Posts by XS Editor 2

WHAT IS THE 5-PLATFORM FIASCO?

Tuesday
Jun 18
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE – This year’s Border Run2 in Long Beach Ca. is this weekend! Still time to enter!

The new BR2 Five – Platform Fiasco brings the same fun, excitement and challenge to Southern California sailors as the 3-Bridge Fiasco race delivers to over 300 Northern California skippers each year on the San Francisco Bay.

The 3-Bridge Fiasco is currently the largest sailing event on West Coast. Why? Because it is like no other race on the West Coast. But of course Border Run race organizers had to add a Southern California flavor to the 5-Platform Fiasco to make it even more fun for So Cal sailors. See how the new Border Run2 will take racing to a new level of fun and competition.

1) Race Date: the first weekend of summer. June 21/22/23 – THIS WEEKEND!

2) Delivery ‘to and from’ Long Beach is part of the event, making the Border Run2 a three ocean race event for a full weekend of sailing and parties. The Five Platform Fiasco is on Saturday, as you race the 32-mile course in any direction with a pursuit start!

3) Skippers have the option to race one or all 3 races for trophies. Race one day or all three!

4) Variety! – Two races are pursuit starts (inverted) with one race using a conventional class start.

5) We kept the Entry Fees low…entry fees from $39 to $99 dollars for a 3-race event with three parties!

6) Everyone’s Invited from Sleds, multi-hulls, PHRF, Dinghy’s, Windsurfers and Kiteboards on two courses, one inside and one outside of LB harbor.

7) For skippers racing Long Beach Race Week the week after, the Border Run2 makes for the perfect ‘feeder’ race.

8) At the Saturday night Border Run2 ‘After Party’ in Rainbow Harbor at Gladstone’s, come aboard and preview the 70-foot trimaran ‘Tritium’ in their bid to break the current Transpac record.

9) And there is much, much more! Check the NOR’s for race courses, start times and venue.

So tell your fellow sailors there is a new race in town…a race that you won’t want to miss. The Border Run2 Five Platform Fiasco! Registration IS OPEN!

Go to www.TheBorderRun2.org for all the details!

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged sailing, sailing news

USA HAMLIN STILL LEADS!

Tuesday
Jun 18
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

18 FOOTERS – After the races have been cancelled on Day 2 due to wave conditions, the fleet went out on Day 3 for four races in 10 – 15 knots and bumpy conditions. All four topranked teams shared the wins today and are therefore on top of the leader board.

Howard Hamlin leads comfortably after 6 races with one discard on 7 points, followed by the British team around Jarrod Simpson on 11, Australia’s John Winning on 12 points and Miklos Ujhelyi-Gaspars Hungarians on 16 points. After those four teams there is already a gap to the 5th team, Germanies Friedrich Renner on 30 points. After a layday the wind conditions today a light and we will keep you updated.

Total results you can find on:

http://www.yccarnac.com/uploads/html%20resultat%20regate%20de%20freg/18%20FOOT%20SKIFFS/18_pieds_s.htm

Photos of 2013 European Championship – Day 2 – Photos by Christophe Favreau

Posted in News, Photos, Racing, Sailing - Tagged 18 footers, sailing, sailing news

OMAN AIR ON THE MOVE

Tuesday
Jun 18
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

MOD 70 RACING – After a fast and frenetic ride through the North Atlantic, Oman Air-OMAN Musandam moved into the lead of the second offshore leg of the 2013 Route des Princes during the early hours of Tuesday morning stretching out a small gain in an incredibly tight contest.

Since they left Lisbon on Sunday, the four MOD70 trimarans have been neck and neck, with anything up to 15 miles between them but at the last position update, Oman’s flagship boat had eked out a 12 mile lead over the three other boats who were separated by just five miles.

As predicted, conditions have been rough but according to Oman Air-Musandam’s Damian Foxall, not as bad as expected.

“It has been pretty bouncy which we were expecting but we have also had some beautiful sailing out here,” he said.

“Currently we are going fast upwind doing about 23 knots and are about two hours from the Fastnet Rock. After we round the Rock, anything could happen because things are expected to go light and there could in effect be a race restart.”

The Fastnet Rock is about eight miles off the south west tip of Ireland and is familiar to all serious offshore sailors, whether professional or recreational, since it marks the turning point in the classic bi-annual offshore event, the Fastnet Race from Cowes to Plymouth.

When the Route des Princes fleet round the Rock, they will head north towards Dublin rather than south to Plymouth but this is likely to bring new challenges of a lighter breeze, Foxall said.

“At the moment we are concentrating on defending our lead so we have an advantage when things slow up. It looks like things will be slow working our way up the coast to Dun Laoghaire and at the moment it’s not obvious whether local knowledge is going to be a factor or not.”

If local knowledge comes into play, Oman Air-Musandam will be at a distinct advantage since Foxall is Ireland’s leading offshore sailor, having learned his sailing in County Kerry and spent his early years racing round Ireland’s coastlines.

At this stage, Foxall said, it was impossible to tell from the weather how the approach into the finish at Dun Laoghaire, around 250 miles away, would pan out but they were looking at an ETA of around 0700 on Wednesday.

For Omani sailor Fahad Al Hasni, the proximity of the racing has brought the best out of the Oman Air-Musandam crew.

For high-resolution images and broadcast quality footage, please go to: http://media.qiusystem.com/omansail/en/home

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged MOD 70 TRIMARANS, sailing, sailing news

AROUND THE WORLD IN 50 FEET

Tuesday
Jun 18
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

OCEAN 50 CLASS – The OCEAN50 class, which Michel Desjoyeaux had the idea of launching, has been thinking about the first major event for the future OCEAN50 monohulls for several months. Now, this project is taking shape thanks to the work done jointly between Michel Desjoyeaux’s Mer Agitée company, the development team at Mer Forte led by Denis Juhel and the event organizers, Mer & Média. They are developing a highly original project for a new solo round the world race from Brittany to Brittany via the three capes with stopovers in various French overseas territories and departments.

Based on this idea proposed by Mer & Média and approved by the OCEAN50 class, this new race around the world provisionally called the BREIZH WORLD TOUR was presented to representatives at Brest Métropole Océane (the Brest metropolitan council), the Regional Authority in Brittany and the Finistère Council on 29th May in Brest.

The maiden edition of this new event, which is due to be raced every four years in between the other major French ocean races (Vendée Globe, Route du Rhum, Transat Jacques Vabre…) is due to start in the winter of 2017-2018, with a race lasting 5-6 months with four major legs.

Exclusively reserved for the OCEAN50 monohulls, the race will allow skippers and their partners to make the most of a top class sporting event, which will guarantee excellent media coverage and a good retrurn on investment, while keeping budgets under control.

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged ocean 50 class, sailing, sailing news

SHINDIG IS FIRST TO FINISH!

Tuesday
Jun 18
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

Crew of Shindig_DSC_7499N

2013 MARION BERMUDA RACE – Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club, Paget BERMUDA–, June 18, 2013: Shindig took line honors in the 2013 Marion Bermuda race finishing the 645 nm course off St David’s Lighthouse at 4:55:13 ADT/3:55:13 EDT on Tuesday morning June 18. They were certainly glad to finish first, but sorry not to break the record after such a fast start.

“It was brutal,” quipped one of the Shindig crew when asked about the last miles to the finish. They had trouble getting the right angle to be able to cross the line going into both the southerly wind and the northbound current.

Lady B, John Madden’s Swan 62, finished 2^nd at 06:59:56 ADT.

As Shindig was docking in the Royal Hamilton amateur Dinghy Club marina, we caught up with Watch Captain Mark Riley. He gave a great recap of their race.

“The start was as predicted, extremely windy [26+ knots]. We got off to a great start, real fast speeds up to 23 knots coming out of Buzzard’s Bay. We had a couple of wind shifts outside of the bay and we weren’t sure where we were going to go. As the steady breeze filled in, we made quick tracks to the [Gulf] Stream. Real fast again, hitting 20’s.”

“We covered about 500 miles in the first 45 hours and then the bottom fell out— We had no wind for 2 days. We struggled for the next 36 to 48 hours trying to cover the next 120 miles. It felt like every time we tacked or thought about tacking we were further and further away from Bermuda. It was a long drift in for the last 120 mile.”

Mark said, “We knew that the faster we could get South the better we would do.”

And they got South fast.

Mark’s 12 year-old son Jo was also on the 15-person crew and the youngest sailor in the race. When asked how it was sailing with his son in Jo’s first offshore race, Mark was clearly emotional. “It was fantastic,” he beamed. “We had some highs and lows along the way, but not too many dads can be as proud as I am of him to be out there on fathers day in such a great event on such a great boat. Sailing with all the cadets from Mass Maritime was fantastic.”

Sonia Riley, Mark’s wife, was at the dock to greet her husband and son both with kisses. She said of her son’s adventure, “Jo had no idea of what he was getting into.”

Jo said he stood his watches including two at night. At one point during the last 120 miles his dad said he saw a tear in his son’s eye and asked what was wrong. Jo said, “can I just put it in gear?” The next day brushing away another tear Jo said, “It’s so long.” Go Jo… you made it.

Mark said, “Arthur Burke [who had donated the boat to Mass Maritime] spoke some real truth in his pre-race comments to the crew, ‘You will have moments of sadness, You will have moments of Joy… all of you will hit the wall’ and we did. A couple of us were seasick before the start and some during the race, but they all worked through their problems.”

The crew, some were Art’s regulars but most were Mass Maritime cadets, deserve high praise for persisting through the Happy Valley North of Bermuda and coming first overall across the St David’s Lighthouse line.

Shindigs crew consisted of 15 sailors…

Scott	Bancroft	Crew
Charles	Cahill	Crew
Priscilla	Stoll	Crew
Kaitlyn	Nanartowich	Cook
Sean	McLaughlin	Crew
Chuck	Fontaine	Crew
John	Sheehan	Crew
Matthew	Ferlotti	Crew
Timothy	Dexter	Navigator
Art	Burke	Watch Captain
Jonathan	Riley	Crew
Mark	Riley	Watch Captain
Andrew	Morgan	Crew
Michael	Reney	Skipper
Kody	North	Navigator

Spectators at home or on mobile devices with the proper app can follow all the yachts in the Marion Bermuda Race on the YellowBrick tracker program sponsored by Kingman Yacht Center. Positions are updated every hour on the hour on the YellowBrick tracking map. Go to the Marion Bermuda web site— http://www.marionbermuda.com/ and click on the brick.

Posted in News, Races, Sailing - Tagged MARION BERMUDA RACE, sailing, sailing news

USA LEADING IN EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS

Monday
Jun 17
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

18 FOOTERS – European Champianships in Carnac – Day One – The weatherforcast of 13 knots turned out to increase so the fleet had to decide: Big or Small. All teams decided for small and 1 hour before the start it was quite hectic at the harbor.

Big rigs and sails laying around and everybody except two teams went onto the water. The British team Hyde were still preparing their stuff for San Francisco and Germay’s Magic Marine’s helm had to go to hospital due to some problems with the eyes.

The races in shoppy waves and 17-18 knots showed a clear two Race win of Howard Hamlin, USA in front of “Woody” John Winning. Stay tuned for more.

Photos from Thierry Martinez you can find here.

http://www.thmartinez.com/2013-European-18-Skiff-Day-1,498,10,fr,f1.html

Posted in News, Races, Sailing - Tagged sailing, sailing news

PERCY TALKS ABOUT BART AND ARTEMIS

Monday
Jun 17
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

AC NEWS – Artemis Racing sailing director Iain Percy spoke to AC Uncut this weekend to talk about the team’s intention to carry on competing in the Louis Vuitton Cup, America’s Cup Challenger Series.

The Swedish challenger is in the process of getting its second AC72 ready to sail following a capsize last month that severely damaged its first boat and led to the death of Percy’s best friend and teammate, Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson.

“We didn’t want to end with this being our final chapter… Our decision (to stay in the competition) was an easy one,” Percy said. “We’re sportsmen and we’re America’s Cup sailors. And we want to compete in the America’s Cup. It’s a fantastic competition. We all support it. Our owner really supports it so we want to be a part of it. It’s going to be a great event here in San Francisco so I think it will be right for Bart and for the team for us to be out there.”

Percy says his team is working as hard as possible to get out and race he says he’s “disappointed” in the reaction of some of the opposing teams.

“Losing a friend is very different to getting revved up for a competition. So for us it’s been very strange and disappointing to not understand that people see things differently from us. We want to get out and race and we can’t see why that wouldn’t be good for every team in the event,” he said.

“We find it strange that people want to stop that but it doesn’t deter us in any way. We have our processes and our own challenges without trying to be stopped by the opposition. We want to leave that behind and get on with trying to support the event and get our team out on the water.”

Artemis Racing has indicated it is likely to miss some of its opening round matches as it resumes sailing in early July and working its second AC72 towards a state of race-readiness for later in the month.

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged artemis racing, sailing, sailing news

IN THE LEAD…

Monday
Jun 17
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

ROUTES DES PRINCES – Jean-Pierre Dick and the crew of Virbac-Paprec 70 continue to lead Leg 2 of the Routes des Princes race as the leaders negotiate Cape Finisterre this morning on the 990 miles stage from Lisbon to Dún Laoghaire Dublin this morning.

Virbac-Paprec 70 was the closest to the cape on the NW corner of the Iberian peninsula, some 17 miles to its SW, having established their lead early yesterday evening after the breeze all but died away completely just to the west of Cascais. By the 0400hrs ranking during their first night at sea on the stage Jean-Pierre and his crew had increased that lead out to 25 miles racing when they held firm to their course and their opponents tacked offshore at the latitude of Porto.

The offshore group have since come back at Virbac-Paprec 70 making consistent gains on a faster angle, but the leaders still had 8.28 miles in hand as they raced north at 24-28kts.

Ahead there is what Jean-Luc Nélias, navigator on the Maxi80 Prince de Bretagne, describes as a ‘techncial’ day. First there is the decision whether to route inside or outside the DST – the traffic separation zone off Finisterre – and then the key stage as they plot their route around the low pressure system in the Bay of Biscay. Passing into the centre would mean light, unstable winds when the goal is to get as close to the middle as possible to make the best gains. With the depression moving east it down to risk management, tracking the speed and direction of the low accurately and not being trapped by ‘the target’.

Already to the east of their rivals Virbac-Paprec 70 are seeing some steady convergence with the fleet when a westerly position going in to the depression may be favoured.

For the Multi50’s the passage of Cape Finisterre was yesterday’s highlight whilst today’s will be who can collect the bonus points for being first to the mark off the west off Britanny Yves Le Blevec’s Actual carries a margin of just over five miles over FenêtréA-Cardinal this morning with Arkema – Aquitaine Region in third at 15 miles behind. In the brisk NW’ly reaching conditions Arkema-Aquitaine have not been too compromised by having split their large gennaker in two yesterday evening. Le Blevec’s team has seen some of their lead clawed back.

Their wind will slowly head this morning meaning the final miles to the mark will be upwind on port tack when some more compression may be possible.

Multi 50’s at 0600hrs UTC
1- Actual, Yves Le Blevec, 548.51 miles to finish
2- FenêtréA – Cardinal, Erwan Le Roux, 5.30 miles to leader
3- Arkéma – Region Aquitaine, Lalou Roucayrol, 15.07 miles to leader
4- Rennes Métropole – Saint Malo Agglomération, Gilles Lamiré, 170.00 miles to leader

MOD70 at 0600hrs UTC
1- Virbac – Paprec 70, Jean-Pierre Dick, 720.48 miles to finish
2- Spindrift, Yann Guichard, 8.28 miles to leader
3- Oman Air – Musandam, Sidney Gavignet, 9.42 miles to leader
4- Edmond de Rothschild, Sébastien Josse, 14.62 miles to leader

MAXI80
1- Maxi 80 Prince de Bretagne, Lionel Lemonchois, 730.22 miles to finish

Jean-Luc Nélias (Prince de Bretagne): “Once out of the Tagus the wind dropped and it became very calm. We were at the front of the MOD70 pack when the wind filled from the NW and so we are now under full main and staysail. We are watching on the AIS alongside Oman Air-Musandam and Edmond de Rothschild. Spindrift was just behind us has disappeared and Virbac-Paprec is further inshore.. The next 24 hours are going to be technical because you have to squeeze between the DST and the Cape Finisterre and a small depression. We will try to pass east of it but it is moving, we will be wary to not get caught in the middle. Then we will be upwind from tonight until Fastnet”.

Yves Le Blevec (Actual): “It is cold. Yesterday we negotiated the passage of the depression and also the passage of Cape Finisterre. We had two possible choices because of DST, which is an obstacle. We had to move from one side or the other. We passed between it and Cape Finisterre. The sea was not so bad, OK for the boat and crew. That’s why we made this choice. It’s pretty weird because we had the impression of having opened the gap and then there was the passage of the front with unstable winds.”

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged sailing, sailing news

SAILING IN KOREA

Monday
Jun 17
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

KOREA CUP – The top offshore sailing event in South Korea finished leaving the best impressions and memories to competitors and organisers. The two demanding and tiring offshore legs taking the fleet from Uljin to Ulleung island and from Dokdo islands back to Uljin offered great moments to the teams competing. The natural beauty of the islands and the hospitality of the locals were only few of the things that made this race unique.

From light to strong winds and from clear skies to rainy weather the 6th Korea Cup had it all. With participations from every corner of the world and with a high level of competition the Korea Cup 2013 filled up all expectations and continues the tradition of great sailing events organised in South Korea. check it out!

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged KOREA CUP, sailing, sailing news

THE FORCE IS WITH YOU

Monday
Jun 17
2013 1 Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

THE FORCE REPORT – The door closed on the first phase of the American Youth Sailing Force (The Force) training program this past weekend with the final two days of AC45 training provided by Oracle Team USA (OTUSA). With OTUSA’s withdrawal of support, the team is on its own for next phase of training. The Force will be relying exclusively on the SL33 and a new physical fitness program to prepare themselves for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup.

In last weekend’s moderate September-like weather, The Force underwent hours of intensive training on the AC45. “This past weekend was once again incredible sailing the 45,” said Force member, Cooper Dressler. “In the breeze, the boat picks up and hauls, akin to a turbocharged engine that purrs like a kitten.” Things can go wrong and he talks about the physicality needed on the boat, “The AC45 is exceptionally dialed-in and a joy to sail in breeze…as long as you are fit enough to pull its strings.”

Fellow teammate Evan Sjostedt knows that timing on every maneuver is crucial, “Hoists and douses must be perfect, since being late on a hoist can make or break a bear away. The team treated every lap like a race, and pushed the timing as much as possible to simulate … when there are nine other AC45′s on the same course.”

The team has moved beyond how to do the maneuvers. Their focus is on how to do them better and faster. Evan continues, “We are learning how to push the boat in a race – constantly refining every maneuver, figuring out all the tiny changes to shave seconds off.” Teammate David Liebenberg adds, “We are trying to iron out the details of all of the maneuvers and how to conserve energy. No one has figured out how to best sail the boats with six people, but we are almost there.”

It was clear by the end of the day on Sunday just how far this team had come since its first encounter with an AC45 last November. They looked sharp and ready to go another round when practice was called for the day.

In this next training phase without OTUSA support, The Force is sailing three days a week on the SL33 catamaran that we’ve chartered for the next two months. It’s the same boat we’ve been alternating with the AC45, but now we’ll be using it to primarily work on two boat tactics with the other US team. The Force is also starting a new physical fitness program now that they won’t have the OTUSA trainers to work with every day. Strength and conditioning is going to be key to muscling these wicked fast catamarans around the course. Take a look at our new video on our exercise program:

The Force is also working hard on raising the money to reach the starting line of the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup. They are planning fundraisers, engaging in crowd source funding and signing new sponsors. Their next fundraiser is at the Golden Gate Yacht Club on June 21. Cooper is excited about making contact with team supporters and he hopes that, “aside from gaining support for our team, we can raise more excitement among the Bay Area sailing community for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup.”

Beyond the ever-important fundraising, The Force is moving ahead with their summer outreach program that includes educational efforts at the Treasure Island Sailing Center and the National Maritime Historic Park’s Hyde St. Pier. Cooper says, “Outreach is highly important to our team, and although we are training and striving to win this competition, we refuse to lose sight of how important it is to pass on the stoke of sailing to younger generations as well as those who don’t have the means to get out on the water themselves.”

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged sailing, sailing news, THE FORCE

HOW DO YOU SAIL TO HAWAII WITHOUT SIGHT?

Monday
Jun 17
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE - Everyone is guessing and speculating about the Challenged America double-handed entry of Urban Miyares and David Hopkins in this year’s legendary, 2,225 nautical mile Transpac Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu.

Now you can get the answers, first-hand, from Urban Miyares, co-founder of San Diego’s Challenged America Program. Where? Southwestern Yacht Club in San Diego on Monday June 24 at 6pm.

Posted in News, Sailing - Tagged sailing, sailing news

PAUL CAYARD SPEAKS

Sunday
Jun 16
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

AC NEWS – San Francisco TV station, ABC7 News’ Mark Matthews interviews Artemis Racing’s CEO, Paul Cayard, on the team’s attempts to recover from the fatal training incident on May 9, and when they expect to be sailing again.

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged americas cup, sailing, sailing news

HE DID IT!

Sunday
Jun 16
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

RECORD BREAKERS – Francis Joyon has just shattered the North Atlantic record: 5 days, 2 hours, 56 minutes and 10 seconds or in other words a time that is 16 hours, 34 minutes and 30 seconds less than the previous record set by Thomas Coville in 2008.

Over the final stretch, Francis Joyon came very close to beating his own outright distance record over 24 hours (666.2 miles) and this enabled the Breton skipper to make important gains over the second half of the crossing, in spite of sailing some distance away from the Great Circle Route.

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged FRANCIS JOYON, idec, sailing, sailing news

ORACLE VS. TEAM NZ

Saturday
Jun 15
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

AC NEWS – In the final episode of America’s Cup Discovered we join Ben Ainslie in Cowes, Isle of Wigh as his AC45 team JP Morgan BAR smash the Round the Island Race multihull record. Back in San Francisco we see ORACLE TEAM USA and Emirates Team New Zealand line up their AC72s for the first time on the future America’s Cup race course. The countdown is on to the Summer of Racing in San Francisco.

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged americas cup, sailing, sailing news

SAILING 12 HOURS AHEAD OF RECORD!

Saturday
Jun 15
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

RECORD BREAKERS – Covering 650 miles over the past 24 hours, Francis Joyon is close to his own 24-hour solo sailing distance record of 666 miles and is currently 12 to 13 hours ahead of the record. This figure alone reveals the incredible performance the sailor from Locmariaquer has achieved since setting out from New York on Wednesday. Sailing a long way south of the ideal, direct route, (Great Circle Route), which Thomas Coville managed to stick with for 4 days back in July 2008, Francis Joyon took up the huge challenge of sailing not merely above the speed of 21 knots, the average speed for the current record, but at more than 25 knots. Joyon continues to maintain these high speeds today and can look forward to finishing off The Lizard in the middle of the afternoon tomorrow (Sunday). In so doing, IDEC and Francis, with the loyal support of his router Jean-Yves Bernot, will achieve the unique feat of holding all four major solo sailing records.Full speed ahead to The Lizard

“What makes these multihulls so magical is that you can ask a lot of them; 25, 30 or 35 knots….” When Francis Joyon tells us this, he makes it all sound so banal. His calm voice reveals hardly anything of what has been a little over 4 days of a mammoth struggle in a very deep low-pressure area aboard a multihull, which behaves like a runaway horse. The simple fact does not explain the extent of the challenge he faced by going much further than the direct route followed by the current record-holder, Thomas Coville. And it does not reveal the stress, the ongoing danger, the risk taking that pushing this boat to the limit for such a long time without any easing off entails. But that is what was required for Francis Joyon, who was for more than half of the voyage behind schedule, to get back up with the track taken by his virtual opponent, and then to overtake him and leave him a long way in his wake. “I didn’t quite get the conditions I had for my 24-hour distance record,” added Francis, “as during the night, I slept for 3 hours! It is true that I have been completely stressed out ever since the start in New York.”A huge improvement on the current record

“The low is gradually getting ahead of me,” continued Francis, who was in fine form after the luxury of 3 hours of sleep, while the speed of his IDEC trimaran did not appear to be affected at all. “The wind will come around as we approach the British Isles, in other words instead of being from astern, will be on the beam. That won’t be quite as favourable for the speed,” explained Francis, as if making excuses; “But that should enable us to complete the crossing tomorrow afternoon.” The precise time is not yet clear.

Based on computer predictions and the most recent data, he is likely to pass in front of The Lizard between 1500 and 1600hrs UTC (1700-1800hrs CET) tomorrow (Sunday). This would mean an improvement on the current record of between 12 and 13 hours! There is unlikely to be any need for any major manoeuvres over the final 600 miles left to sail. “The low simply moved in the right direction to allow us to avoid gybing again.” Under full mainsail and staysail, Francis will merely have to hoist the genoa, once the wind veers to his left. Far from celebrating in advance as he approaches the continental shelf and the first tiny indicators that he is approaching the coast, Francis Joyon is stepping up his vigilance, paying careful attention to wear and tear on the boat, and more than ever remaining in tune with the behaviour of his big, red trimaran as she rides over the waves.

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged Francis Joyan, sailing, sailing news

100 MILES OFF THE PACE

Thursday
Jun 13
2013 1 Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

RECORD BREAKERS – Aboard his maxi-trimaran, IDEC, Francis Joyon is due to reach the halfway point of his voyage between New York and The Lizard this evening. While at lunchtime today, based on the mathematics, he was some 100 miles off the pace set by the current record-holder, Thomas Coville, the skipper of IDEC said he was pleased with the first part of the crossing. He managed to get away from the coast of North America with all its traps and hurdles: fog, all sorts of obstacles, winds that were variable in strength and direction.

IDEC, as if marking the start of the second stage of the transatlantic crossing gybed in the middle of the day. Francis Joyon has to stick with the strongest conditions associated with the low-pressure area with winds in excess of 25 knots. He will therefore gradually be easing his way back up to a more direct route, which will see him clock up the miles more easily towards the tip of SW England, where he will finish late this week. As the hours slip by, the sailor from Locmariaquer in Brittany is sounding more and more upbeat, as he sees the low moving in a clearer direction, allowing him to be in with every chance all the way to the British Isles

How to follow IDEC’s record attempt:

Live tracking / Charts
An interactive chart, updated every 15 minutes, will be available from the start on the website www.trimaran-idec.com

Posted in Article, News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged FRANCIS JOYON, idec, sailing, sailing news

KAYAK SAILING

Thursday
Jun 13
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

KOOL KAYAK SAILING – From FalconSailsUncut:

“Patrick Forrester & Kelley McCrate came to the 2013 South Bass Rendezvous early because there was some nice wind. We both used our brand new 1 square meter Falcon Sails with a carbon fiber mast and boom. The South Bass Rendezvous is held every second week end after Memorial Day at South Bass Island State Park. South Bass Island is at the East end of Lake Erie in the Bass Island Chain.

As a warm up on Wed we circumnavigated south bass clock wise. When we rounded the north east tip, we had great sailing conditions. It was challenging / not a beginner paddle sail.

The one thing we had going for us was years of rough water paddling and rescue experience. Otherwise we had some learning curves to deal with.

Kelley was on his 3rd paddle sail, and first rough condition paddle sail. I would not have blamed him for not wanting to pop a sail. He did awesomely. I saw him broach / round up on a breaking wave with the sail up one time. That is a lot of changing forces. I was amazed he stayed upright. If the skeg where down that may not have happened. A hard sweep or rudder stroke may have prevented it. Its not easy to get all the new forces under control. Next time I am sure he will be even more graceful.

Myself ( Patrick Forrester ), have been paddle sailing in rough conditions for years but had to deal with a new boat, and an attempt at using a traditional paddle. My new boat is an Epic 18x Sport. It is an amazing boat. The designer is genius. I could go on and on about all the things I like about it. It has great speed, comfort & plenty of maneuverability. The build is clean inside and out. Though it is very tippy in the chop. It takes some getting use to. That combined with not having much experience with a traditional paddle, lots of wind, breaking waves, shoals, trying to handle a camera, slowing down for Kelley’s not so speedy boat, my hands where full.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the South Bass Rendezvous, and other kayak sailing opportunities.”

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged sailing, sailing news

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER…

Wednesday
Jun 12
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

AC NEWS – Artemis news from the locals in SF. She will be ready maybe even early July if all goes well. Check it out from ABC news. This news also allows us to ask our question: “Who will win the America’s Cup?” NZ is ahead in the poll but ORACLE is gaining. Who will win? Vote in our XS poll to the right sight of our site. Will the XS collective choose the winner?

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged artemis challenge, sailing, sailing news

SAILING THE GREAT SALT LAKE

Wednesday
Jun 12
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

GREAT PLACES TO SAIL – Sailing on the Great Salt Lake. Part of the Utah Bucket List series from KUED and The Salt Lake Tribune.

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged GREAT SALT LAKE, sailing, sailing news

JUST IN…NEW FOOTAGE OF MXNEXT

Wednesday
Jun 12
2013 Leave a Comment

Written by XS Editor 2

COOL BOAT DESIGNS – Hot of the presses! – A short video introducing the brand new, all carbon mxNext, the lastest single-handed skiff for speed enthusiasts.

Posted in News, Racing, Sailing - Tagged mxnext, sailing, sailing news

Posts by XS Editor 2

WHAT IS THE 5-PLATFORM FIASCO?

USA HAMLIN STILL LEADS!

OMAN AIR ON THE MOVE

AROUND THE WORLD IN 50 FEET

SHINDIG IS FIRST TO FINISH!

USA LEADING IN EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS

PERCY TALKS ABOUT BART AND ARTEMIS

IN THE LEAD…

SAILING IN KOREA

THE FORCE IS WITH YOU

HOW DO YOU SAIL TO HAWAII WITHOUT SIGHT?

PAUL CAYARD SPEAKS

HE DID IT!

ORACLE VS. TEAM NZ

SAILING 12 HOURS AHEAD OF RECORD!

100 MILES OFF THE PACE

KAYAK SAILING

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER…

SAILING THE GREAT SALT LAKE

JUST IN…NEW FOOTAGE OF MXNEXT

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