🎥 FSR Industries - Media House for Down Under Sail
💁🏼♀️ Suellen Hurling Live Sail Die and Down Under Sail
📊 RESULTS: bit.ly/2024EtchellsWorldsResults
Event media has been made possible thanks to the support of HillPDA Consulting. HillPDA | Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries | Packer & Co | Shacks Motor Group | North Sails | Visit Fremantle | Kamran Accounting | Vaikobi | Vakaros | Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club | Fremantle Sailing Club | Royal Perth Yacht Club
There are many hidden parts to an America’s Cup campaign where innovation, performance and talent remain unseen.
Hydraulics is one such area, so much so, that when Emirates Team New Zealand’s new race boat is launched next month, there will be very little of the department’s work on display to the public or reconnaissance cameras.
However, without an optimal hydraulics team running the complex AC75 hydraulics system, winning the America’s Cup would be a lot harder than it already is for the teams.
People have been sailing across the Atlantic for centuries, and realising this dream is still often life-changing. Recently, sailors crossed as a community.
Where does the fabled Northwest Passage—that tenuous, long-sought sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans—properly begin?
For the keepers of official records, jealously counting how many of each sort of boat makes the transit each year, the answer is the Arctic Circle, at 66°30′ N. It begins when you cross into the Arctic going northward, and it ends when you cross out of it again southbound, 100 degrees of longitude away…
Dutch yard Saffier has a reputation for stylish, quick daysailers. While their origins lie in their smaller 6.5m and 8m cabin boats, the yard has seen real growth in its SE range, standing for Saffier Elegance.
These boats are highly refined daysailers that merely nod to the possibility of staying on board overnight if required.
This spaciousness is achieved by pushing the helm forward into the boat’s centre for fun sailing…
The simplicity of putting your equipment in the back of the car, driving to a local sailing center or beach, and getting on the water to rip around with friends at high speeds with minimal fuss is appealing to people of all ages and ability levels, which is why the emergent sport of wingfoiling has taken off. One-design racing is the next frontier.
Naturally, when a sport is new, its pioneers push limits to see what is possible, and it has been absolutely crazy—in a good way—to witness what’s been happening in the wingfoil world. Two years ago, a backflip on wingfoil equipment was practically unimaginable, but tricks today are far more complex, and racing speeds are at near scary levels. But landing mind-bending tricks and doing 40 knots on wingfoil equipment represents only the top of the wingfoiling pyramid, not the masses…
Faced with a load of corrosion or rust stains, it’s such an appealing thought that they could magically be made to vanish, lifted away by the application of a bit of acid.
No frenetic sanding, scrubbing or scraping. Just soak it, have a cup of tea and come back to find grubby bits gleaming, and seized parts gliding effortlessly…
“The moon is waxing and rising later now, so there are magnificent star-spotting opportunities,” the crew of Adina blogged. “The Plough, Orion’s Belt and Venus have been joined by the Crux, Mitaxa and Hyades.”
“The sky at night is epic,” reported another crew from the ARC rally. “We saw shooting stars and a meteorite that streaked orange across the sky one night last week.”
Seeing a night sky teeming with stars, or the moon lighting your path across the sea, are some of the most unforgettable sights of ocean sailing. Like landing a pelagic fish, enjoying a sundowner at dusk, or encountering your first tradewinds squall, these are timeless experiences that come with every Atlantic crossing…
Organisers would like to hear from any women sailors who are still considering applying for the new offshore training scheme, UpWind by MerConcept, which is being supported by 11th Hour Racing with Francois Gabart’s MerConcept stable, and skippered by Francesca Clapcich.
The scheme is particularly keen to attract women sailors from a diverse range of nationalities and skillsets, so international applications are strongly encouraged…
Most propulsion engines (and gensets) on sailboats are located at or below the waterline, making them ripe for seawater flooding, which can occur for one of three reasons. First, the engine is not installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. This can allow a siphon to develop, fill the exhaust, and then flood the engine’s cylinders. When the engine is idle, a bad installation also can push in water through the exhaust discharge in a following sea, and from there through open exhaust valves and into the cylinders. Second, an anti-siphon valve malfunctions. Or third, the engine is cranked excessively while bleeding the fuel system. With each revolution, the raw-water pump moves a small amount of seawater into the exhaust system, which eventually overflows back into the engine and through an open exhaust valve…
Check out these recent articles and videos focused on the 37th America’s Cup, to be held in Barcelona, Spain in October of this year!
SAILING ILLUSTRATED #694 (Fri 15 Mar 2024) — 41 entries from five countries are lining up for Sunday's start of the 2024 Etchells Worlds. We'll preview the event, and this amazing class, being hosted by Perth's prestigious Royal Freshwater Bay YC. Join us for this and other yacht racing news, views and notables hosted by Tom Ehman (USA), with Julia Wedekind (USA), Jon Emmett (GBR), Alistair Murray (AUS) and The FOSI. Our twice-weekly live webcast airs Tuesdays and Fridays at 13:00 Pacific on Facebook (fb.com/sailingillustratedblog) and the Sailing Illustrated TV YouTube channel, or watch a replay on-demand later. "Sail Fast, Sail Safe, Have Fun!" #tfelive #tomehmanlive #SailingIllustrated
Nautor Swan is best known for the modern-day giants of its fleet, but they’re now extending their range into the high 20s with the announcement earlier this year of the ClubSwan 28, an impressive-looking sportboat from avant-garde designer Juan Kouyoumdjian that is said to be “based on the concept of simplicity, quality and, of course, pure one-design speed.”…
Recent race results from
Tales from Sailing Folk Lore with British Adventurer Pete GossThis month, Shirley Robertson's Sailing Podcast talks to British offshore adventurer Pete Goss, an accomplished offshore sailor famed for executing one of the bravest solo ocean rescues of all time.Talking at his home in the south west corner of the UK, Robertson and Goss kick their discussion off with chat about his formative years…
Doug’s a highly-accomplished sailor from the Annapolis area; I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Doug is obsessed with how to make Mayhem, his J/105, sail faster. As you’re going to hear.
Doug’s always at the front of the j/105 fleet, despite being relatively new to the design. I suppose it’s not that surprising that he sailed his way to the front given his formidable achievements in windsurfing earlier in his sailing career – including two-time winner of US Sailing Youth Championships and the Major Hall Trophy (windsurfing), he’s a two time US Sailing Rolex Junior Team member, he represented the US at the ‘95 and ‘96 IYRU Youth World Championships and ‘99 World University Summer Games. What’s more, Dough was the 1995 Olympic Festival Bronze Medalist and member of the US national Sailing Team in 1998 and 1999.
Switching to keelboats, Doug picked up the 2017 Healy Trophy for Overall Cruising One Design. He was also the 2019 J30 North American Champion and most recently won the 2022 Charles Day Trophy - Best Performance in Fleet (AYC WNR)
Doug’s always at or close to the front of the J/105 fleet, which as you’ll hear he puts down to his deep knowledge of the J/105 design, relentless preparation and a constant quest for improvement gained both by on the water experience and through learning from others. As you’ll hear, he’s very willing to share what’s been working for him and his team, a formula that he puts into practice with considerable success.
This edition of the podcast is the second part of Shirley Robertson's fascinating inside look at the design and build of the boats that will ultimately race in the 36th America's Cup.
Francois Gabart is one of the stars of the offshore sailing world - the youngest ever winner of the solo offshore marathon the Vendee Globe, Francois also holds the title for the fastest ever solo lap of the planet, achievements that have made him a household name in his native France..
Gabart set a remarkable world record in 2017 when he took just 42 days 16hours 40minutes and 35seconds to sail alone, non stop around the world, coming within just 2 days of the overall crewed world record. The landmark achievement was set sailing the giant 100ft trimaran ‘Macif’, a foiling trimaran capable of sustained periods of high speed out in the world’s toughest sailing conditions…:
“I love speed. I’m not afraid of speed and I have to say that sometimes I even think that speed is not dangerous, that it’s sometimes safer to go fast."
As a six year old child Gabart spent a year at sea with his parents, as on a whim they decided to take off to see the world. He attributes a degree of his success to these formative days spent enjoying the experience of being out at sea. His sailing career started well, he was national champion in the competitive Optimist class. Several national titles followed as Gabart set his sights on Olympic success, but admits to Shirley that even then, his horizons were slightly wider…:
“There was something missing when I would just sail around the buoys, and then go back to shore at night. I was thinking ‘why can’t we just try to go further, sail into the night and just go’"
And so began a search for something more. Gabart discusses the unique French pathway to becoming an offshore professional, and how he tentatively set off around the world on his one and only Vendee Globe race, aged just 29.
“I was so proud to be a winner. I had been dreaming about doing the Vendee Globe, but i never thought I’d be a winner….The day I arrived, I was just thinking I did something incredible but I didn't know exactly what I had done, I was so focused on what I was doing I didn't realise the consequences of that….It didn't so much change the way I was living, but it changed the way the world was looking at myself."
Looking to the future, Gabart is pushing the boundaries of the sport wherever he can - he's an advocate of collaboration between the different areas of sailing, keen to learn from the technological advancements of the the America's Cup as he searches for speed out in the world's toughest oceans - he's a man revelling in his time, an articulate and intelligent athlete delighted to be involved in the sport of sailing while it undergoes a radical and exciting revolution.
