Beats us. Just what in the hell is it, anyway? Thanks to Zoom Sails.
WA360: More than a race
In what had to have been born on a bar stool, the organizers of the WA360 did what the rest of us never do. They took a cocktail napkin idea from concept to conclusion, attracting the hearty of the Pacific Northwest to discover a 360 nm course through the ponds of the Puget Sound.
Starting June 7, any craft was welcome and all forms of engine-less propulsion permitted, and as long as competitors completed the course within two weeks and without planned support, their finish would live in infamy.
New Multihulls for 2021
Lagoon 55
“Our experience tells us that people ignore a design that ignores people. That’s why we wanted to draw a beautiful boat that would be immediately identifiable as being a Lagoon,” says designer Patrick le Quément. And indeed, the new Lagoon 55 is a boat with an unmistakable profile. A hardtop shields the flybridge and its helm station from the weather, making for a tall, triple-stacked silhouette. NautaDesign, which was responsible for the interior, was also tasked with bringing the same sense of light and space found aboard Lagoon’s other even larger cats belowdecks. To that end, extra-large windows and skylights were added to bring the outdoors in. Construction is in polyester with anti-osmotic resin to ward off blistering. The hulls, deck and coachroof are all infused, with a balsa core in the deck and solid laminate below the waterline. Spars are aluminum, a self-tacking jib comes standard, and a fully-battened square-top mainsail is available as an option for those in search of additional power.
LOA 54ft 4in BEAM 29ft 6in DRAFT 5ft 2in DISPLACEMENT 58,00lb (lightship) SAIL AREA 1,948ft2 (std. main); 2,001ft2 (square-top main), Lagoon, cata-lagoon.com
HH44 Open
The HH44 Open was designed in collaboration with the Disabled Sailors Association (DSA) of the UK. From getting on, off and around the boat to having space to turn a chair around on board, accessibility has been at the forefront of the design. The expansive saloon is 334ft2 and has the standard HH finishing and style. A weather-protected internal helm station makes full control of the helm and sails possible from a wheelchair. Large windows and a sunroof allow the breeze to wash through the boat and give it an open, airy feeling. The galley is aft-facing. With a 62ft carbon mast and square-topped mainsail, this is very much a performance-oriented boat that will undoubtedly make the best of a wide range of conditions. Curved C-shaped daggerboards provide lift sailing hard on the wind. A second version of the HH44 Open is also on the way for sailors without mobility limitations.
LOA 44ft 3in BEAM 24ft 7in (7.5m) DRAFT 4ft 4in (board up); 9ft 10in (board down) DISPLACEMENT 19,840lb (light ship) SAIL AREA NA, HH Catamarans, hhcatamarans.com
Balance 580
It seems there’s always something in the works at Balance Catamarans, with the latest example being this impressive-looking 58-footer. The latest in a long line of well-crafted performance cruisers, the boat has all the trademarks of a Balance cat with its sleek lines, powerful rig and high-aspect daggerboards. Hull #1 will be constructed entirely in epoxy, carbon and Corecell M foam, but the boat is also available in E-glass with some carbon reinforcements in high-load areas. Hulls and deck are vacuum-bagged, and the mast, boom, forward crossbeam and spreaders are carbon with Kevlar standing rigging. (Aluminum spars are also an option.) Stacking doors separate the saloon and aft cockpit and allow the two to be combined into a single, large free-flowing space. The boat’s trademark VersaHelm allows you to steer from beneath the shelter of the hardtop in dirty weather, or from up high when the sun shines. It’ll be fun to see this boat when it launches.
LOA 58ft BEAM 27ft 10in DRAFT 4ft 6in (boards up); 10ft 11in (boards down) DISPLACEMENT 31,785lb (light ship) SAIL AREA 2,191ft2, Balance Catamarans, balancecatamarans.com
Xquisite X5 Plus and Sixty Solar
Following up on its SAIL magazine “Best Boats” winning X5, South Africa-based has been busy of late working on no less than three new projects. The first of these, the X5 Plus represents an evolution of the already outstanding X5. Chief among the changes relative to its predecessor are lighter displacement and a more powerful rig in the interest of speed. Other upgrades, based on feedback from existing customers, include everything from a state-of-the-art electrical system to more handholds—all with an eye toward the best sailing experience possible. Also in the works are a pair of 60ft Bill Dixon-designed “Sixty Solar” models, which will be available in both power and sail variants. The latter, in particular, is being expressly designed for singlehanded sailing with all electric sail controls and the option of an eco-friendly parallel hybrid propulsion system.
X5 Plus: LOA 53ft BEAM 26ft 2in Draft 4ft 5in Displacement 35,274lb (light ship) SAIL AREA 1,550ft2, Xquisite Yachts, xquisiteyachts.com
Dragonfly 40
A truly impressive effort on the part of Denmarks’ Quorning Boats, the company’s recently launched Dragonfly 40 offers an outstanding combination of speed and comfort afloat. Available in either a “Touring” version with a self-tacking jib, or a turbocharged “Ultimate” version, with an overlapping headsail, the boat features a carbon mast, a batten-car system for the main, the option of a fixed sprit and twin helms aft. The amas include a pair of deck hatches providing easy access to a wealth of storage space, and the accommodation space belowdecks in the main hull (long a Quorning specialty) looks to be both well-thought-out and comfortable, with an L-shaped galley to port and a private double cabin aft. Finally, there’s Quorning’s proprietary “Dragonfly Swing Wing” system, which allows you to deploy and retract the amas in a matter of seconds.
LOA 40ft 7in BEAM 13ft 1in (amas folded); 27ft 6in (amas extended) DRAFT 1ft 4in (board up); 6ft 3in (board down) DISPLACEMENT 12,125lb SAIL AREA 968ft2 (Touring), Quorning Boats APS, dragonfly.dk
GC32 Lagos Cup 1 – One week to go
With great anticipation, in just one week’s time competition on the GC32 Racing Tour resumes for the first time since the GC32 Oman Cup in November 2019…
Allen develop a new mast tapering process
British hardware manufacturer, Allen, has quietly been working on some big projects for the marine industry, one of which is the production of 11-meter tapered masts…
Global Solo Challenge welcomes 24th entry
After completing eight Solitaires du Figaro and a solo crossing of the Atlantic, Lyon-born Louis Robein is very motivated to move on to the next stage, a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation…
UK 18ft Skiff Solent Grand Prix Round 3
Another weekend on the Solent for the UK 18ft Skiff fleet. The fleet were expecting two days of 8 knots… and they got half of that…
Jean-Pierre Dicks sets new transat record
The second annual transatlantic Route Saint Pierre Lorient – Pure Ocean Challenge, with a mission to raise awareness of the threats to ocean health, has set a new record time for the crossing…
McConaghy announces hull #1 of MC75 model
Designed to offer contemporary on-water living with an apartment-like style, the MC75 is lightweight, eco-friendly and, as with all models in the McConaghy Multihull range, fully customisable…
info war
The prestigious Rolex Fastnet Race is just a few weeks away, and competitors who have the most accurate data on hand will be able to make the best possible decisions for the fastest route.
The Fastnet is genuinely a navigators’ race, as it challenges competitors to negotiate some very tricky tidal situations – such as whether to head offshore for pressure or tuck inshore to avoid the worst of an adverse tide. This year’s race is exciting because it’s finishing in France for the first time, and the last section involves negotiating the notorious Alderney Race, with currents of up to 9 kts.
smokin’
Day one of the Delta Pro highlighted the level of competition and the challenges that the kiters will have to overcome to claim the crown. Eight, high-speed races saw battles from start to finish. The front of the fleet was strongly contested with top-five finishes by seven of the eighteen racers, and an especially tight battle amongst the top six.
Valencia: Once bitten, Twice shy
The rights to host the 37th America’s Cup is being shopped by Team New Zealand after the value assessed by Auckland was less than the team had hoped. It is understood the defender has received interest from Cork, Ireland; Cowes, UK; Doha, Qatar; Dubai, UAE; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Oman; Singapore; and Valencia, Spain.
The interest from Valencia, which hosted the racing in 2007 and 2010, comes from a private sector working group which includes the Real Club Náutico de Valencia, with the entity viewing the event as an opportunity to stimulate its economic recovery which has suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Valencia Mayor Joan Ribo appears cool over a bid to host the next America’s Cup, pointing out the city still owes $20m from staging the 2007 version. While the working party is hoping to tap into Spain’s $29b share of a Next Generation EU fund, designed to help European countries from the pandemic, Ribo is not eager to dig a deeper hole.
Enoshima Japan Olympics
If experience has a tone, it would sound like three-time Olympian and 470 sailor Stu McNay—steady, measured, with a positive, almost Mr. Rogers feeling. “Each Game has a unique flavor,” he says, the day before last spring’s 470 European Championships, one of the rare events he and crew, Dave Hughes, have been able to use to prepare for this month’s delayed 2020 Olympic regatta in Enoshima, Japan. “It reflects many things and who you are at that time.”
McNay and the rest of the U.S. Sailing Team have spent the last year doubling down on their campaigns, creatively analyzing the mental and mechanical elements in the context of a global pandemic. Not surprisingly, this has been no easy task in light of the spattering of on-again, off-again events this year combined with travel restrictions that have kept most Americans out of Europe at the same time many of their competitors have been able to train together.
ILCA 50th anniversary sail on Sydney Harbour
he Laser ILCA Dinghy 50th Anniversary was celebrated in style on Sydney Harbour on Sunday 20 June. Over 100 sailors braved the winter morning to take part in the historic event that marked the birth of the world’s most popular single-handed dinghy…
Musto Skiff Corona Cup 2021 Round 2
After a weekend of racing in Weymouth over 19/20 June, Bill Maughan wins the second round of the Musto Skiff Corona Cup 2021; a series of informal training events to complement the Southern circuit…
Cancellation of SCOR 2021 and B2SC 2021
In order to give all stakeholders enough notice, it is with regret that the Sunshine Coast Yacht Club is cancelling the SCOR and B2SC regetta…
2021 UK Europe Nationals at the WPNSA
50 Europes descended on Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy this weekend for the 2021 UK Europe National Championships, the largest turnout for the class in several decades!
Fireflys at Rickmansworth
Glorious sunshine and a light but very sailable breeze greeted the seventeen competitors at Troy Lake for the annual Rickmansworth SC Firefly Open Meeting on the 12th June…
damn technology
Three days into its historic voyage attempting to become the largest autonomous vessel to cross the Atlantic, project organizers are reporting that the Mayflower has experienced a “small mechanical issue,” and that they are stopping the voyage. A recovery team reached the autonomous vessel on June 21.
“We decided not to force the ship to continue as what’s broken is easy to fix at the moment. Our team is on their way to get the ship, and the Mayflower is waiting,” the team put out as a mission status update. Initial updates on June 18 only said that there was a small malfunction, but the vessel would be taken back to base to investigate and that they hoped to restart the voyage shortly. Read on.
One foil, Two boats for 11th Hour Racing
The 2021 Ocean Race Europe provided a bridge event for 2022-23 The Ocean Race (formerly Volvo Ocean Race) which was postponed one year due to COVID-19. It gave full-crew teams in the one-design VO65 and IMOCA 60 an opportunity to either build sponsor interest for the following year, or for teams further along, a chance to progress their training.
11th Hour Racing Team is in the latter category, but skipper Charlie Enright had a struggle keeping his IMOCA from collisions during the three stage offshore event. After hitting a competitor near the Leg 1 finish, his team clipped their port foil on an anchor line after the Leg 2 start, forcing them to return to port and remove it for the remainder of The Ocean Race Europe…
WASZP UK Nationals at Rutland overall
The final day of the UK WASZP Nationals and UK EuroCup saw four races in challenging conditions. Like the previous day, the art of getting onto the foils and staying there was key to performance…
MC38 2021 Season Act 3 in Sydney
Sydney dumped an ice-bucket on MC38 crews racing on Pittwater in Act 3, Marcus Blackmore’s local Hooligan crew shaking off the dismal winter conditions, and their classmates, to land back on the one design class podium for the first time in a while.
WASZP UK Nationals – Beck and Whaley battle for Title
Just two races for the WASZP class at their UK Nationals on Rutland Water on Saturday…
Vendée Globe – Vision 2024
Almost 6 months after the first skippers crossed the Vendée Globe finish line already the tenth edition, starting November 2024, is on everyone’s mind…
PlanetSail: Fully crewed aboard an IMOCA60
Since the IMOCA60s were announced as being one of the two classes for the Ocean Race in 2022 there has been plenty of speculation about how a breed of boats designed to be sailed single handed would work when sailed by a full crew…
Another shift at Snipe US Nationals
Annapolis, MD (June 19, 2021) – Competitors in the U.S. Snipe Nationals faced yet another different weather scenario on day three of their regatta. The team of Ernesto Rodriguez/ Kathleen Tocke stepped up to the challenge and won both races of the day to stake their claim at the top of the leaderboard.
Rodriguez/ Tocke have 11 points now that a drop race has been factored in. Day two leader Raul Rios/ Andrea Reifkohl Gonzalez slipped back to second with 18 points, and Enrique Quintero/ Charlie Bess and Augie Diaz/ Barbie Brotons are tied for third at 37 points…
America’s Cup: Tom Whidden’s take-outs from AC36
Three times America’s Cup winner and President of North Technology Group, Tom Whidden, shared some insights into the 36th America’s Cup during a Wednesday Yachting Luncheon hosted by Ron Young of St Francis Yacht Club, San Francisco…
Marine-tex or fiberglass
Coastal Race provides fantastic finish to The Ocean Race Europe
Class leaders Offshore Team Germany (GER) and Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team (POR) confirmed as the respective IMOCA and VO65 winners in the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Europe…
Furio dominating J/24 North Americans
Blue Point, NY (June 19, 2021) – Another beautiful day allowed 32 J/24s to complete three more races at the Good Samaritan Hospital J/24 North American Championship, and it was day one leader Keith Whittemore’s Furio which added an additional two wins to increase their advantage heading into the final day of competition tomorrow.
Now discarding a fourth, Furio tallies just 6 points in six races. Mike Marshall’s American Garage moved up to second place overall with 12 points, three ahead of Travis Odenbach’s Honeybadger. Leading the Corinthian division is Mark Hillman’s Sisu…
WASZP UK Nationals – Matt Beck is day 1 leader
Another class braving the Covid restrictions and the weather this weekend is the WASZP class with their UK Nationals at Rutland SC…
Sail configurations in following winds
You can’t sail dead downwind except using old techniques such as poled out jibs. On modern boats with asymmetrical spinnakers it is rare to go beyond 155-158 degrees true wind angle…
On a beat from Code Zero to Storm Jib in a series
We find ourselves heeled and slamming on the waves. When a storm rages we just wish it would end soon. Those who suffer from seasickness are often with a bucket within reach…
Team New Zealand losing local support
When the USA defender moved the America’s Cup from San Francisco to Bermuda after their 2013 defense, there was heartache from the locals, but they also knew it was never their event. Billionaire Larry Ellison owned the team, funded the team’s club, and had twisted the City for event support.
But the situation is different in New Zealand, and the Māori Party has hit out at Team New Zealand’s plans to take the America’s Cup overseas, accusing the Grant Dalton-led syndicate of selling “their souls to the highest bidder”.
“When the Americas Cup gets distilled to how much money rather than how much mana, we have truly lost our way,” Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi said in a statement titled ‘the rort that is the America’s Cup’.
America’s Cup: Dangling the carrot
The America’s Cup has been struggling to find long-term housing. In 2013 it was San Francisco, in 2017 it was Bermuda, in 2021 it was Auckland, and the prospect of moving again for 2024 is gaining traction.
Similar to San Francisco, the home team wants more for the hosting rights than the government contends the event is worth, or at least is worth in the context of other requirements for their community. So now Team New Zealand is shopping the event abroad.
The opportunity to host the America’s Cup has gained the attention of Cork, Ireland; Cowes, UK; Doha, Qatar; Dubai, UAE; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Oman; Singapore; and Valencia, Spain. However, the popular rumor comes from Great Britain, home of the Challenger of Record…
earth 3,000,000,000
A total WTF concept. Not sailing, but check it out.
Podium finish for Fletcher and Bithell at Santander Test Event
Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell claimed a podium place after finishing third in the 49er medal race at the Santander 49er, 470 Invitational Test Event…
why so snotty?
Response teams are working to remove massive quantities of marine mucilage – otherwise known as “sea snot” – from the surface of Turkey’s Sea of Marmara, the enclosed body of water between the Aegean and the Bosporus.
Within the first two days of the cleanup, about 1,000 responders had collected 14,000 cubic feet of the substance at multiple sites, according to Environment and Urban Planning Minister Murat Kurum…
Doyle Sails: Sailmaking Apprenticeship opportunity
Leading international sailmaker Doyle Sails are offering practical and motivated individuals to join their apprentice sailmaking programme. This is your opportunity to work alongside some the great people in the sailing industry and professional sailing…
Follow Us!