but at the same time I just gotta ignore everything else and focus on the one thing, so at least make a big step forward in that one thing.’ (Those still intent on ‘draining the swamp’ might want to adopt this mono-tasking approach.) Only time will tell if Page can make good on his promise of two
US Olympic medals in 2020. For now, he says, all he can do is ‘just keep getting the hands dirty, keep doing the groundwork; that’s what’s going to get us there as quickly as possible.’ ‘Are we late?’ Page nods. ‘Yes. Are we underfunded? Yes. I believe
they’re the two biggest issues that we’ve got to deal with going forward. But we have the potential. There have been no major errors. The right things are being built.’
TIME OUT! – Terry Hutchinson Quite the whirlwind, Copa del Rey on Bella Mente and then in very short order the RC44 Worlds on Nika. Copa del Rey aboard the Bellawas our final test prior to the Maxi72
World Championship. For Bella Mente it was another opportunity to measure our performance against the fleet, all now in worlds configuration. And this one left us with some head scratching. Momo, Cannonball and Proteus gave us an absolute beat down. The differences: Momo and Proteus are both three years newer
in design, Cannonball six years newer from Botín partners. All three have an edge upwind on Bella Mente. Momomade the biggest jump from 2016 to 2017. She changed fin profile, swapped sail suppliers to Quantum, changed people, and a few other bits of componentry in the rig and rake; together it spells dramatic improvement. Sitting across on another rail watching the three perform, it is
impressive. But the beat down we took in Palma is also a measure. To be successful in Sardinia will require flawless sailing. The race- course in Palma is longer, 2.8nm beats versus 2.1nm in Porto Cervo. The sea-state is slightly more in Porto Cervo versus the perfectly flat water of Palma Bay and we feel that this gives us our best chance. What it means is I have to get us away clean on the startline and
allow Bella to sail on target for the first seven minutes of the beat. Control instead of being controlled is critical to a shot at success. From Palma the next stop was Marstrand, Sweden, where the
cooler temperatures were a welcome relief from the oppressive heat of Spain. Stepping back onto Nika for the third event of the season, I felt a chip on my shoulder from the previous event. Regardless of some of the obvious design features in the fleet of 72s we operate heavily under the mentality of ‘it is a poor craftsman who blames their tools’. With the RC44 we were going one-design! Onboard Nika we had a week that in some ways may have been
the wind gods acknowledging that the previous week in Palma Bay was rough. Day 1 Nika came off the water with a 2pt lead, Day 2 6pt, Day 3 15pt. Nika won with a race to spare. Compared to the start of the 2017 tour this time we started very
well, low risk but always had a lane out the middle. Three years ago when Gazpromwon the event I distinctly remember that they executed a very similar strategy so we never put ourselves in positions of risk off the line. Next, Vladimir [Liubomirov] raised his game. No more complicated than we asked him for laser focus on the startline and upwind and he delivered. I banged on (really, I did!) for six days that we will be as smart as we are fast and he drove exceptionally well. The result at this one was a bit tipped towards Nika, but this fleet
is as tight as you’d expect with well-sailed one-designs. You only have to look at the season scores with the top three all tied on 10pt and sixth only 4pt away. The fleet is allowed to drop the worst score but everybody counts the world championship and the last event of the season. That definitely promotes participation, a smart way of approaching it if the overall goal is the season championship. At this writing I am done with the recharge and have to finish the
season strong. Maxi72, TP52, and more RC44 are on the docket. Plus there is a lot of excitement about the possibilities with the
America’s Cup. After seeing the past three years of incredible racing with these fleets it is easy to see what ETNZ could do to help boost our sport. I guess this time next month we will know more. Exciting times, to say the least. Standing by in Harwood, MD with thoughts and prayers out to the gulf coast of Texas as Hurricane Harvey wreaks havoc
q
l Fanbobitastic… in every sense l The brothers… Harken, Peter and Olaf, led (extreme) celebrations in Pewaukee on the occasion of their baby’s 50th birthday l Just wait… for issue 453! l Yoh… ‘le mot’ en France is that Mini Scow inventer (and Mini Transat champion) David Raison is talking IRC scows l Mixed emotions… what Dean Barker admitted he experienced as his former Cup team crossed the line in Bermuda... l Quelle… surprise l AC solace… Spithill’s new house on the Marina in San Francisco l A cool... US$18million? l So… says fellow California resident Dennis Conner l Adding that… Oracle ‘B-Team’ grinders were on $300,000 l DC… loves that ‘B-Team’ thing (as do we) l Hang in there… Burling l You’ve got… time l Quelle surprise… no2 l Disrupter… not everyone is happy at losing a hull for the Cup l As... storm clouds rise over Lake Geneva l The… one in Switzerland (dummy) l Meeow… mee-bloody-ow: l One month… after the Cup and pretty much all content was gone from the AC35 website l But… you can (err, you will) be sent to the clothing store l Much… price cutting there l Kiwi team… in the Volvo? l Post-AC… froth? l Odd… to let Burling and Tuke go elsewhere if that’s the case l We’re biased… as you know l But… it’s great to see New Zealand move towards the O’pen BIC junior class l And… away from the floating coffin l Oppi mums… of the world l Fire up… your keyboards l Is dinghy… as opposed to foiler racing morphing into an activity primarily for the more genteel? l Well… the Finn Masters and OKs are experiencing record entries l Even… the Fireball and 505 are emerging from a zombie state l They did it… again l A bonkers mix… of boat types filled the Fastnet leaderboard l It may not… be perfect, but IRC’s for sure still improving l Especially… as ‘fast’ boats did better than ever this year l On the other… hand l The… 1939 Laurent Giles design Whooper of former Team New Zealand engineering head Giovanni Belgrano l Keeps… adding to her large haul of inshore IRC silverware l So… more work still needed, chaps l But please… hurry up l Vive… la vitesse, mes enfants l BTW… the Fastnet was also OK for the JPK yard (again) l Winning… in every class they competed in l Merde… les Froggies l Some people… worry too much... l There are… indeed sailors ‘over there’ getting agitated at the prospect of our Kim taking out their GPS l Go, Golden Globe… if you’re really that concerned l Err… on second thoughts l Not a moment… too soon l Comanche… Honey has been inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame l A very big… loss this month with the passing of boatbuilding innovator Meade Gougeon (see next issue) l A highlight… the majority of 1970s wood-epoxy raceboats (well) built with Gougeon technology are still going very strong indeed l Including… a splendid 1976 example in our house fleet l That’s… real innovation l PS… wood? l Ask… Dad l When… you’ve done that check out RaceBoatsOnly and ScuttlebuttEurope both at
www.seahorsemagazine.com l And if you find… an example of Gougeon’s work send us a pic l And if you buy one… send us cash l Thanks…
SEAHORSE 13
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