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Record finish at the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

03 Jan 2017

Jim Delegat’s New Zealand V70 ‘Giacomo’ was the overall race winner Photo: CYCA

The 2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race finished on a record high with all three of the top finishers crossing the line to break the 2012 race record.

Jim Delegat’s New Zealand V70 Giacomo was the overall race winner, finishing second across the line on the last day behind Anthony Bell’s NSW Perpetual Loyal, which broke Wild Oats XI’s race record by nearly five hours to establish a new time of 1 day, 13 hours, 31 minutes, 20 seconds.

In third place was Hong Kong’s Seng Huang Lee’s Scallywag meaning that Giacomo and Perpetual Loyal topped the standings for the overall IRC and IRC Division 0 with the Chinese entry UBOX coming in third place overall.

Last year’s race winner, Paul Clitheroe’s Balance finished fourth overall and

again topped IRC Division 1, ahead of fellow TP52s Ichi Ban and Celestial.

Honours in Division 2 went to Rob Drury’s Cookson 12 Springday Pazazz ahead of the perennial Chutzpah and the South Australian Ker design Aikin Hames Sharley, jointly skippered by Hames Sharley MD Callin Howard and Musto CEO David Oliver.

The veteran Queenslander Robbo Robertson won IRC Division 3 with the 40ft Farr-design Bravo.

Perhaps the crowd favourite, Sean Langman’s Maluka of Kermandie narrowly defeated Shane Kearns’ Komatsu Azzurro and Simon Kurts’ Love & War for IRC Division 4.

via Boating Business | Record finish at the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Services to sailing recognised

03 Jan 2017

Giles Scott is just one Olympic sailor to be recognised in the New Year Honours list

Giles Scott, Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark – British sailing’s golden trio from the Rio Olympic Games – have been recognised in the New Year Honours list.

The Olympic champions were named as Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to sailing following their Rio achievements where Mr Scott maintained a five-games British winning streak in the Finn event and Ms Mills and Ms Clark claimed a first ever British Olympic gold in the 470 Women’s class.

Ms Clark described the award as ‘insane’: “To represent Great Britain at an Olympics is an absolute privilege, to be in the position to win the gold medal was amazing and to top it off with an MBE is absolutely insane. What a year! It is such a huge honour.”

Ms Mills added: “Since the Games it has been great – the support and response from the public, family and friends has been overwhelming, to be recognised by our sport as World Sailors of the Year and now in the Honours List, it is just so, so special. I can’t imagine 2017 living up to the challenge, but I hope it will be half as good.”

Ian Walker, double Olympic medallist and Volvo Ocean Race winner, has also been made an MBE for services to Olympic and international competitive sailing and Solihull sailor Andrew Yates has received the British Empire Medal for his contribution to sailing in the borough.

via Boating Business | Services to sailing recognised.

Oyster expanding facilities to build new 118’s

05 Jan 2017

The all new Oyster 118 is the largest Oyster yet

Plans are being developed to expand Oyster Yachts’ facilities at Saxon Wharf so that it can build its second and third 118 builds in parallel for a late spring and summer 2020 delivery.

Oyster 118-02 will be the 40th over 80ft yacht built by Oyster in the company’s 43 year history. According to data from the ‘Global Order Book’ data reported by Showboats International, the build will give Oyster a 30% market share of the global order book for yachts between 80 and 120ft for 2017.

Hull moulding for 118-02 will start in the next couple of months in Oyster’s dedicated facility at HMS Daedalus, near Portsmouth and fit-out will start in 2018 in Oyster’s Custom & Refit shipyard at Saxon Wharf in Southampton.

At Oyster’s Southampton base new additional facilities are being created, bringing the potential to complete four yachts before summer 2020 with 118-04 being offered for 2021 delivery.

The all new Oyster 118 is the largest Oyster yet drawn in partnership with Humphreys Yacht Design.

At 36m, the 118 is a new evolution of the Oyster/Humphreys plumb bowed, soft chined, twin rudder design.

via Boating Business | Oyster expanding facilities to build new 118’s.

Tofinou 10 debuts at Paris Boat Show

BY ADMIN • DECEMBER 16, 2016 • BREAKING NEWS, HOMEMOSAIC, YACHTS • COMMENTS OFF • 50

The French boat builder Latitude 46 that’s best known for its long running line up of high-end daysailers has announced a new cruising range. The first model is a 10 metre (33ft) design intended to appeal to the kind of discerning buyers that already buy Tofinou models, while offering significantly more interior space.

The styling of the new Joubert Nivelt design makes it instantly recognisable as a Tofinou, despite the greater beam and higher freeboard compared to the company’s daysailer designs. This effect is underlined by the extensive use of wood trim on the coachroof and cockpit coamings, as well as the teak laid deck.

Below deck there’s significantly more space than the company’s existing models of a similar size, although they have made no attempt to risk spoiling the beauty of the boat’s lines by attempting to cram in too much accommodation. The largely open plan layout offers a double berth, a saloon table, small galley and decent heads compartment, plus a separate aft cabin for children or guests. Internal joinery is in teak, with plenty of white paneling and overhead hatches that give ample natural light.

The deck layout is very neat and crisp, with control lines concealed wherever possible. This emphasises the wide side decks, clear foredeck and uncluttered cockpit layout. The designers have sensibly eschewed the modern trend for twin wheels, which are of dubious benefit on a boat of this size, in favour of a varnished mahogany tiller, although a single large wheel is available as an option.

Two keel options are offered – either a conventional fin with a low centre of gravity bulb, or an electrically operated ballasted centerboard that swings up into a stub keel below the hull. The powerful 7/8ths fractional rig looks easily tamed and twin rudder promise good control even in boisterous conditions. A high standard of equipment is offered as standard, including Harken mainsail luff track and Dyneema halyards. To complement the semi traditional styling, the standard aluminium spars are painted in an ivory colour. Carbon spars are also offered as an option.

The first Tofinou 10 is scheduled to be exhibited at the Paris Boat Show in early December 2016.

Specifications:

Length 9.9 m

Beam 3.4m

Draught (fixed keel) 2.0m

Draught (swing keel) 1.0-2.35m

Displacement (estimated) 4,200kg

Ballast 1,200-1,300kg

Headsail area 22.5 sq m

Mainsail 33.7 sq m

Water tank 140 litres

Fuel tank 50 litres

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via Tofinou 10 debuts at Paris Boat Show | Yachting News Update | The Business of Boat Ownership and Marina Berths.

Contesting the Ultimate Ocean Challenge

BY ADMIN • NOVEMBER 11, 2016 • OLDER, RACING • COMMENTS OFF • 58

Preparing for three months alone at sea in full-on race mode. Credit: Jean-Marie Liot/DPPI/Vendee Globe

The world’s biggest sporting challenge by far is surely the Vendee Globe race, a 23,000-mile non-stop single-handed dash around the planet. For the lone sailors, who will remain in constant full-on race mode for almost three months, it requires immense physical toughness, along with enormous technical knowledge and emotional resilience. No other event in the sporting world makes such relentless demands over such a long period of time.

The race has been held every four years since 1989 and this year’s event started from Les Sables d’Olonne on France’s Atlantic coast on Sunday November 6. The leaders are expected to return there after around 75-80 days, having sailed the length of the Atlantic in both directions, plus a lengthy Southern Ocean passage. Historically only around half the fleet completes the full circumnavigation. An idea of the scale of the challenge is that fewer people have sailed single handed non-stop around the world than have been in space.

The boats are IMOCA 60ft monohulls, built to a box rule that defines parameters that include overall length, draught, mast height and safety considerations. The latest generation of boats have horizontal foils that are deployed on the lee side to generate lift and elevate the hull out of the water when boat speed exceeds around 16 knots.

Skipper Jeremie Bayou – the latest generation of boats have horizontal foils that increase stability and help lift the hull out of the water. Credit: Francis Van Malleghem/DPPI/Vendee Globe

29 skippers representing 10 countries will contest this edition of the race. They cover a huge range of experience, including five who will join a small group of sailors who have taken part in the Vendée Globe on four occasions. A further six sailors will be taking part in their third Vendée Globe, while four others will be setting sail from Les Sables d’Olonne for the second time. The 2016-2017 line-up brings together the youngest competitor in the history of the race (Alan Roura, 23) and the oldest (Rich Wilson, 66).

The popularity of the race in France is such that around one million people will visit the race village in the port in the three weeks before the start. In addition, more than 500,000 skippers from around the world will compete online in the Virtual Vendee Globe.

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via Contesting the Ultimate Ocean Challenge | Yachting News Update | The Business of Boat Ownership and Marina Berths.

First of hi tech X series unveiled

BY ADMIN • DECEMBER 16, 2016 • BREAKING NEWS, HOMEMOSAIC, YACHTS • COMMENTS OFF • 28

The latest 60 footer from Danish builder X-Yachts was unveiled to the world at this autumn’s Southampton Boat show. The X series was conceived to complement the company’s two existing Xperformance (Xp) and Xcruising (Xc) line ups and is intended to combine excellent sailing capabilities with a modern and spacious interior. While the Xc range is optimised for those looking to cruise long distances across oceans the X6 (together with the smaller X4) are geared to produce the optimum design for those who also plan to spend extended periods on board, but intend to spend more time in areas such as the Mediterranean and Baltic seas, or island hopping in the Caribbean.

Two years was spent striving to reach a distinctive style for the interior, which echoes that normally only seen on larger super yachts. Numerous fixed hull and deck port lights, together with more than a dozen opening deck hatches, provide ample natural light and ventilation. The deck layout has twin wheels, a fold-down transom bathing platform, and high quality deck gear that’s arranged to make it easy for keen sailors to extract the best from the rig.

While many new yachts are optimised only for reaching conditions, the designers of the X6 have looked for a more rounded performance profile. For instance, the deep v hull shape, modest displacement and generous stability point towards a comfortable motion when sailing upwind in a rough sea.

The X6 is built using the same hi-tech, low-weight construction techniques as the latest generation Xp racer-cruisers, including vacuum infused epoxy with localised carbon fibre reinforcement. The weight saved allows for the installation of long-range fuel and water tanks, larger battery banks and optional equipment such as water makers and dive compressors to be fitted without sacrificing performance.

Owners are offered a high degree of customisation, with a full range of rig options that includes a Park Avenue boom, and in-boom or in-mast furling. There is a choice of shallow and deep draft keels, with ‘L’ and ‘T’ bulbs, as well as a choice of cockpit furniture and an optional mainsheet arch with integrated bimini.

Hull length 19.1 m

Waterline length 17.85m

Beam 5.4m

Draught (standard keel) 3.0m

Draught (shallow keel) 2.6m

Draught (deep keel) 3.4m

Fuel tank 1,200 litres

Water tank 1,000 litres

Mainsail 130sq m

Genoa (106%) 90sq m

Asymmetric spinnaker 280sq m

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via First of hi tech X series unveiled | Yachting News Update | The Business of Boat Ownership and Marina Berths.

Socrates sets out to be oldest non-stop circumnavigator

BY ADMIN • DECEMBER 16, 2016 • BREAKING NEWS, FEATURES, HOMEMOSAIC • COMMENTS OFF • 32

Jeanne Socrates, a 73-year-old former London maths teacher, has set out on a record fourth solo circumnavigation, with the aim of become the oldest person to sail round the globe alone, non-stop and unassisted. This will be her third solo circumnavigation via the Southern Ocean and the five great capes – Cape Horn (Chile), the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), Cape Leeuwin (Australia), plus the southern-most capes of Tasmania and New Zealand.

She completed the first in October 2012, having covered 28,800 miles in 251 days at sea. Socrates had hoped that this would be a non-stop voyage, but Nereida, her 38ft Najad 380, sustained significant damage when she was knocked down while hove to in storm-force conditions 100 miles west of Cape Horn. Two days later Socrates rounded Cape Horn unaided, but then had to stop at the Argentine port of Ushuaia for repairs. She subsequently continued her voyage via the Falklands and Cape Town, Tasmania, Tahiti and Hawaii, returning to Canada a few days before her 70th birthday.

On a subsequent attempt she completed a non-stop circumnavigation on the same route, arriving back in Victoria Harbour, British Columbia, Canada, after 259 days at sea. It earned her two further records the first woman to sail solo nonstop around the world from North America and the oldest woman to sail solo nonstop around the world. However, there remained another to chase – she was fractionally too young to claim the record of oldest non-stop solo circumnavigator that veteran Japanese solo racer Minoru Saito took in 2004 at the age of 71.

Socrates left Vancouver on October 19 this year, but ran into storm force conditions five days later, which forced her to lie to Nereida’s Jordon Series Drogue for two days. During this storm both the drogue and the staysail, which came partially unfurled, sustained damage. She therefore returned to base to make repairs, before restarting on November 13. At the time of writing, 11 days into the voyage, she was roughly 250 miles off the coast of California, just north of Los Angeles, with calm seas and a north-to-north west breeze.

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via Socrates sets out to be oldest non-stop circumnavigator | Yachting News Update | The Business of Boat Ownership and Marina Berths.

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Foiling is the next step for offshore racing

BY ADMIN • DECEMBER 16, 2016 • BREAKING NEWS, HOMEMOSAIC, RACING • COMMENTS OFF • 36

The F4 piloted by Jimmy Spithill and crew, blasts off from New York, bound for Bermuda. Credit: Matt Knighton / Red Bull Content Pool

A revolution is underway in the sailboat-racing scene – the transition to super-fast cutting edge boats whose hulls rise out of the water on foils. With an increasing number of production built boats now available this is not longer the sole preserve of the very highest echelons of sailing, whether in the America’s Cup or (often the same sailors) in the diminutive International Moth class.

However, to date any attempts to get offshore boats to fully foil have met with failure. Note this is different to the foils used for monohulls such as those in the Vendée Globe race, where the foils increase stability and reduce wetted surface area by lifting the boat a little, but don’t raise the hull completely out of the water.

The F4 piloted by Jimmy Spithill and crew, blasts off from New York, bound for Bermuda. Credit: Matt Knighton / Red Bull Content Pool

It was therefore a big step forward in November 2016, when the Oracle Team USA America’s Cup skipper Jimmy Spithill sailed, with a crew including Emily Nagel, Shannon Falcone and Rome Kirby, from New York to Bermuda in a three day, 662- mile voyage. Their chosen steed was a 46ft DNA F4, a revamped version of the former 40ft Gunboat G4 foiling catamaran that infamously capsized off the Caribbean island of St Maarten in April 2015.

Before departing from New York Spithill said the aim of the voyage was to, “…prove that foiling in the open ocean is the next step in the evolution of offshore sailing.” His team initially had great conditions for the passage, leaving Manhattan on the foils, and staying airborne almost all the way to the Gulf Stream.

However, after the Gulf Stream the wind built higher than forecast, increasing to 35 knots, accompanied by 25ft (7.6m) waves. This forced a quick transition to survival mode, with the boat reefed to the bare minimum of sail at one point. “I was concerned because the first half was a perfect speed run,” says Spithill, but the second half was becoming something of a survival trip. We proved that foiling is the next step in performance offshore sailing – we clearly proved that. But there’s a limit – no matter what, mother-nature will decide at what level you are going to operate.”

The F4 piloted by Jimmy Spithill and crew, blasts off from New York, bound for Bermuda. Credit: Matt Knighton / Red Bull Content Pool

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via Foiling is the next step for offshore racing | Yachting News Update | The Business of Boat Ownership and Marina Berths.

Forced to retire

Thomas Ruyant on board Le Souffle du Nord

French sailor Thomas Ruyant has retired from the Vendee Globe round the world yacht race after hitting what he thinks was a submerged shipping container.

He says his IMOCA open 60 Le Souffle du Nord pour le Projet Imagine, had cracked ‘like an eggshell’ following the collision that took place around 250 miles from New Zealand’s southern coast and Mr Ruyant nursed his boat through 55k winds to safety.

Unfortunately this was the second Vendee Globe Mr Ruyant has been forced to retire from.

via Boating Business | Forced to retire.

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A good buy?

USS Sequoia in happier times

A judge has ruled the USS Sequoia, dubbed America’s most famous boat, can be sold for nothing.

The yacht has been laid up since 2014 following a contract dispute reportedly over a $7.5m loan between the yacht’s owner, Sequoia Presidential Yacht Group and investment group FE Partners.

Under default terms of the agreement, FE Partners could exercise an option to purchase the yacht for $7.8m, but lawyers argued over how much the option price should be reduced because of repairs needed.

The ruling says FE Partners does not owe any money for the yacht that served five decades of American presidents from Herbert Hoover in 1933 to Jimmy Carter in 1977.

via Boating Business | A good buy?.