Riptides can carry hapless swimmers out into the ocean very quickly – by the time a lifeguard is able swim out to rescue them, it may be too late. Using a Jet Ski to reach struggling swimmers is one option, although such watercraft can be expensive, problematic to store on-site, and difficult to launch for one person. Now, seaside municipalities can get something cheaper and easier for reaching those swimmers-in-distress: an electric remote-control motorized rescue buoy called EMILY.
Greetings yachties,
In this issue:
Spindrift Mod 70,
Laura Dekker, – latest news,
2011 Opti Worlds, – highlights,
Rolex Miami OCR 2012 – day 4,
Dufour 45e Performance – first kiwi launching,
Global Ocean Race Prize Giving Leg 2,
Inside Sailing – episode 1,
Sailing around Cape Horn on a beach cat,
Volvo Ocean Race – where are they now,
Scuttlebutt Europe – latest issue here,
Enjoy
After an eight-month build the MOD70 No.05, Spindrift racing, made it into the liquid element this Friday 27 January, under the watchful eye of her entire racing stable, led by skipper and multihull specialist, Yann Guichard. In addition to the launch of his new one-design trimaran, the Breton sailor made the most of the occasion to introduce part of his sailing team.
from Laura’s blog
It is sweet to me that I won’t be sailing for a while, that I don’t have to keep everything in order all the time, and that I get to see my parents if I feel like it , even though that may take getting used to. I still don’t know how long I will stay here or where I will go next. For now I am having a great time and enjoying my family. Then in early March I will be back in the Netherlands to attend the HISWA [ Amsterdam Boat Show, March 6 to 11, Amsterdam, http://www.hiswarai.nl ]. And then I want to sail some more with ‘Gup’ over to the Panama Canal again and the Pacific to New Zealand as my final destination.
You can write all the words you want about how great this is and how that works etc etc, but the smile on the new owners of Nirvana a Dufour 45e says it all. Happy sailing.
Dufour 45e Performance: An Award-Winning Package
With fine handling under sail and accommodations that stood out from the fleet, this rakish 45-footer earned CW’s 2011 prize for Best Cruiser, 40 to 49 feet.
by Herb McCormick
In 1964, a French engineer with a fondness for sailing named Michel Dufour opened a shipyard in the historic seaport of La Rochelle, and in the nearly five decades since then, Dufour and his successors have built and launched literally thousands of boats renowned for their sweet, even exquisite, sailing characteristics.
Under the watchful eye of Roy Dickson, new owners Nigel (steering) and Chrissie Hendy take Nirvana for her first sail on Waitamata harbour. more later meanwhile a few images from Dufour Yachts East Coast
The GOR Class40s are off into the Southern Ocean again
At 15:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Sunday, the double-handed Global Ocean Race (GOR) fleet started Leg 3 from Wellington, New Zealand, to Punta del Este, Uruguay, with a 6,200-mile course through the Pacific Ocean, around Cape Horn and through the South Atlantic ahead of the five Class40s.
Shortly after 13:00 local time, the Class40s motored out of Queens Wharf – the fleet’s base for almost one month – and into Lambton Harbour followed by a spectator armada of motorboats, sailing yachts and dinghies. While the fleet milled in Lambton Harbour, the five teams self-sealed their engines with instructions to email a time-stamped image of the yellow, plastic tie-wrap in place to Co-Race Director, Sylvie Viant within five hours of the start gun.
In around ten knots of breeze, Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel were first across the line with Cessna Citation, followed by the South African duo of Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire with Phesheya-Racing. Colman and Kuttel led the fleet east across the mouth of Evans Bay as the breeze built fractionally and around Point Halswell, hoisting spinnakers and leaving Ward Island and Hope Shoal to port. For a brief period the breeze died completely before switching through 180 degrees, forcing a beat and short tacking through the gap between the eastern shoreline of Wellington Harbour and the jagged, exposed rocks of Barrett Reef before rounding Pencarrow Head and exiting the 2km-wide harbour entrance.
GOR Leg 2 prize giving at the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, Wellington
On Thursday evening local time, the double-handed, Class40 Global Ocean Race (GOR) Leg 2 prize giving was held at the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club (RPNYC) on Oriental Parade on the western shore of Wellington Harbour.
The prize giving’s guest of honour, the Mayor of Wellington, Celia Wade-Brown, was joined by friends and family of the teams, team sponsors, club members and the media at the RPNYC’s waterside clubhouse and presented all the GOR teams with a Koru, unfurling fern frond, glass blown sculpture representing new life, growth, strength and peace, awarded by Wellington City Council.
In addition to the leg prizes, Conrad Colman, skipper of Leg 2 winner, Akilaria RC2 Cessna Citation, collected two Luminox Steel Colormark watches for his unbroken, GOR bluQube 24-hour run record of 359.1 nautical miles in Leg 2, accepting the rugged, high night-vision watches from the GOR’s Official Timekeeper on behalf of his Leg 2 co-skipper, Sam Goodchild, who has returned to the UK.
But wait, there is more
Conrad Colman – a member of the RPNYC – was recalled to the prize podium by the RPNYC’s Commodore, Andrew Morrison, to receive a special award from the club for his overall Leg 2 performance winning a handheld Garmin eTrex 30 GPS. GOR Race Director, Josh Hall, also awarded a number of prizes to local sailors and officials who have provided the event with expertise and assistance in New Zealand, including the RPNYC’s Vice Commodore, Geoff Herd, whose team manned the GOR Leg 2 finish line in Wellington Harbour in very challenging conditions. Herd was presented with a pair of GOR-branded, Bollé sunglasses.
more images here including Herdy’s new sunnies
follow the chatter on crew.org here
In contrast to the port tack beat for the first four days of this leg, the last 24 hours have been nothing short of dramatic. This afternoon at 1600 UTC, Team Telefónica with Iker Martínez was screaming through the fleet, sailing up to two knots faster than the rest and picking off places without remorse.
Her final victim was Chris Nicholson’s CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand who tonight at 1900 also fell prey to Telefónica who are now back at the top of the leg leaderboard as well as leading the race overall.
Nicholson who took the lead from PUMA’s Mar Mostro earlier today after last night’s tacking frenzy dared not look over his shoulder this afternoon as Team Telefónica gobbled up his hard-earned lead.
“What we are trying to do is get over to the Indonesian shore as fast as possible and take a right hand shift. Telefónica’s leverage will be hard for them to use if we can manage that,” said Nicholson earlier today. But it may have been in vain as at 1900 tonight Telefónica was half a mile in front of the red boat and sailing quicker.
“Race fans can follow the action live via from this morning via the Live Tracker which will be updated every 60 seconds while the boats are in the Malacca Strait”
No Sleep till Singapore
At 1600 UTC just five nautical miles separated the four frontrunners, adding to the pressure of racing through a narrow body of water strewn with navigational hazards, while the other two boats are expected to close up as the fleet compresses.
“It’s not going to be a very peaceful few days,” said CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand navigator Will Oxley. “Firstly because of the shipping and the narrow channels, and secondly because we have three boats in very close company. It’s about 500-odd miles to Singapore so I’m getting prepared for not much sleep.”
The sprint through the Malacca Strait could take up to three days to complete – and as if hunting for the smallest of advantages over their opponents wasn’t tiring enough, the teams must also keep a constant watch for commercial ships, fishing boats and nets and unknown objects floating in the water.
“Suddenly after 5 days of monotonous port tack sailing this leg has come alive. Seemingly out of nowhere we are a hundred metres of Pulau Weh in a tacking duel with Telefonica just ahead and Puma a couple of miles behind. Incredible that since leaving the Maldives some 1380 nautical miles away all three boats end up in the same small stretch of water at the same time. It’s quite a sensation having seen only water sky and horizon to now seeing steep green mountains rising up from the sea and beautiful tropical beaches scattered around. Unfortunately this isn’t a sight seeing trip and its all hands on deck, with the same intensity to an inshore race. It’s all go, I think the next stage of this leg has just started.”
This post is tagged 2011 Opti Worlds, Dufour 45e Performance, Global Ocean Race Prize Giving Leg 2, Inside Sailing, Laura Dekker, Rolex Miami OCR 2012, Sailing around Cape Horn on a beach cat, scuttlebutt europe, Spindrift Mod 70, volvo ocean race
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