Yachting News 27th May

May 27th 2009
One Comment
respond
trackback

“Every day (and night) is another great day for a sail” with Glowfast Marine and Lidgard Sails

27 May 2009

Glowfast Marine is joining forces with Lidgard Sails to ensure every day, and night, is great for sailing.

Lidgard Sails Lofts are now stocking and installing Glowfast Luminous Draft Stripes, Glowfast Luminous Spinnaker V’s and Glowfast Luminous Tell Tale Patches.

Sean Lidgard, General Manager of Lidgard Sails, continues to ensure his lofts have access to the latest in cutting edge technology for both the racing and cruising markets.

Glowfast Marine’s revolutionary luminous technology enhances Lidgard Sails already high quality offering, providing added performance and safety.

Glowfast Luminous Product available though Lidgard Sails include:

Glowfast Luminous Draft Stripes automatically illuminate (for 20+ hours) when it gets dark allowing you to see your entire sail shape simultaneously. This improved sail trim and boat handling has been proven to increase performance by as much as 20% at night.

Glowfast Luminous Spinnaker V’s are vital addition to every spinnaker used at night. Using Glowfast Luminous Spinnaker V’s make it easy to see the luff of your spinnaker at night without the need for a torch. With as little as 10 minutes exposure to light Glowfast Luminous Spinnaker V’s will glow for 20+ hours.

Glowfast Luminous Tell Tale Patches provide maximum contrast behind traditional tell tales, allowing you to steer and trim your boat to its potential all day and all night. Glowfast self adhesive Luminous Tell Tale Patches come in 2 packs (1 for each side of the sail).

more here

Monday, 24 May 2009, 18:00 GMT

THE DAMAGE DONE

“We have hit something pretty hard at the front of the boat and damaged the crash bow… We have a new rudder as well. We have three days to do a pretty big job list”

By Riath Al-Samarrai

The damage assessors have gone in and the verdicts suggest it is unlikely that lobster fishermen will receive many thank you cards from the shore crew in the near future.

The 2,550-mile leg across the Atlantic has left the repair teams with a variety of jobs, largely because of the “scars”, “dings” and “gouges” left by numerous collisions between foils and pot lines.

Green Dragon saw a daggerboard almost scythed in half by one line, while PUMA face a big job in mending a bow damaged by running over some floating fishing equipment.

But Ericsson 3 are taking on one of the biggest restoration missions, picking up the pieces after their keel fin and a daggerboard were broken in a collision with a whale two days into the leg. They ultimately finished seventh in an incredibly tight battle that saw first and last arrive within five hours and four minutes, but upon docking navigator Aksel Magdahl revealed the keel damage cost them an average 10% in speed.

The damage to the fin was visibly obvious, with large chunks of fairing missing from the lower portions of both the leading and trailing edges. Saturday’s in-port race is adding some pressure to the situation.

Shore boss Herve Le Quillec said: “There is quite a lot to do and we have not got a lot of time.

“We have a quick turnover here so the guys are working on solutions. Hopefully the boat will be back in the water on Thursday, worst case scenario on Friday.

“The daggerboard will be repaired, but we will probably use a spare in the in-port race.”

He also confirmed that Ericsson 4 was in good health and will most likely return to the water on Wednesday.

As will PUMA, but their days will be somewhat busier. Ken Read’s team overcame some serious issues to post a superb second-placed finish, seeing their rudder snap and their bow heftily damaged.

Shore boss Neil Cox said: “Our boat is like an abused dog that has finally turned around and bitten back.

“We have hit something pretty hard up at the front of the boat and damaged the crash bow. We have to do some laminate work there and also replace some foam in the area; probably about 25% of the foam.

“We have a new rudder to put in the boat as well. That arrived from Massachusetts on Sunday night.”

He suspects fishing equipment was responsible for the damage to the bow.

“There’s an area just south of Newfoundland and everyone got cleaned up there,” he said. “Apart from the crash bow and rudder, all the other appendages were in good shape. We have about three days to do what is a pretty big job list. It’s a short turnaround.”

more here

Oskar Kihlborg / Ericsson Racing Team / Volvo Ocean Race

COMPETITIVE FLEET SIGNS ON FOR GIRAGLIA ROLEX CUP

May 26, 2009

With just over one week until the close of entries for the venerable Giraglia Rolex Cup, the entries are streaming in for the 57th edition of this Franco-Italian classic. To date, 147 boats are entered with quite a few more expected by the close of registration on 4 June.

Giraglia Rolex Cup comprises three days of inshore racing, from 14 – 16 June, followed by a 243-mile offshore race, which starts on Wednesday, 17 June. The route of this classic distance course takes the fleet from Saint-Tropez to Genoa, via La Giraglia, the iconic rock isle off the northern end of Corsica. Racing will be organized by the Yacht Club Italiano (YCI), the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez and the Yacht Club de France.

What is particularly appealing about the Giraglia Rolex Cup is the diverse fleet attracted. Some boats choose to just sail the inshore races, others come just to compete in the legendary Giraglia race, but most of the fleet elects to do both.

On tap this year in Saint-Tropez will be the best and the brightest of the Mini Maxis – certainly some of the newest, at any rate. This has become the fleet of choice for many former Maxi owners. The size band of 60 – 79 feet, leaves plenty of leeway to have boats designed and built that excel in round-the-buoys, and offshore/distance racing.

Two prime examples are the STP 65′s Luna Rossa (ITA) and Container (GER), both sailing since late last year. The newly launched 72-foot Ran 2 (GBR), and the 60-foot Jethou (GBR) are also slated to make their mark. The common factor in all four yachts – apart from sleek lines, speed and professionalism of the crews – is design firm Judel-Vrolijk, which has had a hand in all.

Judging by the competition at earlier spring regattas, where Luna Rossa and Ran shared honours with one overall victory each, there will be an exciting rivalry to play out during the Giraglia Rolex Cup, as this new crop of boats sorts themselves out.

more here

Revving Up for 2010; Dates Set for March 26-28

May 26, 2009

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that 2010 will mark the 37th running of the St. Thomas Yacht Club’s International Rolex Regatta. However, the regatta is not only the oldest uninterrupted sporting event in Rolex’s global portfolio but also one of the most professionally managed of the spring circuit regattas in the Caribbean. Scheduled for three days, beginning Friday March 26, and ending Sunday, March 28, the 2010 International Rolex Regatta again will offer a blast of great racing on the water and good fun ashore for local and visiting teams from the U.S. and Europe.

We welcome all types of boats, many of which sail under the CSA (Caribbean Sailing Association) rule,” said Event Co-Chair John Sweeney, “and we also are one of the few regattas in the Caribbean to host IRC-specific classes. “I’m happy to say it has caught on quite well and we are planning for an expanded IRC fleet again next year.”

To accommodate some of the larger IRC and CSA boats at marina facilities, the 2009 event rolled out a complimentary berthing offer at Yacht Haven Grande and American Yacht Harbor, which are managed by regatta sponsor Island Global Yachting. The offer, along with the yacht club’s concierge-like service for assisting teams with logistics, will again be available for the 2010 event. “I know it’s great fun to anchor off the yacht club,” said this year’s IRC class winner Jim Mitchell (SUI), owner of the RP52 Vincitore, “and so many boats do that and love it, but the truth is the marina suited Vincitore’s particular needs, so we welcomed the offer.”

more here

The show must go on: Despite opening a day late, Sanctuary Cove finishes on upbeat note

By IBI Magazine

Facing winds of 117 kmph and torrential rain, organisers of the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show (SCIBS) were forced to postpone the show’s opening by a day. Despite running a day shorter, SCIBS still turned in a very respectable attendance of 36,479 by the time it closed last Sunday. Last year, there were 50,678 attendees.

“A comparison is a bit difficult as it would be against a near-record crowd of four days in 2008,” Kate Duryea, the show’s communications manager wrote in an email to IBI. “Even now parts of northern New South Wales are flooded, and there are towns cut off. Given the conditions, the boat show was very pleased with the numbers.”

The show had 224 boats in the water and another 365 on land. There was a total of 406 exhibitors. Organisers said that besides the Australian market, there were visitors, exhibitors, buyers and delegations from India, Taiwan, China, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Singapore, the UK, Spain, the US and the Philippines.

SCIBS issued a statement saying that Sea-Doo and Kawasaki Jet Ski dealers made multiple sales, while Sunseeker, Horizon, Riviera, and The Haines Group were among many OEMs that took deposits or sold boats during the show. Riviera, which is in receivership, had seven buyers put deposits on its newly launched 5800 Sports Yacht. The builder signed sales contracts for four other Rivieras.

“Thanks to the dedicated boat show team, our contractors and the emergency services including the police and ambulance, we were able to ensure the safe delivery of the 2009 event during these unseasonal conditions,” said show general manager Mark Jensen in the statement. “We had excellent results given the extraordinary weather conditions.”

more here

Riviera cuts one-third of fulltime workforce

By IBI Magazine

Riviera announced today that it would cut 445 permanent fulltime staff, or about a third of its workforce. The staff were notified on Tuesday of the redundancies.

“Riviera will now be in better shape to weather the current economic conditions and to meet the ongoing demand for quality Riviera products,” said Chris Campbell in a statement. Campbell, a partner in Deloitte, was appointed receiver and manager on May 8th.

“Under the new structure, production and ongoing trade with suppliers will continue, including the orders placed during last week’s Sanctuary Cove Boat Show,” said Campbell. Riviera’s dealer, service and support networks will be unaffected by the job cuts.

Wages for the displaced workers will be paid to date, said Campbell, but the builder would not have funds to pay employee entitlements. “The staff have continued to operate on a business as usual basis under enormously difficult circumstances,” said Campbell.

(26 May 2009)

more here

PRESS RELEASE – RC44 Championship Tour – RC 44 Austria Cup

Photo : Copyright Nico Martinez / RC44 Class Association

Time for action for the RC 44 Class on Lake Traunsee

The third event of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2009 starts tomorrow in Austria on the picturesque Lake Traunsee. A fairly strong wind is forecast, with temperatures dropping after today’s record temperatures.

May 26, 2009 – Representing eight nations, the nine RC 44’s involved in the RC 44 Austria Cup did two practice starts in a very light breeze today, preparing for the beginning of the competition scheduled tomorrow at 11:30 AM.
Last year Gmunden (Austria) hosted the Championship Tour for the first time and it proved one of the Circuit’s most memorable regattas. The world’s best sailors involved in the Tour were unanimously impressed by the scenery, the greenness of the forests that overlook the lake and the highness of the surrounding mountains.
One year later the RC 44 fleet is back with a highly competitive fleet that includes some new names such as Paul Cayard (Ceeref), Ray Davies (No Way Back) and Rod Davis (BMW ORACLE Racing). The Class’ other “usual suspects” such as Dean Barker, Cameron Appleton, Daniel Calero or Markus Wieser have also been spotted walking up & down the pontoons over the past few days, preparing for another exciting regatta in this challenging circuit.
Speaking this morning during the event’s opening press conference – held at the stunning Seeschloss Orth (Lake Traunsee’s emblematic castle) – both Dean Barker and Ray Davies mentioned how refreshing it is for them to sail on a mountain lake. “Usually when I go to this sort of resort it is in New Zealand’s southern Island and I am going skiing”, said Barker. “It is a nice change.” Paul Cayard went as far as saying that “this is such a beautiful place that I could very well consider living here”.
Unbeaten in match race in Cagliari last month, Dean Barker and Artemis are the favourites of the series although Ceeref still leads the overall ranking. Paul Cayard replaces Sébastien Col for this event, and he clearly hopes to maintain his team on top of the leader board. “I haven’t competed in a match since almost two years, and this is a welcome “refreshing course” for me. The fleet is obviously highly competitive, but I am definitely here to try to win.”
Christian Binder, skipper of the local team Austria, explained that his team is still fairly new. “We are learning every day”, he said. “But we have been working hard and we had some good training sessions over the past weeks. We definitely hope to get a good result”.

The teams involved:

(Name of team, owner, pro sailor)

Team Aqua, Chris Bake / Cameron Appleton
Team Ceeref, Igor Lah / Paul Cayard
Sea Dubai, DIMC, Markus Wieser
BMW ORACLE Racing, Russell Coutts / Rod Davies
Team Organika, Maciej Nawrocki / Karol Jablonski
Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, Daniel Calero / Jose Maria Ponce
Artemis, Torbjorn Tornqvist / Dean Barker
No Way Back, Pieter Heerema / Ray Davies
Team Austria, René Mangold / Christian Binder

more here

Floating Jetty Valiant of the Royal Navy arrived at HM Naval Base Clyde on May 19.

Some interesting features of floating jetty Valiant are: Astute_launch

* A sophisticated berthing facility for the Royal Navy’s next generation of nuclear-powered Astute Class submarines, the largest and most powerful attack submarines of the Royal Navy.
* Can also accommodate any of the Royal Navy’s nuclear-powered, conventionally-armed submarines.
* The jetty can float up and down with the tide to provide significant operational benefits.
* Took five years to plan, five years to build, and is designed to be in service for the next 50 years.
* Built and floated from Inchgreen dry dock in Greenock.
* The floating jetty was towed 12 miles to Faslane by five tugs and took around six hours to complete the journey.
* The floating jetty is 200 metres long, 28 metres wide, over 10 metres deep and 44,000 tonnes.
* The floating jetty’s length is comparable to the Royal Navy’s current aircraft carriers and is more than twice the tonnage.
* Cost: £150 million

more here

120,000 Celebrate Vendee 6.

Vedee 7 To Start October 2012.

May 26, 2009

While those who still have motor-yachts sat in the harbour of Monaco on Saturday night, 120,000 people turned up on the beach in Les Sables for the Vendee Globe prize-giving ceremony. It goes to show just how popular this event is in France that the ceremony didn’t start until 10:30pm.

A huge podium was built for the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe skippers for the official prize-giving ceremony of the sixth race. The official site reports that no fewer than 120,000 people turned up for the show, that was entirely free and packed with emotion.

For skippers looking for sponsors for the next race, the date of the start of the next Vendée Globe will be the 21st October 2012. Although 29 skippers have declared an interest in starting the seventh edition of the race, British sailors may find it tough to find budget in an Olympic year.

more here

and here