Contributors EDITOR Andrew Hurst
DESIGNER Stephen Stafford
Nigel Irens is known for his naval architecture but he is also one of the most instructive people with whom to discuss the sport
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
Sam Davies is sitting this Vendée Globe out to allow husband Romain his go, a fair trade for the support she’ll be expecting in 2020
JAPAN
Yoichi Yabe Ken Toyosaki
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE Ivor Wilkins Blue Robinson Rob Brown Rob Mundle Julian Bethwaite
COLUMNISTS Paul Cayard Rod Davis
Hamish Willcox with helm David Barnes were 470 legends; a perfect launch to then becoming one of the very best coaches in sailing
AC TECHNICAL Terry Hutchinson David Hollom Steve Killing Andy Claughton Jack Griffin
ACCOUNTS AND CIRCULATION Kirstie Jenkins & Wendy Gregory
ADVERTISING MANAGER Graeme Beeson
Mat Belcher could only manage bronze at the 2016 470 worlds… Of course he was defending the title for the sixth straight year
Email:
graeme@seahorse.co.uk EDITORIAL
Tel: 44 (0) 1590 671899 Fax: 44 (0) 1590 671116 Mobile: 44 (0) 7976 773901 Skype: graemebeeson
Web:
www.seahorsemagazine.com ISSN 0143-246X
E-mail:
info@seahorse.co.uk
Tel: 44 (0) 1590 671898 Fax: 44 (0) 1590 671116
Subscribe to Seahorse
www.seahorse.co.uk/shop/subs www.seahorsemagazine.com/subscribe 1yr Print UK£56/$84/€90/ROW£76 1yr Digital £35
Tel: 44 (0) 1590 610691 Fax: 44 (0) 1590 671116
subscriptions@seahorse.co.uk
Rodion Luka was a world champion and an Olympic medallist before he turned all his focus to promoting racing back in the Ukraine
4 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.
Seahorse project ‘gentle nudge’ continues with a reminder that even in its decline there were still a ‘few’ adequately resourced owners competitive enough to build new boats for the unofficial world championship of offshore racing
the Prix d’Elegance victor, Conor Phelan’s Jump Juiceand his well turned-out crew, and Easter eggs for, among others, race- winning Cowes glitterati and a knight of the realm, no less. A brilliant feature of the Easter Challenge is the tough love dispensed by a superb team of on-the-water coaches at the video-illustrated sessions after racing. These attracted a large, attentive and occasionally chastened audience. Jim Saltonstall, honoured GBR coach and mentor, was great company ashore and afloat and his observation about ours being the most challenging of all sports was well illustrated. An MOB (strictly speaking, WOB) in Cowes was a reminder of the risks inherent in our sport. Shortly afterwards we learned of the tragic loss and burial at sea of Sarah Young from Ichor- Coal in the Clipper round-the-world race. We express our deep condolences to her fellow crew and competitors as well as to her family.
In other sad news we heard of the death of Ed Dubois at a
young age. Ed was a member of RORC for over 30 years and often stopped at the club during his visits to London. He designed some very beautiful and fast boats – I remember racing on the striking red Immigrantin Barbados – and he was a lovely man. We send sympathy to his wife, Honor, his children and his wide circle of admirers. Finally, a footnote from Spi Ouest. Astute followers may have noticed a little JPK 10.80 win IRC 2. We may perhaps hear a little more of Audrey this season…
Michael Boyd Commodore
q
Commodore’s letter T
his time of year takes those of us in the Northern Hemisphere out of hibernation, certainly those of us who have not been fortunate enough to be wintering in the West Indies. Two events to scatter the cobwebs are the RORC Easter Challenge in Cowes and Spi Ouest Regatta in La Trinité sur Mer. Both take place over the holiday weekend, this year’s particularly early Easter falling at the end of March. Brought up when March was con- sidered deepest winter and gentlemen rarely ventured to sea before the end of May, I had studiously avoided the Cowes event until this year (other than to present some of the prizes!). And I realised how much fun I had been missing. A mix of conditions, typical for this time of year, saw moderate breezes and sunshine succeeded by strong winds and gale force squalls. These latter made for riveting viewing (from a RIB), especially of the growing and rapid Fast 40 fleet. Boat handling was at a premium – a moment’s lapse in concentration on one well-known boat leading to a spectacular windward broach rapidly followed by a full spin. Stylish. Congratulations to our worthy winners. The prizegiving at our packed Cowes clubhouse was fun and included a decanter for
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76