Editorial Andrew Hurst Congrats
Knut Frostad and Ian Walker deserved to be the happiest two men in Lorient after the English skipper secured the race at his third attempt and Knut Frostad finally knew that he had indeed dragged the event back from the brink. Walker, remarkably, is the first English skipper to win this race (an extraordinarily poor track record for the nation that created the event in 1972, provided a large proportion of the entrants and also enjoys a fairly tidy sea-going history).
After a successful career in Olympic, offshore and one-design classes Walker knew his first Volvo challenge in 2008 was at best paying his dues. Underfunded and overbuilt, the boat and programme were a gutsy thing to take on. Others would have declined. Attempt two, in 2011, warranted higher expectations. A proper budget, the gravitas to attract a top crew and what initially looked to be a good boat. It was not to be –the boat was slow and Walker learned about ‘following a fleet around the world’s longest course’. A one-design was the perfect way to drag a by now bruised British skipper back for a third time. Many others were drawn for the same reason: the certainty that while not having a design edge, there was conversely no longer the risk of being out-designed. For a confident sailor the risk-reward was good.
Going one-design was one of many radical changes that Frostad forced on the race and importantly then sold to his masters at Volvo. An early commitment for at least two more races was a major result for the business-like Norwegian windsurfing enthusiast. Frostad has certainly transformed the race into a viable commercial vehicle that continues to promote sailing and offer valuable
employment. Yes, he has completely changed the face of the race but he also saved it from extinction. What choice was there? And the Southern Ocean has no highway managers, it is still there as an arena for the future. For those who can’t wait there is always the Vendée Globe.
Zero risk?
Contrary to what you read elsewhere, Walker could still have lost the Volvo Ocean Race after Lorient. All he had to do was be found at fault in a shipping drama or incur a large and unforeseen racing penalty. So why start, if the only possible way to lose is to leave the dock? In these circumstances, ‘sitting it out’ would certainly have been discussed by some of Walker’s predecessors.
But times change and here for the better. The show must be delivered because, thankfully, a much wider audience now follows this great contest. I gather that in this instance the discussion never came close to even taking place. Interesting thought, though.
Revelling in the majesty
OK, calm down, dear. But honestly, how good is it to see nine absolutely top-of-the-tree grand prix custom yachts line up for the TP52 Super Series?
When the collapse in custom builds reached its nadir with the IMS experiment, sailing shrewdly embraced one-designs for its more competitive teams with wider encouragement of regular cruiser-racers for others. Great one-designs appeared, we all went racing again and a new chapter had begun. In the face of the downturn, offshore racing survived in surprisingly good shape.
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Waving not drowning. This is not a picture of MotoGP God Marc Márquez (22) coming off his bike, it is of him cornering at over 100mph and getting away with a lean angle recorded at 68 degrees (sic). Márquez wears chafe plates right up to his shoulders. He is also an extremely nice chap… unbearable really
But we had lost something special. It may still be ‘only’ nine TP52s so far, but eight are new builds and once again people can see just how elegant and impressive a pure raceboat can be. The technology is great, the build and sails wonderful and the boathandling can make you blink. There is something to pore over at the dock once again. These custom boats are immeasurably faster than before and yet the racing is as tight as ever. They are indeed as good as they look. Technology is so important to sailing; now there is another glamorous platform on which to showcase it.
I gather you gentlemen have a problem with a bill?
– Alan Bond addresses bankers to whom Bond Corp owes over AUS$1.5billion
Funny how as soon as the bankers stopped lunchtime drinking and started working harder the global financial
system collapsed – (thirsty) Wall St trader
At three-all Warren (Jones) rang up the Americans: ‘Assuming we win tomorrow, what’s the arrange- ments for handing the Cup over?’
– John ‘Chink’ Longley, Australia II
down in New York – Longley
There were no plans, the Cup was still bolted
With the greatest respect, Team SCA has set women’s sailing back 25 years
– Brian Hancock (bravely raising his head)
Utter bollocks – Blue Robinson
HUSH It’s blowing 30kt with 4m waves. It’s on the edge
– Gonzalo Infante, VOR meteo
It’s fairly obvious that in the last Cup they didn’t have a clue how to design foils for
lifting the boat out – Alan Smith (pg36)
Mankind is just one small but essential step in the evolution of the
computer – anon
Seahorse magazine and our associate raceboatsonlybrokerage site are both at:
seahorsemagazine.com The editor is contactable by email at:
andrew@seahorse.co.uk
SEAHORSE 7
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TINO MARTINO
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