Contents June 2016 FEATURES
22 Closer closer Under 7,000kg for the first time but sailing even higher and faster, ROB WEILAND looks at some of the more subtle TP52 developments for 2016
24 Raceboats to Wallys MARK MILLS and the engineers and builders at Persico Marine work to bring raceboat levels of weight concentration to the Wally Cento fleet…
Less of a throwback Ed Dubois’ Two Ton design Police Car went afloat late in 1978, well into the era of light, fractionally rigged Half Tonners but several years before fractional rigs became the norm in bigger IOR designs. But things did not start out particularly well when owner Peter Cantwell and his crew started racing on arrival in the UK; the Two Ton Cup in Poole that preceded the Admiral’s Cup was a light-air affair and Police Car struggled – she was also giving away half-a-foot of rating, being optimised for the Admiral’s Cup rather than the less important Two Ton event. But once the Australian team arrived in Cowes for the Admiral’s Cup itself the wind started to blow, and it continued to blow throughout the regatta, culminating in the rough 1979 Fastnet. Handed a windy regatta, Police Car was in her element, very fast reaching around the Solent, easy to de-power upwind and with relatively small spinnakers that were far easier to manage than the tall and narrow masthead chutes of most rivals. Once the breeze hit 20kt the blue Australian boat was almost unbeatable. And not only was she fast (and fun to sail), she proved more reliable than her competitors had hoped; remember that for its time this was a big rig to take offshore supported just by running backstays. Then in the gear-busting ’79 Fastnet the Australian crew ‘just’ reduced sail and surfed back from the rock under boomed out staysail, reefed main, plus storm jib, enjoying the benefits of their easily driven hull. Police Car did not ‘change everything’, but she certainly prompted a lot of the offshore racing community to think differently. Now restored, she is living out her dotage in Port Macquarie in New South Wales. Home once again
COVER: Guy Gurney INSET:
Benoit Stichelbaut 28 Sounds simple
But it’s not… SAM DAVIES explains the timeline and the sometimes harsh reality of putting together (and funding) a Vendée Globe programme
32 Relentlessly talented Behind every great modern Olympian… and standing behind 49er stars BURLING and TUKE is their coach HAMISH WILLCOX
35 Moving fast – staying dry And things have come a long, long way
36 Coming in from the cold… The growth in fast composite cruising cats has yet to be matched by a growth in opportunities for well organised but ‘sensible’ racing. NIGEL IRENS
40 Hidden world Until America’s Cup 2013 boat aerodynamics were addressed by few designers outside the C-Class. But not any more… explain PETE MELVIN, JB BRAUN and BILL PEARSON
44 Old dog masters new trick ANDY RICE watches the dominant match-racer of his generation move seamlessly into lightweight cats… (though the subsequent switch back to heavy monohulls did not go quite so smoothly)
REGULARS
4 Commodore’s letter MICHAEL BOYD
7 Editorial ANDREW HURST
8 Update ED DUBOIS created the first modern superyacht and now he is gone. Plus GILES SCOTT and a very bad day at the leeward gate, two Fireball world champions together as BOB FISHER chats with STEVE BENJAMIN, a nod to RON AMEY from navigator PAUL ANTROBUS and sorting your AC ducks out in time with JACK GRIFFIN
12 World news VINCENT RIOU will not be taking foils around the world with him, VPLP will design the foiling Figaro 3, as rival designers fume, New Zealand aims to fill in a rather irritating gap… Rio waters hold few fears for MAT BELCHER’s tight 470 team, PETER HOLMBERG does his bit, as DAVE PEDRICK and GARY JOBSON get the laughs. DOBBS DAVIS, IVORWILKINS, BLUE ROBINSON, PATRICE CARPENTIER, ANDY RICE, CARLOS PICH
20 Rod Davis Don’t be afraid to share to get ahead
26 World Sailing Surviving after the Olympic circus moves on
27 ORC column Looking after the little ones. DOBBS DAVIS
46 Design – A remarkable creation Ukrainian Olympic medallist RODION LUKA handed him the brief… and somehow Slovenian designer ANDREJ JUSTIN managed to meet it
48 Seahorse regatta calendar
50 RORC news EDDIE WARDEN-OWEN
52 Seahorsebuild table – Fresh start TORBJØRN LINDERSON believes that the Gunboat ‘survivors’ club’ could lead the way in widening the draw of ‘recreational’ cat racing
75 Sailor of the Month Contrasting skills but similar excellent outcomes
Looking down the startline in St Barths suggests the Caribbean circuit has come a long way from that early mix of ageing IOR boats and visiting cruisers. What is also interesting is that an increasing grand prix presence seems to lead to fewer rather than more grumbles about a much-improved CSA rating system, with IRC similarly well received at the Caribbean 600. Maybe this really is just a case of ‘chill out, mon’
NIC DOUGLAS
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