Welcome to the AsianYachting May 2002

NEWS and VIEWS

 

Enquiries about Asian Yachtmaster's can NOW be sent by email to the new administration centre at info@asianyachting.com and News and Views can be contacted directly via news@asianyachting.com or by emailing Capt Marty

DISTRIBUTION: to over 2000 recipients in 45 countries at last count.

 

CONTENTS

1. Editorial
2. "Unluckiest sailor of the month" Award

3. Asian News
4. International

As all new systems are now up and running you can browse past editions of News & Views by clicking on December January February March April

1. Editorial  Well what interesting and exciting times the wonderful spring month of May has delivered already. New 24 Hour fully crewed records set by John Kostecki's illbruck Team to become the world's fastest monohull at present, Bruno Peyron's maxi sized catamaran Orange shaving more than 7 days off the official unlimited round the world record to clinch the Jules Verne Trophee, America's Cup and Tranz Tasman action downunder plus our very own inaugural Koh Samui Regatta in the Gulf of Thailand.

Blah! Makes me want to drop every thing and go out sailing! Stuck behind the computer! Lah! The Asian sailing scene now enters a period of local club racing which concentrates on training regional sailors to national representative levels.  Anyone looking for some racing action in Malaysia this summer the Royal Selangor Yacht Club in Port Klang and the newly formed Racing Yacht Club at Admiral Marina in Port Dickson have requested that their 2002 racing / cruise programs be published. So Now! Available from the AY Homepage with further linked info and important contact addresses at: RSYC 2002 Race Program http://asianyachting.com/rsyc.htm and the Racing Yacht Club,  Admiral Marina 2002 Race Schedule.... http://asianyachting.com/RacingYC.htm

Any other organisations that wish to have their regional sailing programs published directly on the AsianYachting website are asked to contact me with the linked URL addresses or if you do not have a website preferably with a html or word copy for me to easily create a new page for you for free.

The feedback from the inaugural Koh Samui Regatta organisers was a big success - with Keith Moore's Malaysian built International Farr 40 Pla Loma to everyone's surprise narrowly beating Frank Pongs 76ft Jelic on countback with Aussie Ray Roberts on Luna Nuova third and all saying they will be back bigger and better next year! Check out the complete - Race Reports and summary at..http://asianyachting.com/news/KoSamui02.htm

The future of sailing looks rosy indeed with Tracy Edwards, Ellen MacArther and Olivier de Kersauson presently undertaking preparations to mount assaults on the global speed sailing records plus the introduction of some new and exciting events (Go to International News) combined with the recent break throughs in technology readers and sponsors are guaranteed many more hours of exciting coverage following these daring sailors and their remarkable yachting feats. Makes me consider coming out of retirement and take on a serious sailing challenge before I get to old.

Wishing you clear blue skies, fair wind and good luck in your yachting endeavours.
Capt Marty

2. "Unluckiest sailor of the month" Award
Entries have been coming in thick and fast already this month with Team New Zealand's NZL57 dropping her mast and Aussie John Biddlecombe on Liberty accidentally striking the first Sydney harbour Red Marker buoy, fondly known by locals as the Gas buoy with a glancing blow shortly after the start causing his retirement in the Tranz Tasman Race.

But the MAY award must go to the girls on Amer Sports Too who lost their mast in the Atlantic 400 miles east of Canada on Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race. The incident occurred at approximately 1645 GMT last Wednesday. No one was hurt when the rig fell and the yacht was not in danger.

Skipper Lisa McDonald reported the crew had recovered the rig and sails and lashed the mast to the deck. The mast broke just above the second spreaders and a 10-metre section of the 26-metre mast was left still standing. Lisa said, at the time of the incident they were sailing under spinnaker in only 12 knots of south-westerly breeze. "There was a loud bang and the mast came down. We don't know why it broke. Once we have sorted ourselves and get underway again we will take a very close look. There's enough mast left to set up a reasonably effective jury rig. We will also need to assess our options from here"

After working through the possibilities with the syndicate management they opted to withdraw and head for Halifax / Nova Scotia and ship the yacht to France where the spare rig can be stepped in time for the start of the next leg. Their troubles where far from over when they had to endure a full 55 knot gale force storm that developed after accepting a tow enroute to Nova Scotia.

ASIAN NEWS

2. The Darwin to Dili Yacht Race is being resurrected this year and is planned to finish in Dili harbour on May 14 to coincide with East Timor's transition to self government. This race was last run in 1974 when I was a nipper going on my first overseas sailing experience. Email about this popular tourist destination during the late 60's and early 70's. More posted on their website:

3. The Darwin Bali Race will become a cruise in company starting on July 27 - 2002 . Due to legal and insurance problems plus the difficulty yachts have in complying with the AYF Safety Regulations, the committee in Darwin is unable to organise the event. Instead it will be conducted by APLI, which is the Indonesian National Sail Training Coordination body, with the support of the Indonesian Marine Tourism Department. Associated events in Indonesia include an underwater photography contest, diving jamboree and a Game Fishing Tournament from 5-9th August. For more info Ph: + 61 418 555544 2001

4. The city of New York has become the 8th and final city to have an entry in the highly competitive, amateur crewed, Clipper 2002 Round the World Yacht Race They join an already prestigious international line up of financial centres that have been enticed by race organisers Clipper Ventures plc into global sponsorships that promote worldwide trade opportunities, including: Liverpool (England), Hong Kong (China), Bristol (England), Glasgow (Scotland), Jersey (Channel Islands), Cape Town (South Africa) and London (England). Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to win a solo round the world yacht race and Chairman of Clipper Ventures plc, is thrilled with this exciting development - "I must express my personal delight at New York entering our Clipper 2002 event".

Opportunities for ordinary people to sail in a round the world yacht race achieving the extraordinary are few and far between. This race is specifically designed for the amateur and total novice sailor to compete on the world's toughest stage. We welcome New Yorkers and indeed all Americans to take up this challenge and crew onboard the New York Clipper. 8 identical 60 foot racing yachts will battle it out over 11 months and 35,000 miles of ocean. Each yacht is crewed by 14 paying competitors with a professional skipper and each backed by one of the 8 international cities. For crewing enquiries check out their website: www.clipper-ventures.com 

3. INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1. With an injection of £1.5 million over the next three years Skandia Life is one of the longest serving sponsors of any sailing event and become a respected name in yachting circles. Skandia Life Cowes Week (SLCW) is a very important event especially as it represents the companies core values of passion, courage, creativity, contribution and commitment. The consistent sponsorship over the last eight years has brought with it the opportunity to grow and evolve the event further, something Skandia is very proud of. In 2002 they will build on the success of previous years and the strong sporting aspects they have nurtured. One area they will work hard on this year is in giving something back to the competitors through a unique scheme to accentuate Skandia¹s corporate beliefs.

2. On behalf of some friends at the Hemingway International Yacht Club of Cuba who wish to inform us that the Cuban nautical institution Club Nautico is fulfilling its 10 years of foundation on May the 21st and they wish to celebrate this anniversary with a group of nautical activities and transmitting a sincere gratitude to all the nautical institutions which have supported them during this period. They feel very proud of the collaboration and friendly relations established with the international nautical community (Sir Robin Knox-Johnston's Clipper race stopover) which has been one of the highly motivated strengths that has been stimulating them to continue working in favour of the development of sports, recreation and recreational boating industry in Cuba. More info for those wanting to join in the fun contact the Club Nautico or HIYC of Cuba Commodore - Lic. Jose Miguel Diaz Escrich.

3. At 1534 GMT Tuesday it looked as though illbruck had broken the 24 Hour Monohull World Record by covering a huge 473 nautical miles. Just a few hours later the crew having pushed even harder and subject to confirmation achieved a staggering 484 nautical miles to become the worlds fastest monohull. This was achieved between 2002 GMT on 29 April and the same time on 30 April 2002. As focused as ever, skipper John Kostecki, said: "It feels great going fast and we also had the benefit of the Gulf Stream pushing us, so it is great to get the record".

"We had about 25 to 30 knots of wind and our masthead spinnaker up most of the time and our smaller reaching spinnaker for the last eight or nine hours. So it was the combination of these two or three sails that broke the record for us. We kept the same watch system as we are trying to win this leg of the Volvo Ocean Race and it just so happens that we are going fast enough to break the world record".

For several 10-minute periods illbruck averaged 27 knots of boat speed. Deducting the three-knot push of the Gulf Stream still leaves 24 knots through the water. Impressive by all means. The previous record was held by Bernard Stamm on the Open 60 Armor Lux (467.70 nautical miles, 19.49 knots average speed) since January 2001, sailed in the Gulf Stream as well. EDS has sponsored a trophy for the record. Illbruck's positions for this speed record are derived from Satcom C units between two GPS positions over any 24-hour period which is constantly monitored by the Volvo Ocean Race headquarters at www.volvooceanrace.org .

4. Bruno Peyron and his 12 man crew aboard maxi catamaran Orange cut the imaginary finish line to claim the Jules Verne Trophee on Sunday May 5th, 16.00 hours, 13 minutes and 45 seconds GMT. It took Peyron and his crew 64 days, 08 hours, 37 minutes et 24 seconds to complete the 28 035 nautical mile non stop round the world sailing record on the Ushant to Ushant course, via the three major capes, Good Hope (SA), Leeuwin (Aus) and Horn (Chile) at a remarkable 18.15 knots average. Peyron and his crew beat Olivier de Kersauson's former record by 7 days, 5 hours, 44 minutes, 44 seconds and put in a massive 565 mile 24 hour run on the approaches to the finish line.

5. For those boat owners that are looking for that extra knot of boat speed go no further than SailRater which is currently being developed by the US Sailing Offshore Office. The system makes VPP (Velocity Prediction Program) technology available to all monohull racers and is based on cutting edge data. It uses the latest results from on-going research in sailboat aerodynamics and hydrodynamics to predict variations in boat speed to the yacht of your choice. Sounds like a game for CEO's. For more information about SailRater, contact Dan Nowlan, US Sailing, Offshore Director .

6. The Antarctica Cup 2004 headquarters in Fremantle have been overwhelmed and flattered by the reaction from around the world after announcing their "dash for cash" through the Southern Ocean. Thanks to everyone who phoned, e-mailed, or joined in the bombardment of the website - www.antarcticacup.com

The good news is: The Antartic Ocean will be crowded during the summer of 2004! After looking long and hard at the International sailing calendar they come up with a start date during December 2004. We've had various constraints. Firstly time needed to build up to 15 maxis which can't be done overnight, so it wasn't feasible to run the Antarctica Cup before 2004. If we delayed a year we would clash with what we are assuming will be the next Volvo Race, and contrary to much comment in the media we are not setting up in opposition to the Volvo or the Vendee Globe but to be complimentary to them. Another year after that is just too far away and has the potential to clash with the Louis Vuitton/America's Cup, that is if it stays in New Zealand.

We decided that the cross over between single-handed sailors and fully crewed sailors was minimal. So although we might all be chasing the same sponsorship dollars, at least we weren't chasing the same sailors. While the Vendee Globe is a long-term campaign, anywhere between two and four years, the Antarctica Cup is a very short one, just four months. We believe the two events can live happily together.