Moored in the Bassin de l’Eure at the heart of Le Havre since last Thursday, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is patiently awaiting the green light alongside four more ULTIMs, which make up the fleet of giants in the Transat Jacques Vabre 2023…
European Star Championship day 1
Wednesday
Oct 25
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 25
2023
Posted by XS Editor
The Star European Championship kicked off today in the Bay of Cannes, organized by the Yacht Club de Cannes and the International Star Class. 45 teams from 15 nations were on the starting line of the first two races of the Championship…
From the Editor: You Go, Girl(s)
Wednesday
Oct 25
2023
Posted by deleteme
Oct 25
2023
Posted by deleteme
So, how’s she doing today?
This question hops to the top of my morning scroll through the usual feeds and takes me to the YB tracking app, where I check the blue path and yellow pin that shows Cole Brauer’s progress across the Atlantic. It’s late September as I write this, and a couple of days ago she left Newport for A Coruña, Spain, on her final qualifier to the start of the Global Solo Challenge. The only female entry, she is to start the race on October 28.
She’s sailing First Light, a Class40 on which this summer she and her doublehanded co-skipper, Cat Chimney, became the first women to win the Bermuda One-Two—first to finish on both legs, and not by a little. She hopes to win the Global Solo Challenge. No less significantly, she also hopes to become the first American woman to successfully race solo nonstop around the world (“Leading the Pack,” October 2023). I know I’ll be as glued to her tracker in November and December as I was to Kirsten Neuschäfer’s earlier this year, as she became the first woman to win a solo round-the-world race, sailing her stout and beautiful 36-foot Cape George cutter Minnehaha to win the Golden Globe (“Golden Globe Glory,” August/September 2023)…
gotta go
Wednesday
Oct 25
2023
Posted by deleteme
Oct 25
2023
Posted by deleteme
I’m burnt out and pretty much done with racing. It’s been coming for a while and I thought getting the 105 would be a bit of an elixer, and while I truly like the 105 and the OD racing is really fun, it’s simply time for me to get out.
I’ve made the boat as good as I can and it is plenty fast. New sails, new bottom, etc. This is a great boat for class racing, PHRF and ORR. And, I’ve priced it right. Check it out! –ed.
Legendary veteran vs. the 18 footer rookie
Wednesday
Oct 25
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 25
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Thirty nine season veteran, the legendary 18ft skiff skipper John ‘Woody’ Winning, and three-race rookie skipper, Jacob Marks are the two skippers leading their teams at the half-way mark of the 2023-24 Australian 18 Footers League’s Spring Championship…
Leopard Dodges the Bullitt
Wednesday
Oct 25
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 25
2023
Posted by XS Editor
If yesterday’s story of the 44th Rolex Middle Sea Race was the first multihull to finish, today’s is definitely monohull line honours. At 0152 CEST this morning, the fascinating race-long duel between Leopard 3 and Bullitt concluded.
Cup Spy Oct 22: Italians sail as Kiwis tow
Tuesday
Oct 24
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 24
2023
Posted by XS Editor
The Italian team LRPP rolled out their LEQ12 prototype at 11:40 and sailed out of Cagliari in a steady 12-16kt breeze. Emirates Team NZ had a towing session only in the early morning, presumably related to flight control systems…
The explosive increase in IMOCA performance
Tuesday
Oct 24
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 24
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Anyone who has followed the growth of the IMOCA Class in recent years will be well aware that the boats are now going faster than ever before and that the advent of foils has produced a spectacular jump in performance…
Mini Transat: Downwind to the finish
Tuesday
Oct 24
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 24
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Ninety solo skippers started the first stage of the 2023 Mini Transat, with Peter Gibbons-Neff (USA) sharing the experience of racing his 21-foot Mini Class boat from Les Sables d’Olonne in France to the Canary Islands. Following his Part One, Two, and Three reports, he details days 9-13 below:
As we sailed into the ninth day of this race, I crossed the halfway point of this 1,350 nm long leg of the Mini Transat. The A2 spinnaker was flying all night long and I was averaging over 7 kts on starboard tack. Unfortunately, I could not see any Minis on AIS throughout this night and into the early morning. While I was not trying to necessarily follow the groups route exactly, I could not tell if they had jibed over onto port yet or not. – Full report
Mother and daughter cross Atlantic Ocean
Tuesday
Oct 24
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 24
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Amanda Shehab, 56 and daughter Megan Allpress, 26 have arrived into Uruguay having crossed the Atlantic Ocean together and ticking off the first major ocean crossing of the competition…
Translated 9 win the first leg of Ocean Globe Race
Monday
Oct 23
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 23
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Translated 9 crossed the finish line of the first leg of the Ocean Globe Race at 4:00 a.m. yesterday in Cape Town, securing the 1st position overall ranking with a 2-day advantage over the second boat…
Don’t let them go to the chainsaw
Monday
Oct 23
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 23
2023
Posted by XS Editor
The Cal 20 is an iconic Southern California one design class, and was an early design by Bill Lapworth who will be inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2023. The boat was designed to please:
• the yachtsman who want a spacious, seaworthy, low maintenance boat
• the man who races
• the family that day sails
• the family that likes a weekend cruise
• the sunbather who will enjoy the wide flat surface
• the man who would rather sail than maintain a boat
• the discriminating yachtsman who demands more boat for less money
The Cal 20 Class organization remains eager to encourage participation, which includes Class President Richard Welsh giving away free boats:
We have two boats available for free and each has participated in several past class championship regattas so both boats have been measured and are with thickened, faired keels. They are both in rough condition but if one is willing to put some work in, they will make great boats.
Hull #386 with its original stock blue decks & hull stripe, sits at King Harbor Yacht Club (Redondo Beach, CA) and belongs to Tony Gudish. It has been out sailing in the last year but needs some rigging updates, paint, and for the keel to have rust areas ground out and patched up along with some fiberglass work. Tony no longer uses the boat but would like to see it go to a new home for free. If interested please contact Paul Zambriski at pzambriski@gmail.com.
Hull #254 is also in Redondo Beach although it sits across the way at the AES power plant parking lot. This boat was owned in the 80s and 90s by Robin and Gail Hoeven out of Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club and they raced the boat quite extensively. Robin was going through a refit on the boat but after a while lost interest and then sold it to an individual in Redondo Beach. The keel and keel/hull fairing is in great shape and no rust appears. Robin used an air foil template to get the desired shape and if you had to have a professional do this it would be quite expensive. This boat is missing its mast but has most everything else. If interested, please contact Brian Lindquist at 310-920-2453.
Both these boats are diamonds in the rough and are fast according to several individuals who raced them in the past. Let’s not let them go to the chainsaw please!
stop eating the dock!
Monday
Oct 23
2023
Posted by deleteme
Oct 23
2023
Posted by deleteme
Global Solo Challenge: triple departure
Monday
Oct 23
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 23
2023
Posted by XS Editor
On Saturday, October 21, in A Coruña, amidst white clouds, layers of cumulus and cirrus, which adorned the sky like brushstrokes, the sun peeked out, providing a favorable omen for the departure of the three competitors…
Planet Sail Episode 27: Nowhere To Hide
Monday
Oct 23
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 23
2023
Posted by XS Editor
SailGP’s fourth season is the busiest so far with 13 events around the world. And while the dominant Australians continue to lead the overall standings, recent results suggest that their reign is coming under increasing pressure…
Profile: Yacht Designer Gino Morrelli
Monday
Oct 23
2023
Posted by deleteme
Oct 23
2023
Posted by deleteme
“This just came in the mail,” says Gino Morrelli excitedly as he runs into the kitchen of his California home. In his hand is a booklet that may or may not grant him the International Proficiency Certificate (IPC) that is required to charter a bareboat in Croatia. “Now we can go on vacation in September!”
Morrelli, one half of the design power team Morrelli & Melvin, is one of the minds responsible for boats like the Rapido trimarans (read the Rapido 40 review here), multiple Leopards including the 47 PC and award-winning 38 and 44, HH catamarans, Invincible powerboats, the NACRA 17, and even the Windcat workboats that service offshore wind farms. If that weren’t enough, he also had a hand in designing for elite racers like America’s Cup campaigns and the maxi cat PlayStation during his career of four decades.
And still, he’s been sweating getting approval to run a European power cat for a week. Bureaucracy can be batty.
From Humble Beginnings
Gino Morrelli may be a top multihull designer today, but it wasn’t always bleeding edge technology and yacht design accolades. When he was young, his family moved from Texas to Southern California. They bought plans for and built a 33-foot Lock Crowther-designed plywood and epoxy trimaran, which was the boat that began Morrelli’s racing career. Self-taught in multihull design, he couldn’t have guessed the legacy he was starting.
Over the next 10 years, Morrelli launched and closed his first company building 18 square meter cats, and hung out in Hawaii after sailing there on a friend’s home-built 45-foot boat, just because there wasn’t much to do back home. The Hawaiian contacts he made during those years would stay with him for life…
Clipper Race: Five Scottish cross Atlantic Ocean
Monday
Oct 23
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 23
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Five Race Crew from Scotland have just crossed Atlantic Ocean – the first major ocean crossing of the Clipper 2023-24 Race…
Whitbread Round the World Race 93-94 Official Film
Sunday
Oct 22
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 22
2023
Posted by XS Editor
By the 1993-94 edition, the Whitbread Round the World Race had already transformed from an adventure imbued with Corinthian spirit to a professional sport where food, bedding and clothing were being optimised for performance not comfort…
Classic Rolex Middle Sea Race unfolding
Sunday
Oct 22
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 22
2023
Posted by XS Editor
The 44th Rolex Middle Sea Race is now over 24 hours old, and the picture is starting to develop. The fleet has spread out over the course, with the front-running multihull well on the way to Favignana and the slowest monohull still parallel with Etna…
Cup Spy Oct 21: Kiwis and Swiss strike rare wind
Sunday
Oct 22
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 22
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Two of the six America’s Cup Challengers Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand, sailed on Saturday, experiencing a breeze from a direction that is unusual in Barcelona…
Tragedy in offshore race
Sunday
Oct 22
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 22
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Tragedy struck during the 2023 Coastal Classic, a 119nm race in New Zealand which started on October 20. The incident occurred at around 11:30pm when a crew member on board a competing yacht was hit by the boom, rendering them unconscious and necessitating immediate medical attention.
Coast Guard volunteers had been conducting a night-time training exercise in the area and were able to arrive to the yacht at shortly after 1:00 am, yet with a medical kit and defibrillator, the individual passed away.
Two other sailors sustained moderate injuries, according to the agency. The Coast Guard vessel accompanied the yacht back to Opua, arriving shortly before 4:00 am.
“Our thoughts and love are with the crew, and the family and friends of this person,” said Commodore Adrian Percival of the host New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club. “Words cannot express our sorrow.”
Source: 1news
Is anyone going to make paper charts?
Saturday
Oct 21
2023
Posted by deleteme
Oct 21
2023
Posted by deleteme
So NOAA is discontinuing paper charts. I don’t know why. As easy as it is to get the data now it seems like they would not shut down the data collection and that could easily be turned into paper charts, or at least pdfs for paper charts that you can print yourself. I know I want to have paper charts when I start sailing.Chasing Latitudes, who I am becoming tired of, said all paper charts will stop being printed. Is this true? If so, what a loss. Why do people not want a paper backup? What…
PIC Coastal Classic: Melges 40 Clockwork wins
Saturday
Oct 21
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 21
2023
Posted by XS Editor
In the 41 years of PIC Coastal Classic history there are always many winners – but four winners stand out above them all: overall line and handicap winners in each of the monohull and keelboat fleets…
Not ready for steady flight
Saturday
Oct 21
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 21
2023
Posted by XS Editor
The 60-foot IMOCA has evolved into a high-flying offshore boat as sidefoils reduce displacement and increase speed. But foiling boats perform best with a balance of lift surfaces to provide steady flight, and that was the debate for the IMOCA Class:
It was at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Class where members voted on a revision of the one-design mast which aims to increase safety coefficients, possible new rules on engine size, limits to the number of sails carried during races and other technical measures and improvements.
But the biggest discussion point was on the issue of T-foils on rudders which would convert IMOCAs from skimming boats with foils to even faster fully flying ones.
Those in favor of the change say it would be within the spirit of innovation that is a cornerstone of the IMOCA Class’s philosophy, that the change can be made simply and that it would greatly improve the level of comfort for skippers as they fly above the waves…
Cup Spy Oct 19: Rough-up in Barcelona
Friday
Oct 20
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 20
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Alinghi Red Bull Racing was out for a session of three hours. The breeze forecast to increase later in the day, arrived early forcing the Swiss to stop training after one impressive sailing display. Luna Rossa sailed off Cagliari also in fresh winds.
Astounded by new foiling superyacht
Friday
Oct 20
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 20
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Giant T-foils provide most of the stability for Baltic 111 Raven, a cruising yacht that’s likely to break speed records with its hydrofoils born of America’s Cup technology. Report by Toby Hodges for Yachting World:
Wow…! This foil-assisted, ultra-lightweight superyacht breaks new ground in many respects and Baltic says it is “one of the most extreme yachts” the yard has built in its 50-year history. Raven is designed to sail partly on her leeward chine, with giant T-foils providing the bulk of stability, plus some vertical lift, while a 9.3-tonne bulb at the end of a precision engineered 5m-deep fixed fin keel provides additional righting moment.
There have, of course, been many standout superyachts over the past few years, yet it’s still extraordinarily rare to come across a yacht like Raven. This 34m foiling beast blends virtually unprecedented performance potential with light displacement and a level of luxury that’s rarely encountered on such fast yachts. – Full report
holy s@#t!
Thursday
Oct 19
2023
Posted by deleteme
Oct 19
2023
Posted by deleteme
Building fire set by squatters
Thursday
Oct 19
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 19
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Since 1997, Scuttlebutt has been providing sailing news but there are plenty of Scuttlebutts – breweries, bars, coffee shops, and book stores. And for anyone driving through Louisiana on Interstate 10, there was also the Scuttlebutt Gentlemen’s Club in Slidell.
The building has been quiet since it closed a year ago, but has been back in the news when emergency services were required to extinguish a building fire set by squatters.
Known for its iconic pink establishment, and ‘follow me to the butt’ bumper stickers, the latest chapter occurred when a woman attempted to burn another’s clothing after they got into an argument…
why not?
Thursday
Oct 19
2023
Posted by deleteme
Oct 19
2023
Posted by deleteme
Anarchist Chris sent us this rendering of something called a SailScow 37. A supposed “cruiser”, in this render it looks anything but a cruiser, and ffs, could they at least make the “people” look like they are at least sitting comfortably?
Besides that, it actually looks pretty bitchin’, and depending on where the price point is, we could see some success for this plywood-built scow.
Maxis set for the Rolex Middle Sea Race
Thursday
Oct 19
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 19
2023
Posted by XS Editor
The International Maxi Association’s 2023-24 Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge starts this Saturday with a huge, top quality maxi yacht line-up as part of the Royal Malta Yacht Club’s Rolex Middle Sea Race…
Hurricane intensitiy increasing
Thursday
Oct 19
2023
Posted by deleteme
Oct 19
2023
Posted by deleteme
A recently published journal article reports that hurricanes in the Atlantic basin have increased their tendency to get worse (intensify) by more than 25% in recent decades. What this means is that more storms are being boosted into higher intensity depressions.Here’s the paper:
Observed increases in North Atlantic tropical cyclone peak intensification rates
2023 Rolex Middle Sea Race – The essential details
Tuesday
Oct 17
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 17
2023
Posted by XS Editor
With the 44th Rolex Middle Sea Race starting on Saturday 21 October, it is little surprise that the Royal Malta Yacht Club is currently a hive of activity…
Up and down, inside-out SailGP
Monday
Oct 16
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 16
2023
Posted by XS Editor
A criticism that is often levelled at Formula 1 motor racing is that it’s too predictable. One team, or more often, one driver, dominates the racing. At first glance, SailGP could be regarded in the same way….
Went out doing what he loved
Monday
Oct 16
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 16
2023
Posted by XS Editor
It remains a mystery of what happened to three Americans who in April disappeared while en route from Mexico to San Diego, CA. Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien, and William Gross, aboard the La Fitte 44 Ocean Bound, had left Mazatlán with plans to stop in Cabo San Lucas but they never arrived.
Six months later, without any answers, Gross’ daughter Melissa offers closure with this tribute. Her dad was a major volunteer for Challenged Sailors San Diego (CSSD) who assisted in keeping the fleet floating, and it was here where she did a memorial during a CSSD sailing day:
First and foremost, thank you for being here and taking the time to honor my dad, Bill. Challenged Sailors has been an integral part of my dad’s life for the last several years.
As many of you know, dad had a passion for sailing and a deep love of the ocean. At Challenged Sailors, he had a chance to share that passion and love with people who might not necessarily have had the opportunity to feel the wind on and salt spray on their face.
He was committed to the mission of this fantastic organization. Maybe sometimes a bit too passionate. I don’t think that man could work on a project without dropping a flurry of f-bombs.
Most of you know the Bill of now – a retired machinist who could fix just about anything. I wanted to share with you about his life on the water. Dad lived on Laneki Beach for several years in his youth. He spent his days on the beach, in the water, and climbing the hills behind his house. Here he fell in love with the Polynesian culture and the water.
William Gross
My grandparents and dad returned to St. Louis, MO in the early-mid 60s where dad finished school. He then moved to San Diego in 1970. Here he rekindled his relationship with the sea, taking a job as a commercial diver and sailing on the weekends.
For 11 years, he was on or in the water as much as he possibly could be. Sailing the bay, Southern California, and Northern Baja coasts. He was a spear fisherman who would joke that he was definitely part of the problem that led to the ban on abalone fishing.
After two kids, my mom and dad decided to move back to St. Louis to raise the kids around family. He spent 13 years away from the ocean, but we were never far from water. We boated on lakes and rivers every summer. Dad went cave diving and spelunking. He is even attributed to the discovery of a massive cave in Jefferson County, MO. He and one other were the first humans to ever step on that ground.
My family returned to San Diego in 1994 and one of the first things we did was go sailing. Us three kids were hooked. In the early 2000s dad, me, and my siblings joined Harbor Island Sailing Club. Together we would sail whenever we had the chance. Dad instilled that passion for sailing and love of the ocean into his kids.
I got it the worst and can recall hour of conversations with my dad talking of sailing the world. We would pull out maps to look at all the places we wanted to go. The places we wanted to dive. It was always the South Pacific and always we were going to go by sailboat. I grew up hearing about the South Pacific and the Polynesian culture, yet another fascination my dad instilled in me.
When my life turned sideways in 2016, and I learned the hard way that tomorrow isn’t promised, my dad was an important key to convincing my husband to get rid of everything we owned, buy a sailboat, and sail the world. All three of us moved to Plan B on November 1, 2019. But like all the best sailing plans they went astray. It kept turning into “next year” and here we are, almost four years later.
But Dad took every opportunity to sail, so when the call came to crew on a sailboat from Mexico back to San Diego, he took it. No one could have stopped him. There are plenty of ‘what ifs’ and of course the ultimate question of what happened. We will probably never have the answer to that question. However, me and my family take solace in the fact that dad went out doing what he loved and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
SEA-FEVER
by John Masefield
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
Sunfish US Masters Championship
Monday
Oct 16
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 16
2023
Posted by XS Editor
The 2023 Sunfish US Masters Championship was held in breezy conditions on October 14-15 on Long Island Sound at Niantic, CT. Fifty-one competitors, age 40-83 completed eight races with Paul-Jon Patin (Master division for ages 50-59) claiming the overall win with five bullets, including all four races on the last day.
Runner-up was Amanda Callahan (Apprentice Master for ages 40-49), posting scores of 3-17-4-4 on day two when gusts reached the high 20s on several occasions. Callahan is the female US representative to the 2023 Pan Am Games in Chile (the first time there will be a dedicated women’s fleet the Pan Ams). Doug Kaukeinen, also a Master, finished third, tying with Amanda, but losing on countback.
Details: https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=16242
Final results (Top 10 of 51; 8 races, 1 discard)
1. Paul-Jon Patin – 3 – 3 – 1 – [9] – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 ; 11
2. Amanda Callahan – 1 – 2 – 2 – 7 – 3 – [17] – 4 – 4 ; 23
3. Doug Kaukeinen – 2 – [8] – 8 – 3 – 2 – 4 – 2 – 2 ; 23
4. Dominic Simonetti – 4 – 5 – 3 – 5 – 11 – [19] – 6 – 6 ; 40
5. Hank Saurage – [14] – 1 – 6 – 10 – 6 – 2 – 13 – 3 ; 41
6. Hal Gilreath – 7 – 7 – 4 – 2 – 7 – 6 – 8 – [9] ; 41
7. Rob Hallawell – 19 – 4 – [27] – 6 – 5 – 3 – 3 – 5 ; 45
8. John Eckart – 5 – [38] – 18 – 1 – 4 – 13 – 18 – 7 ; 66
9. Lee Montes – 13 – 14 – 5 – 11 – [21] – 9 – 9 – 8 ; 69
10. Cesar Brea – 9 – 9 – 10 – 13 – 14 – 12 – [15] – 15 ; 82
Family Dynamic
Monday
Oct 16
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 16
2023
Posted by XS Editor
While racing a Lightning, the author Prudence Brown Lev wonders if a father-daughter relationship can be strengthened at sea:
Haul hard! Cleat that halyard and watch the luff.”
Dad’s nautical commands were the soundtrack of my adolescence. But at 21, I wasn’t a kid anymore, and my mandatory crewing days on the Lightning were over. I had returned to the family cottage on Wellesley Island in upstate New York for Labor Day weekend and much-needed R&R from a demanding newspaper job in Manhattan. Dad had other plans for me, and on race day, I found myself back on board.
“Pay attention,” he ordered.
“I am.” But I wasn’t. I was waving to friends on shore when the Committee boat’s hand-held horn announced the midday start of the final race for Thousand Island Park’s Regatta Cup. – Full report
Ultrasound hull protection
Monday
Oct 16
2023
Posted by deleteme
Oct 16
2023
Posted by deleteme
Does anyone have pro or con about the untrasound hull protection versus bottom paint or reliable hull protection?
More Gostosa wins J/80 North Americans
Monday
Oct 16
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 16
2023
Posted by XS Editor
The 2023 J/80 North American Championship took place on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, one of the most picturesque lakes in New England and the White Mountains…
Final Clipper Race Teams arrive in Punta Del Este
Sunday
Oct 15
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 15
2023
Posted by XS Editor
After a tricky run into Punta del Este, with the second half of the fleet getting stuck in a troublesome wind hole just off the coast of Uruguay, the final teams have now docked in the marina and are enjoying some well-deserved celebrations and rest…
USA wins Spain Sail Grand Prix
Sunday
Oct 15
2023
Posted by XS Editor
Oct 15
2023
Posted by XS Editor
After Jimmy Spithill’s USA Team narrowly advanced out of the qualifying stage at Spain Sail Grand Prix, they clobbered Denmark and Australia in the winner-take-all final to claim the fifth event of the season on October 14-15 in Cádiz, Spain.
With the USA team including new flight controller Taylor Canfield on day one, Canfield had to watch on day two as lighter winds reduced the crew to four, but it is in the non-foiling conditions that Spithill has proven dangerous, and it was that scenario in which they claimed the third slot in the finals.
Denmark and reigning champion Australia had dominated the qualifiers, and they got off the line in that order with USA trailing with a pre-start penalty. “Nothing pretty about that start – it was 100 percent my fault,” said Spithill. “I didn’t see the boundary.”
But opportunity came after the teams rounded the first mark in that order…
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