Two of just three Judel-Vrolijk designs racing the 2018 Super Series in a fleet dominated by boats from Botín Partners. Provezza is a brand new design built by Persico while Paprec Recyclage (above) is the former 2015 Rán; in this most grand prix of fleets Paprec’s owner Jean-Luc Petithuguenin always includes promising youngsters among his crew. Provezza’s deck layout is a stark example of what a grand prix yacht looks like when you ‘super-specialise’ it for one course type. Not too many starboard roundings please…
ideals longterm it needs more than that, just as there is probably little chance of having fun and success without hard work. Whatever the reason for being, longterm it works best or maybe
more exactly there can only be hope of ‘a long term’ if there is a realistic balance between all the interests in play, reasonable trans- parency and at times an open debate about functioning and future. Certainly the more interests the more complicated it gets but
the one that is special in our sport is how to involve the clients, the boat owners? Whether to involve them is not the question – they might not be interested but clearly that then has to be their choice. Nearly all are accomplished businessmen used to running more complicated entities than sailing events, spending much more on their boats than the event organiser has as budget to accom- modate them, and nearly all are in it because it is their passion, which makes it special. Just narrowing down to ‘where to race’, location planning. Within
the sun, breeze, palm trees limits is it possible to find five dates and locations that will be unanimously embraced by your clients? I am afraid the answer is no. Not a ‘no’ as in they will not join but certainly a no that needs constant care and attention. Problem number one as soon as you organise a series of five
standalone regattas is that these need more time to plan than the traditional late summer owners’ planning of next year’s sailing allows. Not just by one or two months but more likely by about a year… There is no hope of a match here and that is where it gets com-
plicated. You know you have to ask the question ‘where do you like to race in one and a half years’ time?’ and you also know you won’t get a serious answer as most would feel giving that answer is pledging commitment and for commitment the timespan is generally too big.
Most classes and event organisers resolve this by repeating a
yearly pattern of dates and locations, thus avoiding surprise and surprise criticism. At the risk, however, of boring the more adven- turous owners into taking a break or seeking alternatives and limiting potential future participation by not travelling and ‘catching local boats and their owners’. At 52 Super Series we try to cross the Atlantic every three years
but have not achieved full support for this yet. More successfully we aim to mix trusted and generally appreciated locations with one or two new ones. Meeting new people, making new friends, sailing in conditions new to us, experiencing local ups and unavoidably some downs. Generally and certainly if the sailing has been good we return home satisfied knowing next time it will be easier to ‘sell the location’ and some even might become yearly favourites. The other bone of contention is whether to race five events in
five months, so one a month over the summer period or spread out and have a break in July-August, allowing for family holidays? Certainly for owners with young children the break scenario has
its appeal. It also has the appeal for the event organiser that it avoids the main tourist season in which everything is more expen- sive, more complicated and potentially very hot in the Mediterranean. But finding good sailing conditions in October is not that easy
if not going as far south as Sicily or Malta, and the same for starting early as well in the sense that it often rubs with new boats not being ready yet or crew racing in the Caribbean, and so on. It is certainly not easy to please all but I guess as long as we
keep trying to do so we stand a chance of pleasing most. Tell us what you like most and we will try not to disappoint. Rob Weiland, class manager, TP52 and Maxi72 classes
q SEAHORSE 31
INGRID ABERY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98
