Speedboat Crew On Deck
Stan Honey and Crew Of Speedboat Arrive In Bermuda
It was a slow race, with Speedboat making the 635-mile course in just over 59 hours after the start at Newport on Friday. The crew of 25 never reefed the boat. In the light to moderate conditions that prevailed through most of the race, Speedboat was hard pressed by Il Mostro, Rambler, and several boats in the mini-maxi 70-80 foot range over the first third of the course. “We really didn’t get away from them until we were in the Stream,” navigator Stan Honey said after Speedboat tied up at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club’s marina early Monday morning. “Then they gained a lot in the light stuff as we came into the finish.”
At 5 AM EDT the mini-maxi Rán on its blog reported less than 10 knots as she beat to windward toward the buoys guarding Bermuda’s reef. “Titan is downwind from us and is not a threat. Rambler and Beau Geste are upwind and in front as we thought they would. We are still in a strong position although it now looks like Beau Geste is the biggest threat. Just a few more hours to go.”
At 6:30 the blog reported, “As we are approaching the finish slowly but surely, we are all on deck, no more watches, all are on duty for the final stretch. Coffee and tea served on the rail – black only as no more milk powder onboard. Very calm water. Wind speed of 9 knots –
just over – and land in sight.”
Traditional Dark n Stormys Being Prepared At The Dock For Speedboat Crew
RC 44 (Photo by George Bekris)
The Challenge and Adventure Team spent an afternoon with Russell Coutts aboard the RC 44 in Newport. The RC44 is in Newport, RI to introduce the boat to an American audience before the Miami Cup, on December 7 – 12, 2010. This will be the first ever RC 44 regatta in North America.
We caught a RIB out and met the boat off Goat Island. The crew let us know where to hold on and more importantly what not to grab. They set the sails and the fun began. She rose up and took off. What a ride. The boat is sleek and sexy and flying across Narragansett Bay she is a head turner. Any questions I had thought of asking Russell about how the boat performs were gone.
The winches grunt as we power up. Everyone hikes a bit further. For a while we fly up and down Narragansett Bay. Past the tour boats filled with tourists waving and cheering as they see Russell Coutts is at the wheel of this BMW Oracle racer blasting past them. I looked around at Russell and the rest of the guys and realized that even though they had done this many times before, they were proudly enjoying showing off the boat and her abilities. All fun aside though, this is a serious racer.
The RC44 is a light displacement high performance One Design sailing boat. It was designed by four-time America’s Cup winner Russell Coutts, together with naval architect Andrej Justin. The RC44 was created for top level racing in international regattas under strictly controlled Class Rules. The concept and the design features of the RC44 are dedicated to the amateur helmsmen racing in fleet racing sailing events.
The objective of the Class is to develop a high level and entertaining racing program and to keep the absolute one design aspect of the RC44 by ensuring that all boats are as identical as possible in terms of construction, shape of hull and appendages, weight and weight distribution, deck layout and equipment, sail plan and performance.
Upwind On The RC44 (Photo by George Bekris)
“We wanted to include a degree of complexity so an owner can experience what a top-end race boat is like to sail, and it delivers on that”, explains Russell Coutts. “Yet we also wanted it to be easy to own – you can race this boat in summer and if you wish put it away relatively easily in winter.”
“While the RC44 have some distinctive America’s Cup features, they are light-displacement, high performance racers and designed to sail with eight person crew, or for a professional match racing format they could be sailed by just six crew. When we started to formulate this concept I wanted to create a boat that would be exciting to sail downwind and powerful in light winds because most of the harbour and lake sailing is staged at lighter wind venues. I also wanted a boat that could be sailed short-handed with a deck layout incorporating many non-standard adjustments.
The trim tab on the keel was an example of that thinking, to reduce keel area and yet still achieve good upwind performance and maneuverability. It adds to the complexity of the boat, but the racing enthusiast will enjoy exploring the different tab angles and the resulting benefits in performance.”
With a powerful sail plan, the RC44 is intended strictly for racing, either match racing or day sailing fleet races. The boat is targeted at the day sailor who wishes to sail a high performance one-design class. It has no comforts for cruising, and with a big open cockpit, a fairly narrow beam and the huge sail plan it produces a lot of excitement. The philosophy was to create something special for the racing sailor – a bit like owning a sports car versus a 4-wheel drive!
Russell Coutts (Photo by George Bekris)
The boat features a removable stern scoop with a two-piece mast, both developed to provide for easy transportation, assembly and winter storage. The fact that the boat can be shipped, trucked or sent by rail to the next event by container is a definite plus. It saves on transport costs.
The class rules and the construction of the boat are being tightly controlled to protect the one-design concept and reduce development costs for participants. For fleet racing it will be an owner driver class with strict limitations on the number of professional crew.
Thank you Russell and all of the crew for an afternoon I will not forget. As we were getiing off the boat Russell asked how we like it . Still feeling giddy, not normally a word I use to describe myself. All I could say was “I want One !”
For More Photos Of Russell Coutts’ RC44 Taken By George Bekris Click HERE
More information about The RC44 can be found at The RC 44 Class site
| BOAT DIMENSIONS: LOA 13.35m 43.8′ Bmax 2.75m 9′ Draft 2.90m 9.5′ Displ 3560kg 7850lbs Keel 2200kg 4850lbs Crew 680kg Engine 20HP inboard diesel with retractable drive |
| SAIL DIMENSIONS: G -3 39m² 517sqft G -1 60m² 646sqft Main 70m² 753sqft Gennaker y; 170m² 1722sqft Gennaker 150m² 1399sqft |
RC 44 (Photo by George Bekris)
Ran At Newport Bermuda Race Start (Photo by George Bekris )
The Newport Bermuda Race fleet made their upwind starts in 16 classes over a period of more than two and a half hours on Friday afternoon. There now are 183 boats, after Avatar didn’t start. In addition, Blue sailed back to the shipyard to get her broken centerboard cable fixed; she’s expected to start again after the repair.
The start found some skippers were surprisingly aggressive. Apparently forgetting that this isn’t a day race but a 635-mile marathon running several days, they also seem to have experienced a touch of amnesia about the tide table. As the new ebb tide ran with every great velocity out of Narragansett Bay, it pushed them inexorably toward Bermuda, but also over the starting line a little earlier than their tacticians had planned.
Of the 13 boats in Class 4 (St. David’s Light Division, 45-55 footers), four found themselves over early at the pin end, with Star Chaser getting what one of her crew called “the best start in the fleet” in an email to media@BermudaRace.com. “We were at the committee boat end of the line with some of the J-Boats but higher and faster. We all chose to be slightly late on the gun: no use being OCS on a race of 635 nm!”
In Class 8 (St. David’s Light, 65-footers) two boats were premature. One was Aurora (with Gary Jobson in the afterguard), and she had to pick her way back to the line, losing at least three minutes in the process.
The current new on the Newport Bermuda Race is that Speedboat took the lead from Titan XV at sunset Friday night as the big 183-boat fleet raced toward Bermuda on a fast close reach in a flat sea, clear visibility, and a moderate southwest wind that gradually strengthened and clocked toward the west. Two boats set Code Zeros.
For current boat positions click HERE
Chris Museler reports from Titan XV: a collision, a Code Zero, and a champagne wake
Friday, 2045 EDT. What an incredible day we’ve had! When I woke up to clear skies and glassy conditions, I knew the sea breeze was setting up nicely. After our delicious hot lunch aboard Tom and Dotty Hill’s Titan XIV, we set out in a relaxed mood, everyone smiling about the conditions. The spectators were all smiles and cheers. There were so many people camped out on the Castle Hill lawn that you couldn’t see any grass.
We started well to weather of the other mini maxis in Class 10 (Gibbs Hill Division) and from then until sunset (a few moments ago) it’s been champagne sailing conditions – sailing at 13-15 knots in a steady wind. We’ve been the lead boat for a few hours, but now as it’s getting dark, Speedboat is passing us to leeward. She started at 4:30, an hour after we did, and it’s now after 8. Rán (in our class) isn’t far behind.
At about 5:30 we hit a large marine animal of some kind. It may have been a basking shark, maybe as long as 20 feet. The hit was soft and we almost stopped. The fish made a few squiggles, spun off, and swam away in our wake. The boat appears to be undamaged.
We’ve switched to a Code Zero, and as our grinders are getting busy they look a lot bigger than before. Mark Strube, who finished second at the Star Class Europeans two weeks ago, is 250 pounds of muscle. The crew has just had dinner – hot rice and chicken with pineapple, which took an hour to cook in two large pots, plus the usual Snickers and Pringles for snacks . . . and apples, too.
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- Newport Bermuda 2010 Start (Photo by George Bekris)
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- Newport Bermuda 2010 (Photo by George Bekris )
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- Newport Bermuda 2010 ( Photo by George Bekris )
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- Ran (Photo by George Bekris)
Photos By George Bekris
More Photos Of The Newport Bermuda Race Start by George Bekris click HERE
The leader for several hours was Titan XV, in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division. She was caught by Speedboat (Open Division, which started an hour later) at about 8:45 pm. Other positions have been changing in the extremely competitive group of mini maxis sailing in the Gibbs Hill Division, with Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente overtaking Niklas Zennstrom’s Rán soon after midnight, and Rán then catching Rambler and Beau Geste in parking-lot conditions. The wind slowly faded during the night, swung into the north for a while. After dawn, two boats reported a very light breeze from the southeast, which is the course to Bermuda. Later on Saturday morning the wind filled in nicely with a report of 15-plus knots, whitecaps, and the first sighting of cumulus clouds over the Gulf Stream ahead. There also were reports of U.S. Navy exercises in the area of some boats.
By John Rousmaniere
Victory '83 Candy Store Cup Winners (Photo by George Bekris)
While history didn’t quite repeat itself today, it came pretty close. The final races of the 2009 12 Metre World Championships were sailed on a sparkling Rhode Island Sound as helicopters buzzed and spectator boats jockeyed for front row seats to the action – evoking memories of 26 years ago to the day when the longest winning streak (132 years) in sporting history ended with the loss of the “Auld Mug” to Australia. On this day, however, instead of just two Twelves there were 17 making their way around the old America’s Cup stomping grounds off Brenton Point and with many of the same spectators there to pay homage as the helicopters droned above.
Notable for traveling the furthest to be part of this largest gathering of Twelves since the Cup left Newport: Challenge 12, which William Borel (Paris, France) had shipped from Europe early in the summer, and Australian Skip Lissiman who was onboard the Cup-winning Australia II in 1983. “It’s fantastic to be back in Newport,” he said. “I wanted to be back in particular for the anniversary and [to celebrate] I will be going down to O’Brien’s Pub where they have the original boxing kangaroo flag. We’re going to exchange it with one that the entire crew signed last year when we celebrated the 25th and take the original flag back to the museum in Australia.”
For the final act of the world championships, two races were sailed in all four divisions – Grand Prix, Modern, Traditional and Vintage – before The Candy Store Cup was re-run after being abandoned on day two of racing. Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.), on Kiwi Magic-KZ7, won the Grand Prix division after adding finishes of 1-3 for a net total of seven points. Lexi Gahagan (Wilmington, Del.), driving Wright on White-KZ3, finished 3-2 to place second overall in the division standings, one point back.
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- Victory ’83 All Around and Candy Store Cup Winners (Photo by George Bekris)
More Photos Of The Action Can Be Seen HERE
The Traditional Division saw the only real upset of the championship as Charlie Millikin and Carol Swift (both Newport), on American Eagle-US21, fought back from a three-point deficit with a 1-2 today to tie Weatherly’s Clay Deutsch (Newport) who finished 2-3. With eight points apiece, the tie-break went in favor of American Eagle earning Swift a surprise swim off the dock at Bannister’s Wharf courtesy of the crew. In the Vintage division, Einar Sissener (Oslo, NOR), on Gleam-US11, was one point out of first when the day began and placed first in both races to win by three points over Kip Curren (Middletown, R.I.), on Northern Light-US14.
“In the Modern fleet, on any given day any boat can win, they’re all that close,” said Dennis Williams (Hobe Sound, Fla./Mashpee, Mass.) after winning that division on Victory ‘83-K22. He explained that it was Courageous who was their biggest competition after they had “two good races today and in conditions that were really pretty crazy. They had a first and second and I think we were two points apart with one throw out, so very close. The wind was shifting left and right and the velocity was up and down …it was a very crazy day, it was not predictable. Everybody worked hard trying to keep the boat on track with the shifting winds.”
In addition to winning his first world championship title, it was “nice to put a little icing on the cake,” said Williams about winning The Candy Store Cup which gave a single start for all divisions and sent them on a course back from Rhode Island Sound, past Castle Hill Light, and into Newport Harbor for a finish off Bannister’s Wharf where champagne was awaiting all the teams. “It was great,” said Williams of the 2009 12 Metre World Championship. “Everyone on the boat enjoyed it, we had a great time, great crew. It was just fabulous. The competition was great.”
2009 12 Metre Worlds Final Standings
Place, Boat Name-Sail Number, Skipper (Hometown), Finish positions, Total Points
Division I – Grand Prix
1. Kiwi Magic-KZ7, Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.) 2-2-1-1-1-(3), 7
2. Wright on White-KZ3, Lexi Gahagan (Wilmington, Del.) 1-1-2-2-(3)-2, 8
3. USA-US61, Richard Matthews (W. Mersea, GBR), 3-3-3-(3)-2-1, 12
4. America II-US46, Michael Fortenbaugh (New York, N.Y.), 4-4-DNF-4-4-4, 20
Division 2 – Modern
1. Victory 83-K22, Dennis Williams (Hobe Sound, Fla./Mashpee, Mass.), 1-1-2-1-3-(3), 8
2. Courageous, US26, Stephen Glascock (New York, N.Y.), 3-2-(DSQ)-2-2-1, 10
3. Freedom-US30, Ernest Jacquet (Boston, Mass.), 4- 5-1-4-1-(5), 15
2. Intrepid-US22, Jack Curtin (Toronto, CAN), 2-3-4-5-(5)-2, 16
5. Challenge 12-KA10, William Borel (Paris, FRA), (DSQ)-4-3-3-4-4, 16
Division 3 – Traditional
1. American Eagle-US21, Charlie Millikin/Carol Swift (both Newport, R.I.), (4)-2-2-1-1-2, 8
2. Weatherly-US17, Clay Deutsch (Newport, R.I.), 2-1-1-2-2-(3), 8
3. Columbia-US16, Alain Hanover (Weston, Mass./Palm Beach, Fla.), 1-3-3-3-3-(DNS), 12.5
4. Nefertiti-US19, Sears Wullschleger (Nantucket, Mass.), 3-4-4-4-4-(DNF), 19
5. Easterner-US18, Paul Callahan (Ft. Meyers, Fla./Newport, R.I.), 5-5-(DNS)-5-5-1, 21
Division 4 – Vintage
1. Gleam-US11, Einar Sissener (Oslo, NOR), (3)-1-2-1-1-1, 6
2. Northern Light-US14, Kip Curren (Middletown, R.I.), 1-2-1-2-3-(3), 9
3. Onawa-US6, Morten Kielland (Geneva, SUI), 2-DNF-(DNS)-3-2-2, 13
Freedom Approaches The Finish Of The Candy Store Cup (Photo by George Bekris)
More Photos Of The Action Can Be Seen HERE
Misarah Holed (Photo by Th Martinez / OC Events)
In race 4 of the first day of the iShares Cup Amsterdam, a collision between Oman Sail Masirah and BT on the first windward leg has put Masirah out of action. A port/starboard incident, saw BT trying to duck Masirah but to no avail. Oman Sail Masirah are waiting anxiously for the crane to haul them out. A big blow for Pete Cumming and his crew who are the overall iShares Cup series leader going into this penultimate round, and they will be looking for redress for the races they miss today. In the strongest breeze of the day so far, gusting over 10 knots, there was plenty of action from the start with LUNA, over the line at the start searching to go back made contact with BT, who had been forced to tack on top of them as Holmatro called starboard. On this tight racecourse here in Amsterdam the building breeze makes the racing even more fraught. Race 4 was won by Gitana Extreme with Franck Cammas on Guichard’s heels but this win puts them at the top of the iShares Cup Amsterdam leaderboard, halfway through today’s racing.
Pete Cumming takes up the story: “It was the first beat of race 4 and it was a clear case of port and starboard. BT were coming in on port and we could see from about 10 seconds out they were going to hit us. The wind had got up and we knew as they accelerated, the bows dug in and holed us under the waterline and the crack goes right underneath. The damage is about 2-foot forward of the back beam on the port hull and it compressed the whole side of the boat in – it’s quite a big job to rebuild that. We didn’t have our best races in the first couple today so we’ll get average points from those races – we’ll just have to see how it goes. It’s an unfortunate situation and we’ve ended up sitting on the shore with our boat full of water.”
A total of 8 races were staged today on the tiny IJ-Haven – the racecourse just 750-meters long and 250-meters wide – on the start line you could literally step from one boat to the next and then on to the canal wall! There is only just enough room for the nine-boat fleet to line up and as soon as they cross the line, the boats, just a few feet from the concrete walls, are yelling for water causing a domino effect across the fleet. The conditions were generally light but on a fairly regular basis the breeze built up to over 10 knots making the IJ-Haven become a hazardous place to be, although the crowds loved it! There were plenty of penalties and at least one other collision and probably a few more scrapes and close shaves that were not visible from the shore.
Team iShares skipper, Shirley Robertson, who scored a win in the penultimate race today and lies in 5th place overall: “Many of us remember the first year we came to Amsterdam… it was pretty windy and it brings back all of those memories of all the points around the canal where you had a few moments! You just have to sail slightly differently and be prepared to see things that you might not before – look for opportunities and be a bit punchy!” It was certainly a case of avoiding the wind holes and taking advantage of the gusts, which resulted in many place changes throughout the fleet. Two wins apiece for Oman Sail Renaissance (Loick Peyron)and Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild (Yann Guichard) and individual race wins for Holmatro (Mitch Booth), Groupama (Franck Cammas), iShares (Shirley Robertson) and LUNA (Erik Maris) have kept the points close on the Round 5 leaderboard. Only 2 points separate Loick Peyron from Guichard and Guichard from Cammas, and 1 point between Mitch Booth, Robertson and Maris (see leaderboard for full results).
Forecast is for slightly lighter winds tomorrow which may reduce the ‘incident’ rate but at this crucial stage of the race, no one is giving an inch and that counts here on the IJ-Haven!
Collision Between Masirah and BT In Amsterdam (Photo by ThMartinez/Sea&Co / OC Events )
There were no surprises in the finishes posted by the 17 Twelves who completed only a single race today at the 2009 12 Metre World Championship. After sailing out to the old America’s Cup racecourse off Brenton Point, the wind speed took a nosedive as it changed direction from WSW to NNW, leaving the competitors drifting for close to two hours. With one race completed, the four divisions were given a combined start for the Candy Store Cup, sending them on a course back into Newport Harbor to the finish line at Bannister’s Wharf. The wind, however, continued to be uncooperative and the race was abandoned when the Twelves were unable to make the time limit for the race.
Yesterday, racing in the Modern division was quite contentious, with the outcome of numerous protests resulting in Challenge 12 and Courageous each picking up a DSQ when the jury decisions did not go in their favor and causing a complete shake up in the results for that division. Unscathed by the protests, Dennis Williams (Mashpee, Mass.) at the helm of Victory ’83 is reaping the benefit of having assembled a crew that includes several who have sailed together for close to 30 years, including Heart of America veterans Wally Henry (San Diego, Calif.) and Jim Gretzky (Storrs, Conn.), along with three father and son pairs – Jerry and Rome Kirby, Bill and Randy Shore (all Newport, R.I.) and Larry and Matt Mialik (both Madison, Wisc.), making for a well-oiled effort as evidenced by the 1-1-2 they posted on day one.
Peter Stalkus (Newport, R.I.), navigator aboard Victory ’83, has the distinction of having been navigator with four America’s Cup campaigns (’80 Clipper, ’83 Defender, ’87 USA 61 and ’97 Young America). His take on Victory ‘83’s impressive performance here is that Dennis Williams, its owner, has been meticulous in his approach. “The boat is well prepared and it shows,” said Stalkus after the team picked up their third win in four races. “It has good speed and we’ve practiced ahead of time.”
While the fallout from the protest decisions catapulted Intrepid from fifth into second and Freedom from fourth to third, today’s result did not do much to help either. Intrepid added a fifth-place finish today and dropped back to fourth overall, while the Freedom’s fourth-place finish held them in place. For Courageous, who had slipped from third to fourth overall after the protest, their second-place finish today moved them up to second overall. Challenge 12, dropping from second place to fifth after the protest results, was third in today’s race and did not move in the overall standings.
Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.), on Kiwi Magic, leads the Grand Prix division, while tied on points – six each – with Lexi Gahagan (Wilmington, Del.) on Wright on White. In the Traditional division, Clay Deutsch (Newport, R.I.) on Weatherly leads with six points, three ahead of American Eagle being driven by Charlie Millikin and Carol Swift (both Newport, R.I.). Kip Curren (Middletown, R.I.) on Northern Light is leading by one point over Gleam, driven by Einar Sissener (Oslo, NOR), in the Vintage division.
Images By George Bekris
(click on image to enlarge)
Legends Forums – The Legends Forums are a unique sidebar to the 2009 12 Metre Worlds, bringing together the biggest names of the America’s Cup 12 Metre era for question-and-answer sessions moderated by Gary Jobson (Annapolis, Md.), who won the America’s Cup with Ted Turner in 1977 and went on to become the voice of sailing for television. Held after racing each day dockside at Bannister’s and Bowen’s Wharves, with a finale forum planned for Sunday, as well, at the awards ceremony at Harbour Court, the forums are designed to include representation from a varied – and knowledgeable – group of personalities in the categories of Syndicate Representative, Crew, Design, Journalist and Other Notables. On opening day, the panel included Skip Lissiman (AUS), Gianfranco Alberini (ITA), Russell Coutts (NZL), and Americans Charlie Hovey, Harry Anderson, Dave Pedrick, Andy MacGowan, Bill Koch and Dick Enerson. The questions ran the gamut from “Who was the best 12 Metre skipper?” (all of them who won, it was decided in consensus) and “What was the best Twelve ever?” (Intrepid for being the biggest departure, changing all future designs) to “What will win the next America’s Cup, a trimaran or a catamaran?” (that one was a toss-up). Clearly, the audience was enjoying the up close-and-personal encounter, and they lingered to talk about the exchanges long after the luminaries had left, some even discussing what questions would be best to ask a different group tonight.
Intrepid (Photo by George Bekris)
Racing resumes tomorrow, Friday, September 25, and concludes Saturday, September 26.
2009 12 Metre Worlds Results for Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009
Place, Boat Name-Sail Number, Skipper (Hometown), Finish positions, Total Points
Division I – Grand Prix
1. Kiwi Magic-KZ7, Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.) 2-2-1-1, 6
2. Wright on White-KZ3, Lexi Gahagan (Wilmington, Del.) 1-1-2-2, 6
3. USA-US61, Richard Matthews (W. Mersea, GBR), 3-3-3-3, 12
4. America II-US46, Michael Fortenbaugh (New York, N.Y.), 4-4-DNF-4, 17
Division 2 – Modern
1. Victory 83-K22, Dennis Williams (Mashpee, Mass.), 1-1-2-1, 5
2. Courageous, US26, Stephen Glascock (New York, N.Y.), 3-2-DSQ-2, 13
3. Freedom-US30, Ernest Jacquet (Boston, Mass.), 4- 5-1-4, 14
2. Intrepid-US22, Jack Curtin (Toronto, CAN), 2-3-4-5, 14
5. Challenge 12-KA10, William Borel (Paris, FRA), DSQ-4-3-3, 16
Division 3 – Traditional
1. Weatherly-US17, Clay Deutsch (Newport, R.I.), 2-1-1-2, 6
2. American Eagle-US21, Charlie Millikin/Carol Swift (both Newport, R.I.), 4-2-2-1, 9
3. Columbia-US16, Alain Hanover (Weston, Mass./Palm Beach, Fla.), 1-3-3-3, 10
4. Nefertiti-US19, Sears Wullschleger (Nantucket, Mass.), 3-4-4-4, 15
5. Easterner-US18, Paul Callahan (Ft. Meyers, Fla./Newport, R.I.), 5-5-DNS-5, 21
Division 4 – Vintage
1. Northern Light-US14, Kip Curren (Middletown, R.I.), 1-2-1-2, 6
2. Gleam-US11, Einar Sissener (Oslo, NOR), 3-1-2-1, 7
3. Onawa-US6, Morten Kielland (Geneva, SUI), 2-DNF-DNS-3, 13
Easterner Rounding The Mark Just Ahead Of American Eagle (Photo by George Bekris)
Some of the competitors at the 2009 12 Metre World Championship are certainly experiencing déjà vu as a veritable “Who’s Who” of sailing walked the docks at Bannister and Bowen’s Wharves this morning as the first day of this long-anticipated event got underway. From current America’s Cup poster boy Russell Coutts (Auckland, NZL), who is sailing on Kiwi Magic with Cup patron and skipper Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.), to Dawn Riley (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) who broke ground as team leader of the first women’s entry in the Cup, to noted British sailors Harold Cudmore (Cowes, GBR) and Andy Green (Lymington, GBR), there is a surfeit of recognizable faces. Twenty-six years ago when the America’s Cup was won by Australia (in 1983) in Newport, it ended the longest winning streak in sporting history (132 years). Four years later, two more milestones in the event’s history were marked: Dennis Conner became the first person to lose and then win the Cup, and the Twelves were sailed for the last time as the America’s Cup yacht of choice after 29 years.
“It’s wonderful to wander about the docks at Bowen’s and Bannister’s Wharf and see the 12 Metres here again, where they were in ’83, many of them with their same crews from then,” said Robin Wallace (Newport, R.I.) who was a member of Race Committee for the Challenger Series in ‘83 and is the Principal Race Officer for this event. “With the current legal squabbles going on, people have become disenchanted with the America’s Cup, but this is like a re-awakening of the class, a reinvention of a competition that celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the 12 Meters first being used in the Cup.”
Divided into four divisions – Grand Prix, Modern, Traditional and Vintage – the 17 competing yachts sailed three races today, all in different wind levels in the Twelves old stomping grounds off Brenton Point. The southwesterly breeze went from light, increasing to 12 knots for race two, and into the mid-teens for the third race, with a relatively flat sea state until race three.
French Supporters Cheer On Challenge 12 ( KA 10 ) As They Head Out For Race One (Photo by Donna Erichsen)
We broke a couple of sails,” said Dawn Riley who came to the event to participate in the Legends Forums and wound up racing on America II. “But, we’re kind of a slower boat in the Grand Prix so we were happy to beat one of the boats to the top mark and almost to the bottom mark. And, we improved from the first race to the second race and everybody on board had fun. The bad news is you break sails and you can’t race, the good news is it was full-on physical, athletic, screaming, swearing . . . and everyone came out with smiles.”
All Images By George Bekris
(click on image to enlarge)
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2000, 3 races sailed (3 races total)
Place, Boat Name-Sail no., Skipper (Hometown), Finish positions, Total Points
Division I – Grand Prix
1. Wright on White-KZ3, Lexi Gahagan (Wilmington, Del.) 1-1-2, 4
2. Kiwi Magic-KZ7, Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.) 2-2-1, 5
3. USA-US61, Richard Matthews (W. Mersea, GBR), 3-3-3, 9
4. America II-US46, Michael Fortenbaugh (New York, N.Y.), 4-4-WDR, 13
Division 2 – Modern – Protests Pending
1. Victory 83-K22, Dennis Williams (Mashpee, Mass.), 1-1-2, 4
2. Challenge 12-KA10, William Borel (Paris, FRA), 2-4-3, 9
3. Courageous, US26, Stephen Glascock (New York, N.Y.), 4-2-4, 10
4. Freedom-US30, Ernest Jacquet (Boston, Mass.), 5-1, 11
5. Intrepid-US22, Jack Curtin (Toronto, CAN), 3-3-5, 11
Division 3 – Traditional
1. Weatherly-US17, Clay Deutsch (Newport, R.I.), 2-1-1, 4
2. Columbia-US16, Alain Hanover (Weston, Mass./Palm Beach, Fla.), 1-3-3, 7
3. American Eagle-US21, Charlie Millikin/Carol Swift (both Newport, R.I.), 4-2-2, 8
4. Nefertiti-US19, Sears Wullschleger (Nantucket, Mass.), 3-4-4, 11
5. Easterner-US18, Paul Callahan (Ft. Meyers, Fla./Newport, R.I.), 5-5-DNS, 16
Division 4 – Vintage
1. Northern Light-US14, Kip Curren (Middletown, R.I.), 1-2-1, 4
2. Gleam-US11, Einar Sissener (Oslo, NOR), 3-1-2, 6
3. Onawa-US6, Morten Kielland (Geneva, SUI), 2-WDR-DNS, 10
iShares Cup Kiel Wirsol German Team (Photo by Th Martinez / OC Events)
There are two events to go in the six-stage iShares Cup series, which means 20 points still to play for on the overall leaderboard. Oman Sail Masirah have won the past three events in a row to lead on 37 points, but their top spot is under threat, with just a three point lead on second and third placed Gitana Extreme-Groupe LCF Rothschild and stable mate Oman Sail Renaissance, who are tied on 33 points.
Gilles Chiorri, iShares Cup Event Director, stresses: “Loick Peyron (Renaissance) and Yann Guichard (Gitana) will certainly be the guys to watch out for in Amsterdam, given the tight spot they’re in with their equal points. We’ll witness a close match, on the smallest racecourse of the season, and conventional tactics will have to be put aside momentarily. Covering a direct rival in such a compact fleet is not an easy task, and one has to bear in mind that in Amsterdam, more than anywhere else, keeping out of trouble is key. The risk of collision with another boat or with a wall is possible, and that stress added to the pressure of an equal points situation will make for tense situations.”
Behind these two Groupama 40 will be chasing hard for a podium position as well, as Chiorri adds: “As far as the final podium is concerned, Groupama 40 can still hope to squeeze their way in, and we’ve seen that Franck Cammas was on top form recently.” In fact, Cammas has just won his third Trophée Clairefontaine last week – a series of short races aboard one-design catamarans, a format which is similar to that of the iShares Cup.
Meanwhile Team iShares, BT, LUNA, Holmatro and Ecover could all shuffle their finishing place in the final two events (BMW ORACLE Racing will miss this round due to their America’s Cup commitments). There are no discards in the iShares Cup, so every race counts, and the final race of each event is worth double points, so expect a high-tension finale in both Amsterdam (25th-27th September) and Almeria, Spain (10th-12th October).
