Update
the final sailing event using the pool of athletes from the other sailing classes – like a decathlon. l This is a sector of the sport that represents some 80 per cent of sailors, with powerful clubs behind them. l Our next two Olympic venues beyond Tokyo – Marseilles and Los Angeles – have both asked for it and are supportive. For France in particular this would be huge. There’s still hope: another round of submissions can be made
before 1 August for discussion at the World Sailing AGM in November in Sarasota, and some countries – like the US – will keep the pressure on before the final vote.
TAILORED FOR TWO – Joe Lacey The ArMen offshore race in Brittany was founded in 2010 by Antoine Croyère (now president of the Société Nautique de La Trinité sur Mer) and has grown into one of France’s most important offshore events. The 320nm course starts and finishes in La Trinité and takes competitors north past Belle Île, the Île de Groix and the ‘Archipel des Glénan’ before passing the Ar Men lighthouse, heading all the way south round the Île d’Yeu then returning to La Trinité. This year was the eighth edition of the race and it was clear that
an interesting design battle was in prospect. IRC 1 was shaping up to be a fascinating battle between Courrier Recommandé (the first JPK1180 to be launched, on this occasion skippered by local sailmaker François Lamiot) and Lann Aël (Didier Gaudoux’s JND39 which won the 2017 Fastnet). However, as the boats entered Quiberon Bay the wind began to die away which handed victory in both IRC1 and IRC overall to Nicolas Groleau’s impeccably sailed and prepared canting-keel Mach 45 Bretagne Télécom. Courrier crossed the line two minutes after Lann Aël but 52 minutes ahead of her on corrected time to take second overall. The largest class was the double-handed IRC division with 41
entries. The fleet encountered periods of both very strong and very little wind and 15 boats eventually retired. The class was dominated by boatbuilder Yann Dube and Figaro champion Xavier Macaire, sailing on Yann’s innovative and unusual-looking Marc Lombard- designed Ofcet 32, who kept pace with the best of the JPK1080s on the water to win by over an hour on corrected time. This was the first big result for the aggressively contemporary-
looking Ofcet 32 which struggled in its debut season in 2017. However, over the winter 180kg has been removed from the keel and the upwind sail area was boosted by 3m2 – the changes have evidently worked very well indeed. The Ofcet was the first IRC design to appear that was directly
targeted at shorthanded offshore racing and Marc Lombard initially played it a little conservatively with respect to both displacement/ righting moment and sail area. But now that it is clear that the best shorthanded IRC sailors are pushing almost as hard as their crewed rivals he felt the time was right for the brakes to come off.
SNAPSHOTS Brought to you in association with
q
The Marc Lombard Ofcet 32 did not find immediate success but, reconfigured with more sail and less lead, now goes well. Lombard did not play it safe on styling on his first IRC design created to race shorthanded – but there is plenty of room down below…
14 SEAHORSE
l Seriously…J/70 teams are refusing to submit pre-event crew lists for fear of being out-hired l As in…out-spent l Grow up… l Bish…bosh l Sailor…of the Month (former) young Steve Baker won the Junior Gold Cup in Bermuda l Out-voted…by Goodie, Taylor Canfield won the grown-ups l Still…early days l But…growing UK composites company Fibre Mechanics has secured the slot as European builder of the IC37 Melges One-Design l Good…choice l Curious…‘the world’s fastest Imoca 60’ is for sale l That’s…Hugo Boss to you l Their words…not ours l Mean…turn of phrase if you finished 2nd in the Vendée Globe l As we say…their words not ours l T’rific…José Luis Doreste saw off a 350-boat fleet to win this year’s Finn Masters l One…of the nicest guys in the sport l And…one of the best l Two…Star world titles and a gold medal in the Finn l In case…you missed ’em l Close… l Mapfre…beat Brunel home on Volvo leg 8 by 1m 1s l Brunel…beat AkzoNobel home on leg 9 by 4m l But…Akzo got the 24-hour record... l With…Martine Grael nicking her own dad’s previous mark l No…respect, girl l Jolly jingo…a 50-boat limit for the Class40s in the Route du Rhum l And…at least seven skippers already on the waiting list l Plus…11 Class40s contested the 2018 Atlantic Cup in the USA l You don’t…say… l Auckland…planning chief Chris Darby thinks the $178million cost of building the new Cup venue may yet rise l You’re one…shrewd cookie, Chris l Immaculate…timing l Days…after Sir Ben’s Cup challenge switched colours l New sponsor…marathon man Jim Ratcliffe was nominated wealthiest man in Britain l Oh yes…£22billion l And…change l Grumpy…skipper of the team’s TP52 ride, Tony Langley l Former…ride, that is l Single figure…billions l Never had…a chance l Trim on… l Significant…wave height, they call it l 24m…is one big puppy in anyone’s language l Recorded…last month south of New Zealand l Two more…Cup challengers from Sardinia and the USA l Nice idea…but we doubt it l Sadly… l Blown away…Rán’s new Fast40+ crushes it on her racing debut l Rematch…slightly less blown away l Still…blown away l If…Shaun Carkeek’s design is right... l The bills…ahead could be big l An…estimate for Rán was circa 1.5million euros l Build to…the limit... l Even…more refined, another one-off could run to 2million euros l Now that…could be a problem l More…next month l Quick hire…Sailor of the Month Paul Goodison has gone to Terry Hutchinson’s New York YC Cup challenge l As has…Bora Gulari l That’s…a lot of Moth world titles between two blokes l Almost…sold out l At…RaceBoatsOnly l Then…ScuttlebuttEurope l Now…put the kettle on
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 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96
