There’s no hiding those dramatic lift-foils when the new Verdier-VPLP designed Safran undergoes her self-righting test. If the new foil arrangement works as well as some are anticipating – in conjunction with an updated hull shape – then there are going to be a lot of concerned Imoca 60 skippers out there… with a lap time reduction of as much as two days being predicted for the 2016 Vendée Globe
nicely positioned after the Caribbean 600 and the BVI events. This year has attracted Jim Clark’s 100-footer Comanche, George David’s new Rambler 88, Jim Schwartz’s well-travelled TP52 Vesper and a host of high-performance raceboats. It is good to see and I suspect a sign of things to come.
The combination of coastal and windward/leeward races requires a lot of navigational recon and understanding. It can be quite stressful for the navigators onboard a boat that draws 5.2m as Belladoes. The charts don’t show all the rocks – and, as I said, stressful. For Bella this is another woulda/coulda event from last year and, quite frankly, trying to put the memory behind us as we broke the mast. So we will get through the week, take it a little easier on the lay day, and be a little more focused on Friday! AC happenings: it has been interesting to follow the unbeliev- able changes of the America’s Cup and the audacity of the ACEA management. In an effort to not bag sailing or the event, I share the view expressed in an open letter from Bob Fisher. Bob is a friend of many in the sport and what he wrote is spot-on and, in the end, I feel that the sport of sailing is the big loser. There is absolutely no clear logic and, regardless of what is said by ACEA management, the harsh reality is they have a credibility issue. In the 34th AC promises were made and yet not a lot kept. The shining star remains the match and yet it does not overshadow the fact of the disaster that has since unfolded. Logic would say pull your head out and have a look around at areas of the sport that are thriving if you want to know which direction to take the America’s Cup: nine new TP52s built for the 2015 season... hmm. Seems like a pretty good place to start for a training boat. What is the counter to this argument? Cost-effectiveness by going smaller in size. While shorter, I suspect that a 40-some- thing foiling catamaran would have as many, if not more, moving parts. But this is the America’s Cup and cheap is not in the programme so let’s stop kidding ourselves. Entries: increasing entries because of size. Well, if helping out a French team with design secures an entry and a Japanese team led by Larry’s friend secures another and yet Luna Rossa leaves, then that is a step backwards when considering the brand image of Prada. No other way to skin that cat.
A bit of a broken record here and in the end it is hard to make sense of logic that is illogical. Some will read this and say ‘he wants it like it used to be’. Well, there is a lot of truth to that statement… 2007 in Valencia had 11 teams. If that is how it used to be, I can think of an entire sailing industry that would gladly take the good ol’ days.
What’s the outcome? Who knows but, if history serves as a guide, I would suspect that the status quo prevails and, well, that would be a shame.
Standing by 46ft above sea level in one of the best sailing spots in the world… St Barths
NOTHING’S TOO HARD – Sophie Ciszek, Team SCA Seahorse Magazine: The bow is the physically toughest job on the boat; how did you prepare for that? Sophie Ciszek: I came into the team as a bowman, that was my main experience having sailed onboard 60 and 100-footers. I knew what to expect from our first training boat, the Volvo 70, as far as loads and weights of sails went and how physical it would be. So no special training but the team did do a lot of gym training, working on pure strength, with plenty of focus on core stability and how to lift properly. SH: How vocal were the physios on this? SC: They definitely made that point as these boats are just so physical – particularly for the bowman, moving and working around the boat in every awkward position. But basically every physio and doctor tells you: A) Don’t move around when you are lifting, B) Not to lift a 100kg sail, and C) Always giving every bit of energy to what you do… not the best combination! SH: How easily does that caution translate to racing?
NUTSHELL – Julian Everitt
Retro, retro, retro. Can anybody tell me the point (pun intended) of dreadnought bows apart from a nod to a bygone era? Like ‘fashionable’ plumb bows, they look even odder when matched to bowsprits designed to extend the platform for the rig. Here’s an idea. Draw a line between the end of the bowsprit and the waterline and fill it in with hull. Oh... I forgot the upright bow is modern and cutting edge. When exactly did the latest incarnation of this concept start? Around 1987, I think. And if your answer to the question is that the design is faster. Fair enough. But then it should be rated. Now for something more ‘fun’ and demonstrably not retro. The America’s Cup. Wow! Isn’t it fantastic what is going down. Semi one-design flying cats. Perfect tools for boat-on-boat match racing. Like chess speeded up 10 times. A match of intellectual prowess over in a mere 30 minutes. And even more significantly, now everyone can have a go. Simply go to your local dealer (Oracle One Design, I think it’s called), buy a couple of hulls and crossbeams and a book on how to design foils and you’re set. If you don’t want to tax your grey cells with the esoteric art of foil design, you can even get a helping hand for that from the Oracle boys.
Larry, after spending countless millions winning the oldest trophy in sport will, at a stroke, pull off the ultimate egalitarian coup of the century. Spike the guns of the billionaires and return the Cup to the people. Far from the problem of Bermuda being a big enough venue to cope with 62ft cats, now with the prospect of countless home-built challengers vying for the Cup, will there be enough space for them all?
SEAHORSE 11
CHRISTOPHE BRESCHI
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