Contributors EDITOR
Andrew Hurst DESIGNER
Stephen Stafford
SUB-EDITOR Sue Platt
EUROPE
Roland Jourdain is off to a fast start with his ocean racing company Kaïros with three Vendée Globe entries now on the books
Patrice Carpentier Carlos Pich Tim Jeffery
Rob Weiland
Torbjörn Linderson Andy Rice
Giuliano Luzzatto Jocelyn Blériot
Frederic Augendre
USA & CARIBBEAN Dobbs Davis
Peter Holmberg Cam Lewis
Chris Museler
Clarisse Crémer is the latest new Vendée face and she too has a well-proven support package in place… Armel Le Cléac’h for short
Terry Hutchinson JAPAN
Yoichi Yabe
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE Ivor Wilkins
Blue Robinson Rob Brown Rob Kothe Rob Mundle
Julian Bethwaite
COLUMNISTS Paul Cayard Rod Davis Ken Read
Halvard Mabire is visibly thriving on the ongoing success of the Class40, of which he is president as well as active participant
AC TECHNICAL Steve Killing
Andy Claughton Jack Griffin James Boyd
TECHNICAL BRIEFINGS Kieren Flatt & Lizzie Ward
ACCOUNTS AND CIRCULATION Kirstie Jenkins & Wendy Gregory
ADVERTISING MANAGER Graeme Beeson
Jörg Riechers was quick to react to the Mini scow designs and used the same thinking to dramatically speed up his ageing Imoca
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Gordon Kay has been there at the heart of the DSS story, from the very start working closely with DSS inventor Hugh Welbourn
8 SEAHORSE
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The Maxi72 Proteus dropped its rig the week before the Caribbean 600, the debris being quickly cut away to avoid hull damage. But it’s easy to find a good diver ready to go down in Antigua’s warm waters and within a couple of days the broken rig was being retrieved and from over 50m down
and arguments over Olympic selection, it is good to be able to observe racing for the pure pleasure of taking part. Sailing was described to me in a recent conversation as
an elitist sport. Hard to refute when surrounded by some of the fastest, most elegant and most expensive yachts in the world, both racing machines and luxury cruising vessels. Yet here at Antigua Yacht Club, looking out over these
stunning craft, Commodore Franklyn Braithwaite tells me of the very strong level of youth sailing here as the local dinghy racing gets underway in the shadow of the superyachts. In July Antigua hosts the Optimist World Championships.
I wouldn’t argue that attending any world championship is an inexpensive exercise, but despite the age of Clark Mills’ clever little boxy design of 1947 and the increasingly refined levels of equipment and preparation now seen in the class, the Oppi continues to deliver a way into the sport for fortunate youngsters the world over. The same conversation touched on sailing being
a sport for life, with active participation in racing being possible at a reasonable level for a huge range of ages. And now we see more and more women succeeding, creating role models and changing attitudes within sailing towards gender equality. If for no other reason the mixed keelboat Olympic offshore event has my full support.
Steven Anderson Commodore
q
Commodore’s letter F
or those of us living above 45° last year’s offshore races are a distant memory and the start of the 2019 season is still a little way off. So I will own up to having swapped the rather unusual snow of the Isle of Wight for the Caribbean trade winds and I write from Falmouth Harbour just prior to the start
of the RORC Caribbean 600. The race will be reviewed in the next edition of Seahorse I am sure so I won’t dwell on it here. A couple of short offshore passages coming up to Antigua
were a reminder of the enjoyments of sailing at night in Caribbean waters, the more horizontal smiling crescent of the moon and the ability to sail in a T-shirt at 0200 being a little different from my normal sailing in the English Channel. It doesn’t get much better than reaching in gentle trade winds, in spectacular starlight, a new moon and an easy sea state with no other vessels in sight or even on the AIS. I have been struck by the renewed popularity of the
Caribbean and there certainly seemed to have been a great many more boats in the Windward Islands on our passage up to Antigua than we noted last year. Grenada Sailing Week has enjoyed great success and I am sure the other forthcoming regattas will also be well attended. Reading about class politics
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