fox 950 yacht

• About the SA Forum
• Join the Forum
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• View All Listings
• Submit a Photo
• Submit an Article
• Contact the Site Administrator
• Contact the editor

Sailing Anarchy

what’s not to love?

Stolen from Julian Everitt... The ultimate in trailer sailers! These racing Dhows, which originated in the UAE around 1980, come in three sizes. This one is a 60-footer. The other sizes are 40ft and 25ft. They are all built to reasonably strict class rules, but being keel-less, they only reach...

On Monday, a tall ship allided with a bridge at the harbor entrance at St. Augustine, Florida, striking the structure...

the cheap seats

Not Sailing It has happened again in the Canary Islands where Nigerian stowaways have been found sitting on the top...

podcast shortcode

Sailing anarchy podcast with scot tempesta.

first 2 posts

What can’t they can’t ruin.

SCYA had a fair number of the older four-digit numbers that were no longer being used, had been turned in, etc., and they could be purchased for I think $50 or $75 bucks. So I did.

When I bought Anarchy 5, my Ericson 35-2 in 2019,  it had some weird mid-west number like 53852, and I did the same thing – bought 7097 from SCYA and put that on the new sails and it looked bitchin. See pic.

So when recently contemplating a new boat, I wanted to do the same thing – replace the dopey multi-digit sail #’s, with another four-digit sail number. I was shocked when I contacted SCYA and was informed that they no longer would sell them, unless the boat that once had the old numbers had been “destroyed” (US Sailing’s wording, not SCYA’s).

What in the actual fuck??  It turns out that SCYA has almost nothing to do with it anymore, as US Sailing Über Alles  attitude dominates this area. Leave it to US Saiing to create complete horseshit like this. What boats get “destroyed”, like ever?  Virtually none. Why make ridiculous shit like that up? Read on.

SCYA told me : We have a pool of numbers that are to be distributed according to US Sailing’s policies. SCYA , as a service to our member members, provides the numbers from our pool at a discount rate. And to be fair, this isn’t really SCYA’s fault, it is on US Sailing. Apologies to SCYA for me not having a full grasp on what is really happening.

done and dusted

When the decision to move away from Auckland because the then New Zealand government reckoned the America’s Cup wasn’t worth supporting to the required level. Many people criticized Grant Dalton and Emirates Team New Zealand with talk that Barcelona wouldn’t work for one reason or another. 

Well after the crowds that attended the 37 th America’s Cup in Barcelona spending multiple millions of Euro in the city, I am sure the powers that be in New Zealand are regretting that it wasn’t New Zealand Dollars being injected into their tourism industry and economy in general.

There, that’s got the politics out of the way, what about the event itself? We don’t know if the two European teams from France and Switzerland and France would have found competing on the other side of the world rather than on relatively home waters, but the event attracted a healthy number of challengers, the city and its citizens appear to have welcomed them and the event with open arms, and it was good to see crowds of people lining the foreshore on each of the race days.

Of course the venue was much more accessible by the fans of all the teams than Auckland would have been, except for the defender’s supporters but they too were there in their droves.

There was much (deserved) criticism of Britannia, INEOS’s boat in the preliminary regatta but as team principal and helmsman Sir Ben Ainslie said in multiple interviews the development of the boat was an ongoing process and so it proved to be. The results in the Louis Vuitton Cup proved that beyond doubt sweeping all before them, even to the extent of dispatching Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in the final, a team that many, perhaps even the majority, thought would be a shoe-in as the eventual challenger of the Kiwis.

Although going down 7-2 in The Match itself this was not the whitewash, or even the ass-kicking many assumed it would be. While ETNZ were on the water tuning and refining their boat, INEOS were working, in live situations, on how to best use their weapon of choice and improve their racecraft.

At 4-0 down the following rest day was spent with the Kiwi boat in the shed and the Brits out on the water practicing and no doubt trying a few things and they came out for Race 5 knowing it was on them. There has but much said, too much perhaps, that they only won that race because ETNZ fell off their foils in the pre-start.

Well, they fell off their foils in a hurried gybe because of real or perceived pressure from INEOS and as they struggled to get some boat speed I wonder how many noticed the INEOS fly by to windward washing the Kiwi rig with more bad air just to help them stay in displacement mode a bit longer. The Race 6 that followed proved to be a real battle with honors again going to the British who must have finished with their tails in the air.

However the ‘comeback’ was to be short-lived with the Kiwis again scoring a double the next race day putting them into a “match point” situation.

What proved to be the final race of America’s Cup 37 was a day like the previous day where the team that got the first shift (ETNZ) off the line streaked ahead but INEOS clawed back to within a couple of boat lengths of the New Zealand boat before the lead once more stretched to what was a fairly comfortable win and the lifting of the oldest international trophy in the world, the America’s Cup.

It has to be said that the New Zealand impact on the top of yacht racing has been huge from such a small, in terms of population, nation with a couple of wins in the Whitbread/Volvo in the early 90s leading on to involvement in the America’s Cup where they have been challenger or defender in all but one America’s Cup Match since 1995 and that was the Oracle/Alinghi Deed of Gift Match in 2010.

That legacy started with Sir Peter Blake with the mantle taken over by Grant Dalton who, love him or hate him has created an almost unstoppable force. It is unlikely to end here as when Dalts steps down (if he ever steps down) Kevin Shoebridge, the current COO of ETNZ is, I am sure waiting in the wings to continue the journey for Kiwi Yachting.

(more…)

Seahorse widget

Recent Posts

They really did build a better Mousetrap!!!       September 23, 2024

Rest of the latest posts, the nerd worlds.

The most common disappointment voiced by the international sailing community related to the boats and their lack of any connection to mainstream sailing. “Actually, that issue has been quite easy to address”, says Dulltone. “We’re now doing away with boats altogether.” The draft Protocols state that the whole event will be a virtual reality series driven by the latest developments in interactive gaming, computer-generated graphics and AI.

Dalton explains the rationale: “It’s cheaper, more inclusive, and much better for the environment. There’ll be none of that sleazy horse-trading over host venues, no $200 million campaign budgets, no hundreds of jet flights back and forth across the world, no gas-guzzling chase boats, no carbon hulls and sails going to landfill after the racing. At Barcelona, the crews spent most of their time on simulators and looking at screens on the boats. The Cup has been reduced to not much more than a computer game, so why not make it a real one?”

Under the new protocols, the challenging clubs and defenders will each design a virtual boat within strict theoretical dimensions and performance parameters. These will then compete on a background graphical “race track” program of random conditions encompassing variables of wind speed and direction, sea state, tide, and current.

Anyone with access to a computer, tablet, or smartphone can then join the team of their choice for a log-on fee of just $4.99 per race. Using their devices participants will vote – in real-time – for when their boat should tack or gybe, which side of the course to favor, etc. The majority vote at each key tactical moment will decide where the virtual boat goes, and at what speed.

The new AC format has been endorsed by Felon Muskrat and Fart Suckerbird, the two internet moguls whose platforms are expected to make AC38 the biggest direct-participation sporting event in history. In a joint media release, they welcomed the initiative as a sensible response to the changing nature of world sport. “We are pleased to be part of the revitalized Cup”, they said. “X and Facebook will only take a very modest share of the revenues – something around our usual 30% – each.”

The defenders are also attracted by the economic advantages. “The PR people at Louis Vuitton claimed an audience of around 200 million for Barcelona”, Dulltone says. “Do the math! If even half of them sign up for a 9-race virtual series in 2027 that would deliver gross income of almost a billion dollars. That’s serious dough – not that we’d ever let money influence such a pure sporting icon as the America’s Cup. Heaven forbid!”

time to lern

Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of evolution of sailboat rigs. Early yachts, like the schooner AMERICA (for whom the Cup was named), were among the first vessels to adopt the then-radical notion of abandoning square sails in favor of sails that could point somewhere close to upwind.

However limitations in manual strength and the materials used in sails and rigging made it impossible for sails to be large, strong, and shapely all at the same time, so sail plans were divided into small sections with many sails. AMERICA had two mainsails (actually a mainsail and a foresail) and two jibs in the foretriangle.

Sailors being a conservative lot, evolution happened about as fast as continents drift. Even as rigging changed from hemp to stainless steel, and sail cloth changed from flax to cotton to Dacron, sail plans remained largely the same.

By the 1960s most racing boats had discovered that a single mainsail worked better than two: yawls and ketches were abandoned in favor of higher-pointing sloops and cutters. But foretriangles remained split, especially aboard non-racing yachts without the luxury of plentiful and athletic crews: the manual strength limitation still dictated that a single big jib was too big for safe and efficient handling when individual sails had to be dragged to the deck and subdued, so most foretriangles were divided into jib and staysail, especially for shorthanded sailing or offshore work.

Nowadays, with modern dependable roller-furling, virtually every sailboat is a Marconi sloop with a single jib. But on the fringes, both out front in innovation and lagging behind in the tangles of tradition, we see variations on the theme. Let’s explore how each sail plan works and what their strengths and weaknesses are, roughly in chronological order. Read on .

i just had a martini

AC Revisited

That got the goat of many Kiwis who were indignant and as a result, I got a call from a sports radio talk host in Auckland. He demanded to know what I meant. I told him that the design looked like a dog taking a piss and I could hear the collective growl from New Zealand all the way to my small house in Massachusetts.

My point was this: My dog taking a piss comment was there to get people’s attention. That’s all. The problem that they were having with the Cup was that it had become boring. Multihulls, when racing, just banged the corner, screw the puffs and the shifts.

Gone were the good old days of short tacking up the windward leg. I so remember the onboard comms coming in. Tom Whidden, the great tactician was yelling to ye olde drapery salesman (aka, the great DC) that out of a tack the boat was doing a healthy 4 knots and the speed was rising. Up to 5 now Dennis, maybe 6 and then you will be up to speed. OK it was fun, but time marches on. Six knots, well bloody shoot me.

I have to eat cold goats head soup now. I was wrong about the AC 75s. They turned out to be stunning yachts well worthy of competing in the America’s Cup. They no longer look like a dog taking a piss; they look like a kid on a tricycle turning a corner at speed.

got an extra 5 hours?

And you’re an IOM freak? Then here ya go!

well earned

Oh look, a video without ridiculous quick cuts…

wave bye bye

When fans post on social media that their team’s opponents didn’t win the race but their team lost the race you know that they were perhaps worried. After 4 races where Emirates Team New Zealand crossed the finishing line first races, 5 & 6 showed a different story.

In races 1-4 the points went to the Kiwis but they weren’t all as much of a whupping as some commentators have suggested and it is turning out to be a battle worthy of the America’s Cup right enough.

Enough has been written about how it was going to be a whitewash after the result of the first four races were in so let’s just look at what happened after race 4 and the resultant rest day. The Kiwi boat rested in the shed while the team went sightseeing, played cards or whatever. I jest, they were still likely looking at ways to twist the knife in INEOS further.

The Brits however were out on the water for several hours and it seemed to pay dividends. Race 5 saw ETNZ falling off the foils in the pre-start in what was a rare error on their part. Off went the Brits at a multiple of the speed of the Kiwis opening up a huge gap way in excess of 1 kilometre giving the New Zealand boat no way to get back to them and a final delta of over one minute.

Race 6 was the hottest racing of The Match so far with the British bat showing they aren’t dead yet bringing off the double for the day.

Perhaps the comeback was on, that day on the water with extra practice seemed to have made a difference, or did the boys from down under just have an off day?

they did that, now do this

Choose your adjective: one-dimensional, predictable, repetitive. The America’s Cup challenge that has just concluded in Barcelona provided a few moments of genuine excitement but the racing is unlikely to stick in our memories for long. One team always had the edge. End of story. 

We can, of course, take some pleasure from the comprehensive defeat of Sir Ben Ainslie, that unsmiling, short-tempered sailor thought by some to have superhuman talent and abilities. Apparently, he is not God. Likewise, we can mock all the hype about INEOS Britannia having the advantage of the hi-tech Formula One engineering expertise provided by their partners at Mercedes. In the end it counted for nothing more than a PR stunt.

What, then, can we salvage from those expensive few months in Barcelona? To my mind, there are significant takeaways – observations no doubt shared by many other sailing fans – but they are unlikely to be heeded by those who make their handsome livings from the AC circus. But here goes, anyway…

The boats: The technology is dazzling but its relationship with sensible sailing is tenuous. The AC37 Rules made the claim that they would “ ensure the class is relevant to the sport of sailing with connection to the community of sailors ”. Huh? 75-foot monomarans with hydraulic swing-foils, double-skinned mainsails and four cyclers are “relevant to the sport”?

Sure, it was “sailing” in the sense that the boats had sails, but when the ultimate sin is to let your boat touch the water then the “connection to the community of sailors” is hard to see. 

Suggestions: Reduce the dominance of technology and discard stored power. Ditch the foils and return the Cup to displacement yachts sailed by human power. 

masters of reality

America’s Cup Day 6 Do or Die

Down 6 races to 2, the pressure to win and survive is all on the Brits…

Super light breeze earns a healthy start delay, but an hour or so later, they get underway in 8 knots true with much flatter seas. The Brits win the start and force TNZ to tack away, but Ineos has to duck when they meet again. The Kiwis clearly wanted the right side and just like yesterday, they got it.

The Kiwis appear to be loads faster and quickly build an early 150m lead. Faster and smarter is a deadly combination.

Whatever downwind advantage chunky Ineos may have once had is clearly long gone. In fact it is safe to say that TNZ has been the faster downwind (and upwind) boat 90% of the time.

Once again this race is 6 legs instead of 8, and once again there appears to be no reason for it. Perhaps it’s a mercy fuck from the RC?

The boats have massively split on the next beat, with the frackers gaining massively, cutting the lead to 20m!!

The Kiwis got lazy and let the Brits get away to the right, they paid for it, and holy shit, we have a race! Thy split at the weather gate in a tie! However, the Kiwis are simply faster on the run, and round the leeward mark easily in front, but god damn the Brits are going well upwind.

Still, the Kiwis retain their fine form to round the final weather mark 17 seconds ahead and do nothing but sail away to a 350m lead, in part because the Brits had to tack twice to round the mark.

A 500m lead on this final run means that it is over. Game, set, match.

Huge props to the entire TNZ program for truly being the Masters of Reality in this America’s Cup. Title theft thanks to Black Sabbath.

one flies, one dies

There is better breeze today at around 10-14 knots and on the shifty side. The Kiwis start to weather and they are higher and face plant the Brits on the first cross, resulting in a big split. The right is hugely favored and the Kiwis build an immediate 230m lead, but it is still shifty and flukey.

Brits gain but TNZ rounds first by 12 seconds. Now we’ll see who has a downwind speed advantage. TNZ covers and achieves a 265m lead. Today has a somewhat smoother, sea state, and it appears to favor the Kiwis.

Again this race is only 6 legs as opposed to 8, we don’t know why, and of course the announcers don’t say a word about why.

The Kiwis are going really, really well and build a nearly 500m lead on this second weather leg. Today they look like the boat that won the first 4 races, and they round the second weather mark ahead by 25 seconds.

The cameras show the Kiwi fans and Stephen McIvor, the lead announcer says “Look at that, they’re all standing!” First of all, they’re not all standing, and secondly, anyone bothering to pay any attention at all would know that the reason anyone is standing is because there are aren’t nearly enough chairs there at all!

Some would say he is embellishing, I would say he’s making shit up…

Kiwis cover nicely on the run.  While bemoaning the sad state of Ineos’ race so far, Shirley Robertson says that the Brits “dominated” the start. They did? A blind person knows that it was a push at best.  But keep waving those pom poms, honey.

Kiwis are plenty quick downwind and are arguably the quicker of the two, and round ahead by 25 seconds, and build an 800m lead.

The Fracker freighter looks uncomfortable and unwieldy at the lighter end of the wind band today. The barge hates to turn, and nearly planted on the final run for no apparent reason other than it may have been a cry for help from this ugly duckling.

The Kiwis have over a 1000m lead at the finish and it was a masterful win. They did a good job getting to the favored right side of the course and owning it.

To GBR’s credit, it was always going to be nearly impossible to recover from being on the wrong side of the right shift, but they still have a notable and likely unrecoverable speed deficit.

The breeze looks stronger at the top mark -17knots – but less so for most of the course. Here we go!

The start is shaping up much like the last one – the Kiwis want the right, but so do the Brits. Kiwis end up to leeward but are quicker. The frackers tack to the right and seemingly gain the early advantage, but TNZ crosses handily and gets the right side of the course and rounds the weather mark in front by 15 seconds.

This race is 8 legs, with once again zero explanation as to why.

The tortured tug that is Ineos looks to attempt suicide by plugging the bow in on the run and clearly just wants to end the misery. With a 500m lead, and still 5 legs remaining, failing some sort of disaster for TNZ, this race (and series) is over.

If I’m Jim Ratcliffe, the CEO of Ineos, I would bring a chainsaw down to the dock when the virtueless vessel arrives and begin cutting this abomination up for scraps.

To be clear GBR did a fabulous job to reach the America’s Cup and are to be commended for that. But you just can’t bring a big, dumb and dull knife to a gunfight. Especially when the other guy is strapped with an AK- 47.

yeah, that’s how they roll

It is inconceivable to imagine having the dough to build something like this. Good lord!

flights of fancy

Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against foiling per se. If people want to hurtle across the water at dangerous speeds, three feet above the surface while slicing up any unfortunate tuna who happen to be in the vicinity, well, good luck to them. My concern is that foiling has introduced a random factor into competitive sailing that goes beyond fair sport.

The most disheartening aspect of the America’s Cup racing in Barcelona is that when a boat falls off its foils – often through no real fault of the crew – their chances of a win evaporate in that one moment.

There will always be an element of luck in sailing. Conditions of wind and water are never constant. But when conventional yachts race over a decent stretch of time those variables tend to even out, and there are reasonable opportunities for a well-sailed boat to regain distance lost to temporary misfortune.

Contrast that with Race #5 of the current AC series. The Kiwis dropped off their foils in the light pre-start conditions and INEOS sailed away to an immediate lead of almost a mile. It was game over before the game had started.

Why is that unfair? Because in lumpy seas and marginal pressure (6.5 knots is the minimum), some side-slop and a temporary hole in the wind can coincide to drop the 75-foot foilers into the water. The low wind strength then makes it very difficult to lift the 7-ton boats clear again. It’s always a slow, agonizing process. The races are so short – and the boats sail so swiftly – that any prolonged “wet landing” is usually fatal.

It’s axiomatic that the sailors driving these AC monomarans are the best in the world. But they’re not magicians. A slight inaccuracy, misjudgment or gear failure might sometimes result in a justified dunking. But, at least to my mind, fairness requires that we either lift the minimum average true speed to 8 knots – or go back to sailing the Cup in boats.

– anarchist David

what is it?

Give it a shot .

Falling revenue and rising costs have hit Alaska’s fishing industry hard, according to a new study by NOAA Fisheries. In an economic review requested by fishermen and processors, NOAA found that profitability dropped by half from 2021-23, and wholesale prices dropped by a quarter in 2022-23. This left the Alaskan seafood industry with a total direct loss of $1.8 billion in 2022-3 and the loss of about 38,000 jobs.

“For many Alaskans the decline of their seafood industry affects their pocketbooks, presents food security concerns, and impacts their way of life, sense of place, community, and identity,” NOAA noted. “In the face of evolving climate-driven impacts to ecosystems and fisheries in the region, these recent market disruptions undermine the capacity of all segments of the seafood industry and associated fishing communities to be resilient and survive in fisheries.” Read on .

large and in charge

America’s Cup Races 5 & 6 It’s the start, stupid.

It is a super bumpy sea state but without the breeze to match. TNZ falls off their foils in the prestart and it takes minutes to get going and Ineos is gone! This race is over, seriously.

I’m already sick of Shirley Robertson as she praises Ineos for doing nothing, and if she isn’t bad enough, the geniuses who run the broadcast decide to bring in another female Brit who sounds nearly identical to Robertson!

And she too immediately kisses Ineos’ backside by saying what a great job Ineos did at the start. What did they do, manage to not fall off the foils?? It was the Kiwis’ fuck up that was the story, not that Ineos did anything special. But I digress, Ineos gets the W, and when all is said and done, that’s what matters.

It is still bumpy as hell, but with more breeze at 12 knots. This race really has the sense of being a good one, and obviously super important for both boats, especially Team Frack.

Kiwis come hard after the Brits, but they do a good job of escaping and win the start. Kiwis tack away and come back, crossing 70 meters behind. Brits don’t tack on them and split.

Shirley “Nothing in it” Robertson, for the 427th time, tells us that yes, “There’s nothing in it”, while the Brits round the weather mark in first, and build a 155. lead. Oh boy.

There is no question that Ineos is quicker in these conditions, and outsailing TNZ as well. Very impressive.

The Britts are large and in charge, but the Kiwis are just 9 seconds behind at the second weather mark. Britts pull away despite a bad jibe, leading by 200m at the leeward mark. I’m not seeing enough out of TNZ to be able bust a move anywhere on this course with just two legs left. Meanwhile, it’s as if the teams switched boats and uniforms with GBR fairly dominating this race

It is worth noting how the Kiwi boat seems to want to splash down in these conditions.

The Kiwis do start to chip away at Frack on the run, rounding just 7 seconds behind at the final leeward gate. They split on the beat and of course Robertson tells us that the Brits have more breeze and look better, while the Kiwis are gaining…

The Brits round ahead at the wm, and the boats split on the run, with TNZ getting within 50m on a cross, but Ineos hangs on for the win.

Do we now have a series? I believe we do. More here .

everything groovy?

It now seems likely that there will be three 100-footers battling for line honors in the Sydney-Hobart race starting on December 26.

Comanche and Law Connect (who were separated by just 51 seconds at last year’s finish), have both been on the starter’s list since entries opened. Almost 10 hours behind in 2023 was Wild Thing, a Botin 80 that had been stretched to 100 by owner Grant Wharington but sailed with its original shorter rig (above). Without that disadvantage in horsepower, the boat might have been a more serious line-honors contender.

All indications are that Wild Thing will return to the fray this year in full supermaxi configuration. Wharington has confirmed the dockside intelligence that they have bought the old Wild Oats XI Southern Spars mast and will re-rig the boat in time for the Sydney-Hobart start on Boxing Day. That mast is six metres taller than the current spar, so perhaps some of the full-sized WOXI sail wardrobe would go with that deal.

Wharington has a poor track record when it comes to rushed preparation for the big race. He’s previously been excluded for incomplete paperwork. In another year, after an earlier Wild Thing was dismasted during a run-up sail, Alfa Romeo lent him their spare spar. But the re-rig was so rushed that, as they motored to the start, the crew realized the runners were already block-to-block without any load so they retired immediately after crossing the line.

Title inspiration thanks to The Troggs .

The ac after 4 races.

Welcome to his nightmare! Listen anyway .

cap’n cray cray, part 2

ALM BEACH, Fla. (TNND) — A 54-year-old man apparently living in the Tampa area became an internet sensation after he refused to leave his sailboat as Hurricane Milton approached Florida.

Joseph Malinowski, who is missing his left foot and part of his leg, has attracted a dedicated following online. Footage shows him on a pair of crutches and talking with officers alongside a boat. He tells them he had no plans to leave the boat despite evacuation warnings in anticipation of deadly storm surges.

Now that the storm has cleared, the sun is shining a light on Malinowski’s extensive criminal history, with arrest records revealing he was recently charged for trying to set a woman on fire. More here .

“there is something in it”

America’s Cup Race 4

Better breeze today than yesterday, which will hopefully give the frackers some sorely-needed pace. A very disengaged prestart leaves a slight edge to GBR to weather, and lo and behold, the Brits actually have the lead!

Both boats split on the beat, and there is little doubt that GBR is going better, but the Kiwis gain, with the boats even at the marks.

Three times in five minutes we are told that “There’s nothing in this race”. Is there no other phrase in the English language that can be used other than that??  Did “This is a close one” or “This race is basically even” or “This is anyone’s race” not enter their skulls? No? Gonna stick with “there’s nothing in it”, whether there is or isn’t?  That’s some quality broadcasting right there.

The Kiwis are starting to get their swerve on now, but their lead is only 80 meters halfway up the beat. Twice the whiney Brits pushed the protest button on crossings that weren’t even close. I reckon desperate times call for desperate measures, eh?

Shirley Robertson finally said something other than “There’s nothing in it”, and was wrong. She said that Ineos had a slight advantage when the screen said the Kiwis had a 50m lead. And then a couple minutes later said “Advantage New Zealand. but only just”, when in fact TNZ had their biggest lead of the race. Cheerlead much?

And now the Kiwis are starting to once again show the world that they have the better boat with the better team, building the lead to 200 meters on the run.

A 15-second lead for TNZ at the bottom, but this is indeed a close race. GBR gets to the right on this beat, gains slightly, but the Kiwis are simply slightly faster.

We’re not sure why this race is only 6 legs instead of 8, but it is stupid and completely unnecessary. Perhaps trying to lessen Ainslie’s pain?

Whatever, Kiwis are gone, rounding the weather mark ahead by 24 seconds, and with a 400 meter lead, this race is over.

And so is this series. More here .

And for a final display of “we are incapable of saying anything else”, in a post-race interview, Shirley Robertson said to trimmer Leigh Mcmillan “For those of us watching on screen, it looks like “there is nothing in it between these boats” . Really, Shirley???  Is that your unbiased observation? Because there is no question that for everybody else watching this beating of a series, it sure as fuck looks to us that there is indeed “something in it”.

Good lord this is just embarrassing.

Photo thanks to Ricardo Pinto/America’s Cup.

violated in fiji

As you read this, I will ask you to keep in mind that we are always very polite and accommodating to officials. We understand they have a job to do, and we are respectful of their job. During our almost 10 years of full-time cruising and in our previous part-time sailing life, we have been boarded by authorities multiple times. Each time we enter a country, we expect customs to look around our boat. This is normal in our lifestyle. However, no searches have ever been like this.

While in New Zealand this past cyclone season, our plan to sail to New Caledonia was scrubbed due to civil unrest. The environment became unstable and warnings were established to discourage entry for boaters as well as the entire tourism industry. With this happening, we decided to return to Fiji. We had a great time there last year. We opted to visit the island of Vanua Levu, a new area for us to explore. This is where the entry port of Savusavu is located.

We did this hesitantly because of recent reports circulating around the internet regarding boat burglaries in the area. Not just a few, but an awful lot of reports of theft. It was also reported that the local authorities were slow to make any attempt to catch the perpetrators.

Our decision was to stay at Nawi Marina located on an island just across from the township of Savusavu. The marina touts very tight 24/7 security, patrols walking the docks, and limited access since it is located on a private island. It should be noted that the burglaries occurred on vessels on moorings or marinas located on the same shore as the town. The mooring buoys are an easy swim from the land and a person at night would most likely go undetected. Away from this, we thought we’d be safe. The last thing we expected was to be violated by customs officials. Read on .

the beatings continue

The America’s Cup Day 2

More breeze today, 10 knots, and bumpier water. Frack fouls in the prestart with a very stupid port-starboard foul. What in the hell was Ainslie thinking?  Kiwis crush at the start, grabbing an early lead but not looking particularly flash. They are not flying high like they were yesterday (trying for an end-plate effect, perhaps?) and the bulky barge that is Ineos is hardly any better.

Kiwis are building a decent lead now and round the first mark 19 seconds in front. The race committee announces they are going to shorten an already too-short race course as the breeze is dropping slightly. The boats are still going 30+ knots. So ridiculous.

The Kiwis are starting to drop the hammer, rounding the bottom by 27 seconds, while the fracker’s freighter so badly wants to belly flop and die. That boat should be disqualified just for being so fucking ugly.

The Kiwis have a 228-meter lead, while Shirley Robertson once again tells us that “There’s nothing in it”. One would think they are getting paid every time they inaccurately overuse that phrase over and over again. Do they know how annoying they sound? And, captain obvious, there is indeed one hell of a lot in a 200+ meter lead. Jeezus!

Speaking of annoying, why does the lead announcer pronounce Vuitton “Vweetton”? Yes, yes, I know that’s how it is pronounced, but is every foreign word pronounced perfectly? Nobody here in ‘Murica says it that way and it sounds clownish when I hear it. USA! USA! USA!. What? Oh yeah, back to the racing…!

And for the third, or is it the fourth time, the RC announces that they are shortening the course. FFS, why not just make every leg .5 mile, would that make them happy?

Kiwis smoke GBR on the run to round the bottom mark ahead by 32 seconds. TNZ builds their lead to over 400 meters on the beat, and rounds the top mark up by 30-something seconds.

Kiwis have an 800 m lead (!) in a freshening breeze and win this one by nearly a minute.

After the race the word “fuck” as in “fuck yeah!” was picked up on mic from the Kiwi boat and the announcers tripped all over themselves apologizing for the audience hearing a single “fuck”.

First of all, the announcers shouldn’t have said a word about it, simply let it go, and by dropping to their knees, begging for forgiveness, for such an egregious (said sarcastically) thing, all they did was draw attention to it. I guarantee there wasn’t a single viewer offended. We’re not children. Grow the fuck up.

Due to the light air, race 4 is postponed until tomorrow. Watch it here .

Photo by Ricardo Pinto/AC

down in a hole

The America’s Cup

As for the racing, a nod to TNZ at the start, and they simply sailed away – nothing simple about it actually. Higher and faster, they rounded the first weather mark a whopping 24 seconds ahead. A split on the run saw Frack cut into the lead, but TNZ rounded the leeward mark up by 15 seconds.

GBR going better in these lightish conditions, but the Kiwis are again much better upwind. Pretty shocking, or is it?

The lead approaching the second wm is now 360 meters. TNZ is lighter on its feet, er, foils, and goes through the water much more cleanly than the rather ungainly Frack boat. With a lead of over 600 meters, this is TNZ’s race to lose, which they don’t. This was a beat down of which few expected.

Well, now I can watch this race in English. Close start, Kiwis split, gain, and split again, with Frack on the right. Kiwis cross, and it is damn close at the top mark, but Kiwis round 11 seconds ahead. Ineos is smoking on the run and crosses with a 50m lead.

But the left is favored and TNZ crosses and rounds the bottom mark ahead, and crosses by 70m. The breeze is light and the boats are struggling to not belly flop. The Kiwis build a lead and round the weather mark ahead by maybe 10 seconds. Brits close on the run – sound familiar? But the Kiwis are far from slow and they round 10 seconds in front. Once again we hear “There’s nothing in it” numerous times.from the announcers. Christ that is a tiresome cliché.

TNZ smokes on the beat, displaying their superiority to build a 250m lead, and round 28 seconds ahead. Kiwis are unfuckingtouchable with a 32-second lead. Final beat shows that “There is a fuck ton in it” as this race is all but over. Oh wait, it is over. Kiwis win by half a minute and with a quick and dominant 2-0 lead, the Brits are down in a hole. More here .

Title inspiration thanks to Alice in Chains .

pic of the day

Ya gotta love the focus of these two fine sailors at the 2024 RS Venture Connect World Championship .

floriduh man

On Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard found and rescued a Florida man who survived Hurricane Milton by clinging to a plastic cooler in 25-foot waves. It was his second helicopter rescue in three days.

On Monday afternoon, the captain of the fishing vessel  Capt. Dave  contacted Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg to report that his boat was disabled about 20 miles off Treasure Island, Florida. The skipper and a crewmember had to be rescued, so the Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter aircrew to hoist them aboard and deliver them safely to shore. The boat was abandoned to drift.

What was left unsaid was if there were any beers left in the cooler. Read more .

there will be no second

While Shanghai Sailor lays out the teams and the playing field below, the picture above shows who’s gonna win it! – ed .

So many theories about what will happen from the 12 th of October onwards. A whitewash to ETNZ on the one hand? Or to one entirely the other way round? Or a battle of the Titans to the very last race? Having been tied up all the way through the series? Who really knows?

The simple fact is not even ETNZ or INEOS know. They think they know how to defeat each other but the only fact is that it is weeks since they last raced and that was in a “doesn’t matter” pointless (in perhaps more ways than one) race in the Round Robins.

INEOS Britannia has done a lot of racing since then, firstly dispatching Alinghi Red Bull who surprised them a couple of times then the silver bullet of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli who looked like they might spoil the British party until the last 3 races of the Louis Vuitton final. They are clearly not the team (or the boat) that started the preliminary regatta all those weeks ago.

They have learned to mode the boat differently, have reduced the light air vulnerability, seemingly found a new high mode with the ability to squeeze the boat on their hip, have been using the ‘two foils wet’ technique rather more when needed, and most importantly the communication amongst the crew has improved dramatically. All this in a racing environment.

On the other hand Emirates Team New Zealand has not had the opportunity to make changes in the adrenalin-charged environment of an actual race. However, there is no doubt they will have been sailing about trying new things, checking the data, and doing what they can to continue the boat’s development but it is not in the heat of battle.

wanna watch the ac in the us? espn+

But of course, there is also a segment of viewers who be like, VPN, what’s that?  I subscribe to ESPN+, not for the AC, although I will watch it that way. For me, it is because they show nearly every Boston Bruins game! And it’s pretty cheap.

Anyway, the AC shindig starts this coming Saturday, 5 am pst. Having watched (and reported) on all of the LV Series, I must admit that, despite all the ridiculousness of the course length and width, the stupid boundaries, the ridiculous diamond-shaped invisible Cone of Silence that no competitor can permeate,  the pissy and ticky tack rules, ad nauseam, this should be an entertaining event to watch. – ed .

lieutenant cray cray

The 54-year-old, real name is Joseph Malinowski, became an online sensation for his flat-out rejection of advice to leave the area in recent days—even when it looked like Tampa would suffer a catastrophic direct hit by the storm. Milton turned south in the hours before making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday night in Siesta Key, around 70 miles south of Tampa. More here .

Only one match was possible in today’s mild conditions, but Alinghi Red Bull Racing’s Women’s squad made it count, navigating the tricky course to beat their opponents. The remaining three races are scheduled for tomorrow to determine the three teams that will qualify for the Final Series of the first-ever Women’s America’s Cup. Title ripoff thanks to The Beastie Boys .

lottsa blow in fla

On Wednesday night, Hurricane Milton roared ashore south of Tampa, Florida, bringing high winds and heavy storm surge to a wide swathe of the coastline.

Milton weakened to a Category 2 storm before making landfall, and its track concentrated the worst of the effects on areas around Sarasota. Tampa Bay, an essential harbor which is prone to coastal flooding in hurricanes, was lucky enough to experience negative storm surge because of the storm’s track.

The wind direction over the bay pushed water out to sea, and water levels on Tampa’s working waterfront dropped by three feet below normal in areas. As a devastating storm surge of up to 13 feet was in the forecast if Milton had come ashore in Tampa, this was a near-miss for the port – and a tragedy for coastal communities to the south.

More here .

a view from maxim

“The moment is still surreal,” Skipper Terry Hutchinson told BOAT International at the time. “I can still see the water bubbling around me as I struggle to get out of my harness. One tether is keeping me pinned under the surface, and with every attempt to get air, all I’m getting is water. The main sail is on top of me, as well as my teammates Cooper Dressler, Cicho Cicchetti and Tim Hornsby. What seems like an eternity ends up passing in seconds as Cooper and Cicho cut me out and I’m able to get that first big gasp of air.” Read on .

oh hell yes!

So there’s badass, and then there’s BADASS. You tell us which one it is!

Here are some shots from this year’s Silverrudder regatta . 359 yachts sailed single-handed around the Danish island of Fyn.

Arguably the biggest single-handed fleet in the world? Doesn’t matter when you look at this photo: The dude in the Melges24 won his class. Tough one going on a 140nm offshore race single-handed in a M24. – Anarchist Bendix

all i see is work

Many of us are aged out from doing anything like a Vendee Globe, or in my case never had the talent or ambition, but when I see a picture like this, all I see is how much frigging work it is! And this is in light air! I think I need a powerboat – haha.

This pic is from the IMOCA Violette as the prep for the VG. – ed .

is this really an issue?

While the IMOCA class advocates values ​​of sustainability, carbon footprint reduction, and circular economy, some choices, such as those of Thomas Ruyant , raise questions.

In 2023, Ruyant had a new IMOCA built for the 2024-2025 Vendée Globe, but he is already starting the construction of another boat for 2026. While he has not yet tested his new one on a round the world race … Although his current IMOCA could be taken over by Sam Goodchild , who shares his TR Racing team, the rapid construction rate seems at odds with the values ​​advocated by the class. More .

still lookin’ pretty good

The Seattle 2024 J24 World Championship presented by Beecher’s Handmade Cheese (September 28—October 5), concluded yesterday on the waters of Puget Sound in about 10 knots of northerly breeze and under rippled clouds that were punctuated by pockets of blue.

After the day started off with a postponement that allowed the northerly winds to gather, skipper Travis Odenbach and his Honeybadger (USA 5325) crew put on a master class by decisively earning the day’s only bullet and capturing the championship title in the 56-boat fleet. More here . Photo by Dennis Pearce.

now that’s some history!

And what a final but should we have expected any less of a ding dong with the two skippers who, between them, pulled off the greatest comeback in yachting in San Francisco making the Kiwis wait another edition to get their hands on the Auld Mug.

For Sir Ben Ainslie to state this wasn’t just a big day for the team but for British sailing certainly wasn’t an exaggeration as Britain hasn’t exactly been sitting on the sidelines for the last 60 years or so, or indeed the whole 173 years of The Cup. It is perhaps not overstating that had it not been for the efforts of Sopwith, Lipton or Lord Dunraven the America’s Cup would not have become the event it is today if in fact it had even just faded into folklore.

In 1973 Peter de Savary’s Victory ’83 reached the challenger finals which also announced Louis Vuitton’s involvement in The Cup. In the interim the likes of White Crusader, Wight Lightning and of course the current effort in the name of Land Rover BAR in AC36.

A bit tongue in cheek it is also the first time The Cup will not be competed for by a yacht club. In around 1 weeks time The Royal Yacht Squadron will go head to head with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, each the preeminent club in their respective country.

that’s all, folks

Solid breeze around 10-12. Even start but Prada can’t live to weather and tacks away. Close at first but Ineos is controlling. Big lead at the top mark by 10 seconds. Prada splashes down, now behind by 300m.

Prada chips away, and gets within a few meters, but Ineos has more breeze and pace on the next to last run. Ineos maintains a consistent lead Prada is just about of options.

Ineos is first at the final wm, and Prada splits on the run but to no avail.

Game, set, match to the Frackers. Next, they face TNZ for the America’s Cup, starting Oct. 12.

The event will include the standard ORC A, ORC B and ORC C divisions, but will also include Class 0 for the first time opening up the event to boats with CDL values up to 17.400.The 2024 ORC World Championship will include a mix of buoy racing and offshore courses testing the mettle of all competitors. This ORC World Championship is incorporating the Maxi North American Championship [ORC].©Paul Todd/OUTSIDEIMAGES.COM  Credit: ©Paul Todd/OUTSIDEIMAGES.COM Read on .

weight a minute…

When it comes to shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted, this one’s hard to beat. 

SA readers will remember the extended saga back in early 2023 over the questionable last-minute IRC rating change of Sydney-Hobart winner Celestial .  

Ten days before the race, right on deadline, the boat was issued a new certificate. On its previous certificate, the boat weight was 6,948 kilos and the bulb was 3,602 kilos. The stated new weight for the bulb was reduced to 3,363 – 239 kilos lighter – but the boat weight only came down 26 kilos. Not surprisingly, this apparent evaporation of 213 kilos in all-up boat weight prompted widespread disquiet in the offshore racing community.  

The IRC in England declined to revisit the issue, stating that their role had merely been to process the data as supplied by the boat owner and endorsed by the national authority, Australian Sailing. The Rating Officer at Australian Sailing then refused to comment, and their Head of Governance, Rules, and Safety also told SA , “We won’t be providing a response to your questions”. There the matter rested, but the Celestial saga was one of the most unpleasant and protracted controversies in Australian yachting.

What a difference two years make! Australian Sailing has now issued a statement headed “Weights for IRC”. It outlines changes aimed at setting more reliable standards for deriving weight data and even goes so far as to indicate that AS intends “reviewing weight data used within the fleet”. The statement begins with these noble allusions to fairness:

“Endorsed IRC certificates are those where the weight and measurements have been checked to ensure they don’t favor any boat and the integrity of the competition is upheld. Australian Sailing is changing some weighing practices to provide that level of integrity the IRC fleet want. 

“The weight of a boat is critical data for an Endorsed IRC certificate. Australian Sailing is working to make sure that the weight data being used for boats’ IRC certificates meets the accuracy expected for fair racing in Australia.”

Maybe if AS had been doing their job more diligently none of that would need saying. 

The changes are expressed as new guidelines relating to load cell accuracy, ensuring a boat is empty when weighed, and reserving endorsement if a boat was weighed overseas or its certificate has been amended without a full re-weigh. 

The statement ends on this note of limp, better-late-than-never self-congratulation: 

       “ We trust that IRC boat owners will applaud the initiative to bring all competitors up to the desired standard for such a critical piece of data.” 

We note they declined to name any competitors who were not “up to the desired standard”.

After 19 years in publication, Sailing Anarchy has remained true to its roots as a community oriented, edgy sailing publisher. We have long been, and will continue to be, the leader in providing inside stories, great reports from around the globe, along with the informative, snarky, profane coverage that you have come to expect. Others come and go, dilly dally with bullshit, while we remain Anarchists to the core.

Copyright 2010-2022 Sailing Anarchy, Inc.

J/111 Blur Offshore Sprayhood

Gear & Tech🛠 dodger , offshore , sprayhood 0

The most common question I get from fellow offshore sailors: where can I buy your sprayhood (dodger) 😀

I made it myself for the J/111 before Fastnet Race in 2015.  The thinking was ”small – looking cool – keeping waves out”. An added benefit is that the soft material dampens sound, so even when chaotic on deck, it’s a bit more relaxing below.

What I did:

• Buy two sleeping mats in 1 cm foam
• Glue 2 layers diagonally to get 1 big sheet 1.5*1,5 meter
• Visit the boat and cut to shape.
• Cover in Sunbrella or other similar spray hood fabric.
• Might need 2 battens on the inside to help it keep shape-
• Add sliding rope or keder rope to the sides of the sprayhood.
• Attach “keder tracks” or “awning tracks” (those that usually sit in the front of a sprayhood) to the sides of the companionway. Ideally it goes way forward when not in use.

Shape is something like:

I did the whole thing myself, but once you have the shape, you can take the ”sleeping mat core” to someone who makes sprayhoods.

Rolex Middle Sea Race 2024 – The final verdicts

News middle sea race 0

Seglarpub med föreläsningar & mingel

News anders dahlsjö , tjörn runt , XR 41 0

Hej seglarvänner! ⛵️

Vi på Tjörn Runt har nöjet att bjuda in er till en inspirerande och lättsam Seglarpub i Göteborg! Vi vill fortsätta bygga och stärka seglingscommunityt i Västsverig. Det här är en del av vår satsning för att göra 2025 till ett fantastiskt seglingsår – både för Tjörn Runt och andra spännande race.

Kvällen bjuder på nätverkande, inspirerande föreläsningar och givande samtal om segling, båtar och allt däremellan. Vi startar med mingel och bjuder på lättare mat och dryck. Ta chansen att träffa andra seglingsentusiaster, utbyta erfarenheter och hämta ny inspiration inför kommande säsonger!

📆  Onsdag 13 november 🕔  17.30–21.00 🏠  VinnGroup, K varnbergsgatan 2, Göteborg Program

• Anders Dahlsjö – Vinnande vägval i Tjörn Runt 2025
• Urban Langneus – Nya Xr41 
• Thord Lystrand/Hans Johansson – Tjörn Runt 2025 
• Anders Dahlsjö – Segla J-båt Swea

Vi avrundar kvällen med prisutdelning för Westside Cup och diskussion om framtida aktiviteter. OSA senast 8 november. Anmäl gärna ditt deltagande nedan så att vi kan planera mat & dryck på bästa sätt.

Det blir en riktigt trevlig kväll och vi hoppas att du vill vara med! 

Holcim-PRB IMOCA | behind the scenes

Mysigt ombord!

Bretagne och Grand Pavois 🇫🇷

Boats⛵️ bretagne , grand pavois , imoca , j/40 , j/99 , jps , la rochelle , mach 45 , open 7.50 , pogo rc 1

• Beneteau var så klart på plats. Tyvärr inte med en raceversion av First 36. Ändå kul att se.
• JPK hade 39FC på plats. En sådan hade jag kunnat tänka mig för cruising. Fyra års väntetid.
• Pogo visade 36 och 44. Distinkta båtar. Man kan inte föreställa sig hur stor 44:an är. Bra kaffe.
• RM var så klart färggladast. Och delar seglarvärlden i två läger. Poppis och lång kö. Visade nya RM 1080 .

J/30 Pile Up 🤣🤣🤣

Fun & Games🤡 j/30 0

Så här kan det ju också se ut vid ett kryssmärke!

7 days Italy – Croatia in a Hobie Cat 16

News hobie 16 , igor stropnik 0

Min favorit-småbåts-äventyrare på gång igen.

J/125 Callisto | refit from start to finish

Gear & Tech🛠 callisto , harken , j/125 1