New events to help shape the future of yachting

30 Nov 2017

More than 270 people attended the 2017 Yacht Racing Forum

More than 270 delegates and experts discussed major yachting opportunities and challenges at the the 2017 Yacht Racing Forum.

Giving the keynote speech at the event in Aarhus, Denmark, Andy Claughton, former chief technology officer of Land Rover BAR, said he was not a fan of the ‘slave ships’ in the America’s Cup, nor of the one-design elements of the Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race.

However, others suggested it would be better to have one-designs in a commercially viable Volvo Ocean Race than no race at all.

Olympic keelboat race

Gary Jobson laid out the proposal for a showcase event, a 300-nautical mile non-stop offshore keelboat race for a two-person mixed crew in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. There is also a plan to host an Offshore World Championship starting in 2019, again for a two-person mixed team.

French delegates discussed plans for a series of events for giant 100ft-plus high-performance Ultime Class multihulls.

The panel also showed excitement about the radical design of a foiling monohull by Emirates Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup.

ESailing Championship

World Sailing president Kim Andersen, explained the rationale behind the first official eSailing World Championship, which will enable people of all ages to compete online against each other.

Highlights of the Design and Technology Symposium included developments in foiling applications, control systems using artificial intelligence and sustainable solutions through composite technology.

via Boating Business | New events to help shape the future of yachting.

SEAir’s 40ft monohull set for 2018 build

01 Dec 2017

SEAir’s first flying 40ft (12m) monohull is designed for both record attempts and offshore races

SEAir has announced construction of its first flying 40ft (12m) monohull will begin in 2018 with a late 2018/early 2019 launch.

The monohull is designed to be well-suited to both record attempts and offshore races and already has six potential major clients globally.

Bertrand Castelnerac, co-founder of SEAir, said: “Imagining a line of big brothers starting with the 40-footers, is becoming more normal for us. Our design studies and tests have also led us to ask some essential questions.

“Developing this type of boat takes a long time, there are no shortcuts. But it is clear that, whatever the size of the foiling boat, it will be faster than non foilers of the same size in most conditions.”

Foil design

Having recently announced the design of the ‘fully flying’ AC75 monohull, which will be the new boat for the next America’s Cup, the New Zealand America’s Cup team has helped pave the way for SEAir to develop in the field of foil design and build.

Mr Castelnerac added: “The future AC75 ‘Full flying’ monohulls as announced by the New Zealand America’s Cup team reinforces SEAir’s efforts in foil research, particularly when it comes to canting. Because we are swinging the foil and not retracting it, we can achieve better stability with a lower centre of gravity.

“Given the complexity of the foils on the AC75, you then have to ask, who can build them? This is where SEAir’s experience in automated manufacturing of carbon foils comes into play. We have already discussed these issues with three different America’s Cup teams.”

via Boating Business | SEAir’s 40ft monohull set for 2018 build.

Volvo Ocean Race – Opportunities and Challenges

BY ADMIN • OCTOBER 30, 2017 • OLDER, RACING • COMMENTS OFF • 150

Seven teams are contesting the longest fully crewed race in the sailing world that started from the Spanish port of Alicante on October 22. This latest edition of the Volvo Ocean Race uses the same Farr designed one-design yachts and the previous race in 2014/15, but there have been many changes to the format of this iconic race and the equipment used.

The last three editions have all taken the fleet to Abu Dhabi at New Year – a significant diversion from the race’s ‘natural’ route, but an important one for sponsor Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, which won the last edition at the third attempt, but is not returning to defend their title.

The Volvo Ocean 65 Dongfeng clinched a hard-fought class win in the Rolex Fastnet Race with a 54 second lead on MAPFRE.  Credit: J.Lecaudey/Volvo Ocean Race

This frees up more options of the course, which now comprises 11 legs, taking competitors from Alicante to Lisbon, then Cape Town in South Africa. Next is one of the two supremely challenging Southern Ocean Legs to Melbourne. After a sojourn at warmer latitudes in Hong Kong and the Chinese city of Guangzhou they will return to Auckland, New Zealand. Next is the longest leg of the course, around Cape Horn and up to Itajai in Brazil. The final legs take the fleet to Newport, Rhode Island, then Cardiff in Wales and The Hague in the Netherlands.

MAPFRE rounding the Fastnet Rock.  Credit: Rolex/Kurt Arrigo

Another significant change is in the make up of each team. The race has come under significant criticism in recent years for both lack of opportunities for younger sailors and for women. The latter have a long history of involvement with the event, dating back to when Claire Francis became to first women to skipper an entry in 1977 and the first all-women crew on board Tracy Edwards’ Maiden in 1989. However, several editions of the race had no female participation until the all women team SCA in the last edition. This has changed for the 2017/9 race, in which there’s no all-women entry, but all the teams, with the exception of one, will have at least two women on board.

On board Vestas 11th Hour Racing for the knife-edge battle between the VO65s in the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race. Credit: Martin Keruzore/Volvo Ocean Race

Despite a huge following for the past few editions of the race, the biggest challenge for organisers has been finding enough sponsors that are happy to invest a budget of some €10-12 million per team. Granted, race veterans including Team Brunel, Team AkzoNobel, Mapfre and the Dongfeng Race Team are on board, as is Vestas 11th Hour. Each of them are fielding very experienced and knowledgeable teams that have every chance of taking an overall win. It’s certain to make for tantalisingly close racing. The two other teams, include Turn the Tide Against Plastic, skippered by Volvo Ocean Race and Vendee Globe veteran Dee Caffari. Although her team was brought together at a late stage, she is one of the most experienced and successful skippers in this edition of the race and has every chance of proving a match for any of the more established teams.

Follow the race here: www.volvooceanrace.com

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The rise of the Adventure Sailing industry

BY ADMIN • OCTOBER 30, 2017 • FEATURES, OLDER, RACING • COMMENTS OFF • 305

Seasoned sailors will remember the exploits of sailor, mountaineer and writer Bill Tilman, the participants in the original Sunday Time Golden Globe Race, and those that followed in their footsteps, including the Reverend Bob Shepton whose 33ft 1970s Westerly Discus Dodo’s Delight has carried her owner and crew to dramatic peaks within both the Arctic and Antarctic circles.

However, many in the baby boomer generation sought comfort and luxury over hardship – hence the explosion of charter holidays in both the Mediterranean and Caribbean in the 1970 and 1980s when a combination of cheaper air travel and the advent of mass-production fibreglass yachts made such holidays affordable to vast swathes of the middle classes.

In today’s world there are other forces at work and the lure of adventure sailing is again more appealing to many than relaxing in the sun with a string of cold drinks. For some young people this spurs them to find an intrinsically seaworthy old boat to restore on a budget and sail away to the Canary or Cape Verde Islands – or across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean beyond. However, the number of people doing this is dwarfed by the many that are buying adventure sailing experiences from small scale companies that typically run one or two boats.

In the past few years, adventure sailing has become a booming business. Part of the demand is from those for whom sailing across an ocean, competing in an iconic race like the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Rolex Fastnet Race, or visiting the Antarctic peninsula on a yacht is one of many desirable experiences to tick off their bucket list. However, there’s also a growing number of long-standing boat owners and sailing enthusiasts that recognise buying an adventure sailing package offers opportunities that are all but impossible for most boat owners to achieve in their own vessels, however experienced they might be and however well prepared their boats.

Given that sailing from your normal cruising grounds to an adventure destination could take six months, it’s easy to see the appeal of flying directly to the location and then joining a boat that’s already set up for that kind of sailing with a skipper and crew that already know the area, the most stunning places to visit, and the best bolt holes in bad weather. The best-known example of this is former Whitbread Round the World Race skipper Skip Novak who runs two yachts based in Patagonia for high latitude adventure sailing and is able to ensure his guests remain safe even in the most inhospitable conditions.

Photo credits: Pelagic Expeditions/www.pelagic.co.uk

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Atlantic Rally for Cruisers 2017

BY ADMIN • NOVEMBER 24, 2017 • BREAKING NEWS, HOMEMOSAIC, REGATTAS • COMMENTS (0) • 45

A spectacular sight as the 2016 fleet set off for Saint Lucia. Credit: James Mitchell/WCC

This year’s trans-Atlantic rally from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to the Caribbean island of St Lucia is underway. In total almost 300 yachts from 28 countries, crewed by 1,600 people, will make a 2,700-mile Atlantic crossing in the 32nd edition of the event.

A common criticism of the ARC is that it has increasingly been taken over by large yachts, at the expense of those of more ordinary means. This might appear to be confirmed by the largest yachts on the entry list, which includes Giorgio Benussi’s stunning custom built Baltic 130 My Song, plus Bob Eichler’s 100ft Sparkman and Stephens sloop Altair, plus a host of other yachts above 70ft, more than half of them Oysters and Swans. However, a look at the other end of the list tells a different story – the smallest boat is just 30ft (Pierre-Yves Luxey’s Pogo 30 Avel Biz). Among the boats under 35ft there’s also a 1980s Sigma 33 (Edward Clay’s Wam Bam), a Bavaria 32 (Jarmo Koskivuori’s Aava), plus four Hallberg Rassys, while the oldest boat looks to be Grant Jamieson-Hesk’s classic wooden 9-ton Hillyard Trimley Maid.

This year there will be almost 50 multihulls taking part. Credit: James Mitchell/WCC

There were two departures from Las Palmas, the first on November 5 for the smaller fleet sailing in the ARC+ that routes via Sao Vicente in the Cape Verde islands. The second, November 19 for the main fleet, sailing directly to St Lucia. The ARC+ fleet is expected to arrive between November 26-31, while the bulk of the main fleet is expected to finish between December 6-11.

Whatever time of day or night they arrive, each boat is welcomed to Rodney Bay Marina at the finish with rum punches, fresh fruit and chilled beer. Many boats then remain in St Lucia for Christmas, enjoying the beautiful island and famed local hospitality, before continuing on to explore the rest of the Caribbean. In many cases they form small groups in which to cruise in company, and often meet up with friends made on the ARC area’s many anchorages. The event is routinely oversubscribed, but entries for ARC 2018 are now open.

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Seasonal maintenance: Preparing for next year

BY ADMIN • NOVEMBER 24, 2017 • BREAKING NEWS, YACHT MAINTENANCE • COMMENTS (0) • 42

Many boat owners bemoan the delays in the spring that are often encountered when preparing their boat for the new season, particularly when new equipment is to be fitted, or new sails delivered. Given the high cost of running even a relatively modest-sized yacht it’s hardly surprising that such delays are frustrating. However, it’s also easy to forget exactly how seasonal much of the yacht preparation and repair industry is – a huge proportion of their annual turnover is in three months during spring and early summer.

Time spent during the autumn can therefore often reap rewards in the early part of the following season. In particular, it’s important to get orders for new sails in early, as the bigger firms work on a minimum 8-10 week lead time for orders. This time of year tends to be their quietest season, which means you’re most likely to be able to specify your choice of delivery dates and may also be able to negotiate a useful discount.

Similarly, if planning to install new deck gear, electronics or domestic systems, then the earlier the order is finalised, the further up the priority list you will be in the spring. Just make sure you think carefully through all requirements well in advance – changing your mind about specifications, or adding additional tasks to the list, can cause significant disruption.

With this in mind it’s also important to check that sails, canvas work and all equipment is in good order before winterising the boat, so that any repairs can be scheduled over the off season. It’s therefore worth inspecting all easily visible wiring and electrical connections for signs of water ingress, in addition to checking that all navigation, interior and exterior lights work, along with other systems including fridges, instruments and nav aids, fridges, fresh water pumps, shower sump pumps and freshwater pumps.

On deck check lines for chafe and look for seized or partially seized sheaves. It’s also a good plan to schedule winch and windless servicing for an early date as this will help protect them during the winter. The same applies to the engine and, where fitted, generator so that they have clean oil over the winter.

In short, the secret to easy and efficient fitting out in the spring relies on laying up in a methodical and efficient manner at the end of the season.

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New Year launch for elegant Grand Large 520

BY ADMIN • NOVEMBER 24, 2017 • BREAKING NEWS, HOMEMOSAIC, YACHTS • COMMENTS (0) • 41

his French built Umberto Felci design from Dufour has been optimised for comfortable and efficient living on deck, yet also provides a spacious and appealing interior. The cockpit is well enclosed, with the bathing platform in its raised position, thanks to high coamings. For outdoor living there’s a concealed barbecue and sink under the aft seats, together with a sizeable drawer fridge in the table. The wide, two-tier bathing platform has a lower section right aft for easy boarding from a tender or swimming, plus a higher level that effectively forms an extension to the cockpit.

Most sail controls, including the German mainsheet system, are taken to the primary winches just ahead of the steering positions. There’s an option of a 108 per cent non-overlapping jib, or smaller self-tacking jib for the ultimate in easy sail handling. Engine power is from a single 75hp diesel engine, with a generous 420 litre fuel tank.

Below decks the large loft-style saloon offers a huge amount of natural light, thanks to large hull windows and a big clear overhead panels and hatches, while the forward galley location helps to accentuate the feeling of space. The salon table is set on an electronically adjustable mount and can be lowered to coffee table height, or raised up to dining table level. It can also be folded away when out of use. Interior woodwork is in a choice of moabi, oak or teak finishes.

Three and four cabin layouts are offered, with two or three heads and the option of separate showers. The aft cabins are configured so that the berths can be converted from doubles to twins, which is helpful for both family use and chartering. Each is equipped with LED lighting, with shorepower electrical outlets and USB charging points next to each bed, as well as LED lights inside the wardrobes.

The first Dufour 520 Grand Large is currently in build and will be launched to the public at Boot Dusseldorf in Germany in January 2018.

LOA 15.20m

Hull Length 14.75m

Waterline length 13.67m

Beam 4.80m

Light Displacement 15,245kg

Draught 2.3m

Ballast 4,042kg

Fuel tank 450 litres

Water tank 720 litres

Mainsail 52.80sq m

108% Genoa 48sq m

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Lipinski wins Mini-Transat la BoulangereBY ADMIN • NOVEMBER 24, 2017 • BREAKING NEWS, HOMEMOSAIC, RACING • COMMENTS (0) • 36Every two years more than 80 single-handed sailors race more than 4,000 miles from the west coast of France to the Caribbean or Brazil on tiny 6.5 metre yachts. Despite their small size these are full-on race boats, with the most recent designs typically providing a test bed for ideas that are subsequently incorporated into more mainstream racing yachts and, occasionally, cruising models. The race is also an event that has produced many of the most successful sailors at the very top end of the sport, including a number of winners of the non-stop solo Vendee Globe round the world race.The fleet in the race village before leaving La Rochelle. Credit: Olivier Blanchet / Mini Transat La BoulangèreThis year competitors range from their early 20s to over 60 in age and come from seven countries. The fleet left La Rochelle on October 1 for the first leg, bound for Las Palmas, Grand Canaria in relatively light airs, but with faster downwind conditions in prospect for a few days once to the west of a cold front in the Bay of Biscay. However, they then had to endure a few days of very light airs on the final few hundred miles to the finish.In the class for series production boats one of the early leaders was a newcomer to the race, 23-year old Clarisse Crémer (TBS) who boasted a 32-mile lead over the rest of the fleet after five days. However, this division was to see seven different leaders and 13 changes at the top of the leader board during the leg. Crémer lost out in the very light airs on the final frustrating days before the finish, to take third place at the end of the leg, behind Valentin Gautier (Shaman – Banque du Léman) and Rémi Aubrun (Alternative Sailing – Constructions du Belon).Arriving in Gran Canaria. Credit: Breschi / Mini Transat La BoulangèreThe Prototype class also saw particularly intense competition, with Ian Lipinski (Griffon.fr) taking victory just 113 seconds ahead of Arthur Léopold Léger after almost exactly 10 days at sea. They held a six-hour margin ahead of Erwan Le Mené, but the next six boats had a much tighter race, finishing within four hours of Le Mené.Despite challenging conditions off Cape Finisterre, only three skippers have been forced to drop out of the race. Matteo Rusticali due to a dismasting and Luca Sabiu who triggered his distress beacon offshore of La Coruña and was subsequently rescued. Frédéric Guérin, was not able to effect repairs within the 72 hours allowed following his dismasting, but arrived in the Canary Islands a week before the restart of the final leg. This is a 2,700 miles voyage from Las Palmas to Martinique, that started on November 1. Thanks to a potential late season tropical depression forming around 1,000 miles to the east of Bermuda the fleet will be routed via a gate in the Cape Verde islands.Pre race favourite and winner in the production boat category in 2015, Ian Lipinski in Griffon.fr crossed the finishing line on November 14 in a time of 13 days, 22mins.  This is the first occasion that a racer won in the production boat category and then repeated the win in the prototype category two years later. Following on from Sébastien Magnen on his prototype Karen Liquid in 1997 and 1999, Ian Lipinski has become the second double champion of the Mini-Transat La Boulangère. At the time of writing the production boats were still at seawww.minitransat.fr Pin ItLEAVE A REPLYYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Name *Email *WebsiteCommentRECENT POSTSSeasonal maintenance: Preparing for next yearBaltic yard reveals luxurious Sunreef 50Lipinski wins Mini-Transat la BoulangereNew Year launch for elegant Grand Large 520Destination: Port Ginesta, SpainAtlantic Rally for Cruisers 2017Maintenance: choosing sailclothThe rise of the Adventure Sailing industryVolvo Ocean Race – Opportunities and ChallengesFrench yard offers innovative and spacious cat

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