You Shaw This is the Baddest Sportboat?

Tuesday - November 6 2007 - 1105 PST - In the "Baddest Sportboat" dialogue, XS Craig dogs the French and the Brits then flies the Kiwi flag:

Well if you are looking for bad sportboats forget about the French open 750 or the yanks Viper 640. The Aussies do pretty well, but in my opinion the world leaders in BADASS Sportboats are the New Zealanders.

The Shaw 750. She is a 500kg carbon nomex beauty, which carries 39sqm of sail area upwind, and 124sqm downwind. A lot of people will call this boat a skiff, but tell that to any hardcore Australian skiffie and you are liable to be punched in the face. Yes it may have racks which give it a beam of 3.9m and is sailed with three crew on trapeze, but is has 230 kg of lead 2.1m down. My personal opinion is that if it has enough lead to be self righting it's a sportboat, so this one definitely is. Speeds of 18, 19kts are apparently almost effortless and I have heard rumors of top speeds of 28kts.

Now that I've convinced you that this is the baddest sportboat ever, would you believe that the guys that sail it have an average age of 47-years, what's more, it is described as a "managable club racer" on the website. WTF are you guys up to down there? You crazy Kiwis have my respect.

P.S. Im not associated with Shaw Yacht Designs

The 33rd America's Cup Continues to Move Forward

Tuesday - November 6 2007 - 1048 PST -Well, if we were based in Spain, we would be attending the 33rd America's Cup AC90 Rule and Competition Regulations presentation that is happening this Thursday at the World Trade Centre in Barcelona, but we're not. If we were there we could see Rolf Vrolijk, Alinghi principal designer, Juan Kouyoumdjian, TeamOrigin principal designer, Agustín Zulueta, Desafío Español general director, Michel Hodara, CEO of ACM and Tom Schnackenberg, class rule and competition regulations consultant for ACM all talking some very interesting AC stuff - but we won't be. But! We will give you a full report as soon as they send it our way - which they will.

A Cat Showdown!

Tuesday - November 6 2007 - 0950 PST - The 2007 Ronstan A-Cat Worlds, due to start on November 9 has shaped up to be one of the racing highlights of the year.

The entry list is boasting many of the biggest names in the sailing world. For instance, Randy Smyth will be sailing on the new and radical Lindahl & Roake designed LR2 with evidently an equally radical sail that he has designed for the boat. Robbie Daniel, fresh from the exciting US Tornado Class Olympic trials will make his debut on A's at the event. Ben Hall, long time A-Class sailor will be making a start on the newly designed, Peter Cogan Nikita featuring a rigid wing sail that Ben built. Matt Struble has jumped over from the DN class to try his hand at A-Class sailing and cam Lewis is putting aside Maxi-cats (Team Adventure) & 505's for the moment to focus upon this regatta. Howie Hamlin, a recent convert from 505's, I14 and other performance dinghies will be on a Morreli & Melvin A3 with a Glaser main. Goran Marström will be showcasing the new Marström M5 A-class catamaran at the event.

The field is full of former world champions, Olympic medalists and some of the best sailors from around the world. Adding to this exciting field is the shear amount of design and engineering that is in play at the event. Glenn Ashby will be on his Geltek Flyer MKII with the latest iteration of Ashby sails. The new Scheuerer Generation 5, The Tool from Wayne Mercer in Australia, the battle proven Bimare XJ, the Italian built and designed Balance, the Radical LR2, the Peter Cogan designed Nikita (one with Hall spar & one with Rigid Wing), the European built Aicher/Engel Flyer and some of the other platforms will make for exciting racing on and off the course.

Who will come out on top? Will it be Lars Guck who has dominated the US fleet for the past two years, will Glenn Ashby, current A-Class, F18 and Tornado World champion win or Pete Melvin who's consistent finishes always rank him among the top of the fleet? Or will it be Ben Hall with his rigid wing, randy Smyth on a radical boat with radical sails and a person who has proven he can jump on anything and win? Will it be a world champion from another class, Howie Hamlin, Matt Struble, Robbie Daniel or Cam Lewis? Can Cam make the jump from the 110' Team Adventure and place on an 18' A-cat?

XS is looking to have some exclusive coverage of the event - so stay close! This report brought to you by www.morrellimelvin.com.

Wind Builds to 28-Knots for the Ladies on Roxy

Tuesday - November 6 2007 - 0940 PST - Sam Davies report of the last hours as they occupy the ninth slot in the Transat Jacques Vabre:

"A tiring night, as we approach Cape Finisterre, and the wind is building. We sailed as long as we thought reasonable with the spinnaker, then when the wind rose above 20 knots we changed to gennaker. The gennaker is slightly more of a "manageable" sail, as it is on a furler and should be easy to put away oonce the wind gets too strong. We're expecting strong winds just as we pass Cape Finisterre, and we don't want to take any crazy risks there!!!! (we already tried that in the Figaro, with spectacular consequences!). Anyway, after the sail change we had the stacking to deal with: Downwind in a breeze, Roxy prefers to have the weight aft, so we spent half an hour inside, dragging all the other sails from the forward locker to under the cockpit - no more nosedives! Now the breeze is reaching 28 knots, it will be soon time to change sails again..... No rest for the wicked!"

Bring Back the J Boat!

Tuesday - November 6 2007 - 0932 PST - We asked the XS public - "What of all this AC stuff? Jonathan from North Branford,Conn said:

"At the rate the AC is going backwards with all the infighting, 90' boats, catamarans, etc. Why not just bring back the J boats? At least they were nice to look at.

What About the Viper 640?

Tuesday - November 6 2007 - 0910 PST - When we put the question of what's the "baddest sportboat around" to the XS public, we got a lot of feedback. Laurent is making a strong case for the Viper 640:

"Just as a figure of merit take LOA , multiply by SA (main+jib) divide by deplacement (all in metric..sorry). The Open750 is at 500, open570 at 279, SB3 at 259. What about our Viper640? We are at 457 and we hit 23 knots with spinnaker few weeks ago in Fort Worth. So we have the fun for 3 times less money !!

Safran Leads in Transat Jacques Vabre

Tuesday - November 6 2007 - 0849 PST - Transat Jacques Vabre Morning update: Being first in a sailing race is the result of a complex combination of ingredients: Experience plus boat and sail design, analysis and interpretation of weather information, as well as a thorough knowledge of the area where you are going to sail. But, at some point, whether it is inspiration or luck, one option ends up paying off much more than the others. This is what they're saying about the open 60 Safran, the leading boat in the IMOCA class.

Gitana Team Awaits Better Conditions

Monday - November 5 2007 - 1505 PST - From the Gitana Camp sailing in the Transat Jacques Vabre.

A second night at sea for Gitana Eighty, a first for Gitana 11, and a complex situation all round. Hampered by the weakness of the weather conditions at the start, Gitana 11 has been forced to go it alone. Gitana Eighty, meanwhile, emerged without problems from a difficult passage.

Gitana 11 is currently lying fourth in the fleet of Orma multihulls, forty miles behind the leader Pascal Bidégorry. Given the fact that their boat is not entirely comfortable in light air - due to an anticyclonic bubble - Lionel Lemonchois and Yann Guichard have been forced to take a different route, which explains the gap between them and the other competitors with lighter boats. In this morning's radio chat, the crew were still the epitome of calm, riding out their bad luck patiently while awaiting the advent of more favourable conditions.

Gitana Eighty, meanwhile, emerged with verve from an equally tricky night, as for the monohull fleet, the night was also characterised by an anticyclonic bubble. In the ocean off Ouessant Island, several passage options presented themselves to the boats, with only Safran opting for the riskiest. That proved to be the most advantageous too, as Safran pulled well clear of a group led by Loïck Peyron and Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant, followed by Michel Desjoyeaux and Kito de Pavant. Morale on board Gitana Eighty is in fine fettle, with the only thing bothering Loïck Peyron when contacted this morning was whether the food on board the boat would last all the way to Salvador de Bahia.

McKee's First Circumnavigation Will be Barcelona Race

Monday - November 5 2007 - 1451 PST - American sailor Jonathan McKee is a much sought-after professional sailor with as wide a range of experience on the water as you could imagine. He's a double Olympic medalist (gold in 1984, bronze in 2000) and a two-time America's Cup campaigner. In 2003, he nearly won the Mini Transat in his first time out, before dismasting close to the finishing line. He can also claim multiple world championships in dinghy classes as diverse as the Flying Dutchman and the 49er.

But McKee approaches the Barcelona World Race as a rookie of sorts - he's never attempted a circumnavigation. In fact, despite accumulating his share of offshore miles, the longest he has been at sea is just short of three weeks!

"It is a big change," Mckee admits. "I have spent some time on the Open 60s the last few years - enough to know what I'm getting into. But being at sea for three months is a whole different thing. The longest I've been at sea is 20 days!

"It is something new and for me it's a really exciting part of sailing right now. It's certainly captured my imagination. I guess for me, I've always enjoyed doing different aspects of sailing. Even as a kid I sailed keelboats and cruising and racing and I've continued to do that rather than specialize."

His co-skipper in the race can tell him what it's like - Guillermo Altadill has six round the world races under his belt. As a pair, they make a powerful combination. But perhaps what is most interesting is the fact that they have only known each other and sailed together for just three months. Soon they'll know each other perhaps better than anyone else.

New York Grabs Lead in Clipper Round the World

Monday - November 5 2007 - 1105 PST - After doggedly holding on to the lead for the last eight days Qingdao has been overtaken by New York. The US team, led by Skipper Duggie Gillespie who took over from Jerry Crew in Salvador, now has a slim three-mile lead over the Chinese entry backed by the Sailing Sub-committee of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Race Director Joff Bailey comments: "Yesterday evening it looked like New York had lost several miles by going south earlier than Qingdao but that tactic appears to have paid off on this morning's position reports. In fact, the race viewer shows that the first seven boats are all trying to make significant moves south after spending most of last week pushing in a more easterly direction. This may be to the advantage of Nova Scotia, Jamaica and westernaustralia2011.com who all made their move south last week."
Photo onEdition.

Dream of a Multihull America's Cup

Monday - November 5 2007 - 1053 PST - Franklin from Massachusetts responded to our topic question about the AC drama.

"At this point it seems that GGYC is stalling and waiting to hear what the New York court says. I personally hope that the judge finds that Alinghi is not in accordance with the deed and I pray that they sail the next cup on massive multihulls. The 32nd cup was fun, kinda like a good game of championship golf, but on Multis it'll be real exciting - 25 knots on the downwind legs! I know it won't happen, but I can still dream."

Girl Talk

Monday - November 5 2007 - 1034 PST - Transat sailor Sam Davies (right) checks in from Roxy:

It's really peaceful right now in the early morning. It is nice, at last to get sailing in the Bay of Biscay after a bit of a fight to get out of the English Channel.

It is very difficult because it's very technical and it's hard to find the wind in the right place. There's some bits of luck. We've had some good luck and bad luck.

That was a mistake to pass outside Ushant because our weather router told us he had a feeling it would be better to pass inside. We were too scared to risk and lose wind. So we chose not to take the risk. We're regretting that because we were quite well-placed.

The conditions are great, for Roxy especially. We've managed to stay with a new boat. It's really nice to realize that we're not any slower and we don't have any disadvantages in these conditions. So Jeanne and I are pretty happy right now.

It really depends on the conditions. I've just woken up from just over 2 hours sleep, which is the longest I've managed to get from the start. … Most of the time in the English Channel we've been lucky to even get one hour at a time because there have been so many manoeuvres, sail changes and boats to avoid. We had some really close crosses with the other boats - Generali, Gitana, Ecover yesterday morning. It was incredible - we’ve had to be on our toes.

Tales From the Transat

Monday - November 5 2007 - 1010 PST - Jonny Malbon aboard Artemis checks in from the Transat Jacques Vabre:

We've had better mornings, I have to say. We had a very bad last part of last night before Ushant.We nearly didn’t make it through without having to jibe and then just at the last minute we had to change the sails and gybe.Just after the morning I guess we came across Foncia and then Safran. We had a good jibing battle with them and we're all looking for a way through the high-pressure ridge. And we were very close to them for the whole day and that's why it's even more upsetting for us right now.

It's been very good. (Laughs.) When we got the schedule earlier it was pretty quiet on board for a little while, as you can imagine, but we're fine and we want to get back in the race. Since the start we've had a great time. The boat is working really well and we're working really well. We're starting to get more sleep today. We haven't had much at all.

Passing Cape Finisterre depends on the light winds, they should be changing later today but we might jibe out. But it’s going to be a day and half, at least, I think...
Photo onEdition.

ORMA Class Suffers Sleepless Night

Monday - November 5 2007 - 0912 PST - Twenty-four hours after departure, the leaders of multihull 60 fleet in the Transat Jacques Vabre are already sailing in the Bay of Biscay among the monohulls. Today, in a very light wind, Franck Cammas and Stève Ravussin occupy second place not far from Banque Populaire. Sopra Group,who had a nice start completes the top three.

For their first few miles, sailors had had to deal with some unconventional conditions for this time of season in the English Channel. They were wrangling with a slight wind that was particularly unstable. Thus, as expected the first night out has not been easy:

"We could not sleep regularly because there has been a lot of maneuvering to do on deck all night. It was an interrupted sleep," said Franck Cammas last night. "The Vessel Traffic was very difficult tonight in the Channel, and twice we had to stop completely to avoid a collision with cargo.

Sanderson Talks Volvo

Monday - November 5 2007 - 0848 PST - Mike Sanderson, the man who took overall honors as skipper of ABN AMRO ONE in 2005-06, believes the new route for the next edition of the race will provide stern challenges - not least for the variety of designers involved this time.

Kiwi Sanderson, who has swapped foul-weather gear for a business suit in his role as team director for the British America's Cup campaign Team Origin, also supports the race organisers decision to further "globalise" the event by taking it to uncharted waters.

Taking the 39,000-nautical mile race to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, China and India while retaining the traditional traits will place unique demands on design teams, he says.

Writing exclusively in Life At The Extreme, the official Volvo Ocean Race magazine, Sanderson says: "The challenges of the new route will be fantastic. At the end of the day, it demands the same of everyone; you still have to do a better job than anyone else and come up with a faster boat and go the right way, so it is just a different set of challenges for the designers.

"The variety of designers involved with this edition of the race is very exciting. It's amazing to see guys like Marcelino Botin and Shaun Carkeek, Rob Humphreys, Juan Kouyoumdjian, and Farr Yacht Design all involved. It's going to be a clash of the titans among the designers, and for them there is plenty of room remaining in the Volvo 70 rule to be innovative."

Topic For The Week

Sunday - November 4 2007 - 1715 PST - Last week we asked the question "Who's da baddest sportboat on the water?" And XS sailors responded in high numbers. We posted the best emails on our XS Front page who supplied us with enthusiastic opinion, good photos and good links.

With all the America's Cup debate going on, this week we ask the question "Who do you think the judge will favor in the America's Cup lawsuit...the Alinghi camp or the GGYC?"

Tell us what you think. Do you think the judge will favor Alinghi and the America's Cup will be sailed in 90 foot monohulls? Or you do you think the GGYC will win and force the event to be governed by the original 'Deed of Gift'...meaning we may see the next AC sailed in giant multihulls.

So email us today and throughout the week with your opinion at info@xsracing.org and lets see who will be right...the supporters of the Alinghi camp or supporters of the GGYC. And follow XS Racing everyday to see if your email makes the XS Front Page.

And don't think that's not a big deal...in just one year you, the XS supporter, have made us a major force on the sailing scene. We may not be the biggest sailing site on the Internet yet, but we continue to grow each month! Last month we broke our previous record by posting over 6,000,000 hits by promoting sailing in a positive way.

Foncia Moves To The Front

Sunday - November 4 2007 - 1655 PST - Transat Jacques Vabre Update - Foncia has overtaken the early leader, Groupe Bel, and is just a half mile ahead of Akena Vérandas, Ecover III, Safran, Groupe Bel and Brit Air. The rankings are changing quickly and should not be taken for granted over the next few days as tactics to cross the Channel focus on speed.

Monohulls and multihulls currently are trying to find their way amid challenging weather conditions in the Channel. The crews have to deal cautiously with a high-pressure system in the Bay of Seine and beyond to avoid losing ground.

The pinpoints on the map charting the race show that several options were taken overnight by the monohull skippers to get out of this trap: head northwards around the system, stay on a direct course through it, or head South in an effort to pass beneath it. Who will be right? Stay tuned! Photo by Y Zedda

Four Sailing Events At Youth Olympic Games

Sunday - November 4 2007 - 1230 PST - The International Olympic Committee have confirmed their will be four sailing events at the first edition of the Youth Olympic Games, scheduled for 2010. A total of 100 athletes, aged between 15-16 years, will compete across the four events. The events are:

One person dinghy men

One person dinghy women

Windsurfing men

Windsurfing women

ISAF Deputy Secretary General Jerome PELS said, "ISAF is delighted that the IOC have confirmed there will be four sailing events and 100 athletes at the first ever Youth Olympic Games. This is a fantastic opportunity for the sport to showcase the depth of sailing talent around the world and a huge inspiration for young people to get involved in sailing." The equipment for the four Youth Olympic Games events will be decided by the ISAF Executive Committee.

The aim of the IOC is also to get young people involved in the officiating of the Youth Olympic Games. ISAF is fully supportive of this aim and is provisionally suggesting at least 50% of the race officials should be under the age of 30, with a possible 25% of the total number between the ages of 16-18.

About The Youth Olympic Games - The IOC decided to launch the Youth Olympic Games at the 119th IOC Session in Guatemala City in July 2007. Eleven cities have bid to host the first Games in 2010 (click here to see who). The final decision on the host city will be made at the IOC Session in January 2008.

The first Youth Olympic Games will feature all the sports on the programme for the 2012 Olympic Games, but with a more limited number of disciplines and events. It will be limited to 3,200 athletes and 800 officials. Story by ISAF and photo by onEdition

Babes on Waves

Sunday - November 4 2007 - 1130 PST - With the Transat Jacques Vabre in progress we had to bring up one of our favorite woman sailors competing in the race. Currently she is in 11th place 5 miles behind the leader. Everyone knows her...Dee Caffari. But for those of you that don't here is a quick bio on her.

Dee is 34 years old and based on the south coast of England when on land. She started sailing as a child with her father, when she developed a passion for the water.

Dee has proved herself to be a yachtswoman of the highest calibre. In May 2006, she completed the Aviva Challenge, becoming the first woman to sail solo, non-stop around the world against the prevailing winds and currents. This monumental achievement resulted in Dee being awarded the Raymarine Yachtsman of the Year award.

Dee started her career as a secondary school PE teacher, but soon realised that her destiny was a life on the water. She gave up her job and completed the relevant yachting qualifications. After spending some time travelling, she returned to the UK to take up a job with Mike Golding Yacht Racing. She completed a number of offshore races while working for this accomplished British sailor. Mike is one of the few men to have sailed against the prevailing winds and currents and was a source of inspiration to her during the 2006 Aviva Challenge.

Seeing the Global Challenge fleet leave Southampton in 2000 crystallised her desire to be involved in around the world yacht racing. Her opportunity came in 2004. Whilst skippering and managing Formula 1 Sailing's Farr 65s, she was offered a job as a professional skipper in the Global Challenge fleet by Sir Chay Blyth. During the Global Challenge 2004/5, Dee successfully skippered 17 amateur yachtsmen around-the-world, sailing the same 72ft yacht which she used to complete her solo circumnavigation in 2006.

Dee is a patron of Sail for Cancer and in December 2006 was presented with the BBC South Yachtsman of the Year Award. Away from sailing, she loves adventure sports, travelling and taking it easy with a good book. She enjoys life and wants to make the most of it, living by her motto - Dare, Dream, Discover.

For more on Dee go to her website at avivaoceanracing.com.

Mooooo

Sunday - November 4 2007 - 1055 PST - Transat Jacques Vabre Monohull Update - There are only 10 miles between the first and last boats of the Imoca fleet. So far, due to the light winds, boats of different generations are sailing together. Still in first place is Groupe Bel, sailing at a cows pace but leading the second place boat by only half a mile.

From yesterday and today's 4 p.m. ranking, Brit'Air took a radical northern option, sailing along the British coast "above" the rest of the fleet. Between Brit'Air and the direct route, Artemis, Foncia and Safran are headed more to the west. This group is now tracking south to southeast reaching.

Groupe Bel, Gitana Eighty, Cheminées Poujoulat, and Generali were sticking closer to a direct route while VM Matériaux, which was in the same pack, was heading south. Roxy and Aviva were also in this group, a bit behind the newest boats but among the top 10.

Surprisingly, the fleet of 40-footers is on the heels of the Imoca 60, benefiting overnight of the turn of the tide with gusts of up to 16 knots, shifting from northeast-east. These boats are opting for a direct route and their ranking moved dramatically between noon and 4 p.m.

The 47 monohulls are now level with the tip of Brittany. The fleet is choosing among the same options and is spread between France and England with Pindar 40 the closest to the English coast.

The monohull fleet should expect to be caught up overnight in another high-pressure system, offering lighter winds and change in direction from east-aoutheast to west-northwest. Getting out of the Channel is going to be longer and harder in these conditions, meaning more manoeuvres overnight. The lack of sleep will increase with only short naps of 20 minutes to 1 hour.

Keep coming back for more XS updates as we follow the fleet to the finish. Photo courtesy of Transat Jacques Vabre.