As promised, we wanted to share a few cool things from the METS show, and nothing was cooler than this: a bespoke coffee grinder for a 12-meter! Made by Ron Valant from the Classic Winch Company.
He had a million great stories and if time had allowed it, we would have stayed for all of them. A really interesting man, who builds amazing old-school gear.
November 20th, 2018
Big Pimpin’
Our friends at Zhik have announced for a limited time their Black Friday sale in North America & Europe. Get a huge range of quality Zhik gear at up to 65% Off! Buy something for yourself or plan for Christmas and get a gift for that someone special. Just don’t miss out. Sale ends Tuesday.
November 20th, 2018
In the entire world of sailing, it went largely unnoticed that a unique international event occurred right under our noses this past summer. For the first time in 21 years the International 420 Class (the original 420 performance dinghy) held its annual World Championship in the United States – the last time was 1997.
In August 167 teams (334 sailors, as well as 40+ coaches, and an untold number of equipment containers, team leaders, support personnel and parents) from 19 countries across the Globe – North America, South America, Europe, Asia and from as far as Australia, Japan, and New Zealand – traveled to Sail Newport in Rhode Island for the annual 420 World Championship.
It was obvious to the US I-420 Class Board that the resounding success of the event was due in large part to the leadership and dedicated team at Sail Newport – and the wonderful facilities known to most of us as Fort Adams State Park.
In addition to many sailing programs run through Sail Newport there are countless class associations/programs that utilize this Diamond in our Midst to host events – everything from the Volvo Ocean Race stop-over to the likes of the Snipe Women’s World Championship, 400-boat Optimist regattas – and yes the I-420 Class World Championship with amazing precision and efficiency.
From the first pre-planning discussions almost 2 years in advance, to the on-site visits and discussions in the year leading up to the event, and then the actual event execution and management, it was obvious that Brad Read and his staff had their hands clearly on the wheel in every aspect of running an event.
Every conceivable aspect of the planning, organization, resource allocation, logistics, implementation and management was impressive from start to finish. And while no event is without drama and problems, Brad’s team was ready with flexible creativity and the talent to move past any hurdle in a professional and timely manner.
So while Sail Newport has remarkable facilities and my team from the US I-420 Class (Michael Rudnick, Steve Keen, Justin Law, the I-420 Parent group) were a very important part of the planning and execution team – the fact is that the folks from Sail Newport were irreplaceable in terms of making this happen.
I hate to mention only a few at the risk of missing some, but there are obvious names/persons that should be called out. Of course Brad Read for his ability to bring together and provide a successful framework under which to succeed; Regatta Manager Matt Duggan and his right hand man – Nick Mauprivez – for the daily hands on management of every aspect of event support implementation; Emily Greagori for her expertise in catering and social events; Kim Hapgood for facilities support; Kim Cooper for communication coordination and PR; and of course Hannah Lasorsa who managed to assist in every aspect of team logistics, registration, measurement and site support.
This group however, misses so many more people that were required to make the event happen. The great team of people on Race Committee, On Water Race Management, Scoring, Safety, volunteers for measurement and site set-up and breakdown – the list is endless – all recruited and organized by Sail Newport. To say the least without Sail Newport and the remarkable group of talented and dedicated folks that Brad has surrounded himself with, our World Championship would not have been possible………………….and for that we wanted to provide this LOUD and SUSTAINED SHOUT OUT to Brad and all our friends at Sail Newport who were involved in everything from soup to nuts.
Truly a Diamond in our Midst and a remarkable asset for the sailing world. Results.
by Larry Law – Volunteer President, United States International 420 Class Association.
November 20th, 2018
The Environment
On Saturday, the captain of the palm oil tanker Stolt Tenacity allegedly detained six Greenpeace activists after they conducted an unauthorized boarding of his vessel while under way.
At dawn, a boarding team from the Greenpeace vessel Esperanza used a daughter craft to approach the Tenacity as she transited the Gulf of Cadiz. While maintaining position alongside the Tenacity’s starboard side, the team hooked a boarding ladder onto her rail. Six Greenpeace activists were on board before the crew was on deck to confront them.
The master of the Esperanza called the Tenacity to explain. “Good morning mate, you have been boarded by a Greenpeace boarding team. I want to assure you that they are not pirates, they are not armed, and they will do nothing to hinder the movement of your ship, they are just protesting your carriage of palm oil. Over,” he said.
Greenpeace alleges that the activists were held in one of the ship’s cabins while the Tenacity transited to Algeciras, where they disembarked. Stolt has denied that the activists were detained during the transit, and says that they were provided with food and a safety briefing.
Greenpeace targeted the Tenacity because she was carrying a cargo of palm oil from Singaporean trading house Wilmar International, a leading supplier to snack food giant Mondelez. Mondelez uses palm oil to make many well-known products, including Oreo cookies, Cadbury chocolate bars, and Ritz crackers. Greenpeace alleges that Mondelez’ palm oil suppliers have destroyed 170,000 acres of rainforest across Southeast Asia in two years, and alleges that these suppliers engage in illegal clearance, forest fires and land grabbing.
November 20th, 2018
A-Class Worlds kicked off yesterday in glorious Hervey Bay in sunny Queensland. Three races today and Maestro Glenn Ashby claimed them all – his placings in each race outlined nicely on his mainsail, (which is also happens to be his rather swift design…) – Blue Robinson.
November 19th, 2018
The 2018 U.S. J/70 Youth Championship, hosted by St. Petersburg YC in St Petersburg, Fl, concluded with a total of twenty-one races over the three days for the seven youth teams from across America.
The teams enjoyed the short-course “stadium-style” racing of 20 minutes per race, sailing the StPYC’s perfectly-matched fleet of J/70’s just off the beautiful St Petersburg city waterfront. Winning the event in a convincing fashion was the King Harbor YC Youth Team (Kyle Collins, Brock Paquin, River Paquin, and Justin Zmina).
The regatta was blessed with a remarkable weather pattern that lasted the entire weekend. As the northeastern region of the USA got blasted by its first winter storm, paralyzing major cities like New York, the southeast region of the continent-spanning frontal system provided nice N to NE breezes for four straight days with gorgeous sunny skies. Results here.
November 19th, 2018
Well the METSTRADE show is over, and for SA, it was an amazing experience. We have tons of new and existing advertiser interest, got the chance to meet people that we never have, and saw some incredible new products and ideas. All of which added up to the best show ever, and the only one that we will be visiting in the future!
We will be sharing many of these people and ideas with you over the coming weeks and are just so stoked to get the opportunity to do so.
And yes, Amsterdam wasn’t just METS! Mary and I had a blast hitting the city about as hard as we could – here I am grabbing the wheel (duh) – at the -9 degrees Ice Bar! – ed.
Btw, here’s a US-based IBI report on METS. Interestingly, most all of the action at mets came from non-US companies. Overall, Europe has a much more active and cutting edge industry than the good ol USA.
Of course there is a thread…
November 19th, 2018
The 100 footers are definitely the ride to have in the Sydney Hobart if you want your boat to be on National TV (Australian National TV that is.
I just re-checked the footage from 7 or Channel 7 the Aussie broadcaster of the last two Sydney Hobart starts (2016 & 2017) and you would hardly need to take your shoes and socks off to count the number of seconds coverage of smaller boats. So if you want some free video of your boat, make it 100’.
However, if you want to win the real prize – you know the one they engrave your name on – and in the Sydney Hobart it’s called the Tattersall Cup then 100 feet is not the way to go.
Over the 20 years between the 1995 – 2015 charges down the coast of New South Wales and across the Bass Strait the overall winner averaged out at 49’9”. How can I be so sure? Well I did the research when we sourced the Cookson 50, UBOX for the 2016 Race. (She was Pretty Fly 111)
Worked out pretty well as she took 3rd Overall in IRC and 1st Overall in ORCi.
I love history so I went digging a little further and in the last 10 years there have been 4 top 10 IRC finishes (in total) for the 100 footers including a win for the S-H specialist Wild Oats. On a Cookson however – 50’or 55’ – and you would have been one of 12 top ten finishers over the same period AND have a hell of a lot more money left in the bank. That list of top 10 included a win and a podium by the way. Spread it to any builder and last year 8, yes eight, of the top 10 were in a 10’ length range that straddles 50 feet.
Sadly Mick Cookson no longer builds boats but if you want to load the dice in 2018 then it is something close to 50 foot that you need, not something twice the size
Yep, if you want the best ride for a chance of a win or a podium in the Sydney Hobart, buy a 50 footer or thereabouts. 2016, 4 in the top 10 including 2 Cookson 50s; 2017, 8 of the top 10 were in the 10’range that straddles 50 foot and a 9th was 40 foot, the perpetual Chutzpah.
And no, this is NOT a pitch, UBOX is not for sale! – Shanghai Sailor.
November 19th, 2018
Seemingly all the grand old IOR-era maxis suffer the same fate; neglect and an inglorious ending. This is the 80′ Hispania, and while not quite dead, she is clearly on life support. Check the story in our Fabulous Forums…
November 19th, 2018
The Environment
During the mid-1970s, water levels in the inland Caspian Sea dropped to record lows before steadily rising until mid-1990s. Since 1995, water levels began to steadily decline by seven centimeters per year. Warmer summer temperatures have increased evaporation as summer winds push the humidity south across Iran toward the Arabian Sea. A population of some 80 million people would benefit from action aimed at replenishing Caspian Sea water levels and maintaining optimal peak levels.
While water levels of inland lakes and inland seas have risen and fallen over many centuries, this latest trend of warmer summers would likely extend into the long-term future. To the east of the Caspian Sea, irrigation caused water levels in the Aral Sea to drop to critical before efforts to replenish water levels began. The Aral Sea has begun to recover. Water levels in the Caspian Sea and Dead Sea have dropped for entirely different reasons. Recognizing a potentially critical situation, the King of Jordan initiated discussion about building a canal between Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea.
By comparison, the Caspian Sea is far more critical to the economies of nations that surround that Sea than either the Aral or Dead Seas. If left unresolved, continued declining water levels in the Caspian Sea would likely spell economic disaster for nations such as Iran, Iraq, Southern Turkey and Syria. Winter winds carry moisture from the Caspian Sea to the watershed areas of rivers that flow through these nations and a shrinking Caspian Sea would produce steadily declining winter evaporation. Read on, thanks to the ME.
November 19th, 2018
