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A magic day on the water for the record fleet of 178 taking part in the final day of racing at Airlie Beach Race Week (ABRW) in the Whitsundays, the sun and wind turned on their charms one more time, as whales and dolphins cavorted in the background…
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With the finish of the SITraN Challenge from Gijon to Le Sables D’Olonne, the GGR Fleet is assembled for the first time on the Golden Globe Race dock, gearing up for the village opening in three days…
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IMOCA Medallia, skippered by Pip Hare, took Line Honours in the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race in an elapsed time of 10 days 13 hours 23 minutes and 22 seconds…
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AIM Marine Group’s newest magazine will hit newsstands and your mailbox this fall! Multihull Power & Sail will feature articles on ways to enjoy the multihull lifestyle, the latest models from the world’s multihull builders, the best cruising grounds for multihulls, outfitting your boat for cruising, top charter cats, an A-Z of multihull builders and importers and more. Sign up here!
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The INEOS media crew caught up with Giles Scott, Senior Sailor, on how the team has been busy preparing to begin their Winter Training Camp in Palma later this year, sailing their AC40 Test Boat…
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A deep dive into the physics of foiling.
Also, to learn about the physics of boats, click here.
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For sailors of a certain age, the entire concept of a mulithull is cutting edge. However, even a cursory glance at a harbor full of cats and tris will show that the “cutting edge” of today looks very different from the cutting edge of, say, the ‘90s, or even the early 2000s—to the point where today’s cats and tris are as different from their predecessors as their predecessors were from the monohulls that came before them.
Where better to start than at the very front of the boat? Two decades ago, in the run-up to The Race, a no-holds-barred, nonstop fully-crewed race around the world, British Vendée Globe hero Pete Goss launched a then radical twin-masted catamaran with “wave piercing” bows. The 120ft Team Phillips, as it was called, ended up falling to pieces during a storm in the mid-Atlantic. However, the boat’s bow concept lived on and can now be found aboard everything from grand prix foiling cats and tris, like those competing in the SailGP, TF35 and GC32 pro circuits, to the latest generations of cruisers. Among the latter, the amount of “piercing” can range from the dramatically fine bows found on the amas of the Neel trimaran line to the “tumblehome” bows found on more conventional cruising cats. Wave-piercing bows are also de rigueur aboard today’s higher-performance cruisers and smaller racing and cruising trimarans with folding amas, like those built by Corsair or in Denmark’s Dragonfly line.
In every case, the goal is to reduce hobby-horsing in chop or a seaway, both by removing weight out of the ends and allowing the bow to better slice its way through the waves (as opposed to lifting over them). Fortunately, since the anchor is deployed amidships aboard a cruising cat, you don’t have to worry about banging the stem when deploying or retrieving the hook. (Neel trimarans employ a combination anchor roller/sprint to help keep you out of trouble: same thing with the new Dragonfly 40.) For what it’s worth wave-piercing, or “tumblehome” bows are also damn sexy looking.
With their split backstays and aggressively swept spreaders obviating the need for a single, fixed centerline backstay, multihulls are a natural fit for square-headed mains. The result has been their appearance aboard everything from America’s Cup racers and bleeding-edge A-class cats to performance-cruisers like those built by Balance, Gunboat and HH Catamarans and out-and-out cruisers. Complementing this trend has been the now essentially ubiquitous use of full-length battens—a feature that was already widely used before the advent of square-top mains to support the larger roaches found aboard multihull mainsails…
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The Herreshoff Marine Museum / America’s Cup Hall of Fame is happy to announce that the 2022 America’s Cup Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Dinner will be in the iconic Model Room at the New York Yacht Club…
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A lot of the lake is now dry, but not all of it. What does it mean for Project Speed? Glenn gives an update from Lake Gairdner…
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American Joe Harris along with Roger Junet are competing in the Globe40, a multi-leg doublehanded round the world race in Class40s. The second leg started July 17, taking the five-boat fleet from Cape Verde Islands to Mauritius. Harris expects the 7000nm course will take 35 days to complete… here’s his update from GryphonSolo2 on August 15, 2022:
Today’s update revolves around two events – dodging a major gale and getting through the Agulhas Current.
First, the gale was forecast to be coming from the West and packing 40 knot winds and big seas. We had just sailed past the longitude of Cape Agulhas, the official marker of the Cape of Good Hope, while being about 30 miles south and knew that we had to get in close to the mainland to miss the worst of the NW wind.
It was a race against time and we were sailing in light winds, so we lost the battle when the first squall hit us with 35 knot gusts, sheeting rain and lightning! The lightning kinda freaked us out, and while we had been on the fence about whether to stop at Mossel Bay (which we had identified as a safe haven), both Roger and I felt we should seek refuge for about 12 hours and let the worst of the storm blow past.
So about 0430 Sunday morning (August 14) we dropped the sails and motored in to the harbor. We took a couple of laps to determine the best place to dock, and while preparing the fenders and dock lines in advance of the concrete pier to tie up, the engine suddenly quit…
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The racing rules allows for fair competition, but it is a challenge to understand every scenario. To help facilitate the process, the Racing Rules of Sailing Forum offers an opportunity for experts to voice opinion. In a post by Doug Ryan, he was asking what part of the starting mark was the official end of the starting line:
We have a round ball as a starting “pin”. Looking down the line from the pre-start side of the RC flag staff, a boat had its bow directly in line with the center of the “pin” ball.
Is she OCS because she was over the line to the pre-start side of the ball? Starting clear because half the ball was still visible when the start horn/flag was sounded/dropped? Does the RC need to sight to the middle of the ball which is the hardest position to actually determine?
Curious as I have not faced this situation before. We can find nothing in RRS on this and there are no appeals we can find as OCS is not something you can protest. Interested in your thoughts…
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Disciplinary and appeal decisions within World Sailing are determined by Independent Panels appointed by the Judicial Board. Decisions made by Member National Authorities (MNAs) are decided by the disciplinary systems of those MNAs.
The Judicial Board members are: Hon. Ruth Miller (Chair), Alberto Predieri (Vice-Chair), Prof. Bruce Collins QC, Mark Yeadon, Dr. Anne Jakob, Dr. David Sharpes QC SC, and Carol Roberts. Scuttlebutt periodically shares their current decisions. Here is an update as of August 15, 2022:
Suspended Sailors:
• None at present
Recent Decisions:
• Olivier Bovyn, Appeal of Race Official Committee Decision – Dismissed
• Didier Flamme, Appeal of Race Official Committee decision – Dismissed
• Murray Jones, Appeal of Regulation 32 Sanction – Sanction set aside
• Cosmin Andronic, Appeal of Race Official Committee Decision, Dismissed
Questions, reports, or comments on disciplinary matters should be sent by email or in writing to the Chief Executive Officer. For additional details, click here.
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The last stop on the 2022 West Marine US Open Sailing Series concluded on August 10-14 in San Francisco, CA. Featuring heavy-air racing, the regatta included two race circles with the iQFoil and Formula Kite fleets organized by the St. Francis Yacht Club and the ILCA and 470 events run by the San Francisco Yacht Club. – Full report
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The 12 teams competing in the 69F Youth Foiling Gold Cup that ended on Sunday in Torbole, on Garda Trentino, found truly fantastic conditions during the last two days of the finals…
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This year we will be celebrating 50 years of Weymouth Speed Week and we expect a large and varied turnout with places being taken quickly…
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This summer has been a great one for sailors everywhere, but in particular for the 87 sailors participating in the Tiwal Cup on France’s Gulf of Morbihan. In addition to some great sailing, the event saw a new record on the books–fastest ever assembly of the inflatable dinghy…
August 2022
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Last day of training for the Australian’s who completed their week of practice by racing against the Netherlands, and also Argentina. Video and stills…
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The Royal London Yacht Club in Cowes has already received 60 entries for their Uffa Fox 50 Celebration, a month before the 18th – 21st August event, with more arriving almost every day…
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Stuart Mcnay and Caleb Paine of the USA topped and tailed their championship series with race wins, finishing with five wins in their scoreline on 7 points…
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The struggle of the 505 Worlds is over, we had wind… Yesterday was a lay day and the plan was to catch up some races, but again there was no wind so the locals pulled out their boats and we cruised the harbour to Cobh and Cork…
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Former JapanSailGP skipper Nathan Outteridge, a current member of the Emirates Team NZ sailing squad, will take over the helm on the SwissSailGP team, which is on its debut season in SailGP…
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Day 5 of the 505 Worlds at Crosshaven, Ireland, and still only one race on the leader board, but that is all about to change as the fleet are starting their second race of the championship!
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After two days without enough wind and a lay day, day 5 delivered with three races completed to reach the magic four completed races to consitute a valid World Championship…
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Niklas Edler of Sweden jumped into secon place, closing the gap on Charlie Cumbley and setting-up a final day match-race finish at the OK Dinghy Worlds in Marstrand, Sweden…
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It’s shaping up to be an event to remember, the 2022 Star World Championship not only will be celebrating the 100th Anniversary Championship but will register a record number of participants after the Olympic years…
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Dufour, long one of France’s most well-respected builders, has been producing sailboats in La Rochelle since the dawn of fiberglass boatbuilding. Having recently merged with another La Rochelle-based builder, Fountaine Pajot, Dufour has now joined other European mass-production yards in producing a large-scale luxury cruising yacht. Its new Dufour 61, winner of SAIL’s 2022 Best Boat Award in the Flagship Monohull category, combines a competitive price point with high-end comfort and some seat-of-the pants performance.
Dufour has been working with Italian designer Umberto Felci since the turn of this century when it bifurcated its models into a Grand Large cruising range and a Performance racing range. Stepping now into the big-boat luxury cruising market, Dufour has again teamed with Felci to create a boat that hews to the contemporary design idiom: lots of beam carried aft with a hard chine to increase initial stability, a low-profile cabinhouse, an open flush foredeck and an efficient T-bulb keel.
The boat’s construction is fairly straightforward. The fiberglass hull laminate is solid below the waterline, with the topsides cored in end-grain balsa. An internal aluminum grid supports the keel, which boasts lead ballast. The infused deck is also cored with balsa. Finish quality is better than average for a mass-production vessel.
The Dufour 61’s cockpit layout is modern in every respect. There are twin wheels aft turning one deep rudder, and I was pleased to see engine controls and a full set of instruments at both helm stations. All lines are led aft under the deck to two pairs of Lewmar 65 winches positioned just in front of each station. The double-ended German mainsheet is controlled via a narrow bridle positioned atop a tall carbon-fiber arch at the forward end of the cockpit…
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Over the years Wednesday of the Firefly Nationals has become known as “Big Wednesday”. It is traditionally the day of The Sir Ralph Gore and Marlow Challenge Cups, an epic 13 Nautical mile pain-fest around massive triangles…
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by George Day, Blue Water Sailing
I am planning to sail south to the Caribbean from Newport, RI on a friend’s 47-foot sloop this fall so I got out my offshore gear over the weekend to see if I had what I will need. It’s been three years since my last ocean passage and batteries can expire and things can go missing in that interval.
My three-year-old Gill foul weather gear looks good as new. My sea boots are old and look their age, but I think I can get one more passage out of them. The Musto PFD – harness and tether look fine but I think I’ll replace the cartridge and bring a spare. Wool watch cap and ski gloves for the first few days from Newport when it can be cold, check.
The boat is very well equipped and has many thousands of miles on her and her skipper is seasoned and vigilant. Still, I think I’ll bring my hand-held GPS and download the Navionics charts and a current Gulf Stream chart to my tablet. Redundancy offshore is important. And then there is the personal locator beacon.
I have an ACR PLB that functions on the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system. That means if I go over the side the international rescue network will know where I am right away but the skipper of the boat won’t. The newer AIS enabled PLBs, known as Personal AIS Beacons (PABs), broadcast a VHF signal that can be seen on any vessel’s AIS linked multifunction display within about four miles. It also has a strobe light.
So, if there is one gear item that needs an upgrade this year, I think it will be to add a PAB to my harness. Just in case.
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The distinctive lines of a Mark Mills design – in this case it is Michael Berghorn’s Mills 45 Custom HALBTROCKEN 4.5 that enjoyed success with a clean sweep of victories today for a 5.0 point total after four races in the ORCi Euro Ahamps. More here.
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The Congressional Cup has been regarded as the ‘grandfather of match racing’ since 1965. The event established Long Beach Yacht Club as an innovator in the game of match racing; pioneering on-the-water umpiring and setting a world-wide standard that endures today.
As a paragon on the global match racing circuit and Championship level stop on the World Match Racing Tour, the Congressional Cup is guaranteed the hottest sailing talent and action on the waters off Long Beach each year.
Dates in 2013 have been confirmed for the 58th Congressional Cup on April 18 to 22, preceded by the qualifying event – Ficker Cup – on April 13 to 15, 2023. Both are hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club in Long Beach, CA.
“I am both honored and a bit intimidated to be chairing this esteemed, world-class event,” admits 2023 Chair Bob Piercy. “The Congressional Cup is known as an elite competition and LBYC, the past chairpersons and volunteers have raised the bar even higher. However, after working on the Executive Board for the past four years, I am ready and eager to take on the challenge of the 58th Congressional Cup regatta!”
The format for Congressional Cup 2023 will continue as a 10-team, double round robin series, followed by semi- and petit finals, with a final stage to determine the victor of the trophy and prestigious Crimson Blazer.
In Congressional Cup 2022 Ian Williams (GBR) evened the score on decades-long rival Taylor Canfield (USA) when he triumphed in the finals after a lively five-day series in breezy conditions. Williams now matches Canfield with five Congressional Cup titles each – and hopefully both will return for the chance to get one up on the other.
The 2023 line-up will be announced later this year, with the final two entrants advancing from the Ficker Cup. “We will continue the process we instituted last year of combining the Congressional Cup and Ficker Cup selection committees, to choose the best contenders possible for both events and guarantee the highest level of competition,” explains Piercy.
Congressional Cup is challenged in a fleet of identical 37-foot Catalina sloops designed specifically for LBYC’s match racing series, with racing held directly off the city’s Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier which is planned to also host the Sailing at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
• Congressional Cup: www.thecongressionalcup.com
• World Match Racing Tour: www.wmrt.com
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Day 3 of the 505 Worlds at Crosshaven, Ireland. completed and still only one race on the leader board. Four races are required to be completed to constitute a championship series…
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There was a postponement onshore for the sailors and the committee spent the day sitting on the offshore race course. Ironically, the inshore course, planned for strong winds and big seas had fantastic sailing conditions…
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Yachting World has been asking top sailors and marine industry gurus to choose the coolest and most innovative yachts of our times, and when they turned the question to one of the world’s best sailors, Ken Read nominated Comanche. Here’s the report:
I was so fortunate to be working with an owner in Jim Clark who had a vision of all speed/no compromise. He was dared by a couple of Australian 100-footer owners to come join the party. The first lesson is never dare a billionaire to do anything! The result was Comanche.
VPLP and Guillaume Verdier’s design group teamed up with a great concept and created something that blew away our loftiest expectations. She had an amazing build team at Hodgdon Shipyard in Maine. On time. On weight. Impeccable.
Comanche was built to do one thing only: be first to finish and break records. And that she did. The records we broke that are still in play… the 24-hour monohull record of 618 miles, the transatlantic monohull, Transpac, Bermuda Race, and many more.
Since she was sold she continued to shine, breaking the Sydney Hobart and recently the Middle Sea Race records. Comanche was, and is, a water-bound rocketship, a pleasure to sail, turns heads wherever she goes, and so much fun to be a part of.
Comanche stats rating
Top speed: 41 knots
LOA: 30.5m/100ft
Launched: 2014
Berths: 20
Price: Undisclosed
Adrenalin factor: 95%
For Yachting World’s list of cool boats, click here.
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Charlie Cumbley has taken the lead on the second day of the 2022 OK Dinghy World Championship in Marstrand, Sweden…
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Mark Paterson was a fierce competitor in everything he did but there was one fight he ultimately couldn’t win. Paterson is being remembered after he died last week after a long battle with Huntington’s Disease. He was 73…
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Fifty-two International Fourteen from six nations attended the 2022 World Championships hosted by the FSC Club in Flensburg, Germany…
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The rumours were confirmed at the launch of Alinghi Red Bull Racing’s newly acquired AC75, that Dean Barker a veteran of seven America’s Cups, has shifted to the ARBR coach boat…
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It’s been a long time coming, but the skippers are finally sharing the same dock, drinks and stories of their preparations, while helping each other with final tasks. These solo sailors are definitely enjoying their social time in Spain!
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Day 2 racing for the 505 Worlds was abandoned for the day. See the official website announcement . . . Read it and weep!
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Barcelona, Spain (August 8, 2022) – Replete with new livery, America’s Cup challenger Alinghi Red Bull Racing team today launched the AC75 they bought from Emirates Team New Zealand, and was used by the defender as its first boat in preparation of their 36th America’s Cup victory in Auckland, New Zealand.
“Today symbolizes the adventure that begins in Barcelona,” commented Head Coach Nils Frei. “This first-generation boat will allow us to gain valuable training hours before we have our race boat. We are a new team sailing a boat that we are only just discovering, but to be able to train already this year is highly beneficial.”
The Protocol prevents competitors from sailing an AC75 from March 17, 2021 until September 17, 2022, but an exception to this is if a new competitor purchases an AC75 from the 36th America’s Cup, they can have a maximum of 20 sailing days between June 17, 2022 and September 17, 2022. The new Swiss team is the only challenger that qualifies for this exception.
“If there is one thing that all Cup campaigns have in common, it is that you can never make up for lost time,” said Frei. “And you never have enough of it! The preparations for this launch have given us the opportunity to learn to work together, and it is so important to be united towards a common goal in an America’s Cup campaign…”
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