Day four of the iQFOiL International Games in Lanzarota saw six British competitors make it into Saturday’s iQFOiL medal series…
Eight Bells: Richard (Dick) Stearns
Richard (Dick) Stearns, champion sailor and marine industry innovator, died peacefully with family members at his side on January 25, 2022 at home in Delavan, WI. He was 94 years of age.
Dick Stearns was one of the best sailors to ever come out of the Midwest. Dick grew up on the south side of Chicago moving to the north side after his father died when he was 16. At 14 years old his father gave him a Star boat to keep him out of mischief. With no formal training or instruction, he went from last place in the fleet and, with Gary Comer, won his first Great Lakes Championship at 17 years old.
Dick attended South Shore High School and Drake University. He bought the sail making company Murphy & Nye from Harry Nye in 1952. The company had made parachutes during the war but was not making sails at the time.
Soon Dick would be making sails for customers around the world including kings and princes. In 1954, Carlos de Cardenas (from Cuba) won the Star World Championship with one of the first Orlon sails, which solidified Dick’s company as a leader in the industry.
Dick patented the machine sewn bolt rope. Before that the rope that attached the sail to the mast was hand sewn on the sail. Murphy & Nye also pioneered the cross-cut sail when Orlon and Dacron came out. Prior to Orlon, sails were made of cotton and were miter cut…
International WASZP_X Games – WASZP Pre Games
The ultimate junior foiler will bring an opportunity for 11-14 year olds to attend their first International Foiling Competition over the 9-10th of July in the stand-alone WASZP_X class…
RORC Transatlantic Race 2022 Blockbuster
The 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race was organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with the International Maxi Association (IMA) and the Yacht Club de France…
maxi taxis
We are now at the end of the Maxi season so time for a bit of a round-up… Overall this year has been remarkably successful for the International Maxi Association. Especially given the global picture at the start of 2021. That said, inevitably with the continuing pandemic, the events in the early part of the year had to take place under considerable restriction with travel between European countries and even regions within those countries remaining extremely limited.
However, in a brave move by Yacht Club Italiano, they pressed on with the planned launch of their new opening regatta for Maxis; the Regate di Primavera in Portofino had already been ‘resting’ for a few years and so it was a bit of a gamble to relaunch it in 2021. Even at the last moment, it had to be postponed for a week due to Covid, which then presented a knock-on problem as the event became overlapped with Rolex Capri Week. That the final entry was almost entirely local and Italian was hardly surprising…
iQFOiL International Games – Men Only on Day 3
Day three of the IQFOiL International Games only managed to complete two races . . . both for the Men’s event…
18ft Skiffs: Sunday’s NSW Championship decider
Despite a lack of traditional North East winds throughout the 2021-22 NSW 18ft Skiff Championship, the racing has been fast, exciting and has produced some great finishes with four different teams crossing the finish line first in the seven races so far…
SailGP announce Season 2 Grand Final Title Partner
SailGP announced a new partnership with Mubadala Investment Company as Title Partner of the Season 2 Grand Final. The Mubadala U.S. Sail Grand Prix is the culmination of the world’s most exciting racing on-water and will take place in San Francisco…
Eight Bells: Bruce Deeter
International yachtsman Bruce Deeter passed away on January 24, 2022.
When Bruce walked in a room, women swooned and men wanted to be him. A white-hot talent, he made a mark in the Maxi boat fleet and America’s Cup. A journeyman carpenter from Lancaster, California, Bruce joined the Kialoa program with no offshore experience but rapidly grew into an essential part of the crew.
From Kialoa, he joined Dennis Conner and the Stars & Stripes crew when they successfully recaptured the America’s Cup in 1987 at Perth, Western Australia. He served in the ’92 campaign with Il Moro di Venezia and again with Stars & Stripes in ’95 managing the rig programs.
Bruce was talented at everything he touched. His intellect, physical prowess, and engaging personality made him universally beloved and revered. Bruce was the source of many great adventures and shenanigans. His mischievous smile and escapades both on and off the water were the stuff of legend.
In 1986, the entire team was longboarding Stars & Stripes ’85 in the scorching Hawaiian sun. Bruce rocked up about half past one in the afternoon only to meet the wrath of our crew chief. We put down our longboards to watch (this was shootout at the OK Corral drama) and heard Bruce, “Bill, you’re paying me what $10 dollars a day? Pay me six today and we’ll call it even.” The entire compound erupted in laughter, even Bill managed a smile as Bruce and his mystical charm diffused the situation.
A dear and cherished friend, he is survived by his brother Allen and family.
eternal wood
Refloating and moving the Maud, Roald Amundsen’s ship
The ship used by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen has finally returned to Norway, his home country, a hundred years after setting sail for the North Pole, the director of the repatriation project announced.
The Maud, a robust three-masted sailing ship, a valuable relic of the Norwegian polar expeditions, was refloated in 2016 after spending 85 years under the waters of northern Canada, where it sank in 1930.
After leaving Greenland, the wreck was towed across the North Atlantic on a barge and arrived at the port of Bergen in western Norway.
“The trip was long but it was good,” the director of the operation”, Jan Wanggaard, told AFP. Thanks to the financing of three brothers and Norwegian businessmen, the Maud will be exhibited in the municipality of Asker (southeast), near Oslo, where it was launched in 1917. “Roald Amundsen is an important historical figure in Norway,” explained Wanggaard. “We want to tell the story of this expedition to the Norwegian people,” he added…
The M32 Pendulum Swings to Europe
After the focus on the American fleet for the Miami Worlds in 2021 the pendulum swings back to Europe for the 2022 World Championship in Portugal…
America’s Cup: New York YC’s Challenge accepted
The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron formally accepted the New York Yacht Club American Magic’s challenge for the 37th America’s Cup to be held in 2024 – the third additional challenge accepted for AC37…
America’s Cup: The making of the AC40
The Protocol of the 37th America’s Cup revealed that teams would compete again in the AC75 that was used for the 2021 event, but that a new AC40 one-design class would be used for testing and training as well as the preliminary regattas.
The intent is for there to up to three Preliminary Regattas, with the first two raced in AC40s and the last one at the Match venue in AC75s. The AC40s would also be used for the Youth America’s Cup as there was in Bermuda in 2017, along with the first Women’s America’s Cup.
The New Zealand defender has taken on the development and production of the AC40 and offer this update from their Auckland base on January 26, 2022:
Just over 11 months since Emirates Team New Zealand’s AC75 ‘Te Rehutai’ crossed the finish line to claim the 36th America’s Cup, its younger sister class – the AC40 – is already in production.
While much of the world was having a well-earned break during the transition from 2021 into 2022 the 7 axis CNC machine at McConaghy Boats production facility was working 24/7 carving out the tooling for the hull of the new class.
The AC40 hull shape is based on that of Te Rehutai- but is already a generational step forward incorporating a number of developments learned after the completion of AC36 last year.
In usual America’s Cup fashion, the AC40 design and production timeline has been highly condensed yet achievable due to a global collaboration led by Emirates Team New Zealand design team with Dan Bernasconi and Richard Meacham central to the management of the production process with Mark Evans Group Managing Director of McConaghy Boats.
“While the genesis of the AC40 project comes from the familiar design and innovation of the people within the Emirates Team New Zealand design department we have really had to push the limits by utilizing a combination of the best of the New Zealand Marine industry as well as key offshore partnerships,” said Meacham.
“Specialized elements like the rigs are being built by Southern Spars and the boat building talent we have at the ETNZ build facility are producing the foil arms. We also have a great partnership utilizing the production power of an organization like McConaghy Boats in China for the hulls, decks and fit out as well as North Sails Marine group with the aero package.”
2024
How many minutes of sailing have you seen covered on your TV in the past few Olympics? We, the sailing public, would of course like to see more. In an effort to make it more exciting we changed to faster, more exciting boats and even foiling but there has been little change in the amount of mainstream coverage sailing has received anywhere in the world. Why is this important? Especially as we’d like to see our sport grow and greater mainstream media coverage is one way to help that…
VIDEO: Across the Atlantic on a 33 footer
Richard Palmer’s JPK 1010 Jangada (GBR), racing with Jeremy Waitt, were third in IRC One and won IRC Two-Handed in the 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race. Finishing January 24, they completed the 3000nm course in an elapsed time of 16 days 16 hrs 50 mins 4 secs.
Race details – Entry list – Results – Tracker
SailGP’s Inspire Program leaves a lasting legacy
The Australia Sail Grand Prix presented by KPMG ended in epic fashion, but not without the added generosity of SailGP’s Inspire program and some of its valued partners…
VIDEO: Punching through waves
Aim at the wave, accelerate slowly, and punch through. Footage of the U.S. Coast Guard Golden Gate Sector training in Northern California at Ocean Beach on January 24, 2022…
2022 IKA Snow Kite World Cup Ukraine
After a break of two years due to Covid, Kharkiv hosted the first stop of the 2022 IKA SnowKite WorldCup. Although the ongoing pandemic still has a significant effect on international travel, the event went on with Ukrainian riders dominating the event…
Comanche sweeps Transatlantic Race
(January 25, 2022; Day 18) – The 100-foot VPLP Design/Verdier Comanche (CAY), skippered by Mitch Booth, has achieved the quintuple for the 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race. While three boats are still racing under IRC, none of them can beat Comanche’s corrected time, adding that to Monohull Line Honors and winning IRC Super Zero. Comanche also set a new Monohull Race Record for the RORC Transatlantic Race of 7 days 22 hours 1 minute 4 seconds.
The 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race was a complex challenge with several low-pressure systems disrupting the trade winds. However, three teams, all from different IRC classes, came close to overall victory. Ross Applebey’s Oyster 48 Scarlet Oyster (GBR) was second overall by just over an hour. David Collins’ Botin 52 Tala (GBR) was third, less than two minutes behind Scarlet Oyster after IRC time correction.
“For any offshore race, the aim for Comanche is to take Monohull Line Honours and break race records, which we achieved when we crossed the finish line,” commented Booth. “Comanche is not optimized for IRC; we just go for speed. So, to win this race overall just ticks every box, which for the owners is just fantastic…
Foiling: The history of the hydrofoiler
Foiling has taken the watersports world by storm in recent years, but the history of the hydrofoiler goes back further than you might think. Report by Matthew Sheahan for Yachting World:
The biggest revolution to hit watersports in general has been foiling, and it’s easy to view the use of hydrofoils as a relatively recent phenomenon.
In truth, although foiling has really taken off (if you’ll forgive the pun) in recent years in everything from surfing to sailing, paddleboarding, and beyond, the history of the hydrofoil goes back far further than many might assume.
The world of powered foilers kicked things off early but even sail-powered foiling craft are much older than you may realize.
The early development of hydrofoils started over 100 years ago when Italian Enrico Forlanini achieved 36.9 knots with his 60hp airscrew-driven boat in 1906. Several engineers took notice, among them the Wright Brothers and Alexander Graham Bell, both of whom experimented with foilborne craft.
Within a few years speeds moved briskly into the 50-knot range for power boats, but it wasn’t until 1938 that a sailing boat got up onto foils with Americans Gilruth and Carl who managed to foil at five knots. Here are some key moments:
1869 – First patent for hydrofoil was for a rowing boat, French application made by Emmanuel Denis Fargot.
1906 – First hydrofoil boat designed and built by Enrico Forlanini. It had a ladder-type construction with multiple struts supporting multiple wings. It achieved 36.9 knots.
1918 – Alexander Graham Bell and Casey Baldwin launched their HD-4, a five-tonne vessel powered by two liberty aircraft engines of 350hp each and reached 52 knots. The HD-4 Hydrodrome later set a new world record of 61.58 knots.
1938 – First known sailing hydrofoil was produced by Americans R. Gilruth and Bill Carl. – Full report
Atlantic rowing trio smash world record
(January 24, 2022) – Three British women, including one with an incurable cancer, have broken the world record for rowing across the Atlantic. After setting off on December 12 from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, the trio today completed the 3,000 mile crossing to English Harbour on the island of Antigua in 42 days, seven hours and 17 minutes, smashing the previous record by seven days. – Full report
INEOS Britannia – Chief Designer claims plenty of room for improvement
Martin Fischer’s role with INEOS Britannia is that of Chief Designer fo the next America’s Cup . . . and he pulls no punches in his comments on the previous INEOS AC75 design…
SailGP: Racing on the Edge // Life Lessons
As the most decorated sailor in Olympic history, Sir Ben Ainslie knows a thing or two about lessons that can be applied to life as well as sport…
RORC Transatlantic Race – Close for Scarlet Oyster
Ross Applebey’s Oyster 48 Scarlet Oyster (GBR) failed to overall RORC Transatlantic Race leader Comanche…
VIDEO: Looks stupid. Actually genius.
Learn how the US Coast Guard uses math and science to find people in the ocean…
RORC Transatlantic Race Day 15
Two weeks into the RORC Transatlantic Race, three more French teams have crossed the finish line outside Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina…
A great year ahead for the UK D-One Class
2022 is shaping up as a strong one for the UK D-One fleet with an open event calendar comprising an exciting mix of inland, sea and foreign venues…
18ft Skiff NSW Championship in Sydney race 7
Another brilliant finishing burst by the current Australian champion Tech2 team to win Race 7 of the NSW 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour today has set the scene for a match race type finish to the series…
RORC Transatlantic Race – I Love Poland video
Skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski, the team is composed of young talented Polish sailors. OBR Robert Hadjuk’s great imagery shows what it’s really like to race across the Atlantic in a Volvo 70…
Two weeks to go to Heaven Can Wait 2022
Thank you to everybody who responded to my last update indicating they plan to be a starter on the 2022 Heaven Can Wait Charity Sailing Regatta. We believe we have enough entrants to run the regatta…
Solid trades for Transatlantic Race
(January 21, 2022; Day 14) – At 0900 UTC, over 30 knots of trade winds in the Atlantic has greeted the 15 teams still racing in the 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race. The latest teams to finish the RORC Transatlantic Race are Volvo 70 HYPR (ESP) skippered by Jens Lindner and Halvard Mabire’s ORC50 GDD (FRA) racing Two-Handed with Miranda Merron.
The Mylius 60 Lady First III (FRA) and the Ker 46 Tonnerre de Glen (FRA) are expected today…
Race details – Entry list – Tracker
The 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race started January 8 for 256 sailors from 27 different countries. The record fleet of 30 boats set off from Lanzarote for the 3000nm course to Grenada.
Multihull elapsed record is 5 days, 22 hrs, 46 mins, 03 secs set in 2015 by Lloyd Thornburg’s Phaedo 3, skippered by Brian Thompson.
Monohull elapsed record is 7 days, 22 hrs, 01 mins, 04 secs set in 2022 by the 100ft VPLP Design/Verdier Comanche, skippered by Mitch Booth.
Source: Louay Habib
24 Hour Dinghy Race succumbs to Covid Pandemic
The West Lancashire YC Executive Committee has reluctantly taken the decision to cancel the ‘Southport 24 Hour Race’ due to take place on 10 and 11 September 2022.
52nd Australian Contender Championship overall
It was looking like a great day for sailing with a 13-18 knot SE blowing before the start. After several start relocations racing got away in fresh breeze but a rain squall came across and before boats got to the top mark and the wind dropped to zero…
Ryan Finn sets off on solo journey to San Fran
Ryan began his solo journey to San Francisco via Cape Horn on Tuesday, January 18th. He will be attempting the word record for the fastest single handed route to San Francisco…
New York’s first offshore wind project
New York State’s first offshore wind farm will move to the construction phase after receiving approval from federal regulators. The 132 megawatt (MW) South Fork Wind project, which includes 12 turbines with one nautical mile spacing, will be located 35 miles east of Montauk Point and produce enough clean energy to power 70,000 homes. Offshore installation of the project’s monopile foundations and 11-megawatt Siemens-Gamesa wind turbines is expected to begin in summer 2023, with operations to begin in later in the year. – Full report
slam dance
Because, you know, it’s all about the foils…
A big year ahead for the International Moth Class
This year is shaping as a strong one for the UK Moth fleet with a calendar full of events both at home and internationally as we build towards our home in Worlds in Weymouth, 2023…
Dean Barker back to defend Northland Cherub title
A bevy of former America’s Cup sailors will be crewed by their sons at the Northland Cherub titles at Algies Bay at the end of January. Dean Barker will return to defend his trophy…
night flight
Cool shot of Optis team racing at night somewhere in the world…
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