Yachting News 11th June

Jun 11th 2009
One Comment
respond
trackback

These boats answer a new demand in leisure sailing, a whole new fleet of small boats has been built over the last 15 years. Perfect for playing Swallows and Amazons, easy to rig, to transport and to put to water these boats allow families to discover less frequented waters. They are replicas of European and American dorys, Norwegian faerings, boats from the Shetlands or Breton mizzen boats. These boats have inspired architects to build new types also easy to transport such as Ilyrs, Abers, Doryplumes… more here

How do we get more people into sailing? What about this idea?

Bay Area Media Celebrities Are Invited to Join Us
Sunday, June 14, at the beautiful
South Beach Yacht Club (next to AT&T Park)
for an afternoon of fun in the sun, sailing with and racing
against your peers in the tranquil waters of the South Bay.

The Scenario
Several fleets of fun-to-sail boats with crews will be provided, along with brief instruction. You will take the helm in a series of short fun races in the warm, picturesque South Bay competing with members of your own and other media outlets from around the Bay!

We’ll provide the boats, the chase vessels for camera crews,
and the post-regatta food and drink. You provide the smiles!

more here

First Olympic Match Racing Boats On their way to Germany

for ISAF Sailing World Cup Debut

The first of the new Elliott 6m keelboats are on their way to Germany
©Elliott Marine

ISAF News

The first batch of the new Elliott 6m keelboats selected as equipment for the Women’s Match Racing event at the 2012 Olympic Games have left the boatyard and are on their way to Germany to make their worldwide debut at the sixth event of the ISAF Sailing World Cup.
The build of the first eight of the new Elliott 6m designs were completed at McConaghy boats in China and left the yard for Germany last month. The boats are being shipped to Hamburg, Germany from where they will be moved to Kiel for Kieler Woche, the penultimate event of the 2008-09 ISAF Sailing World Cup series, taking place from 19-24 June. Following on from Kiel, some of the boats will later be transported to Weymouth and Portland, Great Britain for the final event of the World Cup series, the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta in September.

Greg ELLIOTT, designer of the Elliott 6m, said, “I am looking forward to the boats being launched in Kiel. McConaghy Boats have done a fantastic building job and I am sure the boats will ensure an exciting event for the women sailors involved.”

more here

Kiwi Magic on Marseille Trophy Day 1

Marseille Trophy, 10 06 2009 © Ian Roman/Audi MedCup

Emirates Team New Zealand seize the early initiative with two wins from three starts to lead the Marseille Trophy TP52 Series. Turismo Madrid win GP42 Practice Race.

Emirates Team New Zealand confirmed that their powerful new Botin Carkeek designed TP52 is no slouch in lighter breezes when they won two of three races today on Marseille’s Rade Sud. Added to the third place in the day’s second windward-leeward contest the Kiwi team lead overall by seven clear points in the Audi MedCup Circuit’s Marseille Trophy.

Racing in six to eight knots of mainly SSW’ly winds on smooth Mediterranean seas and in perfect June sunshine, the winds scarcely built by more than a couple of knots through the course of the day, but there was always enough for the race committee to realise the target of three races in smart succession.

The New Zealand crew arrived smarting from having let a possible regatta win in Alicante slip through their fingers on the last race. But today the team were consistent in their strategies, often winning the favoured left side of the track, making two good starts and keeping their boat moving well in the light-moderate sea breeze.

After three races Emirates Team New Zealand lead the Marseille Trophy by a clear seven points from José Cusi’s Bribon (ESP) who won the second race, a victory which they bolted to a fifth and sixth. The only Spanish TP52 team on the Audi MedCup Circuit, with France’s double Olympic medallist Thierry Pepponet on the helm, earned a boost to their confidence after their modest 10th in Alicante and lie second overall, locked on 12 points the same as Alicante Trophy winners Matador (ARG).

more here

Marseille Trophy, 10 06 2009 Photos © Ian Roman/Audi MedCup

more images here

ERICSSON 4 LEG EIGHT DAY 5 QFB:

received 10.06.09 1324 GMT

Tense times aboard Ericsson 4 as we battle up the west coast of Denmark. Our sparring partners in the match race are Green Dragon – who it has to be said are much improved of recent times, whether it’s due to a gained confidence and renewed support from Ireland or due to the extra thousand or so team members they have enlisted via the online game. But, whatever the reason, Ian and boys have been sailing well. The question for us is; are we duelling for first and second at the moment or are we fighting for sixth and seventh?

With the spread across the fleet and the way the wind and weather has been, both could be realistic outcomes. Puma are way to the west and are romping along on every sched – it all depends on what the low pressure decides it wants to do and, ultimately, who will be first into Marstrand. Everyone is gripped by the scheds as they come in – more so than usual if that is possible and, as we sit on the edges of our seats, all we can do is wait and see and keep our fingers crossed.

What we can do here off the coast of Denmark is fight our own little fight and let the rest play itself out – after all it’s not like we have a hyperspace button at hand to move us from where we are to a better position.

The wind has been extremely fickle to say the least – searching for light winds and trying fruitlessly to avoid the calm parking lots. When I say we are sailing up the coast of Denmark – I really do mean up the coast – we are literally on the beach and very rarely stray too far from the shore line. It means we are getting a good look at the glorious looking beaches and sand dunes. At one stage we were forced to gybe away from the shore or run aground. As we did this we could see a man walking his dog and going about his day oblivious to what 11 stupid men were doing on a yacht just outside of the surf-line.

We battled light spots and rather extreme wind shifts and could see that the best place was to sail on the less favoured gybe and get back inshore to where it appeared there still to be the odd zephyr. When we got back inshore about 15 mins later we were just barely 100m further up the coast and could see one man and his dog returning from their walk – at that point he would have been wondering why we wouldn’t be using our engine – crazy sailors!

The rest of the crew are still surviving well off barely no sleep and at present are either moving the sails around to counteract the occasional puff or sleeping in full gear. That’s why you are reading my thoughts today (again!!!) and not those of one of the real heroes onboard – apologies.

It’s definitely a little cold on deck but gets a whole lot nicer when the sun manages to find a clear spot in the grey and slightly damp sky. We may have only been out here a few days but it feels like weeks, but a change to the normal psychology is that the excitement of being onshore after a long period afloat isn’t present even though we have well under 200nm left to go.

This will be a hard fought and often scrappy fight to the finish and all I can guarantee is that all onboard Ericsson 4 will put in every ounce they have to get us to the pit stop as quick as is humanly possible – nothing new there!

So it’s looking like sail changes and gear changes galore!

See you in Marstrand

Guy Salter – MCM

more here