Fujin shortly after the start of the Caribbean 600.
Greg Slyngstad’s mighty Paul Bieker designed 53-footer Fujin catamaran tearing it up on this year’s Caribbean 600 race.
The 600-mile race is a gathering for some of the coolest boats on the planet winding their way in a complex course around the islands at Antigua. With stiff tradewinds and warm waters, it’s an epic race.
Last year Fujin, with a crew of hotshot Seattle sailors onboard, capsized in dramatic fashion on the first night. The boat has been put back together and is certainly at least as fast as it ever was.
That was last year. This year after the first night they’re in third place on the water with only the two Mod 70 trimarans ahead. Fujin’s leading on the multihulls on corrected time. Just behind Fujin is a Volvo 70 monohull skippered by Charlie Enright.
As we did last year, we’ll followup Fujin’s exploits. In the meantime, check out the Caribbean 600 website. There’s a Facebook feed that shows updates from some of the boats, including audio. (I just listened to Pip Hare describing her race on Class 40 Hydra. The website is caribbean600.rorc.org where you’ll find the tracker and FB feed.
The Laser in its smaller sail configurations remains the class of choice around the world for youth sailors aging (or sizing) out of Optis. In Europe the big regattas draw hundreds of boats.
This year the Youth World Championships for both classes are going to be at Kingston, Ontario sailing in the challenging fresh waters of Lake Ontario. The Radials will sail the last week in July and and the 4.7s will go August 16-23rd.
There’s a limit on competitors (240 in each class), and a qualification and application process, so if you’re planning on going it’s a good idea to get started early. Registrations are open now. Here are the links: Radials, 4.7s.
As Bruce predicted, it was a pretty light day in the southernmost of South Sound races. For those who braved the cold, they got to enjoy a gentle breeze, shortened course and a chance to be merry (or get back north) afterward with friends.
Dave Knowlton, skipper of the non-flying sails class winner Koosah, says “It was a great race!! They thankfully shortened it at Toliva Shoal! Boats from up north just kept going and the Oly boats motored home!!
The Antrim 27 Redline skippered by Kyle Reese-Cassal won PHRF 5 and overall. The J/35s and Express 37s enjoyed some near level racing with 6 boats in Class 4. Results.
Photos as usual by Jan Anderson. Click here for more.
Found with, and reprinted from, the sailish.com friends over at Pressure Drop.
Foiling has certainly changed the face the public sees of racing. While the jury is still out on whether or not it’s a good thing (in my opinion), there is absolutely no doubt it’s here to stay at some level. Here is the fascinating story of the Kiwis doing their R & D, their own way in their own country being very creative with the resources at hand. I love the video of the early trials of the towed foiling boat. -KH
Published on 02-14-2019 01:37 PM
Auckland, New Zealand - 15th February 2019
In late August 2012, a grainy photo of a boat emerged online.
Most hardened America’s Cup followers will clearly remember the image that was the talk of the sailing world for many weeks. A high angle shot, looking down on a giant 72 foot red and black Emirates Team New Zealand catamaran seemingly flying above the waters of the Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour.
Debate raged: “OMG photoshopped of course,”
“Can’t be foiling - anyone can see from that picture they’re simply launched off a wave.”
“On close inspection it is photoshop. You can see where the bow and stern were in the water. They have cut, lifted an pushed the boat forward 1/2 a boat length. Shame. That was cool for about 5 min”
An image that was so far outside the realms of the imagination of most people- but not those inside the base of Emirates Team New Zealand.
The cat was out of the bag, foiling had arrived. But there had been many months of secretive R&D meetings at Emirates Team New Zealand that went into developing a concept that would transform the world of America’s Cup racing forever.
Rewind to 2011, two years out from the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco. A time of any campaign where teams are thinking outside the square with weird and wonderful ideas having been studying the AC72 class rule, looking for loopholes and testing or attempting to validate some of the most innovative theories.
A crazy concept was continuing to circle within Emirates Team New Zealand.
“What if we could make the AC72 catamaran fly above the water?”
Was there a way to design a control system within the rules to move the dagger boards in the water to create enough lift to support the weight of five saloon cars on a surface area the size of a desk? In 2011, simulation was not at the required level of technology that it is today, so testing and ideas had to be validated on the water.
The challenge was how to keep such a crazy concept of foiling secret.
Auckland Harbour was a goldfish bowl to tens of thousands of eyeballs which would gawk at a vessel levitating above the water and sailing faster than most engine powered boats on the harbour, so a more discreet location was required.
And so, the first testing of the concept of foiling for America’s Cup all started on a remote and narrow lake in the middle of the Waikato region - Lake Arapuni - as a covert mission with a boat affectionately nicknamed, ‘The Waka’.
Things got off to a rocky start.
Early on in the ultra-covert project, while towing the Waka south, a small group of team members (who shall remain nameless) had to call the team CEO Grant Dalton to explain there was a slight curve ball in the operation. The top-secret test platform was now firmly the centre of public attention because they had neglected to tie it to the trailer appropriately and it had slipped off and was causing a multi-mile traffic jam on Auckland’s Southern Motorway.
The issue was swiftly resolved, and adversity overcome. The operation was back on track.
Glenn Ashby was relatively new to the team back then and quickly understood that foiling was not just a whacky fad but something that had to be kept under wraps.
“We made sure we were not in branded team kit. To anyone walking the dog around the lake, we probably just appeared like a few old battlers towing a beat-up old catamaran down the lake for fun.” Said Ashby
“We just had quite a few people with cameras and pelican cases in tow.”
It wasn’t an instant success, but it didn’t take long for the gigantic gains that foiling presented to emerge.
“After a couple of weeks of tuning and building new foils we got to the stage where we were able to tow the boat and pop out of the water and fly stably.
The Waka was a fantastic boat to learn all about foils, to understand what you could and couldn’t do, and potentially what the future could hold for us.”
“Some of those evenings where we would sit around the table, knowing we were pioneering absolutely new ground in the America’s Cup and in foiling multihulls and foiling boats was a pretty special feeling. Sitting there with the designers and the sailing team really knowing that you were part of such a special period of America’s Cup history in the making.” Recalled Ashby
The concept continued to grow legs and the operation eventually moved back up to Auckland and the backblocks of the Hauraki Gulf.
“Eventually we put all that technology and testing into use on our SL33 catamaran and, ultimately, we built our AC72 catamaran with fully foiling in mind. We knew we could do it, and we knew we had to push hard and push big because absolutely we could see that foiling was the future.”
Ultimately the innovative foiling golden bullet from New Zealand didn’t win the 34th America’s Cup for Emirates Team New Zealand, but it did change the face of top-level yacht racing forever. And it did install the belief in the team that being different and pushing the boundaries, throwing the ball as far as we could in innovation was the secret to success which eventually came in Bermuda in 2017.
“I think back fondly of those times in 2012 and how foiling was really born on a lake in the middle of the Waikato in little old New Zealand.”
Now, two years out from AC36 in 2021, as quiet as it seems from all America’s Cup teams, you can be rest assured there are plenty of innovative ideas being tested within design offices around the world, that could be the next quantum leap forward in technology on or off the water.
If you ever wonder why Kiwis are so damn good in virtually all kinds of sailing including foiling, Volvo Ocean Race and the Olympics, look no further than the just-concluded OK Dinghy Worlds.
Close racing at the OK Dinghy Worlds.
This design predates the Laser by a lot, and was originally supposed to be a training boat for the Finn. It’s a great boat, and there’s substantial freedom in the setup so in a lot of ways the boat is constantly upgraded and improved and very modern. Many of the hulls are quite old and wood. See the article by Noj Henderson in February edition of 48 North for a lot more about the class including its history in the Pacific Northwest.
You don’t see the Kiwis wringing their hands about whether or not it’s the fastest or best singlehander out there, or if it’s going to be the Olympic boat or not, they just get out there and race at a high level. 110 of them! The PNW can claim two of the competitors, Noj and my old shipmate Eric Rone. And they both sailed under the NZL, not the USA, flag. Makes sense. They just got out there and raced!
The other thing, the Kiwis as a whole value sailing. The regatta had videos, photos and all kinds of coverage daily. The video shows the 100+ boat starts, something that’s not seen very much any more. And the mark roundings, which appeared epic but orderly. Check it out, especially the offhand humility of the leaders interview. “Yeah, well, I really didn’t have that great a speed….” OK….sure.
This trio of half-hulls shows the evolution of Ragtime’s foils.
This year’s Transpac is promising to be epic. I’d like to gather a list of PNW entries to keep an eye on here at sailish.com. If you’re going, please let me know.
In a record year of interest, it’s perhaps fitting that the 100th
entry to the 50th edition of the Transpacific Yacht Club’s biennial
2225-mile Transpac race from LA to Honolulu is at 55 years old one of
the oldest in the race yet also one of the most innovative in the last
half-century of yacht design.
Chris Welsh’s Spencer 65 Ragtime will be making her 17th race to Hawaii
in July, more than any other yacht in the history of this race. Welsh
has been an owner of RAGTIME since 2004, and since then has raced three
Transpacs (2005, ’07, ’09), one race to Tahiti (2008) and the
Sydney-Hobart Race (2008). “It’s been ten years since we last sailed to
Hawaii,” said Welsh, “so we’re looking forward to having some fun
again.”
From its very beginning, this long, narrow, low-freeboard and
lightweight black beauty with the reverse shearline and hard chines has
been a recognizable Pacific ocean racing classic. Designed and built by
John Spencer in New Zealand in 1963 as Infidel for first owner and race
car driver Tom Clark, she was meant to be simply the fastest boat boat
of the era, something proven years later by her second owners who were
from Long Beach and beat the legendary Windward Passage across the
finish by only 4 minutes and 31 seconds to set a new course record in
the 1973 Transpac. And to prove this was no fluke, she won the Barn Door
Trophy again in 1975. Ragtime’s long narrow light weight design helped
inspire the next generation of ULDB (Ultra Light Displacement Boat)
designs that were to dominate this and so many other Pacific ocean races
for the next 25 years.
Ragtime finishing many years ago wing-and-wing. The Transpacific YC site has an amazing collection of historical photos. If you’re into racing history, it’s definitely worth a look.
Since then there has been several owners, with each making tweaks to
this double-ply plywood yacht: upgrades of new rigs, sails, keels,
rudders, bulbs, deck hardware, etc. have all been in her history. And
with the new innovations came new structures to accommodate the higher
and higher loads that came with pushing her faster and faster. Welsh
reckons there are few if any other monohulls in the world who are
performing 25% higher than when they were first built.
Right now Ragtime is getting a new engine that will not only be more
reliable but a few hundred pounds lighter, and some new winches that
will decrease the total number on board but also increase crew work
efficiency in the small cockpit space available in the design. Welsh
plans to race not only offshore but occasionally around the cans too,
and after Transpac has his sights set on an East Coast tour in 2020.
For this tour there will be another upgrade: a new carbon mast that will
be higher and lighter than the current one, which he would have used in
Transpac this year except there is no time to oversee the additional
structural work needed to secure this rig properly to the hull and deck.
Nonetheless, Welsh expects to be fast and have a shot at the King
Kalakaua Trophy awarded to the race’s overall winner in corrected time.
“Its fantastic that Transpac 50 has inspired so many boats of so many
ages, sizes and types to come out to race,” said TPYC Commodore Tom
Hogan. “And with the classics like Kialoa II, Ragtime, the Cal 40’s and
others still competing into their fifth decade, this shows the great
passion everyone has for ocean racing here in the Pacific. Transpac 50
is shaping up to be an epic race.”
For more information on the 50th Transpac, visit the event website at 2019.transpacyc.com.
We don’t know if the mystery guest was stooping or at full height.
Sometime during the height of the recent snowstorm, a rockstar sailor appeared on the Shilshole docks. They are seen here with Paul Baker and Suzette Connolly. The true identity is unknown at this time. The sunglasses were part of the wily veteran’s deception.
It has already been conjectured that it may be Carol Hasse escaping the peaceful climes of Port Townsend. Another theory has it that Russell Coutts was tired of the New Zealand summer and visiting as a break. Connolly and Baker aren’t talking.
It is suspected that another sailor traveling incognito, seen at left, is a bodyguard or assistant to the one with the sunglasses. He or she appears to be inebriated.
If you know who this rockstar is, please send it in. If there are further sightings, please snap a photograph and send it in. We will ascertain the true identity!
In this era of #metoo it’s essential, especially in sailing, to pay homage to the women who broke ground without the support of social media and an international conscience. Tracy Edwards was a giant in this regard while racing Maiden in the 1986 Whitbread Round the World Race, and remains so today as she sails the restored racer (now The Maiden Factor) around the world putting focus on empowering and educating girls worldwide.
As for this movie, it should be captivating as an adventure story, not just a women’s story. The equipment, boats and training just weren’t what they are today! The sailors onboard Maiden accomplished something amazing.
Once upon a time when there were 50 Lasers lining up for the Seattle Laser Fleet‘s Frigid Digit regatta, there wasn’t much thought of adding other classes. Over the decades the event has moved to various spots around Lake Washington, but now appears to have found a home with Cortinthian YC-Seattle doing the race management as a multi-class event on Puget Sound.
The history of Frigid Digit dictates that coverage starts with the Laser class. As was seen during the Turkey Bowl/Laser Districts last fall, the Laser class is definitely seeing a youth movement in the region. And, as if right from the brochure, it was growing young men making the move up from the smaller Radial rig to the Standard rig. Owen Timms, Max Doane and Kit Stoll all made the switch and were sailing at the front of the fleet all weekend. It was David Brink, a bit older but not that far removed from the Radial, who won the weekend and had his name written on the back of the trophy (for the second time!). His boat name, TCB, stands for Taking Care of Business. That he did.
Photos courtest of Brad Greene. Thanks, Brad!
Aeros
Aeros off the start
Bob Ennenberg of Jericho
Tasar jockeying
Optis rule
Jim Santroch
Radials rounding
There weren’t many capsizes, but a few.
Lasers
The Tasar fleet had “arranged” among themselves for it to be a one day regatta. While both days were good sailing days, they definitely picked the better of two. Bright sunshine and 8-14 knots ruled the day. On top of the frighteningly talented six boat fleet was Jay Renehan who won all four races entered.
Renehan and fellow Tasar skipper Jonathan McKee returned Sunday to have some fun in the biggest class, the 21-boat RS Aero fleet. It was Dalton Bergan who won the last three races to dominate that fleet in Sunday’s lighter air, with Dad-in-law Carl Buchan second. Third was Mike Johnson, one of the more recent Laser-to-Aero transplants, who is clearly getting the hang of the lightweight Aero.
In the Laser Radial class, Seattle’s young Erik Anderson class came up with a convincing victory over Bob Ennenberg of the Jericho Sailing Association of Vancouver, BC. Ennenberg had a smile on his face the entire time, and proved that the Radial is a great place for smaller adults or those that don’t want to risk the wrath of the standard rig if conditions deteriorate. Three Radial sailors made the trip from Bellingham.
There were three brave Opti sailors on the course as well, and without a doubt they had the biggest smiles all weekend. Sam Bush won all the races except one.
This regatta showed that singlehanded sailing, and dinghy sailing in general, is alive and well in Seattle. The RS Aero continues to attract a large group of top-flight competitors and the Lasers are the premiere venue for young people moving up the sailing ranks and honing their skills.
Correction: An earlier version of this story cited Neil Bennett’s comments as the meeting “minutes.” Neil’s comments below are actually “an overview to the membership that recounts the summary of the outcome decisions.” Sailish regrets the error.
It’s January, and time for the PHRF handicappers and officers to gather and ponder ratings and such. This past Sunday the event was held downstairs at CYC-Seattle. Just outside the marina, a very well attended Frigid Digit regatta was in full swing and on full display. It’s January in Seattle and we’re all thinking about racing…. Neil Bennett shared the meeting summary with me, and I was glad to hear he was “counting” on sailish to publish it. Here we go:
The Annual General Meeting of the PHRF-NW Handicapper’s Council was held on Sunday, January 27, 2019 at the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle. This meeting serves as a means to communicate with interested members and review rating appeals that had been properly filed.
Once upon a time the PHRF burgee.
The Council spent considerable time discussing the status of sailboat racing in the greater Puget Sound area. All clubs are persevering in the development of their racing programs through the introduction of “cruising class ratings’ for local or regional club regattas. Generally speaking, all clubs ask that Cruising Class boats join PHRF-NW for an official Performance Rating, then receive an adjusted ‘local rating’ to take into account each individual club’s and boat’s situations. These ratings are valid only in the local club races and are not ‘trailerable’ to out of a boat’s area regattas.
We introduced a new process to our deliberation; that of Fleet Reviews with recommendations for Council action, if appropriate. I will report on the specific outcome of this review process in the next paragraph. We canvassed the approximately 12 – 15 audience attendees who unanimously agreed that the pro-active approach of the Council, with due diligence in research and adherence to due process and PHRF - NW bylaws was appreciated and one which they wished to see continue.
The first review included two well-sailed boats, the Sierra 26’s Uno and Dos. The end result is that there was a recommendation and motion made to adjust each boats ratings by 6 seconds faster, making Uno move from 81 to 75 and Dos from 78 to 71. Owner/Skipper Brad Butler was present for this action and his Corinthian Spirit of cooperation was commendable.
Five other boats, the Moore 24, J 29, J 33, Melges 32 and TP 52 were discussed with no resulting action.
Appeals heard included a self appeal of a base rating for the Aphrodite 101 was not supported by the Council. An appeal of the base rating of the Melges 24 was filed by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, with a resulting change of the base and ODR rating changing to the faster from 99 to 90.
PHRF-NW remains committed to promoting fair and equitable sailboat racing throughout the Puget Sound Region. We look forward to seeing you all on the water.
On behalf of the entire PHRF-NW Handicapper’s Council, and in memory of Pat Nelson,
Neil Bennett, Chief Handicapper, Bellingham Yacht Club
Ed. Note: Thanks, Neil. I’m glad to hear of the attention being paid to the cruising classes. They’re growing and a great opportunity to build the sport with existing sailors who don’t have the interest in full-on race prep, for cruising boat owners and newcomers to the sport. It’ll be interesting to see if the rating changes to the Melges and the Sierras. With the hardware those boats accumulate, I don’t anticipate too many objections.
