Lightweight small vessel to sail 15,000 miles

16 Oct 2017

Exlex being prepped in Stockholm, Sweden. Image courtesy of Sven Yrvin

Boatbuilder Sven Yrvin will sail a lightweight vessel 15,000 nautical miles to prove that smaller boats can make longer trips.

The 5.76m long and just over 1m wide Exlex was built using 4cm thick Divinycell sheets from Diab and NM epoxy.

Mr Yrvin, who began the project in April 2015, said: “Divinycell brings buoyancy, stiffness and insulation. I thought, if I build the boat using Divinycell, it will be warm and nice and unsinkable. The NM epoxy is a fantastic adhesive and absorbs only very limited amounts of water.”

Speed over length

Believing that vessel design should first focus on speed that is considered comfortable and suitable rather than length, Mr Yrvin explained: “My new boat is not restricted to a fixed length. I have named it ‘Exlex’ for a reason: the EU wants to ban smaller boats from making longer trips. ‘Exlex’ means ‘outside the law’. Exlex won’t be tied down by any bureaucratic rules and regulations but follow the ocean’s ever-changing landscape.”

As Mr Yrvin plans to sail the vessel to Dunedin in New Zealand, the boat’s lightweight composition is important as it needs less energy to move forward, doesn’t need a lot of sails to keep its speed, and with one third of the sail surface of a regular sailing boat, the masts, designed using carbon fibre, can be substantially shortened, saving additional weight.

Exlex’s journey is due to start in Dingle, Ireland, in June 2018 and is expected to take approximately 300 days.

via Boating Business | Lightweight small vessel to sail 15,000 miles.

Spinlock’s latest lifejackets are worn by Volvo Ocean Race sailors

16 Oct 2017

Spinlock’s custom lifejacket for the Volvo Ocean Race has been developed in collaboration with the world’s best offshore sailors

Spinlock is part of a group of official race partners that has developed and created products for the Volvo Ocean Race.

The fleet of Volvo 65s is fitted with a complete Spinlock rope holding and control package and the team at Spinlock has also developed a custom lifejacket for the crews taking part in the 2017-18 edition of the race. The design was tested by several VOR sailors including Dee Caffari, Zane Gils and Phil Harmer.

“Safety is a critical element in the Volvo Ocean Race and not only does personal safety equipment need to meet specific safety requirements it is required to be functional and comfortable to wear,” explained VOR boatyard spares and logistics manager Abby Ehler.

“Up until now lifejackets have generally been designed for the recreational sailor resulting in cumbersome and limiting design factors, so it is fantastic to see Spinlock’s enthusiasm to research and design a tailor-made product meeting the specific needs of the competitive offshore sailor.”

Spinlock’s CEO Chris Hill added: “The Volvo Ocean Race sailors and shore support have all expressed an overwhelming desire to improve the lifejacket used and taking their feedback and detailed requirements into consideration, we used our knowledge to develop the next generation in personal protection.”

Along with the custom lifejackets for the crew on board, each Volvo 65 is also equipped with Spinlock lifejacket harnesses, safety lines, carry equipment packs and PLB/MOB devices.

Spinlock will be on stand 03.201 at METSTRADE.

via Boating Business | Spinlock’s latest lifejackets are worn by Volvo Ocean Race sailors.

Sina Sports to broadcast Volvo Ocean Race Livestreams, Highlight Shows and Programmes

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Pedro Martinez/Volvo Ocean Race

The Volvo Ocean Race and Sina Sports in China have agreed to a content partnership that will see video and digital coverage from the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 distributed across the Sina Sports platforms.

Along with an 11-part television series that begins in October and runs monthly through July 2018, Sina Sports will also feature weekly race udpates, regular news highlights and streaming of race leg starts, in-port races and leg finishes and arrivals of the fleet into each port stopover.

Sina Sports will access other live updates from the race including live interviews or boat look-ins and will also have instant access to race standings, boat trackers, updated photos and more via Volvo Ocean Race’s digital widgets.Sina Sports are also able to distribute highlights on the popular Weibo platform in China, which will be showing the race’s weekly update.

“Since 2008-09 when the race first stopped in Qingdao, China has been a critical market for the global growth and visibility of the Volvo Ocean Race,” said Chief Digital Officer Jordi Neves.

“Over the past decade, that growth has seen a Chinese boat in the fleet, numerous Chinese sailors and several highly successful stopovers in China. Partnering with an outlet like Sina, which commands such a broad reach, will further our efforts to reach new sailing and sports fans in China and across Asia.”

The Chinese Dongfeng Race Team are competing in their second Volvo Ocean Race with French skipper Charles Caudrelier, who led the team, which featured six Chinese sailors, to a third-place finish in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15.

This edition of the race also features stopovers in Hong Kong and Guangzhou in January and February 2018.

via Sina Sports to broadcast Volvo Ocean Race Livestreams, Highlight Shows and Programmes| Volvo Ocean Race.

The MAPFRE In-Port Race Alicante – How to follow

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Pedro Martinez/Volvo Ocean Race

It’s finally here – the first competitive action of the 2017-18 edition. It’s the first time that the seven teams have gone head to head for points, the first real test of form, and it promises to be an explosive start to the next race.

The race begins at 1200 UTC on Saturday 14 October.

Here’s how to follow the three-lap, one hour sprint around the bay of Alicante:

Watch it on the website

Head to www.volvooceanrace.com to catch a live stream of the action.

Check out Facebook Live

We’ll go live at 1350 local time (1150 UTC). Join us here.

Join us on our live blog

We’ll be blogging all the moves and news from the racetrack on our live blog, including the best of clips and social content. You can find it at www.volvooceanrace.com

Make sure you follow us on Twitter

We’re at @volvoooceanrace… and we’ll be live tweeting the action, as well as sharing the best content from the teams, stakeholders and fans on our feed.

Download the app

It’s all-new, full of great content and fits on your mobile phone. Why wouldn’t you want the official Volvo Ocean Race app? Head to the App Store or Google Play to download it. It’s called Volvo Ocean Race.

Come down to the Race Village

Based in the City of Alicante, we’ve built the biggest Race Village site the host city has ever seen – and it’s jam-packed full of interactive elements, innovative structures and loads of exciting things to do.

Head to a prime vantage point

Join the thousands of spectators on Postiguet Beach to see the boats in action, or line the sea wall for a front row seat. If you’re feeling fit, why not hike up the castle for the best view in the city?

via The MAPFRE In-Port Race Alicante – How to follow| Volvo Ocean Race.

MAPFRE draw first blood in Volvo Ocean Race

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Ugo Fonolla/Volvo Ocean Race

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Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

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Pedro Martinez/Volvo Ocean Race

The local heroes on Xabi Fernàndez’s MAPFRE were a popular winner in the first point scoring race of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The local heroes on Xabi Fernández’s MAPFRE were a popular winner in the first point scoring race of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Fernández and his team made a bold call at the start to duck behind the entire fleet in order to sail up what turned out to be the favoured right hand side of the course, coming from behind to earn a narrow lead at the first gate.

“It was pretty clear from Joan (Vila) and Rob (Greenhalgh) that we wanted to hit the right side of the course in the first upwind looking for more breeze,” explained Fernández.

“Our intention was to start on port but Pablo (Arrarte) saw the gap himself when Brunel did a poor tack and they couldn’t accelerate so we want for the cross and we had plenty of room and once we hit the right everything went well.”

MAPFRE then managed to stretch out to a lead of nearly one-minute at the bottom gate, giving them a lead they would enjoy the rest of the way.

“The truth is it hasn’t been an easy race but we took a bit of a risk at the start,” Fernández said after the finish. “We saw the gap in front of Brunel and we went for it. Everything went really well.”

Watch the highlight video here

In fact, the Spanish team sailed a flawless race, in terms of strategy and execution, and were never threatened after grabbing the lead at the first mark.

But behind them, it was a hard-fought race. Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag was strong on the first leg, but dropped back over the course of the race. In contrast, Dongfeng Race Team fought up the fleet to grab second place, battling with Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Team Brunel who were trading places throughout the race.

“There was a lot of action! MAPFRE played their own game alone but behind them, we had a big fight for second place. It’s good, it’s good,” said skipper Charles Caudrelier on Dongfeng Race Team.

“We showed how we can sail well, after having not such good results in the last few days. It’s great that we managed to come back and get this result.”

“It was a very exciting first In-Port Race for us,” said Charlie Enright, the skipper of Vestas 11th Hour Racing. “They’re always really close. You know, when you’re racing these 65-foot canting keel boats around a one-mile track it gets interesting, with a lot of exchanges and big headsails and a lot of grinding. We did some good things and some bad things and got third place. All in all, not a bad way to start the campaign.”

“I had a bad start and that put us on the back foot,” said Bouwe Bekking the skipper of Team Brunel. “But we sailed the boat very nicely. All in all, we’re pretty happy with how we sailed today.”

Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag made a late gain to grab fifth over team AkzoNobel with Turn the Tide on Plastic never recovering from a poor first leg.

“It was okay. Fifth’s not great but it was okay. We were second at the top but we just made one mistake on the first run and it cost us. Basically, it was good. Amazing to be racing here in Alicante,” said David Witt, the skipper of Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag.

MAPFRE In-Port Race Alicante — Results

Position   Team Elapsed Time Points

1 MAPFRE 54:38 7

2 Dongfeng Race Team 56:06 6

3 Vestas 11th Hour Racing 56:54 5

4 Team Brunel 57:13 4

5 Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag 58:07 3

6 team AkzoNobel 58:31 2

7 Turn the Tide on Plastic 59:39 1

via MAPFRE draw first blood in Volvo Ocean Race| Volvo Ocean Race.

Now it counts: Volvo Ocean Race teams to face first test in Saturday’s MAPFRE In-Port Race

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Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

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Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

The first official racing of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race will take place on Saturday afternoon with the MAPFRE In-Port Race Alicante, marking the first point-scoring competition of the event.

The starting gun will fire at 14:00 local time (12:00 UTC) with seven of the best sailing teams in the world pushing hard to lay down a marker in the first competitive confrontation with points on the table.

“You always go out and want to win,” said Bouwe Bekking, skipper of Team Brunel, who will have Alberto (Albi) Bolzan on the helm for the race. “He’s an excellent helmsman. He has a lot of hours driving these boats but he’s also one of the smaller guys on board and it’s important to have power on the winches for these in-port races.”

“I think the most important thing for the in-port race is to treat it as practice for the race start for the offshore leg,” said Charles Caudrelier, speaking from experience after starting behind the fleet on the Prologue leg. “Even on the long legs, the start is important… it helps the team to be confident to get the lead early.”

“A lot of the sailors on our team come from short course racing,” said Dee Caffari the skipper on Turn the Tide on Plastic. “So they get a real buzz out of this. They’re all over this style of racing. I have to remind them that a Volvo Ocean 65 takes a bit longer to manoeuvre and we can’t go as close to the other boats as they’re used to, so I have to manage expectations a bit!”

The MAPFRE In-Port Race Alicante is two laps of a windward-leeward course, set with a target time of 45-minutes. The start time is 14:00 local time, and conditions are forecast to be ideal. During the morning there will be a light northerly wind, but from noon, it will start to turn to the east and strengthen to a solid 10 knots down the race course.

The race course for the MAPFRE In-Port Race is set up with a gate system, with two top (windward) marks and two bottom (leeward) marks. The racing yachts must go between the two buoys at each end but are then free to turn either left or right, increasing the tactical options and opportunities for passing.

In Friday’s practice session, MAPFRE took the win over Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag, who impressed with their best showing, and Vestas 11th Hour Racing, who took third place, completing the podium.

via Now it counts: Volvo Ocean Race teams to face first test in Saturday’s MAPFRE In-Port Race| Volvo Ocean Race.

MAPFRE edges Team Brunel to win abbreviated Prologue Leg

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Jen Edney/Volvo Ocean Race

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The Spanish MAPFRE team won the Volvo Ocean Race Prologue Leg on Wednesday, holding off a late charge from Team Brunel after Race Management shortened the course, converting the compulsory gate at Cabo de Gata into the finishing line.

For skipper Xabi Fernández and his team, it’s a continuation of the success MAPFRE found on Leg 0, where the team was the overall winner of the four-stage leg.

“It’s all good on board,” Fernández said shortly after crossing the ‘virtual’ finishing line.

“It’s been really good training. It’s been a close race and I’m really happy with the team’s performance.”

Close behind the winner was Team Brunel.

Both of the leading teams owed their performance in large part to a decision they took early in the leg, shortly after the start, when they hugged the coast of Portugal in contrast to the rest of the fleet further offshore.

The coastal route paid in a big way, and less than 24-hours after the start, MAPFRE and Team Brunel held a decisive lead over the fleet, turning this into a two-boat race for victory.

But the chasing pack had a hard-fought battle for third place, with team AkzoNobel squeaking in just ahead of Turn the Tide on Plastic and Vestas 11th Hour Racing.

“We had a very good race, very enjoyable. Good close racing,” said skipper Simeon Tienpont. “We were in the game all the way. MAPFRE and Brunel went a different route which worked out for them, but with the rest of the fleet we took the best we could out of it and I’m very confident after finishing in third place.”

At the back of the pack, Dongfeng Racing held off Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag.

With the shortened course putting the finishing line some 120 miles away, the teams will now motorsail to Alicante, the start port of the Volvo Ocean Race. The event Race Village opens Wednesday evening, with entertainment, ceremonies and fireworks.

The teams are expected to arrive beginning in the pre-dawn hours on Thursday, ahead of practice racing on Friday and the MAPFRE in-Port Race Alicante on Saturday. Leg One of the Volvo Ocean Race starts on 22 October.

Volvo Ocean Race Prologue Leg – Positions and finishing times (UTC), 11 October

1. Mapfre; finished 09:49 UTC

2. Team Brunel; finished 10:06 UTC

3. team AkzoNobel; finished 12:44 UTC

4. Turn the Tide on Plastic; finished 12:53

5. Vestas 11th Hour Racing; finished 12:59

6. Dongfeng Race Team; finished 13:09

7. Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag; 13:17

via MAPFRE edges Team Brunel to win abbreviated Prologue Leg| Volvo Ocean Race.

Volvo Ocean Race Prologue Leg course shortened

The Volvo Ocean Race Prologue Leg has been shortened, with the compulsory gate off Cabo de Gata now becoming the finish line.

Race Director Phil Lawrence informed the teams at 0800 UTC on Wednesday morning when the leading boats were approximately two hours from the gate.

The teams are currently sailing in winds near 10 knots. But the forecast is for the wind to ease significantly on the other side of the cape.

With the shortened course, the fleet is expected to begin arriving in Alicante early on Thursday morning local time.

Follow all the latest race updates at www.volvooceanrace.com

via Volvo Ocean Race Prologue Leg course shortened| Volvo Ocean Race.

MAPFRE and Team Brunel lead the charge to Alicante

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Jen Edney/Volvo Ocean Race

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Konrad Frost/Volvo Ocean Race

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Rich Edwards/Volvo Ocean Race

Skipper Xabi Fernández’s MAPFRE crew is leading the charge into the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday afternoon (see more below)

Skipper Xabi Fernández’s MAPFRE crew is leading the charge into the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday afternoon.

The Spanish team made a jump on the rest of the fleet by heading further inshore in search of favourable sea breezes following Sunday’s start, with Team Brunel benefiting from following a similar track.

Forty-eight hours later, their tactics have paid huge dividends. At the 1300 UTC position update on Tuesday, MAPFRE enjoyed a seven nautical mile lead on Team Brunel, who were themselves almost 40 miles ahead of third-placed Turn the Tide on Plastic.

Dee Caffari’s team went from zeroes to heroes overnight Monday, in large part by making a late break to the coast earlier in the day. Although too late to catch MAPFRE and Team Brunel, they sailed past the four boats parked further offshore.

“We’re finally moving and I’m very excited,” Caffari posted on Monday afternoon. “It was quite painful, but now the sea breeze has filled in… the others are ahead and offshore and they’re not going very fast, so we’re hoping that we can (get past).”

By morning, the Turn the Tide on Plastic crew had squeezed past, vaulting from trailing the fleet to a relatively comfortable third place position.

While MAPFRE march on upwind towards the Alicante finish line just over 250nm away, Team Brunel continue to shadow them ten miles to the south.

Meanwhile things are about to heat up for the chasing pack as they prepare to enter the Strait of Gibraltar.

The tiny nine-mile wide stretch between Tarifa on the southern tip of Spain and Morocco in northern Africa is renowned as a navigational challenge thanks to the extremely localised weather caused by the wind and water being forced through such a small gap.

On top of that it’s among the world’s busiest waterways, with countless ships, fishing boats and pleasure craft to dodge.

According to the Volvo Ocean Race’s team of Race Experts, the four teams about to enter the gateway to the Mediterranean – Dongfeng Race Team, team Akzonobel, Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag – can expect the breeze to jump from 10 knots to gusts near 30 knots.

Dongfeng Race Team’s Daryl Wislang, a four-time veteran of the Volvo Ocean Race, knows all too well what lies ahead.

“We’re enjoying the calm before the storm… the storm of Gibraltar,” he said.

As if the Strait of Gibraltar wasn’t narrow enough, a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) implemented by race control to keep the fleet out of the major shipping lanes only makes the job of getting through harder.

“Things are starting to ramp up a bit now – lots of manoevres, lots of tacking as we try to position ourselves in this group of four boats,” said Steve Hayles, Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag’s navigator.

“It’s a very complex part of the race, but an interesting one. We will have to deal with the Strait of Gibraltar in the first leg of the race (in the opposite direction) so it’s a key thing.”

The entire fleet will have made it into the Mediterranean by nightfall on Tuesday, but the Prologue is by no means over yet.

The strong headwinds the fleet experience in the Strait will give way to light 5 to 10 knot northeasterlies in the Alboran Sea on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.

This will push the ETA for the leaders into the early hours on Thursday morning, with the rest of the fleet arriving throughout the day, a public holiday in Alicante.

On Wednesday afternoon, the gates to the Alicante Race Village are scheduled to open at 18:00, with festivities and entertainment marking the opening ceremonies from 20:00, culminating with fireworks at 22:00.

Volvo Ocean Race Prologue Leg – Positions – 1300 UTC, 10 October

1. MAPFRE; distance to finish = 255 nautical mile

2. Team Brunel; + 7 nautical miles

3. Turn the Tide on Plastic; + 44 miles

4. Dongfeng Race Team; +59 miles

5. team AkzoNobel; +60 miles

6. Vestas 11th Hour Racing; +60 miles

7. Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag; +61 miles

via MAPFRE and Team Brunel lead the charge to Alicante| Volvo Ocean Race.

Garmin® selected as Official Supplier for the Volvo Ocean Race

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James Blake/Volvo Ocean Race

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Jeremie Lecaudey/Volvo Ocean Race

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Jesus Renedo/Volvo Ocean Race

Garmin International, Inc. today announced that it has been selected as an official supplier for the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-2018, providing its action and 360 cameras to the seven teams competing in the 45,000-mile race around the world (see more below)

Garmin International, Inc. today announced that it has been selected as an official supplier for the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-2018, providing its action and 360 cameras to the seven teams competing in the 45,000-mile race around the world.

As an official supplier, Garmin’s flagship waterproof1 action cameras, the VIRB® 360 and VIRB Ultra 30, will be used on each boat to capture high-quality video that can be easily edited and shared with race fans around the globe. The Volvo Ocean Race spans four oceans, touches six continents and stops in 12 landmark cities. It begins Oct. 22, 2017 in Alicante, Spain and ends in late June 2018 in The Hague, Netherlands.

“We’re honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with the Volvo Ocean Race, a race known as one of the longest and toughest professional sporting events in the world,” said David Dunn, Garmin director of marine sales and marketing. “Our VIRB action cameras are rugged and ready for adventure, just like the sailors taking part in this race, and we’re confident race fans watching the footage at home will get to experience the sport they love like never before.”

This waterproof VIRB Ultra 30 is an ultra HD action camera that captures 4K/30fps video with GPS G-MetrixTM data overlays that show performance metrics like how far, how high and how fast the user went. It also features voice control2 so users can tell the camera to start, stop and “remember that.” It features an LCD touchscreen display and high-sensitivity microphone that even work through the waterproof case.

For a more immersive experience, the VIRB 360 captures fully spherical 360-degree video in up to 5.7K/30fps resolution with 360-degree audio, and it includes built-in sensors for augmented reality G-Metrix data overlays. HyperFrame Director Mode gives the user the editing power to easily reframe content after filming — using smooth camera pans, incredibly wide angles and even tiny planets. Spherical stabilization3 ensures smooth video regardless of camera movement, and videos and photos are automatically stitched4 in VIRB Edit, and the free, easy-to-use VIRB Mobile app enables fast sharing as well as instant livestreaming5.

“This is a fantastic partnership for the race and we are looking forward to working with such a dynamic and innovative brand,” said Jordi Neves, Volvo Ocean Race chief digital officer. “We are especially excited to be able to deliver 360 experiences from all boats by our on-board reporters that will be delivering the story of the race in the toughest conditions.”

For decades, Garmin has pioneered new GPS navigation and wireless devices and applications that are designed for people who live an active lifestyle. Garmin serves five primary business units, including automotive, aviation, fitness, marine and outdoor recreation.

Notes:

1see Garmin.com/waterrating

2Voice control works for English only.

3Before sharing, stabilization up to 5.7K/30fps requires VIRB Edit desktop software, or 4K stabilization is available with both VIRB Edit or the VIRB mobile app

4On-device stitching only up to 4K/30fps

5Livestreaming only available on compatible Apple® devices

6Based on 2016 reported sales.

About Garmin International Inc.

Garmin International Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN). Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Garmin and VIRB are registered trademarks and G-Metrix is a trademark of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.

via Garmin® selected as Official Supplier for the Volvo Ocean Race| Volvo Ocean Race.