Best All ‘Round

by John Curnow on 19 Dec 2016 You could think that a title like that was referring to a boat that sailed well to every angle. Certainly a lot of effort goes in to finding the right mix of hull form, rig, rags and appendages, but alas, this set of miscellaneous ramblings has nothing to do with the vessels we use when we go for a yacht. Rather, it is all about us, the humans who get on board.

Firstly, best wishes and season’s greetings to you and your entire on and off water clan. May it be a safe, thoroughly enjoyable, special and yet also, in a certain kind of way, totally frivolous time for you. May the stresses of preparation disappear into the game of cricket in the back yard, the food coma sleep on the couch, and possibly the preparations for adventures soon to begin.

Also, thank you very much for reading throughout the year. Your responses in person, via email or phone have been terrific. Sail-World’s Managing Editor, Mark Jardine, said to me today, “Our readers have been terrific, and we are truly appreciative of their support. Greater readership and newsletter numbers are sensational, but the real reward is in knowing people enjoy what we are up to. Of course, none of it would be possible without our terrific advertising partners, so I would sincerely thank everyone and wish them a really great time over the holiday period.”

Secondly then, best of luck for all your racing, whether offshore, inshore or off the beach. May you have favourable conditions, enjoyable times, great stories to tell, and if you’re chasing it, new silverware in the house. Perhaps this is why the paragraphs below seem even more pertinent now.

During the course of the week that was, a good friend sent me a note. After reading it, I wondered whether he had people out watching us during our last race. All I kept saying to myself was, ‘Do they know us?’ It seemed to fit in oh so well with the start line incursion we had endured. Why did so many ask if we were going to attach the flag to the backstay? Indeed, I am pretty sure our Skipper only said ‘up’ once, and the rest of us were a smidgeon GABO to chime in for the chorus.

So with thanks to Manny in the mighty West for his email, and with racing hotting up all over the country, I proffer these words from a recently departed sailor of particular note. ‘His philosophy serves as an important example for all athletes in every sport, and goes a like this.’

'In less important races, such as weekly afternoon regattas, you will have to race against people, who don't know the rules thoroughly, and you will just have to put up with it. As well as this, you must be careful not to shout at a less experienced competitor because you will not gain anything by this, and all you will do will be to lose a friendly competitor forever.'

“You haven’t won the race if in winning the race you have lost the respect of your competitors.”

The sailor Manny quoted was four-time Olympic Gold Medallist, Paul Elvstrom, and he finished by adding, ‘More than any other sailor, he has won on the racecourse, healed some painful wounds, and earned the respect of every sailor in the world as, the best’.

Finally, speaking of ‘round, as in around the globe, at the time of writing, Colville’s huge tri, Sodebo, was 2200nm in front of the record and had 3150 still to travel. It is past commendable, so before we put the hex on him, we’ll look to the Jules Verne. IDEC Sport, with Francis Joyon and crew Clement Surtel, Alex Pella, Bernard Stamm, Gwenole Gahinet and Sebastien Audigane are off to break the crewed record for a lap, which Banque Populaire V set at 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds back in 2012. This is some 12 days less than the solo effort, and after starting at Ushant a bit over two days ago, they have already put more than 1200nm down and have averaged over 29 knots. Best to both of those efforts!

The last part of the ‘rounds’, as it were, is to mention the Vendée. Armel Le Cléac'h on Bank Populaire VIII has about 440nm up on Alex Thomson’s, Hugo Boss, both of them are foilers, yet 800nm astern of Thomson is the first non-foiler in Paul Meilhat’s SMA. Interestingly, last Wednesday, Jean Pierre Dick, aboard St Michel-Virbac, became the first ever skipper to race through Bass Strait, which is 400nm above the rhumb line for these boats. Had to have been significant weather to do that, but he started the transit in seventh and now lies in fifth place.

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