Contents September 2022 FEATURES
4 Less boat more foil ELOI STICHELBAUT
36 Race assist? ROB WEILAND suggests we should be acting much faster to get ahead of the AI elephant
Photographer’s dream One by one the Maxis, Superyachts and J Class are coming back out after the hiatus of the last two years. For owners, skippers and campaign managers of the big yachts, the idea of entering an event, booking flights and accommodation in the hope you’d duck any unexpected lockdowns… when you are flying in a racing crew of 44 (Hetairos) and a comparable shore crew, or a ‘normal’ Maxi crew of 20-30, a last-minute cancellation is too painful to risk. There were a few positives; some of the more confident and experienced owners, having had crew grounded in a land far away… trialled IRC credits for reduced crew numbers. A big success and after that unplanned test many Maxi owners are now intending to persevere. Then there were cases where crew and yacht are prepped and ready to roll, then the owner is stranded or tests positive. Some encouraged their boys and girls to go out to play, understandably most didn’t! But more important than the sporting aspects, having the big boats out there and their hundreds of crew employed again, is the effect on the venues where the yachts race. Many Superyacht regatta venues learned to depend on a short-term but substantial boost in income when the big boats were in town – income that fed out across the local economy. Following disasters, the sailing community is often at the front when it’s time to help – aiding communities into which they have been made so welcome. With the yachts and ‘yachties’ back in town more regularly, much needed financial support can again become something to budget for, not just to pray for if and when the worst happens
COVER: Ingrid Abery
38 Tipping point – Part I When an unknown, light but dramatically agile sailor named JOHN BERTRAND won his first Laser world title people looked up. When he won the Finn Gold Cup weighing little more than before… finally everything changed. KIMBALL LIVINGSTON
42 Prepared to look stupid
– Part II SEAN LANGMAN meets the noisy youth of Sydney… then he ships them south to Hobart. BLUE ROBINSON
49 Feeling pretty good ØYVIND BORDAL always knew that out there somewhere there must be a better solution…
55 Parachuted in – Part II Douglas Dixon DSO RN goes to war… again. CLARE MCCOMB
REGULARS
6 Commodore’s letter JAMES NEVILLE
11 Editorial ANDREW HURST
12 Update (Yet) another big win for our tame designer DAVE HOLLOM, nothing but AC40s for a while, unless you are Alinghi Red Bull (no, we don’t believe that price tag), the perfect 600-miler… and sorting out photographer JAMES BURTON’s little problem
20 World news It’s tightening up at the front of the Classe Ultim, but FRANÇOIS GABART’S still stuck in court, JEREMIE’s skinny new Charal 2, the big Breton switcheroo, even 60 years ago the Kiwis were showing us the way, JUAN K’s biggest (Swan) yet. Plus back in action on the lakes. CARLOS PICH, PATRICE CARPENTIER, DOBBS DAVIS, IVOR WILKINS, FRANCK CAMMAS, CHARLES CAUDRELIER, LEONARDO FERRAGAMO
32 ORC – Challenging the algorithms The airborne 60 Flying Nikka is a handicapper’s challenge which ANDY CLAUGHTON was never going to walk away from
34 IMA – Tarte Tropézienne Farewell scaremongers, hello St Tropez. ANDREW MCIRVINE
61 TechStreet 65 Seahorsebuild table
– Clear intent UMBERTO FELCI always knew what he wanted 70 Seahorse regatta calendar
77 RORC – Flattening the curve RAY CHAMPION
DESIGN 78 Light in every sense What happened when top Superyacht designer MALCOLM MCKEON and master boatbuilders MCCONAGHY BOATS put their heads together
106 Reality check And, yeah, the floodgates they would open
107 Sailor of the Month Race creator vs a sparkling (young) race winner
Boris Herrmann’s new SeaExplorer goes into the water at Le Base in Lorient. Designers VPLP have made a clear departure from the low rocker, straight keel lines of the last foiler generation. Fore and aft rocker are both increased as part of the effort to smooth out motion in a sea way, in particular to narrow the speed spread between lift-off and crash down. In 2020 the fastest Imoca through the Southern Ocean was the round hulled L’Occitane, Armel Tripon also having a less brutal time than most. Top speed is dead, long live higher averages
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