have to stay focused. We’ll do what we’ve done in the previous legs and we’ll see what happens. Anything could still happen.”As they did not complete the leg, Dongfeng Race Team collected eight points to go seven behind stage victors Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (see panel above – low points lead).However, as Caudrelier makes clear, there is still all to play for. Leg 6 sets off from Itajaí to Newport, Rhode Island on Sunday, April 19, and three more follow it including the transatlantic trip from USA to Lisbon (Leg 7).

via Dongfeng set for in-port race return| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

An anchorage should provide:

1.    Shelter from all directions

A typical ‘perfect anchorage’ might be a horseshoe-shaped bay encircled by cliffs or hills, ensuring good shelter from all wind directions, unless it is blowing straight through the entrance which would drive in swell and make the bay extremely uncomfortable.

Be aware that wind often swings through 180 degrees during the night, when a strong sea breeze changes to a light land breeze.  Anchoring in the lee of high hills or mountains may appear to provide the best possible shelter, but not when a katabatic wind (from the Greek word katabatikos meaning ‘going downhill’) accelerates down the hillside at violent speed!

2.    Flat Water

Ideally, your anchorage should be as flat as a mill-pond.  Any swell will make it extremely uncomfortable.  If the boat starts rolling, things seldom get better.  Best advice is to move on as soon as possible to seek and alternative anchorage.  This may be caused by the wind swinging onshore.  However, swell is unpredictable and can roll in during the night if you are unlucky.  The best solution is departure at dawn.

3.    Good holding

Anchors are incredibly effective at holding a boat, but need a good holding.  The best surfaces are sand or mud, which allow the anchor to dig in deeply.  Rock and weed or shingle will provide a less secure holding.  Never drop an anchor on coral.

4.    Room to swing

Your boat should have room to swing through a 360 degree arc, without hitting anything under or on top of the water, including nearby boats.  All boats will swing as the wind or tide changes, though yachts and powercraft tend to swing at a different speed.  If there is insufficient space to swing through a wide arc or full circle, the solution may be to attach a stern line to the shore, which will hold the boat in a fixed direction.  This is useful when there is limited space in an anchorage and common practice in Baltic countries such as Sweden and Finland.  Remember though, if you are secured differently to the other vessels around you, your swing will be different to theirs.

5.    Tidal effects

If you anchor in a tidal area, you need to be sure there will be enough water under the keel at low tide.  The exception is if you wish to ‘dry out’ with a bilge keel yacht, lifting keel yacht or shallow draught catamaran.  Tidal flow may also affect where you can anchor in a river or estuary.  Every six hours, your boat will swing through 180 degrees as the tide changes.  An anchorage with the bows facing into the wind and tide should provide flat water and good shelter for the crew in the cockpit, but the boat may start to rock and the cockpit may get draughty when the wind blows against the tide.

“Some of my most enjoyable nights on the water have been at anchor with friends. The article is called a ‘perfect anchorage’, yet we all know it is unlikely to be absolutely perfect, however if you spend some time considering the points covered here before arriving at your anchorage and use a check list to select your spot it is likely to be an enjoyable stay with no unexpected surprises”, comments Vaughan Marsh, RYA Chief Instructor, Sail Cruising.

So remember; things to consider when choosing a good anchorage:

Shelter from the wind

The weather forecast in case the wind direction changes

The nature of the seabed shown on the chart. Mud and sand are better than rock or shingle

Space behind the boat

Whether there is enough room to swing when the tide turns

Check on the chart for a recommend anchorage

Look in the pilot book for advice or warnings

The boat must be outside any channel used by other boats, including if it swings

The depth of water.  It may be necessary to work out the minimum depth of water in which to anchor to be sure that the boat will not ground at low water

Once secure, monitor your yachts position in comparison to the other vessels and hazards including the depth for the duration of you stay

Extracts taken from RYA Day Skipper Handbook – Sail, by Sara Hopkinson and RYA Yacht Sailing Techniques, by Jeremy Evans.

via The perfect anchorage | InBrief | e-Newsletters | News & Events | RYA.

Two days after Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race was completed with Team SCA’s arrival, Dongfeng Race Team were in a desperate battle of their own on Thursday to transport their stricken boat to Itajaí for the fitting of a new mast (full story below).

– ‘End of project as we know it, if we don’t make it’ – Team chief Dubois

– Mast and Dongfeng boat targeted to arrive in Itajaí on Monday

– New rig must be installed in half the time it normally takes

ITAJAI, Brazil, April 9 – Two days after Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race was completed with Team SCA’s arrival, Dongfeng Race Team were in a desperate battle of their own on Thursday to transport their stricken boat to Itajaí for the fitting of a new mast.

The Chinese team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) were forced to retire from the event’s toughest leg on April 1 after their mast fractured in the Southern Ocean, 200 nautical miles (nm) from Cape Horn.

They found refuge in Ushuaia, Argentina, and a team of shore crew members plus Chinese sailors, Wolf (Yang Jiru) and Black (Liu Xue), are now sailing Dongfeng under motor and sail to Itajaí.

The entire project is geared around having a fully fixed-up boat ready for the Leg 6 departure for Newport, Rhode Island, on April 19.

But what if they don’t achieve that? “If we don’t make it? It will be the end of our project as we know it,” said Team Director, Bruno Dubois (BEL).

The best-case arrival time for the boat in Itajaí, according to a team statement issued on Thursday, is Monday, April 13. The crew is currently 1,000nm from their destination in the south-east of Brazil.

Meanwhile, a separate journey is underway with the mast being flown from Dubai, via Amsterdam, to São Paulo, Brazil. From there, it will be driven to Itajaí once it has cleared customs.

The arrival time for the mast – with a ‘best case’ scenario, say the team – is also Monday.

Dongfeng Race Team’s statement continued: “However, that will just be the beginning of our race against time.

“Once we have the boat and the mast, there is the work that normally takes a week to do in half that time – to prepare the boat itself after the tough leg from Auckland, and to prepare, set up and tune the new mast and rigging.”

It continues: “Now calculate the odds of everything running smoothly. As it stands, we have no idea if the truckers will be willing to drive over the weekend.

“So best case scenario, the rig and the boat both arrive in Itajaí on Monday as planned. Otherwise, the rig arrives two days later and we struggle to make the Team Vestas Wind Itajaí In-Port Race (Saturday, April 18).”

The clock continues to tick, but shore crew member, Henry Woodhouse, who is currently helping sail the boat through the south Atlantic to Itajaí, remains bullish.

“Look out Brazil, here we come,” he wrote in a blog from the boat on Wednesday evening. “We may be late arriving, but we will be on that start line for Leg 6 ready to return with a vengeance.”

via High stakes| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

VOR: Dongfeng Race Team broke its mast early this morning during the Volvo Ocean Race, but fortunately nobody has been injured and there is no immediate danger to the crew.

The incident happened 240 nautical miles west of Cape Horn at 0315 UTC on Monday, in the final hours of the night onboard Dongfeng. The crew reported that the mast broke above the third spreader. They are not planning to continue racing on this leg and are heading towards Ushuaia, Argentina, under their own sail.

Reached via Inmarsat, a disappointed Caudrelier said: “I’m gutted. As you’ve seen from the position reports we have been on purpose backed off a bit, not attacking in any way. The mast broke without warning, in about 30 knots of wind. We are unable to sail safely on starboard tack, but we are able to make reasonable speed on port tack. We will head towards Ushuaia and assess our options for getting to Itajai.”

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) is aware of the situation and is on standby to help if necessary.

Dongfeng’s media team says it will provide more information as it becomes available.

Video: Dongfeng Racing Team

via Boating Business – Dongfeng breaks mast in VOR.