After four days of racing, only four points separate the top four boats heading into the final day of the 2022 J/24 World Championship being held July 18-22 in Corpus Christi, TX…
Monthly archives for July, 2022
Lone American Peter Gibbons-Neff on his Classe Mini campaign
I checked in with Peter Gibbons-Neff, the lone American sailor on the Class Mini circuit, via email, to learn more about what it’s like to be an American taking on this competitive singlehanded offshore racing circuit…
Drheam Cup line honours for Sam Goodchild
Sam Goodchild took line honours in the Drheam Cup race in La Trinité sur Mer, south-west Brittany…
hillbillies rule
These guys won their (cruising division) for the 7th time in a row in last week’s Port Huron to Mackinac race. Thanks to Steve Gilbert…
Drheam Cup Race – Lone sailor rescued from capsized multihull
Baltimore RNLI were called out to assist a lone sailor whose yacht had capsized 70 miles off the coast of Baltimore, West Cork, Tuesday evening…
18ft Skiff Mark Foy European Championship day 3
The performance of Lazarus Capital Partners (Ashley-Marshallio-Williams) continues on a glide path, leading by 8 points over the Germans of Black Knight (Von Bayern-Tom and Andy Martin), the only Europeans to hold their own against the Australian team…
International Canoe UK Nationals – Day 2 and making the right decisions
Day 2 of the International Canoe UK Nationals at Hayling Island. Gareth Caldwell and Ska’d For Life take a clear lead after winning the third race of the championship…
Europe Class World Championships in Douarnenez
Tails from the Rear : As bruises turn from purple to brown to green, here’s a few notes on a truly epic week away; in case you missed it…
Landsailing mayhem in the Mojave
Landsailing enthusiasts make the annual trek to Mojave for the America’s Landsailing Cup, and Mike Hanson shares the experience for Sailing World:
A 25-knot wind streaks across Ivanpah Dry Lake on this cold March afternoon in California, dust whipping across the racecourse ahead. I’m having trouble relaxing my breathing. Maybe it’s nerves. Maybe it’s the 30-pound sack of lead duct-taped to my chest for extra weight. I’m about to start my first dirt-sailing race at the 2022 America’s Landsailing Cup, and I’m hoping this extra weight will help keep my Manta TwinJammer—or rather my lawn chair with a sail—on all three wheels.
Thirty of these 105-pound aluminum craft with bench seats crowd the starting line, which is a 100-yard piece of rope stretched perpendicular to the wind from the starboard side of the race-committee trailer. My competitors look like Mad Max dragoons, their identities masked by helmets and ski goggles. Their jeans are caked with dirt, some of them wearing motorcycle armor. While we wait for the previous fleet to finish, there’s a strange pre-start shuffle. Unlike the regimented starts of DN iceboats I’m more familiar with, where half the fleet starts on starboard and the other half on port, land-sailing starts are a free-for-all…
Greatest underdog story in sports
Launched in 2021, Netflix brings back the Untold series of sports documentaries in 2022 with four new stories to air:
August 16: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist
August 23: The Rise and Fall of And1
August 30: Operation Flagrant Foul
September 6: Race of the Century
The final show details the 1983 America’s Cup in which New York Yacht Club would finally lose its hold on a trophy which it had successfully defended over a period of 132 years.
Chapman Way, the 35-year-old who co-created the series with his 31-year-old brother Maclain, insists the victory by the Alan Bond-financed Australia II in the best-of-seven yacht race after being 3-1 down “truly is the greatest underdog story in the history of sports”.
It’s a big call, but Maclain backs it up. “It’s almost astounding how much of an advantage the New York Yacht Club had in this race,” he says. “Technologically, the winning streak, the funding, the money is mind-boggling, which is why they won for 132 years.”
John Bertrand, who skippered the Australian boat, was the main conduit through which they chose to tell the story of how “the longest winning streak in the history of sport” was brought to an end…
WASZP Worlds: Kiwis win Men’s and Women’s titles
Flying Kiwi’s Sam Street and Elise Beavis have won the Men’s and Women’s World titles at the WASZP World Championships, staged on Lake Garda, Italy…
America’s Cup: No more Spy versus Spy
The America’s Cup reconnaissance rules are changing for America’s Cup 2024, to be sailed in Barcelona, Spain in September/October 2024. America’s Cup Media’s Magnus Wheatley tries to explain…
Boris Herrmann’s Team Malizia launches new IMOCA
Back on the water – Boris Herrmann’s offshore sailing team launched their new race yacht as scheduled on 19 July, after 18 months of innovative design and construction…
Father-Daughter duo top Mackinac Race
The 98th edition of the Bayview Mackinac Race got underway on July 16, with the 172 entrants either on the 259 nm Cove Island or 204 nm Shore courses on Lake Huron. Each course extends from the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron to Mackinac Island which sits between Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas.
On the shorter course, finishing third overall and winning the doublehanded class was the J/111 nosurprise sailed by 14 year old Merritt Sellers along with her dad Scott. While they belong to St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, the family keeps their boat at Little Traverse Yacht Club (Harbor Springs, MI) where they have a summer home.
“We got ’em at night,” Scott Sellers, 50, told the Detroit Free Press immediately after the race while docking his boat. “I worried they would get us. We went from 2 miles back to 2 miles in front.”
Finishing at 20:57 on July 17, Merritt was exhausted after the race, trying to process the moment, nibbling on Milano mint cookies. The pair had survived on cold pizza and freeze-dried food — pad thai for her and chicken risotto for him. But they were both so happy…
A new approach for Team Maliza
In the fast-growing world of IMOCA sailing, there are all sorts of teams – French, international, large, small, well-funded and not so – but one that stands out right now is the group behind the charismatic German skipper Boris Herrmann…
setting sun
It was always known that the financial support from major Oracle shareholder and founder Larry Ellison was not open-ended and Team Japan becomes the first casualty of that.
The statement released regarding SailGP Team Japan reads as follows:
“After much deliberation and taking into account logistical and commercial considerations, SailGP has made the difficult decision to pause the participation of Japan SailGP Team indefinitely. The league would like to thank Nathan Outteridge and all of the athletes and staff involved in the Team for their outstanding performance in the first two seasons of SailGP and wish them the very best for the future.
Season 3 will continue with nine teams racing for the remainder of the season…
Long Beach shines for West Marine US Open
114 athletes took to the water in the LA 2028 sailing venue this past weekend for the West Marine US Open. Each day, mornings of fog gave way to beautiful ocean breeze, with race committee running a total of 64 races across seven fleets…
International Canoe UK Nationals – Day 1 at Hayling Island
First day of the International Canoe UK Nationals hosted at Hayling island SC finished with Day 1 leader Gareth Caldwell…
Ownership Opportunities on the Sea of Cortez
Meet the worldly Casa Blake, a new ownership opportunity in the heart of the Costa Palmas Marina Village. Come explore this collection of residences on the Sea of Cortez in Cabo. Register to find out more.
Emirates Team NZ designer wins Women’s WASZPs
Emirates Team New Zealand designer Elise Beavis was crowned Women’s WASZP World Champion at the Waszp International Games in Lake Garda, Italy…
Like no other race in sailing
Newport, RI (July 17, 2022) – Two hours after her Swan 42 Entropy crossed the finish line and won the 67th running of the historic Queen’s Cup trophy, Patti Young still couldn’t fully believe the results.
“I’m in shock,” said Young, who navigated on the boat while her husband, Paul Hamilton, steered. “This is just as important to me as when I won the Mixter trophy for being the wining navigator in the St. David’s Lighthouse division of the Newport Bermuda Race. I feel this it’s just like that. And this was a team effort. Everybody on the boat contributed.”
Entropy won the race with a corrected time of 2:52:50, just 19 seconds ahead of Victor Wild’s Pac52 Fox, which finished second, and two minutes ahead of Tony Langley’s TP52 Gladiator.
The Queen’s Cup trophy was given to the New York Yacht Club by Queen Elizabeth II and officially presented to the Club by the British Ambassador in November 1953. It’s a perpetual trophy that is raced for annually under the same conditions as the King’s Cup that preceded it and was retired after the passing of King George VI in 1952.
The Queen’s Cup is both one of the most-prized trophies in the New York Yacht Club and one of the most unique competitions in sailing…
SailGP Drop Nathan Outteridge and SailGP Japan Team
SailGP issued a press release Friday announcing the dropping of Nathan Outteridge and the SailGp Japan Team from the circuit…
Project Speed: Waiting is best, patience is s must
With a project as highly contingent on weather and conditions as the Emirates Team New Zealand wind powered Land Speed World Record attempt, constant evaluation and adjustments of plans are essential to the success of the overall objective…
18 starters for the Golden Globe Race 2022
North American entries are rushing across the Atlantic Ocean, while others are expected to make landfall this week in France and the United Kingdom…
World Sailing to again vote on reform
Governance Reform at World Sailing has been under discussion since 2017, and was part of the 2018-2022 strategy presented at the May 2018 Mid-Year Meeting, with the objectives to establish a governance structure within World Sailing that was simple, clear, and transparent to all stakeholders.
It was among the major talking points at the 2019 World Sailing Annual Conference, following a proposal to reform the governance which had been published in May 2019. But when it was put to World Sailing’s Members for approval, it failed to reach the majority of 75% required, reaching only 64.4% in favor so it was not passed.
Revisiting the topic in 2021, 92% of Member National Authorities (MNAs) voted in favor of the Board continuing its work to modernize the governance structure, and now World Sailing has scheduled an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to once again discuss and vote on proposals for Governance Reform. The meeting, which will be virtual and open to representatives of all MNAs, is on July 18, 2022.
The proposed changes to World Sailing’s governance aim to equip the governing body for the sport of sailing globally with accountable, efficient decision-making processes in order to better support sailors, volunteers and MNAs
The proposals require a simple majority of 50%+1 to pass. The purpose is to express support for the concepts that have been developed in extensive debate, particularly over the past seven months. Should the concepts be approved, detailed drafting will be undertaken for amendments to the World Sailing Constitution. These will then be put to the Annual Conference in October 2022 for approval by the requisite 75% majority.
https://www.sailing.org/inside-world-sailing/organisation/governance/governance-reform/
America’s Cup: Upcoming reveal of AC40
When the AC37 Protocol was released, the authors noted how cost reduction was a key consideration. Among the efforts to achieve that goal was how teams were only permitted to build one new AC75, but a smaller yacht was to be developed by the defender for teams to use for testing, component development, and training.
“We didn’t hold back on the design,” explained Dan Bernasconi, Chief Designer of Emirates Team New Zealand. “We took the IP of Te Rehutai (the Cup winning boat from AC36) and translated it into the best 40-footer we could create.”
Mostly built at the McConaghy factory in China, the first foiling AC40 monohull is just weeks away from being shipped to defender’s base in Auckland for sea trials
“It’s a step on in terms of hull form from the Cup winning design of Te Rehutai,” said Richard Meacham, who has overseen the project. “(The AC40) adheres to all the fundamental rule changes implemented for the AC75s and we’re looking at performance estimates way in excess of our training boat, Te Kahu, or any of the other teams’ test mules that they ran in the lead up to AC36.”
While the AC40s are to be a testing platform for the teams, there are strict parameters and cost reduction measures with stipulation. This includes a maximum of four custom foil wings and four custom flaps, plus ten custom jibs and four mainsails are permitted to be built. Teams will also be allowed to build just one custom mast in addition to the two-piece supplied as standard.
Down below, the auto-pilot controls the ride height only and can be manipulated, holding the wing at a certain set point below the water. If the teams want to change the pitch angle or trim differently for conditions, then there needs to be manual intervention whilst all foil cant operations during the high-speed maneuvers are controlled by direct input from the crew.
“One of the guiding principles of both the AC40 and AC75 projects is that they must be sailed, trimmed and set by the crew,” noted Bernasconi. “Top speeds of the AC40’s will be well into the forty-knot mark plus they will be optimized to fly faster and sooner in light airs – the same as with the AC75s.”
With the first AC40 boat due to be sailing in the next few months and throughout the New Zealand summer, the subsequent AC40s will be rolling off the production line for the main teams in quick succession, the coming months.
Multihull Review: Kinetic 54
Luxury high-end cruising cats with high-performance DNA have occupied an established if somewhat rarified niche in the sailboat market ever since Peter Johnstone launched the first Gunboat in South Africa just over two decades ago. Kinetic Catamarans is an interesting new player in this field. An American company also building boats in South Africa, it launched its first model, a 62-footer, in 2019. The company’s latest offering, the slightly smaller Kinetic 54, designed to appeal to active sailing couples, is a highly attractive, thoughtfully designed craft that snagged a nod from SAIL as Best Large Multihull in our 2022 Best Boats compilation.
Design & Construction
As is de rigueur for boats of this type, the design and construction of the Kinetic 54 tips straight out of the world of go-fast racing. Its hulls are narrow and svelte, with sharply angled wave-piercing destroyer bows. The bridgedeck is set high to reduce resistance from passing seas and is cut back toward the middle of the boat, with only a light forward crossbeam and a central longeron carrying headstay loads. Construction is at the cutting edge of lightweight strength—all carbon everything, including interior furniture, cored with foam and vacuum-infused with epoxy resin. Even the toilets on this boat are built of carbon fiber.
That said, there are also some important variations on the theme. Where daggerboards are normally favored so as to maximize performance to windward, Kinetic offers centerboards, which are much less vulnerable in groundings (with daggerboards as an option if an owner prefers). Also, like many modern performance cats, the Kinetic 54 boasts a forward working cockpit just ahead of the cabinhouse, but has its carbon mast-mounted outside the cockpit aft, with the maststep set on the very forward end of the coachroof.
The heart of the boat systems-wise is a sophisticated 24-volt C-Zone distributed power system designed by Cay Electronics of Rhode Island. This automatically balances high loads and feeds juice to a bank of lithium batteries from a large coachroof solar array, a DC genset (which fires up on its own as needed) and high-output engine alternators. It includes online diagnostics that allow for detailed remote tech support.
On Deck
The Kinetic can be controlled from three different helm stations. The primary station is inside at the front of the bridgedeck saloon just behind the working cockpit. From here you can easily access the winches and running rigging by stepping through a nearby forward-facing door and also operate engine controls, navigation electronics and board controls. A large moon-roof directly above the wheel allows you to easily keep an eye on mainsail trim.
The other two wheels are aft, one at the back of each hull, with full sail controls and a B&G multifunction display at each station. The Jefa steering system linking the three different stations is segregated with clutches, so that only the wheel being used is actually connected to the rudders. When the autopilot is engaged, no wheels are connected. The break-default mode, which engages automatically when anything goes amiss, connects all wheels to the rudders. All sail controls, including the furlers, and the board controls are push-button powered systems, with load sensors to prevent over-tensioning and breakage.
Unlike many catamarans with aft decks dominated by long mainsheet travelers, the Kinetic’s traveler is mounted atop the back of the long coachroof, with a nicely curved track that carries sheet loads more efficiently. This saves lounging guests from accidentally tangling with the mainsail controls and creates a convenient space for an outdoor electric grill and fridge. It also allows for a unique fold-down transom that connects the back ends of the two hulls and transforms the rear of the boat into an immense swim platform spanning its entire breadth.
Accommodations
As we’ve come to expect with modern catamarans, the Kinetic is available with two basic layouts: a four-cabin/four-head plan with double berths in the back and front of each hull; or a three-cabin/three-head plan, where one hull is given over to a vast owner’s stateroom. The most important space, as on any cruising cat, is the bridgedeck saloon. On the Kinetic this truly does have wrap-around views of the outside world, thanks to the absence of the mast forward…
Another Bad Idea is a good idea
As youth sailing got organized with age-based boats and competitions, it increased participation but created a divide in which young sailors lost exposure to other forms of sailing. The knock-on effect has not all been positive as the transition to adult sailing has been stunted.
As a result, it is often said in Scuttlebutt that if you’d like to see youth sailors stay in the sport beyond their youth years, they need to be exposed to what that may look like during their youth years. And that’s what Mark Liebel did.
Vertically challenged and pushing 50, Mark knew that he wasn’t ideally suited to crew in the dynamic VX One, a sporty 19-foot keelboat that planes easily downwind and can require maximum hiking leverage upwind in heavy conditions. But a few years ago he bought one anyway, and named it Another Bad Idea.
The reality of the situation has proven to be completely the opposite. Liebel purchased the boat hoping his now 18-year-old daughter Kaitlyn, who also sails 420s and Nacra 15 catamarans, would continue to race with him.
“The reason I bought the boat was so she could drive,” says Liebel of Bradenton, FL. “Without a doubt, she’s a better driver. I like calling tactics.”
Like many talented young sailors, Kaitlyn learned the sport at his feet, crewing on a J/24, but then moved through the youth sailing progression and plans to sail for Jacksonville University this fall.
But she hasn’t outgrown the thrill of sailing with her original sailing mentor. And the VX One has proven to be the perfect vehicle for efficient family bonding.
“Dad bought the boat a few years ago, he wanted something where we could travel pretty easily, go to a lot of different regattas and not have to put together a lot of crew,” she says. “The boat’s a lot of fun to sail, it’s so versatile. Off the water there’s a really good fleet bond.”
The VX One is sailed with either two or three crew. Together, the Liebels would be a little light, so they typically sail with a third crew. This could create a challenging dynamic, but Kaitlyn Liebel is wise beyond her years in that regard…
Shustoke Solo Open
The Shustoke Reservoir website refers to it as ‘a haven of tranquillity for nature lovers, hikers and water enthusiasts, Shustoke Reservoirs are famous for their impressive wildflower displays’…
Allegra first to finish in the Aegean 600
At an average speed of 11.3 knots around race course, Adrian Keller’s 78-foot Nigel Irens-designed performance luxury catamaran ALLEGRA (SUI) crossed the finish line at 19:36:02 local time today in the second edition of the AEGEAN 600…
It is Cheating! Plain and Simple.
With Luiz Kahl’s untimely death, Chris Clark accepted the duty of filling in for Luiz as the 2022 Bayview Mackinac Race Chairman. In preparation for the start of the 98th edition on July 16, Clark’s updates keep competitors informed and on track, and he’s not shy about being the bad cop when needed.
In a recent communication, he addresses a very important topic… cheating:
I want to emphasize that I hate sending these types of messages, yet I find myself having to do it again. Yacht racing is a Corinthian sport, and that is a huge part of why I got into sailing. I am just bewildered by the belief that “it” is okay as long as we are not caught.
We are still finding boats that are contemplating NOT sailing in the configuration they are measured for or in violation of other class rules.
• If you are registered in the Cruising Class, the boat MUST comply with the class rules. If not, you will be moved to the appropriate section in a racing class.
• If you are registered in a One Design Fleet, you must comply with all ORC measured configuration requirements AND you MUST comply with your class rules. Your class rules are managed by your class.
• The crew weight you are sailing with must be within the range declared on your certificate.
• Don’t think complying with the above statements and then NOT complying with other rules is acceptable. It is not.
• This is not a complete list or meant to define all the requirements. These are just the blatant simple ones to catch.
• It is the boat owner or person in charge’s responsibility to make sure a boat and crew comply with all requirements.
If on random inspection, we find a boat with a certificate that disqualifies it from a class it is registered in, we will put the boat in the appropriate section/class. This is nonnegotiable, non-protestable. How do you avoid this?
1) Review your certificate. It is the gold standard for your boat’s configuration.
2) Review the rules.
3) Make sure you comply.
4) If you don’t comply, fix it!
“Corinthian” is not just a word, it is a way of life. For questions: Mackchair2022@byc.com.
Editor’s note: We applaud the leadership. Nice job Chris!
2022 ILCA Atlantic Coast Championship overall
Competitors came from up and down the Atlantic with many from the area Long Island Sound clubs, as well as major contingents from Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, & St. Petersburg, FL, Charleston, SC, Annapolis, MD, and more, including Bermudian & European entries…
SailGP: Ainslie goes back to the drawing board
Latest newsletter from SailGP, looking back at the winning moves from Chicago, what lies ahead for Portsmouth, why Ben Ainslie and the British SailGP team are going back to the drawing board – despite two podium place finishes in the Season 3…
total awesomeness
Seriously…
Classic yachts claim Cowes Dinard St Malo Race victory
This year’s Cowes Dinard St Malo Race results were highly unusual, as in a light airs race, three classic yachts claimed the top three results overall…
The fleet is flying in the Aegean 600
The fleet in the second edition of the Hellenic Ocean Racing Club’s (HORC) AEGEAN 600 is flying around the race course with the fleet leaders passing the halfway point of the race at the northeast end of Rhodos (Rhodes)…
James Wharram’s special Hui gathering
Attendees at James Wharram’s special Hui gathering to celebrate his life are requested to fill out a simple registration form…
Youth Worlds: Four NZ crews in top 10 – Day One
Four New Zealand boats are in the top 10 after a tricky opening day of the World Sailing Youth Championships being staged at The Hague and sailed in light 6-11 knot breezes, strong current and messy chop…
WASZP Pre-Games at Fraglia Vela Malcesine
The preparation is now complete for an event three years in the making, excitement is at fever pitch on the ground in Malcesine on Lake Garda as 170+ WASZPs prepare for battle at the International WASZP Games…
2022 Star Europeans – Title for Tonci Stipanovic and Tudor Bilic
After a slow start (14, 11) Tonci Stipanovic and Tudor Bilic upped their pace to take three race wins in the next four races to claim the 2022 Star European Championship…
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