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June 10, 2007Mike Golding weighs up the opposition

The construction of the new Ecover is proceeding as planned at Hakes Marine in New Zealand and Mike Golding has announced that her launch will take place in just a few weeks. The yachtsman from Hampshire will be spending a few weeks out there before the boat is loaded for her voyage to Europe. Mike took advantage of a few days rest to take a look at the boats gathered in Calais for the start of the Round Britain Race, which enabled him to jot down some notes about his future rivals. He noticed that some of the newer boats are not getting the results they hoped for. « I looked at the new boats in Calais. Generali looked interesting, but in the sense of knowing the boat I guess they are a bit green and will have made some mistakes. It is interesting to see PRB doing so well. The rumour is, though, that VM Matériaux is quicker on most points of sail, so there is nothing conclusive that a new boat is inevitably quicker, it’s about striking the right balance..."

June 01, 2007The new Pindar almost ready

After eight months of work at Cookson’s in New Zealand, the construction of the new Pindar Open 60 designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian is nearing completion. The boat is due to be transported to England for the start of the Fastnet Race.
The boat captain, Nick Black commented on the work: “All is going well down here with the build of our new Open 60. Cookson’s have built some of the best racing yachts in the world to date, including the Team New Zealand boat(...) Every single day we are constantly going over the plans and designs to see how we can improve every tiny detail to try and squeeze any last bit of speed out of the boat. We have just finished the fairing of the hull and have put the hull and deck together. This is a really busy time in the schedule of the boat build as we bring together all of the different components from our various suppliers, with about 100 people in total working on all the different components.\"

June 01, 2007The Return of Norbert Sedlacek

After becoming the first German-speaker to take part in the Vendée Globe (in 2004) and now with a sponsorship deal signed with Kapsch, an Austrian company, specialised in traffic management equipment, Norbert Sedlacek has just re-affirmed his determination to set sail again from Les Sables d’Olonne in the next race and relaunched his campaign in Austria last week. A few days of special events were organised in Vienna Marina to present the project to the general public and local businesses. At the same time, Norbert is part of the campaign, « Wings For Handicapped » in favour of handicapped children, and has been showing everyone what is available to them in the area of sea sports. His Open 60, Nauticsport (the former Austria One) is currently at the Polypat Yard in Vendée, but is due to be relaunched this summer before undergoing a period of fine-tuning.

May 25, 2007Spirit of Canada to be relaunched shortly

After a winter tour with appearances in North American shows, the new Open 60, Spirit of Canada will be relaunched next Tuesday in Toronto Harbour. The canting keel and hydraulic systems were fitted a week ago and the rudders are now fluorescent orange, as laid down in IMOCA safety rules. With the help of a crane, Spirit of Canada will be lowered into the water at around ten next Tuesday at Pier 35, Cherry Street in Toronto before mooring at the Port Credit Yacht Club, where she will be prepared for her rollover test, which is due to take place in early June.

May 22, 2007Jean-Pierre Dick in Panama

Jean-Pierre Dick arrived in Panama on Sunday on his way from the Pacific to the Atlantic. «We have now reached Panama and are moored at the Balboa Yacht Club just in front of the Las Americas bridge, which is one of the bridges cars use to cross the famous Canal. The results of the first leg of the journey: 6500 miles covered at an average speed of 9.7 knots on a straight line. Unfortunately we came across a lot of calm zones on the way. Tomorrow we will begin the customs formalities to go through the Canal. That is likely to take up to a week. See you soon...\".

May 20, 2007Roxy passes her measurement test

On Friday morning, the team working on the monohull Roxy (the former PRB) carried out the compulsory 90° test for certification under IMOCA rules. The results satisfied the measurement requirements. Tomorrow, Sam Davies will be continuing with her training for the Calais Round Britain Race. The boat is due to be delivered to the port in Northern France next weekend.