caption contest
This shot was from a “What Is It?” post, but we think it’s an even better Caption Contest. Have fun.
angry red planet
This one, while relatively inexpensive ($100k), looks very Eurocentric (we mean weird). Check it....
This shot was from a “What Is It?” post, but we think it’s an even better Caption Contest. Have fun.
“Each life-boat to have a coxswain superintendent with a fixed salary of £8 a year. The life-boat to be regularly taken afloat for exercise once every quarter, fully manned and equipped, so that the crew may be familiar with her properties and proper management.
On every occasion of exercise the men are paid 5 shillings each in stormy weather, and 3 shillings each in fine weather; and on every occasion of going off to a wreck to save lives, each man of the crew receives 10 shillings by day and £1 by night; but extra or double awards for any special act of gallantry or exertion. The crew are provided with life belts.”
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution – General Rules of Management (1854)
(Founded in 1824 as the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, the RNLI now has more than 400 lifeboats operating from 238 stations around the coasts of the UK, the Channel Islands, the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man. The Institution has saved an estimated 140,000 lives since its inception, but at the cost of 600 lifeboatsmen’s lives.)
Miami, FL 1/18/2020 – It was a phenomenal weekend of racing for the 72 athletes who competed at the Skiff Generation Grand Prix presented by Kolter. The fourth installment of this event series was highlighted by competitive racing and top-level coaching, with an emphasis on Olympic development.
As athletes in the 49er and 49erFX used this weekend’s event as a final preparation for the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta, youth athletes in the 29er class, alongside the next generation transitioning into the 49erFX thrived while sharing the race track with Olympic hopefuls and top sailors.
29er: Griffin Gigliotti and Jack Welburn pulled ahead in the final race, against Clark Morris and Noah Zittrer to take the win in the 29er fleet. Third place went to JJ Klempen and Steven Hardee of the USVI.
49erFX: Stephan Baker and Nicholas Hardy won the 49erFX racing with Youth World Champion Isabella Casaretto (29er,2019) and Jana Laurendeau in second. Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea commanded the first two days of racing while taking the latter days off.
49er: US Olympic Selection winners Nevin Snow and Dane Wilson bested a fleet full of both veteran talent and fiesty newcomers. Barrows and [...]
Do you think there will ever be a day when this sort of (alleged) abuse stops? So many men are just fucking pigs.
Greece’s first female president met Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou on Monday to express her support for the athlete who publicly claimed she had been sexually assaulted 22 years ago by a senior sports official.
Bekatorou, who won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, last week said the male official from the Hellenic Sailing Federation performed a “lewd act” after inviting her to his hotel room to discuss team preparations in 1998. Multiple claims by other female athletes of sexual misconduct from sporting administrators followed over the weekend.
“It was the least I could do in recognition of her bravery and dignity,” Greek President Katerina Sakellopoulou said in an announcement. “In meeting her, I met all those women who have been abused, verbally or physically, and injured for life by the moral cruelty of sexual assault.”
A senior member of the sailing federation resigned upon request of the federation Monday and also quit his post with the Hellenic Olympic Committee. The official, who has not been named, indicted or summoned by prosecuting authorities, described the allegations against him as “false, defamatory and deceitful.”
The dreaded Coronavirus forced the last-minute cancellation of the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race but the traditions of the event were kept alive by a unique regatta featuring some of the most famous yachts to have competed in the early years of the 628nm sprint South.
Jointly organized by three of Sydney’s major sailing clubs, the weekend regatta was open to any boat launched before 1976 that had raced in at least one Sydney-Hobart. Twenty-five classic yachts entered, competing in three handicap divisions.
The first Sydney-Hobart was sailed in 1945. The beautifully restored 55’ foot ketch Archina, one of the yachts that took part in that inaugural race, came out to play again 76 years later and sailed in the veterans regatta.
The fleet boasted a host of other classic yachts with pedigrees that placed them firmly within the elite of Sydney-Hobart history. Nerida, Solveig, Anitra V and Love & War had all been handicap winners. Solveig, Margaret Rintoul, Fidelis and Kialoa II were line-honours champions.
Moderate breezes on both days allowed fair racing on courses that took the yachts on a tour of Sydney Harbour, including one leg that crossed what would have been the starting line for the Hobart race.
Some deft handicapping yielded results that were entirely in keeping with the heritage spirit of the event.
Division 3 was won by Sir James Hardy’s Nerida, a gaff cutter built by his father that won the race back in 1950. Division 2 went to the little sloop Jasnar sailed by Gordon Ingate who’d skippered the yacht to Hobart 70 years earlier. Division 1 was claimed by the elegant 8-metre Defiance, a veteran of the 1946 race.
At the presentation ceremony Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Commodore, Noel Cornish, expressed his confidence that the Classic Yacht Regatta would become a regular December lead-up event to the Sydney-Hobart Race.
– anarchist David
Looks pretty slick to us! More here.
This frightening looking alien spacecraft was pulled from the waters off New Zealand yesterday. It remains unidentified and apparently whatever aliens were onboard left the vessel from the exposed escape hatch.
Developing story…
The aftermath of American Magic’s capsize. Tons of speculation as to what actually caused that – rumor has it batteries came loose and broke through the hull? Hmmm. Jump in this post to discuss.
That one riveting moment in Race 3 of the second Prada Cup Round Robin yesterday said so much about the extreme nature of the current America’s Cup competition.
With just a mark rounding and the final leg to sail, the US challenger had a handy lead of around 50 seconds. Textbook tactics would have been to sail defensively from that point. Take no risks, protect the favored side of the course if needs be, but above all keep the boat vertical and headed in the right direction.
The call for a tack and a hard bear away in a bit of a squall at that moment proved to be fatal, as it appeared the leeward runner did not get released. (We previously stated they were going into a gybe, but that didn’t seem to be the case. – ed)
Result? A spectacular capsize that exposed the perilous lack of inherent stability in the foiling A75s and the frenetic, knife-edge dynamics of contemporary America’s Cup sailing.
Video of that American Magic capsize must have already been replayed a million times around the world. The sponsors will not be happy. Television covered it from every heart-stopping angle – first the tactician warning that the maneuver would be “difficult”, then the frantic gybe, the dramatic sky leap and finally that slow, terrible arc as the giant rig crashed into the water.
After only two viewings the best of the TV commentators, Ken Read, quickly spotted that the capsize had probably been caused by the crew’s inability to release the leeward runner.
That would be a minor error in a conventional yacht, and quickly corrected without any significant impairment to performance. But in 15-18 knots of wind, and with the AC75s touching 40 knots of boat-speed in the turns, it brought disaster. The crew of American Magic were very lucky not to suffer any injuries during the capsize.
Do we need any more proof that these “boats” are too highly strung? Their designs are so extreme and fragile that any notion of durability or seaworthiness is sacrificed to the pursuit of speed at any cost. Their foils and rigs are tweaked into such narrow wind ranges that any major variation risks sluggishness – or catastrophe.
It’s little wonder than when regatta director Iain Murray was recently asked by the Australian media whether the America’s Cup was now a sailing race or an air race, he diplomatically replied “It’s a different sport”.
– anarchist David
We’ve featured these things before, but here is more in-depth coverage from CNN.
I watched the races on NBCSN tonight and good lord is this a whole different round. I don’t know if “American Magic” can sail any worse. Off the foils at both starts, and behind early, they looked slow, not particularly well-sailed and ultimately pounded by both Prada and the Frackers. Speaking of which, it is almost hard to believe how fast they are now!! Ben is sailing extremely well and damn if they aren’t undefeated after 3 races, while AM is 0’fer.
Prada looked good in their only race, setting up a showdown with the Brits tomorrow. As f0r as the show, the course is a bit odd and sometimes it is hard to tell if they are going upwind or downwind!
The broadcast had one huge annoyance that I cannot believe some producer didn’t fix immediately: They kept the radios from the boats up nearly the entire races, making it difficult to hear the announcers. What in the hell were they thinking? Since those dopes don’t seem to know, let me tell you how to do it: The announcers talk and when they have a moment, stop and we listen to the radio. Then turn the god damn radios off and let the announcers talk. Speaking of which, Ken Read is doing a good job, and Nathan Outteridge provides excellent observations, Shirley Robertson is okay, but whoever the other wank is shouldn’t even be there.
It is compelling sport and as semi-ridiculous as the boats are, they do hold one’s attention. – ed.
Karver are renowned for manufacturing simple, reliable and high-performance sailing solutions, often utilizing user feedback from sailors in the design process to create products that emphasize innovation and ease of use. Consequently, it’s no surprise that Karver hardware is a favorite on high-tech racing yachts, plus on the decks of ambitious cruisers too.
The Karver KBO Block range is no different. A mainstream range of lashing blocks, the KBOs are extremely versatile and adaptable, with a wide range of single, double and triple blocks suitable for applications up to a max line diameter of 18mm (5T SWL). Due to the blocks popularity, additional models have since been introduced: the KBO foot block, the KBOW reversible ratchet block and the KBOJ jammer block.
Pretty damn impressive for Team Frack, which at least keeps things interesting. New foils and a smaller jib and??? And speaking of interesting, the poor performance of the Yanks is a bit of an eye-opener. Talk about almost completely switching places!
Don’t blame us for all the commercials!
Is that the best keel they could come up with??
The Melges 15 Class kicked off its Winter Series in Sarasota, FL. That sure looks like fun!
Having just read that GAC Pindar has deservedly won the contract for supplying the logistics support for The Ocean Race for an unprecedented time reminds me of their extraordinary efforts two races ago.
When 250 miles from Cape Horn and lying in first place overall on the leaderboard two races ago and ironically having eased off to preserve the boat the top one third of Dongfeng’s mast parted company. There started an extraordinary adventure to get to Itajai and continue The Race.
Having sent Kevin Escoffier up the wobbly mast (several of the shrouds were not in tension) to cut away the damage DFRT limped into Ushuaia, reputed to be the most southerly city in the world, with a useless mainsail (top third missing). The initial plan was to disembark the crew, put the shore crew on board and then attempt to motor to Itajai for the start of the next leg. That plan was set back by a 24 hour air crew strike by Argentinian airline employees and the fact the Chinese Crew members could not get landing visas. A stroke of luck however, was that a French family cruising on a 60’yacht had recently replaced their mainsail and ‘donated’ their old sail to the team. Martin Stromberg, an experienced sailmaker was able to recut the sail to allow motor sailing on the remaining stump towards Itajai.
That of course is only half the story.
A team that had a spare mast in Europe was approached regarding purchase but they declined to assist – all’s fair in love and war I suppose. That left the ‘official’ spare mast in the Middle East.
Up stepped GAC Pindar. The mast was loaded onto an Emirates Cargo 747 and flown to Schipol where it was transferred to a KLM Cargo 747 and flown to Brazil. It was then transferred to a truck – a blood long truck I might add – for the 600km or so road trip to Itajai where it was dressed and mated with the DFRT boat. Cost? Well, let’s just say it was a lot.
I am sure the shipping of containers for stopovers round the world will be a piece of p cake for GAC Pindar compared to the extraordinary evolution of getting a mast of that length almost half way round the world.
Unbelievably there were competitors that tried to insist that DFRT should try to mate a new top third to their mainsail in Frankenstein fashion rather than them receiving a new main, an idea that was swiftly and comprehensively scotched by the sail suppliers North Sails.
Well done GAC Pindar, it is when hard jobs are successfully completed that shows class, not when the routine ones are just carried out. – SS.
You say you need some extra visibility, well you got it. Looks clever! This is Multi50 Trimaran Rayon Vert, skippered by Alex Pella is leading the fleet and they will be celebrating having crossed the halfway mark in the 2,735-mile race from RORC Transatlantic race.
Badly butchered title thanks to Lil Uzi Vert
After much discussion internally and after consultation with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, it was decided that the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) had no option but to cancel the RORC Caribbean 600 due to take place in February.
The escalation in the spread of the new strain of COVID-19 in Europe, the state of lockdown in the UK and concern that a large number of sailors travelling to Antigua could transmit the virus to the Island were all taken into consideration when making this decision. The safety of the population of Antigua, competitors, local volunteers and RORC staff is paramount and the committee felt that this could be compromised if the race was run.
The Royal Ocean Racing Club would like to thank the Antigua and Barbuda Government for their co-operation and support and looks forward to organising the 2022 RORC Caribbean 600, which is scheduled to start on February 21, 2022.
Click here for more information.
Of the 500 boats entered for the upcoming Fastnet race, forty-Seven J Boats have entered the race! That is the largest number of entries by a single boat brand, in the world’s largest offshore race. A record entry of over 500 yachts is expected to start the race in Cowes, on 8th August 2021. Notably the first entry was a J Boat, Eva Herman’s J/122 Juliett Romeo.
For the last four decades, J Boats have featured in every edition of the race. For the 49th edition, 12 different designs of the J Boats range will be racing. J-Composites, French builder for J Boats, will be competing on one of four J/99s entered for the race.
Damn.
At Tidetech, our roots are in sailing and we are passionate participants and fans of the Sport. We know from experience that obtaining accurate weather data is only part of the story when it comes to your race strategy. Currents matter too – they are often overlooked, but can make a huge difference to the outcome of a yacht race.
Tidetech is the leading supplier of oceanographic data to the elite yacht racing community, supplying competitors in the 36th America’s Cup, The Ocean Race and Olympic Games, plus many more world class events such as the Sydney to Hobart, Fastnet and Newport to Bermuda Races.
What we do is:
But wait, there’s more, and just for SA readers!
Like many sailing fans, we can’t wait for the action to begin in the 36th Americas Cup in Auckland. Wind speed and direction, as you’d expect, will be the main factor that determines sail and foil choices, and of course, tactics on the course. What about tidal currents? With the speeds that these boats go, you’d be forgiven for thinking that current will be irrelevant. That’s not the case though. Here’s why:
Tidal current changes the true wind that the boats ‘feel’. So if the current is ‘lee bow’ i.e. running at 2kts from the start line towards the top mark on an upwind leg, it will result in an increase in true wind speed of 2kts – which will result in a substantial different in boat speed – perhaps the difference between foiling and non-foiling in light winds?
The reverse is true with current behind the boats on a downwind leg – it will reduce the true wind speed. Check out this video to see what we mean!
At some states of the tide, there is a differential in tide between different sides of the course, so picking the right side for tide could become very important. Watch our for courses B and C, where the strongest tides are to be found. Get Your Free Trial Here
Team New Zealand skipper Peter Burling has downplayed the dramatic capsize that cut short their practice race against British challenger INEOS Team UK.
Burling lost control during a gybe in a high-speed downwind blast with the Brits, with the Kiwi boat Te Rehutai nose-diving and twisting on to its side on Monday. The defenders were under pressure looking to make a turn towards the bottom gate. See the video and read on thanks to Stuff!
By now most of you have seen some of our Retro Boat videos, an idea that popped into my addled brain and has become something that we are quite proud of. Based on viewers comments, y’all seem to like them too!
We’ve now done 26 of them, (which is kind of hard to believe) and not only do we want to keep doing them, we’d like to eventually expand by traveling to various areas, covering amazing boats to share (as soon as Covid-19 is brought to it’s knees).
The truth of these videos is that they are quite expensive to produce. The incredible shooting, editing and producing by the boys from Nobleman Productions doesn’t just happen – a ton of work goes into them. And the end product is really quite good!
Reality dictates that in order to keep these videos going, we need funding. Rather than leaning on corporate sponsorship, we are reaching out to the community to ask for a small monthly contribution – as little as $3 bucks – to keep these videos coming. We are using Patreon as a way of doing this, and somewhat uncomfortably, if you like them, we ask you to help support the Retro videos.
In typical Sailing Anarchy fashion, nobody is doing anything like these retro videos, and certainly not at this high production value, and we hope they are worth your consideration. If you can, please click here to help a couple brothers out!
This one is a bit different than what we do, but the subject matter is great: The older Westerly built Schumacher 54, Swiftsure II has now become something else!
Versatile G/flex Thickened Epoxy Adhesive is now available in a convenient dispensing syringe. The G/flex 655-1 syringe contains 0.5 oz of resin and 0.5 oz of hardener, perfect to keep on hand for small repair jobs. Depressing the plunger on the dual syringe dispenses the proper 1:1 ratio of G/flex resin and hardener.
This new product will be available through West System retailers beginning January 1, 2021.
G/flex 655 is a 2-part, pre-thickened epoxy system that bonds tenaciously to plastics including HDPE, LDPE, ABS, PVC, Polycarbonate, and Hypalon. Its viscosity is similar to gel toothpaste so it won’t run or sag, even on vertical surfaces. The G/flex 655-1 syringe allows users to dispense the epoxy in very small quantities, providing big strength for little repairs.
Manufactured by Gougeon Brothers, Inc. and sold in their West System line of epoxy products, G/flex is a toughened epoxy that makes permanent, waterproof structural bonds. It absorbs the stresses of expansion, contraction, shock, and vibration. In addition to its effectiveness in adhering to plastics, this formulation is also excellent for bonding metal, glass, masonry, and fiberglass. It is even effective on typically hard-to-bond substrates including dense, oily or damp wood varieties.
The company introduced G/flex in 2008 and this versatile epoxy has been popular ever since. G/flex 655 comes in a wide variety of sizes; the 655-1 syringe is the smallest. To learn more about G/flex epoxy, visit westsystem.com.
We are really happy with this video! Huge props to Greg Stewart for tolerating us. We reckon the rum helped…!
All looks okay as these kids get towed back into the harbor at Santa Cruz, right? Wrong.
Why would you even leave the dock, let alone go on some crazy distance effort with a boat that is designed and built this way? FFS, it’s missing half a boat! I never really understood proas, and nothing illustrates that more than this photo.
We’ve always been fans of Ryan Finn, but this 14,000 mile journey from New York to ‘Frisco doesn’t seem like it has much of a chance at success. We are pulling for him, and do hope he pulls it off, but…
Click here for a good story on Ryan. We’ll have a short interview with Ryan this week. There is a thread on poas right here. – ed.
Title inspiration thanks to Yella Beezy.
The rule experts at the protest hearing must have had a wonderful time establishing who had rights in this Flying 15 contretemps.
Was it Part 2, 11 (On the same tack, overlapped, windward boat shall keep clear of a leeward boat), or maybe this was a “not sail below proper course” situation? What think you?
Title inspiration thanks to XTC.
Since the official opening of registrations for the 23rd edition of the Mini Transat on December 15, the organizers have literally been drowning in requests. To date, no less than 126 applications have already been submitted for only 84 places available, proof of the success of the race and the attractiveness of the ever growing Mini 6.50 class.
58 sailors meet all the required criteria but 68 solo sailors still have to continue the selection route to hope to be able to line up for the start of the event on September 26th. In this context, the race for miles has never been so intense, but there are eight months and fifteen races left to the contenders to try to win the precious entry ticket. More here.
A good topic from our Fabulous Forums, brought to you by Marlow Ropes!
I’ve looked through old threads on Drifters and didn’t really find a consensus on preference for Drifters to be set flying or on a stay (fixed or temporary).
I reached out to my local North loft (Vancouver) for a drifter for both cruising and single/double handed racing my C&C 29mk2. My original thought was that this would be a flying Nylon (or other spinnaker material) sail that I could tack to my anchor roller and hoist on my Spin Halyard so I could quickly peel between it and my 135% Dacron Genoa shorthanded.
North came back saying they can make me a cross-cut ~1oz Single-sided Mylar w/Taffeta drifter in our local loft for $950 CAD and they’ve sold a few dozen locally. They told me they could put a spectra line in the luff to make it free flying but typically people are putting them on their forestays.
I see some pro’s and con’s of both options and I’m wondering what people’s experiences are. Free-flying lets me peel effectively by furling/unfurling the genoa but would sacrifice upwind performance and the ability to tack. Hoisting on the forestay would allow me to tack and point more effectively but I would need to setup without furling and/or drop the genoa to raise this sail on the jib halyard; losing any momentum I may have. It would also allow me to hoist the kite with the drifter up. I haven’t got a second jib halyard for peels but it’s something I’m looking into.
“You may imagine what it feels like to be on the bridge drawing near to your port, all keyed up to bring her in in style, watching for the marks on the coast, and listening for the surf on the outlier. I loved it best before dawn, when coming into a land as dark as indigo, with the faintest of colour pale in the sky above. There would be the forward well and the fo’c’s’le lit by the masthead light, the back of the look-out man craned over the dodger, and the gleam of the water spreading from the bows.
I loved that picture of the bows and all that tenseness of those near me, the leadsmen, so trusted and sure, in the dickeys at the bridge-ends, ready for quick casts, and the quartermaster’s face above the wheel, in the glow of the binnacle lights, with his eyes steady on his mark or on his card. To myself, the joy is the handling of a big ship in a difficult passage, all beset with reefs, and the knowledge that my clear head will carry her clear and set her down at her marks.”
– John Masefield – The Taking of the Gry (1934)
(Masefield’s novel of high seas adventure was set in 1911 in a fictional South American state. We can assume his narrator was describing the arrival of the type of tramp steamer on which Masefield himself had served as a young man. He died in 1967.)
Young and nimble, or experienced and established? Composite fabricators Moore Brothers might just be the best of both worlds.
When Sam and Oliver Moore first set up their own composite shop in 2014, they’d already learned from the best and quickly attracted high-end clients. Three years later they acquired Composite Solutions Inc (CSI) from their mentor Jeff Kent.
Since then they’ve established several other strategic partnerships with designers and fabricators, thanks to a fast-growing reputation for repeatable accuracy and a willingness to take on the more challenging jobs. From designing and fabricating America’s Cup components and Grand Prix foils to high-end drones for aerospace start-ups, they will do whatever it takes to make each project a success, on time and at a competitive price.
Your story of the Capri reminds me of my boat. I own a unique O’Day 34. It was built for Jim Hunt who was running O’Day at the time. My boat is built differently than all the other O’Day 34s. (There was one other but she was sunk by a barge) It has a cored hull, no deck liner, a completely different keel drawing 6’6”, and a much larger rig. She has a reputation on Long Island Sound.
The boat is older, has been raced hard it’s whole life, has wet core all over but I don’t care. I’ve slowly been fixing her back up in the year I’ve owned her so far with pretty limited funds. (I quit my job to pursue a passion for boats) I just love blowing by much newer boats and people saying, what the hell is up with that O’Day 34 and why is she so fast! We call her a souped up Honda Civic. – Anarchist Marc.
I am incredibly lame to have not written a single word about the passing of Catalina Yacht’s founder Frank Butler. Noticing that Frank’s right hand man and designer Gerry Douglas has just announced his retirement from Catalina, I reckon that I share a couple of experiences with these men…
I was selling sails at Sobstad Sails back in the 80’s, MORC was growing, and I had a bit of a relationship with Catalina, having won a fair number of races with a new Capri 30 (Silver Bullet) that we put together with Jack Dorsey Yachts in San Diego. I was good friends with Doug Peterson and I said “Hey Doug, what if we put a tall rig on a Capri 25 and sail it in MORC?” He said “Sure, I’ll draw it up!” I was always amazed how eager Doug was to do oddball projects like this – so fortunate to have known him.
Gerry greenlighted the thing, so we put a tall double spreader rig from Forespar, had Carl Eichenlaub make the keel a little deeper, with a bit more area and sweep, and viola, the Angry Red Planet was born! That’s her pictured above, with from L-R, me, Jim Donovan, Paul Bishop, Chuck Simmons and Petey Formica sailing in the MORC West Coast Champs, which I believe we won.
The boat was just a blast – hauled ass in the light, and tipped over and died in breeze! So that led to talk about Doug designing a new, one-off MORC oriented 25′, and the Capri 25 MK 2 was born, again with the blessing of Frank and Gerry. More like 26′, the boat, named Tuna Surprise, was really cool looking thing that was good, but just short of the fast 25-27’s of the time. I think it was the only one made, and later it went on to do well as Capricious, sailed by Billy Peterson.
So those are my very, very cool experiences with Frank Butler, Gerry Douglas and Catalina/Capri Yachts. So much fun and a tip of the hat to a legend. – ed.
