It was a great day for sailing off the coast of Nice today. Four flights of 2 matches each were held. Artemis raced in three matches against; Azzurra, All4One and Synergy. We lost two that we should have won and we won one we should have lost. Not great, but we are in a three way tie for third at this stage.

First the conditions; we had a Northerly drainage wind right from the start at 0800 this morning. The drainage wind occurs because there is snow in the hills behind Nice and the water temperature in the Med is 18C. So the cold air (cold air sinks) rushes down the mountains being drawn by the warmer air rising over the sea. This wind lasted until about 1100 at which time the land temperature about equaled that of the sea and the wind died. Eventually the wind reversed and came in from the sea. This reversal is called a “transition”. More about that later. The winds speeds this morning were 10 knots dropping to 4 knots and then in the afternoon, 10-12 knots.

In the first race of the day against All4One, we had a very good start to windward and tacked on them every time they tried to come right. We eventually drove them out to the port layline and led around the windward mark rather comfortably. Down the run we held the lead although they closed. Then we chose the un-favored gate and that cost us two lengths. Up the second windward leg, All4One had the right side and starboard tack advantage which they used to stretch their lead to 3 lengths. Down the run nothing much happened and they beat us by 24 seconds.

What does “un-favored” gate mean? First of all, the leeward mark is two marks or a gate. You can round either buoy. In order for the gate to be “even”, the line between the two buoys must be 90 degrees to the wind. The wind here has been quite shifty so the gate is going in and out of “even” continuously.

In our second race of the day against Azzurra, we got penalized in the prestart maneuvering. We hit the line with more speed than Azzurra and quickly started a tacking duel with them which we not only won but in the end got a penalty on them. So we went around the windward mark ahead by one boat length. They had a problem getting their genoa down so we both proceeded to the right side of the course. We had previously decided the left would be better and would match their move to the left. But as they had the problem, we decided to beat them to it. Well that was a bad move because the wind started to die and “transition” to the sea breeze. We were on the outside of that shift and lost the lead and ultimately the race by a lot. Very frustrating to have two of those in a row.

We had one race off and then we were back in action for the final race of the day against Synergy. We did not get the start we wanted and Synergy was ahead of us although we were both straight lining it off to the right side. Then Synergy had a problem with their mainsheet and we got just enough ahead to start making their life difficult when they had to tack back to the middle of the race course. We managed to hold the lead the whole way around despite a tough fight from them.

So we finished the day at 2-2 and are in a tie with Azzurra and BMW Oracle for third. Team New Zealand is leading with 4 wins and TeamOrigin is second with 3 wins.

Tomorrow we are in the first flight of the day, 0900 start, against Team New Zealand. This will be a good opportunity for us to line up against a team that has basically been together in these boats since 2000. After that, weather permitting, we race TeamOrigin and then BMW Oracle to finish off Round Robin 1. We will then race everyone one more time in Round Robin 2. After that the top 4 move on to the semi final and finals which the bottom four race a knock out series to determine 5-8.

Race Day 2

Light winds were on the cards today and again we only got two flights in. In the first one, Emirates Team New Zealand had a handy lead around the leeward gate before All4One’s mainsail broke and that was the end of that.

In the second match of the day we, on Artemis, benefited from French Spirit being over the start line early on an unforced error. That gave us a bit of breathing room and from there tactician Morgan Larson did a great job of playing the very shifty winds to keep us comfortably ahead all the way around the track. It was great for us to notch up our first win, in our first race, in this America’s Cup Class racing.

The wind died after that match and unfortunately, that was it for the day.

Tomorrow, all four boats will be back in action (one of the Mascalzone Latino boats had gotten damaged on Friday) so that, combined with a good forecast for winds from the northeast starting at possibly 20 knots, and dropping to 10 knots as the day goes on, should allow us to complete 8 matches which means every team would race twice.

On a personal note, today was the first time in my life I have ever been up at the top of the mast as my primary role while racing. Let me explain. I am the strategist here in Nice for Artemis. Terry Hutchinson is our helmsman and Morgan Larsson is out tactician. So my job is to look at the race course and help Morgan figure out which side we like. The practical side of this is that if the wind is under 10 knots, I do this job from 100 feet up in the air. I have a headset so I can communicate with Morgan and tell him what I see. The view up there is amazing. I have never been a bowman so, I have no real experience being up a mast. Today the winds were light enough before the start that I went up for our training period. There was a leftover sea so it was a bit rougher than normal up there, but I was fine. I don’t get seasick, so no issues there either. During the race the wind actually came up to just 10 knots, so I was not up there but rather down in the cockpit in a more traditional position.

One of the other reasons someone has to be up the mast in light winds is to help the battens in the mainsail “pop” when we gybe and to make sure the gennaker doesn’t get torn on the jumper struts. There is a bit of technique when it comes to “popping” the battens in the main. You actually launch yourself away from the mast and gravity swings you back toward the mainsail and you “pop” the batten with your feet as you land. These are full length battens and the compression in the batten is so much that in light winds the pressure of the wind is not enough to reverse the bend that is induced by the compression. So you have to jump on the batten to “pop” it. Kind of wild really. But there are guys who do this all the time. It is just new for me. Hopefully my mother won’t read this update.

I will try to write more about this job, my new clothing attire and I’ll even take some photos from up there to share with you in the coming two weeks. I love new things and this one is no exception.

For complete results and even live streaming of the races go to www.louisvuittontrophy.com and the team’s site www.artemisracing.com.

In 1998 I emceed a skipper’s forum on the Annapolis (Md.) City Dock, hosting the skippers of the Whitbread Round the World Race. Paul Cayard, skipper of the victorious EF Language syndicate, was on the panel, explaining to more than 1,000 people in the audience what it was like to sail in the Southern Ocean. Dennis Conner, whose Volvo 60 Toshiba sat nearby, was another panelist, and as he compared the Whitbread to the America’s Cup, the crowd hung on his every word. It was at this moment I realized the sport of sailing needed a Hall of Fame to celebrate the accomplishments of these great sailors and many others.

I had no idea then that in 10 years time the very place where the forum was taking place would soon be sailing’s permanent home. It’s long overdue.

Many of our sport’s greatest moments are chronicled on film, on plaques and trophies, and in logs, yearbooks, magazines, and websites. But sailing has never had its own unified “place,” a physical space bearing the history that reminds us what sailing, in its many forms, is about. Sailing needs a home that trumpets its achievements and inspires generations to excel on the water, and to serve the sport.

The desire for such a home was the easy part; finding the best place to hang a shingle, however, was a challenge. There are many cities and towns worthy of the National Sailing Hall of Fame, but Annapolis, Md., emerged for many reasons.

After six years of working on the concept, the National Sailing Hall of Fame board, of which I am a member, received the gift it needed from then Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich, who offered a prime waterfront location in Historic Annapolis. The nearly 5,000-square-foot parcel is sandwiched between the sprawling U.S. Naval Academy and Annapolis’ centrally located and heavily trafficked (by tourists and locals) City Dock. It’s about as publicly accessible?and visible?as a Sailing Hall of Fame can get. Surely it will draw in committed and casual sailors alike through its doors.

Preservationists put forth legitimate concerns regarding development of the land, in particular the historic home that stood on the site and once belonged to Captain William Burtis, a deep-rooted Chesapeake waterman. The NSHOF spent nearly two years attending hearings, addressing concerns, and explaining to residents the Hall of Fame’s mission, and its potential to create revenue for the city.

Once the NSHOF resolved the land development issue and obtained the necessary approvals, 26 architects from around the country bid on the $20-million project. Joseph Boggs, whose firm was responsible for the American History Museum in Washington, D.C., earned the bid and in January presented his vision, shown in the image below.

The Burtis House property covers about 5,000-square, comprising only a portion of the space required to do the project right. In January of this year, the remaining pieces came into place: the NSHOF acquired an adjacent piece of property from the Phillips Seafood Company for $2,850,000, and the City of Annapolis granted the Hall a portion of the street on which the building would reside. In 2008, the city completed its $9 million reconstruction of City Dock, which includes 572 feet of dock space owned by the NSHOF, creating a gateway for sailors heading out to or arriving from the Bay. Ultimately, the plan calls for the construction of a $12 million building and an outdoor display area.

This is a challenging time to raise funds, but the NSHOF, under chairman Dick Franyo, a retired investment banker, is working on opening a temporary exhibit in the existing buildings, as it carries on with its capital campaign. From an insider’s perspective, it’s an understatement to say that the effort put forth to reach this point has been monumental.

To demonstrate the potential of the concept to the city and its residents, the NSHOF recently displayed historical boats, including President John Kennedy’s Manitou, When and If, originally built by General George Patten, and the Pride of Baltimore II.

The vision of the National Sailing Hall of Fame has expanded from a simple hall to include a museum that will be a center for environmental expositions, and an educational center for sailing.

Sailing has a long and storied history, and the Hall will highlight the sport in all of its diversity: early explorers, naval expeditions, commerce, racing, and cruising are all linked through maritime history. The NSHOF intends to demonstrate these connections through interactive displays and the preservation of sailing’s archives. A library is planned in memory of Maine boat builder Tom Morris, and the facility will be able to host regattas, ceremonies, and sailing demonstrations. Once open, the Hall of Fame will showcase the science of sailing and promote a center for study and research on people, events, trends, yachts, and the environment.

The memorable moments in our sport are countless, and unless there’s a common place to preserve these memories, we’re in danger of losing the relevance of sailing’s past and future. A few examples of heroics on the water worthy of honor come quickly to mind: In 1972 Buddy Melges started the Soling Olympic Trials with a broken mast and went on to win in very heavy winds. He followed that with a gold medal stunner in Kiel, Germany. How about that infamous Race 7 of the 1983 America’s Cup? And then skipper Dennis Conner reclaiming it 40 months later? More recently, Anna Tunnicliffe’s miracle puff in Qingdao lofted her to a gold medal. These are just a few of many great stories by American sailors, stories that belong in the Hall for all generations to remember.

Other sports have their hallowed halls; think Cooperstown, N.Y., for baseball and Canton, Ohio, for football. Annapolis is a logical place for a sailing hall of fame. It will take broad support from sailors across America to help make this vision a reality. Think of it not just as sailing’s home, but your home, too.

Apr 20, 2009

September 1, 2008

The 19th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda gets underway tomorrow with an entry list of 40 yachts representing a broad spectrum of maxi scene. Once again the canting keeled, carbon-fibre, super-maxi Alfa Romeo will brush shoulders with the polished brass and bright work of Ranger and Velsheda, from the J Class era. Whilst the 144-foot Salperton and 143-foot Esense will be casting long shadows over the relative minnows in the 60-79 foot Mini-Maxi Division that includes a whole host of pedigree performers. And, it is not just the yachts themselves that are catching the eye. The crew rosters for this festival of big boat competition boast some of the most famous names in sailing today.

The who’s who of yachting is headed by three-time Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie, fresh from his exploits in China who will be offering some strategic tips to Neville Crichton on the 98-foot Alfa. Another multi gold medallist is Torben Grael, skipper of the 69-foot Alfa Romeo 3, who has his longer-term sights set on another Holy Grail of sailing – the Volvo Ocean Race. Grael’s here to sharpen up his team’s inshore racing skills ahead of the first in port race in Alicante in October. Mentioning Around the World Racing takes us neatly to Paul Cayard, part of the burgeoning brains trust on the back of the STP 65 Moneypenny. Cayard is also a former Games competitor, but is best known for his efforts in the America’s Cup and as a winner of the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1997. Many of Cayard’s AC friends and foes are here too. Ernesto Bertarelli, founder of the Alinghi syndicate and current holder of the Cup has chartered Dan Meyer’s Numbers in the Mini Maxi Division and is racing with three-time AC winning uber-tactician Brad Butterworth, incidentally another Whitbread Race winner (this time from 1990, with Peter Blake and the then mighty Steinlager II).

Peter Craig is Principal Race Officer for the week, the man with the required broad shoulders tasked with managing the racing for a diverse fleet in terms of size, age and crew experience. Craig seems remarkably calm for someone in such a position, “we’re in for a great week. We’ve forty excellent boats in four classes comprising the full range from flat out racers, to cruiser-racers, to cruising boats. A terrific fleet.” And, whilst Craig predicts some of the best racing will be seen in the Mini Maxi Division, the biggest class here, he is clear in his goal to provide the best racing for all competitors, “The format that we know the owners are looking for is for coastal and island racing, and providing Mother Nature cooperates that’s what we will do.” Mother Nature, indeed, has her part to play. The weather forecast for the week looks decidedly difficult. The Mistral – a wind of Homeric reputation amongst the Maxi yacht participants – is not predicted, and despite the prospect of some light wind days Craig has considerable experience in regatta management and plans to take one day at a time rather than get hooked on mixed five-day outlook.

The Mini Maxi Division comprises eighteen yachts ranging in size from the 60-foot (18 metre) Massimo Violati’s OPS 5, Enrico Gorziglia’s Good Job Guys and Guido Miani’s Ads Glen up to the 78-foot (24 metre) Allsmoke of Gunther Herz, a division winner here in 2005, which despite being well-sailed will have her work cut out to repeat her past glory. In the middle are a number of serious contenders for boat of the week – Rolex Sydney Hobart winner, Roger Sturgeon’s DYT/Rosebud with another high credential pro with AC and Games pedigree, Tommasso Chieffi, providing the local knowledge; Jim Swartz’s Moneypenny andNumbers will be renewing a rivalry that has seen them already compete together this year in the Newport Bermuda Race. Elsewhere in the Division Lars Grael (brother of Torben and also an Olympic medallist) is skippering Carlo Puri Negri’s Atalanta II, racing under the Argo Challenge banner.

Whatever the week holds in weather terms, we are in for another spectacular contest between some of the finest yachts afloat and some of the finest sailors of their and, possibly any, generation.

The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda will officially greet the competitors tonight with a welcome cocktail at the stunning clubhouse that overlooks Porto Cervo Marina. At the end of each racing day, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda along with title sponsor Rolex will provide a lush array of top class social events: Highlights include the YCCS Dinner on Tuesday, the Rolex Crew Party in the Piazza Azzurra on Thursday and the Rolex Dinner at the world renowned Cala di Volpe luxury resort on Friday. The week ends with Saturday’s final Prizegiving Ceremony and Closing Cocktail, where the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cups and Rolex timepieces will be awarded to the overall winner of each Division.

The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in conjunction with the International Maxi Association (IMA), will run from September 1st to September 7th. Racing commences tomorrow, Tuesday and with racing scheduled for each following day, the prize giving on Saturday will be the culmination of an intense week of big boat racing. From the most luxurious, through the most traditional, to the most advanced monohulls afloat today, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is nothing if not an astonishing line up of sailing power.

For more information about the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2008 including entry lists and results please visit www.yccsmaxi.com.

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