colors

The Bloods, Crips, 18th Streeters, Latin Kings, Catela Norte, Eightball Posse and the East Side Thugs square off in the TP 52 class.. Photo by Carlo Borlenghi.

defenCe

John Casey gives us his wrap up report from the Little AC.  Note that you can find the guide to every minute of video coverage, highlight reels, and interviews right here, and check back tomorrow for the The Rev Petey's final HD highlight reel and the final Clean report from this awesome event.

On Saturday, Canaan (Fred Eaton/Magnus Clarke) and Alpha (Glenn Ashby/James Spithil) faced off to end the battle they have raged all week. Canaan got the best of Alpha, winning both match races today in a light northerly breeze on Narragansett Bay under clear blue skies, ending the series at 3-1. Even though Alpha won every start of the series, Canaan used their wing sailing skills and incredible platform, designed by Steve Killing Yacht Design, to get out of every hole Alpha put them in.  At the awards ceremony, Eaton pointed out that his team hadn't won a single start in two straight Little America's Cup championships, but they followed their game plan of getting no prestart penalties, relying on running away and using their seemingly impossible acceleration to get out of bad spots. Fred and Magnus were really impressed with how they could not speed away from Glenn and James in the prestart, so they had to make all the right decisions to stay clear.

Even with one boat running constantly for its life, the prestarts were full of dial-ups, close crosses, boats going from backwards to forwards in seconds, and great cat-and-mouse episodes. Eaton later pointed out  "wait until two real match racers lock up in these boats!"  In two days of commentating for OTWA at the Detroit Cup, I saw maybe a half dozen passes in one-design Ultimate 20s,  yet two of the four match races for the Little AC title saw four lead changes in four legs, and this was in two designs with huge variations in performance.  But at the end, the vastly superior power and downwind speed of the Canaan platform in the light to moderate air of the match racing finals sealed the deal, and sent the Little AC title back to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, and they are likely to defend it in Weymouth in two or three years' time.  When things in wing world will be much, much different.

Could you imagine this type of racing in 70+ foot catamarans? Well, there were a ton of designers and engineers present at the I4C who are indeed imagining it. With Morelli and Melvin taking the lead, there is quite a bit to be done writing the rule. Other designers, including VPLP (designers of many of the fastest multihulls in the world) are poised to draw an incredible piece of sailing art to win back the America’s Cup. With the next AC competing on cats, will we finally see some trickle down effect with cats being more accepted at yacht clubs?  Well, if the fact that this Little AC was, according to the NYYC Commodore, the first ever multihull regatta for the storied club is any indication, the times they are a changin'. 

Here's a note that John Williams wrote on the Catsailor forums the other day after speaking to Pete Melvin. "He said there were lots of AC people in attendance...it is much more than a rumour that the next AC will be on multihulls; it is a fact. "They" are working out the details of the new catamaran box rule. I was very happy to hear that the design race is still an important part of the equation - Pete said we might see, for example, some bizarre and innovative crossbeam arrangements. The take-away for me was that the boats will not look the same at all, which I feel is more in the tradition of Cap'n Nat's goal of building the fastest boat. I'd hoped to get more time with Pete to ask other questions while he seemed jet-lagged and willing, but it was time to go sailing! He spent the day with Matt Struble, Jay and Pease Glaser, Craig Yandow and Bill Westland in an A-cat tuning session.

Funniest part of the discussion - Pete was very amused that so many nay-sayers were in attendance at the LAC. He said they'd woken up to the reality of the future of the AC and realized they wouldn't have jobs anymore unless they caught the train already leaving the station. He was chuckling at the assertion by some "johnny-come-lately" firms that say, "Oh, yes... we can design a multihull!"

Once again, a huge thanks to all the OTWA supporters for this great event. You still have a day or two to hit up Layline with a 10% discount on anything on their site if you use the coupon code "LittleAC" at checkout.  Other sponsors include HBI Boats, Gunboat, Pure Yachting (makers of super light and stiff carbon RIBs),  Hall Spars (Ben Hall was present at the I4C and has plenty of experience building wings), Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke and the International C-Class Association, U.S. A-Class Catamaran Association, Ashby Sails, Red Gear Racing, Ion Earth who supplied real time tracking, and Sailfly, who supplied us Petey’s favorite vest.

And as a bonus to this report, here's defending champion wing trimmer Magnus Clarke showing us just which string you pull to turn on the afterburners, and how you trim a wing. 

innerview

the win

Adrian Johnson won the singlehanded Transpac on his Olson 30 idefix. We found out a bit about how he did it.

SA: How much single handing experience did you have before the T Pac?

AJ: My 500-mile qualifying sail, and two or three sails around the Seattle area.

SA: Did you have fun on the race? Would you do it again?

AJ: The race was a ton of fun, and a true adventure. This was my first ocean crossing, first ocean race, and first trip to Hawaii, so it was really an extraordinary experience for me. And of course, it was an incredible thrill to win the race. More importantly, the spirit of camaraderie that surrounds the racers, families, and organizers before, during, and after the race is amazing. I met lots of very experienced and talented sailors, but no big egos, and I know that I've made some lifelong friends. As the two competitive twenty-somethings racing 30-foot ultralights, Ronnie and I hit it off well from the start, and the friendly rivalry between us made the race a lot of fun. It'll be hard to top this first experience, but if I can find the time and money, I will do it again.

SA: What would you consider to be the ideal boat to do this type of race on?

AJ: The Olson 30 worked out really well for me, so it's hard to think of anything else! The boat is easy to singlehand, and very easy to get moving fast, especially with following seas. It's also a relatively cheap boat, which was a big factor for me since I couldn't get insurance. I'd been looking for one of the old Beneteau Figaros, but I don't think it would've been any faster. I'm surprised and a little disappointed no one's done the race in a mini yet. If I had the money, I'd go out and buy a mini or a Class 950 for this race.

SA: Tell us a bit about boat prep - what did you do to get the boat ready.

AJ: Boat prep was a 12-month ordeal. Turning a 30-year old buoy-racing ultralight into a singlehanded ocean racer is not trivial... I had help, notably from my friend Peter who, as delivery crew, had a vested interest in seeing the boat in good shape. We went over absolutely everything, from the keel bolts to the masthead, replaced a good deal of the rigging and hardware, put in a lot of safety gear, and installed a pretty complex (for an Olson 30) electrical system, with SSB radio, solar panels, instruments, all sorts of lighting and 2 autopilots. We also wasted a lot of time building a fancy emergency rudder. But the hull, mast, and foils are all classic Olson. I suffered several emotional breakdowns, where I just didn't think I could be ready in time. I couldn't have done it without help. In hindsight, though, it was a terrific learning experience.

SA: How about getting yourself ready - what did you do to get in shape, physically and mentally?

AJ: The qualifier was excellent mental preparation. I did it off of Cape Flattery in November. When I came back from that, I knew I had a solid boat, and that I could live for four days without sleep. I spent a lot of time reading descriptions of the race by previous racers, and the handbooks Skip Allan and Stan Honey did for this race and the Pacific Cup. Unfortunately, the boat prep took a toll on my physical shape. I did a minimum of bike riding and weight training, but in the weeks before the race, several people told me that I looked like shit and needed some sleep!

SA: What was the hardest aspect of the race?

AJ: I managed to get drenched during a sail change under the Golden Gate bridge. I was wet and mildly hypothermic for the next three days. I also got seasick for the first time in my life. Those first three days seemed to last forever. A couple days later I watched Ronnie pull away from me while I sat in a hole, which was probably more difficult for me. I can imagine it was tough for him when the roles reversed several days later.

SA: Did you have any near disastrous moments?

AJ: Not really. I've been scared plenty of times sailing, but this race went really smooth. The worst moment was on day 11. I was 300 miles out of Hanalei, and had broken my mainsheet traveler that morning. The wind had picked up and I did a headsail change when the sheave pin for the spinnaker halyards came out. I couldn't fly a spinnaker for the rest of the race. I figured I was out of the race, but after I chilled out, I realized the boat could still make impressive speed with the jib poled out. That same day Dave reported that he'd broken his boom and I knew I had it in the bag. I didn't tell anyone about my gear failures, because I figured someone might try to catch up!

SA: Let's talk about budgets. how much did it cost to do the race, including getting the boat back. did you ship it?

AJ: I was on a pretty tight budget, so everything was pretty much DIY. Most of my gear was bought used or borrowed. I sailed the boat back to Seattle. The total budget was still $20k, not including my elbow grease and lost pay. That's twice what my boat is worth! I figure the next race would cost me $5k.

SA: What things would you do differently?

AJ: Not much, actually. I'd find another way to get the boat home, because it's too much time to take off from work. I'd get a satphone so I can send and receive email. I'd also spend a bit of time trying to line up some sponsorship. I think Ronnie, Adam and AJ have shown that it's possible, even for a relatively low-profile event like this one.

SA: What's next for you?

AJ: I'm back at my day job. Idefix will be back on the local race courses this season with the rest of the crew. We weren't really competitive last season, so we have our work cut out for us. In the spring I'll start seriously thinking about whether there's a 2012 transpac in the cards.

SA: Thanks dude and well done!

AJ: Thanks! Let Anarchy rule!

orange crush

Phaedo, a very trick and very orange Gunboat 66 has just been launched. We love this shot by Torbjörn Linderson from Marstrom Spars and one from the stern. Please note flowery description below from the PR team...

Phaedo has just splashed…. The owner and Captain went through the boat from stem to stern to seek out, analyse, improve, and invent many new features and technology looking into the past and bringing some of the old Gunboats unique features through and adding some new ones that have now become the standard on Gunboats in the future, a big evolutionary step forward. By a large margin this is the most aggressively built Gunboat, chasing the power to weight ratio, with top speed as the goal. The unique black Quantum taffeta carbon fusion sails are hoisted on a High Modules rig, containing carbon battens supported by PBO rigging,

There is an über modern, stylish, interior with open spaces instead of stuffed furniture, with everything from weight saving, clear coat carbon counters instead of corian to being the words fastest cruising cat with a pizza oven. This interior wouldn’t be out of place as a hip New York City Central Park apartment.

On board is the largest Mastervolt distributed power system installed to date, cutting edge i-lèd lighting system designed by www.in3design.com. Dancing to the tunes from Bang &Olufsen’s latest BeoSound 5 system nestled in its own unique custom wenge and Acralite unit, back lite by blue LED’s, with drinks coming from the Italian Vitrifrigo drawer fridges. Sitting on the raw buffalo hide sofa surrounded by American walnut custom lightweight cored panelled units. Navigating around the world will be a breeze, as the owner developed an extensive integrated glass bridge system borrowing many ideas from his aviation background where navigation is critical. PHAEDO should be seen monohunting in the Caribbean this season. Lead mines consider yourselves warned.

the fucking weather

Seems like we're always worrying about the fucking weather. Finally a weather site that simplifies it for you. Enjoy.

classics

Lottsa wood from the Herreshoff Classic Regatta, thanks to anarchist mstrsail. More here.

how it went down

Ronnie Simpson tells the tale of losing the keel on the Jutson 30 Warrior's Wish...

So it's been 11 days since Ed and I came under the Gate and i'm finally just now catching my breath since coming back home. Everyone keeps asking for a write up of exactly what happened out there, so here goes:

After a successful Singlehanded Transpac and 2 weeks in Kauai, I took off for Oahu, stopping at Waikiki Yacht Club in Ala Wai Yacht Harbor. It was 125 miles of bumpy, wet, upwind sailing from Kauai to Oahu. Waikiki Yacht Club donated a guest slip to me for 10 days so that I could prep the boat, wait on my crew, and most importantly, spend 3 days racing on the 1D35 "2 Guys on the Edge". Thanks to Dan Doyle and Waikiki Yacht Club for the slip and hospitality.. You guys are all world class sailors and human beings, your yacht club kicks ass, and the Oahu sailing scene, while being small in size, had some great boats, great people and a great venue.

After the weekend, Ed and I provisioned the boat and took off for California. The Pacific High looked like it was beginning to re-organize, and conditions looked good for leaving the islands. Leaving Hawaii, we had 18-25 knots of breeze on a close reach, allowing us to move straight north at 7-8 knots over the ground. Within 5 days, we had made it to roughly 35 North and 155 West. We were stoked on our progress, but it was now becoming decision time. The high had become really massive and moved north. With enough fuel for maybe 36 hours of motoring, and 2 hours per day of charging the batteries in neutral, we had to sail like 90% of the way to California. Because of this, we decided to beat straight to weather for roughly 1,000 miles and head south of the high. Heading straight east, we were essentially short tacking across the Pacific which was not exactly what we had hoped for when leaving Oahu, but whatever. The miles became extremely slow and tedious, and our daily VMG runs were pathetic, but we kept in good spirits. The breeze looked like it would eventually clock north, allowing us to beat to weather on a port tack headed straight for San Francisco. After that we would be able to crack off onto a close reach and eventually beam reach, knocking out some serious miles and making it home.

On the 13th day of the passage, the breeze finally clocked north, as we had been anticipating. Morale on the boat was great. We were still hard to weather, but we were now pointed directly for the Golden Gate. We both spent time watching the GPS, reveling at the fact that every slow mile was a mile made good. Boat speed was about 6 knots, and with the breeze scheduled to clock left and allow us a reach (Mount Gay 30s reach very well), we were anticipating a 19 day passage. If things went really well, it might even be 18 days. We started talking more and more about eating at my favorite $8 Thai place in Alameda, hitting the Irish pub next door and sleeping on dry land after a long passage. Things were beginning to look great and we were anticipating reaching land after a difficult passage involving lots of upwind work in a somewhat brutal 30 foot sportboat.

And then it happened. Ed and I were both lazily laying in our bunks reading. I was reading "Adrift", about the guy who spent 76 days in a life raft after his 21 foot boat broke up in the Atlantic. How appropriate. We both heard a loud pop and immediately jumped into the cockpit to see what was going on. Ed took the helm and evaluated how the boat was driving. I began checking all shrouds, turnbuckles, chainplates, etc. After thoroughly looking the boat over, we could not find anything wrong, so we both went back down below. Right on cue, it was now getting dark. With Murphy's Law in full effect, some really fucked up stuff was going to happen in the middle of the night. Daytime would have been way too easy. We were both down below, laying in our bunks. Or maybe sitting. I don't remember, but neither one of us was sleeping when it happened again. Pop! I shot on deck and again began checking everything rigging related, but all appeared in order. Ed again took to the cockpit, grabbing the helm, de-powering, and evaluating how the boat drove. Everything appeared in order, the boat felt solid, and our speed was unaffected. So we are 800 miles from land and have now heard two very very very bad sounding pops. Nothing appears to be wrong, and we're still on a rhumb line for San Fran.

Approximately two hours later i'm at the base of the mast with a head lamp on in the rain, inspecting all of the rigging when I hear a "Pop Pop". My right knee was on the cabin top, and I felt some type of thud through the deck. I yelled "Did you hear that? I felt some type of movement through the boat!" Ed was down below; this time not bothering to come to the cockpit. He was now looking low, moving gear around and pulling up floorboards. His focus was on the stringers surrounding the keel. There were cracks at several of the spots where the stringers intersect. The worst one was on the port side next to the "ice box" where we stored our food. It was completely cracked, and as the boat moved up and over each individual swell, you could feel hull flex through the stringer.

The boat was breaking up on us and we were close to 800 miles offshore. Ed and I decided that we would limp the boat home, reducing sail area and altering point of sail/ destination if need be. Anything to keep the boat from slamming in any way. I planned to call Don the next morning on the sat phone and tell him of the situation. With our new plan formed, we headed to the cockpit to reef down. Ed went to grab the helm and point us into the wind, so that I could reef down, as had become our normal routine of reefing. So Ed grabs the helm and says "Ronnie, look at this. I've got 30 degrees of leeward helm". Holding us in a straight line, Ed remained at the helm, while I dropped the jib, as it was easier than putting in a reef.

With just a main sail up, Ed attempted to put us into the wind, when the boat tacked itself. With the main unexpectedly coming over, it landed on the tight running backstay, meaning that we effectively could not sheet out until one of us jumped down to blow the runner. This is when we should have flipped in the middle of the night and probably died. The boat heeled over to a very extreme angle, burying the port side of the boat underwater nearly to the cockpit. I jumped down to the leeward side and blew the clutch for the runner just in time, before jumping back to the high side as quickly as possible. I trimmed main while Ed drove. Ed attempted to tack the boat, but it wouldn't tack. In hindsight, this was one of the scariest moments of my life. We were extremely far from land, our boat was having some very serious problems, it was dark, and no one knew of our situation. The really shitty part was that we both had not yet figured out what was wrong.

After multiple attempts of building speed and tacking, the boat finally pulled through a tack and flopped over. Immediately de-powering, we kept the boat as flat as possible while I put in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd reefs. With 3 reefs in the main, we hoisted the #4 jib and attempted to sail this way throughout the night, hoping to evaluate what was wrong with the boat at first light. One of the first things that we noticed when sailing was that our wake was sideways, in addition to the whole leeward helm thing. We talked about the possibilities of rudder damage, missing keel bulbs, "bent" or canted keels, etc, but came to no immediate conclusions. All we knew was that something was EXTREMELY wrong with the boat and that the structure itself was beginning to break apart. Our plan remained the same: limp the boat through the night.

Driving throughout the night, we noticed that if we got the boat going fast enough, the helm became much more neutral and the boat began to track. The Mount Gay 30's rudder is so massive that with enough boat speed it begins to create lift. That's my theory anyway. I believe we actually hit 7.7 knots over ground that night with the boat being so light, and with the lack of wetted surface, it hauled ass even under very reduced sail. The boat was still heeled over excessively though. At one point I remember setting the pilot and hiking out off the windward side, trying to shine a flashlight down at the keel. Ed went to leeward and the boat heeled another 5 degrees. I told him to quickly come to windward and he did. The boat went flat. We both looked at each other, and without speaking, seemed to say to one another "Yep, the keel's gone." In writing this article, I almost feel stupid for taking so long to really confirm the keel is gone, but it was just such an unexpected failure that we both never immediately suspected that the keel had fallen off. And if it had fallen off, why the hell didn't we flip?

At first light the next morning, I jumped over the stern to check out what was going on underneath. I saw the rudder and the sail drive, but not the keel. My brain wasn't wanting to believe what my eyes were telling me, so I asked Ed to retrieve the snorkel mask. Donning a mask, I confirmed my worst fear: the keel was completely, 100% gone. No stub, no strut, no nothing. Instead of seeing that the keel was missing, it was as if I had seen a hungry great white shark. I was so scared at the sight that I hopped back on the boat as soon as possible. The sight made me lose my breath, so with much difficulty, I just said. "Dude. Dude. It's gone. It's fucking gone. The whole thing." Ed calmly replied, "Yeah, I thought so."

We immediately dropped the main and sailed under jib alone. Close-hauled, we were drifting so bad that our GPS had us on a rhumb line for Central America. We talked about our options and quickly agreed to not give up the boat unless it capsized and we couldn't right it. Next we decided to call the Coast Guard and ask them how we could obtain more diesel fuel. Ed took the helm while I started making sat phone calls and SSB transmissions, communicating with the Coast Guard in Kodiak, Alaska. They quickly brought someone from Point Reyes CG station onto the net, taking down our information. They put out a notice to mariners asking for a diesel fuel drop at our position. To be continued.

maxi taxi 2

Last week we showed a huge power boat that could be a perfect maxi taxi, here is one that actually is. It is"Le Grand Blue". It is the Mega Yacht (370 ft) of another Russian (the yacht is currently under refit in port of Rostock, Germany). This one comes including a helicopter, a submarine, a BIG power boat and a BIG sailing yacht (both around 60ft). Some mega rich Russian seem to be into sailing already. Thanks to anarchist Jan.

ice queens

When I was 18 years old my best friend Ana died of breast cancer at the age of 32. This year I turned 32 and I realized exactly how much grace she exhibited during her ordeal in the prime of her life. This inspired me to create this calendar in aid of Breast Cancer Research. I met the women in this calendar when I worked in Antarctica during the 2009-2010 Season at Rothera Research station at 67 degrees south. They like Ana are amazing intelligent women with a lot to offer the world in general and the world of science. I hope this calendar inspires you in some way. Boys - this is not a swimsuit edition – the weather is not suitable for that down south!

The calendar pages are 8.5 by 11 and there are 28 pages in total. It is a 12 month calendar and it includes a map of Antarctica and a few interesting dates in Antarctic history. Each calendar girl has a photo and there is a description about what their role is south.

The price is $20 each + postage and packaging. To order please email amperrin@racingyachtmanagement.com with an address that you want the calender sent to. Thank you for the support! - Ashley Perrin.

community

helping hands

San Diego's Challenged America adaptive sailing program for the disabled, is a national (and founding) sponsor of the 3rd Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA's) Summer Sports Clinic for recently injured veterans, held from the downtown Marriott Hotel and Marina, September 19 to 25, 2010. More than 100 recently wounded heroes from around the nation will participate in this year's event.

First proposed to the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1996 by the Challenged America program, San Diego was selected as the host city in 2008 for the 1st National Summer Sports Clinic event, with plans to maintain the event in San Diego through 2012, according to Miyares.

Along with Challenged America, Sail USA 11, and Hipp Marine have joined to provide the sailing venues for these wounded warriors on San Diego's Bib Bay, from the dock of the Marriott Marina. An estimated 400 to 500 people will be involved in the program, to include participants and their families, medical support and other VA personnel, government officials, celebrities, and volunteers, most coming from around the nation.

"Challenged America will have at least 50 volunteers active throughout the Clinic's 5 days of sailing. And the veterans, therapists, and family members will be sailing in the Martin 16, a two-person, 16-foot high-tech sailboats designed to accommodate those having severe and catastrophic disabilities, Harbor 20 (foot) sailboats, and the America's Cup yacht "Stars & Stripes" of SailUSA11.com," says Miyares. "For most, this will be their first time in a sailboat, and we anxiously look forward to making that first experience exciting and fun. After all, many of the volunteer sailing instructors with Challenged America are also veterans, with some being combat-disabled from past wars and conflicts. Veterans helping veterans is on the water is what the Clinic and Challenged America are all about."

Challenged America was founded in 1978 by San Diego disabled veterans desiring to direct their own rehabilitation activity. Today, a recognized pioneer in the field of adaptive sailing as a therapeutic activity and innovator of adaptive sailing aids and devices for the disabled, hundreds, some coming from around the nation and world, participate in the Challenged America program each year. Challenged America is a charitable program of the Disabled Businesspersons Association, with its sailing facility on Shelter Island, San Diego.

For additional information on the VA National Summer Sports Clinic, September 19 to 25, 2010, visit Challenged America or send an e-mail to Ahoy@ChallengedAmerica.org, or call (619) 523-9318, or visit.

little AC

match it if you can

First, check out this highlight reel from the fleet racing portion of the Little AC.  For more about Friday's match racing, read below. 

 

Match racing was in full effect today when two forces collided in Newport, RI for the championship round of the Little America’s Cup (I4C). The Defenders, Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke, sailing Canaaan faced the Aussies Glenn Ashby and James Spithill, sailing Alpha in a seesaw battle. The story line of the qualifying races has been bigger breeze-Alpha, anything else-Canaan. There was a little bit of both today.

From the onset the action was nonstop. During the two cancelled races of the morning, the prestart fight lasted until the gun, and while Alpha was more aggressive, Canaan attacked when they had the opportunity, pulling their Y-flag during a close downspeed port/starboard cross, and getting a green flag for their trouble. Canaan ended up a mile ahead in the first race by staying in the breeze better than Alpha, although it was rightfully stopped when the Narragansett Bay current was faster than the wind. After Alpha won the second start, the two ended up in the convergence zone between the seabreeze and gradient, and the race was called.

After the seabreeze stabilized at 10-15 knots, racing resumed. Again, the prestart was serious with Alpha continuing to charge and Canaan finding ways to get free. They pushed each other beyond the starboard layline on a wild reach one minute before the start. Fred and Magnus’ tactics worked well until they blew the tack to head to the line. They ended up 38 seconds behind at the top mark as Alpha sped from the line at top speed. Canaan played catch-up for the rest of the race, with Alpha showing their textbook boathandling and great speed. In the end, the margin of victory by Alpha was only eight seconds. Prestart was everything.

The battle raged on in the second prestart with Alpha continuing to attack and Canaan evading. Only in the last 20 seconds before the start did Alpha gain a true advantage, starting underneath Canaan to the left side of the course. Alpha kept gassing the Canadians until Canaan tacked back right. In true match-race style, Alpha tacked straight away and slowly (in catamaran time) rolled over the top of Canaan, forcing Fred and Magnus to tack to the left side of the course. When they met at the top mark Alpha led by 18 seconds. That was the last mark Alpha lead in the race. On the downwind Alpha covered from ahead but Canaan gybed later to starboard for the leeward mark and worked inside with pressure and superior downwind speed and angle. Canaan gybed in front of Alpha at the bottom mark and extended the lead to over three minutes, although the dying breeze after Canaan finished had quite a bit to do with the finishing disparity.

In the end, the prestarts were the key, as Canaan had trouble in the first and stayed clear in the second. The performance differences were minimal upwind, but downwind was another matter, especially in light air.  What do you know? Match races with box-rule, technology-driven multihulls, decided by skill. Tomorrow starts in a dead heat, although Canaan has the tiebreak for winning the qualifying round. Look for the prestart intensity to triple tomorrow!

The fleet racing by the other three C-Class yachts in the field was a bit anticlimactic, except for Patient Lady VI dropping her rig right at the finish. The ‘T’ hound at the top of the shrouds failed right at the finish of race one, and she was quickly towed to shore. There was only minor damage which will be repaired by morning. PLVI will definitely be out tomorrow as they still have a shot at 3rd place. The slender bowed Orion, sailed by Canadians Dan Cunningham and Rob Paterson hit the beach during the first race as they didn’t want to break their wing, which is also the backup for Canaan. Orion and Invictus have been trading punches for third position since the beginning, and hopefully we will see Orion out again if the conditions aren’t too full on.

Today, all of the best wing and multihull designers were on hand to view the spectacular prelude to the future of match racing, and OTWA was there to bring you every minute. Our coverage continues tomorrow with races MOVED UP TO 10 AM. Just go to the live link on the Little America’s cup site to view some incredibly intense racing with live tracking.

Check out the two part interview with Fred Eaton and Jimmy Spithill here after the day's racing, and check this one out to see what Steve Clark had to say the morning after the death of the Cogito wing, the predecessor...

Thanks to Gunboat, makers of the fastest cruising sailboats in the world, Layline (offering a 10% discount on their stock and rigging if you use the code Little AC), Pure Yachting, Hall Spars who happened to help out with the last Cup winning wing, the C-Class especially Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke, U.S. A-Class Catamaran Association, Ashby Sails, Red Gear Racing the best catamaran coaching in the U.S., Ion Earth for the tracking, Hard Bottom Inflatables for supplying us the HBI for coverage and SailFly for great warm gear.

Photos: Meredith Block. Check out more photos at the Little AC site here.

CANed

Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke on the ever sexy Canaan C-Class catamaran caned the competition today with a clean sweep of all three races of the second, much lighter day of the Little AC. Downwind they were just ridiculous, with Fred showing his skiff trapping skills and Magnus bumping the hull up at every chance. Upwind Glenn Ashby and Jimmie Spithill on Alpha kept trying to get inside, but the Canaan crew put the bow down and went for boatspeed every time, not worried about being passed.

The biggest meaning of today’s wins definitely isn’t the points Canaan gained, but the message sent. There was even a little precurser to the Match Canaan followed Alpha on starboard down the line to the pin and tacked for leeward boat advantage for the port start. Canaan will face Alpha in the best-of-nine series for the I4C tomorrow and Saturday, and Alpha has to come up with something to match Canaan’s performance. Or do they? It will be a match race after all, and the tactics will change significantly. Ashby and Spithill will likely attack during the prestart at every opportunity to get a penalty on Fred and Magnus. What is the defense? Canaan knows they are faster at this point, so they may try what has worked for them in the past: Run away prestart and make all of their gains during the race. With the points stuck back on zero, tell us your opinion and pick your horse here.

The complete bummer today is the French team sailing Patient Lady VI who ate it going downwind on the way to the course, obtaining some damage when their windward daggerboard went through the wing. Over the past week they’ve spent long hours every night tweaking almost every aspect of the dated wing to make it more competitive. Today, they achieved their highest speed yet right before the flip.

Invictus is sitting in a solid third place. Orion missed all the races yesterday due to breakage, and Invictus beat them two out of three today. Since there are five boats left with two racing in the I4C, it’s likely we will see a three boat fleet race for the next two days. Orion did pitch it on a screaming reach on the way to NYYC from the racecourse and sustained some damage to their wing, but they’ll be sailing tomorrow.   Word is they were drag racing Matt Knowles' Moth when they bit it.

On the Water Anarchy live coverage starts tomorrow just before 1100, when we’ll give you the lowdown on all the racing on Justin.TV.  You can check out the full guide to the recorded races, interviews, and panel discussions here, and if you go to littleAC.com, you can watch the video while checking out the tracker.  One thing is for certain, this championship will be intense.

One final thing:  Thanks to all of you who've been watching, encouraging, and supporting us and our coverage of this awesome spectacle.  Special thanks to the C-Class, Canaan, Fred and Magnus, HBI Boats and their new HBI 30, Layline, Ashby Sails, Red Gear Racing, and the US A-Class Catamaran Association, and a ton of appreciation to the sailors and team members down here giving us such great access (Ashby helped commentate during his own race today over our onboard microphone), and to the New York Yacht Club for getting ahead of the curve with their strong support for a class that represents both prestigious history and the most cutting edge of the sport.  Meredith Block photos, and check out some great ones from Christophe Launay here.

Watch it here:

AC

what dreams may come

Well, the day has come: Rumors from both inside the major teams and out are confirming that the 34th America's Cup will indeed be in wing-sailed cats.  Sources in Spain and England agree that Mark Turner, the OC Events chief and the organizer of a portfolio of big events and series - most recently, the Extreme 40 series - will be named head of the new America's Cup Management group, some Defender lobbying is said to have gotten ETNZ excited by the prospect, and Newport is literally crawling with designers from every corner of AC land, including much of the team that designed USA17's wing (remember meeting them on this Cocktail Hour?)  And they're here on the company clock.

So while another month will tick by before the official announcement, it's safe to say that a brave new world at the top of the sport is about to emerge, and the cards are about to get shuffled in a big way.  Let's just hope they do it right, and in the process, get millions excited by the art of designing and racing sailboats.

controlled chaos

SurfCityCatamarans checks in from one of our favorite events, the Bridge To Bridge.  For some footage from the air of this waterborne melee, check out this clip at the 18footers.com.au site.

Unless you’ve seen the Ronstan Bridge to Bridge Race Hosted by the StFYC, it’s really hard to describe the controlled chaos. With winds blistering over 25 and a bubbling, boiling ebb maxing out at the start, it’s really a stretch to call it ‘controlled’ anything. The course of the B2B is from the Golden Gate to the Bay Bridge, and is held in conjunction with the International 18 Skiff Regatta off of Crissy Field. According to Alan Prussia from Ronstan, “This year was the 12th annual race of an event that started out as a race between the 49ers and sailboards, which at the time were a new Olympic class.” The B2B is almost 8 miles of down-wind blasting and is race number 8 in the Skiff event, and only about half of the 57 entrants finished.  After race 7 was a complete yard sale and abandoned, a lot of the competitors called it a day. Most of the fleet ended up on their ears as the wind at Point Blunt peaked above 30.  According to sources on the beach, this was the first time in 12 years that a race was cancelled to high winds. There were a few broken bits and broken dudes. The skiff sailors took their lumps and rested up to hit the water again.

Even before the races started there was some trepidation, and as my friend Paul Allen, a long time skiff sailor said, “A lot of people are rigging to NOT go out.”  Allen, a sailing powerhouse out of Santa Cruz, races occasionally with Pegasus Racing. He’ll sail anything fast, and gave us the rundown on these potato-chips-with-huge-sail-area that they call i-deenfoodas. Lots of carbon, faux wood, and even bamboo make up these incredibly quick boats. John Winning (Woody), the grandfather of the fleet, has been sailing skiffs since before he bought his first one in 1975. Winning has sailed all of the B2B events except one where he broke a rib the day prior to racing a few years back. Early in the day he was thinking about his race strategy for the heavy conditions, “They all go down the bottom end for a hot ride, and we’ll stay up here for survival. We’ll push a lot less tide.” There were lots of wide-eyed competitors as the puffs kicked up clouds of sand on the beach, and a lot of worried expressions on the sailor’s faces, hoping they make it back in one piece. Off the beach they go.        

At the start it’s mass chaos as a handful of skiffs, kites, formula boards, and this years special guest, a Trifoiler with a kite, jockey for position. In the past, the fleets have been separated, but due to advantages and disadvantages of the pin vs. the committee end, the fleet started as one group. It’s amazing me that the whole thing doesn’t just instantly end up in one giant Dyneema yarn ball.

The majority of the kites and boards chose to start on the port end, while the skiffs took it right up the middle. There was a collision between a couple of the 18 footers just before the start, and several kites were downed, but the sequence continued on. The Trifoiler, helmed by Don Montague started a bit late, but when it got up to speed, it simply hauled the mail; accelerating up onto its foils and jetting off like a missile in the powerful puffs. I had my money on the foiler, but as the wind eased toward Yerba Buena Is., the boat lost its foiling ability and dredged a giant hole in the water. They finished 26th overall. The Trifoiler was a treat to see, but in the lighter winds toward the finish line the skiffs had the upper hand, and as Prussia notes, “I think every year the equipment keeps getting more dialed. This year the finish time was 17minutes and 54 seconds, making an average speed of, what, 24 knots?” I think Alan’s close, and you add a 3 knot ebb in there, and regardless, it’s fast!

The middle of the course really paid off and the traditional trek up the City Front to seek refuge from the ebb also saw refuge from the huge breeze mid course. I don’t even think the 18s are affected by tidal flow, there’s only about 6 inches of centerboard and rudder in the water for the entire downwind run, so the breeze won out. At the end of the 16 plus minute run, an i-deen-fooda skippered by Michael Coxon took the honors, followed by another skiff helmed by Allex Vallings, and Woody in 3rd. The first non-skiff was in the 4th spot, a kite sailed by Chip Wasson. Several late finishing kiters even had to swim for it, and eventually were picked up by the chase boats. More pics here, and the results are pretty interesting to look at.

Radical conditions and radical boats!

obstacle

Team Origin seems to have escaped their mediocre MedCup performance this year, at least in the early stages of the Cartegena TP52 event, which started Wednesday.  Ainslie and crew jumped out to a slim lead with a 3-1 score, and we'll see if they can put together a whole event at the pointy end of the fleet.  You can watch or download loads of video from the MedCup TV site here, but the best thing we've seen so far from this stop is this HD TP-52 vs. Tanker video from Quantum Racing/Keith Brash.

I4Carnage

We think most will agree that the Little America's Cup is some of the most interesting racing in the world this year, hence our heavy coverage of it.  But if you missed our coverage of Thursday's ultra-exciting International C-Class Cat Champs, have a quick peak at a few highlights from On-The-Water Anarchy, and tune in to the live feed tomorrow at 11 AM EST for more.  Weather should be lighter, which means we can spend more time filming and less time hanging on for dear life.  For more, read JC's article below.

it is what it is

Racing of the Little AC started today in a 15-18 knot breeze in Newport, when Alpha sailed by Glenn Ashby and James Spithill sent the first salvo by port tacking the fleet in the first race. Canaan followed to the right, with Orion, Aethon and Invictus choosing the left. Then things got interesting. Just a few minutes after the start the C-Class lost one of its most valuable assets when Steve Clark’s Aethon capsized going upwind. During the flip, Clark slid off the windward hull, 14 feet in the air and backsplashed into the  precious Cogito wing which dominated the competition for over 10 years before the 2007 I4C, turning it into carbon scraps. Watch it in our intro video here. 

The action wasn’t over though, as Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke aboard Canaan fought Alpha all three laps of the race. After four lead changes in race 1, Canaan had the lead into the last gybe, but they weren’t able to power up fast enough and Alpha barely nipped them at the finish. Invictus came across in third quite far back after being late for the start.

Orion and Patient Lady VI all had their own problems to deal with. During the first race Orion lost their rig when their starboard chainplate pulled out. The very experienced Canadian composite contingent will work around the clock to exact composite repairs on the chainplate and a few broken ribs in the wing from the fall. I know this:  it’s nothing these guys can’t handle.

Patient Lady VI’s L shaped rudders are both broken, but they’ll  be fixed by tomorrow, I assure you. 

Alpha led wire-to-wire in the second race, with Glenn Ashby displaying his world champion A-Cat style big breeze downwind sailing skills. With less volume in the bow, Canaan backed off a little and went for the least choppy part of the course downwind, the goal being to finish the race and save the boat for the Championship round. After breaking one rudder, Patient Lady VI was able to finish ahead of Invictus, who became hung up on the start pin and later broke their port daggerboard while on a reach when they overstood the top mark in race two. They had to sail all of race three without it. Invictus doesn’t have any spares, so they might borrow a daggerboard from the Canadians. It won’t fit their current trunk so there’s another team that won’t get much sleep tonight.

The breeze lightened up and the chop died down for the third and final race of the day. Alpha lined up on top of Canaan and they both had a good port start. Alpha lost their mainsheet for just a couple seconds during the drag race to the layline, which gave Eaton and Clark aboard Canaan a window of opportunity. They went all the way to the starboard layline and Alpha never saw them again. Fred and Magnus aboard Canaan were getting settled in and their wing was really working for them downwind.

Every team I talked to today who had issues said the same thing, which might just be the slogan for the class: “It is what it is.” They are used to making repairs on their boats and totally destroying equipment. Oddly enough the only cat that isn’t getting worked on tonight is Clark’s Aethon because, as he put it during a great wing panel discussion under the tent, “I did a better job breaking it.”  Watch the full discussion here.

Tomorrow the breeze should be less than today, so we can see more close matchups with all but one boat racing. We will be live before the first start gun at 1100 for all the action. Hit the forum to catch up on all of the action, and look for more of Mer’s absolutely incredible shots from today in the thread or at LittleAC.com.

girls gone winning

Two former SCOTW winners are in the spotlight today, the first for something we should've recognized last month but didn't - LYC junior phenom Erika Reineke's gold medal performance at the Laser Radial Youth Worlds last month.  We continue to be impressed with the number of top sailors that the Florida program turns out, and there are more to come.  Check out a local news article about Erika here, watch a video here, and thanks to JStar for the heads up.

The other big winner was Maureen McKinnon-Tucker, who, with one day of racing left, owns 5 bullets in 5 races at the Claggett Memorial Regatta and clinic.  Mo's winning in the Sonars with John Porter and Gary Tiernan, and the class is not restricted to able bodied sailors.   Nicely done, ladies! 

antilles arthouse

Another all-too-rare beautiful sailing film is set to hit the screens, or at least cable TV, sometime soon - if only they can raise the money to complete production.  We've rarely seen such an intense and uplifting sailing tale as that of Children Of The Wind, the story of young kids from the island of Bonaire who journey from humble beginnings to international fame in the sport of windsurfing, transforming not only their island but the face of the sport worldwide.  You can keep up on their blog, or join their Facebook page for quick news.

clean report

c state

The 'Wing Tent' at the foot of the hill leading up to Harbour Court is the closest thing to a shrine in all of sailing.  It's a sparkling, glittering monument to the creativity of spectacular minds driven by passion for pure sailing.

The sight itself is enough to make any high-performance sailor swoon a little; six 40' wing sails on their luffs, leaving just enough space between them to walk or to kneel and repair torn shrink-wrap that makes up most of their exterior. The constant shuffle here of some of sailing's most influential Cup personnel is nothing if not a pilgramage to what might be in all their futures, and a show of respect for people who work so hard for such an unconventional but laudable goal.  Juan K has put in an appearance as has Farr Yacht Design's Russell Bowler.  A pair of ETNZ loyal staffers were scoping things out pretty carefully, and BMW/Oracle wing builder Dimitri Despierres is roaming around with our old pal Joseph Ozanne and Francis Hubert, designers of the USA 17 wing - and they're just ahead of Pete Melvin and his designers, who roll into town shortly.

There seems to be no competitive brashness here; no posturing, no sneaking around, and no pressure.  Fred and Magnus showed up with their new Defender Canaan sporting a couple of innovations, and within a day they'd been copied by half the fleet.  Such is progress, and such is the C-Class - a collection of geniuses and speed freaks that are all giddy at the chance to compete in the coming Little America's Cup.  And giddy they are; from the rich guys to the carbon jockeys, the AC superstars to the patriarchs of the fleet -- all are smiling in delight like little kids on their first trip to Disneyland.

But they're not completely idle; The French Team used the off days to improve the Patient Lady VI wing, adding twist controls for the upper third of the wing that get the old lady closer to the newer wings in ability - potentially, anyway.  To change the upper third of the wing to allow more twist, it would take a couple days, so they planned on no racing today to complete the system. It was a risky move, but it may pay off in the end.

There’s also been a slight change in the SIs today. Fleet racing is extended through Thursday, with the top two teams selecting their wing and boat for the best-of-nine championship match race by Friday at 0830. The format isn’t set for 3-6 yet though, and maybe the most forceful proponent for transparency in the Class, Magnus 'blunted' Clarke on Canaan asked the Anarchists what they think. Should 3-6 continue fleet racing in a box around the championship race, continue match racing in a round robin or do a pure speed run? Add your own thoughts here, and while you're at it, check out a damned good piece from gadget ubersite Gizmodo.

So while it's disappointing to see them lose two full days to a gale here in the Bay, we are not completely upset about it, as we didn't arrive from our Detroit-Newport trek until 10 AM on Monday, learning of the first day's postponement with a sigh of relief. But another day waiting, and as the grey-maned lion Steve Clark said, "I am pacing the cage."

The On the Water team took advantage of the downtime to do interviews, including the current defenders sailing Canaan, Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke. We followed it up with Gordon Kaiser, the wing trimmer and aerospace engineer on Invictus. PRO of the event, Kevin Geogh gave us the low down on the unique position a PRO is in an event like this here. We were lucky enough to catch up with the Gandalf of the C-Class, Dave Hubbard, who’s been a leader of this action for over 50 years: Part 1 and Part 2.   The live coverage will be the best yet with live audio on the boats, commentary, incredible pics, tracking and constant forum updates, as well as replayable tracking from IonEarth. 

We're ready to rock and roll, and we hope you tune in.  If ever there's been a sailboat race worth watching, this is it. Thanks to Christophe Launay for the photo, and special thanks to Hunt and HBI Boats for their help in putting together our coverage team.

monkey wrench

From our cup-crazy friend, who calls himself "SF Treat"

The future of AC34 coming to San Francisco has been in the news in both the Chron and the Examiner lately, and we all knew that the planning stage was going to be like this. Anyone that has dealt with the typical bureaucracy found in our country, and especially in California, knows the bullshittery that can decelerate or even stop something cool from happening. As feared, several of the usual enviro monkey-wrenchers have stepped up to give AC34 in San Francisco a hard time. San Francisco public radio station KQED held a forum on the prospects of holding the AC 34 in SF, and several influential bay area sailors, a representative from the Mayors office, and an advocate from the Sierra Club showed up to let their views be known to the public. You can listen to the entire show online. 

The main issue at this point is that SF is seeking an exemption for state environmental reviews in order to basically rebuild a couple of crumbling, red-tagged piers. An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was completed for Piers 31/32 not that long ago for use as a cruise ship terminal/ office and retail space, and it is believed that the AC 34 will be even less of an impact.  The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that state and local governments analyze and disclose any potential environmental impacts of certain projects to the public, and due to an incident with another CEQA exemption that happened in Los Angeles, the Sierra Club is wary and has it’s fists up ready to fight.

I would argue that, we as sailors are generally more eco-conscious than those in the general populous. We spend hours out in the open air enjoying our favorite body of water, and I can’t name one sailor that I know that condones polluting the area that they love. In fact most of the sailors that I know will sail out of their way to pluck a wayward plastic bag from the sea, for example. It seems ironic that in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world like San Francisco, household chemicals, industrial chemicals, plastic debris, the dust from millions of brakes and billions of drips of oil from cars probably take exponentially more of a daily toll on The Bay environment than the rebuilding of a couple of decrepit piers will. Of course the plans should be reviewed, but it sure does seem that there’s instant opposition from the usual suspects, which is unfortunate.     

And before the AP even goes down, Michael Endicott an advocate for the Sierra Club and self proclaimed “Bay Sailor” let’s the truth fly, “…already my local chapter has voted against the project based on what they first heard.” During the entire discussion, Mr. Endicott used language that creates an “us vs. them” scenario, with a tone of desiring to create hardship for any forward movement…just because they can. From my perspective, having paid into the coffers of the Sierra Club in the past, this is truly maddening and my feelings are echoed by Richard, a caller to the KQED show from San Mateo, “…this should be a one-time exception…This is just basic power-politics, that’s what it comes down to. They want to be invited to the dance…let’s just let this one event go through.” Let’s hope that their dance doesn’t step on the toes and trip the AC34, before it even starts.  

Not like there aren’t other hurdles to clear as the planning for the AC34 moves forward even without the Sierra Club butting in. As stated by Kyri McClellan, America's Cup project manager at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, a representative of Mayor Newsom’s office, “there are vast amounts of permitting, and I’m not going to go through all of the acronyms…There’s a lot of process ahead of us.”  McClellan also pointed out during the interview that even without a CEQA review, there will be plenty of other pathways for assessment and public input, and it’s not like a CEQA exemption will allow a developer to run roughshod over the community as eluded by Endicott. So, lots of bureaucratic wrangling, but the optimistic stance of the Mayor’s office really does seem sincere and in complete support of the AC34-in-SF movement. Definitely a great first step!

And as self proclaimed “Bay Sailor” Endicott shows his nautical knowledge with statements like this, “…some of the stuff that you use when you’re painting and shredding, shaving the boats can actually be pollutants...” I think it’s our duty as sailors to educate the CA chapter of the Sierra Club about nautical issues with a good ‘ol fashioned SA field trip, so here’s whole list of their contacts.  As long as you’re in the mood for a field trip, might as well contact Mayor Newsom and tell him that you’re in support of AC 34 in SF, and heck, it probably wouldn’t hurt to talk to the Governator too to get him on board.

To end on the good, Peter Stoneberg, Rear Commodore of the StFYC, nailed it, “…the natural amphitheater has potential to have people line the City Front, and the bridge and the Marin Headlands to see the racing itself.”  Thousands of tourists staying in The City, thousands of new jobs, SF on the front of the world sailing stage, minimal environmental impact, a rejuvenated pier and waterfront, what’s not to like? McClellan followed through, “We’re going to showcase the Presidio by lining Crissy Field with spectators for the 34th America’s Cup on the San Francisco Bay…Mayor Newsom has a bold vision for showcasing The Bay to the entire world”

Break out the beer and popcorn, this is going to get good. It will even be better if the Sierra Club, Planning and Conservation League other enviro-orgs, vying for their name in print, lay off the hard lining on this one.

As of today, the City claims to be moving to another process to permit the Cup to come to town, and that they will help build consensus to make it all happen.  But one Sierra Club lawsuit could bring everything to a screeching halt, and the Cup to a far off land.  Sardinia?  Maybe not. But somewhere out there...

the new age of sail

Almost every sailor at times wishes they were back in the great Age of Sail, when cargo, passengers, pilots, warships, and everything in between moved under the power of canvas.  Those days are long gone, but new concepts, driven by the marketing power of 'green energy' continue to make a new age of sail more and more likely.  Check out these two bits of vaporware for a glimpse at our potential future:  The first is a badass 68 meter Coast Guard vessel that can sail at up to 18 knots under retractable wingsails and motor near 40 with them tucked away from Sauter Carbon Offset Design, and the second is a square rigger with rigid wing sails than can transform itself into a flying boat.  Screw the America's Cup gravy train - if these things get built and prove that they're efficient enough, there will loads of high paying jobs for good sailors everywhere.  Not a bad thing, from our point of view.

big pimpin'

farrier century

With 140 F-22 plans sold and over 100 on the deposit waiting list for production F-22s, our friends at Farrier Marine our understandably pretty stoked.  Here's an update.

The production F-22 continues to progress, with float hull plugs now complete, and the main hull plug started. All the pieces are slowly falling into place and it is good to know that we will soon be building hulls, followed by complete boats. Latest photos are now on the 'F-22 Availability' web page here.

Still no deadlines or promises for availability, as progress can be been slowed by various other tasks, but it has been important for the F-22 to be self financing in the early stages, to avoid a large development debt. This has crippled many boat building companies in the past to where the company fails, or product can be badly compromised by too many short cuts, so continuing to be profitable has always been an essential requirement for Farrier Marine.

Float plugs were built personally to ensure every little detail was exactly right for efficient and easy production of the flangeless floats. Few designers actually build their own boats, but I have found 'hands on' work essential to check out every aspect and have now built 7 of my designs. This includes the original F-27, from the hull plugs to implementing and campaigning the complete boat, which resulted in a 'Hall of Fame Sailboat', so such close involvement and attention to detail has proven to be very beneficial.

Note that there are many new aspects and features that we can't show yet, so the web site photos are being somewhat restricted. Much is also being done differently with the F-22 to keep costs down, and one example is the float plug (used to make float molds), which is epoxy foam core. This means it is light but very stable, and the two halves can be stored by hanging on a wall. This takes away a space issue and the overhead from having to rent space just to store molds and plugs, something that has been a significant problem in the past, with the large number of molds required for a trimaran (57 molds were needed for the F-27).

There are now over 140 F-22s being built or sailing from plans, but, with the imminent availability of kit hulls, plans have now been taken off the market, They are to be replaced by the F-22 kit, where hulls are purchased ready made for assembly only, and it will no longer be possible to build hulls from plans. The kit will then be joined by the full production F-22 in 2011, and there are already over 100 sailors now wishing to put down a deposit once they start being accepted, and these numbers have doubled from what they were 2 months ago. 

The F-22 development time has been long, which is frustrating for those who want a boat now, and it would be much more satisfying if the F-22 could have been done quicker, but folding trimarans are much more difficult and complex to develop than a monohull. There are two to three times the parts, so everything has to be done better and much more efficiently in order to achieve a very competitive price. Many new things are also being implemented that have not been done before, and this just takes time to do right. However, availability is getting closer. 

Latest F-22 News can be seen here, and more new photos of existing F-22s sailing are on the F-22 main website here.

Farrier F-32 Racer
The first F-32SR racer being built by Jerry Fiat continues to progress well, and this boat will be campaigned by Randy Smyth once complete. More details on the circular lifting foils have now also been added to the website.  More information on either the F-22 or F-32SR is available from:

Ian Farrier

Farrier Marine (NZ) Ltd
Farrier Marine, Inc
Ph. 64 3 3386502
Mob 64 21 110 8109

go the wave

Our friends from the crowd-pleasing 5 knot shitbox Heatwave may have left the Detroit building she's been in for the past few years, but she's making waves in her new home in Milwaukee.  So show some SA love to Burnsy and Christine and help them make some cash for the Children's Hospital with a charity drive for Louie's Last Regatta

north by northwest. and northeast.


These guys want to be the first to go around the pole both north west passage and north east passage. Either way, it's friggin' cold. Check it.