Speed Machines, Offshore and Inshore
by David Schmidt on 16 Oct 2010
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The best part? American Brad Van Liew, a legend in solo offshore-sailing circles, is poised to hopefully cap his already-shining sailing career with another strong performance. Stay tuned on more from Van Liew and the rest of the Velux 5 Oceans skippers.
In the meantime, be sure to check out 'The race in context - 28 years of history and drama', in this issue, to bone up on your Velux 5 Oceans history.
At the RC44 Worlds, Jose Juan Calero helped BMW Oracle Racing win the event’s practice race. Class legend holds that s/he who wins the practice race won’t fair well in the actual event, but this far Calero is proving that superstition is no match for fast sailing and great tactics, as his team finished day one’s races topping the leader-board. Says Calero: 'I feel like I’m in heaven. I’m learning quite a lot with these guys. It’s a life experience. I’m so happy.' Interestingly, Calero’s brother Danny was driving Islas Canarias Puerto Calero. Be sure to check out this interesting family drama.
And at the Luderitz Speed Challenge, Alex Caizergues has officially set a new World Speed Sailing Record of a mind-boggling 54.10 knots. Check out the jaw-rattling video of Caizergues’ run to get some perspective on exactly how fast 54.10 knots is. Caizergues’ record represents the first time that a human has used the wind to travel faster than 60 mph, which has long been touted as a mythical barrier. American Robert Douglas is also at the event and will hopefully settle his long-standing rivalry with Caizergues this year. More as it becomes known.
And for Cup fans, be sure check out 'New AC45 catamaran class takes shape' in this issue for more info on this exciting new class.
May the four winds blow you safely home,
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