News Around the World
As the Winning Group appliance business has grown so has the size of boat John Winning himself can go out and race – taking line honours in the Hobart on his latest, the 100-foot Andoo Comanche. Winning is of course best known as one of the rocks upon which the Sydney 18-footer fleet has thrived for so many years, stepping in with both time and money when the class has hit tricky times. Seen here (inset, right) soon after his skiff debut in 1975, Winning (now aged 70) is still competing hard in his 38th 18-footer season
as skipper, winning IRC 5 and celebrating with his father Sean, who in his 30th Hobart took out IRC 0 on the dramatically different Reichel/Pugh 69 Moneypenny. After pulling into Eden for some rest and to wait for more forgiving
conditions, 70-year-old Kathy Veel and 62-year-old Bridget Canham on the 48-year-old 9 Metre Curawong resumed racing with a clear goal: to cross the line into Hobart before New Year’s Eve. Arriving at 11.42pm, the 100th and final boat in the fleet was welcomed by massive cheers and fireworks. As Veel described, ‘The race to arrive before New Year was the race of our lives! The boat behaved so well – I am so in love with this boat. Honestly that was some of the best sailing I have done in my life – carrying a kite for 21 hours straight... and we glimpsed 10kt!! ‘We paused in Eden because I found my limit. I didn’t feel in
good enough shape to take on the weather that we were expecting that night.’ All the international 600+ mile offshore races have their own
challenges in terms of weather and tactics. Every boat that competes in the Hobart Race, particularly the international teams, all now have a clear insight into the scale of what they have to overcome physically and mentally to do well. One of the many emotional stories of this event involved Andoo Comanche crewmembers Nathan and Peter Dean, who raced south to pay tribute to the memory of their father John Dean, who was lost racing onboard Sir Winston Churchill in the violent 1998 edition. The helicopter and drone images, particularly in the final stages
of the race, portrayed just how brutal this race can be, and the skills and seamanship involved in getting large and small boats down to the Iron Pot then up the Derwent tested every single crewmember. It was an especially massive achievement for the two-handed fleet – with the faces of all the double-handed crews just after the finish showing clearly just how much this race takes out of you. As always, the memory softens and hardships fade, and teams
are already planning on returning in 12 months’ time. Certainly the line-honours winner will return to defend her win; ominously having competed successfully this season using an older sail wardrobe, Andoo Comanche will only speed up with a new inventory on its
18 SEAHORSE
way. Sobering news indeed for the other contenders looking to steal the big boat’s crown. Blue Robinson
FRANCE Yoann Richomme, double winner of the Route du Rhum in the Class40, quickly flew back from Guadeloupe to be present at the Nautic Paris Boatshow for the presentation for the 2023 Transat Jacques Vabre which he will race on his brand new Imoca, Paprec Arkéa, currently under construction at Multiplast in Vannes. The boat is designed by Antoine Koch and Finot-Conq and is
scheduled to be launched at the end of this month. ‘We are still as happy with the decisions we have taken, even after what we have observed during this season’s Imoca races; also super happy with the work done by the architects and the shipyard, who all shared our respect for a close working relationship… and the importance of timings! ‘Now we can’t wait to start sailing, to see if our ideas work. There
is a lot of new thinking as well as some risk-taking in this boat. ‘We have obviously stepped back to a “sharper” bow with a tulip
shape to the hull. It really changes the game compared to the scow bow fashion. Our opinion is that this will allow better penetration through the waves sailing downwind and reaching – when you are not foiling… which in the previous Vendée Globe for the foilers was actually most of the time. ‘The working area is a development of the last Hugo Boss, but
we have incorporated much better “real” vision forward rather than relying as Alex did on a complexity of TV cameras and screens. For me it is an essential performance factor to be able to watch the sails, foils, sky, sea and so on…’
What a Monday! On the first Monday of December the crew of Charal 2, Jérémie Beyou’s boat, was in delivery mode (with him not onboard) sailing back from Pointe à Pitre where the Route du Rhum arrived. She broke the existing Imoca 24-hour record but unfortunately it is unlikely to be officially recognised since none of the formal
SALTY DINGO/LIVE SAIL DIE
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