Off to do some fishing soon, catch a feed for breakfast 
Puma
DoGzilla vs. The Cat and a bit of ‘Sail Porn’
Scuttlebutt talk to John Kostecki about AC33
Big waves and more of those pesky bikinis
World Yacht Racing Forum Day One
S2 sister company gets US$3.5m grant
Crofter finds a ‘Viking’ anchor on the Isle of Skye
Auckland’s superyacht centre to be changed
Superyacht Auction
Big names and numbers at Antigua Sailing Week
Enjoy, more later
The Old Salt Blog
DoGzilla vs. The Cat and a bit of ‘Sail Porn’
Ignoring for a moment the lawsuits and the acrimony, when the America’s Cup races finally do take place in February of next year (barring last minute court appeals,) it should be an amazing competition. In the old days when the lovely 12 meters would race in the often light airs off Newport, Rhode Island, the racing was fun but not overly exciting for the spectators. Even the most advanced 12 meter design, with a few wing keels notwithstanding, looked very much like the next 12 meter. Not so this year. This year it is DoGzilla vs. The Cat – two high tech beauties pushing the far edges of technology to be the fastest boats on the water. (Amazing video of each after the jump.)
Alinghi 5, nicknamed “the Cat,” a majestic high-tech catamaran,will defend the Cup against BMW Oracle team’s BOR 90, nicknamed “DoGzilla,” a trimaran with a towering 180 foot wing sail. They are each wonders of engineering and design. Will the dog catch the cat? Only time will tell. In the meantime, here is a wonderful video from the folks at Yachtpals showing each of these fantastic boats, or as they so aptly put it, “a bit of ’sail porn’ to remind you what this is all about”.
# What speeds have you been getting while out training?
JK: Well over 30 knots in certain wind angles and we’ve gone over 40 knots once or twice – it’s pretty fast but certainly not the fastest in the world. There are current speed records being broken but those boats are more specialized for breaking speed records and this boat is designed for all around conditions.
John Kostecki
# What’s it like sailing a boat while flying a hull at those speeds?
JK: It’s pretty cool and the first few times flying the hull is pretty exciting, it gets your heart going. But eventually you get used to it and it becomes the norm because the boat’s not performing at its optimum performance until you’re flying the hull, it’s what you’re trying to achieve anyway.
# What’s the optimum wind range for BOR 90?
JK: I wouldn’t say we really have an optimum. We originally designed the boat for all types of winds and conditions because we really didn’t know which venue we were going to be racing at and if there were going to be any limits. So we’ve always kept an open mind on developing the boat and having an all around boat. Then, there looked like there was a point where we were going down to the United Arab Emirates to race and that looked like more of a light wind venue so we started developing the boat for lighter winds. That’s where San Diego was a great place for us to train this summer because of the light winds there. Now with Valencia as the venue, it could be back to more all around type conditions so we’ve had to make some modifications to develop the boat more for the Valencia venue versus the UAE venue we had before.
# What’s among the most innovative aspects of BOR 90?
JK: The most obvious one is the wing. Instead of having soft sails we have a hard wing and that’s not very common to have a hard sail on a sailboat. It’s the largest one in the world and that was pretty challenging to design and build so again got to give credit to our design and build team for developing such a product for us. All the design and build has been done in-house. It’s mainly made of carbon fiber components, but there are a number of other materials used.
Yacht Racing – The Business of… World Yacht Racing Forum Day One
Sailing is a diverse sport. That’s a blessing and a curse in a world where sponsors are looking for sports that deliver return on investment. While new media should be making things easier, it’s also making it easier for other sports. So yacht racing needs to play to its strengths.
The World Yacht Racing Forum opened yesterday with classical music backing a montage of great sailing footage. It wasn’t all cliche though. Other videos presented throughout the day had hard rock soundtracks and folk songs from Ireland. The message – that sailing is a great platform, but how you use it depends on your partner’s objectives.
Tom Whidden, CEO of North Sails, opened the conference with a look at the sailing economy from the point of view of one of its most diverse players. North Marine Group is a valid barometer of the sailing economy and the numbers presented, though down on previous years, could have been worse. According to Tom, the sport has never been stronger or more visible. While sailing ranks 39th in a list of sports played by Americans in the last 6 months, it ranks 3rd in a list of sports that people would like to play.
S2 sister company gets US$3.5m grant
By IBI Magazine
Energetx Composites, a sister company of S2 Yachts, yesterday received a US$3.5m clean energy grant for wind blade manufacturing. The grant, funded by the US government federal economic stimulus program, was administered by the state of Michigan. It will help the Holland, Michigan, firm with turbine blade design and worker recruitment.
“Our staffing needs will be spurred by this crucial investment of the State of Michigan. Additional employees will be added as early as next week with a more significant ramp-up planned for 2010 as increased business will support,” Kelly Slikkers, vice president for business development, told the Holland Sentinel.
Last June, Energetx was awarded a 15-year state tax credit of US$27.3m, based on a projection that it would invest about US$37m in a new building, machinery and equipment. The company also forecasted the addition of 1,000 jobs during that time period.
Crofter finds a ‘Viking’ anchor on the Isle of Skye
Anchor; pic courtesy of Central Scotland News Agency
The anchor was found near Sleat on the Isle of Skye
A crofter has uncovered what is believed to be a Viking anchor while digging a drain on the Isle of Skye.
Graeme Mackenzie, 47, made the find after hiring an excavator to open the drain on rough pastureland 50yds (48m) from his home near Sleat.
Rain had partly washed away the bottom of the drain and exposed a corroded 4in (10cm) iron spike.
Mr Mackenzie levered it out and was “stunned” as the ancient anchor gradually emerged.
The Treasure Trove Unit at the National Museums of Scotland said the anchor will probably be claimed by the Crown.
Measuring 4ft high and a similar distance from tip to tip, the artefact is undergoing dating and metallurgical testing.
Preliminary results showed it is at least of medieval, possibly Viking, origin and could be about 1,000 years old.
Auckland’s superyacht centre to be changed
Viaduct Harbour and the America’s Cup base, both well know to the superyacht community are facing major changes. Under a redevelopment project it is proposed that the Viaduct Harbour area will become a world-class marine events centre. The first use of the area as such will be the Auckland International Boat Show being held from March 10, 2010 and which for the first time is being run combined with the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta.
With the Viaduct Harbour space under pressure it is planned that the temporary marina at Te Wero Island will be relocated to the southern side of the Harbour and the two areas will be linked by a new bridge. A second bridge will connect the marina to the Alinghi base where additional facilities for the boat show will be provided.
Peter Busfield of the New Zealand Marine Industries Association outlined these changes and suggested that holding the two events together should attract more press and possibly generate enhanced revenue. The changes will also include a new boat show marina and a relocated media centre. These changes are linked to Auckland recently having combined various local authorities with the plan to create a super city. This is seen as the catalyst for holding more major marine events with such as the Volvo Ocean Race being high on the agenda.
First superyacht auction launched
A new method of selling superyacht is to open to the general public on 1 January 2010 — an open auction.
The backers of Super Yacht Auction say that every superyacht put up for sale will be presented to registered bidders online for two days (Saturdays and Sundays) in order to give potential bidders the best opportunity to check and verify the craft’s condition.
The online auctions will take place under the official supervision of a well-established nautical legal firm and bids will be irrevocable and unconditional.
Super Yacht Auction is described by its organisers as “a tool to reach a wide audience and generate fast sales in a market affected by the economic decline”. They also promise that any principal who brings a superyacht successfully to the auction is guaranteed to receive 50 per cent of the auction commission.
Super Yacht Auction is a subsidiary of Vessel Auction which specialises in online and public auctions of boats, ships and yachts.
Big names and numbers at Antigua Sailing Week
Despite the current financial challenges, the 43rd edition of Antigua Sailing Week (ASW), from 24-30 April 2010, promises to be one of the best yet, writes Sue Pelling.
Antigua Sailing Week
The organisers of this annual Caribbean classic have listened to the competitors’ views and have come up with a new, tweaked format, incorporating some of the event’s traditional features such as reintroducing lay day, and the Dickenson Bay Beach Bash. There will also be an extra day’s racing, with the series kicking off on the Saturday afternoon following an early morning breakfast briefing.
For serious racers, the big boat Ocean Series is now a key element of Antigua Sailing Week and is really starting to attract some quality competition. The aim of this three-race series (Guadeloupe to Antigua Race – 23 April; Yachting World Round the Island Race – 25 April; and the Round Redonda Race – 28 April/lay day) is to allow the crews on big racing yachts, many of whom will have been competing in some of the other Caribbean regattas such as the RORC Caribbean 600 race, the opportunity to enjoy a selection of long distance ocean races at ASW.
There will be record-breaking opportunities in all three races, individual race prizes, and overall series prizes which means competitors have the option to compete in all three or individual races. The results of the Yachting World Round the Island Race on the Sunday will count towards the overall Antigua Sailing Week points for those who want to compete in that too.
got some yachting porn to watch with my mate boatslut.
This post is tagged Antigua sailing week, dogzilla, John Kostecki, puma, scuttlebutt
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