Email Print

Vendee2020Vision refines squad

07 Jul 2017

In its quest to determine the best candidates to become Britain’s next singlehanded offshore racing star, Vendee2020Vision has refined its squad of sailors down from six to four.

The scheme, run by Whitecap in Southampton, provides training for its candidates in their goal to win singlehanded offshore racing’s ultimate event – the Vendée Globe.

The quadrennial solo non-stop round the world race is next due to take place in 2020. The four sailors are Andrew Baker, Lizzy Foreman, Sam Goodchild and Will Harris.

via Boating Business | Vendee2020Vision refines squad.

Email Print

Gosport Marina to host Volvo Ocean Race teams

10 Jul 2017

The fleet at the start of Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Auckland (NZL) to Itajai (BRA), in 2015. Image courtesy of Ainhoa Sanchez / Volvo Ocean Race

Premier’s Gosport Marina will host the Volvo Ocean Race yachts, Volvo Ocean 65s, in the week ahead of the Rolex Fastnet Race.

From 31 July to 6 August, the teams competing in the 2017-18 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race and Rolex Fastnet Race will make use of Gosport Marina’s facilities, deepwater basin and easy access to the Solent, plus the onshore technical facilities at the marina’s specialist boatyard Endeavour Quay.

Volvo Ocean Race boatyard logistics manager, Abby Ehler, said: “The Rolex Fastnet Race will be the first time the Teams line up against each other, so it was important to accommodate the fleet together in the build up to the race. Gosport Marina was our first choice…it’s the traditional home of ocean racing.”

The original version of this story cited 8 boats would be docked in Gosport, however, the 8th Volvo Ocean Race team has yet to be announced.

via Boating Business | Gosport Marina to host Volvo Ocean Race teams.

Email Print

Record 45-yacht order

10 Jul 2017

HHL New York made its first port call to ABP Southampton. Image courtesy of ABP Southampton – Facebook

Peters & May transported 45 yachts on a single vessel from the Caribbean to Southampton last month.

The yachts were loaded above and below decks of the HHL New York following Antigua Sailing Week and arrived with in the Solent 10 days later for the vessel’s first port call to ABP Southampton.

Simon Judson, global operations director at Peters & May, said: “With our support of Antigua Sailing Week and the ARC we have had 7 sailings out of the Caribbean this season, I’m very proud of the team and with the level of demand for our service at an all-time high, we are already taking bookings for our 2018 sailings!”

Following arrival of the HHL New York at Southampton, the Peters & May loadmasters reunited the first set of yachts with their owners. The vessel then continued to Bremerhaven, Germany, where the remaining yachts were discharged.

Ross Applbey, owner of Oyster Lightwave 48 ‘Scarlet Oyster’, commented: “After a busy sailing season in the Caribbean, it is much more relaxing to know we can trust Peters & May to ship her back.”

The Caribbean season saw seven Peters & May sailings depart from Antigua, St Thomas and Fort Lauderdale.

via Boating Business | Record 45-yacht order.

Triple Crown events added to Cowes Week

BY ADMIN • MAY 29, 2017 • OLDER, RACING • COMMENTS OFF • 119

There was a time at which Cowes Week, which is still the world’s most popular regatta after more than 190 years, was solely the preserve of the rich and famous. Fortunately, it’s no longer as exclusive and many of the 30-plus classes are yachts whose original design is at least 40 years old and that change hands for the price of a modest second-hand car.

Ludde Ingvall’s 100ft revamped super-maxi CQS

Of course, at the high end there are still some of the world’s best racing teams in large state of the art yachts, which helps give the event much of its character and excitement. Last year was no exception, with the 13 strong FAST 40+ class producing the best racing on such powerful yachts in the northern hemisphere.

However, regattas in northern Europe have tended to largely miss out on the boom in superyacht racing as these boats generally travel between the Mediterranean in the summer and Caribbean in the winter. The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s biennial 605 mile Rolex Fastnet Race, always attracts a few superyachts in the 80-100ft range. This year the club has ‘relaxed’ the upper size limit to allow yachts of more than 100ft for the first time ever. This is sure to attract more superyachts to the event.

The Dongfeng race team’s Volvo Ocean 65. The event will be the first time competitors in the 2017/8 event line up together on the water.

Cowes Week has added to the attraction with the announcement of the new Triple Crown, which is open to large IRC rated racing boats up to 36m length. Three of the sailing world’s most historic and prestigious trophies will be awarded. These include The Queen’s Cup, which was presented by Queen Victoria in 1897; The King George V International Cup, a huge flagon that was awarded for the 23 metre class in 1911; and the Royal Yacht Squadron’s King’s Cup which was presented by King George V in 1920.

A wide range of boats is expected to enter, from out-and-out racing boats to cruiser-racers. Early entries include Ludde Ingvall’s 100ft revamped super-maxi CQS and the entire 2017/18 Volvo Round the World Race fleet. It will therefore provide a further injection of adrenaline and glamour into the event.

“The Volvo Ocean Race is known the world over and to have them joining us on the start line will be fantastic,” says Regatta Director Phil Hagen. “Together with striking yachts like the super-maxi CQS with its state-of-the-art design technology, they will be turning heads out on the water.”

RECENT POSTS

Maintenance: Preparation for blue water challenges

New Grand Soleil 34 echoes quality of the past

Transatlantic Race battered by ferocious storms

Finnish yard returns to production cruisers

Stormy Atlantic hurricane season forecast

Destination: Port d’Andratx, Mallorca

Maintenance: Upgrading electronics

MAIB publishes report into Clipper Race deaths

Triple Crown events added to Cowes Week

Lombard’s aluminium blue water cruiser

via Triple Crown events added to Cowes Week | Yachting News Update | The Business of Boat Ownership and Marina Berths.

Transatlantic Race battered by ferocious storms

BY ADMIN • JUNE 22, 2017 • BREAKING NEWS, HOMEMOSAIC, RACING • COMMENTS OFF • 105

Kass Schmitt, the only woman entry in this edition of the OSTAR.

The 2017 edition of the four-yearly Original Single Handed Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) from Plymouth, UK to Newport, Rhode Island started in light airs on May 29. The 15 solo skippers were joined by a further seven boats sailing double handed in the TWOSTAR race that’s run alongside the main event. The 3,000-mile race has been run since its inception in 1960 by the Royal Western Yacht Club.

Despite the gentle start, the sailors were soon battling with a fierce North Atlantic storm with 60 knot winds and huge seas around a 1,000 miles east of Newfoundland. At the time of writing one boat had sank two were abandoned and several others had retired from the races

Australian Mark Hipgrave bought his Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600 in England. After the finish he intends to ship it home in preparation for the Rolex Sydney Hobart race and then the 5,000 mile Melbourne to Osaka (Japan) race.

An additional hazard for competitors this year is that warm winter temperatures in the Arctic have resulted in significant calving of icebergs that were then washed south by the ocean currents. In early May between the longitude of the Azores and the continental USA these were recorded as far south as 42 degrees north.

Competitors come from 12 countries, including the UK, France, Portugal, Poland, Italy, Bulgaria, USA and Australia. On the same weekend as this race started the Royal Western YC also organised the celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of Sir Francis Chichester’s record breaking circumnavigation in 1967. Chichester was winner of the first OSTAR, held in 1960 as a result of a bet between a group of friends as to which of them could sail their yacht singlehanded across the Atlantic the fastest. At the time none knew that this wager would spawn the entire sport of solo oceanic yacht racing.

Action on the start line of the OSTAR single handed transatlantic race

In 1967 Chichester became the first person to sail single-handed around the globe with only one stop, opening the way for the famed Golden Globe Race in 1968/9, sponsored by the Sunday Times newspaper. Out of a field of nine competitors, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston was the only successful finisher, taking 313 days to circle the globe alone.

Next year will see a re-enactment of the Golden Globe race, with 30 skippers leaving Falmouth to race non stop around the world. Competitors will sail south down the Atlantic, before effectively sailing around Antarctica and then returning to the UK via Cape Horn. Race rules limit them to traditional heavy long keel yachts of a modest size and only the equipment that was available in the late 1960s. Amazingly 30 entries have signed up and it promises to be fascinating to observe. One of those, Frenchman Lionel Regnier, is racing in the OSTAR with the aim of building miles and experience in his Rustler 36 One and All. Unlike most racers, who take every opportunity to minimise weight, he is carrying the same weight of stores that he will take for his circumnavigation next year.

Follow competitors via the race tracker here

RECENT POSTS

Maintenance: Preparation for blue water challenges

New Grand Soleil 34 echoes quality of the past

Transatlantic Race battered by ferocious storms

Finnish yard returns to production cruisers

Stormy Atlantic hurricane season forecast

Destination: Port d’Andratx, Mallorca

Maintenance: Upgrading electronics

MAIB publishes report into Clipper Race deaths

Triple Crown events added to Cowes Week

Lombard’s aluminium blue water cruiser

via Transatlantic Race battered by ferocious storms | Yachting News Update | The Business of Boat Ownership and Marina Berths.

Navigation and communications on board the Clipper fleet

From the equipment on board to navigational challenges

The Clipper Race is an international yacht race that sees twelve teams of amateur crews take on the some of the greatest oceans. The eleven-month circumnavigation stops in 13 top global destinations and will see crews navigate in vast variety of waters, from the North Pacific to the South China Sea.

Daniel Smith, Deputy Race Director, for the Clipper Race talks to us about navigation and communication on board the twelve-strong fleet of Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s in preparation for the start of the 2017-18 edition from Liverpool, 20 August.

Leading the Derry~Londonderry~Doire team to second place in the Clipper 2015-16 Race, Dan has experienced first-hand the equipment and navigational decisions on board during the race. “The Clipper Race is tough, requiring the highest standards from our skippers and crew. They have to take full advantage of all the equipment on board to get the most of their yachts.

“Navigational challenges differ depending on where in the world our yachts are sailing. In UK waters skippers rely heavily on the tidal and weather information they can obtain through the navigational and communications equipment. Collision avoidance with large fishing fleets is always in the front of the skippers and crew’s minds, I remember on one occasion seeing 300 AIS targets all within a 5-mile range, when in the South China Sea. Radar and AIS are invaluable here”

The Clipper 70s have a wide variety of top of the range navigation and communications equipment on board.

Navigational equipment includes:

Garmin AIS and Radar screen

Rugged PC (A second media PC of identical specification can be swapped in case of failure).

7 Garmin navigation displays,

Garmin radar

Garmin AIS

Echomax Active XS radar reflector

Communications is dealt with using:

Garmin VHF radio

Fleet broadband satellite system

Inmarsat C satellite system

Iridium satellite system

On the importance of having both electronic and traditional methods of navigation on board Dan said: “All yachtsmen know that technology has huge benefits and can make life a lot easier but it needs to be used alongside traditional methods of navigation. The two systems back each other up and work together. Technology can fail, electricity can become limited but a boat must always know where it is and where it’s going.

“The fleet carry a full paper chart folio of the route including a full library of admiralty publications to be used alongside electronic methods. Sextants are carried on board so in the event of power failure or lightning strike damaging instruments the skippers can keep racing.”

When it comes to the communications on board “The answer is to have a plan A, B and C.” Says Dan, adding: “The fleet have multiples systems on board, built to be tough like the boats that they are on. There is also plenty of redundancy built into the systems to ensure that boats can always communicate with the Race office and the coastguard when necessary.

“Skippers and crew have access to email and voice communications via the Fleet broadband satellite system. We have a backup for voice and data using the Iridium system and finally Inmarsat C is used as a very reliable system allowing us to track boats, send and receive email messages, send distress and receive safety messages. These three satellite systems give us a really robust long-range communication system.

“Shorter range communications between boats is dealt with via VHF. This is used between the fleet and also for Clipper Race yachts to communicate with passing marine traffic where necessary.”

When asked in his opinion what are the most important navigation and communication tools on board, he said: “For me the all singing, all dancing equipment is great but the basics are the most important. Having reliable log, depth and wind instruments together with being able to send an email from the middle of the ocean is invaluable.”

via Navigation and communications on board the Clipper fleet | Inbrief | e-newsletters | News & Events | RYA.

Looking forward to the twelfth edition of this global race, we asked whether there had been any changes to the systems on board: “A few tweaks and upgrades have been made to keep the navigation and communications systems running well,” said Dan. “All deck navigation displays will be replaced for this race, the Garmin AIS and radar screen has been upgraded and replaced.

Navigations PCs have been upgraded and behind the scenes some of the communications hardware has been upgraded.  Allowing crew to link into the satellite comms system via WIFI from a mobile device. This will be a huge benefit to crew meaning that if they want to phone or email home they don’t have to wait for time on the phone or for access to a computer.”

A race of this size takes a serious amount of route planning. With the circumnavigation broken down into eight legs made up of a total of 13 races stopping in 13 destinations across 6 continents, navigating is no small feat. The Clipper Race is also unique in offering this opportunity to embrace the thrill of ocean racing to anyone, regardless of previous sailing experience.

With over 700 crew members, who choose to take on the whole circumnavigation or compete in one or more of the individual legs, facilitating the race to ensure the safety of crew and allowing them flexibility over their involvement are important factors. Dan said: “The current route we are using is tried and tested, similar to that used in previous editions of the race with a few tweaks and new stops to keep things interesting. Lots of planning goes into making sure that the boats are in the right parts of the world at the right times of year to avoid dangerous weather systems, straying too close to ice fields and to avoid unnecessary delays due to lack of wind.

“Our Clipper 70s have now completed two circumnavigations so we have lots of data as to what speeds they are capable of in different oceans at certain times of year. This information allows us to work out arrival windows of when boats are expected to arrive and plan our entire race.”

The Clipper Race starts in Liverpool on 20 August before racing to, Punte Del Este, Cape Town, Fremantle, Sydney, Hobart, Eastern Australia, Sanya, Qingdao, Seattle, Panama, New York and Derry-Londonderry before returning to Albert Dock, Liverpool on 28 July 2018 for Race Finish.

via Navigation and communications on board the Clipper fleet | Inbrief | e-newsletters | News & Events | RYA.

Beneteau announces Oceanis 51.1

29 Jun 2017

The Oceanis 51.1 is fitted with an extra-long carbon or aluminium mast

Beneteau has announced the first of a new generation of Oceanis sailing yachts which promise to be faster than previous models and feature up to 35% additional sail area.

Fitted with an extra-long carbon or aluminium mast, the customisable Oceanis 51.1 was designed by Olivier Racoupeau and has a stepped hull which creates additional interior space without changing the shape of the bottom.

Beneteau’s marketing director, Gianguido Girotti, said: “We capitalized on our experiences with the First and the Figaro, which are boats that are more focused on racing. We brought their values into the heart of a cruising yacht.”

The boat has a 2.8m lead bulb keel which reduces weight and hydrodynamic drag and comes with the option of three different keel types and five rigging plans.

The furling mast, self-tailing jib and all the halyards and sheets on the standard model are brought back to a single winch at each of the helm stations. The vessel is also fitted with Dock & Go technology to simplify manoeuvring.

Oceanis 51.1 will be available to view at the Cannes, Southampton and Annapolis boat shows.

via Boating Business | Beneteau announces Oceanis 51.1.

Email Print

Custom Composites and Team GB hoping to add to Olympic medal haul

29 Jun 2017

Custom Composites is to sponsor Olympic hopefuls Team Lloyd Williams-Alloway

Custom Composites, part of the Attwater Group, is to sponsor Olympic hopefuls Team Lloyd Williams-Alloway, continuing a relationship with Team GB sailors that has resulted in gold medals in each of the two last summer games.

The tube company will support the British sailors through Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualifiers, through to their bid to top the podium at the games.

Custom Composites has backed Team GB in previous games, producing tiller extensions which helped Sir Ben Ainslie score gold in both 2008 and 2012.

“In early 2016 we set out to find a high quality carbon fibre specialist for our 2020 Olympic campaign. We are thrilled to welcome on board Custom Composites Ltd as our main supplier for carbon fibre equipment,” said Will Alloway.

“After several R&D sessions and prototypes, we have created what we believe to be the ultimate tiller extension in terms of weight, stiffness and grip.”

Custom Composites general manager Andy States said the company had worked together with the team to build and perfect equipment for the games.

“Having considerable experience manufacturing carbon fibre tiller extensions, we were confident that we could work with Will & Henry to help refine and improve our existing product for them and get it to a point where they felt it could be improved no further,” he said. “I am proud to say that we have now achieved that goal.”

via Boating Business | Custom Composites and Team GB hoping to add to Olympic medal haul.

Clipper race official supplier

03 Jul 2017

The eleventh edition of the Clipper race starts in Liverpool on 20 August 2017

ChartCo has once again stepped up to the role of official supplier of The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race for its fifth consecutive edition.

As official nautical chart services partner, ChartCo will provide a range of navigational and compliance services for the race fleet for the eleven month, 40,000 nautical mile-long circumnavigation.

“We’re so very pleased to continue our partnership with the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, a unique event which shares our spirit of teamwork and respect,” said Martin Taylor, managing director of ChartCo.

“As a result of our partnership, we will help to keep crews safe on their journey – we’re very proud of that contribution.”

The eleventh edition of the Clipper race starts in Liverpool on 20 August 2017 and will take in various locations including Cape Town, Sydney, Qingdao, Seattle and Derry-Londonderry before returning on 28 July 2018.

via Boating Business | Clipper race official supplier.