close...

A very close finish (9 hours separating 5 boats) ends up with Telefonica going 3 for 3 in the VOR, beating Groupama at the finish by what ended up being 2 hours. Photo from Groupmama earlier in the race thanks to Slam, and click here if you want to own some very slick Groupama gear for yourself!

02/04/12

...but no cigar

Leg 3, Day 12
4February 2012
Ken Read Skipper, PUMA Ocean Racing

I bet that almost every final leg blog from any Volvo boat starts with..."This has been a tough leg." Don't imagine any of you have ever heard a Volvo sailor saying, "This leg has been a breeze." None are. This was no exception. 

A quick recap from what seems so long ago. A light air beat/reach out of the Maldives. We did well with this portion of the leg showing as good speed as we have against the fleet. Night two, a bunch of squalls mixed it up and that is where Telefónica and CAMPER got to the north. Tele would never look back. I believe they lead on the water from that point on to Sanya. I know that your distance to the finish may say differently but the fact is, Telefónica sailed a flawless leg from that point on. Very impressive. 

We approached the Malacca Strait and we just snuck by CAMPER right at the northwest corner of Indonesia in a really fun battle in which Tele, CAMPER, Groupama and ourselves were within miles of each other. From there on, the Straits were the Straits. Dire straits at some times, and straight ahead in other times. A flukey bizarre place to be racing boats. The shipping traffic is always the main concern, but the amount of fishing and nets this time was far worse than I remember the last time I sailed through. As was the debris. Huge hunks of wood, plastic, trees, broken up canoes, refrigerators, you name it we either hit it or nearly hit it. During the day you are dodging and weaving through the mess. During the night you just pray. And clearly we didn't pray enough because we became a snarled fish ourselves with Tele and Groupama just hundreds of meters away. Well documented by now, our fishing net incident has been dissected on board the boat. Could it have been prevented? Don't see how. Handkerchief-size black flags to mark either end of a submerged net, at night or early am, doesn't quite cut it on the visibility scale of 1-10.   

But, we exited the Straits within shouting distance of the leaders Tele and Groupama and there began our long slog north to China. Via Vietnam. Never thought I would be saying that. And, here is where our race was clearly defined. 

On board the boat between Tom [Addis] and myself there has always been two ways of approaching this section of the race. Straight ahead and beating up the Vietnam coast to get out of the north to south flowing current, or approaching from the east and spending your "easting" early and getting around the good side of two large tidal eddies that are prominent in the South China Sea. Avoiding the current that runs down the Vietnam coast was the key. We clearly liked the east option. 

The second night out of the Straits we were headed on starboard tack and tacked to port thinking this may be the ticket to the east for the fleet. To be honest, the Vietnam option looked dubious. The weather routing projections at the time relied on short tacking the coast (maybe 30-50 tacks over a 200+ mile range) in what was looking to be quite a windy and rough northeast "surge."  The northeast surge is what they call a butt whooping around here – 30+ knots of breeze and steep waves. So, our choices were to short tack a lee shore to get out of the current, or take your port tack early on a great shift in the middle of the ocean and sail into the "surge" from the east? We took the easterly route, obviously.   

What is strange about this sport sometimes is that your fate is given to you, like it or not. Once we tacked to port we had a fantastic shift, and when we looked at the scheds for the next 15 hours we kept the left shift that nobody else ever really appeared to get. We had breeze in the 30's and everyone else was in the high 40's and 50's. In essence, we went where the wind gods took us and the others did the same thing. And, like Frank Cammas said in Leg 1 when they split from the fleet down the African coast...I was really surprised nobody else came the way we did. Clearly they saw something we didn't. It didn't work for us. 

Believe me, you never want to go on a flier. Our lives, on the water or not, are all about taking calculated risk. It is what Tom Addis and I do every minute of every day out here, manage risk against mother nature and the other competitors. We never thought we would be alone in our easterly option, yet once we committed we had to stay the course or give up a ton of mileage. It was lonely out there to the east, I must say. The old expression "Welcome to Cornersville, population 1" comes to mind. 

Also believe me, there were several times on our lonely little adventure that we thought we had nailed it. But it didn't happen. It’s that simple. I put up my hand. At the end of the day it is my call and it didn't work. So shake it off and get back into it. 

That we did. Very proud of this team; through the disappointment of the bad tactical call the team stayed focused and we managed to salvage only the loss of one boat in the overall scheme. We got back within sight of CAMPER and put away Abu Dhabi, but that wasn't good enough to get back on the podium.   

So are we disappointed with a fourth on this long and brutally hot leg? Absolutely. Are there good things to be taken out of it? Of course. And we will continue to get better with several changes hopefully for the better here in China. 

One way to keep everyone upbeat on this leg was a running commentary by Tom as to where we would be and what we would have left on the course if we were going the Qingdao as we did in the last race. Storms and a thousand or so miles of additional upwind sailing. Not to mention sub-freezing temperatures and snow. That always brought a smile to everyone's face. This leg as it stands is not in the record book as the most pleasurable by any stretch. Upwind sailing is not fun…period. But we do what we do, and we know it is in the brochure when we sign up. It's the same for everyone and I can say that the boat and the team have held up remarkably well. 

So we get back into it. Simply trying to improve. Both in speed and decision making. We have a long way to go and a lot of unknowns and points on the board to be had. Deal with adversity the only way we know how – head on.   

And on a final personal note, last time we were in China I was having a hard time typing my final blog because it was freezing below in the boat, the end of my right index finger was missing and I was all hopped up on pain killers. I have gone back and read those blogs by the way, and the pain killers clearly bring out a dark yet creative side to human beings when it comes to writing. Anyway, we had a 42-day leg to look forward to and the best part about Qingdao was the bowling alley at the hotel we stayed at. My point, life goes on and we will keep pressing to get back onto the podium ASAP. Lets start by turning this around at the In-Port Race in Sanya. Don't look too far ahead. Now, the expression "one step at a time" comes to mind.   

02/04/12

pretty primo

Carlo Borlenghi brings a beautiful view of the Primo Cup in Monaco for your viewing pleasure.

02/03/12

pretty kitty

Artemis Racing began two-boat training earlier this week in Valencia, following the acquisition of a second AC45 last month.

"We've only been sailing the two AC45s for four days, but we've learned a great deal.  Possibly more than in the three America's Cup World Series Regattas we've competed in.  There is a tremendous amount to learn about the wing and the sail set up in particular.  It is still early days and we have a mountain of work ahead, plus strong competition," said Terry Hutchinson, Skipper - Artemis Racing. Training continues on Monday for the Swedish team, Challenger of Record for the 34th America's Cup. - Sander van der Borch / Artemis Racing.

02/03/12

road rage

Sailing through traffic, Eric's wind powered car heeled hard to lee just in time to clear the grid.

Cartoonist Harry Martin sent in this beauty. Haven't we all pretty much thought about this, in one form or another?

on board

they're done

Campbell Field on Buckley Systems tells a bummer of a story from the GOR. And we hear that another Classe 40, Campagne de France, has also dropped out.

You would have seen by now the news that we are headed back to Auckland. A tough way to have a year of blood, sweat and tears collapse in front of you. Although cursing every minute of the last day or so of bashing and crashing upwind towards the ice gate, we had played it out pretty well we feel, had set ourselves up nicely and were as settled in as you could be in those conditions - a nice southerly position (not as far south as we would have liked but that is another discussion for another day), and very comfortable with where our nearest competitors were. I guess it was a small mercy to have the horrendous conditions entering Cook Straits at the end of Leg 2 so fresh in our memories as it took the edge off of and had us better prepared for the huge seas and 40+ knots were were facing.

We had a few failures as can be expected in these conditions - notably the 4mm thick stainless steel strap that connects our mainsheet block to the traveller car blowing up - quickly fixed with a lashing - but gives an idea of the shock loads we were putting through this tough old boat.

One huge wave, and the instant it started to happen I knew what had happened. We rolled into a crash tack then around into a crash gybe and another tack. Anyone watching from above would think we were taking a penalty turn. I was clinging on for dear life in the cockpit trying to simultaneously grab the tiller, disengage the highly confused pilot, hold on for dear life and figure out which way was up. All the while screaming in sheer rage at the situation. While I was venting my anger Ross was in agony in the cabin. On leg 2 he took a couple of tumbles that would have stretchered off any mere mortal, with a bruise on one hip that looked like someone had taken to him with a baseball bat. Coupled with a severe blow to the abdomen a few days later - was only acknowledged with a mere ‘that hurts a bit’ and ‘hope we have some more of those anti-inflammatories’. Tough old bugger my old man. Any other day I would have just said stubborn old bugger. So to see him in that much pain me ant we had an issue: facing the next 6000nm with one of us in agony and the loss of all wind instruments (if it was possible we would have repaired at sea) therefore effective pilot, seriously compromised our performance and safety.

So here we are, 1100nm from Auckland, riding the huge waves we previously spent 24 hours working so hard against in the other direction. They are just as big going this way so still having a few hairy rides at 19 kts with a triple reefed main and jib up.

All our friends, fans, family and supporters, thank you for your support and messages we have received. Will keep you posted on progress and the future as it unfolds.

-Campbell.

02/03/12

on board

they're not done?

Leg 3, Day 12
3 February 2012
Amory Ross, MCM, PUMA Ocean Racing

There’s only a day and a half of racing left out here and still plenty to gain. It’s yet another testament to the group of guys onboard that an unsuccessful and trying trek to the middle of the South China Sea hasn’t sunk the ship. With yesterday’s strenuous upwind misery and one more night of pounding-pain now behind us, we’ve reconnected with the fleet inshore and are short tacking the Vietnam coast before the final open-water dash to Sanya. 

Conditions onboard are still rough though, and we continue to slam into each successive wave with a shudder like that of you car through a big winter’s pothole; there is absolutely no give. We’re still in urgent need of sleep, too, but everyone’s resigned to the fact that it’ll have to wait until the hotel! 

Even in the low visibility, CAMPER occasionally pops into sight off the bow, and we know Abu Dhabi is lurking somewhere close behind our stern, so the strategy from here seems simple: don’t give up too much leverage and play each shift like it’s the last. The racecourse has become small enough that any gain is an important one – regardless of its size – and it promises to be a busy 36 hours of hard work fighting for every length of distance on the competition. Anything can happen… 

02/03/12

cat called



We tried our best to stump you, but Aussie Anarchist ‘Scarecrow’ quickly took care of this week’s What Is It competition, correctly identifying the hull molds of the new Kiwi-built Katipo 1000 SC. Originally designed (though eventually not ordered) as a Team Korea AC trainer, a handful of big boat Kiwi sailors liked it enough to order the boat themselves. The concept differs from the SL-33 ‘super beach cat’ and some of the other new designs by being more offshore-capable and less expensive. Also, the Bakewell-White design, Lloyd Stephenson build can ship with an optional (and possibly convertible) cabin top that you don’t see in this rendering. This configuration should allow the Katipo to sail some of the many coastal/passage/distance races down under, or closer to home, events like the Mills, Mackinac or several SoCal events become do-able. The builders aren’t quite sure how much she’ll cost, but figure no more than US$200k ready to sail, and possibly a little less.

Wanna find out more or see a few photos and renderings? Check out the thread, and let the boys who build it know you’re interested. They’re lurking… And Scarecrow – check out the thread and get in touch!

02/03/12

community

first to finnish

Some 177,000 boats are registered in the Volvo Ocean Race Game, but Anarchy still reigns supreme! Finnish SA’er “Micke” looks set to take the prize for winning Leg 3; an all-expenses-paid trip to Auckland for the start of Leg 5! Apparently, Micke had the final few miles well in hand when a bug screwed up the very top of the fleet, but administrators say they’re working on it, and we expect an announcement shortly.

Meanwhile, the incredible success of the VOR Game (Alexa says the VORG site has nearly the traffic of the VOR site) is more proof that an alliance with proven game builders, combined with meaningful prizes, can have some seriously positive effects on your race and its sponsors. It turns a tidy profit as well.

Nice work to all the Anarchist VORG racers, but especially to our Finnish friend. There’s a thread for both racers and the Cruising Anarchy WLYDO.

02/03/12

sportscar

Well, not exactly but you get the point. What's the story? Check it out.

02/03/12

reduce, reuse, race

Our long time friends at Sailors For The Sea continue their mission to ‘clean up sailing’, and their latest push is for racers to get rid of disposal water bottles for good. Southern California native and Melges 32 floater/crew glue Leslie Baehr sends in this report from Team INTAC at Key West. It’s great advice for the right cause – be sure to see how SFTS can help make your club or event greener at their site.

Few things trouble a boat’s Minister of the Interior as much as plastic water bottles. There is the inconvenient task of purchasing and transporting an entire isle of water bottle 24-pack cases. Then there is the daily burden of hauling just over 30 lbs of water out to your boat. There is also my personal favorite water bottle related activity: the between-race hunt for bottles carelessly thrown down below during races. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, there is the issue of what to do with the water bottles when you are finished.

Everyday our 8-person Melges 32 team races, I pack four bottles per person. That is 32 bottles a day. With at least 50 racing days scheduled in a year, that is 1,600 water bottles. While we make every effort to recycle those bottles, often facilities are not available or the bottles end up mixed in with the rest of the boat’s trash.

As an alternative to this mess, our team followed suit with the Melges 20 fleet, which took the initiative to green the fleet’s liquids. We purchased a different color 21 oz stainless steel water bottle for each team member, placing them in a bottle caddy (~ $10) to keep them all together and keep them from becoming missiles down below. In general, it was easier to move around the plastic caddy and required less space than the large bag of disposable water bottles that it replaced.

Our process is to fill the bottles on the dock in the morning from either a large container or a dock hose fitted with a filter. Once racing, it is very easy to pass the caddy full of bottles up on deck and let everyone get their personally colored bottle. Some of the big guys get two and if any need to be refilled, we pass up the spare gallon jug and top them off. Though prepping the bottles for the day was a concern at first, it ended up taking less time and effort to fill eight empty bottles than packing the 30 lbs of water we would usually bring from our hotel. We found that one set of filled water bottles and one extra gallon jug was sufficient for the day. It is important to make sure that the gallon jug has either a secure top or is placed in such a way as to avoid rolling around. We chose the latter option and did not have a problem.

An individual reusable stainless steel water bottle can run from $15-$25. They are both environmentally and practically superior to other options as they are durable, safe and recyclable. Aluminum bottles are also an option, but may be non-recyclable and less safe depending on their lining. Reusable plastic water bottles are the cheapest option (around $8-$10 per bottle), but tend not to hold up as well in the heat and are less widely recyclable once you are through with them. In the end, it was faster, easier and more environmentally conscientious to use the bottles.

Save money, save the sea, and give your crew something special.

02/03/12

the last time i cared

The 1987 Fremantle America’s Cup really was a once-in-a-lifetime moment in American sailing history. Sailing was on the mouths of millions of Dennis Conner’s countrymen and everyone – sailor or landlubber – had pride in what we saw as a national achievement – the original Smackdown Downunder. The video above is AC media’s take on the 25th Anniversary – a nice tribute to DC and the grit of the Stars & Stripes team.

Unfortunately, the days of dozens of challengers and millions of proud, nationalistic American fans are long gone, perhaps never to return. ACRM is under increasing pressure to get at least another boat or two signed up before the June deadline for what is currently a 3-boat Louis Vuitton Cup. And pressure is mounting on organizers to somehow reconcile to San Francisco and event sponsors their wildly optimistic spectator estimates with the reality from the first three events, and to update the plans for future events to reflect this more realistic assessment. It’s not an easy time to be Iain Murray, that’s for sure.

It’s still possible for some of the fence-sitters to make it to the starting line in San Francisco on the day – we hear that Team Korea and Energy Team have both pulled in most of their estimated build budget for an AC72, though neither has nearly enough for the rest of the expenses. China is moving along nicely too, though they’re still well short and haven’t gotten the biggest piece covered at press time. At least they’re moving in the right direction, and they need to if they intend to make the start. If things aren’t humming along by June, they’re spectators.

While a 3-boat Challenger series will certainly make Russell Coutts look bad, and Larry like a gambler who got it wrong, the racing should still be something special to anyone who digs high speed yachting. Luna Rossa’s entry turns a bit of a joke into something dramatic – (we all know that ‘Italian’ is another word for ‘drama’), and in a move confirmed by an inside source yesterday, it will make the fashionable team almost as popular in Spain as it is in Italy.

Telefonica leaders Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez will don Prada gear on the Luna Rossa AC45 beginning in September, after the Spanish superstars finish trouncing the Volvo Ocean Race fleet. How that will impact the current lineup of Bruni/Sirena/Modena/Draper is yet to be discussed, but it will no doubt add a ton of juice from one of the hottest two-man crews in sailing to an Italian team that’s already coming out of the blocks with purpose.

02/03/12

big pimpin'

pick your poison

The South China Sea is notorious for wave and current interactions that generate rough and challenging conditions. Strong monsoon winds and monsoon currents combine to make sailing especially difficult in this region.

The shortest route to Sanya would take the teams straight up the coast of Vietnam. But with the strongest current in this part of the South China Sea flowing south down the coast, it becomes a no-go zone for boats heading north. The coastal flow down the eastern edge of Vietnam can reach speeds of up to 3kts in a wide band reaching as far out as 60 miles offshore. The persistent current is further enhanced in being driven by the northerly monsoon winds.

With the fleet beating north, coupled with 2-3kts of current against them, the boats will have little choice but to head further offshore to get out of the stronger flow to maintain best velocity to the course. The vital aspect for the fleet is velocity made good to course (VMC). Current against the fleet does more than reduce the speed over ground, it compounds the effect on VMC already reduced in going upwind. Strong current on the nose is to be avoided.

It’s likely the teams will find some northward current further offshore, but with this comes the spectre of a punishing sea state. With wind against current, waves become shorter and steeper making for a rougher ride and some slamming conditions onboard. Finally, on approach to Sanya, a tidal current sweeps across the south-eastern edge of Hainan Island from east to west and across the entrance to Sanya itself.

Tidetech’s ocean current data for the teams is obtained from satellite measurements of sea surface height, which oceanographers use to construct a global map of ocean surface heights. The strength and direction of the current can be calculated from this information, similar to the way a weather map of high and low pressure systems allows meteorologists to estimate wind.

Tidetech is a technical supplier to the Volvo Ocean Race providing teams with oceanographic data comprising ocean currents, sea surface temperatures and tidal data. Watch this video to learn more about the data being supplied to the Volvo Ocean Race by Tidetech

02/03/12

sweet marie

One hell of a nice shot of the 180' Marie by Tim Wright/kospictures.com from the Superyacht Challenge in Antigua.More here.

on board

hell, part 1

The latest from Marco Nannini in the GOR. Sometimes we like being at our desk...

The first few days of the race, once out of Cook Strait, have been relatively easy sailing, reaching then downwind in moderate seas clocking good mileage every poll, we were happy with our choice of heading further south at the beginning which paid very well as now we have a lead of over 70 miles over Phesheya, our direct peer with an identical boat (although I undertand they had an issue with a spinnaker). The leaderboard keeps getting now reshuffled, each with their own idea of how to best deal with what looks like up to a week of head winds.

When the front came through yesterday the wind went from north westerly (good) to south easterly (bad) and kept increasing, today we had anything from 30 to 45 knots of wind in a deteriorating sea state, the port pilot started to struggle until it would just steer an erratic course with several involutary tacks which allowed for some rather loud swearing from my part, from a distance you may well have thought we are sponsored by French Connection UK, or close anagram thereof.

We now switched to the starboard pilot, reset the all settings and we seem to be doing a little better although knowing we have endless miles ahead of this bashing is not exactly making us sing songs of joy, there will be no real respite for at least 48 hours when at least the wind is due to calm down a bit.

There's not much we can do and everyone has the same to deal with, so let's just grin and bear till things will hopefullly improve, all we wish for at the moment is to keep going and suffer no damage.

02/02/12

local knowledge

drop in

This is Santi, your Sailing Anarchy eye in Santander (Spain) reporting. I am writing to send you a video I have just uploaded from this past weekend. It features what I think are the coolest images from the downwind legs. Nice sailing conditions except for the temp, not too cold anyway (You just can't have it all all time). Too bad I lost the other gopro onboard wich I had at
the tip of the bowsprit (I know, risky place... but, "No risk no glory"). It was due to chain of incidents. 1. the safe line for the cam loosened. 2 We dropped the kite in the water 3.The tack line skidded all the way over to the tip of the bow-sprit and looped around the cam. A kite full of water finished the job. I guess that when the day comes you just have to be ready to say
good-bye!

02/02/12

on board

hell, part 2

Leg 3, Day 11
2 February 2012
Amory Ross, MCM, PUMA Ocean Racing

These are punishing conditions out here. The upwind slamming, smashing, and thrashing we’re enduring is enough to make anyone hurt bad. It was almost impossible to get any sleep last night (I didn’t), it’s hot, humid, and extremely violent down below. The 20 knots we have right now are supposed to build, but that’s not the real problem; it’s the god-awful waves causing all the discomfort. They’re big, they’re steep, and they have no backs so we just fall off each one only to find the bottom in a severely sudden crash. 

You can see it in everyone’s faces – we’re ready to get to China. I don’t think anyone wants to spend another three days out here, but that’s what we have to do so it’s back to the business of yacht racing. 

We don’t yet know how much our easterly detour has cost us. What we do know is that it could have gone better. We got out there, right where we wanted to be, and the breeze died. Poor timing and unfortunate circumstances, but even with significantly less wind we still managed to hold bearing on the rest of the fleet. Makes you wonder what could have been… So we’ve now put that behind us and we’re trying to reconnect with the fleet as best we can. There are still some small gains to be made today as the rest of the guys have to tack up the coast of Vietnam, but it’s too early to see where we’ll fall in the mix. Then it’s a fairly straightforward drag-race north to Sanya…a place that can’t come soon enough! 

02/02/12

scotw

in it to win it



Deborah Deats-Wilusz just recently won the 2011 Fort Walton Yacht Club (FL) PHRF Fleet Championship, a year long series totaling the PHRF series races from January 2011-Decemebr 2011 on her Viper 640.

Deborah started sailing less than ten years ago starting out on a co-worker's Olson 34 cruiser/racer. Moving on towards crewing on J-22's in two different Rolex Women Keel Boat Championships (Houston and Rochester). Jumping into Trimarans, Catamarans, and Sportboats, and competing at National Championship regattas in all three types of boats. Deborah only just started helming after purchasing the Viper 640 in late 2010. You can find Deborah at Mardi Gras Race Week, Miami Bacardi Cup, and Charleston Race Week. - Anarchist Craig.

02/02/12

race report

cats in a box

The Audi Centre Bendigo Match Racing Shield was on the line during the weekend of 28th and 29th January 2012. The event began in 2011 as an inter city contest and in 2012 eight teams fronted to contest the Shield. The teams had sailors from a mix of Cities, Shires and Yacht Clubs from around the world and interstate. The Bendigo Yacht Club [BeYC] accepted a team as being international provided the Skipper was a national of the country in which the represented city is located. Skippers came from Utrecht in the Netherlands, Auckland [NZ], City of Troup in Texas [USA], City of Cairns in Queensland [AUS], The Moira Shire in Victoria [AUS], City of Bendigo in Victoria [AUS], the Albury Wodonga Yacht Club [AUS] and the Port Melbourne Yacht Club [AUS].

Racing was conducted using F16 Viper Catamarans supplied by Australian High Performance Catamarans [AHPC]. All courses were windward return starboard courses. Lap numbers varied depending on wind strength at the time of the race. The regatta began on January 28th with the ubiquitous postponement flag hanging limply from the Club’s Signal Yard. Eventually three of the four planned heats were raced in 5 to 10 knot winds. In the first three heats Cairns beat Auckland; Troup beat the Port Melbourne and Utrecht beat Moira Shire. Following the third heat the postponement flag was in use again. It remained in place until well into the afternoon. The wind eventually returned at a good 10 knots. The fourth heat was raced and Bendigo beat the Albury Wodonga in that heat.

With the heats completed, it was decided to run the semi finals back to back. In the 1st Semi final, Troup beat Cairns putting Troup directly into the Final. In the 2nd Semi final, Utrecht beat Bendigo putting Utrecht into the Final alongside Troup. By the time sailing had been completed on the first day, there was not very much daylight remaining. Day Two also began sans wind and the postponement flag was out again; but only for about 90 minutes. A Repechage series was raced to decide third place. In the 1st Repechage Cairns beat Port Melbourne. In the 2nd Repechage Moira Shire beat Bendigo. In the Repechage sail off, Cairns beat Moira Shire leaving Cairns in 3rd place overall. All of the racing to this point had been knockout racing.

The Final was run as a best of three series. Christa Van Helden skippered for Utrecht, Netherlands and Drew Carlyle skippered for Troup, Texas. It only took the Texan two races to claim the Audi Centre Bendigo Match Racing Shield for 2012. The Wing RIB measured Drew’s boat speed to be well in excess of 20 knots on a number of occasions. For the next little while, Troup Texas is “THE” Champion Intercity Match Racing Team. See you all in 2013.

01/31/12

cast net



While the daily boatfeed videos coming from the Volvo Ocean Race fleet typically get progressively duller over the course of a leg, perhaps due to the editor/MCMs loss of mental connection to their audience after a while at sea. So we’re especially appreciative of the work that Puma AG’s in-house editing team is doing to keep our interest in the drama itself going. The racing is certainly good, but even on their best days, the Volvo media crews don’t quite have the slickness or edge that Puma’s “PUMACast” does. The organization of the 8 PUMAcast episodes leaves something to be desired, but you can check them all out by scrolling though the PUMA Ocean Racing video page here or download them on iTunes here.

This one is Episode 8, and it’s an informative and entertaining slice of life for anyone interested in how a boat gets put together for a race like this.

02/01/12

big pimpin'

wanna play ball?

Entirely constructed in carbon, the RC44 is a dynamic, extremely light and fast completion sailing boat. Designed by four times America’s Cup winner, Russell Coutts together with the naval architect Andrej Justin to compete at the maximum level in international regattas.

The boat was conceived in 2007 and now attracts some of the world’s leading business minds along with all well known top sailors. The Championship takes place in 6 spectacular sailing venues around the world proving real challenge for competing teams.
Take the opportunity to join one of most competitive classes on the international yacht racing circuit at an exceptional price. E-mail for more info.

02/02/12

stunt man

Alex Thomson gives us a little lesson in Sponsorship Fulfillment 101, with photos from Mark Lloyd and a few more in the thread. Here’s a ‘how they did it’ video.

on board

net-net

Leg 3, Day 10
1 February 2012
Ken Read, Skipper, PUMA Ocean Racing

Man are things changing out here. Must be very exciting to watch, and I imagine if you are a PUMA fan you are wondering what the heck is going on! Well before that, let’s step back a couple of days. 

A hundred miles or so from the end of the Straits – I know you have heard from Amory that we had a little situation…almost a huge situation. Let me explain. 

About a mile off the Malaysian shore with Groupama and Telefónica within half a mile of us, it was dawn and the sun was just rising. There were several shoals that Tom Addis was guiding us through and the wind was very light. In fact, the other two boats were pretty light inshore of us so we were easing offshore a touch in a puff.

Imagine this: your shoulder is shaken and you hear, "Wake up, I think we are aground," says an unidentified crew member.   

I flew out of bed to jump on deck to see the other two boats moving away from us and we are not moving. But there was no crash, no bang. Then Casey says, "I think we are in a fish trap!" This isn't good. 

Sure enough there is a small black flag barely visible about 100 yards to the left, and a fishing boat sits about 200 yards to the left of the flag. All were thinking there may be a net attached around the boat and the black flag. Well, once we rolled up the headsail that covers the entire right side of the boat, in the increasing sunlight we see another tiny black flag about a half mile to our right. The two black flags have a net that strings between the two and we are firmly caught…in really light air and barely maneuverable conditions. 

First things first: assess the situation, role up the headsail and try to back out. But, we are reaching when we run in to the net, so backing out is nearly impossible.   

Now comes the amusing part. Communication between an Australian from Adelaide and two Malaysian fishermen who are pretty pissed off that we are caught in their net. 

First they offer to throw a line, which we have to refuse as tempting as it was. No outside assistance allowed. Ryan Godfrey is now trying to get them to go to the end of the net at the black flag and do something with it...in fact none of us speak enough Malaysian/Australian to really understand what Ryan was talking about never mind what the Malaysians were saying in return. So, as you can imagine it really didn't get us very far. 

Next step, send the kid in the water. Rome Kirby gets his mask and jumps in to the unbelievably murky depths, only to figure out when his head actually hits the keel prior to him seeing the keel that the water visibility isn't very good. Get him out before some Malaysian sea snake gets him. And believe me, there was a chance because the Malaysian fishermen were shocked someone would be in the water. Even I could understand that communication between the two of them. 

Next plan. Try backing off again and use the staysail unfurled to help guide the boat better in reverse. In essence, about 45 minutes after we were caught into the net, we backed sideways along it and steered the boat with the headsail until we were pointing in the opposite direction. Casey heard some tearing sounds like the net was giving way, so we pulled open the big code 0 and probably finished off these poor guys’ net, pulling ourselves out and heading back where we came from.   

Finally, after 1 hour we rounded the far black flag (about a 1-foot by 1-foot flag on a 3-foot stick) and we were off. Chasing a pack of two that we could no longer see on the horizon. 

This was what the travel brochure told us to expect. Unlit fishing nets. We all talked about them. We saw a million of them. But as always, you see them during the day and somehow you pray at night. Due to an unfortunate number of circumstances, we found one pretty well. We'll send Ryan back to speak with the fishermen about fixing their net later. 

The comeback trail began immediately. We were pissed but at the same time relieved to be out. If it had been a well-built net, we would have been there for ages and quite frankly I don't know how we would have gotten out.   

From there it was off to the bottleneck in the Straits where about a million of the largest ships you have ever seen were waiting for us. More on that later.  Good fleet update vid here.

the main man

We told you a few weeks ago that Africa Diaspora Maritime fonder Charles Kithcart’s lawsuit against Golden Gate Yacht Club was something of a hail Mary legally, and that unless Kithcart could get the mainstream media to pick up the “hated rich white boy vs. underprivileged black youth” angle, he’d disappear pretty quickly.

Guess what? With GGYC’s Motion to Dismiss the suit not far from a judge’s ears, Kithcart and the ADM just hit the Carolina research triangle-based NewsObserver and the Bellingham Herald in Washington State with many of his talking points, and some things we haven’t heard until now. An excerpt:

If that isn't enough, the nonprofit African Diaspora Maritime Corp. wants to do it all while teaching about and promoting yacht racing - a notoriously white sport - to black youth as a catalyst to spur interest in technology, science and math, which all play huge roles in developing race yachts. The corporation wants to tie all of that to the long, but seldom-taught, history of black mariners.

Want to learn more about the strange case of Charles Kithcart? Check the thread, and keep an eye out – we expect things to get a lot louder.

what is it?

The last time we thought we had a tough one of these, you bastards guessed it in about three minutes. So we’re giving you one that isn’t even a boat yet. Got a clue what it is? Spill it.

triple t

John Casey tells us more about the Osprey foiling trimaran that we spotlighted on yesterday’s Front Page. Keep an eye on John’s site for the latest insider high performance multihull news.

The Osprey is a one-off foiling trimaran built by Falcon Marine for a customer that submitted the plans for construction. Sam Bradfield’s crew needed a test platform as part of the Harborwing project. Their original work was the Rave trifoiler. The production version of the Rave built by Windrider had some performance issues, because they ended up making it out of rotomolded plastic with metal foils, which made the Rave affordable but heavy. They made a large mainsail in the sailplan to compensate, but the platform ended up being off balance and, really, no fun in lighter wind. In an attempt to get better light wind performance, the designers went another direction.

They came to Falcon Marine with foil drawings and sketches and Falcon Marine went to work. They had a basic length and width and where they wanted the beams and gave profile drawings for the foils and Falcon Marine had them machined. The rest was working with the client’s liaison, Tom Hammond. Tom would describe what he was looking for and they got together to make it work.

What they ended up with is a 20′ wide x 18′ long trimaran with three ‘T’ foils, similar to a moth. The carbon foils on the fiberglass outer hulls, or amas, are controlled by what’s called a wand. Depending on the ride height, the wand controls the pitch of the trim tab on the back of the horizontal foil, which provides the amount of lift the foil creates. Falcon Marine built all of the wand gearing and linkage as well.

The T foil rudder is basically just for stabilization. The fiberglass rudder was the first foil built in the project. Since it’s all one piece (the horizontal foil isn’t glued on after the build) and Falcon Marine uses an infusion process, it was imperative to use fiberglass instead of carbon so the builder could see the infusion process taking place through the fiberglass matt. Before they dropped $1000.00 worth of carbon in the mold, they had to make sure the flow was right. Once they knew they had full infusion with resin, they then built the carbon foils with the same process, so both amas have carbon foils.

The Osprey is a sloop rig with a sprit for the jib and about 240 ft/sq of Randy Smyth-designed sail area. It weighs in at 475 lbs. The mast is one of the first carbon Marstrom-built Tornado catamaran masts from when they tested the carbon rig for the Olympics. The crossbeams are also carbon, so all of the high load structural parts are carbon, and the lower load areas are fiberglass. This keeps costs down while testing.

Looking at the video, the crew weight should be further forward once foiling to reduce overall drag. The incidence of the foil is too high with the crew weight back. That’s one thing they drilled into me when I sailed the Moth for the first and only time, “Get your weight forward!” They kept yelling at me. The hulls could probably lift quicker as well if the transoms are squared off to let the water release instead of sucking the transoms in like an old square rigger of the 1600s. It’s actually a simple, stable design in flat water. They can run the jib further in on the track and generally increase mainsheet tension as well. Yep, i’d have that thing boned in!
Here is a pic of it on the trailer:

I know, it looks like a mess, but it give you an idea of the profile view of the foils that are underwater in the video. On the left is the fiberglass rudder and on the right is a carbon foil. The hulls are on the right and on the left are the ‘D’ shaped crossbars. - JC

big pimpin'

soft landing

The staff at SA asked me to write a little introduction for Soft Deck and our products, but I figured I would spare you our canned press release and just say this: our nonskid products are soft, provide great traction even when wet, they are barefoot friendly, and super easy to install.

I think our products are great, but who wants to hear that from the owner of the company? Better to let fellow SA members tell you about their experience using our products. This is from Ross Moore owner of the J92 “H2 Blue” who races out of the Redondo Beach YC.

We went out on a Tuesday night beer can race and conditions got a little wild. Seas were 4 feet with an occasional 6 foot wave. The boat was overpowered with a 155% jib and we couldn’t change jibs as we had left all of our sails on the dock , thinking is was going to be lite. We took on a lot of water over the bow in the 13 knot winds and the crew got soaked. I have two guys on the fore deck and they told me later that the soft deck was the only reason they were able to stay on their feet. After the race and back at the slip I went up on the fore deck myself and bounced around on the wet soft deck there. I was very impressed on how much friction there was. This is a great safety addition to my boat.

If you are in Southern California you can find our products at Sailing Supply in San Diego, or SA readers in the US get free shipping when they enter promo code ANARCHY at checkout.

indexed

It’s been half a year since Mark Morley and Suzanne Bickel died aboard the Kiwi 35 Wingnuts, which flipped over during Chicago Yacht Club’s Race To Mackinac. We’ve seen conflicting official reports on what really happened, and we’ve seen US Sailing’s recommendations, and last week, CYC issued rules that will prevent boats with a modified Stability Index of less than 103 from racing the world’s premier freshwater distance race. The pitchforks were sharpened and the torches lit when news emerged that the cutoff excluded proven offshore boats like the J/30, so we grabbed the race’s Chief Measurer, Ron White, during last weekend’s Strictly Sail show, to discuss the real effect of the new rule on the fleet and the future of the race.

Be sure to check out Wednesday’s Front Page for the full report from Strictly Sail, including new product videos from Karver, Robichaud, and Colligo Marine, and interviews with more than a dozen movers and shakers in the sailing industry. And a few college girls…

frostbite fanatics

A record 35 teams turned out for last weekend’s 2012 Interclub Midwinter Championship at Larchmont YC. The 146 sailors (70 skippers, 76 crews) represented the largest gathering at an IC regatta in nearly 16 years, and those who attended were not disappointed. A rare January southwester filled after the first race on Saturday at 8-14 knots with stiff chop, followed by a shifty, puffy westerly on Sunday of similar velocity to allow for 20 races over two days.

The Interclub Midwinters features “college-style” racing -- competitors team up with friends to form “A” and “B” teams, with the lowest combined score winning the regatta. Each race is 10-15 minutes in length and there are no discards, placing a premium on consistency and short course strategy. Sailors rotate divisions every three to four races to keep warm, though the warm weather allowed everyone to spectate from the lawn and porch while sipping soup between sets.

Past IC National Champions John and Molly Baxter, and Danny Pletsch and Jane Delashmutt, all St. Mary’s College alums racing for the home LYC club, sailed consistently to finish seventeen point ahead of Team 21, Ben Cesare, Dorsey Roseberry, David Dowd and Tricia Leicht to win the title. Clay Bischoff and Kendra Emhiser won the A division, and finished third overall with teammates Ted Ferrarone and Meredith Killion. Despite the overall win, Baxter and Pletsch each scored at least one race of 16th or worse in the competitive fleet that featured three former college sailors of the year, 18 former collegiate All Americans, and several national and world champions from a variety of classes.

The Midwinters counts toward the Wharf Rat Challenge, a trophy donated by Steve and Heidi Benjamin for overall performance during the winter IC circuit. The next Wharf Rat event is the Stanley Bell Memorial at Larchmont March 17-18, followed by the Tally Cup at Cottage Park YC (Winthrop, Mass.) in early April, culminating with the nationals April 28-29 at Rochester YC. Thank you to Heineken for its continued support of IC class regattas at Larchmont.

By Peter Beardsley, photos from Howie McMichael and more here.

Results here
Slideshow by Maureen Koeppel here
Photos by Tom Spelman here

take off?

Looks pretty trick. Next stop, AC? Thanks to Anarchist Brian.

scotw

turn that paige

SA Contributing Editor Paige Brooks has been living out her sailing passion for a long time. Whether helming her Etchells, running race committee, or helping out the OTW Anarchy report, no one can say that “Dixie” doesn’t give back to the sport constantly.

And last weekend, she took some of that goodness back during the 3 Bridge Fiasco – and for all she does out in the Bay Area and beyond, she’s our Sailor Chick of the Week. Congrats, Paige!

You can read the full race rundown in the very informative and photo-filled thread, and here’s Paige’s report, with a photo from Jeremy Leonard/Surf City Racing, with a huge gallery of great shots here.

I had the great pleasure of sailing the Three Bridge with Jonathan "Bird" Livingston aboard his custom Wylie "Punk Dolphin." The 3BF has been on my racing ‘bucket list’ forever, but this was my first time, and only my second time out sailing with Bird.

We had a blast and laughed our way around the course, and by magic and determination, managed to eke out a 2nd in our fleet of 36 boats (21st overall). The weather was grand, the wind spotty, and the competition delightful. I love the way the race challenges you on so many levels - current, wind, competition, and lickety split clean up at the corners so you're ready for your next big move.

on board

the spirit of generosity

Life at sea from Marco Nannini sailing the Global Ocean Race

We have now been at sea for 2 full days and slowly getting back in the swing of ocean life, daily food bags, sail changes, position reports, naps and snacks... the start of this leg was far from simple for us with lots of little snags to worry about, the brand new spare NKE wind wand started throwing an error before even leaving the dock, but too late to do anything about it, the master alternator wasn't initially charging the batteries, the ballast pump didnt respond and the mast navigation and deck lights would not work on the first night...

When we left Wellington harbour in about 10 knots of wind we were caught completely by surprise finding 35 knots just outside, probably Wellington's way of waving us goodbye. We had not set the staysail before leaving and everything suddenly became very uncomfortable and we lost ages to do the sail changes trying to avoid any early damage.

On the second day we slowly fixed the problems and things looked up and we started enjoying the Pacific Ocean ride, we are now with our small spinnaker, one of the two kindly repaired free of charge by Dave at Seaview Sails and Rigging to help us get going again. We have a lot of people to thank in Wellington for the support received during this stopover, the wonderful Ben and Sarah Spencer who hosted us in Karori, Eva and Frank Kiss who lent us a car to get around as well as treating us to a few nice meals, Craig and Geoff who donated some freeze dried food, Ben Amor who serviced our winches, dived to scrub the boat and invited us for a killer barbecue... all in all i will never forget the kindness and generosity of everyone in Wellington.

Such generosity made our life easier and kept the cost down and now that we left we can draw a line, thanks also to the donations received from friends and the sailing public during the previous leg we pulled it off and are at sea again. Now that land is a few hundred miles behind I can reveal that i very nearly got into negotiations to sell the boat but hopefully we'll take care and try to minimise damage on this leg and in Punta we'll be one leg closer to home.

Adding up the donations received to our racing funds from the beginning of the race i can also reveal that the public has now officially become our number one sponsor, a massive thanks hence to all those that helped us keep going by donating through our paypal page at
www.marconannini.com/help

would you buy it?

We've all seen plenty of sailing artwork and it seems like the usual response to buying it is, "Naaw, I don't think so..." Is this one you would plunk down $4,800 for? Jump on our Facebook page and weigh in...

on board

net loss

Leg 3, Day 8
30 January 2012
Amory Ross, MCM, PUMA Ocean Racing

Yesterday I said it was going to be a make or break 24 hours. It appears now – after a full 24 hours – that we were headed for a breaking. 

PUMA’s Mar Mostro pulled to within a few hundred yards of Groupama and Telefónica late yesterday, and we were able to match them for most of last night staying offshore while they chose the inshore route; at one point we might have been ahead. Then came the hostile confrontation with a submerged net early this morning and it cost us a good hour of progress and 10 or so miles on the charts. 

Far worse, while untangling the tangled we sat idle as the dwindling night winds vanished, and we now find ourselves struggling in a windless transition zone while the leaders sail away in the old breeze and the trailers catch up in the new. It is upsetting. We are now closer to CAMPER and Abu Dhabi than we are the other two. Like I said: make or break, and we broke. Not exactly our fault, but nonetheless, it’s another gut-wrenching setback of the likes we haven’t been able to avoid all race. Fortunately there is still a lot of track left, decisions to be made, and comebacks to be had. 

Everything else onboard remains relatively unchanged, or in some cases even enhanced. It has actually found a way to get hotter – shocking, and freeze-dried flatulence is at an all-time high. Several new challengers for supremacy have surfaced too. I’m proud to say that I’m a boy amongst men in that contest, but it’s true, there’s something in the air (or the food) that’s taking things to a new level. Ohhhh the wonders of live-aboard entertainment...and it’s only Day 8!  latest onboard video he

a day in the life

Some really impressive work from Jürg Kaufmann. This is why we love to watch.

extension dimension?

From photographer Chris Cameron/ETNZ. These are the wing extensions that will be required to be fitted for ACWS events when ACRM deems winds are too light for regular wing. All ACWS teams will be required to buy one. It will be a 4 meter tall extension to the wingsail that will add over 8 square meters of surface area to the wing. More here.

from the forum

pain and pleasure

Helluva first post...

I can already hear the incredulous chuckling when I say that I don't set out to get punished. Everyone who's sailed with me knows my dedication to safety and the level's to which I prepare for the worst. But trouble follows me. If there's a gale out there anywhere I'll find it and if there's not, one will come up just for my benefit.

Sure I've been known to set out with the intent of getting into bad weather, but it doesn't happen that way every time. This particular trip I'd intended to be a relaxing non committal trip. My wife Ying was looking to break free of the daily routine and I was anxious to see something other than a world of artificial crises.

We weren't looking for an adventure nor expecting one. The forecast for Christmas weekend 2011 was 15 to 25 knots winds rising to 20-30 on Christmas day, then easing offto 5 – 15 knots for Monday. It looked like a perfect forecast for a four day trip in the San Juans.

Friday started things off with a casual sail leaving Skyline Marina in Anacortes in our 36 foot sloop Korrigan heading out into Rosario Strait with views South to the Olympic Mountains and some sun breaks. I waxed poetic about how beautiful winter sailing was in this area and how people who only 'sailed' these waters in summer missed out on a lot of good times. We meandered out to Watmough Head at the tip of Lopez Island then turned back in the fading breeze for the little piece of mind called James Island.

Saturday we left James Island in a dreary rain and sailed slowly under jib alone in through Thatcher pass, Upright Channel and out to San Juan Channel. We chased a sun break out to Cattle Pass and were treated to a clearing sky, brilliant views, and pleasant casual afternoon sail back to Friday Harbor.

I didn't have a plan for Christmas day. In the back of my mind Sucia Island was going to be the days destination but getting out into the straights of Juan De Fuca was my real desire. I don't start to relax until out into the bigger spaces where a lee shore is far away and shelter lies in every direction.

We got started at a casual 9AM and lollygagged our way down to Turn Rock. The wind quickly built and the double reef quickly went in. The wind built some more and the jib was rolled up a bit. Since we had no commitment or plan it didn't occur to me to listen to the weather radio, regardless we were going out to somewhere.

Out into San Juan Channel proper it was blowing a solid 30 knots or more. Since my wind instrument gave up on life about a year ago I can only judge based on experience. And based on previous experiences, even though it wasn't particularly rough in San Juan Channel, the building breeze, the ebb tide, and the lack of necessity quickly led me to abandon my desire to go out through Cattle Pass. Something about not having to sail to windward in rough weather tends to lead me to not want to. Go figure? Read on.

the same, only different

Windseeker Yachts in Istanbul have built a bulb and carbon fin for Kevin Farrar’s Donovan GP 26 in New London, CT, and a new bulb for the 1995 MORC 30 footer “Galaxy Girl” (ex-Wolfpack). Want one for your ride?

classifieds

buy, sell, or hold

It kind of amazes us too, but the Sailing Anarchy Classified section really does work at helping people buy and sell boats, gear and services. Here's an e-mail that we received just today:

Could you remove our ad for the Antrim 27 (Bad Mojo). The boat is sold. Thanks again - we're 3 for 3 selling on the classifieds at SA...!

Looking for a Melges 32 or a Farr 36 or a Columbia 30/32, or maybe a Viper 830 or perhaps a 1D 35? Maybe a Beneteau 44.7 or 40.7 or 36.7 or a J/35 or a One Tonner? Get busy then! Oh and the Classifieds are brought to you by Rodgers Yacht Sales, who are the sole North American importer for X Yachts. Check them out as well!

take off

Southern Ocean here they come - the Classe 40's take off in the Global Ocean Race. Loads more pics by Ollie Deware right here.

on board

now we got a race

Leg 3, Day 7
29 January 2012
Amory Ross, MCM, PUMA

Today could be the make or break day of this leg. Several major weather features have helped in splitting the fleet, and we find ourselves in a position that could see us go either way. 

There are so many variables at work, so many unpredictable factors, that even the positive developments of the last 18 hours might prove irrelevant. We have shipping lanes, fishing boats, nets, floating debris, currents, winds, squalls, and last but not least: exclusion zones, to avoid. Between where we are now, and where we’ll be when we leave the Straits near Singapore, it’s a race course full of unexpected hazards. 

But alas, the Malacca Strait has been kind to us – not exactly the case for CAMPER, Abu Dhabi, and Sanya, who chose the inshore route and are struggling to move at all. We’ve managed to stay offshore, more in the middle of the Straits, where winds have been steady and strong, and we’re clinging to Telefónica and Groupama, both in line off our bow. If the three of us can keep powering downwind until an active sea breeze fills in tonight, we could escape the Straits unscathed, but if we park up somewhere there could be a huge fleet compression and race re-start sometime overnight. 

So today’s game is twofold: staying in touch with the leaders is paramount, but not at the cost of sailing ourselves out of “our” racecourse. Tom has his own game plan and there are several gybes required to make our way east for the race exclusion zone; the timing of those gybes is critical. With shifty winds and ominous clouds we don’t want to overstand and go too far, or go too early and get sucked into incoming weather to the north. 

cool or not cool?

Anarchist Readyabout82 (see Miss September in the 2012 Women of Sailing Anarchy calendar) was out SUP'ing in Hawaii and snapped this shot of the SC 50 Chasch Mer with its wooden house. Cool or not cool?

after math

A bad day in Greece - Seven large powerboats (70-105') are considered “total loss” and others might have been affected by fire residues and high temperatures. The real cause of fire is yet to be investigated by experts while the area of Alimos Marina in Athens is expected to be cleaned in the next couple days. - Anarchist GreekMelges 24.

rig wrap

This ought to about cover it... Thanks to anarchist Tranquilo. What rigs were not mentioned? Post here.

the biz

(now) born in the usa

Good news from Gunboat, who will be back this year with Sailing Anarchy as the title sponsor of our Multihull Anarchy forum.

Gov. Bev Perdue of North Carolina today announced that Gunboat Company, a maker of high-end sailboats, will locate a new shipyard in Dare County. The company plans to create 71 jobs and invest more than $1.8 million over the next three years in Wanchese. The project was made possible in part by a $213,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund.

“My top priority is creating jobs,” Gov. Perdue said. “Our state’s top-notch workforce and job training programs create a strong business climate where manufacturers can thrive in a global market. We welcome Gunboat and wish them smooth sailing here in North Carolina.”

Gunboat Company produces world cruising sailing catamaran yachts that utilize advanced technology from round-the-world racing sailboats combined with luxurious interiors. Gunboat is a sister company of Gunboat International, which is headquartered in Rhode Island. The new facility will allow the company to increase production and meet the growing demand for Gunboats.

Salaries will vary by job function, but the average annual wage for the new jobs will be $27,093, plus benefits. The Dare County average annual wage is $24,128.

“After more than a decade of producing overseas in lower labor cost markets, we are bringing manufacturing home to the United States,” said Peter Johnstone, CEO of Gunboat. “Productivity and quality control are essential to our success. We spent months evaluating locations in various states along the Eastern seaboard. North Carolina stood clear above the rest.” Read on.

from the fringe

rocket science

Given our spate (two) of unintended power boat stories of late, we just couldn't resist this one, especially for the weekend. Kentucky? Go figure...

The 312-foot Delta Mariner, carrying space rocket parts for the United Launch Alliance, intended for a vehicle that was scheduled to be shot into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, crashed right through the Eggner Ferry Bridge, which crosses the Kentucky Lake Reservoir.

Ya gotta check out the pics.

local knowledge

"i'll take this one"

We clicked on the photo and thought how nice and new and bright and shiny this thing is and how easy it would be, if one was in the market for something like this, to say, "I'll take it!". We can dream...

The biggest boat show in the world is held once a year in Dusseldorf, Germany and this year Farr  showed off the Farr 400 in a quiet corner of one of the 18 buildings. It takes a good 8 hours to  scratch the surface of the "Boot" and skip through at least every building once. Sometimes walking  a straight rhumb line between entrance and exit. All major sailing suppliers and yacht  manufacturers were represented. Too bad that I am still stuck at the Istanbul AIrport trying to make  it back to the U.S., but at least I hacked into a hotel network here and submitted something to the  sailing community.  - Anarchist Axel.

beautiful disaster

Carlo Borlenghi finds the beauty. 311 brings the music.

2012 us 2.4 mr mid-winter report

Miami, Florida
Day 1

It was an ideal day for sailing on Biscayne Bay. The wind was steady at the start of the first race at 10-12 from the north and stayed that way for the entire race. With oscillations of up to 25 degrees on either side of north, it became important to play all of the shifts. Allan led all the way around the course to take the win with Johnny and Megan fighting it out for second place right behind him. In race 2 the wind started to go light and would drop to 6-8 and then go back up to 10-12. The shifts were about the same in the beginning but then started to persistently go right and the RC moved to the right for the last leg. Allan again took the lead for this race with Charlie and Paul finishing second and third.

The wind continued to the right while the sailors took a short break and the RC moved the course. The third race saw the wind starting to build with a steady 12-14. Paul was leading Megan into the gate when his whiskerpole wouldn't retract and he had to drop out of the race. Megan went on to lead the fleet around the course for a first place finish. We saw some new blood up in the lead in this race with Thierry in second and Jerry in third. For the start of the fourth race we had the wind building to 14-16 and three boats were over early. Megan was one of those boats and she did not return to restart and retired at the top mark. Paul walked away from the fleet in the heavier wind with Allan and Thierry placing second and third. A number of boats dropped out of the race as the wind and waves became more difficult.

Pizza and wings were waiting for the sailors when they finished putting away their boats and got a chance to look over the results. Tomorrow's racing begins at 10:30 with a goal of four races.

Day 2
The day started out light and shifty early in the morning while we gathered our gear on the dock preparing to shove off to the race site. Several people asked if we'd be sailing and I assured them that we should see some wind shortly. Sure enough the wind started to fill in from the east and by the time we got to the race area it was blowing 6-8 knots.

The start of the first race saw the wind at about 8 from 105 degrees. We planned on the wind going right and were taken by surprise when it went back to 95 degrees and we had to move the gate for the second leg. We had several boats over early and all got back except Juan. Allan started the day out right again taking first and Paul and Johnny were second and third.

The next race again saw several boats over early with Megan and Juan not coming back. The wind picked up a bit to 10-12 and was looking like it wanted to go back to the right. Allan took first again as it started to look like he was getting pretty dialled in to the wind. Johnny took second with Jerry in third.

After a short break for all, we moved the weather mark back to the right and got race three started. We had one over early on this race and they returned so everyone was going to be scored! We saw another lefty and had to move the gate again! This was just getting old! There was a bit of a mixing in the results on this race with Paul taking first and Jerry second and Thierry third.

In the last race of the day We had four boats over early with only one returning. The wind stayed put for the entire race and built at times to 12-14. We saw the shifts oscillate about 30 degrees but it always returned to where we had it set so we didn't have to move the course. Allan took first place again with Megan in second and Jerry in third. Results

Thanks to Steve Olive PRO for running the Regatta and submitting this report and to Regatta Chair Mark Bryant for providing the Pizza and Wings.

Visit Bryant One Design

bow, wow, wow

While we're on the subject of reverse bows, here's a little something different from Anarchist John.

wrong way francais

This big Beneteau’s nav light placement is a symbol of the chaos coming to Strictly Sail Chicago with the Winter Anarchy party on Friday. Clean and Mer are in town with video and still cameras, so If you’re in the industry and have something interesting to share with the community, be sure to email Clean with your booth location and contact info so they can share the news.

Those who can’t make it, keep an eye out on the Winter Anarchy/Strictly Sail thread for all the product shots and interviews our team gets over the weekend.

We also heard that instead of two kegs, our pals at 312 are bringing seven. See you there!

being there

good lord

It was billed as the ultimate showdown between kiters and windsurfers with 3 events spanning 9 days on the sea of Cortez on southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. While the kiters showed up in numbers, the windsurfers still found ways to keep the bragging rights for another year. At the end of the day- we found we had more in common than what separates us and in hindsight, I’d say it was more a gathering of the tribes- where we all spoke the same language- wind!

After enduring what seemed like a windless (and snow less) fall and early winter in northern California- I made plans for my first trip to Baja. I hooked up with our local kiting crew who use the events as a testing ground to where they stand in the off season. The Heineken van made the trip down on Christmas eve packed with 6 sets of kiting gear & 4 people. Rock star siblings, Erika and Johnny almost made it only to be delayed on Christmas morning when their front differential fell out and their 4 wheel van quickly turned in a 2 wheel van. In Mexico- anything is possible and after a 6 hour delay and trading some beer for labor they were quickly back on their way. I arrived 2 weeks later for the first event skipping the road trip and flying directly into Cabo.

The Lord of the Winds Showdown in Los Barriles hooked up with the Travel Channel who was featuring the Sand Masters show at the same time. If you’ve never seen it, these guys create unbelievable works of art in the sand. Their final creation was a huge sand stage for the Lord of the Winds where Johnny ‘Pacifico’ Heineken was crowned Lord of the Winds after taking the long distance race. (Windsurfers 0: Kiters 1). Read on.

big pimpin'

warm your winter

Now, your oddball sailing video can win you even more pimp than a GoPro! Here’s something from the newest member of the SA family, Chicago mainstay Crowley’s Yacht Yard.

Tell Crowley's Yacht Yard how you keep your sailing spirit hot during the cold winter months, and you could win a Henry Lloyd Drysuit!  Crowley’s is welcoming video submissions to win an awesome and free Henri Lloyd drysuit in time for the Spring Season.

All you have to do is post your ‘Warm Your Winter” video documenting how you keep fired up for sailing during the winter to Crowley’s Facebook Page. The contest is open to all US residents January 28 - March 14, and the winner will be announced on March 26 on our Facebook Page and Sailing Anarchy.

Videos will be judged on relevance, creativity, fun, appropriateness, content, quality and delivery. For a chance to score some extra points with the judges, have your friends “like” and comment on your video post! These extra points will be taken into consideration for the final tally.

For inspiration, check out this sweet video from West Coast Sailing. Questions? E-mail Morgan.

page 2

bow, wow

What, you thought reverse bows were the sole domain of multihulls? Thanks to Anarchist Patrick.

on board

hot hot heat

Leg 3, Day 4
26 January 2012
Ken Read, Skipper, PUMA Ocean Racing  

"Hot as a..."  you fill in the blank. That is what we have going out here…90 degree water and a black boat means no reprieve even at night. It has to be 110+ F below most of the time, but fortunately there is not much water on deck so all of the hatches except for the forward hatch are open. Fans in each bunk that tack from side to side are the most prized possessions on the boat.   

It has been a hectic couple of days, of course. It is amazing how much of this race is dictated by squalls – day or night. What simply looks like a pretty cloud, and doesn't look ominous at all, turns out to be a 30 degree wind shift and dramatic wind change. We have had our share, as I am sure every boat can tell the tale. 

The problem is we had the plan to stay left, and after a couple of bad clouds the second night we ended up getting CAMPER and Telefónica shifted up on us in pretty nice spots. We have been able to fight off CAMPER, but Tele has done their customary fast sailing in the high lane and will probably come out of this long drag race on top as we enter the Malacca Strait.   

As for the rest of us, CAMPER, Groupama and ourselves have been within eyeball range pretty much since the start of this leg and that doesn't seem to be changing any time in the near future.  It makes it a bit more stressful on the boat, but certainly gives everyone a constant measuring stick which is a good thing. 

The boys are all in good spirits despite the heat. Ryan made himself a little iPod holder next to his bunk out of sticky back tape, and apparently that little holder also holds water. In a crushing blow to Ryan, he had to dispose of his beloved iPod after it absorbed quite a bit of liquid.   

Besides that, it is business as usual. Really not much to report. Just wish we had an AC unit on board, but then nobody would ever go on watch.  

leech line

We recently noticed some action in the Rondar-sponsored Sportboat Anarchy forum around a sexy little 6.5 meter sporty called the Leech 6.5, and we asked the guy building the first one for his thoughts. Good stuff, and be sure to check the Leech site and the thread for more info. Thanks to Rob Wood for the story and pics.

If I had to give a rational reason as to why I ended up with this design I would struggle. I'm certainly pleased with it though and find Dan Leech great to work with. I have a 30' keelboat that I've raced and enjoyed for the past 10 years, and in the last couple of years, I have been using it for day sailing/racing rather than trips away during the holidays. I have begun to resent the time and money spent maintaining a big boat, so I started looking for something smaller and sportier. There are plenty to choose from, and being a Kiwi, the obvious place to start was a Shaw 650. I rejected this because I thought it a bit extreme (light, fast, athletic crew work, etc.) given I'm 55. Further searching occurred - the GT6 in the UK, T-Boats, the Donovan 6m first seen on SA. The Donovan seemed like the way to go as it met lots of my criteria, sporty, a sprit, a bit more ballast than was typical. Unfortunately plans would not be available for a while and I wanted to get started.

That was when Dan Leech's name came up in a couple of conversations, and long story short, ne came up with the design that you see now. Now it seems like I've gone round in a circle as many of the parameters of this boat match the Shaw - a design that I had rejected. So, I make no apology for my selection process, and I’m quite pleased where it all ended up.

Kiwis have a great tradition of building boats in their backyards. Back in the 70’s, I can remember seeing Hartley 18’ trailer yachts, and Frank Pelin runabouts being built by lots of my father’s contemporaries. These hulls were almost always built with light timber frames and plywood skins. Later on, in the 80’s and 90’s, Elliot and Ross T/Y’s were all the go, usually built in cedar strip by then. I don’t think so many of these later designs were built – by this time the builders were usually serious sailors rather than the Dad-and-Dave types that first built the Harleys and then learned to sail. As the 90’s progressed, home building pretty much stopped, as did commercial builds. Commercially built boats have gotten really expensive – there is for example a nice looking new 8m T/Y for sale on TradeMe at the moment for NZ$130,000. Whoa!

I think the move to fast, light, simple boats like the Leech and Shaw designs will be great for sailing and boat building. The use of CNC moulds and other components makes the process far more accessible to the average home builder. It took me about 2 months of spare time, usually working by myself, to get the hull skin built and carbon on both sides – check the Leech 6.5 page on the SA sportboat forum for 5 guys in Australia who got this done in a couple of weeks! I have yet to get to the foils but when I do I expect these will be equally easy to do.

Designer Dan basically does all the work by first creating a 3D file, sending this to a company with a 3D router together with a timber blank and it’s done. The foils I have seen arrive with recesses for the carbon unidirectionals and perfectly profiled.

Yesterday, having just finished the internal carbon skin, I went up to my workshop and found the front bulkhead that the sprit mounts to. The pre-cut foam panel fitted into the boat exactly – I mean seriously - exactly. Think how long that would have taken if you had to measure and scribe a plywood panel and think also how bad that would be if you didn’t have the skills to scribe that bulkhead.

You can buy a Shaw 650 ready to go for about NZ$50,000, or you can spend a bit over $30,000 and build your own. If you can’t do the $50,000 in one hit (that’s me) then the build your own seems to be a good way to go. I have spent about $8000 so far and that should pretty much get me a bare unpainted hull. In a few months when I have finished this I will have saved up a bit more money – or sold the keelboat!

build it and they will come

Not exactly sailing, but it is funny. Thanks to Anarchist David.

ac

dolphin safe cup

Jeremy from Surf City Racing checks in with the latest from the San Francisco AC song-and-dance. Photo also from Jeremy.

The San Francisco City Council yesterday voted unanimously to approve the final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), the biggest regulatory hurdle remaining on the way to hosting the 34th America’s Cup. I sat among a packed crowd of concerned citizens from both sides of the issue on a well-run meeting, with thoughtful comments from many people. Tom Lippe, an attorney representing several environmental organizations including the Sierra Club and the Golden Gate Audubon Society, began the dialog: “The draft EIR and EIR were rushed through…it’s clear that these issues haven’t been studied enough.”

During his opening statement, attorney Lippe made reference several times to an 80% reduction between the draft EIR and final EIR in the ‘projected spectators’ figure. The crowd would murmur in disbelief amongst themselves every time he made the reference. As it turns out, Attorney Lippe was referring to a reduction the estimated number of spectator vessels. Data for the number in the EIR were based on a count taken at Fleet Week 2011, whereas the number in the draft was pure speculation, and wildly optimistic to boot. Attorney Lippe set the record straight when he addressed the council later in the evening. It wasn't a very good move for the attorney to make such an obvious error, since one of his main arguments was that since spectator numbers were down, then so too would be the revenue required to offset the costs of the various tools available to mitigate environmental impacts by the event and spectators.

One of the major sticking points for the EIR’s approval was ACEA’s plan to erect an enormous JumboTron, a giant screen that would broadcast the America’s Cup live, in Aquatic Park. The plan was to sink a number of five-foot cube concrete blocks on the Bay floor to anchor the JumboTron just off the shoreline. For power, the screen would house several diesel generators inside the frame.

A handful of community members spoke about, “the consistent 30-mile-an-hour winds,” that would buffet the giant screen every afternoon, and potentially knock it over and create a hazard. I’m guessing they weren’t engineers.

The Dolphin Swim Club, a Bay Area fixture since 1877, whose members use Aquatic Park for their swimming activities, were concerned about the concrete blocks creating a physical hazard and disturbing toxic sediment. The club is well organized, and they’ve been mobilizing their members on the JumboTron issue for months. They recently posted on their own site that they “support the America’s Cup racing program, but have strong concerns over the unclear, open-ended collateral aspects proposed for Aquatic Park, such as the mooring of a 12-barge, 12 stories long with a 22 feet high by 44 feet long, JumboTron video screen 3-4 feet above the water in the muddy bottom of the shallow cove of Aquatic Park.” Board Member David Chiu said he also uses Aquatic Park for swimming, and had concerns about the barge as well. He alluded to the fact that he wouldn’t vote to approve the EIR if the JumboTron issue wasn’t adequately solved. Mary Murphy, a super-sharp and quick-witted lawyer for ACEA, quickly conceded that if the JumboTron were an issue, they would forgo the barge idea and look for a land-based alternative, to which there was major applause. Minutes later, the Dolphin Swim Club website read, “Great News (1/24): No JumboTron in the Cove! Congratulations to all who participated in getting this done! Go AC34!!!”

The line of pro-AC public commentators was in comparison to those looking to appeal the EIS. The Bay Area Marine industry was out in force, and after proponents of the appeal and Attorney Lippe addressed the Council, it was time for the pro AC 34 crowd to step up to the microphone and speak. First up was Peter Stoneberg, Commodore of the StFYC, followed by several other members of different Bay Area YCs, including my friend and long-time Bay sailor John Super. All touched on how the AC has created interest in their clubs, and that they have seen an upsurge in membership. John Arndt from Latitude 38, Paul Kaplan from KKMI, and a rep from Port Supply all articulated how they have already seen an increase in business from the developing AC. Several members of the Longshoreman Union addressed the need for jobs within their industry, and that the AC would satisfy that need. A number of small business owners rounded out the mix, and it was set up for a vote. The vote was 10-0 in favor of approving the EIR, and the crowd applauded.

It’s really amazing that in a city such as San Francisco, stereotyped as it is, that the eco-groovy faction wasn’t more vocal and that the appeal was allowed to sink into the muck. Of course in closing, Attorney Lippe stated that his clients would make the decision whether or not to sue the city by Feb 14, so there’s still time to royally screw things up. But for now, things are a go! I spoke with several business folks outside after the vote, and they were excitedly making plans to open the doors to their new business tomorrow, a decision that hinged on this EIR decision. Sure, a lot of us are winners tonight. We’ll be working for the AC, our businesses will grow due the AC being held here, a lot of revenue will be generated, and so on, but there’s a David vs. Goliath highlight here that I don’t want to pass up.

The podunk swimming club (no offence) was able to thwart Mr. Ellison’s giant JumboTron. Onward! We’ll see what happens next.

big pimpin'

matching set

Our friends at CCI / Phil's Foils, are pumped to announce the shipment of a full appendage solution for a new sporty being built by a customer in Switzerland. Designed by Fred Barrett (Australia), built by CCI (Canada), and installed in Europe, the R680 is a true international conspiracy. This is not the first time CCI has collaborated with the designer Barrett and they look forward to more such interactions in the future. CCI has done other struts & bulbs in the past, but at 800 lbs. it is the heaviest to date, and has left them wondering how they ever managed before their recent purchase of a forklift!

The Canadian composites fabrication shop continues to build international reputation, shipping MAT1010 rudders to the boat's builder in Turkey, and providing a UK refit of a 60' custom tri with rudders, daggerboards, and net crossbeams. CCI has just gone through a full rewrite of their website and follow updates from their workshop on Twitter CCIComposites.

the darnedest things

Our bros on the Liquid Force kiting team laugh things up with a little vid from the Caribbean. There are too many quotables to even pick one – click and laugh.

dead pirates

A great story about the dramatic rescue of kidnapped aid workers Jessica Buchanan, of Rosslyn, Virginia, and Poul Hagen Thisted of Denmark.

Nine Somali pirates were killed and five captured by the SEALs unit responsible for killing Osama Bin Laden, which launched its raid on the pirate base in the middle of the night near Adado, Somalia. The U.S. special forces crept up on the captors - with the overnight guards asleep after chewing on the narcotic leaf qat for much of the evening - and had originally intended to detain them alive.

But they changed plans and killed nine of the pirates when the frantic gunfight ensued. The pirates were heavily armed with explosives 'nearby', but no U.S. personnel were injured, military officials said. Read on.

rant of the week

world's whinge

Apparently, the two thousand dollar entry fee doesn’t buy all that much at an Etchells World Championship. Confusing equipment requirements, no trailer storage or parking, and a club atmosphere that has been described in less-than-glowing terms by SA’er ‘Sloan.’ Here’s his view on host Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, from the entertaining Etchells Worlds thread.

It is a pain in the ass club to visit for regattas and even if many members are supportive, that support does not extend to sharing the car park or being put out in anyway whatsoever. As usual, half the car park if not more will be empty for the whole week of the event.

There is no doubt the members come first at RSYS. I am not saying that is wrong or right but it is an undoubted fact. It is no worse though than many "Royal" clubs around the place. A lot of pretentious wankers with a few letters after their names swanning around like they are superior in every way to the dirty unwashed proles who they take advantage of at every single opportunity. The only people that fit in well at the squadron are social climbers (have they no pride) and of course their betters, those that inherited wealth but are convinced that they and their family are an excellent example of a functioning meritocracy.

The some that might whinge that you are referring to, is pretty much every non sailing member and plenty of the sailing members as well. Since club racing will no doubt be going on as usual whilst the worlds are being run, it will inevitably create conflict between visitors and members. Everyone will be given the standard speech at the briefing I am sure, where the visiting sailors will be told to respect the members and understand that they are also racing this week for their twilight and weekend racing and to please be aware of that.

So when you see that doddery old property developer who has systemically raped many Sydney suburbs to further fill his families’ treasure chest , be sure to genuflect as they pass. I find they appreciate a simple bow and averting of the eyes. Treat them like a Saudi prince and you will be fine.

After your fine speech Colin, you have to admit it is quite amusing to read your response to Lydia and her request to borrow your card. Give Lydia your pass Colin and pay cash at the bar if you visit. I am sure that Lydia wont misuse your bar tab and if it is such an issue speak to the house manager and disable that feature.

Putting that aside, I will say this; if you are attending a regatta at RSYS plan on catching a cab or being dropped of by your wife/husband. On the few occasions I have had to sail from there I just book a cab in advance for all the race days on the program. Way less stressful. Plan on there being no parking at all. As for your gear, just dump it up in the Laser shed for the duration, somewhere not to in the way of course.

I am sure there are many decent people at RSYS who aren't climbers, trust fund brats, rich old buggers with zero regard for the society that has given them so much, and all the rest of the private school boy clique from the "right" schools and families. I have even met some of them, usually working behind the bar or elsewhere in that gentrified copy of a club that is nothing more than a small attempt to replicate a little bit of England out here in the colonies by the black sheep of the English families that were forced to live in Australia and manage their families commercial concerns over the last century or so.

I know quite a few RSYS members and they are all monstrous snobs. I can not think of a single one that is not and it would appear that the lower down the pecking order you are in that world, the more snobby and offensive you must be.

Most of those that I know and have met are involved in finance, insurance, farming and mining concerns and all are terrible racists but at the same time they are all for bringing in millions of immigrants to Australia. Hypocrite much?

I am not saying they are not nice enough people to others of their class because they are, but they live in a world where snobbery and elitism is completely normal and it is their most unpleasant trait. Their world view is that we are superior on account of our wealth or position to anyone lower down the social scale and if being better than everyone else makes us snobs so be it. Essentially though it was simply a matter of birth for many of them. The barman if born into a family of wealth or position would be just as boorish as many of the rich that inhabit Sydney and Melbourne's "finest" clubs. Private schools (tax payer funded in part, the rich just love getting stuff for free from the rest of us), private clubs, and a private cloistered world with its own world view and value system. I don't blame them, they are the product of a system that is designed to produce arrogant snobs.

dear larry

Anarchist “Alpha FB” shares what many of us AC junkies have been thinking for a while now about the long lost USA 17. From the thread, with the shot from Kaufman/Forster photo/Go4image.com

Remember the excitement of catching the first pictures of the monster, her transformation, the speculation and then realisation of the wing, the amazing shots from San Diego... Seeing A5 being built in response, flown (!) over the Alps. Never thought A5 was a particularly pretty boat, but she sure looked menacing... (before we knew how much faster USA17 would turn out to be).

The drift fest of the first few days in Valencia, already nearly two years ago and then the amazing sight of the first race - USA17 roaring into the start area and nailing A5, then immediately screwing up again getting caught in irons...

AC33, according to some, was not what the AC should ultimately be about, but it probably the most ultimate sail race we will see in our lifetime.

I love the AC45's and the way the crews are hanging on for dear life when the wind is on, the close racing and the amazing show being put on by the whole ACWS. I'm curious about the AC72s, but I fear the larger boats will lose the agility of the smaller boats, without the huge size and sheer majesty of the DoG monsters... wait and see...

I'm planning to come over to SF in 2013 to catch a glimpse of AC34, but I will be very disappointed if USA17 is not around, on the water or at the very least somewhere nice on display!

wake-up call

The Victorian (AUS) sailing community has pulled in tightly around Tess Lloyd after the 16 year old sailor chick landed in a coma following a smack on the head during the Aussie Youth Championship in Queensland. Tess has just been brought out of her coma, and is thankfully on a real road to recovery. Here’s an update from ‘48buster’:

It's a very slow process, she is in the very best care. Three steps toward and one step back. It's hard right now for her family, as all the sailors who were competing have now headed home, that close support from friends is still there but not like it was when the youths and nationals were on. I know the posts on SA have been appreciated by the family - Tonia was taken back by the level of support from sailors all over the world who have taken an interest in her daughter.

luff in

Hey even the really good guys get it wrong...

current events

Don’t have a few bucks to splurge on a TideTech subscription for your San Francisco racing? Well, the folks at San Francisco State have got your number, and it’s free. Yep – they’ve created an app that uses Google Maps and GPS to give sailors a real-time look at currents in the Bay, the previous 24 hours of currents and a projection for the next two hours. Pretty cool, and you can download it for your iThingy here.

mellow, that's my style

You wouldn’t know it from recent events, but 4-time Olympic medalist Ben Ainslie is one of the calmest and mellowest pro sailors we’ve ever had the pleasure to chat with. He sat down with Mr. Clean for an hour on Friday for a wide ranging talk on the real deal between Ben and Larry Ellison’s Oracle Racing, how he’d feel about being an AC “B” boat skipper again, whether nationality requirements for the Cup would be a positive, how damaging Olympic campaigns are to the body, how to keep focus during long race days, the likelihood that we’ll see Ben in an Olympic multihull, whether he’s a boxer or brief guy – and of course, much more. A holla for the Anarchists for coming up with some great questions, and big thanks to Big Ben and his crew for the face time.

Listen to or download the audio-only file here. Perma-link to video here, and props to UDS for the flashback lyric title inspiration.

on board

in front

Leg 3, Day 2
24 January 2012
Amory Ross, MCM, PUMA Ocean Racing

We again find ourselves leading through the early stages of a leg. That makes three for three, and it only helps to reinforce our confidence in the boat, the sails, and the team. Now we just have to make it stick, something we haven’t been able to do so far!

The mood onboard this morning was a well rested one; it sounds like the guys had their first night of good sleep last night, and it’s a sure sign of settling into the offshore groove. I don’t think anyone has overcome the blistering heat though, and Michi still refuses to eat the freeze-dried until it’s at least a few hours “old and cold.” If you knew Michi’s passion for eating, you’d understand the gravity of the situation…

Last night was a busy one as we entered a region of overnight squalls and ominous clouds. CAMPER was a few miles behind and just above our line, and Groupama a few miles back of them. At some point we accepted a cloud-induced header and CAMPER did not, and they tacked away to the north; we have not seen them since. We mulled tacking several times after, mostly while monitoring clouds on the radar, but coolly decided against it. We see more value in sticking to our game plan than covering at this early stage.

Consequently, we are no longer the highest sailing boat as we have been from the start. Camper (and Telefónica further behind them) will likely benefit from more pressure, and we will hopefully benefit from better angles. Time will tell how that split unfolds, but we have Groupama dead astern to keep us busy in the meantime. We expect more of the same today, with a gradual easing up of winds to come. Latest Puma vid here.

the biz

bk for ds

It's a cold world out there...

Derecktor Shipyards filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last Friday at the US Bankruptcy Court in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In court filings, the Connecticut shipyard said it has more than 200 creditors, with assets and outstanding liabilities between US$1m and US$10m.

Derecktor said in a statement on Friday that the bankruptcy does not involve its New York or Florida operations, adding that those are seeing stronger business following the recession. Its Bridgeport operation was hampered by a weak company and lack of funds, according to the statement.

The company is also facing a number of lawsuits, including one claiming the parent company owed a former client US$12m over a loan made while the shipyard builtCakewalk V. Read on.

And more bad news for power boats...

cape crusader

Bravo to Swiss sailor/adventurer Yvan Bourgnon and crew Sebastien Roubine on their successful rounding of Cape Horn aboard their modified Nacra 20 “Terresen’s Cape Horn Challenge”, and here’s some info from the skipper’s mouth, translated from an AFP piece.

"It's the hardest thing I've done,” Bourgnon said the day after his arrival in Ushuaia (Argentina) after rounding the Horn. The Swiss sailor acknowledged that it took "a good dose of insanity" to make the attempt.

"All the dangers were present," said Bourgnon, though he stressed that the expedition was “very well prepared to minimize the risks." The sailor and his Swiss teammate Sebastien Roubinet Ushuaia landed Thursday at 8:45 p.m., 60 hours and 30 minutes after pushing off on their Nacra F-20, a sports catamaran designed to sail into sheltered waters. “

The two men lived in their dry suits for just under three days, sleeping in snatches of a few minutes on a trampoline drowned under the spray.

"It was exceptionally hostile,” he recounted in a telephone interview with AFP. “At the end of the Beagle Channel, entering the Pacific, we sailed with hundreds of whales. It was magical! "

“The hardest time was the 12 hours of running in the Pacific,” he said. “The sea was rotten. We risked being ejected at any time. We clung, concentrated to avoid capsizing. We tried to slow the boat ... "

After Cape Horn, the wind increased to 50 knots, and Bourgnon “started to overtake the waves – it was surreal,” he said. “We had several near-death experiences, doing everything we could to slow the boat, but still sailing 15 knots. For an hour and a half, we spoke nothing. We knew we could count only on ourselves in a sea where you can measure life in two hours.”

After passing Cape Horn, Bourgnon and Roubine rested for a few hours in a sheltered bay. “ We huddled against each other, sheltered under the collapsed canopy.”

Bourgnon, 40, will now move on to other adventures. In mid-March, it will be in Fortaleza, Brazil, to try to establish a 24-hour beach cat record of 800 km. Then, in late 2013, Bourgnon intends to sail on a solo westabout circumnavigation aboard Olivier De Kersauson’s G-Class trimaran “Geronimo.”

From one extreme to another!

catavan

“You can take your 60’ gin palaces and shove ‘em…I can run all day on 5 gallons of gas, and I’ve got TWO BEDS in here!” See another crazy (and slightly more expensive) cat here.

community

midwinters

Thinking of being in or near Chicago next weekend to visit friends or go to the Strictly Sail show? If so, drop in next Friday night for the 5th (we think…it’s all a bit fuzzy) annual WINTER ANARCHY party! This is the same balls-deep party we used to hold at the Weathermark Tavern, moved due to popular demand to the much larger Bottom Lounge.

You can pay retail for drinks downstairs with the commoners, or you can drop twenty bucks on a ticket for the Anarchy-only upstairs party in TBL’s “Volcano Room.” FREE BEER from Goose Island/Sail 312, major drink specials from Mount Gay, tons of swag from a pile of great sponsors, and a chance to share a drink (or an insult) with Mr. Clean, Mer, Vegas, Nautigirl, Spring Fever, and hundreds of other Anarchists.

For the latest, check the Winter Anarchy Facebook page...and buy your tickets online here.

local knowledge

worth its weight in...rum

Six records were broken and six skippers won their weight in Extra Old Mount Gay Rum when the Barbados Cruising Club successfully hosted the 2012 Mount Gay Rum Round Barbados Race on Saturday 21st January 2012. Perfect conditions out on the water saw the ‘round Barbados records tumble.

The race attracted 28 entries from around the world with one yacht arriving just the day before the event having sailed from Italy directly to Barbados. That effort was rewarded as the crew collected their skipper’s weight in Mount Gay Rum.

This yacht, Idea, Reichel Pugh Maxi 78’ is skippered by Tony McBride, who attended last year’s event and had vowed to return with something bigger to break the Absolute Monohull Record and he easily achieved that goal, breaking the previous record, held by Ron Joyce and Destination Fox Harb’r by 17 minutes, in a time of 5 hours 3 minutes 34 seconds.

Silver Bullet, Roberts 30’ Supercat, skippered by Barbados Cruising Club member Bryn Palmer, took 16 minutes off the existing Absolute Multihull Record in a time of 4 hours 24 minutes 27 seconds.

Rappajam with captain Ralph "Brugga" Johnson established a new class record for boats 60 foot and under, while sister boat Bruggadung, captained by Paul Johnson set a new class record for boats under 35 foot.

New records were also set in both the single handed and double handed classes with Immigrant, skippered by David Staples and crewed by Dr John Duckhouse setting a new record for a double handed yacht. Five yachts started the race double handed, and all beat the previous double handed record.

Two double handers, Matador and Deliverance were ‘live aboard’ yachts recently arrived in Barbados after their Atlantic Crossing. Captain Peter Hoad also established a new record for a single-handed yacht on his J24, Jabulani in a time of 9 hours 49 minutes 58 seconds.

Trading Brigantine Tres Hombres was the last boat to finish, safely returning a group of children from the Barbados “Kids At Sea” youth sailing programme back to Carlisle Bay shortly before 10 pm at night.

This was the first year that use was made of the inner basin of the Careenage as a place to moor the yachts and also it was a first for the setting up of a regatta village.

The regatta village is a new concept to Barbados and sets up well for the world class event which Barbados will be hosting in December when boats will arrive for the finish of the Classic Transat 2012.

This event has so far attracted 33 entries and with seven months to go before the start, the organizers expect a further 12 yachts bringing the total to 45.

The Barbados Cruising Club wishes to thank the event sponsors, Mount Gay Rum, The Barbados Tourism Authority, LIMEtv, The Loomba Foundation, The Beach House, Miele, Indigo Island, Port Louis Marina and Diamonds International. The Mount Gay Rum Round Barbados Race will return on January 21st 2013.

what, me worry?

Kenny Read has already had plenty to worry about so far in this VOR, and if they don't start peeling off a couple of top finishes real soon, he'll have even more. This shot taken today from onboard Puma as the fleet took off from safe haven port of Male in the Maldives, in the 3,000 nautical mile race to the fourth port of Sanya, China. 

“Another strange start!” said Amory Ross, Puma Media Crew Member, in his first report from onboard. “The line was between one flag on one shore and a radio tower on another; there were virtually no spectators, tons of ferries, fishing boats, and more obstacles to dodge leading up to the gun. But we're now back to ‘ocean racing,’ something we haven't been able to say in almost a month.”

As was the case with Leg 2, the Leg 3 route was redrawn and split into two stages due to the threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean. Stage 1 was the one-day sprint to Sharjah. There, the boats were loaded onto a container ship – the Happy Diamond – and transported back to the safe haven port of Male, where they first arrived at during Leg 2. The first stage of Leg 3 accounted for 20 percent over the available leg points, and 80 percent of the points will be awarded for Stage 2.

scotw

teen dreams

This one was easy too.

Laura Dekker sailed into St. Maarten yesterday, ending her yearlong solo journey (almost to the day) around the globe aboard her ketch “Guppy.”

Dozens of people cheered as she pumped her fist into the air in celebration while sailing past a drawbridge raised for her arrival in the port from which she set out on Jan. 20, 2011. Hey look Abby, a real sailor.....Read on.

chillaxin'

Damn, that really looks like fun...Props to Anarchist Richard

vor preview

road show

A look ahead from Team Sanya's Moose Sanderson...

Okay, It's time to get this show back on the road. Its been a month since we limped into Madagascar and what a month it has been. A lot has been said about all the good work that happened to get the boat back sailing again, since then the guys had a slow but good trip up to Malé in the Maldives (AKA the secret location which we are now allowed to name), it was always going to be tight from the minute we realised that we had to replace all the side rigging on the mast to make it back to meet the fleet in time for this re-start.

The reality is that we have had one day here in the Maldives to do any jobs that were required on the boat before taking it for a quick test sail today followed by a thorough wash and repack this afternoon. A little scary that's for sure. Distance wise it will mean that our boat basically has to do two legs without getting a full strip down and thorough check that would normally happen at every stopover, but we have gone to every effort that is possible to make sure she is 100% and today on the water it all worked very nicely and felt great.

So what do I think we have ahead of us for this leg? Well it is broken up into three main parts: From where we are it should be four odd days to the top of Sumatera which is where we then turn right into Malacca straights. This will then involve a busy few days navigating fishing boats, nets, fish traps, tugs with barges - let alone one of the busiest shipping channels in the world. Oh yes... fun,fun,fun.... but the good news for us is that it opens up plenty of opportunity for the race to not turn into a drag race.

Once down the Malacca straights on reaching Singapore, we start working North for the last stint of five odd days through to Sanya. This will be mainly upwind against the North eastern Monsoon winds. From all the historical forecasting that we have been going through, there are waves of quite strong breezes which come South every five to six days, fingers crossed we get lucky with the timing of that and we don't cop a full pasting like the boats did in the last race - no, we aren't quite in the same part of the world but the potential is still right up there.

I don't think I have ever been so amped up to get back out and go racing. We owe it to you all that are reading this and we owe it to ourselves to go and have a decent leg and get this show back on the right track. The boat is great and the Team is one of the most wonderful group that I have been involved with, I really can't say enough good things about them. Through thick and thin they have just dug it in and done what needs to be done and some. Often when I was asked to speak publicly after winning the 05 / 06 race I would talk about the difference between a good team and an average team was what percentage over and above 100% they were prepared to commit to the cause. I am sure we will have a nice leg and gain some momentum from there, so all the efforts can finally reap some rewards.

I have a great feeling about this leg coming up, wish us luck and cross your fingers for us..

Sanya here we come!!
Cheers,
Mike

michael jordan

Gotta love the expression on this kid at the 2012 Optimist Australian National Championship. Photo thanks to Peta Bowden. MJ here.