It’s easy to assume that carefully tuning a yacht’s standing rigging is solely the preserve of racers that are trying to extract every inch of performance from their vessels. However, proper rig tune is also an important factor in ensuring the strength and reliability of the mast of cruising yachts.

A frequent misunderstanding between owners and boatyards means that on restepping the mast the yard often only tightens up the rig enough to support it at the dock, assuming a rigger will be engaged to complete the job. If, however, the owner has assumed the yard has tuned the rig, the likelihood is that the rigging will be both slack and ill adjusted.

When sailing to windward in a moderate wind there needs to be a little residual tension in the leeward shrouds.

This may partially explain why a huge number of cruising boats have the lee shrouds slack when sailing to windward. The problem with this are two fold: firstly, the movement of the rigging can cause fatigue, increasing the possibility of failure of a key component.

In addition, rigs with swept-back spreaders rely on a degree of tension in the lee shrouds to prevent the rig from rotating around the end of the windward spreader. This explains why boats with in-line spreaders are less sensitive to poor rig adjustment.

How much tension is enough? With the boat fully powered up going to windward in a moderate breeze the lee shrouds should retain a small amount of tension. If not, start by increasing the tension in the cap shrouds on the lee side by a couple of turns of the bottlescrew, then tack and do the same with the opposite side.

Once the cap shrouds are the correct tension, sight up the mainsail track on the aft face of the mast, with one eye as close to the spar as possible – you should see the mast is perfectly straight athwartships. If the centre of the spar sags away to leeward, then the windward lower shrouds or intermediate shrouds (D1s and D2s) are too slack, and vice versa. If in doubt it’s safer to err towards lower and intermediate shrouds being marginally slack than too tight.

Adjust the tension in the lee shrouds, then tack and do the same on the opposite side of the rig.

Having achieved good tune with full sail, check the rig is also okay when reefed in stronger winds.

While the rig should ideally be in column athwartships, it’s important to have some fore and aft bend and the mast must never be allowed to develop a ‘negative’ bend, where the centre of the spar is abaft of the masthead.

If you have any doubt about achieving the correct tuning and tension of the rig on your boat, don’t delay in employing a professional rigger to check that the rig is properly and safely set up.

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Stepping back to the golden age of solo sailing

To mark the 50th anniversary of the first solo non-stop circumnavigation under sail achieved by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston during the 1968/9 Sunday Times Golden Globe Yacht Race, a new Golden Globe Race is set to start from Falmouth UK on June 14, 2018 – the same day that Knox-Johnston set out on his epic voyage 50 years before.

The announcement today is significant, marking the 46th anniversary of Robin’s victorious return to Falmouth in 1969, as the sole finisher in the original Sunday Times event.

The 2018 Golden Globe Race is very simple. Depart Falmouth, England, sail solo, non-stop around the world via the five Great Capes and return to Falmouth. Entrants are restricted to using the same type of yachts and equipment that were available to Sir Robin in that first race. That means sailing without modern technology or benefit of satellite based navigation aids. Competitors must sail in production boats between 32ft and 36ft overall (9.75 – 10.97m) designed prior to 1988 with a full-length keel with rudder attached to their trailing edge, similar in concept to Knox-Johnston’s Suhaili.

Australian adventurer Don McIntyre, founder of this 2018 Race says: “The overriding aim is for a race where adventure takes precedence over winning at all costs; one where sailing skill and traditional seamanship, rather than modern technology and outside support, gets you round, and where the achievement truly belongs to the skipper.”

McIntyre who completed his first solo circumnavigation in 1991 and more recently retraced Capt. Bligh’s Bounty Boat voyage from Tonga to Kupang, West Timor in a similar open boat with minimal rations. He intends to compete in the Race with his Tradewind 35 Betty, one of 13 traditional production yacht types approved for this race.

Another entrant is British yachtsman and adventurer Chris Jacks from Liverpool. Last Autumn, he climbed the summits of 92 Wainwright mountains within 40 days – equivalent to climbing Mount Everest twice.

Two more sailors, one from Australia, the other from Germany, have so far expressed keen interest to compete and are currently finalising their plans. The 2018 Race is limited to a maximum of 20 entrants.

The challenge is pure and very raw for those who ‘dare’, just as it was for Sir Robin, navigating with sextant on paper charts, without electronic instruments or autopilots.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston says: “I’m a great believer in the freedom of the individual. I think this race is a great idea, giving an opportunity for those who want to do something special with their lives. You can enter this race in an ordinary seaworthy boat and know that success will be down to personal drive and determination, and not to the biggest budget. I intend to be at the start with Suhaili to celebrate this anniversary and expect to be joined by two other yachts that competed in the original Sunday Times Race.”

Robin Knox-Johnston aboard Suhaili at the finish of the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race – photo © Bill Rowntree / PPL

A prize purse of £75,000 has been budgeted for the 2018 Golden Globe Race, and all who finish before 15:25hrs on 22nd April 2019 (the anniversary of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s finish) will receive a Suhaili trophy and a refund of their entry fee.

View historic pictures from the 1968/9 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race here

View examples of production yachts type-approved for the Golden Globe Race here

For preliminary information and details of how to enter, visit www.goldengloberace.com

via 2018 Golden Globe Race – Yachts and Yachting Online.

Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) face more bad luck as their electric water-maker stops working after less than 48 hours of Leg 6 (full story below).

– Dongfeng Race Team resort to emergency water-maker

– After nearly 48 hours, the fleet is less than 4nm apart

– Follow their progress all the way on our App

ALICANTE, Spain, April 21 – They’ve been back on the water for less than 48 hours since leaving Itajaí, Brazil – but the 5,010-nautical mile (nm) Leg 6 race to Newport, Rhode Island is already taking its toll on Dongfeng Race Team.

The Chinese boat, skippered by Charles Caudrelier (FRA), was forced to suspend racing in Leg 5 due to a damaged mast.

And, before its crew has even had a chance to adjust back into offshore life, bad luck is threatening to derail their race once again.

“Today, the casing on our electric water-maker sprung a fatal leak,” explains Onboard Reporter Sam Greenfield (USA).

Skipper Caudrelier, holding the membrane tube, believes that he has identified the problem. “We opened it, and on the high pressure side there is no seal,” he says.

“But there’s a seal on the low pressure side. We can see that there is a crack – that’s why the water is coming outside of the seal.”

It means that the sailors have been forced to resort to an emergency, hand-powered back up – a manual water-maker, which requires constant pumping to produce drinkable water.

But it’s far from an ideal solution for the team, which finds itself around 160nm southeast of Cabo Frio, and still has almost three weeks of sailing to do before it reaches the North American destination.

“It requires some 35 litres of water and it takes 15 minutes to produce a single litre,” adds Greenfield.

“By the time I cap a bottle, my arms are burning and my mouth is dry.”

With their onboard menu consisting almost solely of freeze-dried food, which must be rehydrated in order to be edible, the potential seriousness of this latest set back should not be underestimated.

“Let’s do some maths,” Greenfield continues. “Three to four bottles are required alone to make a freeze-dried meal. The guys eat three meals a day. There are nine of us onboard.

“Each of us can ‘survive’ on a single bottle of water a day. That’s 18 bottles, so 4.5 hours of pumping per day just to get by.”

And that’s a conservative estimate, according to Dongfeng Race Team Shore Manager, Graham Tourell. “No water-maker is a major problem,” he explains.

He skippered the boat as it motored under jury rig from Ushuaia, Argentina to Itajaí, Brazil to be fitted with a new mast at the end of Leg 5.

He estimates that, in reality, the sailors ‘may need to pump for eight to nine hours per day to make enough water.’

After all, they are under almost constant physical stress, and subjected to the elements, they require much higher levels of hydration than a regular person.

And the frustration brought on by the setback is already playing mind games with the thirsty sailors.

“It’s funny how, once you lose access to something as simple as drinkable water in the Atlantic Ocean, you start to notice all the water you can’t drink,” adds Greenfield.

Neil Graham, Technical Director of Dongfeng Race Team, remains optimistic. “They know what the problem is,” he says.

“We’re waiting for confirmation from the boat but Kevin (Escoffier/FRA) should have attempted a repair on the membrane pressure vessel.

“The plan was to apply some glue and then wrap the end of the vessel, where the leak is, in carbon fibre laminate, to seal it.”

In the meantime, despite its onboard issues, the Chinese boat is still managing to keep pace with the rest of the fleet.

At the 0940 UTC position report on Day 2, Caudrelier’s crew is in fifth place, but just 1.3nm separates it from leading boat, MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández/ESP).

Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA), Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) and Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) make up the boats in between – and Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) are in sixth place, 3.7nm behind the leaders.

The boats are forecast to arrive in Newport for North America’s only stopover between May 6-9, after 17-20 days of sailing.

via Thirsty work for Dongfeng crew| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández/ESP) put a difficult week behind them to snatch the early lead on the 5,010-nautical mile (nm) Leg 6 from Itajaí, Brazil, to Newport, Rhode Island, USA, on Monday (full story below).

– MAPFRE head fleet out of Brazil

– Once again, six boats are bunched up

– Follow their progress all the way on our App

ITAJAÍ, Brazil, April 20 – MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández/ESP) put a difficult week behind them to snatch the early lead on the 5,010-nautical mile (nm) Leg 6 from Itajaí to Newport, Rhode Island on Monday.

The Spanish team had two points added to their score (low scoring event) by the independent ISAF jury on Thursday for a rules infringement (read here), and then the crew had concerns about their mast, which they feared was damaged during the treacherous previous leg.

However, their shore team worked alongside the race’s Boatyard staff all night on Friday so that a 100 per cent checked rig was ready for Saturday’s Team Vestas Wind Itajaí In-Port Race won by Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED).

MAPFRE, under skipper Fernández, finished fifth in near windless conditions and were forced to battle similar challenges the following day as the fleet left Itajaí after a hugely successful stopover.

By 1240 UTC on Monday, the boats had progressed no more than 135nm up the eastern coast of Brazil through a choppy Atlantic seaway, with no more than 5.2nm separating first from sixth (see panel).

Nevertheless, Fernández will be happy to be back at the front of the fleet, having followed their Leg 4 win with a second place in the next stage from Auckland to Itajaí.

Onboard reporter, Francisco Vignale (ARG), explained that the light wind conditions had given the crew an unusually easy start to the leg in many ways, despite the challenge of finding gusts to propel the boat along.

“Sometimes at the start of a leg, the whole crew remains active until late in the night, but yesterday two hours into the leg we realised we were ready and started to stick to the watch systems,” he wrote in his daily blog.

“The wind was very shifty and it helped us position ourselves perfectly against Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA), which was on our bow, so we could lead on the way out of Brazil.”

The Turkish/American boat was ideally placed, just 1.5nm to MAPFRE’s stern with overall race leaders, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR), 0.2nm further adrift, and Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) and Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA), tucked in just behind.

The boats are forecast to arrive in Newport for North America’s only stopover between May 6-9, after 17-20 days of sailing.

Although Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing boast a seven-point lead at the top of the standings, there is still 45 per cent of the points to sail for after five out of nine legs.

via Spanish eyes are smiling| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

The Volvo Ocean Race fleet bid a lingering farewell after a successful stopover in Itajaí with an almost total lack of wind ensuring a go-slow departure for Leg 6 to Newport, Rhode Island, USA, on Sunday (full story here).

– Team Alvimedica head the long haul to Newport

– Start line setback for race leaders Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

– Follow all the Leg 6 action as it happens on our App

ITAJAÍ, Brazil, April 19 – The Volvo Ocean Race fleet bid a lingering farewell after a successful stopover in Itajaí with an almost total lack of wind ensuring a go-slow departure for Leg 6 to Newport, Rhode Island, USA, on Sunday.

After watching the six boats drift in frustratingly super-light conditions in the south-east Brazilian port for nearly an hour, the Race Committee cut its losses and ruled that the fleet could sail into the open seas by drastically shortening the opening in-port lap.

Some 270,000 spectators have visited the Itajaí race village since the Leg 5 winners, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR), arrived here on April 5.

There were approaching 50,000 more for the departure of Leg 6, a 5,010-nautical mile stage, and the sailors appeared to be in no hurry to leave an electric atmosphere.

Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA) are the team with arguably the biggest desire to win the leg into their home port and they duly had the honour of leading the fleet out of Itajaí with barely three to five knots of boat speed.

MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández/ESP) were their closest pursuers followed by overall race leaders Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR), Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) and Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) in that order.

Walker and his crew, who head the leaderboard by seven points after Dongfeng failed to complete Leg 5 because of a broken mast, had a miserable start as they found themselves on the wrong side of the starting line and had to turn around in slow motion before setting off.

Once the fleet escapes the immediate shortage of breeze in almost Doldrums conditions, the fleet should find appreciably more wind up the Brazilian coast through the Atlantic.

The leg is unlikely to match the previous stage’s treacherous conditions through the Southern Ocean and south Atlantic, but there are still plenty of challenges to test the fleet to the full.

Light winds, however, could still hamper them along the way.

The boats are expected to take around 17-20 days to reach Newport, the seventh port to host the race.

via No hurry to leave!| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) won an excruciatingly drawn-out Team Vestas Wind In-Port Race Itajaí in the Volvo Ocean Race on Saturday when a lack of breeze tested the sailors’ patience and seamanship to the full (full story below).

– Skillful Bekking guides Team Brunel to in-port victory

– Windless conditions put premium on seamanship in Itajaí

– Watch Sunday’s Leg 6 start on our fabulous App

ITAJAÍ, Brazil, April 18 – Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) won an excruciatingly drawn-out Team Vestas Wind In-Port RaceItajaí in the Volvo Ocean Race on Saturday when a lack of breeze tested the sailors’ patience and seamanship to the full.

The very hard-earned victory takes the Dutch boat to the top of the in-port race series overall standings on 15 points (see panel above), one point clear of second-placed Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR).

For so long this morning it was not clear if the packed docks of fans in Itajaí would even see an in-port race, with wind pressures barely passing three knots.

Race management postponed the start for 10 minutes before the boats were finally able to cross the start line.

MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández/ESP) were happy simply to be on the racecourse, after their shore team and the race’s Boatyard crew were forced to work all night to reinforce a section of their mast, ensuring the rig was robust enough.

Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) were the first to show in the shortened, two-lap, four-leg contest as they chased their third win in the in-port series, and second in a row after their success in Auckland.

They narrowly reached the first gate ahead of overall race and in-port series leaders, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, with the all-female crew and Emirati crew opting for different sides of the course.

The pair completed lap two virtually neck-and-neck all the way as they desperately sought the little wind pressure Itajaí was offering on an overcast, but bright early afternoon.

Slowly but surely, however, the crew of Azzam began to eke out an advantage over the women, but then the wind dropped completely and the entire fleet slowed to a virtual standstill.

Team SCA were rocked by a 360-degree penalty turn for fouling, who suddenly moved from towards the back of the fleet into second place.

The Dutch, though, then took their turn to feel total frustration as the wind deserted them and instead, Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) claimed the pace.

With the finish at last in sight, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Team Brunel and Dongfeng Race Team found themselves virtually in a dead heat for the lead, but still struggling desperately to find pressure.

Finally, Bouwe Bekking’s men shook off what they must have felt was concrete from their hull to win their first in-port race of the series.

Azzam then eased past Dongfeng for second with Team SCA pipping MAPFRE for fourth and Team Alvimedica had to settle for sixth.

Team Vestas Wind In-Port Race Itajaí results:

1. Team Brunel 15:31:47 (local finish time) – 1pt

2. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 15:33:10 – 2pts

3. Dongfeng Race Team 15:33:21 – 3pts

4. Team SCA 15:33:43 – 4pts

5. MAPFRE 15:34:10 – 5pts

6. Team Alvimedica 15:35:58 – 6pts

Team Vestas Wind – DNS 8pts

Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Race Series overall standings (after six races of 10):

1. Team Brunel – 15pts

2. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing – 16pts

3. Team SCA – 20pts

4. Dongfeng Race Team – 21pts

5. Team Alvimedica – 26pts

6. MAPFRE – 30pts

7. Team Vestas Wind – 44 pts

Race statistics:

Start time 14:10 local time

True Wind Speed: 5-6 knots at the start dropped to 3 knots

True Wind Direction: 090 at the start shifting from 370 to 090 during the race

Bearing to gate bottom gate: 270 for the first lap move to 050 for 2nd rounding.

Distance 1nm, 3 laps shortened to 2 laps.

via Victory in slow-motion | Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) take a seven-point advantage into Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Sunday, but their team are taking nothing for granted (full report below).

– Skipper Walker warns there’s all to play for

– Enright relishes leg to home town port

– Scene is set for thrilling in-port race – follow on our App

ITAJAÍ, Brazil, April 17 – Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR) carry a seven-point advantage into the start of Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race on Sunday, but their team are taking nothing for granted.

As skipper Walker told a press conference on Friday in the south-east Brazilian port of Itajaí, there are plenty of points still to sail for with four stages left to race.

“Last leg was obviously very good for us, to win the leg and the misfortune that happened for Dongfeng has changed the leaderboard somewhat,”  he said.

Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) broke their mast midway through the leg from Auckland to Itajaí, and were forced to retire, falling seven points behind Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

“We’ve got 45% of the points left and what that last leg shows is how easy it is to lose a lot of points. In the next leg, it could be us or anybody else,” added Walker.

“I think for us, nothing has really changed. We have to keep doing the same thing.”

As rival skipper, Bouwe Bekking (NED) of Team Brunel pointed out, in the last race in 2011-12, Team Telefónica retained a similar advantage by the time they reached Brazil, but ended up fourth overall.

“We know from previous races that the game starts very often here in Brazil,” he said. “In that sense, there will be a lot of pressure on Abu Dhabi.”

Caudrelier is aiming to follow in the footsteps of a mentor, Franck Cammas, his compatriot who skippered French boat Groupama to success in 2011-12. They too broke a mast on Leg 5, only to bounce back and win the trophy.

“We are reminded once again that anything can happen, we are reminded that our goal at the beginning of this race was to be on the podium,” he said.

“We realise that maybe we were having a good time until now and in light of what has happened we only have one option and that is to come back fighting.”

Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR), meanwhile, were disappointed by a decision by the independent ISAF international jury not to allow them to replace a key sail which was damaged in the previous leg when the all-female crewed boat suffered a Chinese gybe, crashing on its side.

Instead, they must use their repaired fractional code zero sail (FRO).

“Not being able to use the FRO for two thirds of Leg 5 had a major impact on our performance,” said Davies.

“We will now look to do everything in our power to try to make this sail as usable and as safe as possible.”

For Team Alvimedica skipper Charlie Enright (USA), it was more a case of counting down the hours before setting off on Leg 6 for their ‘homecoming’ to Newport, Rhode Island.

“Sailing into our home port with friends and family is a dream come true and I couldn’t ask for more,” said Enright, who grew up in the area.

“If there ever were a leg where we could get some extra motivation and hit that next gear, it’s certainly this one. Coming into Newport will be special for a lot of reasons. It is where the journey began so many years ago just learning to sail on Narragansett Bay.”

First, though, the teams will contest the Team Vestas Wind Itajaí In-Port Race, starting at 1400 local time (1700 UTC) on Saturday.

Team SCA, who won the previous race in Auckland to become the only team to triumph twice in the series so far, are currently in third place (see panel above) with the first four teams all within four points of each other.

via ‘The race starts here’| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

The Spanish team MAPFRE were given a two-point penalty on Thursday by the ISAF-appointed independent jury for rules breaches during Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. In separate decisions, the jury made key rulings about the use of replacement sails for three teams (full story below).

– MAPFRE protest hearing – ISAF jury decision here

– Dongfeng Race Team permitted to use replacement sail in Leg 6

– Team SCA and Team Vestas Wind refused permission to change their sails

ITAJAÍ, Brazil, April 17 – The Spanish team MAPFRE were given a two-point penalty on Thursday by the ISAF-appointed independent jury for rules breaches during Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. In separate decisions, the jury made key rulings about the use of replacement sails for three teams.

After hearing evidence from Race Management and the team on Wednesday, the jury, headed by Bernard Bonneau, ruled that the Spanish team had applied repairs and alterations on the hull and on an outrigger without informing the Volvo Ocean 65 Class Authority (VCA) and therefore broke the Volvo Ocean 65 class rules as well as the race rules.

The Volvo Ocean 65 class rules require that if a team considers that a repair is necessary, it shall inform the VCA immediately.

Bonneau added that the five-strong jury had decided that the work was not done with the purpose of improving the performance of the Spanish team during Leg 5 and their second place in the stage stands.

The ruling, however, means that their overall points total is now 20 after five legs and they thus drop from fourth to fifth in the standings (see panel above).

The team had earlier argued in the hearing through their rules advisor, Luis Sáenz Mariscal, that in both cases with their bow and outrigger, skipper Iker Martínez had made the reinforcements because of fears that both were damaged.

Sáenz Mariscal added that the outrigger had broken on previous occasions in the race and the crew had heard a bang from the bow and feared it was delaminating.

He said that in Southern Ocean conditions, Martínez feared that the boat and crew were in danger if the measures were not taken. He said the crew had not informed the VCA, but had openly shared video content showing repairs to Race Control in Alicante, Spain.

Martínez was also a skipper in the last edition in 2011-12, when his boat’s bow delaminated and he was forced to nurse the boat to Argentina for repairs.

In a separate decision by the ISAF Jury, Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) was given permission to replace their damaged race mainsail with their pre-race mainsail for the forthcoming Team Vestas Wnd Itajaí In-Port Race as well as Leg 6, which starts on Sunday (April 19).

Dongfeng Race Team had nursed their boat to safety in Argentina after the top of the mast fractured, 200 nautical miles from Cape Horn, during Leg 5. Caudrelier explained they had no option but to cut the mainsail to prevent further damage, potentially endangering the crew.

However, similar applications from Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR), to replace their fractional code zero sail, and Team Vestas Wind (Chris Nicholson/AUS) to replace their J3 when they return to the race following their grounding on a reef in Leg 2, were denied.

Team SCA’s sail was unusable during the stage after it was badly damaged during a Chinese gybe. It has since been repaired but according to skipper Sam Davies, may tear again once the boat returns to sea on Leg 6 from Sunday.

The race rules specify that if a boat damages beyond repair or loses a sail and does not have a spare race sail of the same code, it may apply in writing to the VCA and to the international jury for permission to use her pre-race sail of the same code.

The international jury’s full decisions can be found here: http://noticeboard.volvooceanrace.com

via The jury decides| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

Team Vestas Wind (Chris Nicholson/AUS) shore manager Neil Cox has paid tribute to the joint efforts to return the Danish boat into the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 – and is cautiously optimistic they are on track (full story below).

– We still face big challenge to meet deadlines – Cox

– Shore crew chief pays tribute to joint effort to rebuild boat

ITAJAÍ, Brazil, April 16 – Team Vestas Wind (Chris Nicholson/AUS) shore manager Neil Cox has paid tribute to the joint efforts to return the Danish boat into the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 – and is cautiously optimistic they are on track.

The team, who did serious damage to their Volvo Ocean 65 on November 29 during Leg 2 when they collided with a reef in the Indian Ocean, are rebuilding the boat in the Persico boatyard in Bergamo, Italy.

They have set themselves a very tight schedule of returning to the current 12th edition by the Lisbon stopover in late May/early June to sail the final two legs. The fleet is scheduled to depart from Portugal for Lorient, France, on June 6.

There have already been huge efforts to help facilitate Vestas Wind’s return with Race partners, Maersk Line, and sponsors, GAC & GAC Pindar, overseeing the boat’s crossing from Malaysia.

Cox hopes they can make that deadline, but warns it is still a huge challenge despite the great teamwork between the various cogs in a big wheel, including Persico and Green Marine (Britain).

“Like all intense build projects, you can see the signs of wear on the guys, but to their credit they have not yet shown any sign of things being in the ‘too hard’ basket,” he said on Wednesday.

“The reality is, though, that we are going to have some challenging days in front of us to hold this all together as required. But we have a pretty determined group.”

The immediate target is have the boat ready to be loaded on to a truck from the shed at Persico for the long journey to Lisbon in six weeks.

Cox listed the progress so far.

“The deck is on, the boat is out of the mould. All the primary structure is in the boat and a large percentage of the internal secondary structure and detailing is underway,” he said.

“The hull surface has come out of the mould nicely and we have the paint team starting on all the surface prep work here, filling in any pin holes before the application of primer/undercoat.

“With this done, we want to offer the teams from Diverse, Navtec, Livewire, Cariboni (working on internal components such as the electronics and hydraulics) as much uninterrupted runway through the boat as possible.

“We are still receiving required equipment daily by the pallet load and have had the support of both Green Marine and Volvo Ocean Race shared services helping with the transfer of both information and parts.”

Meanwhile, work on the racing boats that contested the treacherous Leg 5, has progressed without major issue.

That includes Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA). The boat’s mast, which was fractured during the stage and forced their retirement, is being replaced.

Caudrelier and his crew expect to return their boat to the Itajaí waters on Thursday, ahead of Saturday’s Team Vestas Wind Itajaí In-Port Race.

The other teams – Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR), MAPFRE (Iker Martínez/ESP), Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA), Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED) and Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) – had much smaller repair lists and are all back in perfect shape for race weekend (April 18-19).

via Vestas Wind shaping up nicely| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

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It was no April Fool’s gag…

09 Apr 2015

Artemis Racing’s AC45 – photo: Sander van der Borch/Artemis Racing

AMERICA’S CUP: The item we ran on April 1st from Eurobutt suggesting the America’s Cup was going to be a one design seems to have had rather more basis in fact than an April Fool joke, writes Peter Nash.

Because the latest we hear from Mr Ellison and Co is that the next AC is likely to use boats that are – essentially – one design catamarans.

And they’re small. At 48ft loa, the AC48 is smallest boat ever used for the 165 year old America’s Cup.

The boats were designed by Oracle’s designer and the wing, sails, hulls, platform/crossbeams are “standardised”.

So we now have an America’s Cup that was – for 165 years – always sailed in majestic monohulls, now brought down to 48ft catamarans that have absolutely no sense of power and majesty whatsoever.

They will, of course, be incredibly fast. Foiling has come a long way since the last AC. But is this going to be enough to make a sailboat series that was always a spectacle seem anything other than a few very small, very fast little boats racing around?

As one commentator put it – a small foiling catamaran offers nothing in tactical sailing. So there will be no real pre start jousting. There will be no tactical sailing upwind or downwind. All it can offer is speed, speed and more speed.

But, according to Ben Ainslie, the new America’s Cup wing sail foiling catamaran will be “more manoeuvrable” and “better suited” to Bermuda’s racecourse.

Mr Ainslie insists the new class is “absolutely essential for the long term good of the Cup”.

I hear far more people asking for a return to modernised 12 Metre boats. Or how about TP52s? That would give fast and furious sailing people could understand.

Mr Ainslie continued, pointing out the new boats “will be able to achieve speeds of close to 50 miles an hour, far faster than any other current racing series in global sailing, and a match for the 72ft boats that raced the 34th America’s Cup.”

But the speed of the new boats may be matched perfectly by the speed of Luna Rossa in withdrawing from the new look America’s Cup with its new choice of the AC48 after having spent millions in developing Luna Rossa’s AC62.

But as well as the change of boat, there are arguments about the elimination series, with the Australian round likely to be eliminated itself.

And, as the Australian government was due to be a major sponsor of Emirates Team New Zealand if the elimination series went to Auckland, that now seems to have put the team’s entry in doubt.

So now we have just Ben Ainslie Racing and the Swedish Artemis down as challengers against Oracle.

What a mess, eh? Not much of a spectacle in there. Except the spectacle of interested parties fighting for what THEY think is the right way for the AC to go.

And the latest is it seems the French squad led by Franck Cammas has been given some help by Oracle.

“We have some very good news: the Americans, Oracle, have decided to share their design and to collaborate with Team France,” Cammas told French radio station Europe 1.

As French AC sailor Bruno Troublé put it – rather well, think most people – “Golden Gate Yacht Club, and their Oracle Team USA, are great sailors but hopeless guards of the Myth.

“They managed to kill the style and elegance which prevailed for decades, those unique aspects of the America’s Cup for which was our main aim at Louis Vuitton for 30 years.

“What we have now is a vulgar beach event smelling of sunscreen and french fries. This is definitely NOT the Cup.”

I think Mr Troublé hit the nail on the head there…

via Boating Business – It was no April Fool’s gag….