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Des Top News 53,
Louis Vuitton Trophy – Semifinals,
Alinghi.com – Grant Simmer,
Jules Verne Trophy – Thomas Coville,
SailJuice spoke to Mike Drummond,
Beached AZ – The End,
Enjoy
‘Stuart Banatyne (second from left) receives the Sir Bernard Trophy as joint winner along with Brad Jackson for Sailor of the Year’
by Richard Gladwell
Brad Jackson and Stu Bannatyne, watch captains on Ericsson 4, the outstanding winner of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009, have been jointly named Singapore Airlines Sailor of the Year, at the 2009 Yachting New Zealand Excellence Awards.
Jackson and Bannatyne, two of the world’s most experienced and successful ocean racers, are now in an elite group of three, joining another New Zealander Mark Christensen as the only sailors to have won the famous round the world race three times. The VOR 08/09 was the tenth edition of the Round the World Race that started as the Whitbread in 1973 and has since become a very significant race for New Zealand sailors.
Brad Jackson and Stu Bannatyne sailed on New Zealand Endeavour in the 1993-94 race winning the maxi class. Then, in the 2001-02 race, Bannatyne, collected his second win in three races as a member of the illbruck crew. Jackson made it two as watch captain on the all conquering ABN AMRO ONE crew in the 2004/05 race. This latest win now means both Brad Jackson and Stu Bannatyne have three wins each, from five races.
‘We think that Brad and Stuart’s longevity in the sport, and the significant input that they have had in the repeated successes of their teams, is highly admirable,’ says Yachting New Zealand Chief Executive Des Brennan. ‘There are very few yachtsmen who have stood the test of time as this pair have done.’
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Azzurra Opens Semis With a Win as Light Winds Frustrate Competitors
Photo © Bob Grieser/outsideimages.co.nz | Louis Vuitton Trophy, Nice Côte d’Azur
Louis Vuitton Trophy – Nice 2009
Nice, France
Italy’s Azzurra opened the Semi Final Round of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d’Azur with a solid win, but the second Semi Final match between Emirates Team New Zealand and Synergy Russia Sailing team was postponed due to light winds.
Today’s lone match began in winds between 8 and 10 knots from the north, but the velocity dropped to between 4 and 5 knots at the finish of the short, 5.2-nautical-mile race.
“We were hoping to get more racing completed but there just wasn’t enough velocity,” said Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio. “The direction was consistent enough from the east, but the strength was between 3 and 5 knots. The boats might’ve been able to sail upwind in that, but they’d never make it downwind in the sloppy seaway.”
Reggio stressed the importance of having steady conditions because of the nature of the semi finals. The first crew to score 2 points wins each series.
“We don’t want these series becoming sudden death,” Reggio said.
© Franck Socha | Louis Vuitton Trophy, Nice Côte d’Azur.
Day 2 Semi Final and Knockout rounds recaps
Emirates Team New Zealand proves its mettle in a thrilling race against Synergy Russia Sailing Team
Semi Final Pair A
Emirates Team New Zealand d. Synergy Russia Sailing Team – Delta: 20 seconds
Emirates Team New Zealand has been the strongest team at the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d’Azur. Synergy Russia Sailing Team has been the most surprising. Those forces collided in the best match of the regatta, with Team New Zealand winning a hard fought match that was much closer than the delta indicates.
This match featured three lead changes and the Kiwis won it by getting the lead in the last quarter of the run to the finish. Synergy led at the first windward mark and leeward gate. Team New Zealand overtook on the second upwind leg by being to the left in a left-hand shift. Synergy was 15 seconds behind at the second windward mark when it gybe-set to starboard. Team New Zealand covered but Synergy was in a heading puff and rolled over the top and back into the lead.
The Kiwis gybed away to port and when the two boats converged again in a port-starboard situation, Synergy had to gybe to port to avoid fouling the Kiwis. The Synergy crew couldn’t quite pull off a clean gybe, and Team New Zealand luffed. Synergy had to press up hard on starboard to keep clear as windward yacht, and Team New Zealand bore away to a controlling leeward position. The crews had one last gybe to port, but Team New Zealand had control and scored the win.
Team New Zealand leads the best-of-three match 1-0.
Alinghi.com speaks to design team coordinator, Grant Simmer, about the modifications and the development so far:
The team has been testing and training in Ras Al Khaimah for the past six weeks, what have been the main areas of focus and the goals?
Grant Simmer: We changed to the new, bigger, rig soon after we came here and we have been working on our sail crossovers and learning about optimum angles; really just concentrating on learning to sail the boat and optimising the performance.
Have the conditions in Ras Al Khaimah been conducive to the testing and development?
Grant Simmer: One of the reasons we came to Ras Al Khaimah in the first place was that the winter months offer really nice sailing conditions and that is what we have enjoyed here. Luckily we have only lost a couple of days in the six weeks that we have been here and that was mainly due to too much wind. The conditions have been great and very stable so we don’t expect much change from that.
Can you hint at the modifications that will be made to Alinghi 5 over the coming days?
Grant Simmer: Well, you will see them at the end of the week! The thing about this boat is that everything is so massive that you have to plan months in advance to make virtually any component in the boat. We have been manufacturing these pieces in Villeneuve, Switzerland, where we still have a factory (the same one that built the boat) and the boys have done a good job and delivered the parts on time so we will spend next week installing them.
Is adapting the boat for Valencia in February a consideration at this point?
Grant Simmer: Since the decision on Valencia, the default venue, we have been adapting the boat to the increased variability there at the time of the Match. Of course in the background we still have the appeal on the RAK decision, which we feel quite strongly about because RAK is a far better place to race these boats in February; something we have said repeatedly.
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Latest Court Ruling here
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I thought that crossing the line would be just like any other day out here, so I surprised myself a little by getting a bit emotional as I juggled three different cameras while counting down the latitude read out on the GPS. It’s not so much physically crossing into the northern hemisphere that had me so worked up (you can only get so excited about an invisible line in the water!!) but the fact that it meant the end of the first leg. Sure this has probably been one of the easier legs (call it the shake down!) compared to some of the sailing down south to come. But the distance we’ve already covered is pretty amazing. Getting this far (and everything that happened before the start line!) has given me the confidence to know that even though we’ve got some seriously tough times ahead, we’re going to be able to have fun tackling whatever comes our way.
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Cape Town this weekend
Thomas Coville also took up the opportunity to reflect on the atmosphere aboard both before and after the damage; alluding to his immense disappointment as well as his huge desire to get going again as quickly as possible…
“I was at the helm when I heard a strange noise: it wasn’t a big cracking sound. It was more of a little click, and at that very moment, you have to be able to detect that something isn’t quite right. For me there was no doubt. On a boat, each sound has a meaning. There must have been other such noises beforehand, but we didn’t notice them… I asked Bruno Jeanjean to go and look at the area in question. He was hooked on because it was rather exposed given the harsh conditions we had at the time. He detected a small fissure, which we tried to reinforce, before finally deciding to bring the adventure to a halt, or at least defer it. I’m having to live with that decision now but it’s like when you dismast: it remains etched on your memory…
The way in which things work aboard is incredibly organised and when it was necessary to decide on the future, Franck Cammas played a major role in proceedings but he always took heed of the opinions of the crew involved… We were right in the thick of the action, and when you’re in the thick of the action on a boat, you don’t think about the consequences. It wasn’t until we’d managed to repair the bulkhead that we were overcome with disappointment: even the fatigue weighs a lot heavier… You mustn’t become lax at times like that because it can become dangerous if you don’t pay attention! However, the crew is extremely professional with an exceptionally sound mental state and cohesion. That is the really positive thing about the group: this damage has only served to strengthen the human relations. I’m proud to be part of this crew…”
Already, everything has been prepared in Cape Town to accommodate the giant trimaran and get the ball rolling as soon as possible with regards the inspection, repairs to the port beam bulkhead and its starboard counterpart. Mid spring in the southern hemisphere, the weather conditions are ideal for effecting repairs without needing Groupama 3 to be lifted out onto the hard. With the exception of three crew (Stan Honey, Jacques Caraës and Steve Ravussin), who will be making the most of this enforced stoppage to continue their shore-based activities and visit the Nautic Paris Boatshow in early December, the crew will remain the same for delivering the boat back to Brest for a new stand-by at the start of January.
SailJuice
SailJuice spoke to Mike Drummond the morning after the first day of sailing for the wing rig. Here’s the first part of the interview. Click on the link at the bottom to listen to the audio for the meaty, technical stuff …
SailJuice: Mike, you and the team put the wing rig on the trimaran for the first time yesterday. How is it going so far?
Mike Drummond: Well, I would have to say that things are going pretty well because 12 hours from rolling it out of the garage to actually sailing where we were starting to overrun the chase boats. It has exceeded our expectations because there were many steps along the way where things could have gone wrong, but so far it’s working out very well.
SailJuice: You must have your heart in your mouth at times like this, with so much at stake and working with such new and untested technology.
Mike Drummond: It has certainly been heart-in-mouth stuff at some stages.
New Zealand’s Largest Running & Walking Relay
By New Balance Great Lake Relay
TAUPO
Taupo is again the venue for New Zealand’s largest Running and Walking Relay.
The New Balance Great Lake Relay is on again 20th February 2010 around the beautiful shores of Lake Taupo.
Teams of ten – eighteen members either run or walk to complete the eighteen 5.2 – 14.4km legs. Renown as the ultimate team building event held on one of the most scenic courses in the world the relay hosted over 5000 starters in 2009 and organisers, Event Promotions, are expecting a record field for 2010.
An exciting new addition for 2010 is the introduction of the Nature Valley Length of the Lake Relay. This new event caters for smaller teams of five to eight members who can run or walk to complete the eight 4.7km to 15km legs from Pukawa on the southern end of the lake back to Taupo – a total distance of 67.5km
Why not get a group of work mates, friends or family organised and spend a fun weekend together. Whether it’s achieving a new personal goal or just having a great time together – you won’t be disappointed
Damaged IMOCA Open 60 Hugo Boss in Azores
After a difficult passage back north during which they went through winds up to 48 knots, Transat Jacques Vabre co-skippers Alex Thomson and Ross Daniel docked in the Azores early on Thursday, 19 November.
Credit: DR
A visiting bird onboard Groupe Bel
Their plan now is to lift the boat out to make a clearer assessment of the damage. “We were still taking on water all the time, and the faster we went the more we took in, so we are glad to be in,” said Alex.
Still racing, and in between the simple routine of just keeping their boats at maximum speed in the right direction, picking their way as best they can, there is a certain quiet satisfaction underpinning the efforts of the top three duos in the IMOCA Open 60 fleet as these Transat Jacques Vabre leaders set themselves up to break into the Caribbean.
That is not to say that any of them have already accepted their position now will be the same when they cross the finish line off Costa Rica’s Puerto Limon, but with the gap between leader Safran and second placed Groupe Bel grown by 20 miles to 81 miles early on 19 November, and the margin between Bel and Mike Golding Yacht Racing, in turn 82 miles, then each feels they have breathing space which they perhaps did not expect.
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This post is tagged Alinghi.com, Des Top News, Grant Simmer, Jessica Watson, Jules Verne Trophy, Mike Drummond, SailJuice, Thomas Coville, TriLogics, visit waiheke, yachtyakka
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