Contents November 2023 FEATURES
4 It’s good to be King GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
32 My ‘favourite’ topic When is a sheet not a sheet? ROB WEILAND
34 The flipside We may be closer to extinction than we think. ANDY CLAUGHTON
Good in parts The takeaways from the first America’s Cup pre-regatta were instructive. The AC40s are something else, one design foiling yachts sailed by four crew, capable of delivering some spectacular sailing and also spectacular racing. If they really can be purchased as suggested for US$2-3million it will be a great shame if the energetic AC40 class manager Luca Rizzotti cannot persuade enough private owners to have a go. Ten would be a good number to aim for – the TP52s have proved that for the highest levels of racing this is plenty enough. A lot depends upon who leaves Barcelona with the biggest smile; if the Cup leaves foiling monohulls there could be a ready-made fleet for sale at fire sale prices. (Anyone recall those fab $250,000 Protector marshalls’ super-RIBs sold off post-Valencia 2007 for just a few cents on the dollar). Some privately owned AC40s will provide employment for many of the Cup shore crews too. So boats good, racing a big disappointment. All the teams threw their weight behind the event but sailing needs wind, even at this level. Because of some – but certainly not all – of their major decisions to date, the America’s Cup holders are not especially popular right now around the bases in Port Vell. Dragging teams 25km down the coast for a regatta, for another chunk of change, was just a bit too obvious… and also not awfully green, eh? Now comes Jeddah and a much bigger chunk of change; along with issues of safety, conditions and politics. A great Cup team should not be in this position. Here’s hoping for a desert breeze
COVER: Gilles Martin-Raget INSET: Ingrid Abery
36 Never too late to party After 14 days in the water the French Cup boys put on quite a show. BRUNO DUBOIS
38 There are no coincidences Time to finish the hull, put on the deck and head out to sea. DAN HOUSTON and BO ERIKSSON
42 A question of balance PATRICE CARPENTIER counts the many lives of offshore champion CORINNE MIGRAINE
44 Tool for the job How three old skiffies are dealing with the advancing years. MICHAEL KENNEDY, ‘GT’ TURNER AND JULIAN BETHWAITE
48 Here we go again – Part I DAVE HOLLOM gets started again ahead of AC37… beginning with cavitation and foil choice
REGULARS
6 Commodore’s letter JAMES NEVILLE
9 Editorial ANDREW HURST
12 Update When it’s good it’s good, but when it’s not it’s bad
(very bad), on top in Porto Cervo (finally) plus solid steel… SANTI LANGE. JACK GRIFFIN, TERRY HUTCHINSON, CARLOS PICH
18 World news He helped to launch an industry, don’t mess with the Figaro Race, party-time in La Trinité, the other squadron throws all its weight behind the cause and VICTOR KOVALENKO gets dressed up. Plus Barcelona misgivings. IVOR WILKINS, MAGNUS WHEATLEY, BLUE ROBINSON, PATRICE CARPENTIER, CARLOS PICH, DOBBS DAVIS, STUART CHILDERLEY
30 ORC
– The problem with age DOBBS DAVIS
31 IMA – No surprises ANDREW MCIRVINE
52 TechStreet
59 Seahorsebuild table – Maturing FRANÇOIS CHEVALIER
66 RORC – Three from three A clean sweep and lessons for others in London Corinthian’s 2023 Fastnet. RAY CAMPION
68 Regatta calendar
SUPERYACHTS 70 It was true after all… MATTIAS SVENLIN & SAM EVANS
98 October 1983 DEE SMITH
99 Sailor of the Month And a definite flavour of persistence this month
Dennis Conner steers Stars&Stripes upwind in Fremantle in 1987 in impromptu testing against Syd Fischer’s Peter Cole design Steak ‘n’ Kidney – by now excused from the Defence trials. Conner’s choice of tuning partner was very deliberate – the long and heavy Cole design was close to S&S in concept and Conner later shared that he thought it was potentially the best of the Australian 12s in a big breeze. Note also that tactician Tom Whidden is wearing some old 6 Metre waterproofs; very different times
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
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