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Shipwrights’ Lectures to focus on America’s Cup

03 Oct 2017

The next Shipwrights’ Lectures aimed at young people in the industry will focus on how cutting-edge technology is adopted to deliver world beating performance in the America’s Cup.

This follows the 35th America’s Cup held in Bermuda this summer, which exhibited some of the highest level of advanced sailing technology seen in international yacht racing since the cup began.

Innovation will be the theme of the panel discussion chaired by Matt Sheahan, head of performance Sailing Sunset+Vine PLC, with experts from Land Rover BAR covering all aspects of design, build and hydraulic power generation.

For the first time the Shipwrights’ Lectures will also coincide with the London Boat Show and British Marine will again be offering apprentices free entry to the show on Thursday 11 January 2018.

Employers will be able to obtain tickets for their apprentices through their training providers. Further details will be published in November together with the availability to visit the Land Rover BAR ‘Tech Deck and Education Centre’ at its Portsmouth team base.

The next Shipwrights’ Lectures will be on January 10 2018 at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton.

via Boating Business | Shipwrights’ Lectures to focus on America’s Cup.

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75ft monohull to feature in America’s Cup

04 Oct 2017

Ben Ainslie, team principal of Land Rover BAR, said the team were comfortable with the transition from multihulls to monohulls. Image courtesy of Mark Lloyd/Lloyd images

The 36th America’s Cup AC75 class of boat will be a 75ft high performance monohull.

This will be governed by the AC75 Class Rule which will be published by 31st March 2018, with initial concepts of the class being released to key stakeholders by the end of November 2017.

Speaking of preparing Land Rover BAR’s (Ben Ainslie Racing) AC36 challenge for 2021 in 75ft monohulls, team principal, Ben Ainslie, said: “We are comfortable with the transition (from multihulls), the key people in our sailing, design, engineering and support teams all have a great deal of relevant experience.”

Prada is sponsor

Prada will be the exclusive naming and presenting sponsor of all events comprising the 36th America’s Cup including the Challenger Selection Series, which will officially be named The Prada Cup.

America’s Cup will take place in Auckland, New Zealand in March 2021, preceded by The Prada Cup in January and February 2021.

A series of preliminary regattas will be raced internationally in 2019 & 2020 in the AC75 Class boats, culminating with a Christmas Regatta in December 2020 for all competitors.

Two-boat limit

Each competitor is permitted to build two boats, the hulls of which must be laminated in the country of the competitor. The first boat is not permitted to be launched prior to 31 March 2019, the second can be launched after 1 February 2020.

20% or three crew, whichever is higher, must be ‘true nationals’ (i.e. citizens) of the competing yacht club.

via Boating Business | 75ft monohull to feature in America’s Cup.

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Spinlock expands factory and staffing levels as demand for its products continues

09 Oct 2017

Spinlock has expanded its factory and taken on 20% more staff since 2016

Continued growth has led to Spinlock expanding its factory and increasing its staff levels by 20%.

The designer and manufacturer of rope holding equipment and personal safety products has installed new machinery and increased sales exports to 25 countries in 2017.

“We are continually reviewing processes to improve the flow of goods and have upgraded the site accordingly,” said Spinlock’s operation director Caroline Senior.

“There is a great buzz around our two Cowes’ sites as we have welcomed the new team members to Spinlock.”

In addition to the factory expansion, Spinlock is continuing its training and employment of apprentices.

Two former apprentices have become full-time assembly operators at the factory; one now has a full-time job in the design department and two new apprentices started at the company this year.

The factory expansion comes during a year that has seen Spinlock work for America’s Cup competitors Land Rover BAR as official technical suppliers creating the bespoke T2 lifejacket worn during their campaign.

Spinlock is also official supplier to the Volvo Ocean 65 Class for the 2017-18 edition Volvo Ocean Race, including developing a custom lifejacket harness for the sailors.

“2017 has been another successful year for Spinlock,” said Spinlock’s CEO Chris Hill. “It is testament to our dedicated workforce that we can not only work with the world’s best sailing events, but can simultaneously press forward with our expansion plans to meet the ever-growing demand for our products.”

via Boating Business | Spinlock expands factory and staffing levels as demand for its products continues.

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High performance yacht builder enters liquidation having failed to secure orders

09 Oct 2017

The IMOCA Banque Populaire VIII for which Green Marine’s skills were called upon for the deck mould and structure

Composite boat builder Green Marine has entered liquidation having failed to secure an anticipated superyacht order.

The racing and performance yacht builder said it had seen a slowdown in orders over the past 12-months which in turn has seen its workforce depleted.

The remaining 46 workers have been made redundant and the company ceased general trading on October 4.

“In the last three months, the company was expecting a significant order, the hull and superstructure for a super yacht, which would have returned the company to profitability. Sadly, this failed to materialise in time,” said Peter Hall, director of insolvency company Peter Hall that has been instructed to place the company into creditors’ voluntary liquidation.

“It highlights the issues facing companies which rely on a low number of very high value projects. It’s very much a family business so an incredibly emotional time for the directors and employees.”

The company was formed in 1982 and over the years has built and bee involved with more than 180 composite boats including for the Vendée Globe, America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race.

Formerly based in Lymington and Southampton, Green Marine moved to larger premises at Hythe Marina seven years’ ago and carried out substantial investment into new equipment.

In 2016 several key personnel left to set up Fibre Mechanics based in Lymington carrying out composite yacht construction, lightweight systems and interiors and composite yacht build consultancy.

The liquidator will be appointed on 18th October. A spokesman for the company said the amount of debt was still being assessed.

via Boating Business | High performance yacht builder enters liquidation having failed to secure orders.

Volvo Ocean Race fleet heading for start port of Alicante as Prologue is underway

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James Blake/Volvo Ocean Race

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jesus Renedo/Volvo Ocean Race

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Martin Keruzore/Volvo Ocean Race

The Prologue Leg of the Volvo Ocean Race began on Sunday afternoon, after the start was delayed by just over 2 hours and moved nearly 20 miles south in order to find better racing conditions (see more below)

The Prologue Leg of the Volvo Ocean Race began on Sunday afternoon, after the start was delayed by just over 2 hours and moved nearly 20 miles south in order to find better racing conditions.

The Prologue is a non-scoring race to deliver the seven-boat fleet from The Boatyard in Lisbon, Portugal to the home start port of the Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante, Spain ahead of the race start on 22 October.

At the scheduled start time of 1400 local time in Lisbon on Sunday afternoon (1300 UTC), the sea was like glass with extremely light and variable winds.

Race Director Phil Lawrence and his team asked the crews to proceed due south, under power, towards Gibraltar, and two-hours later the fleet was rewarded with a light, but steady 7 to 10 knot northwesterly breeze, allowing racing to start at 1515 UTC.

Xabi Fernández and his MAPFRE team led the fleet off the starting line, racing downwind in a drag race to get south.

“This prologue is a great opportunity as a warm-up because then we go straight into the coastal race and the first leg. We are really looking forward to it, and are all very motivated,” said Pablo Arrarte, watch captain on MAPFRE, as the team left the dock.

In contrast, Dongfeng Race Team was shut out from the starting line at the committee boat end and trailed the fleet across the line.

Thirty minutes after the start, there was an east / west split emerging, with Team Brunel furthest east and slightly behind the leaders, and Vestas 11th Hour Racing furthest west and nominally in the lead.

“It feels different when it’s game day,” said Charlie Enright, skipper of Vestas 11th Hour Racing. “For this Prologue, it’s all about learning. We’re interested to see where we stand against these guys. We’ve done some two boat testing and it’ll be interesting to see how fast we’ve gotten because the fastest boat is going to win this race.”

The original leg from Lisbon to Alicante was 700 nautical miles. The new start position shortens the leg to approximately 680 nautical miles.

According to our @RaceExperts, the forecast is for light conditions to Gibraltar, where the teams will encounter moderate to strong easterlies in the Strait, followed by lighter conditions again once the fleet transitions into the Mediterranean Sea.

The Volvo Ocean Race will start from Alicante, Spain on 22 October. The Alicante Race Village is scheduled to open at 1800 local time on Wednesday afternoon, with the In-Port Race on Saturday 14 October.

via Volvo Ocean Race fleet heading for start port of Alicante as Prologue is underway| Volvo Ocean Race.

Prologue Leg to offer final tune-up ahead of race start

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Martin Keruzore/Volvo Ocean Race

On Sunday afternoon at 1400 local time in Lisbon (1300 UTC), the seven Volvo Ocean Race skippers will lead their teams off the start line of the Prologue Leg, a non-scoring race to the host city and start port of Alicante, Spain (see more below)

On Sunday afternoon at 1400 local time in Lisbon (1300 UTC), the seven Volvo Ocean Race skippers will lead their teams off the start line of the Prologue Leg, a non-scoring race to the host city and start port of Alicante, Spain.

It’s a final chance for teams to lock in crew configurations and get in some speed testing against the competition ahead of the start of Leg 1 on October 22 in Alicante.

“This is the last opportunity for all of the boats to face each other before we start,” says Mark Towill of Vestas 11th Hour Racing. “We’ll be lining up against the other teams to check the things we’ve learned during testing compared to the rest of the fleet.”

Towill and his team have been training against team AkzoNobel. The Dutch team’s Luke Malloy spoke of the benefit from the sessions.

“The two boat training sessions we did with Vestas 11th Hour Racing were definitely very valuable and actually quite eye opening in a few areas,” he confirms. “Just to check on some of our sail crossovers and lock down what we think we know in some other performance areas.”

Turn the Tide on Plastic skipper Dee Caffari says she’ll be giving some of her crew who have less offshore miles time on board during the Prologue, as her team makes the transition from training to competition.

“It’s an opportunity to get back into race mode,” she says. “It’s almost a practice of Leg 1, because we’re going from Lisbon to Alicante and that’s going to be the reverse for Leg 1 so it’s nice to suss it out.”

Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, disappointed with its results this summer during Leg Zero, will be racing with some new crew members and navigator Steve Hayles says the team will be looking to bed in improvements made during practice over the past month.

“I think (on Leg Zero) everything was sub-par, so this is a good chance to put into effect everything we’ve been doing since. We’ve been sailing hard, we’ve done at least as many miles as anyone else, and so this is a good opportunity to cement those changes.

“Nothing is as good a measure of where you stand as going racing and hopefully we’ve made a big step up in our team performance.”

Rob Greenhalgh, about to embark with the Spanish team MAPFRE on his fifth Volvo Ocean Race, is looking forward to this final look at the opposition.

“It’s pretty important. Everyone’s going to be keen to check in,” he says. “We’ll be keen to race properly… we won’t be backed off. We’ll be going for it!”

Dongfeng Racing team director Bruno Dubois will see his team leave the dock in Lisbon satisfied they have done what they need to do to be ready to race by the start of Leg 1.

“My objective was to make sure we put everything in place and didn’t leave anything to chance,” Dubois explains. “We made a plan and we’ve stayed to it.

“Maybe someone is going to head out in Leg 1 and be very fast, but we’ve done what we needed to do to make our boat ready and fast for the start of the race. After that, well, it’s a long race.”

The weather forecast offers a mixed bag that will get the wrinkles out of all the new sails the teams have installed in Lisbon. Crews will face a light wind start in the Tagus River before a gentle run down the coast to Cape Saint-Vincent, the South West corner of Portugal. The light wind sails will stay up for the reach towards the Gibraltar Strait where the real action starts.

via Prologue Leg to offer final tune-up ahead of race start| Volvo Ocean Race.

The boats will race upwind through the Gibraltar Strait early on Tuesday morning against the infamous Levanter easterly wind that could accelerate to over 30kts, all while penned in by a narrow coast, heavy shipping exclusion zones and coastal fishing nets. Forced into a 1.5-mile wide channel, skippers will be balancing the desire to push for a good result in their last warm-up versus the need to protect new sails that need to last 45,000 miles around the world.

Bouwe Bekking, the skipper of Team Brunel, was very candid about placing a priority on protecting his equipment.

“It’s about finding that balance between pushing the boat, getting it ready, and putting the least amount of hours on the new sails,” he says. “If there is a lot of wind, we’ll want to save our sails… that’s just what we have to do.”

After the Gibraltar Strait, the fleet will continue upwind through the Alboran Sea along the south Spanish coast in an uncomfortable sea state created by fresh easterlies running over the permanent eastwards current created by the Atlantic flowing into the Mediterranean. Turning northwards by Cabo de Gata, the wind is expected to drop to just 5 knots from the east, pushing the homecoming in the Alicante race village deep into Wednesday evening.

“We heard all the stories about how the Race Village in Alicante is nearly ready and everyone is waiting for us to arrive,” Caffari says. “And I know from the moment we arrive, the circus begins and it is pretty much non-stop. The time will fly by and we’ll be crossing that start line and heading away from Alicante for Leg 1 in no time.”

The Prologue Leg starts at 1300 UTC from Lisbon. Follow along with our Blog at www.volvooceanrace.com.

For in-depth tactical analysis, our Race Experts are on Twitter @RaceExperts.

The Volvo Ocean Race Game will be live for the Prologue – http://virtualregatta.com/en/index_vroffshore.php

via Prologue Leg to offer final tune-up ahead of race start| Volvo Ocean Race.

Thompson, Lunven add experience to Turn the Tide on Plastic roster

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Beau Outteridge/Turn the Tide on Plastic

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Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race

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Jeremie Lecaudey/Volvo Ocean Race

Turn the Tide on Plastic have added British offshore legend Brian Thompson and the renowned French solo sailor Nicolas Lunven to their roster ahead of the Prologue Leg of the Volvo Ocean Race (see more below)

Turn the Tide on Plastic have added British offshore legend Brian Thompson and the renowned French solo sailor Nicolas Lunven to their roster ahead of the Prologue Leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, which starts on Sunday.

Skipper Dee Caffari describes Thompson as “one of the fastest people on the water”. A vastly experienced offshore sailor, he has broken the round the world record twice, and sailed non-stop around the world four times, the first British sailor to accomplish this. He was part of the winning ABN AMRO ONE crew in the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race.

“I’m really thrilled that Brian Thompson is part of our team,” Caffari said. “He has broken more speed records than just about anyone else in sailing and having sailed many miles with Brian in the past, I am confident that he will bring a calm knowledge and air of confidence to our team.”

Nicolas Lunven won the gruelling Solitaire du Figaro in 2009 at the age of just 26 and has since secured podium places in the event in 2012 and 2016. He also sailed as navigator with MAPFRE at the beginning of the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race.

“It’s a pleasure to have Nico join the team,” Caffari said. “He is an accomplished short-handed sailor, culminating as the French Figaro champion this year. We will harness his experience, and welcome him as an adaptable and tenacious team member. Two invaluable qualities to the team’s cohesion and performance.”

Lunven and Thompson will split off the navigator duties on the Turn the Tide on Plastic team. Lunven is scheduled to be on board through Melbourne, at which point Thompson will join the crew through the Auckland stopover. The dynamic duo will share the navigator duties through the rest of the race.

“I’m looking forward to sailing and working on navigation with Nico,” Thompson says. “It’s going to be really rewarding and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot.

“I think this is the most interesting team in the race, with the fully mixed crew, the majority being youth sailors and the important sustainability message that the team is carrying around the world.”

For his part, Lunven says the opportunity to compete against the world’s best sailors in the premiere fully-crewed offshore race was too good to pass up. “You have to grab these kind of opportunities. I’m really happy to work with Brian. The idea is for us is to work as a ‘pair’ with me sailing the first legs.”

For skipper Caffari, the additional experience that Thompson and Lunven bring to the team is timely and invaluable.

“We have a lot to learn and there are stages to go through until we are fully cohesive,” she says. “Nico and Brian will aid this process with our mixed youth crew and we have all the motivation, qualities and skills needed to be competitive while upholding a strong message of diversity.”

The learning process for Caffari and her team continues this weekend, when Turn the Tide on Plastic competes in the Prologue leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. Seven teams will race their Volvo Ocean 65s nearly 700 nautical miles to Alicante, Spain, the host city and start port of the Volvo Ocean Race. The Prologue is scheduled to start on Sunday 8 October at 1300 UTC, with the teams arriving in Alicante on Wednesday/Thursday.

via Thompson, Lunven add experience to Turn the Tide on Plastic roster| Volvo Ocean Race.

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Shipwrights’ Lectures to focus on America’s Cup

28 Sep 2017

Last year’s lectures saw Pendennis apprentices share their stories

The next Shipwrights’ Lectures aimed at young people in the industry will focus on how cutting-edge technology is adopted to deliver world beating performance in the America’s Cup.

This follows the 35th America’s Cup held in Bermuda this summer, which exhibited some of the highest level of advanced sailing technology seen in international yacht racing since the cup began.

Innovation will be the theme of the panel discussion chaired by Matt Sheahan, head of performance Sailing Sunset+Vine PLC, with experts from Land Rover BAR covering all aspects of design, build and hydraulic power generation.

For the first time the Shipwrights’ Lectures will also coincide with the London Boat Show and British Marine will again be offering apprentices free entry to the show on Thursday 11 January 2018.

Employers will be able to obtain tickets for their apprentices through their training providers. Further details will be published in November together with the availability to visit the Land Rover BAR ‘Tech Deck and Education Centre’ at its Portsmouth team base.

The next Shipwrights’ Lectures will be on January 10 2018 at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton.

via Boating Business | Shipwrights’ Lectures to focus on America’s Cup.

Mini Transat celebrates innovative design

29 Sep 2017

Past winners of the race include Thom Pousse helmed by Philippe Vicariot. Image courtesy of Christophe Breschi/Mini Transat La Boulangere

Mini-Transat La Boulangère is celebrating 40 years of race vessels with cutting-edge design.

Notable vessels include the prototypes sailed by Casimir Jarkowski in 1997 and Norton Smith in 1979, to Lilienthal skippered by Jörg Riechers or Arkema 3 helmed by Quentin Vlamynck.

Etienne Bertrand, the naval architect responsible for a number of prototypes, including Lilienthal, Jörg Riechers’ new steed, stated: “In my view, the first prototype to really be designed specifically for the Mini-Transat was American Express, winner of the 1979 edition in the hands of one Norton Smith. She was a really versatile boat, which was both seaworthy and quick.”

Historic winners

Past winners of the race include Thom Pousse helmed by Philippe Vicariot and Mistral Gagnant skippered by Hervé Devic.

From 1989 to 2013, the Finot designs took the winner’s cup six times.

From 1997, came the dynasty of Pogo 1s, then Pogo 2s, which would reign supreme through until 2013, but the 2011 race was dominated by racer and naval architect David Raison with his Magnum.

4,050 miles

The 21st edition of the Mini-Transat La Boulangère begins in La Rochelle, France. Participants will cover 4,050 miles until the finish point at Las Palmas in Gran Canaria and Le Marin (Martinique).

25 prototypes and 56 production boats will take part.

At the start, Ian Lipinski, who is sailing the Griffon.fr, the next iteration of Raison’s design, will have two other scow bows to contend with among others: Arkema 3 skippered by Quentin Vlamynck and Lilienthal sailed by Jörg Riechers.

From 2018, another adversary is looming, designed by Finot-Conq.

via Boating Business | Mini Transat celebrates innovative design.