Britain’s Dylan Fletcher is the 2022 International Moth World Champion. Fletcher finished the 13 race series with 17 pts after three final races on the final day of racing at the Yacht Club Argentina. Second was Massimo Contessi of Argentina with 27 pts and third Simone Salva of Italy with 36 pts. Francesco Bruni of…
NSW 18ft Skiff Championship Race 2
The Andoo team of John Winning Jr., Seve Jarvin and Sam Newton extended its lead in the NSW 18ft Skiff Championship with another top class exhibition in the North East wind conditions which prevailed for Race 2 of the series on Sydney Harbour today…
Killer rogue wave ahead of Globe40 fleet
Five doublehanded Class40 teams are on the fifth leg of the Globe40 race which extends from Tahiti toward the Argentinean stopover of Ushuaia via the legendary yet feared Cape Horn. Located on southern Chile’s Hornos Island, at the southern tip of South America, Cape Horn’s reputation is in the news again.
Amid the trepidation that this mark of the course already offers the ten competitors, they now must absorb the news of how a rogue wave killed one person and injured four others on the 665-foot Viking Polaris along this same route.
The massive wave smashed into the Antarctic cruise ship during a storm, while sailing off the southernmost tip of South America, with a 62-year-old woman from the US hit by broken glass when a wave broke cabin windows while four other tourists sustained “non-life-threatening injuries” and were treated onboard.
The incident occurred November 29th while the expedition ship was sailing towards Ushuaia, which is the main starting point for expeditions to Antarctica. The ship suffered minor damage and was anchored off Ushuaia a day later with several windows smashed on the side.
A rogue wave is greater than twice the size of surrounding waves, according to the National Ocean Service, and come from directions other than prevailing winds and waves. Reports of rogue waves, which are considered rare, have described them as “walls of water.”
Launched in 2022 and is the newest ship in the company’s fleet, Viking Polaris was built specifically to explore the world’s most remote destinations and endure harsh conditions. Our thoughts go out to the Class40 sailors as they approach these same water on December 18-19.
Meet the Clipper 2023-24 Race crew: Anton & Pavel
Two Luxembourgers who have sailed together for years are preparing to take on a sailing challenge like nothing they have experienced before: crossing the North Atlantic Ocean…
Cup Spy Dec 2: Luna Rossa swims .. Am Magic flies
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, the Italian America’s Cup challenger capsized in 21-22kts winds after being caught in a rapidly building breeze and sea state. In Pensacola American Magic put another 75nm in their logbook foiling for 2hrs 43min…
Nearly 200 expected for next Transat Jacques Vabre
The Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre will celebrate its 30th anniversary in Le Havre before the two-handed Tranatlantic race heads to Martinique, where the finish of the race known as the Route du Café will be hosted for the second time in a row…
Did The Ocean Race just get smaller?
When the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 was one month from finishing, it was announced how the next edition of the race would start in 2021, under new ownership, without Volvo as a sponsor. It was a lot to take in, but the leadership was solid and the race remained iconic.
That all seems so long ago.
In July 2020, the pandemic postponed the start from the autumn of 2021 to October 2022. No title sponsor stepped forward, with the race awkwardly rebranded as The Ocean Race. The plan was to bring back the VO65s for a third time, but also heighten excitement with an IMOCA division.
The start got delayed again to January 2023, but also lacking was verifiable entries. The TEAMS link on the website had been more of a wish list, though the IMOCA fleet does now list five confirmed teams. As for the VO65s, some of the boats have been active since 2018, but no firm commitment to The Ocean Race.
That situation just took a weird turn with the introduction of the new The Ocean Race Sprint Cup. While the press release was full of promise, it now appears the VO65s may not be going around the world…
2022 Moth Class Worlds – Massimo Contessi is day 2 leader
Massimo Contessi of Argentina leads the 2022 Moth Class World Championship after two races completed at the Yacht Club Argentino…
Sunk despite meticulous preparation
Of the boats competing in the 2022-23 Golden Globe Race, Tapio Lehtinen was stunned that it was his Gaia 36 Asteria which sank. Yet that’s what happened 460 nautical miles SE from Port Elizabeth, in South Africa.
Lehtinen was successfully rescued, but remains at a loss for what failed on Asteria which was profiled in this report by Yachting World:
Sparkman and Stephens aficionado Tapio Lehtinen believes his Gaia 36 Asteria is the perfect vessel for the rigors of the Golden Globe Race, despite being the oldest yacht in the fleet having been built in 1965. Lehtinen completed the 2018 edition, the first ‘re-running’ of the famous solo non-stop race, in 5th place in the same boat, after being hampered by ineffective anti-fouling that resulted in massive underwater growth.
However, a bigger refit than anticipated meant Lehtinen was not able to fully realize his vision for the boat last time. He bought her in 2017 in Italy, but it was only after sailing home to Finland that significant delamination was discovered in the deck. Eventually the entire deck and coach roof was sliced off and used as a male mould for its replacement.
At the same time, the hull was stripped right back to a shell, with all furniture and bulkheads removed. Even the gelcoat and top 1mm of the hull laminate was ground away and then relaminated with Kevlar to improve impact resistance against collision with floating objects…
Cup Spy Nov 30: Fun but Frightening
The Italian challenger say they had a “productive practice day” on Wednesday, sailing in their strongest wind yet in their LEQ12 prototype. We look at the British team’s battle over their Instrumentation Pole.
Introducing the new The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup
Along with five confirmed IMOCA teams racing around the world, up to five VO65 teams will be on the starting line in Alicante, Spain in January, with an option to compete for a new trophy within The Ocean Race called The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup…
best shot
This is the winner from the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image Award 2022. It is from theTP52 regatta in Cascais, Portugal © Nico Martinez/52SS.
Cruising: Old Sailors Never Die
“Old sailors never die, they just get a little dinghy.” It may be a hoary old joke, but one of my problems at age 79 is I can no longer get easily in and out of a little dinghy, and neither can my (several years younger than me) wife. For this, and various other reasons I will list in excruciating detail below, a few years ago we finally sold Dolphin Spirit, our lovely, cutter rigged, Mason 53.
I had owned her since 1992, and she had taken my wife, son and me around the world safely, comfortably and serenely, in the face of my many mistakes and general ineptitude. How many of us have friends, family or even spouses who can suffer such indignities and still stay silent and forgiving?
To be clear, I am a cruising sailor, not a racing sailor. I do not tack more than once a day, and then only after hours of contemplation. Having said that, many years ago, I loaded Dolphin Spirit up with 15 people (just two of whom had actually sailed before) and more snacks and drinks than should be legal, and we finished third in our division in the Newport-to-Ensenada race. The next year we bettered our previous time by more than six hours and did not place—as good a reason as any to never race again.
During our six-and-a-half-year circumnavigation, I did all the maintenance and fixed everything that broke. To do that, I carried an extensive inventory of spare parts, with tools and operating manuals for almost everything. However, all that would have been useless without some flexibility—mine!
I found early on that many absolutely essential maintenance tasks can be carried out only by a contortionist who has the ability to ignore pain. There has to be a special place in hell for those designers who know jobs like changing the raw water impeller, replacing the drive belts and changing fuel filters have to be regularly done, but still place these items at the extreme limits of human reach…
They come in threes
Ordinarily, you’d assume the worst when you see that line. It’s like ‘Oh no’, what’s next if you’re on the second, or ‘check this out’ if you’re looking back at all three in wonderment, if somewhat obscured by the tears in your eyes…
Boat Review: Fountaine-Pajot Aura 51
If you can sell more than 150 catamarans off-plan before the resin has even hit the fiberglass, you must be doing something right. Despite costing around $1.1 million once fitted out and on the water, Fountaine-Pajot’s new 51 has done just that.
The French yard has been at it since 1986 and has built up an enviable reputation for soundly designed bluewater catamarans. Buoyed by the recent purchase of Dufour, the business is booming. It hangs its hat on the rigor of its industrial processes and the consideration that goes into every detail of the design. Not for nothing is Fountaine-Pajot a multiple winner of SAIL’s Best Boats awards.
Design and Construction
A towering mast allied to her principle dimensions of 51 feet LOA and 26 feet 6 inches in the beam make the Aura 51 an imposing boat. Sleek, harmonious lines with some reverse sheer to the deck and the athletic aft sweep of the slim coach roof give her the unmistakable Fountaine-Pajot look. There’s the long-term design input of Berret-Racoupeau to thank for that.
Hulls are built in high-quality vinylester and fiberglass with foam and balsa cores for strength and rigidity. Smaller parts are injection molded (including the coachroof), and vacuum infusion is used everywhere else. This system is expensive but guarantees a more consistent finish with fewer air gaps while using fewer raw materials…
Dragon class celebrates 75 years of Edinburgh Cup
In 1949 The Edinburgh Cup was gifted to the BDA by the Duke of Edinburgh after the members of the Island SC presented the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip with a Dragon named Bluebottle on the occasion of their marriage in 1948…
Block Island Race Week hits 100 boats
100 boats have registered for the 30th Annual Block Island Race Week presented by Margaritaville next for Summer 2023 and sign-ups show no signs of slowing as new teams continue to join the ranks across divisions…
Recruiting Americans for America’s Cup
After their first America’s Cup challenge in 2021, the NYYC American Magic team made some changes in their pursuit of the trophy. Prominent in that change was bringing Scott Ferguson (Jamestown, RI) to lead the design team. Scuttlebutt editor Craig Leweck checks in with Ferguson for an update:
You became the Design Coordinator about five months after the 36th America’s Cup. How blank was the sheet of paper?
Terry Hutchinson contacted me early as the team principals weighed their options for the 37th America’s Cup. He commissioned some short-term work to begin improving our simulator. Other than that, the page was blank. Collectively we created the team from there intending to build an American high-performance design and technical team. Many team members and designers rejoined along with some new highly motivated talent.
What was the assessment of the NYYC American Magic race boat in the 36th America’s Cup?
Patriot has many good features but suffered from significant hull drag in light air takeoff as a primary issue. The foils were a good low-area solution for Auckland 2021, while systems and sailability is an ongoing challenge that will continue into the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona, 2024.
What can you share about the construction and launch of the new boat?
We have a similar schedule to the previous event in Auckland for the lead-up to the next edition. The new boat will arrive in Barcelona about 4-6 months before the October 2024 competition. The boat will be built in Rhode Island, and I’m sure something will be announced in the coming months.
Any plans for a testing boat (aka LEQ12 boat)?
We will be using AC40s to test some of our components and systems
The team aims to represent America with Americans and to strengthen the future of the sport in the country. How is that being done within the technical team?
We’re proud to represent America, and the design and technical team have many experienced Americans in leading roles. We also have our share of Internationals in key positions which is inevitable to be competitive in the America’s Cup.
We have actively sought design talent within our US borders and paired up many good young American engineers and designers with more experienced counterparts in their area so they can learn from their ideas and methods.
We aim to provide the best opportunities for US talent by encouraging active mentoring and a transparent environment specifically for the long-term technical future.
mostly insane
You can rent the full movie at Amazon Prime for $3.99
Golden Globe Race lifesaving regulations
Many people talk about the eye watering effort GGR entrants make to meet the tough safety and qualifying requirements of this gruelling mind game called the Golden Globe. When all the boxes are ticked, they finally receive a “green card”…
Inside the world’s biggest sailing yacht
One wonders if the pursuit by the uber-rich to have the biggest yacht is more about claiming it than having it, but there is one such yacht that somebody does need to have. While the images remain conceptual, this creation is serious eye candy. Here’s an update from Boat International:
Announced in 2010, the 141 metre sailing superyacht Dream Symphony was revealed with a number of groundbreaking promises. The four-masted schooner-rigged sailing yacht, currently in build at Dream Ship Victory’s yard in Bozburun, Turkey, would become the largest sailing yacht in the world when launched.
Constructed entirely from wood, epoxy laminated iroko to be precise, it would also break numerous engineering feats. RINA was approached to certify construction, but there was a problem – it had never certified any wooden structure measuring over 30m in length…
Maybe Stan Honey can save the planet
Efforts by the global community to reduce emissions likes to point its spotlight on transport ships, which deflects attention with dreamy visions of billowing sails propelling goods across oceans. It feels so far-fetched, yet now the proposals include smooth hull bottoms and weather routing.
Sounds like offshore racing, right? Maybe esteemed navigator and inventor Stan Honey can save the planet. Amid unicorns and rainbows, the ship tracking service MarineTraffic offers this update on moving the needle:
As this year’s United Nations climate change conference, known as COP27, comes to a close, governments will be scrambling to finalize agreements on which individual nations and industries can base their renewed efforts to reduce global warming. That’s the theory anyway.
For its part, reports suggest that shipping was visible and ready to participate. IMO has been waving the virtual maritime flag in Egypt, where the conference took place, participating in more than 12 events, including presentations given by the secretary general, Mr Kitak Lim. Further, more than 40 pledges were made to support the transition to green shipping by countries and individual companies, including Amazon. These announcements have been gathered under the Green Shipping Challenge, organized by Norway and the United States.
Whilst the number of projects put forward is encouraging, critics argue that some lack substance and understanding of shipping’s involvement in the logistics chain.
COP27 aside, November has been a busy month for maritime as it rigorously pursues its emissions-reduction pathway. On 1 November, the new Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) came into force. These two new IMO regulations are some of the toughest emissions reduction requirements that shipping has had to implement to date. They take a two-prong approach – the EEXI measures the technical or design efficiency of a ship, whereas the CII measures the operational efficiency.
The industry is having to take a hard look at itself to meet the strict new criteria which comes into effect on 1 January next year. Older tonnage in particular is at risk of receiving scores towards the bottom of the rating system, potentially reducing the commercial viability of this section of the world fleet.
What then, should owners do to secure a higher score? – especially in relation to the CII, which will be an ongoing concern for owners whereas the EEXI is a one-off rating.
There are a few recommended technologies and tools that can increase existing ships’ efficiency levels and reduce their emissions, that do not impact the overall design, operations or fuel used by the vessel.
Amongst these are weather routing and just-in-time arrivals; high-end hull coatings, which reduce friction and minimize biofouling for maximum efficiency and minimal fuel; or, employing the use of wind-assisted technology to provide auxiliary power to the ship, again reducing fuel consumption. – Full report
America’s Cup: Watching water dry
There is irony in how the America’s Cup defender, eager to deliver high performance racing for the 37th Match, has us watching grass grow. Okay, it’s not watching grass grow, its watching water dry … pretty much the same thing.
Their pet project, which meant to fill a gap in the schedule, now dives into a meteorological education which needs to soon end. Here’s their latest update:
Lake Gairdner in South Australia is vast, a 160km long and 50 km wide salt lake where Emirates Team New Zealand is aiming to break the Wind powered Land Speed World Record in their land yacht called ‘Horonuku’.
The fly in the ointment in the attempt continues to be that the lake and the state of South Australia, and in fact a large amount of Australia has had excessive rain this year, resulting in an uphill battle against the elements for a prolonged stretch of dry salt to let Horonuku fly…
America’s Cup: Moon rovers of sailing
Chris Caswell dislikes the current iteration of America’s Cup racing, and he pounds that drum in his Sailing magazine column:
Disclosure: I love sports cars. I’ve loved them since I didn’t have a driver’s license and, since then, I’ve owned them, restored them, raced them and often sworn at them. It’s exactly like my relationship with boats.
Although I’m fascinated by cars of all ilk, I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in the lunar moon rover. Yes, it’s a vehicle and it has four wheels, but it holds no thrall at all. I’ll probably never see one, let alone drive it or dream about it.
It’s the same way I feel about the America’s Cup these days. The waterbug-like craft that skitter around on foils with no spinnakers, no tacking duels, just sheer speed are the moon rovers of sailing.
I see no “trickle-down” from the America’s Cup. Sailors used to benefit from advances in everything from sail materials to better turning blocks, but I don’t see our marinas suddenly filling with foiled yachts. I’m long past wearing a skin-tight wetsuit, and I’d have to be dipped into liquid neoprene to get into one, though kids sailing Optimists have embraced it…
Eight Bells: Jim DeWitt
James Harden DeWitt died November 19, under the care of hospice at his home in Point Richmond, CA. He was 92-years-old.
Jim was born in Oakland, CA in 1930. At age 7, he drew pictures of sailboats while watching his father build a 19-foot sloop in the family’s backyard. Then at age 19, he purchased materials and built his own small boat, an El Toro (#216), and began racing it on Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA.
This launched Jim’s remarkable and highly unique career. He became internationally known both as a fine artist who specialized in action-packed, spirited and accurate portraiture of racing yachts, and also as one of the most successful yacht racers from the San Francisco Bay.
School was difficult for Jim as he was dyslexic at a time when nobody understood what that meant. Teachers told him he was lazy or stupid. Fortunately he took an art class in high school and did well. His mother was thrilled and got him into art school. This, he said, “saved his life”.
After high school, Jim trained for six years as an artist, first attending Oakland’s California College of Arts and Crafts, and then Los Angeles Art Center in Pasadena, one of the premier art colleges in the United States.
To save money while going to art school in LA, Jim started making dinghy racing sails for himself. This led to his own sail loft when he returned with his young family to the Bay Area in about 1960. DeWitt Sails operated for many years in a quonset hut on MacDonald and San Pablo Avenue in Richmond.
The business was moved to Brickyard Cove in Point Richmond into a brand new building that housed both the sail loft and his art studio in 1980. A few years later, Jim sold his loft to Sobstad Sails so that he could focus on his art career. Sobstad sold the loft to Quantum. It still operates out of the same building today. – Read on
The Man in the Tower
Back in August it was a frustrated Sir Ben Ainslie who suggested that the onlooking Duchess of Cambridge should “send him to the Tower”, referring to the Chief Umpire following a rule call at the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix…
One Global Lipton Trophy 2022
The second constituent event of the Top Dog Trophy Series 2022-2023, the One Global Lipton Trophy, took place on Saturday 26 November with an average of 5kts of easterly wind being bestowed upon Victoria Harbour…
A special Boxing Day Race, the Rolex Sydney Hobart
The British love their Boxing Day races as do the Aussies . . . but the really special one is the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race which begins on Sydney Harbour at 1pm on Monday 26 December 2022…
bow wow wow
The recent report in SA on the re-emergence of Wild Oats XI after a two-year Covid hibernation has brought out all the gawking rubber-neckers. The supermaxi is always a sentimental favorite for the Sydney-Hobart Race and the local offshore sailing fans love to eyeball the boat searching for the latest changes.
To recap, here’s how WOXI looked in her original state more than a decade ago:
Back then the forestay terminated just aft of the plumb stem and the pulpit sat in a conventional position at the limit of the boat’s maximum 100-foot LOA allowed under the eligibility rule. The headsail was soft-hanked to the forestay.
Then, in late 2016, a re-configured Wild Oats XI emerged after a major re-build:
Now, the boat had a clipper bow and the pulpit was re-positioned well forward of the point where an imaginary vertical line from the stem would meet the deck. The forestay remained in its original relative position…
set adrift
When Abigail Danian walked into her kitchen and saw the empty packaging of a burner cell phone on the counter, she knew Isaac had gone. It was Sept. 7, 2020, and she had been out of town for Labor Day.
All weekend, her 20-year-old son, Isaac, had been calling her from the family home in Grand Rapids, Mich. He needed money for a “great opportunity” in Hawaii, but that was all he would say.
Orcas attack Robin Knox-Johnston
It is always a privilege when Sir Robin Knox-Johnston checks in with Scuttlebutt HQ. As the first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe, and then later to set the fastest time to earn the Jules Verne Trophy, RNJ is royalty.
But as much as he’s accomplished in the offshore world, he recently crossed something new off his 83 year old list. He just got attacked by the sea life he has spent a lifetime sailing above. He explains:
NSW 18ft skiff Championship Race 1
The 18 footers 2022-23 championship season began today when the Australian 18 Footers League staged Race 1 of the NSW Championship in a mainly 8-10 knot North East wind on Sydney Harbour…
Time penalty decides Route du Rhum
After French skipper Roland Jourdain (We Explore) was deemed the winner of the Rhum Multihull class in the 12th Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe, he dropped to second after being been given a statutory time penalty of 90 minutes as he had a broken lead seal on his boat.
Jourdain had finished today at 19:06:00hrs UTC with an elapsed time for the 3542 nautical miles solo course from Saint-Malo to Guadelope of 16 days 5 hours and 51 minutes in his 61-foot Outremer.
Loïc Escoffier (Lodigroup) had crossed the finish line second today in his 50-foot Barreau design but has now been declared winner of the Rhum Multi division. He crossed the line at Pointe-à-Pitre line at 19:52:23hrs UTC, some 43 mins 23 seconds after Jourdain…
2022 RS Venture Connect World Championship day 4
The fourth day of racing at the 2022 RS Venture Connect World Championships organised by Oman Sail brought with it yet more exceptional sailing and many more surprises…
GKA Kite-Surf & Hydrofoil-Freestyle Worlds day 3
The Australian makes it back to back Kite-Surf world titles with this event win at the Copa Kitley GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Brazil…
Global Solo Challenge – One watch at a time
One of my favorite short stories when I was a nipper growing up in South Africa was ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’…
America’s Cup: Rigging the Silver Arrow
The INEOS Britannia shore team and technicians had a busy day dockside today in Palma with the crucial first-stepping of the ‘Silver Arrow’ T6 LEQ12 carbon mast and rigging…
ETNZ Roll out structure upgrade package for all AC40s
Following the recent damage to their converted AC40 during testing Emirates Team New Zealand is has been busy coming-up with a fix…
Cup Spy Nov 24: Brits foil testing again
Six days after doing their first towing test in Mallorca, the British America’s Cup Challenger, INEOS Britannia, did a second towing exercise – with the delay between runs put down to inclement weather…
Route du Rhum – Multi Class Leader Gilles Buekenhout (JESS) has capsized
On Wednesday, 23 November, the long time leader of the Rhum Multi Class, Gilles Buekenhout (JESS), reported his yacht had capsized…
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