Transatlantic Race battered by ferocious storms

BY ADMIN • JUNE 22, 2017 • BREAKING NEWS, HOMEMOSAIC, RACING • COMMENTS OFF • 105

Kass Schmitt, the only woman entry in this edition of the OSTAR.

The 2017 edition of the four-yearly Original Single Handed Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) from Plymouth, UK to Newport, Rhode Island started in light airs on May 29. The 15 solo skippers were joined by a further seven boats sailing double handed in the TWOSTAR race that’s run alongside the main event. The 3,000-mile race has been run since its inception in 1960 by the Royal Western Yacht Club.

Despite the gentle start, the sailors were soon battling with a fierce North Atlantic storm with 60 knot winds and huge seas around a 1,000 miles east of Newfoundland. At the time of writing one boat had sank two were abandoned and several others had retired from the races

Australian Mark Hipgrave bought his Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600 in England. After the finish he intends to ship it home in preparation for the Rolex Sydney Hobart race and then the 5,000 mile Melbourne to Osaka (Japan) race.

An additional hazard for competitors this year is that warm winter temperatures in the Arctic have resulted in significant calving of icebergs that were then washed south by the ocean currents. In early May between the longitude of the Azores and the continental USA these were recorded as far south as 42 degrees north.

Competitors come from 12 countries, including the UK, France, Portugal, Poland, Italy, Bulgaria, USA and Australia. On the same weekend as this race started the Royal Western YC also organised the celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of Sir Francis Chichester’s record breaking circumnavigation in 1967. Chichester was winner of the first OSTAR, held in 1960 as a result of a bet between a group of friends as to which of them could sail their yacht singlehanded across the Atlantic the fastest. At the time none knew that this wager would spawn the entire sport of solo oceanic yacht racing.

Action on the start line of the OSTAR single handed transatlantic race

In 1967 Chichester became the first person to sail single-handed around the globe with only one stop, opening the way for the famed Golden Globe Race in 1968/9, sponsored by the Sunday Times newspaper. Out of a field of nine competitors, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston was the only successful finisher, taking 313 days to circle the globe alone.

Next year will see a re-enactment of the Golden Globe race, with 30 skippers leaving Falmouth to race non stop around the world. Competitors will sail south down the Atlantic, before effectively sailing around Antarctica and then returning to the UK via Cape Horn. Race rules limit them to traditional heavy long keel yachts of a modest size and only the equipment that was available in the late 1960s. Amazingly 30 entries have signed up and it promises to be fascinating to observe. One of those, Frenchman Lionel Regnier, is racing in the OSTAR with the aim of building miles and experience in his Rustler 36 One and All. Unlike most racers, who take every opportunity to minimise weight, he is carrying the same weight of stores that he will take for his circumnavigation next year.

Follow competitors via the race tracker here

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via Transatlantic Race battered by ferocious storms | Yachting News Update | The Business of Boat Ownership and Marina Berths.

Navigation and communications on board the Clipper fleet

From the equipment on board to navigational challenges

The Clipper Race is an international yacht race that sees twelve teams of amateur crews take on the some of the greatest oceans. The eleven-month circumnavigation stops in 13 top global destinations and will see crews navigate in vast variety of waters, from the North Pacific to the South China Sea.

Daniel Smith, Deputy Race Director, for the Clipper Race talks to us about navigation and communication on board the twelve-strong fleet of Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s in preparation for the start of the 2017-18 edition from Liverpool, 20 August.

Leading the Derry~Londonderry~Doire team to second place in the Clipper 2015-16 Race, Dan has experienced first-hand the equipment and navigational decisions on board during the race. “The Clipper Race is tough, requiring the highest standards from our skippers and crew. They have to take full advantage of all the equipment on board to get the most of their yachts.

“Navigational challenges differ depending on where in the world our yachts are sailing. In UK waters skippers rely heavily on the tidal and weather information they can obtain through the navigational and communications equipment. Collision avoidance with large fishing fleets is always in the front of the skippers and crew’s minds, I remember on one occasion seeing 300 AIS targets all within a 5-mile range, when in the South China Sea. Radar and AIS are invaluable here”

The Clipper 70s have a wide variety of top of the range navigation and communications equipment on board.

Navigational equipment includes:

Garmin AIS and Radar screen

Rugged PC (A second media PC of identical specification can be swapped in case of failure).

7 Garmin navigation displays,

Garmin radar

Garmin AIS

Echomax Active XS radar reflector

Communications is dealt with using:

Garmin VHF radio

Fleet broadband satellite system

Inmarsat C satellite system

Iridium satellite system

On the importance of having both electronic and traditional methods of navigation on board Dan said: “All yachtsmen know that technology has huge benefits and can make life a lot easier but it needs to be used alongside traditional methods of navigation. The two systems back each other up and work together. Technology can fail, electricity can become limited but a boat must always know where it is and where it’s going.

“The fleet carry a full paper chart folio of the route including a full library of admiralty publications to be used alongside electronic methods. Sextants are carried on board so in the event of power failure or lightning strike damaging instruments the skippers can keep racing.”

When it comes to the communications on board “The answer is to have a plan A, B and C.” Says Dan, adding: “The fleet have multiples systems on board, built to be tough like the boats that they are on. There is also plenty of redundancy built into the systems to ensure that boats can always communicate with the Race office and the coastguard when necessary.

“Skippers and crew have access to email and voice communications via the Fleet broadband satellite system. We have a backup for voice and data using the Iridium system and finally Inmarsat C is used as a very reliable system allowing us to track boats, send and receive email messages, send distress and receive safety messages. These three satellite systems give us a really robust long-range communication system.

“Shorter range communications between boats is dealt with via VHF. This is used between the fleet and also for Clipper Race yachts to communicate with passing marine traffic where necessary.”

When asked in his opinion what are the most important navigation and communication tools on board, he said: “For me the all singing, all dancing equipment is great but the basics are the most important. Having reliable log, depth and wind instruments together with being able to send an email from the middle of the ocean is invaluable.”

via Navigation and communications on board the Clipper fleet | Inbrief | e-newsletters | News & Events | RYA.

Looking forward to the twelfth edition of this global race, we asked whether there had been any changes to the systems on board: “A few tweaks and upgrades have been made to keep the navigation and communications systems running well,” said Dan. “All deck navigation displays will be replaced for this race, the Garmin AIS and radar screen has been upgraded and replaced.

Navigations PCs have been upgraded and behind the scenes some of the communications hardware has been upgraded.  Allowing crew to link into the satellite comms system via WIFI from a mobile device. This will be a huge benefit to crew meaning that if they want to phone or email home they don’t have to wait for time on the phone or for access to a computer.”

A race of this size takes a serious amount of route planning. With the circumnavigation broken down into eight legs made up of a total of 13 races stopping in 13 destinations across 6 continents, navigating is no small feat. The Clipper Race is also unique in offering this opportunity to embrace the thrill of ocean racing to anyone, regardless of previous sailing experience.

With over 700 crew members, who choose to take on the whole circumnavigation or compete in one or more of the individual legs, facilitating the race to ensure the safety of crew and allowing them flexibility over their involvement are important factors. Dan said: “The current route we are using is tried and tested, similar to that used in previous editions of the race with a few tweaks and new stops to keep things interesting. Lots of planning goes into making sure that the boats are in the right parts of the world at the right times of year to avoid dangerous weather systems, straying too close to ice fields and to avoid unnecessary delays due to lack of wind.

“Our Clipper 70s have now completed two circumnavigations so we have lots of data as to what speeds they are capable of in different oceans at certain times of year. This information allows us to work out arrival windows of when boats are expected to arrive and plan our entire race.”

The Clipper Race starts in Liverpool on 20 August before racing to, Punte Del Este, Cape Town, Fremantle, Sydney, Hobart, Eastern Australia, Sanya, Qingdao, Seattle, Panama, New York and Derry-Londonderry before returning to Albert Dock, Liverpool on 28 July 2018 for Race Finish.

via Navigation and communications on board the Clipper fleet | Inbrief | e-newsletters | News & Events | RYA.

Beneteau announces Oceanis 51.1

29 Jun 2017

The Oceanis 51.1 is fitted with an extra-long carbon or aluminium mast

Beneteau has announced the first of a new generation of Oceanis sailing yachts which promise to be faster than previous models and feature up to 35% additional sail area.

Fitted with an extra-long carbon or aluminium mast, the customisable Oceanis 51.1 was designed by Olivier Racoupeau and has a stepped hull which creates additional interior space without changing the shape of the bottom.

Beneteau’s marketing director, Gianguido Girotti, said: “We capitalized on our experiences with the First and the Figaro, which are boats that are more focused on racing. We brought their values into the heart of a cruising yacht.”

The boat has a 2.8m lead bulb keel which reduces weight and hydrodynamic drag and comes with the option of three different keel types and five rigging plans.

The furling mast, self-tailing jib and all the halyards and sheets on the standard model are brought back to a single winch at each of the helm stations. The vessel is also fitted with Dock & Go technology to simplify manoeuvring.

Oceanis 51.1 will be available to view at the Cannes, Southampton and Annapolis boat shows.

via Boating Business | Beneteau announces Oceanis 51.1.

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Custom Composites and Team GB hoping to add to Olympic medal haul

29 Jun 2017

Custom Composites is to sponsor Olympic hopefuls Team Lloyd Williams-Alloway

Custom Composites, part of the Attwater Group, is to sponsor Olympic hopefuls Team Lloyd Williams-Alloway, continuing a relationship with Team GB sailors that has resulted in gold medals in each of the two last summer games.

The tube company will support the British sailors through Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualifiers, through to their bid to top the podium at the games.

Custom Composites has backed Team GB in previous games, producing tiller extensions which helped Sir Ben Ainslie score gold in both 2008 and 2012.

“In early 2016 we set out to find a high quality carbon fibre specialist for our 2020 Olympic campaign. We are thrilled to welcome on board Custom Composites Ltd as our main supplier for carbon fibre equipment,” said Will Alloway.

“After several R&D sessions and prototypes, we have created what we believe to be the ultimate tiller extension in terms of weight, stiffness and grip.”

Custom Composites general manager Andy States said the company had worked together with the team to build and perfect equipment for the games.

“Having considerable experience manufacturing carbon fibre tiller extensions, we were confident that we could work with Will & Henry to help refine and improve our existing product for them and get it to a point where they felt it could be improved no further,” he said. “I am proud to say that we have now achieved that goal.”

via Boating Business | Custom Composites and Team GB hoping to add to Olympic medal haul.

Clipper race official supplier

03 Jul 2017

The eleventh edition of the Clipper race starts in Liverpool on 20 August 2017

ChartCo has once again stepped up to the role of official supplier of The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race for its fifth consecutive edition.

As official nautical chart services partner, ChartCo will provide a range of navigational and compliance services for the race fleet for the eleven month, 40,000 nautical mile-long circumnavigation.

“We’re so very pleased to continue our partnership with the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, a unique event which shares our spirit of teamwork and respect,” said Martin Taylor, managing director of ChartCo.

“As a result of our partnership, we will help to keep crews safe on their journey – we’re very proud of that contribution.”

The eleventh edition of the Clipper race starts in Liverpool on 20 August 2017 and will take in various locations including Cape Town, Sydney, Qingdao, Seattle and Derry-Londonderry before returning on 28 July 2018.

via Boating Business | Clipper race official supplier.

Volvo Ocean Race ‘obsessive’ Bouwe Bekking with Team Brunel back for an eighth shot at glory DownloadStefan Coppers / Team Brunel / Volvo Ocean Race DownloadStefan Coppers/Team Brunel/Volvo Ocean Race DownloadAinhoa Sanchez / Volvo Ocean RaceBouwe Bekking, the most experienced sailor in Volvo Ocean Race history, will return to skipper the seventh confirmed team in the 2017-18 editionBouwe Bekking, the most experienced sailor in Volvo Ocean Race history, will return to skipper the seventh confirmed team in the 2017-18 edition – and give himself another chance at claiming an elusive first victory at the eighth attempt.No one has sailed more miles in the Volvo Ocean Race than Bekking, who made his first appearance as a crewmember on Philips Innovator back in 1985-86.More than 30 years on, and now aged 54, Bekking’s Volvo Ocean Race obsession has only intensified.Team backers include Brunel, the Dutch-based global project management, recruitment and consultancycompany, and its founder Jan Brand. Brunel are Volvo Ocean Race veterans themselves, having had their first involvement in 1997-98.The theme of the 2017-18 campaign is ‘Engineering the Future.’ – an initiative of a consortium of Dutch companies, including Brunel, Abel, Royal Huisman and EY.“The team’s goal is to accelerate the next generation,” said Bekking. “We win by bringing together experience and talent, and creating opportunities for the next generation.” Brunel founder Jan Brand added: “Together, we are able to define new rules and possibilities for the future. Team Brunel empowers the new generation to take the helm.”With four months to go before the start of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18, the starting grid is almost full.The other confirmed entries are team AkzoNobel (skippered by Simeon Tienpont), Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier), MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández), Vestas11th Hour Racing (Charlie Enright), Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag (David Witt) and Turn The Tide On Plastic (Dee Caffari).The return of Brunel means that for the first time in the race’s history, four major team sponsors are back for a second successive edition. As well as Brunel, Vestas, Dongfeng and MAPFRE are all back after competing in the most recent edition in 2014-15. The race will start from Alicante on 22 October, with a maximum of eight One Design Volvo Ocean 65 racing yachts in the fleet. Seven of the boats have undergone an extensive refit process after being raced in 2014-15. The eighth is a brand new yacht, built for team AkzoNobel.Bekking has been a runner-up in two previous editions but victory has always been just beyond his grasp.His first experience of ‘so near but yet so far’ came on debut in 1985-86, when he finished second onboard Philips Innovator, skippered by fellow Dutchman Dirk Nauta.In 1993-94 he was on Winston, in 1997-98 he was back with Merit Cup and four years later he competed with Amer Sports One.His first opportunity to skipper a team in the event came in 2005-06 with movistar – a race that ultimately came to an end when he and his crew were forced to abandon ship in the Atlantic.Undeterred, he came back to guide Telefónica Blue to a podium finish in 2008-09 and skippered second-placed Brunel in the most recent edition in 2014-15.“In 2014-15 we had a very good result, a result I’m proud of, but I believe we can make further huge steps based on the experience we now have with the One Design boat,” he said earlier this year.The 2017-18 edition will see the teams cover 45,000 nautical miles in a race that features a total of 12 Host Cities and will finish in The Hague, Netherlands at the end of June.

via Volvo Ocean Race ‘obsessive’ Bouwe Bekking with Team Brunel back for an eighth shot at glory| Volvo Ocean Race.

BRYD announce carbon racer

23 Jun 2017

Starboard view of BRYD’S BR31

Ben Rogerson Yacht Design (BRYD) has announced plans for its new carbon racing sports boat, aimed at HP30 Class and IRC/ORC sailors.

Designed for a maximum crew of seven, the BR31 is designed for sailors seeking performance racing at a lower cost than running a 40-footer, yet offering similar features and feel.

“I wanted to make this level of sailing more accessible and move things forward from the typical plastic racer,” explained Ben Rogerson, BRYD founder. “We have developed a viable new design for the HP30 class which promises to be a race winner.”

The boats will be British-built and incorporate a fabricated fin as standard. Options for owners include an adjustable forestay, standard or high modulus mast, string take down systems and deflectors.

Mr Rogerson invested in and developed BRYD’s own in-house hull design, velocity prediction and optimisation software with technology partners Formflow to integrate Fine Marine’s Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes based computational fluid dynamics simulation software.

via Boating Business | BRYD announce carbon racer.

Changes at Doyle Sails

26 Jun 2017

Founder Robbie Doyle and CEO Mike Sanderson onboard J Class yacht Shamrock V in Bermuda

Doyle Sails New Zealand is to take ownership of Doyle International from July 1. The company will also take a controlling interest in the Doyle Salem loft and Doyle Sails Europe (UK).

The announcement marks the start of a new era, said Doyle International CEO Mike Sanderson.

“This new strategic direction has been under development for some time and we are all very excited about the potential ahead of us,” he said. “We are a group of like-minded, passionate individuals and we are looking to maximise the potential of the Doyle Group and the individuals within it.

“Our sport and marketplace is going through exciting and fast-paced change and we are in a perfect position to build on the strong foundation of the Doyle brand whilst moving forward in a new direction to meet the changing needs of our customers.”

Doyle International has also announced the new roles of Jez Fanstone as corporate manager and Terry Nicholas as business development/chief financial officer.

The brand Doyle International will be managed by Mr Fanstone and Mr Nicholas together.  This is the first time the group has invested in such centralised management support roles – believing that bringing in professionals to focus on the management and development of the overall brand will deliver benefits to the entire loft network, customers and the business as a whole.

Robbie Doyle, Doyle Sails founder, will continue with his primary focus on managing superyacht and special projects.

via Boating Business | Changes at Doyle Sails.

Custom lifejacket for VOR sailors

26 Jun 2017

Spinlock has designed a custom lifejacket for the VOR

Spinlock is to be an official supplier to the Volvo Ocean Race, after designing a custom lifejacket for the 2017-18 edition.

The link-up is part of a technical partnership scheme that has seen the race work with the sailing and marine industry to develop new and innovative products capable of withstanding some of the toughest conditions on the planet.

This edition of the race will see the fleet cover three times more Southern Ocean miles than recent editions with Spinlock’s new VOR edition lifejacket worn by all sailors in the fleet.

“It’s exciting to be able to push the boundaries with a product like this, in collaboration with the Volvo Ocean Race,” said Myles Uren, product manager at Spinlock.

“The speed, the risks and the loads on the boats in the Volvo Ocean Race have increased massively over the years, yet it’s the same crew that are racing them – so it’s our job to take our products and innovate in order to try and help them out as much as possible.”

One of the biggest challenges for the designers was to create a lifejacket durable enough to withstand the Southern Ocean slamming, but lightweight and comfortable enough to encourage the sailors to actually wear it, around the clock, for eight months.

“Until now, lifejackets have often been designed for the recreational sailor, resulting in often cumbersome and limiting design factors, so it’s fantastic to see Spinlock’s enthusiasm to research and design a tailor-made product meeting the specific needs of the competitive offshore sailor,” explained Abby Ehler, logistics manager at the VOR boatyard.

Along with the lifejackets, each Volvo Ocean 65 will also be equipped with Spinlock lifejacket harnesses, safety lines, carry equipment packs and PLB/MOB devices.

via Boating Business | Custom lifejacket for VOR sailors.