Editorial Andrew Hurst Inexorable
The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has confirmed that two-handed yachts employing an autopilot may now compete for the major Sydney Hobart Race trophies rather than be left outside the backdoor with their own set of ‘junior’ prizes. The autopilot may only rotate the yacht’s stern in a single axis (ie horizontal) so cannot be used
to manage a canting keel or foils. If you wish to use a more advanced pilot then you will race for separate awards as before. It’s easy to describe the CYCA’s decision as ‘belated’ or ‘overdue’
but in hindsight (guilty as charged) it’s important to acknowledge that with the Sydney Hobart, a tough race that takes competitors further south than most, race organisers, competitors and families, and indeed Australia’s yachting establishment, are still haunted by the tragic events of the stormy 1998 race in which six experienced sailors lost their lives and others were lucky to survive. It is recognised that most two-handed Hobart race entries will
remain relatively small boats – there are no Imocas in Australia and only a couple of Class40s – and sitting in a warm committee room with veterans of the 1998 race discussing surviving on a two-handed 34-footer in breaking Southern Ocean waves would have been a sobering experience. For two-handed enthusiasts the Hobart was one of the last
bastions before full international acceptance. Very dramatically, the 2013 Fastnet Race was won overall by a two-handed entry, after which there was never any turning back. I propose, however, that like the awful song, we’ve only just begun… The last two or three offshore seasons were the first when big
production manufacturers started tailoring designs deliberately for shorthanded teams. Rapidly these more numerous two-handers, now also with more suitable platforms, were regularly sharing the top of the IRC scoreboards alongside fully crewed rivals. Soon we will see second-generation production two-handers –
to learn their trade in a situation where a lack of experience can be more easily absorbed by a larger, more experienced crew. I do not see this trend to small crews slowing up, but I do expect
that we will find equilibrium within four or five years. In the meantime, just as improving deck equipment allows bigger superyachts to be raced by fewer people, so the shorthanded trend in smaller classes for mere mortals will drive improvements of their own. Peter Harken sagely told me once that what limits the ultimate
size of the sailing market is that it ‘is too damned hard’. Peter saw automatic docking and the like as a valuable tool to grow that market. Make mainstream sailing easier and more will try it (while suitably protecting other areas of the sport). More shorthanders doing more races driving technology driving
more shorthanders to do more races. That can hardly be a bad thing. And more of our Australian friends can now play too. CYCA committee members, you were right. And perhaps I was wrong in trying to hurry you along… Perhaps.
Is it the hair? Ian Williams, of this parish, recently won a fifth Congressional Cup to go five-all with equally talented Virgin Islands match racer Taylor Canfield. The two greatest match racing specialists of their generation? I’m certainly not going to argue against it. Was Team New Zealand the only Cup team to struggle last year
yards like JPK and others are hard at it as I write. Do not forget, also, the increasing interest in IRC from the Class40 – with 185- plus boats launched and earlier examples looking for places to play (or rent out) now that they’re no longer competitive in class racing. Both competitiveness and the prevalence of two-handed IRC
entries will increase from here, which is obviously good for offshore sailing since a category that is cheaper and simpler will draw in more sailors from one-design classes; competitive sailors who are used to racing with a small crew and understandably find the idea of organising and feeding more people unattractive. The flipside, as Rob Weiland points out on pg34, is the numerical reduction in opportunities for newbies to get into offshore racing,
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Ian Williams was not the only one to be chuffed with that fifth Congressional Cup win in Long Beach… bowman Matt Cornwell continues on his own roll of some very pleasing recent successes
with match race starts? Absolutely not, particularly in the early rounds. Yet as I write neither Canfield nor Williams has an America’s Cup contract. Not even to drive a RIB. Beats me too.
NICE GUY We are giving you everything else but you have not had any mine
detectors – Harry Hopkins discusses Lend-Lease (1943)
In the Soviet Union we use people to clear mines – General Ivan Ratov
GOLFER TO THE END Four swings, four
misses – late Spinal Tap drummer Ric Parnell is asked about his marital status
ALL OF THE PEOPLE I did watch a few highlights of the Bermuda SailGP races and cannot claim to
have been gripped – Adrian Morgan The usual bollocks from hyperactive commentators and old capsize shots
pretty standard now – Gabart
sheets just cracked is
NO CHANGE Q: What would you say to the original 21-year- old Kimi fresh into F1 A: Nothing. I wouldn’t
talk to him – Kimi Räikkönen
SLEEPY JOE? Always wake me up
in an emergency – Ronald Reagan Even if I’m in a cabinet
meeting – Ronald Reagan was just so far ahead of his time…
for rubberneckers – Morgan I guess it’s only until
ELEGANT Q: What lessons have you learnt from sailing? A: In case of a problem, the most beautiful tool onboard is you Q: And the attraction of solo sailing… A: Think, struggle, look,
Larry’s money runs out – Morgan
REFLECTIONS We reach 30kt upwind
very quickly – François Gabart And 40-45kt with
q
hope – Kevin Delprat is the 47th entry (sic) for the 2023 Global Solo Challenge
READ TWICE, LIE DOWN Scott Dixon has claimed his fifth Indy 500 pole with a lap of
234.046mph The Brickyard, 22 May
Seahorse magazine and our associate raceboatsonly brokerage site are both at:
seahorsemagazine.com The editor is contactable by email at:
andrew@seahorse.co.uk
SEAHORSE 11
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