Olympics, from Slate

Two women are striding, together, across the deck of a small boat blazing through the ocean. They leap over a mounted GoPro and clip into trapeze harnesses in perfect synchronization, suspended out over the water. There are waves flying everywhere, and the competition is barreling down behind them.

They want to harness the wind and move fast, but they also need to maintain enough control to prevent their boat from yanking them over into the water. They look around, calculating their next move—before at last speeding away. Read on.

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Well, as ever in the world of sailing, the electric revolution is taking a little bit longer to filter down. “We are so far behind Europe in this technology,” says Sally Reuther of Annapolis Hybrid Marine. “But we’ve seen a change in [recent] months. At boat shows, people come up to us with questions, and they’ve already done their research.”

Indeed, there is a growing crop of system suppliers, among whom the best known for leisure sailors are Torqeedo, Oceanvolt, Bell Marine and Elco. Volvo Penta is also making strides with a comprehensive electric range in the work, a project in which it has been working with catamaran builder Fountaine-Pajot.

Among the chief attractions of this kind of technology are its silent operation, instant torque, the absence of exhaust fumes and freedom from the tyranny of having to buy diesel. If it was that simple, though, boats would all have converted to electric long ago. The problem is that there are also two major problems with electric propulsion for marine. The first is cost: you can expect to pay a good deal more for a new boat when you spec electric motors. The second is that even if you go wild in terms of battery capacity there is still the problem range and what to do to keep from running out of power.

There are some savings, of course. There’s the diesel itself, for one. Electric motors are also more reliable than combustion engines, cutting maintenance costs. “Running costs were incomparable,” says Pierre Vanwinsberghe, who installed two 8.6kW Oceanvolt motors on his Aventura 33. “An oil change every year and one $220 seal kit every five years. Nothing else to do!”

Beyond that, it should come as no surprise that Volvo decided to work with a multihull builder, as catamaran and trimaran hulls are more easily driven than traditional monohulls, making them better suited to a hybrid or electrical propulsion system.

Multihulls also offer a good deal more surface area for fitting solar panels, courtesy of their broad beam. “A multihull gives a lot of possibilities in space for energy ‘scavenging’, think here about solar panels, solar collectors, wind generators,” says Bart Meenks of Dutch supplier Bell Marine.

Solar, I hear you snort in disbelief? Absolutely, because solar panels are increasingly seen as a key element in the design of any electric propulsion system for yachts. In fact, if you speak to Michael Köhler of electric catamaran brand Silent Yachts, solar is the only game in town. “When you hear the wind turbine making all that noise, you think it will be producing lots of power, but it’s not. When we did the measurements, solar produced much more.”

Solar panel technology is also improving all the time. Where once, a good panel offered 5 to 8 percent efficiency, they can now manage more than 20 percent. With its 49 square meters of solar panels, the Silent 55 can generate some 10kW when the sun is high in the sky. “The boat’s house load is 5-10kWh per day,” explains Jean-Marc Zanni, who designed the 55’s electrical system. “So you can go for weeks between recharging. The aim is to provide full comfort and silence at anchor or in port.”

François Bouffard, who specced his Slyder 47 with twin Oceanvolt 15kW motors, agrees. “Solar, solar, solar!” he says. His boat carries 880W of solar panels, but he says he would install three or four times this capacity if he were designing the system again. “With 3,000W of solar panels, there would be a slight surplus on the whole domestic load.”

Along these same lines, Jan-Dirk Lohmüller fitted his Fountaine-Pajot Saba 50 with an Oceanvolt system for a world tour and has enlarged his solar array at every opportunity. He began with 880W from the yard, then added three 320W panels in Panama. The boat is now in Tahiti, where it has just had a further four 320W panels fitted on a gantry over the davits. “Since then we enjoy complete energy independence from fossil fuels on medium sunny days,” he says. “Even with intensive induction cooking, a coffee machine for 12 or so coffees and one or two washing machines, we have no problem.”

And Solar is only part of the story when it comes to renewables. Nothing but the water turning the propeller under sail can also generate from 100W at 5 knots up to 5kW on a big yacht at speed. Here again, multihulls are far more effective than monohulls, due to the fact there faster cruising speeds deliver much more power from this hydrogeneration. Catamarans, in particular, enjoy a further because they have two motors.

As an example, Bouffard says his Slyder managed a full week of fossil-free sailing during a 2017 Atlantic crossing. “For our water and cooking needs, and everything else, we relied solely on regeneration.” He estimates his two Gori props generated a combined 300W to 500W over the course of the week—equivalent to around 9kWh per day.

That said, he also says he is cautious about the technology’s potential. “On my boat, which is a heavier prototype, I start to produce over 100W at 7 knots. But when the waves come from the back, regeneration is much less. Something to do with the motion of the boat.” Things improved when he removed the mini skegs that protected the saildrives. “They were creating turbulence and reducing the efficiency of the propellers,” he says.

Other installations have also had positive results. Lohmüller says that at 5-8 knots, each motor on his Saba 50 can generate up to 700W, while on fast passages above 10 knots they have seen 1kW from each unit. Similarly, Oceanvolt has now developed a proprietary regenerative system with a variable-pitch propeller with blades that sweep through a full 180 degrees. The electronically controlled ServoProp, as it’s called, can produce 1kW at 6-8 knots of boatspeed. Tests on a 38ft monohull produced 3kW at 12 knots…

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An unhappy Chicago to Mackinac race report…

Tom was resting below deck, seas were sloppy/lumpy, we were moving at our poles under 2 reefs and a partially furled headsail on port tack. I was preparing to take the wheel at 7 PM, Joe was helming; Jim, Dan and Sean were essential rail meat on the port rail. ‘Crack!’ and the entire rig was laid perpendicular and horizontal on the starboard side, the base of the mast sheared completely off, remaining attached to the boat only by the shrouds, halyards and rigging components. WTF?!

Dismasted @ 6:45 PM, race over simultaneously. Ugh. We rallied, safely, in the lumpy/sloppy conditions, (somehow) salvaging the boom as we disconnected fittings, unscrewed or unpinned turnbuckles and cut halyards. The mast and sails remained (somewhat) on the lake surface to our starboard and didn’t pose a threat to hole the boat…as long and the base end was pinned to the cabin top.

We weren’t sure what would happen once everything was freed. Once the Roller Furling drum was disconnected and ready to toss off the boat, the pin of the remaining port side turnbuckles keeping the base of the mast (kinda) secure, along with the frayed and stretched jib halyard, was banged out or cut..and the rig was shoved/tossed over the side, disappearing within seconds. Ugh…

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At the end of May we brought you the story of Aussie rower Jason Harrison, who was departing San Francisco Bay on a 200-plus-day voyage across the Pacific to his homeland, Australia. Jason was attempting to break the record set by ocean rower John Beeden, who made the journey in 208 days. Unfortunately Jason’s record bid has been defeated this time. The rower encountered problems with his rudder and autohelm when he was only three days into his voyage. It seemed the Pacific weather was determined not to let paddle-craft cross this season, as Jason was caught in weather conditions similar to those that caused ocean kayaker Cyril Derreumaux to initiate a USCG rescue on June 5.

“I spent five days and five nights in the storm,” Jason told us last week from Monterey. By this time he was 100 miles offshore and had to make his way back to land. “I used an emergency sail to get part of the way, but then I had to row three to four days back up the coast to get to Monterey.” To add to his dilemma, Jason’s tracker hadn’t been functioning, which accounts for the large blank on his Garmin page. “I’ve always been a bit of a loner anyway,” he laughed.

Although he didn’t feel he was in any immediate danger, Jason advised the Coast Guard of his situation. “They flew overhead at some point. I imagine they were looking out for me.”

After spending a month in Monterey conducting repairs, restocking, and reevaluating his journey, Jason is planning to set out again this week. “I was never in for the record this year,” he conceded. “Hawaii is manageable, but if the weather pushes me south I might end up in Mexico.” That said, the adventurer’s 8.5-meter rowboat carries enough supplies for 240 days.” By comparison, John Beeden rowed a 6.5-meter craft on his Pacific crossing. Beeden ran out of food before reaching Australia and had to restock in Vanuatu, which meant he was unable to include “unassisted” in his record claim.

Jason Harrison’s Facebook page “2021 USA to AUS Pacific Ocean Solo Row” describes his journey as “Rowing Solo in an 8.5-meter Ocean Row Boat unassisted from San Francisco, USA, to Cairns, Australia” — the same start and finish point as Beeden. And although he intends to row unassisted, Jason acknowledged that to even attempt his voyage, he’s had an abundance of help and support from Bay Area businesses and locals.

Right from the start Jason’s voyage was delayed for six weeks while he waited for the freight company to deliver his boat. “The motel costs were three times the amount of mooring fees, then tried to depart two days later but was unable to leave because of my desalination machine hose fitting, and other issues due to time and weather,” he wrote on his Facebook page. But in true sailor style, it was the community that helped bring Jason’s dream to fruition.

“The hospitality, the kindness and generosity!” he exclaimed. “Chris and the crew at Grand Marina in Alameda were absolutely awesome. Bill at Spaulding Marine Center helped me with my watermaker. He came all the way over to Alameda to fix it, and didn’t charge me a thing! And Galen at SeaTrek, and my Sausalito dock neighbors Tim and Olga who fed me and and looked after me. The community is just awesome.’

While Beeden set out on his voyage with the sole purpose of setting a new record, Jason is approaching his voyage from a slightly different angle. The record is still a goal, but with a broader purpose.

“It’s how you push the direction of the adventure — the environment, politics, plastics. All the things humans face in society,” he told us. “I want to raise awareness, educate and grow young, developing minds in areas that would improve the life of all Australians and people from around the world.”

When we spoke with Jason on Friday, he was planning to set off today, but due to a forecast of strong winds, he’s pushed his departure back to Wednesday. We’ll aim to bring you an update later this week. In the meantime, you can check out Jason’s adventure on his Facebook page. And if you’d like to become part of the “awesome sailing community” that’s supported him so far, you can contribute on his GoFundMe page.

The post Aussie Rower Launches Second Attempt at Ocean Crossing appeared first on Latitude38.

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Enoshima, Japan (July 26, 2021) – There was more wind than expected for the second day of racing at the Olympic Sailing Competition which was just as well as the lumpy, confused wave pattern made it hard to get into the groove. When the Pacific swell hits the shoreline of Enoshima and the concrete harbor walls, it reverberates back out to sea, turning the field of play into something akin to a washing machine.

Finding a rhythm through the water is difficult, made all the harder by the breeze shifting first one way, then the other, without much discernible pattern. Many suffered, but a few managed to make sense of nature’s chaos. The Laser, Laser Radial and the Men’s and Women’s RS:X all took to the water in a 10-15 knot easterly breeze and successfully completed their scheduled races…

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The 1975 Transatlantic Race, from Newport (USA) to Cowes (GBR), on the Swan 48 Weald…

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© 2021 Sharon Green / Ultimate Sailing

First Finishers

As this article ‘goes to press’, the first finishers in the 2021 Transpac race have begun to sail across the finish line at Diamond Head Buoy. First to finish, at 2:53 a.m. HST, was Roy P. Disney’s turboed Volvo 70 Pyewacket 70, which sailed the 2,217-mile course in a provisional time of 5 days, 16 hours and 23 minutes. They were tied up at the dock and drinking mai tais by the time we wrote this. Not only was Pyewacket the first boat to reach Honolulu, but the former round-the-world racer will also claim the coveted Barn Door Trophy given for the monohull with the fastest elapsed time.

Cecil and Alyson Rossi’s Farr 57 Ho’okolohe will probably have finished by the time you read this. The fastest boat to start on the first day of starts, Ho’okolohe had been well out in front of the fleet the whole way since leaving Long Beach, only to get passed by a much, much faster boat right before the finish. The most current tracker data shows Ho’okolohe correcting out to a win in Division 8. Pyewacket is likely to end up in second place in Division1, though she still has a shot to win if the J/V 72 Lucky should lose some steam approaching the finish.

Overall Leaders

Behind the boats that will be first into Honolulu, the rest of the fleet is making great time in picture-perfect conditions. With a strong and stable Pacific High blanketing the course in steady trade winds since the start, Transpac 51 is turning into a fast year for this relatively small fleet of just 40 boats. Leading the race overall is a pair of blue 52-footers heavily influenced by the TP52 box rule. Chris Sheehan’s baby-blue Pac52 Warrior Won currently sits atop the ORR Overall ratings, though Thomas Furlong’s beautiful dark-blue R/P 52 Vitesse is nipping at their heels. A couple of sleds and a Rogers 46 round out the top five on overall corrected time.

Bay Area Transpac Teams

Notable Bay Area boats include Dave MacEwen’s Rogers 46 Lucky Duck, which sits second in Division 5 and eighth place overall as of this writing. Rufus Sjoberg’s J/125 Rufless is not far behind Lucky Duck in fourth, in what has become a very closely contested Division 5. Mike Moradzadeh’s Santa Cruz 50 Oaxaca is locked into a close battle in Division 6, while Greg Dorn’s Dehler 46 Favonious has a commanding lead in Division 7. Several other Bay Area yachts are also leaving their mark on the race.

A Cautious Honolulu Aloha

When Transpac racers get to Hawaii, they’ll have a decidedly different experience than in years past. As part of Transpac’s efforts to remain as safe as possible during these pandemic times, individual awards and perpetual trophies will be presented to teams shortly after they finish, as the race will have no central awards ceremony in an effort to avoid large crowds. The race will also have no major official parties.

Make sure to check in with ‘Lectronic Latitude next week when most of the fleet will have finished and we have more clarity on the overall results. In the meantime, continue to track the fleet here. We’ll have a complete recap of the race in the September issue of Latitude 38.

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