Scot

It was pretty epic. What was it?...

The latest SailGP team was announced today in Beijing. The venue should be a bit of a clue as to which one. Of course it is the Chinese team with a healthy Chinese element I am glad to say with three, one could almost say Dongfeng ‘veterans’ in Liu Xue, Chen JinHao and Liu Ming better known in western sailing circles as Black, Horace and Leo. Black and Horace are designated as grinders on the 50 footer with Leo as a reserve grinder. The team will be skippered by Kiwi Phil Robertson while Ed Powys (GBR) is to be the wing trimmer with foils controlled by James Wierzbowski (AUS) (flight controller). THe final member of the team being Thomas Le Breton who will serve as the reserve wing trimmer. The team joins teams from the USA, FRA, GBR, AUS & JPN in the inaugural SailGP event in Sydney Australia in 2019 with the first ‘home’ Act for the Chinese team in 2020 at a venue yet to be decided. Modified from the catamarans used during a previous America’s Cup their steeds promise to provide close, exciting racing not so much on the water but, for most of the time above the water. This of course means that 5 of the 6 teams are now known with Australia skippered by Tom Slingsby, France under the leadership of Marie Riou & Billy Beeson, Rome Kirby heads up the American team and Dylan Fletcher takes the helm of Great Britain with Japan the only team still to be announced. Details of the event, the boat, the crews etc are available at www.sailGP.com. This should be something to look forward to with the boats being modified from the AC50 class of 2017 with an estimated performance gain of around 15%. Basically like putting a...

You'd think that experienced offshore sailors might know never to trust the weather. Just minutes after this photo was taken at Woolwich Dock in Sydney, the well-dressed crowd was soaked by a sudden downpour and rushed to shelter from a gusting Westerly. The event was the launch on Thursday morning of Stacey Jackson's all-female Sydney-Hobart campaign in Wild Oats X. The 66-foot Reichel-Pugh was precursor to the more famous 100-foot supermaxi Wild Oats XI. The Oatley family has very generously loaned the boat to Jackson and her team for the 628-mile sprint South. Jackson (of Vestas/11th Hour Volvo race fame) has assembled an impressive crew of champion women sailors, although the claim that this would be "the first all-woman professional crew to contest the Sydney to Hobart Race" was questionable. Is that "professional" as in they all make their livelihood from sailing, or "professional" only in the sense that they will be paid to sail in this Hobart race? It is a Sydney-Hobart tradition that the bets made between crews are settled in jugs of rum to be consumed on arrival. It will be interesting to see what time margin is agreed between WOX and WOXI. Based on overall length, the difference is 40 per cent. If the women can finish inside that time gap then they can look forward to some serious drinking at the Customs House Hotel and Shipwright's Arms come December 28.  ...

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.  ...

Of course this comes from our fab forums. Of course it does... I setup a turkey friar on the aft rail. Going to fry one up daysailing tomorrow. Do you think the oil will slop around? I have a shield I made for over the outboard's fuel tank on my McGregor.. Testing at the dock a few months ago the oil caught fire. I was able to put it out no problem. Fire people weren't so happy though as I used bacon fat I had been collecting for the past couple years, was pretty smokey. Now that I am all healed I think I have all kinks worked out but I did lose quite a bit of feeling in my right hand. Pic is what was left...some of the bits by the breast bone were really good. wish me luck! And of course you simply must jump in the thread. What a perfect way to ditch your Trump loving a-hole uncle and get some real enjoyment!  ...

 Directly from our friends at Cape Horn... At Patagonia, the south of the world,there is a community that believes anything is possible! They work together building wooden Optimists for their Sailing School! Kids learn to Sail, meet new friends, and learn to work together to accomplish their goals! Here on Patagonia, these kids are not alone. From Thanksgiving on, Cape horn will donate the 1% of their sales perpetually to contribute to this amazing project. Today it is not much money, but with your help, giving gifts this Christmas with a story behind to the people you love, you will be supporting this amazing Patagonian sea-lovers community. Check out  www.capehorn.us  and help to build wooden Optimists at Patagonia!...

Ya gotta watch this video! See it in our Fabulous Forums...  ...

French cruise line Ponant is testing the Solid Sail® concept on its vessel Le Ponant. Tests are being conducted with maritime construction company Chantiers de l’Atlantique as part of the sailing cruise-vessel project Silenseas, launched two years ago. Two patents have been filed for the new type of sail which is made of fiberglass, carbon and epoxy resin panels in a carbon-slat frame. Sails of over 300 square meters (3,200 square feet) were installed on Le Ponant in October before the three-masted ship set sail for Cape Verde and then across the Atlantic to Cuba. The 89-meter (292-foot) vessel is a three-masted yacht that can carry 67 passengers in 32 cabins. The prototype technology will be tested on her for a year. A smaller-scale test has already been conducted on a vessel owned by French yachtsman Jean Le Cam. Earlier this year, French shipbuilder STX France unveiled a new sailing cruise ship concept as part of the Silenseas project, which is supported by the French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management. The 190-meter (620-foot), 150-cabin concept vessel would feature Solid Sails and hybrid-electric propulsion with the aim of reducing fuel consumption by 25 percent, saving more than 2,500 tons of fuel per year and 7,500 tons of CO2 emissions per year. Thanks to MAREX....