We wouldn’t have even thought of this. Very cool.
Mariam Khaled squinted her eyes, drew in her sail against the wind and set her white dinghy towards a point on the riverbank: Adhamiya, to be precise, in central Baghdad. With the orange sunset saturating the sky, a cluster of mostly teenage sailors, windsurfers and jet-skiers were making waves along the river Tigris.
“It’s a difficult sport that requires a lot of effort, and plenty of patience and perseverance,” 16-year-old Khaled, a former junior swimming champion, said. “But I want to show everyone that we, Iraqi women, can succeed,” she added, after pulling her dinghy up the muddy bank.
The water sports are also revolutionizing how Iraqis interact with the historic Tigris and Euphrates, which gave the country its byname of the “land between the two rivers” millennia ago. Water levels in the twin rivers have dropped by half because of dams upstream in neighboring Turkey and Iran. Read on.
The Port of San Diego’s board of directors has given the green light for the installation of a solar-powered microgrid, battery storage system, and electrical infrastructure at the Port’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal (TAMT). The board has approved a planning study for the project and awarded a $2.8 million contract to EDF Renewables Distributed Solutions for the microgrid’s construction.
The microgrid will provide back-up electrical power for the 96-acre multipurpose terminal, including its security infrastructure, lights, offices, and the port’s jet fuel storage system. The project supports San Diego’s role as one of America’s 17 designated strategic commercial ports. The project also supports the redevelopment of the port’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, which was recently completed. Read on.
Charal pulled into France for repairs on the Vendee. Quite the team!
Last night, Thomas Rettant suffered major damage to his port foil, which forced him to stop momentarily, and which will deprive him for the rest of his round-the-world trip of this important appendage on the left side of the boat.
It was around three in the morning when Thomas Rouillard, while resting inside his LinkedOut , was alerted by a loud noise outside the boat. Without feeling the slightest shock, Thomas however rushed outside. Using his headlamp, he immediately noticed major cracks on the “shaft” of his port foil *.
Thomas immediately stopped the boat and went downwind to inspect the damage.
“I was about 120 ° to the wind, I was walking at 20 knots when I heard this loud noise,” says Thomas. “I don’t really have an explanation. I put the foil in fully so that it does not drag in the water. With daylight, I was able to inspect the foil and its well from top to bottom, in relation with my team and the architects on shore There is no waterway and the foil well is healthy. But the foil is really cracked in many places. The very structure of the foil is affected. J ‘wait for the architects’ analysis to see if I need to cut it. “
The disappointment is immense, but the LinkedOut skipper does not give up and, although in shock, manages to be positive! “I am second in the Vendée Globe. Since Sunday I have accumulated small problems, which I managed to manage, but which were crowned this morning by damage. I naturally continue the race, handicapped, with only one wing, but I am comforts me by telling me that I still have my starboard foil, which is perhaps statistically the most important for a round-the-world trip. The road is long. I continue, I hang on! ” More here.
Today’s media launch for the Sydney-Hobart race was a strange affair. COVID social distancing rules kept all panelists the regulation 1.5 metres apart, while the reptiles of the press were each seated at a similar distance. The contrast between this compliance with current local health regulations and the cramped conditions for the crews who will be competing in the race just a month from now could not have been more stark.
The organizing authority, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, was delighted announce that they have accepted 89 entries. Not all of those will make it to the starting line on December 26, but it is still an encouraging number given there was no certainty that the race would even proceed until a month ago.
Health issues are still a concern. Access to the club and marina will be restricted on Boxing Day and the race village in Hobart will be closed to the public. Controlling the 200,000+ people who normally watch the start from vantage points around Sydney Harbour will be problematic, but that is a task beyond the CYCA’s control.
A far more direct concern for race organisers is the festering issue nobody dared mention at the media launch: two high-level protests have now been lodged challenging the club’s recent decision to exclude the two-handed entrants from the overall prize and any of the normal handicap divisions (see: SA July 27, August 4).
Nineteen double-handed yachts remain on the Sydney-Hobart entry list, more than 20% of the fleet. But at least a dozen withdrew after the decision to exclude them from the overall prize was announced.
The protests will be heard by a specially convened international jury tomorrow night.
The first protest is understood to rest on a claim that the club’s ruling (issued as an amendment to the NoR) came too late for skippers to respond by assembling more crew. It seems unlikely that such a generalised complaint would succeed within the narrow legalistic confines of a protest hearing.
However, the second protest – which is thought to rest on the waiving of RRS 52 (Manual Power and Appendages) – might well gain some traction. It is possible that the club’s oversight in not excluding rudders as ‘appendages’ in original NoR might, by default, have allowed the unrestricted use of powered autohelm.
The arguments (not that we are ever likely to hear them outside the protest room), will be fascinating and may well determine the future character of short-handed offshore racing in Australia.
– anarchist David
Apparently there was a dispute between two boats at one of the hoists at SDYC after Hot Rum #2; don’t know the deets, but some entitled twit thought he owned the hoist, and someone left this nice “Go Home Kook” Sharpie message on the other boat afterwards. As if this idiocy isn’t enough, the irony is delicious – the other boat is also from SDYC. Go home? They are home, stupid.
Of course a punch in the face is not recommended, but if you caught a guy doing this to your boat, what would your reaction be? Isn’t what they did called vandalism? Why, I believe it is. A simple Google search finds this:
Penal Code 594 PC is the California statute that defines vandalism as maliciously damaging, destroying or defacing another person’s property. Vandalism is a misdemeanor if the amount of the damage is less than $400.00, and can be filed as a felony if the amount is $400.00 or greater.
I’m not suggesting that this is a felonious offense, it’s actually just stupid, but for fuck’s sake, how pissed would you be if this was your boat? Granted, other than some sniping, we know very little about what ensued between the two boats, but writing bullshit on another boat in Sharpie as some way of “I’ll show them” retribution? Petty and cowardly. Oh, and my estimate for the ink removal and accompanying hull restoration would be for $833.00. Well, maybe it is a felony! Bahahaha!
Apparently the aggrieved boat asked the yc to look at the security cameras to see who did it. No word on their findings. Here’s my suggestion to the douchebag or bags in question, I’d contact the boat that you did this to, apologize profusely, drag your fat ass(es) down there and clean it up. Then go home and punch yourself in the face. – ed.
Jesus, could this thing be any more tortured? Looks as bad as the most tortured IOR shapes! Having said that, it’ll prolly win the whole thing. Oh and check out this stern shot! Thanks to Anarchist Ignacio.
Title inspiration thanks to Frank Zappa.
SA weather guru and maker of fine crew wear, Mark Michaelsen of DryUv shares this with y’all:
The CDC has recently reversed course and now agrees that a multi-layer gaiter is an effective face covering. Our super soft NG375 gaiter is designed to be a CONVERTIBLE system that accomplishes this. It is available with your team, event, club, company, or other custom graphics (Minimums apply). We decorate with premium dye sublimation so that the fabric remains breathable throughout. This long lasting and vibrant method of decoration is ideal for gaiters and allows for an all over print.
We also offer regular cotton tee shirts, performance tees for men, women and kids, fleece, polos, jackets and hats. Screen printing and embroidery are both also available on all of these great soft goods. Order now and our delivery times are very quick. Call TOLL FREE 1 (888) 379-7447 ext 2 with any questions.
Gaiter information source: Latest update from the CDC on Face Coverings.
We published an earlier story about Moore Sailboats being on the block. It was not entirely correct, and we got the story on the Moore situation from Blaine Rorick from Moore Sailboats, Inc., and it adds some clarity and insight to our Craigslist story. We apologize for not getting all the facts ahead of time.
Moore Sailboats is not for sale. Moore Sailboats, Inc., a different entity building the Moore 33, is neither for sale nor in trouble.
The ad was misguidedly placed by a friend of Ron Moore’s after a dinner conversation during which Ron, discussed the possibility of retiring one day and all that might mean. Ron did not authorize his friend to place this ad.
A business of this caliber and reputation would not resort to a spur-of-the-moment Craigslist ad that contains numerous spelling and punctuation errors, one that includes random unidentified images, indicates the wrong location, and would certainly not get the name of the company wrong.
It does appear that the owner of the Watsonville property might not renew the lease. In anticipation of this, the company has initiated plans to move production to SoCal. We were going to announce this when the details were finalized.
Plans for the new Moore 33 are proceeding well. Location issues will not affect the production schedule and we remain on track to have the first two hulls launched in the spring of 2021. Ron Moore is the Vice President of Moore Sailboats, Inc., and will be a vital part of the Moore 33’s success.
One of the most iconic West Coast sleds (screw you, Great Lakes!), the R/P 70′ Taxi Dancer is more beautiful than ever, and faster too after an impressive near total overhaul of the boat last year. It got them a Transpac Class win, and kudos have to be given to owner Jim Yabsley and team for such an outstanding job. It is worth mentioning that the boat is available for charter for the 2021 Cabo race….
I am such an idiot, I forgot to mention that Dick and Mary Compton are co-owners of Taxi! And that I did a Transpac on the boat something like 20 years ago…! I have swiss cheese for brains. Enjoy.
Isn’t it frustrating when your computer doesn’t connect to your printer? Few of us rarely enjoy the experience of technology malfunctions, well at least when sailing you don’t have to as the leading technology brands are making sure their technologies work seamlessly together. Cyclops Marine has been working closely with B&G to ensure the new Nemesis displays deliver your real time rig loads every time.
Thorough lab and on-the-water testing have ensured you can see your fast settings reliably on the multi colored displays.
Hard not to be impressed with Alex Thomson. Go dude! Follow the Vendee Globe here.
In an unprecedented admission, Future Former President Trump has finally conceded that the 1983 America’s Cup was won by the creatively-named Australian yacht Australia II.
Australia II is a 12m racing yacht that was launched in 1982 and is not to be confused with the original Australia which is a much larger vessel with a crew of 25 million people.
In 1983 the yacht beat the equally unimaginatively-named American favorite Liberty to take home first place and the Cup, which is rarely used as it is too large to fit in a standard dishwasher.
In a statement, the President acknowledged the loss, describing the race as “just some silly boat thing from a long time ago” although US sentiment at the time could be summed up as denial and shock to have lost a prize they had held for 132 consecutive years.
“This race was not a big deal. Not a big deal” explained Trump. “We said hey, let them have it if it makes them happy. Go on, take it. We’ll get it back next year. It was a plan; it was my plan. A great plan, that’s what it was. A really good plan. The best.”
“I said to them; I said “go on, if you want to win, you can have the trophy. Take it. You’re welcome. But not the election. I won that fair and square.”
Thanks to The Betoota Advocate.
“Reliance, the 1903 America’s Cup defender designed by Nat Herreshoff, was funded by a nine-member syndicate of the New York Yacht Club headed by Cornelius Vanderbilt III. The design took advantage of a loophole in the Seawanhaka ‘90-foot LWL’ rating rule to produce a yacht with long overhangs so that when heeled over, her waterline length (and therefore her speed) increased dramatically.
Reliance was the first racing boat to be fitted with winches below decks, in an era when her competitors relied on sheer manpower. Despite this, a crew of 64 was required for racing due to the large sail plan. From the tip of her bowsprit to the end of her 108-foot boom, Reliance measured 201 feet. Her spinnaker pole was 84 feet long, and her total sail area of 16,160 sq ft was the equivalent of eight 12 meter class yachts.”
– Various sources – The beautiful freak Reliance (1903-13)
(Vanderbilt said “Call the boat a freak, anything you like, but we cannot handicap ourselves even if our boat is only fit for the junk heap the day after the race.” Herreshoff’s extreme design defeated Shamrock III in three straight races but her career was cut short by the introduction of the Universal Rating Rule. Reliance was sold for scrap in 1913.)
British Vendée Globe skipper Alex Thomson has today been forced to slow his HUGO BOSS to a crawl as he attempts to make a technical repair to a longitudinal beam near the bow of his IMOCA. Above is an update from the fleet.
Thomson alerted his team to the problem around 1900 UTC Saturday evening after a routine inspection raised immediate concerns as he raced south-eastwards towards the Southern Ocean part of the leading trio of boats racing south-eastwards some 850 nautical miles east of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
With the imminent requirement to plunge south for more than one month in the inhospitable waters between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, the 46 year old British skipper will want to have complete faith in the repairs and in his IMOCA. But a statement issued by his Alex Thomson Racing Team this morning confirms he has the materials and the methods to effect the necessary repairs and aims to be back on course as quickly as possible.
“Alex has now put the boat into a safe position to manage the sea state in order to reduce movement onboard while he carries out the repair. He has all the necessary materials onboard, a detailed plan to follow, and a team of world class engineers advising him. We are therefore confident in his ability to complete the repair. Our objective is to carry out the necessary repair swiftly and effectively, in order to minimise the miles lost and resume racing again.” Said Alex Thomson’s Racing’s Technical Director Ross Daniel.
Having been in second place in the 33 boat fleet during Saturday, averaging 16kts at times and some 25 nautical miles behind leader Thomas Ruyant , Thomson’s pause had already cost him 150 miles on Ruyant and Charlie Dalin (Apivia) who passed into second 23 miles to windward of the British skipper around midnight last night.
“Supposing it takes Alex 24 hours to effect a repair and get going again he would rejoin the chasing group with Arkéa Paprec, Initiatives Cœur and PRB, he would lose quite a bit as that would put him 1000 miles behind at Cape of Good Hope. But I have been looking at the history of the race as well and remember that last time on the last race he rounded Cape Horn 800 miles behind Armel Le Cléac’h and so I would not call this ‘game over’”. Suggested Yoann Richomme, winner of the last Route du Rhum in Class40 and double winner of La Solitaire du Figaro when he was today’s guest on the Vendée Globe LIVE English programme.
Talking about the latest generation of fast foilers Richomme, renowned as a meticulous technician, explained, “These new boats are really tough to sail, they are really hard to engineer and are slamming into the waves with a lot of power, which is most likely happened to Alex. What is hard is that we know that they took their feet off the gas a little in the south on the last race to preserve the boats last time, and I think they will be doing that again. From the scenario we are seeing they need to preserve the boats. When these boats start taking off, they were slamming the hulls a little bit further back but now these boats are fully foiling, flying a lot of the time, it is now the bows which are hitting the waves in front, from 2-3m high at times and the impact on the bows is huge and we know a lot of the boats in France had reinforcements in the bow. We saw CORUM L’Epargne in September have a two week repair in their bow. They are discovering new problems and we are hoping they have covered off most of them.”
At two weeks since the race started off Les Sables d’Olonne on Sunday 8th November there are many repairs, small and not so small, criticaland almost incidental, that skipper need to make. Contemplating the descent into the Southern Ocean race leader Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut) had to climb the 28m mast of his IMOCA after his spare halyard broke. The two leading IMOCAs, LinkedOut and Apivia are side by side 10 miles apart setting out on a gybing match up as they drop south-eastwards towards an area of unstable air, described by Dalin as ‘mousehole’ through which they must pass to get to the Southern Ocean and a fast ride east towards the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope.
Now the Vendée Globe fleet stretches for more than 3000 miles, Jérémie Beyou in 32nd, has lengthened his stride in the south of the Canaries. Listening to the skippers on the daily calls or reading the messages sent from on board, whatever the age of the boat or its position on the Atlantic chessboard, every day brings its share of problems. Yesterday it was a weather vane for ninth placed Sébastien Simon, today a composite repair on a part of the foil well for Armel Tripon on L’Occitane and that week long repair to the mainsail of the Japanese Kojiro Shiraishi. Big or small the problems prevail through the fleet.
Armel Tripon, the skipper of L’Occitane en Provence, reflects, “The boats want to go fast, the chase their predicted speeds and they are built for that and the teams and the architects are pushing all the time to go fast. Now it’s up to each of us to sail with our soul and our own peace of mind. “.
Paul Vara put this little video of us from the Hot Rum Series. Cool vid, terrible race for us. Oh well!
Looks just fine to us. Our biggest concern is how much is it going to cost? We’ll know soon enough! From J/Boats:
Responding to a growing need amongst sailors for a more comfortable, simpler and easy-to-own daysailer, J/Boats is excited to announce a sleek new 28 footer (the “J/9”) with perhaps the most
comfortable cockpit and easiest-to-manage sailplan in this size range.
“With the J/9, we set out to reimagine how to make sailing easier, more relaxing and more inclusive,” said Jeff Johnstone of J/Boats. “This is a boat you can sail by yourself in just a few minutes, or bring along the
whole gang with plenty of room to spare. Escaping to the water and enjoying shared family adventure has never been more important, and the J/9 is the perfect platform.”
What a great shot thanks to Anarchist Jochem. Wuz gonna call this back to the future, but that’s a bit played out. I like my title. Inspiration found here.
Yesterday on the tenth day of racing in the Vendee Globe, Boris Herrmann deployed an Argos scientific data collection system beacon, transmitted by Ocean OPS, and which is activated today and could be transmitting data live that will be available on the following website.
As Boris Herrmann is not only an experienced sailor but also committed to the environment, he is a member of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission and was keen to gather data on this round the world towards a better understanding of climate change. It’s a first. To carry out his mission, he relies on an a fully automated laboratory onboard which is analysing samples 24/7 and transmitting them to scientists at the Max-Planck Institute in Hamburg, GEOMAR in Kiel and IFREMER in Brest.
“It is great to be able to contribute in this way to ocean science. The partnership with UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission is a great one and I am happy that the IMOCA class is also behind this. It is also near the start of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) and I am proud to be able to be a part of this important mission. It is really paramount for us to use our platform to help scientists to better understand climate change and our Ocean. The float will drift around for many years and will send data directly back to our scientists. It measures temperature, salinity and pressure data from the top 2,000m of the ocean and it automatically sends this back home.”
The beacon is covered in signatures of children who are avidly following the German skipper’s progress. “The beacon will be watched by scientists but also by children,” said the sailor with a smile as he lowered it overboard. Boris Herrmann is like that. A jack of all trades who keeps one eye on the horizon, the other on the chart table and an open mind to causes that match his beliefs.
The name Seaexplorer is a reference to an initiative led by Kuehne + Nagel who have set up a digital platform to measure the impact of CO2 emissions in shipping and enable its clients to make more eco-responsible choices in terms of transport.
Reducing emissions is on everyone’s lips, including the luxury yacht sector that is determined to change the face of its industry. Led by the Yacht Club de Monaco, the Superyacht Eco Association (SEA) Index is a benchmark to measure the environmental impact of 40+m yachts.
This is the first of our 60-second “short” videos. We are doing these for a couple new and different platforms, and also as a way to promote the long-play video .
Lookin’ to put a little creativity into the design process? This dude totally has it!
You can never describe it fully to people you meet – it’s your boat, and it’s an extension of your passion and personality. The fact is, you begin to miss it the minute you step off the dock. Thanks to the guys at SD Model Makers , you can now alleviate your separation anxiety by commissioning an incredibly detailed scale model of your boat, right down to the instrument cluster on the pedestal, the winches and cleats!
The commissioning process is straight forward – If you can take photos of your boat, you can have a model made of your boat. It is that simple! Working with photographs and available boat plans, the crew at SD Model Makers will work to create an exact replica model that will bring you continued pleasure, even when you switch from captain’s chair to desk chair.
Model sizes range from 12-inches to four feet on up – you decide on the size or scale!
The more I watch this, the more I think this version of the AC is near total bullshit. What a complete waste of time and money. And are we seeing port and starboard drivers?
Remember when you didn’t know anything? Jump in the forum to comment.
We’re likely to see nearly the same thing with the other three (or is it two?) America’s Cup teams, but for christ’s sake, it is not possible to have less people of color on this massive team. And that is because there are none. And would you like to attempt to count how many women there are? No need, we did it for you: The answer is one. As in token. Or maybe there are more, but were told not to worry their pretty little heads over a silly photo op…
Really, this is the message you wish to send? If you aren’t white and don’t have a penis, then fuck off? There was no one of equal talent otherwise? It is total bullshit, insulting to millions (well it would be millions if anybody really gave a fuck about the AC, which they don’t), is a poor look, and sends exactly the wrong message.
Looks pretty racist and misogynist to us. Apparently they didn’t get the message about diversity.
We would like to find someone who is interested in taking over this project which we call the Quadfoiler. We would like to find someone who has the skills and has resources to make the project work. In this post I will;
A) Talk about the objectives and history of the project
B) talk about the design philosophy
C) talk about the current state of the project
D) provide links to pictures and video.
Objectives and history of the project
The Quadfoiler was always a follow up project to the TriFoiler. We wanted to preserve what was good about the TriFoiler and make improvements where it was deficient. It has always been a disappointment for me that I have not been able to follow up on the TriFoiler.
About 2005 we began work on a bi-plane rigged, 6 foot model catamaran. It’s called the Quadfoiler because it has 4 foils. A link to a video of this model is shown below. In 2011 we worked on 30 foot version.
Design Philosophy
The [...]
Eco-Explorer is a whole new concept of 77.11 m long superyacht. At the border between a sailboat and a motoryacht, it is equipped with rigid wings totally controlled by computer, which give it propulsion capacities twice that of a conventional rig.
With this sail area of more than 72 m2, Eco-Explorer is able to sail only propelled by the wind at a speed of 18 knots and can reach a top speed of 25 knots using the engines in addition. Read on.
We left out a not so small detail in our commentary about US Sailing CEO Jack Geirhart getting the boot. According to the 2018 IRS990, Geirhart took $260,000 in salary and bonus, not including retirement contributions.
Think about that for a minute. The head of US Sailing making over a quarter million dollars a year, and for what? Did he make any difference at all for you? Of course he didn’t.
It is an outrage that your governing body of your sport blows that much of your money for one person. Makes one wonder how much they blow on other things, like paying another site to run it’s propaganda for example? This is shameful and fucking embarrassing. You might want to think twice before you write them another check…
Title inspiration thanks to Zoey Dollaz.
From our Forums, this is the kind of excitement and enthusiasm that this sport simply has to encourage. It has failed in so many ways.
We are so excited to share that we just purchased a new to us 1983 Martin 242 to keep at our local yacht club, while “the necklace” resides in the 1000 Islands almost full time now. We had done a ton of looking around at everything from a J22 (lots in USA but tough to get into Canada right now), to a J80 (prices still a bit high for us), to a Henderson 30 or a Farr 30 so we could still distance race (too much work for what we want right now).
Anyways, we found “Fast Lane Fever” in Toronto late last week, and in the space of 48 hours, had the deal done, boat emptied out, trailer serviced ( it hadn’t moved in 7 years), and towed it home to our warehouse for some much needed fluff and buff and TLC over the winter. I can’t believe I hadn’t looked for one of these before it popped up on my radar.
It is EVERYTHING we want and need for a Monday to Thursday little speedster, some Wednesday night beer can racing, and for a good platform for our two 15 year old boys to get out on “their own” keelboat and learn the ropes. Clean cabin with zero systems, new cushions, good gear and fair to very good sails! Its’ a wonderful little vessel, and we are very much looking forward to getting her in the water.
Finally, I wanted to give a big shout out to the Martin 242 Class Association, in particular Michael Clements of Vancouver BC. I have been involved in a number of one design fleets throughout my life, but I have never been made to feel so welcome, so quickly, in my life; and this is from a fleet based 3/4 of the way across the country. Thank you M242 Fleet!!!!! Title inspiration thanks to House of Pain.
Jack Geirhart was removed as the CEO for US Sailing the other day. This brings zero sadness from us. Even though he tried a half-ass, half-hearted attempt to “work” with us after many years of ignoring us, Geirhart was no friend of SA’s.
In so many ways, at least from our pov, he represented everything wrong with US Sailing. Out of touch, overly political, misplaced sense of doing the right thing, arrogant, and largely missing the mark on most issues. All we really have to say is AMF. – ed.
BRISTOL, R.I. (November 13, 2020) – In line with the implementation of the new Strategic Plan and focus on the future, the Board of US Sailing announced today the departure of Chief Executive Officer, Jack Gierhart. US Sailing will immediately embark on a nationwide search for a new CEO. Read more.
The complicated weather patterns of the first week, not least the high proportion of upwind sailing and multiple frontal systems, put to rest any hopes of the Vendée Globe’s 9 days 7 hours and 02 minutes passage record between Les Sables d’Olonne and the Equator being broken.
Nevertheless it was the record holder himself Alex Thomson (HUGO BOSS) who crossed the equator first into the South Atlantic at 1319hrs UTC, leading the fleet this Wednesday afternoon with around 79 miles in hand over second placed Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut).
The British skipper’s elapsed time to the Equator on this race is 9 days 23 hours and 59 minutes. His routing since the start on Sunday 8th has been excellent and his passage through the storm Theta, which gave him this lead, has been met with widespread approval among past Vendée Globe winners.
As he passed through the 350 nautical miles convergence zone, Thomson experienced shifts and changes in wind pressure and had a notable slow down last night, but this morning he was well into the SE’ly tradewinds, the bow of his black boat pointing towards Recife, the most easterly corner of Brazil. Today he has been making 18 knots of boatspeed with the wind forward of the beam, likely under full main and J2 headsail.
This J/100 is ready to go sailing, like right now. Funny though, there seem to be a few items missing. Well yes and no. Sent to us by Easom Rigging, they have created something electric. Here’s what was done:
I normally don’t do personal endorsements, but Steve Rosenberg from Tajima-Direct (manufacturers of polarized sunglass lenses) wanted me to not only try their lenses out, but also to go through the order process, so I did!
These guys can make lenses for virtually every sunglass frame out there. So once you choose the lenses that you want, they immediately send you a prepaid box to send your sunglasses back to them and about a week later you get your frames with their polarized lenses. Pretty slick actually.
I sent in my Hobie Boneyard (with Hobie polarized lenses) and I chose the gray non-mirror finish lenses.
No bullshit, these polarized lenses are by far the best I’ve ever used. It is actually startling how crisp everything looks when you first put them on. Glare on the water isn’t even noticeable, the lenses are light and wearing them sort of crystalized my vision. Reading the water is easier to do with these things.
I put on regular Polarized lenses after and the difference was huge, again no bullshit. I learned a lot about lenses reading their material, and after wearing them for a couple months I am totally convinced that these are the only way to go in polarized. – ed.
PS – I then proceeded to lose them in Santa Barbara after shooting this video. What a tosser!
Well won’t it be interesting to see if this can get any traction?
The Great Cape Race shall take competitors around the iconic Great Capes. Starting in October 2021, the race shall follow the traditional clipper route round the world, taking competitors around the three iconic Great Capes. The big ocean legs shall provide the ultimate proving ground for speed, strategy and mental spirit.
Eligible boats shall be Grand Prix Racing Yachts over 60ft in length. Boats shall be handicapped using a modified ORC handicapping system, factoring each yacht’s predicted velocity parameters, ensuring boats of different designs can race on even terms.
The focus of the Great Cape Race is to offer a prestigious around the world race for yachts of different designs that is challenging, tactical and competitive held in a well-managed, safe environment. The race shall be open to Grand Prix Race Yachts 60ft and over in length. Crew shall be a minimum of 4 with no maximum limit.
The handicap shall ensure that the boat that is the most consistent in sailing as fast as possible against its design parameters and navigates the best weather conditions shall win. The handicapping system to be used shall be a modified version of the ORC rule. NOR here.
The authorities operating the Wisconsin State Fair Park have informed ShowSpan Inc, the organisers of the Milwaukee Boat Show, that the venue will be required for medical use by the State of Wisconsin in January and February in order to house hospital beds.
ShowSpan has had no other option other to inform exhibitors that it will be unable to hold the exhibition during its original split dates of January 22-24 and January 27-31.
Instead the company is hoping to find suitable dates in April or May or failing that will postpone the show until January 2022.
We’re not sure that’s a strong selling point of this new Comuzzi 32 – spokes are of use when steering with a wheel. But it seems to be a pretty impressive engineering feat and it looks cool…
