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News Around the World


While US interest in shorthanded sailing has long been so far under the radar as to be invisible, there have been some determined and able pioneers over the years including two-time Around Alone winner Brad Van Liew and tenacious Vendée Globe veteran and ‘champion educator’ Rich Wilson. Before Van Liew, Wilson and a few others got rolling the US solo mantle was most prominently carried by Mike Plant, seen here onboard Duracell at the start of the first Vendée Globe in 1989. Tragically three years later Plant was lost en route to the start of the 1992 race when the bulb detached from the keel of his purpose-built new 60-foot racer Coyote (inset)


quiet words of wisdom out on the water to Jake. The Big Fella is no stranger to the Finn, and as a back-up coach there is no sharper mind you would want giving the post-race analysis of the three bullets Lilley secured on day one… The Sunday forecast was for serious breeze but the gradient didn’t fully fill in, frustrating some sailors struggling in flaky patches of 5-6kt pressure while watching others slide away in breeze-lanes three times that strength. Rafa took race five from the talented James Bevis, with Nossiter


third and Lilley fourth – the only fault in his perfect score, evidence perhaps that, on the advice of the Big Fella, he was using that race to try something different, tweaking the risk-matrix to see how things played out. Whatever the case he was quickly back on form, taking the final race six, with Finn stalwart Rob McMillan in second and Rafa third (to beat Nossiter overall and add to the ongoing bragging rights between them). Meanwhile, Lilley discarded that troublesome fourth place to secure the event with five bullets. This was a fantastic regatta run by Woollahra Sailing Club in the


lead-up to the National Finn Championships in January, and when an event like this now takes place everyone from sailors to organisers and shore support crew are aware just how much they have missed the training, competing and simply getting together. Honestly, it was such a joy to reconnect with other people in the sport while observing key Covid safety protocols to ensure that people and future events are not compromised. And when the borders do reopen those future events will be well


attended, with another 16 Finns sailing out of the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, meaning the national fleet here is close to 50 quality boats, all campaigned with a shared passion and purpose. Clearly I am biased in my admiration for a boat that has taught


me so much over 25 years of racing a Finn dinghy, but as I walk around the rigging area chatting to mates old and new the nagging question in the back of my mind is still unanswered. With the Finn dropped from Olympic status after the Tokyo Games, what is the affordable and achievable Olympic pathway for young male sailors who are naturally 85kg and above and, through good nutrition, time in the gym plus playing other sports, combined with healthy genes,


30 SEAHORSE


regularly towering above my 6ft 2in frame? Answers on a postcard please to Blue at Seahorse Magazine… And so to the second part of the first part of this story – which


I know Lucas Chapman will not mind me sharing, because we laugh about it now each time we meet. After Dee Caffari called for several more tacks onboard her Volvo 65, to thread us out through the fleet towards the Needles after the 2017 Fastnet start, Lucas added in his characteristic upbeat fashion, ‘Gee, mate, I hope my back is as good as yours when I make it to your age!’ So after quietly digesting this comment over the next two tacks,


I leaned forwards on the pedestal, close in to his right ear, and mut- tered very quietly, ‘If you make it to my age, mate…’ which gave him something to think about, and caused both his eyebrows and my smile to rise in equal measure as we headed out towards the Rock. Blue Robinson


USA Doubles, anyone? We have written sometimes wistfully in these pages over the years thinking that interest in shorthanded sailing would catch on in the US with new and exciting opportunities akin to what’s seen in Europe emerging at any moment… just you wait. For example, the biennial Atlantic Cup held in Class40s is always well-run, and the fleet’s tour of their various stops turns some heads in Charleston, New York, and Newport and delivers good value for some modest sponsorship. The Bermuda 1-2 still attracts those in Newport who want to sail


singlehanded to Bermuda then double-handed back, but this has mostly been a low-key event primarily just on the radar of the already converted. Likewise, major races here generally have a shorthanded division, but typically with light turnouts of amateur enthusiasts in older cruiser-racers, certainly not purpose-built shorthanded designs. Even before this pandemic year prompted shorthanded sailing as


the only safe option there was already a hint of a new trend in this direction (wistfully – ed!). Strong new boat sales seem to favour the 35-40ft size range for its more modest purchase cost, outfitting and crew demands, with some speciality designs like the Sun Fast 3300


BERNARD RUBINSTEIN/ALEA


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