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August 02, 2007Great American III back in the water

At the end of a refit that will have lasted ten months, Rich Wilson’s Great American III was relaunched yesterday at the Maine Yacht Center in Portland, U.S. In the next few weeks, the boat will be undergoing the compulsory Imoca tests before being re-christened later in the month. Several weeks of sea trials are planned (some of which will be taking place in Marblehead, Massachusetts) in order to prepare the boat for the Vendée Globe 2008-09.

August 01, 2007Dee Caffari tries her hand in a Mini in the Transgascogne

The second leg of the Transgascogne race across the Bay of Biscay got underway from Santander last Saturday. Among the 53 racers setting sail, a certain Dee Caffari, the skipper of the Aviva monohull, who will be racing in the next Vendée Globe. An occasion for the English yachtswoman to try her hand in some strong to gale force winds on her little \"nutshell\" of a boat. The start of the Transgascogne from Les Sables d’Olonne was a way for her to look into the future and imagine the exciting start of the Vendée Globe. Dee Caffari: «As day broke and the lights of Les Sables d’Olonne disappeared at dawn, I had a lump in my throat. The next time I shall have this sight in my vision will be at the end of the next Vendée Globe.»

August 01, 2007Ecover 3 in Auckland

Mike Golding’s new ECOVER 3 built in New Zealand left the Hakes Marine yard in Wellington on Sunday evening to head for the famous \"Viaduct Basin\" in Auckland, the base of the America’s Cup winner, Alinghi. This new boat built for the 2008 Vendée Globe is due to race for the first time in the forthcoming Transat Jacques Vabre. During the last Vendée Globe, Mike finished third on ECOVER 2. Here are his first impressions of his new boat: \" It is great to see the boat here. I am hoping that working at the Alinghi base will be a good omen. But after all the work and stresses over the last month it is great to see the boat in the flesh, it looks fantastic here, and you start to appreciate what we have. It looks like we have a great boat.\" On Wednesday, the boat is due to undergo her 180 degree righting test, which involves turning the boat over with the help of a crane and a belt wrapped around the bulb. The skipper is inside and without any outside help must right the boat using simply her swinging keel system. \"It a very scary test\" warns Golding, \" If things go wrong - it would not be just a little wrong!\" Today the mast and rigging will be stepped for the first time. On Thursday if the weather is perfect, the ECOVER team may attempt the second test stipulated by the race and class rules, a 90 degree test in which they measure the pull up load on the mast with the boat pulled over at 90 degrees. On Friday the boat must be lifted out again, disassembled and packaged for shipping. On Saturday the container and boat and mast will be finally packed for movement early on Sunday. Then it’s off to Europe!

July 30, 2007Paprec-Virbac is going to have to change her keel changed

Launched in early February 2007 and having sailed half way around the world, Jean-Pierre Dick’s new monohull Paprec-Virbac 2 has gone into the yard in Lorient for a complete overhaul. It was during this thorough verification that the technical team noticed some cracks on the keel. Better safe than sorry, so a new keel blade is going to be built in New Zealand. Paprec-Virbac 2 will therefore not be able to take part in the Rolex Fastnet Race in August. The boat will be relaunched in early October.
Here’s what Jean-Pierre Dick had to say: \"There are cracks in several places in particular at the top of the keel blade near where it is attached to the ram. The metal (steel) is not homogenous. There was fault in its manufacture, so we can’t be sure of how solid the appendage is. It’s better to resolve the problem now rather than lose the keel in the middle of the ocean! We don’t want to take any risks in the next few races and are thinking in particular of the safety of the sailors. A new keel blade has to be made in New Zealand. The Paprec Virbac sailing team has a lot of experience in carrying out thorough checks in several phases: sea trials, hald way around the world and checks in the yard in Lorient. This process works well, and the proof is clear today, even if this discovery was not really a happy one for us.\"

July 27, 20074700 miles for Jérémie Beyou

Having set out on 6th July from Saint-Malo to carry out his qualifying run, the skipper of Delta Dore arrived in Lorient (his home base) on Wednesday 25th July after sailing 4700 miles. 19 days alone at sea for Jérémie Beyou, enough time to sail to Newfoundland and back. During the voyage the skipper experienced almost every type of weather. A long upwind tack to begin, then a downwind return journey in winds reaching 35 knots in squalls. These conditions will have enabled Jérémie to really get to grips with his large monohull before he sets sail in mid August to race two-handed in the Fastnet with Sydney Gavinet.

July 03, 2007Launch of the new Hugo Boss

Alex Thomson’s new 60-foot Open Hugo Boss was discreetly launched in Lymington a few days ago. The champagne was sprayed over her and the project leader, Jason Carrington said a few words telling everyone that this was without doubt the most beautiful boat he had ever built. In all, the construction will have taken 26,000 man-hours and 9 months of graft. The Finot-Conq design is wider and higher in the water than the former Hugo Boss, which Alex says in comparison, was more like a submarine. Thanks to Paolo Manganelli’s engineering skill (SP Engineering), the boat is also 25% lighter than the old one, which should make quite some difference in terms of performance. Last Friday, the 180° capsize test was carried in the presence of Pascal Conq and Alex Thomson. Everything went well, even if the righting was fairly violent according to Alex, who could hardly wait to get out of there. The next stage will involve carrying out the 90°test and weighing the boat before she is revealed in all her glory to the public on 11th July.