Greetings yachties
Australia 11 Winged Keel – Who designed it?
Jessica Watson leaves Mooloolaba
IFDS – Bulletin
Société Nautique de Genève
Bank Sarasin RC 44 Portoroz Cup,
Les Voiles de Saint Tropez – Gilles Martin-Raget,
Bénéteau Group -sales report
More later
In the summer of 1983, in the months leading up to the 25th America’s Cup competition in Newport, Rhode Island, a storm of controversy gathered over the challenging Australian and defending New York Yacht Club syndicates.
At that time, the rules governing the Cup required that each yacht be designed by citizens of the country it represented. The principal designer of Australia II, the eventual winner, was indeed a “national”—Ben Lexcen. Much of the development work on that boat, however, was performed at the Netherlands Ship Model Basin (now known by the acronym MARIN), in Wageningen, by Peter van Oossanen. On seeing Australia II perform in the challenge trials in Rhode Island Sound, the New York Yacht Club sought to disqualify her on the basis of the rule cited above.
But to do so, the NYYC had to establish that Van Oossanen, not Lexcen, had designed the boat, or had made a significant contribution. Though he didn’t know how to run a computer, Lexcen maintained an office at MARIN; all insisted he was the team leader. In the end, the issue was dropped. Australia II competed, and won in a stirring seventh and final race.
Prior to my visit with Van Oossanen in Wageningen, I’d been warned that he was tired of talking about the famous wing keel, and that his more recent work was overlooked. When we sat down to an interview in his conference room, it turned out that Van Oossanen very much wanted to set the record straight
Jessica remains determined
Mark Furler | 29th September 2009
TEENAGE sailor Jessica Watson is more qualified than Jesse Martin was when he sailed around the world.
Jessica Watson sets sail out of Mooloolaba. (184961)
Brett Wortman
TEENAGE sailor Jessica Watson has sailed 10,000 nautical miles and has more formal yachting qualifications than record holder Jesse Martin, her team has revealed.
While Jessica admitted she had made mistakes before her collision with the cargo carrier Silver Yang her team rejected as nonsense reports a hand-written checklist represented her preparations for her epic trip.
As for logs, Jessica has a tracking system which logs her every movement.
The now famous note, leaked to the Sunday Mail, was in fact a checklist for her short trip to Sydney, where she was to start her epic 38,000 kilometre voyage.
Jessica’s team said they remained confident that the final federal report on the collision would find the cargo ship was also to blame with their data showing it changed course toward Jessica’s yacht but failed to contact her.
The team said suggestions Jessica was sailing “like a car without her headlights’’ on were totally incorrect because she had two out of the three devices on board to alert other ships to her presence switched on.
more about Jessica Watson here
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The Inaugural Access Class European Championships have been concluded in Port Camargue, France with nine races completed for the Access 2.3, 303, Liberty and SKUD 18.
2009 IFDS Annual General Meeting (AGM)
The 2009 IFDS Annual General Meeting and Associated Meetings will occur during the ISAF Annual Conference in Busan, Korea, 8-9 November 2009.
The IFDS schedule for the meetings is as follows:
Sunday 8 November 2009 Development Seminar – Open; Executive Committee Meeting, Committee Meetings as needed – Open
Monday 9 November 2009 Annual General Meeting – Open to observers
Tuesday 10 November 2009 Executive Committee Meeting – Closed
Development Seminar
Anyone wishing to learn about the development of Disabled Sailing is invited to attend this seminar. The seminar will start at 0900 hours local time on Sunday 8 November and will be in the Capri Room. Anyone wishing to attend is asked to please send an email to Emma – emma@isaf.co.uk
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
The IFDS AGM will take place at 0900 hours local time in the Capri Room. All RNA’s in attendance of the meeting will need to have paid any outstanding IFDS RNA Subscriptions.
All RNA’s are entitled to nominate two representatives to attend the AGM. One person will be able to vote on behalf of the RNA and the other will be a Non-Voting Representative. RNA’s should inform Emma – emma@isaf.co.uk of who their representatives attending the AGM will be no later than 0900 UTC, Monday 26 October 2009. Please note that RNA’s in attendance of the meeting will need to have paid any outstanding RNA Subscriptions by bank transfer prior to the meeting.
more about disabled sailors here
Société Nautique de Genève
SNG writes to GGYC regarding BMW Oracle’s arrival in Ras al-Khaimah
Société Nautique de Genève, in its role as trustee of the America’s Cup and event organising authority, is working with Ras al-Khaimah, UAE, on fitting out the area for the 33rd edition of the America’s Cup and on developing the teams’ area on Al Hamra Island. The defending yacht club writes to Golden Gate YC to enquire about the arrival of BMW Oracle in order to prepare their team area in good time.
Team Organika, current leader of the match race event alongside Islas Canarias Puerto calero
Major upsets on day one of the Bank Sarasin RC 44 Portoroz Cup
Seven flights took place on day one of the Bank Sarasin RC 44 Portoroz Cup match race event. Karol Jablonski, Jose Maria Ponce, Ray Davies and Paul Cayard came out best of the light and tricky conditions.
September 29, 2009 – With four victories out of five races, Karol Jablonski and his team Organika look smart at the end of day one of the Bank Sarasin RC 44 Portoroz Cup. Not only did they win more races than anyone else: they also managed to beat some of the best teams in the RC 44 Class, including Sébastien Col’s Ceeref, Cameron Appleton’s Team Aqua and Paul Cayard’s Katusha.
Also on great form today, Jose Maria Ponce (Islas Canarias Puerto Calero) managed to win three races and take the lead in his group ahead of No Way Back (Pieter Heerema and Ray Davies, who share helming duties).
The seven flights completed today took place in a light sea breeze. Due to the increasing number of boats involved in the Class, it is not possible anymore to complete a full round robin and the organisers have decided to split the fleet in two, with five boats in Group Alpha and six in group Bravo. Puerto Calero leads the first one ahead of No Way Back whilst Organika is on top of the other ahead of Katusha.
Tomorrow’s format will depend on the wind conditions, which are forecast light by PredictWind. If this proves right, a best of three series will determine the winners whilst a more complex system will be used if the conditions are good. In the latter case, the first and second of each groups will sail against each other before competing in conventional semi-finals and final.
Whilst some new teams made it to the top of the provisional match race ranking today, others logically didn’t obtain the results they expected. Slightly rusty, Team Aqua started the day with two premature starts, loosing precious points against Organika and Katusha. Usually dominant, Dean Barker and his Team Artemis suffered two losses against No Way Back and Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, ending up third in its group. With two victories out of four races, Russell Coutts’ BMW ORACLE Racing isn’t looking as good as he would like to either, currently in the fourth place of Group Alpha.
Two teams made their debuts in the RC 44 Class today. Paul Cayard and his team Katusha showed a strong performance, finishing second of their group despite sailing on a brand new boat, with a new group and having only had five days to practice. Modri Gaj, the new local team didn’t have such a good day. With Gasper Vincec at the helm, the Slovenian team had a moment of glory when they beat Organika in a very clean race; an achievement that will give them some good memories after a disastrous first race that saw them miss the entry, incur two penalties before the start, round the wrong windward mark and miss the arrival line. As the RC 44 co-designer and crewmember onboard Modri Gaj Andrej Justin summarised after the regatta: “Match racing can be tough!”
Photos: Copyright Ales Fevzer RC 44 Class
Jose Maria Ponce benefited from Luis Doreste’s advice to concentrate on speed and take the lead of his group.
They said:
Karol Jablonski, helmsman, Organika: “We have done a very good job and I am very happy. Sometimes we were behind and we managed to come back. We did a great move against Cayard: we were just behind at the top mark and decided to go for a jibe set. It was important to keep it secret and to make sure that they didn’t see what we were preparing. It worked out well, the crew did a great job and we won the race. The fighting spirit on board is really excellent.”
Jose Maria Ponce, helmsman, Islas Canarias Puerto Calero: “We’ve had a very good day. Our starts were excellent, we were fast and the manoeuvres went well. We haven’t done any match race since Malcesine, so it’s a nice surprise. But there is a major difference in our team: we sail with Luis Doreste. He helps me a lot. He looks out of the boat and concentrates on the tactics. It helps me to focus on the speed.”
Paul Cayard, helmsman, Katusha: “It has been a very good day for us. We won three races and lost two, but the positive thing is that we didn’t get beaten square: we gave those two races away. We need to better the positions on board, and my steering also needs to improve. The conditions were very light and it is hard to keep the speed. We need to be very smooth and this is what we didn’t do well enough.”
Markus Wieser, helmsman, Team Sea Dubai: “It was very close all along, but our lack of practice cost us a lot today. We haven’t sailed any match since Malcesine and we felt it. We will definitely train more before the Gold Cup. I will compete in Berlin match race and we will train in Dubai beforehand.”
Andrej Justin, crewmember, Team Modri Gaj: “There are no match racers on our boat, so it was tough. At some stages we got penalised and we didn’t even know why! But that’s life: match racing is a fight and we are not ready for this. The good thing is it’s an excellent practice for the fleet regatta.”
Match-race, provisional results:
(Name of team, helmsman, No of victories / defeats, points)
Group Alpha:
1) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, José Maria Ponce, 3/1, 3 points
2) No Way Back, Ray Davies, 3/1, 3 points
3) Artemis, Dean Barker, 2/2, 2 points
4) BMW ORACLE Racing, Russell Coutts, 2/2, 2 points
5) Team Austria, Christian Binder, 0/4, 0 point
Group Bravo:
1) Organika, Karol Jablonski 4/1, 4 points
2) Team Katusha, Paul Cayard, 3/2, 3 points
3) Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 3/2, 3 points
4) Ceeref, Sébastien Col, 2/3, 2 points
5) Team Sea Dubai, Markus Wieser, 2/3, 2 points
6) Modri Gaj, Gasper Vincec, 1/4, 1 points
First racing day of “Les Voiles de Saint Tropez”
Bénéteau sales in line with forecasts
By IBI Magazine
French boatbuilder the Bénéteau Group has reported sales of €658.9m for the financial year ending August 31, 2009, with the company’s boat business performing slightly better than expected.
Boat sales for 2009 have dropped by 42 per cent compared to 2008 sales — a small improvement on the 45 per cent predicted.
Bénéteau says that the downturn in the boating business is “less marked than initially forecast”, reporting sales of sailing yachts down 44 per cent and motorboats down 38.2 per cent.
“The Group’s resilience reflects the diversity of its offering, its extension onto the segment for 9m-15m powerboats, and the attachment and trust of its customers,” read a statement issued by Bénéteau.
The company recently revealed plans to launch 29 new models for the 2009-2010 season.
Consolidated sales for the Bénéteau Group totalled €658.9m for the 2009 season compared to €1,094.1m for the year ending August 31, 2008 — a drop of 39.8 per cent.
Forty eight per cent of Bénéteau’s sales were generated by sailboats in 2008-2009, 27 per cent by powerboats and 25 per cent by housing.
Bénéteau is the world’s largest builder of sailboats. Its portfolio includes sail and motorboat brands such as Bénéteau, Jeanneau, Lagoon, Prestige, CNB and Monte Carlo Yachts. The Bénéteau Group is also a major player on the European leisure home market.
This post is tagged alinghi, Australia 11 Winged Keel, Bank Sarasin RC 44 Portoroz Cup, Bénéteau Group, disabled sailing, Geneva, Gilles Martin-Raget, Jessica Watson, Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, Societe Nautique de Geneve, Switzerland
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