Contributors EDITOR Andrew Hurst
DESIGNER Stephen Stafford
Jérémie Beyou starts the Vendée Globe in a good place – a well-optimised proven boat skippered by a 3-time Figaro Race winner
SUB-EDITOR Sue Platt EUROPE
Patrice Carpentier Carlos Pich Tim Jeffery Rob Weiland
Torbjörn Linderson Andy Rice
Giuliano Luzzatto Jocelyn Blériot Brice Lechevalier
USA & CARIBBEAN Dobbs Davis Peter Holmberg Cam Lewis Dee Smith
Roland Gaebler never lost the faith when his beloved Tornado was dropped from the Olympics. Now he has another new plan
JAPAN
Yoichi Yabe Ken Toyosaki
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE Ivor Wilkins Blue Robinson Rob Brown Rob Mundle Julian Bethwaite
COLUMNISTS Paul Cayard Rod Davis
Dave Witt is a legend in the 18-foot skiffs but now he’s taking on something a bit different… leading Hong Kong’s Volvo programme
AC TECHNICAL Terry Hutchinson David Hollom Steve Killing Andy Claughton Jack Griffin
ACCOUNTS AND CIRCULATION Kirstie Jenkins & Wendy Gregory
ADVERTISING MANAGER Graeme Beeson
Ian Walker knows all about running a VOR campaign but this year he’s staying warm and dry in the TP52 Super Series
Email:
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Tom Whidden is the ultimate man ‘behind the man’, except when he’s running North Sails… the man being Dennis Conner
6 SEAHORSE
Seahorse International Sailing is published monthly by Fairmead Communications Ltd, 5 Britannia Place, Station Street, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 3BA, UK. USA subscribers: Seahorse International Sailing (USPS 010-341) is distributed in the USA by SPP, 75 Aberdeen Rd, Emigsville, PA 17318. Periodicals’ postage paid at Emigsville PA. POSTMASTER: please send address changes to Seahorse International Sailing c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318. Distribution by Comag Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction without prior written permission is prohibited.
Three-time Figaro winner Jérémie Beyou takes a moment during capsize checks on his revamped Imoca 60 Maître Coq, formerly Vendée Globe runner-up Banque Populaire
The Myth of Malham race was a patchy breeze and tidal challenge but featured a sweet win for Stuart Greenfield’s Silver Shamrockin Class 4. She was the subject of a most thorough restoration last winter and, with her silver hull wrap, is a striking-looking boat. She was designed by Ron Holland for Harold Cudmore and built in Cork 40 years ago. She was famous then for her 1976 victory in the Half Ton Cup in Trieste and for her subsequent sail into the centre of Venice under spinnaker… just one of many exploits that have made Harold a legend. I remember thinking how wild and exotic it all was. Early June saw much excitement about the Volvo Round
Ireland Race, a RORC-endorsed 704-mile event run by Wicklow Sailing Club and this year with a record 65-strong entry. These include the three MOD 70s Concise, Oman Sailand Phaedo. This is the first year for multihulls and, despite the light
weather to date, I think we can safely expect to see a new race record. Also likely to receive special welcomes are George David’s Rambler, Eric de Turckheim’s Teasing Machineand Richard Loftus’s Desperado. RORC was also pleased to extend its Sailgate race-management system to Wicklow for the event. And keep an eye out for Lisa, keen to reinforce her leading series position in this 1.4X point-scoring event. Finally, a recent invitation took us to Arundells in Salisbury to celebrate the sailing life of Sir Edward Heath, former Prime Minister and of Morning Cloudfame. His excellent book, Sailing, A Course of my Life, echoes Sir Francis Chichester’s response when asked ‘Why?’ to long-distance sailing. He said, simply, ‘because it intensifies life’.
Michael Boyd Commodore
q
Commodore’s letter
Peter Morton’s Carkeek 40 Mk3, Girls on Film, in the glamorous Fast 40+ class. But a family double in the Quarter Tonner class slipped out of Louise Morton’s grasp as Bullitwas pipped by Sam Laidlaw’s Aguila by half a point. Louise’s supportive cockapoo, Bruce, was inconsolable at the prizegiving. Offshore racing has seen some great sights including an overall win for Ian and Laura Ivermee’s Sigma 33, Woozle Hunter, in the North Sea Race – a big outcome for a small boat; further success for Giles Fournier’s J133, Pintia, in the Myth of Malham race, by eight seconds from Nick and Suzie Jones’s Lisa; and most remarkable of all perhaps, the return of this magazine’s accomplished editor to offshore racing – after a 16-year interval – aboard Michel Peretie’s JND 39, Stamina, a French candidate for this year’s Brewin Dolphin Commodores’ Cup. Welcome back, Andrew!
T
he early stages of the RORC domestic season have provided much close racing and a few surprises. Inshore, a competitive and lively Vice Admiral’s Cup three-day weekend off Cowes saw close racing in several classes – Quarter Tonner, J109, J111, SB20, HP30 and Fast 40+. Among the winners was
JM LIOT/DPPI
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