Sail-World.com : The Kirby Torch - Latest news after Laser lawsuit
The Kirby Torch - Latest news after Laser lawsuit
|
Canadian Bruce Kirby designed a 'car-topper' in 1969. It was launched as a Laser in 1970 and more than 210,000 Lasers later, it is THE dinghy success story.
But there has been a long running dispute between the designer of the Laser dinghy Bruce Kirby and one of the Laser builders LaserPerformance, the builder and supplier of Lasers into UK, Europe and North America, because of non-payment of design royalties.
 | Bruce Kirby: 'The idea of saying we should all just sit and wait until the court case… That’s bullshit.' - |
March 4, 2013, Bruce Kirby, Inc., filed a complaint in the U.S. Federal Court District of Connecticut, alleging unlawful counterfeiting of the Kirby dinghy by LaserPerformance principal Farzad Rastegar acting with and through LaserPerformance and its associated entities.
The case named the International Laser Class Association (ILCA) and ISAF alleging they assisted LaserPerformance by continuing to supply ISAF plaques to the builder, after Kirby had given them formal notice to stop.
On March 25th Legal Counsel for ISAF Jon Napier wrote to Jeff Martin the Executive Secretary of ILCA ISAF requesting that ILCA cease to issue ISAF plaques to LaserPerformance (Europe) Limited and Quarter Moon Inc. (the 'Builders') with immediate effect. The reason for this decision is that ISAF has concluded, based on the correspondence and court papers received from Bruce Kirby’s attorneys, that the Builders are no longer licensed by Bruce Kirby and/or Bruce Kirby Inc. to build the Laser class boat (as required by the 1983 ISAF Agreement and our 1992 Plaque Agreement).
ILCA has ceased to supply Laser Performance and related entities with Laser plaques.
Now here comes the Kirby Torch...
Bruce Kirby explains it simply, we had a proven boat, good builders but can't use the Laser name, hence the Torch.
'The position now is that we have licensed builders. The big thing now is to get tooling and get geared up and start building boats as fast as we can. Chris Caldecoat and his PSA team has great capacity down there and can help fill the pipeline if necessary, while supplying tooling to get the others building boats as fast as possible.
'Various groups have asked us to wait on the result of the court case, but that could be a year or two and that would be a disaster for the class.
'There are two different things here. One is getting the whole damn plaques straighten out and boats being built and raced and after that comes my law suit against him. (Rastegar) Quite frankly I have no idea whether I will ever get a dime out of the guy but right now I want to get the class back on track and moving ahead.
'The idea of saying we should all just sit and wait until the court case… That’s bullshit.
 | Kirby Torch logo - |
Current manufacturers of the Kirby sailboat under the Laser brand, Performance Sailcraft in Australia are in the process of converting over to manufacture the Kirby sailboat under the Kirby Torch brand. It’s expected that Performance Sailcraft Japan will follow the same path (but this is unconfirmed at this time).
The builder for North America is Torch Performance Sailcraft North America- led by John Kerr and Hans Fogh, 1984 Soling Olympic bronze medallists. Fogh build the very first sail used on the Kirby prototype and designed the Laser Radial sail. Orange Performance Sailcraft in the Netherlands with the long established and well regarded Nautisch Centrum Delfzijla, a very well-known and respected dinghy builder, will be building Torch’s for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Bruce Kirby Inc. and the Torch Builders apparently with olive branch in hand have been trying to negotiate with the International Laser Class Association in hopes it would replicate itself as the Torch Class. So the ILCA would become the ITCA.
This is a seamless way to establish a Torch Class because Bruce Kirby Inc. and the Torch Builders have advised that that all authorized Laser brand boats with ISAF plaques will be class legal in the Torch Class.
However, it’s obvious at the ILCA has had quite some considerable elements of disfunctionality over recent years and one could imagine that if the current head-in-sand approach continues then they will be bypassed.
But plainly there is no need for panic in the boat parks. There is no need for sailors to wait for Torch’s. As long as Lasers are ISAF plaqued they will be able to sail in all Torch events.
Sail-World.com has much much more detail on this subject and will be publishing that over the days ahead.
© This story is copyright to Rob Kothe and Sail-World.com, it may not be republished in part or in full without written permission
by Rob Kothe and the Sail-World Team
Click on the FB Like link to post this story to your FB wall
http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?nid=108308
5:16 PM Wed 10 Apr 2013GMT
Click here for printer friendly version
Click here to send us feedback or comments about this story.
|
Catch the live coverage of the Leg 4 Finish in Auckland, presented by Team Vestas Wind. Check the video timer for a countdown to the start of coverage and the expected race finish time
...
[ more]
For the Finn World Masters in Kavala, Greece pre-registration is open. So far 130 Masters have entered. 2015 will be the first time the Worlds Masters have been held in Greece.
...
[ more]
The website for the 2015 Finn Open and Junior Europeans in Split, Croatia, is now live, with online entry open. The last time the Finns had an event there the wind did not cooperate and the fleet ended up sailing some races as the sun set.
...
[ more]
RORC Caribbean 600 – Four Figaro II teams, all from the Guadeloupe Grand Large sailing academy, are racing in this year's event. 18 sailors from the offshore racing academy are racing on four identical yachts and have high aspirations for the future; the Solitaire du Figaro, Route du Rhum or the Everest of offshore solo-sailing, the Vendée Globe.
...
[ more]
After having moved to the west coast for the past three years, US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year Awards ceremony returned to the iconic Model Room at the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan to celebrate the sailing accomplishments of Terry Hutchinson (Annapolis, Md.) and Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wisc.).
...
[ more]
If, in the end, the Pacific gave up race leaders Cheminées Poujoulat without too much of a fight and since Wednesday morning the Atlantic, in turn, has opened its fastest toll-free lane north east to Bernard Stamm and Jean Le Cam, the Pacific seems rather more keen to hold on to second and third placed Neutrogena and GAES Centros Auditivos.
...
[ more]
America's Cup Defender Oracle Team USA and Challenger, Artemis Racing lined up for a series of try-outs on San Francisco Bay.
Videographer John Navas was shoreside with a new high resolution video camera and provided these videos of the training sessions and hook-ups.
...
[ more]
The HPYD conference is jointly organised by The Royal Institution of Naval Architects (NZ) and The University of Auckland and will be held at the Marine Event Centre in Auckland to coincide with the Volvo Ocean Race stopover. It attracts some of the world’s most preeminent yacht designers and is recognised as one of the top three conferences in this area internationally.
...
[ more]
Ryan Houston is a watch captain aboard Team Alvimedica. He sailed in two previous editions of the Volvo Ocean Race – in 2008-09 aboard Delta Lloyd and 2011-12 on the incident plagued Volvo 70, Sanya.
With the switch to the one design, ruggedly constructed Volvo 65 for this race many of the issues that bedevilled the competitors and organisers in the previous races appear to have been resolved.
...
[ more]
The Volvo Ocean Race and its forerunner, the Whitbread Round the World Race, used to be dominated by Kiwi crews.
In the current edition, there are just three New Zealanders competing. Two of those are on Team Alvimedica, the US and Turkish flagged entry.
...
[ more]
Volvo Ocean Race 2015 – Victory in the fourth leg was so close that Dongfeng Race Team skipper Charles Caudrelier (FRA) could almost taste it on Thursday, but with just over 500 nautical miles (nm) to go, he was taking nothing for granted
...
[ more]
The 2014-15 Etchells North American Midwinter East Series wraps up in Miami this weekend with the three-day Jaguar Southeastern Midwinter Regatta for the Schoonmaker Cup. The Jag, as the series has become better known, attracted over 50 boats for the four regatta series.
...
[ more]
Sail-World’s NZ Editor, Richard Gladwell spoke with David Swete one of three New Zealand crew in the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race
Swete was reporting in from Team Alvimedica the US and Turkish flagged entry, currently lying in fourth place on leg 4 of the race from Sanya China to Auckand.
...
[ more]
Oracle Team USA AC45 Turbo Feb 25 Training images provided by pressure-drop.us.
Flat flood conditions and winds 12-18 and then picking up late in the day. Boat is matching the olars established with the AC 72's.
...
[ more]
Emirates Team New Zealand has pushed the start button on their campaign for the 35th America's Cup, with a budget that has been reduced by an estimated 20% from the San Francisco campaign.
The decision to relocate the Venue for the Match to the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda has resulted in reduced attractiveness to sponsors, which in turn has led to cuts in the program
...
[ more]
Volvo Ocean Race 2015 – Dongfeng has pulled another mile from Abu Dhabi, and MAPFRE looks like they have been making some good gains on the two leading boats.
...
[ more]
Last night saw the Opening Party for the Goya Cabo Verde Pro contest here on the beautiful island of Sal. In attendance were some of the biggest names in windsurfing along with local watermen, business men and dignitaries. The true spirit of the American Windsurfing Tour came out in force which was both mirrored and complimented by the spirit of this island
...
[ more]
With Cheminées Poujoulat making good progress up the Atlantic, making close to 18kts, 120 miles SW of the Falklands, Cape Horn marks the frontier between the two different worlds inhabited by skippers on the Barcelona World Race.
...
[ more]
Emirates Team New Zealand has announced a team restructuring ahead on next week's expected announcement that the Qualifier for the 2017 America's Cup will be held in Auckland.
The statement issued by the team early this afternoon, indicates the team has secured substantial funding and sponsorship for its 2017 campaign.
...
[ more]
2015 CYC Midwinters Race – Pictures by pressure-drop.us
...
[ more]
CYC Midwinters Racing – 'Mid Winter racing is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get' ~Forrest Gump~Skipper of SS Jenny
...
[ more]
Laser Standard Men’s World Championships (June 29-July 8), the Laser Masters World Championships (July 10-18), and the Laser Radial Youth World Championships (August 14-20) are being hosted by the CORK.
...
[ more]
Kaenon's Steve Rosenberg talks with Team SCA crew members Sally Barkow and Annie Lush before the start of Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Both are former Olympic match racers, who have switched to ocean racing. Both are wearing the new prescription Kaenon sunglasses in the 40,000nm race around the world.
...
[ more]
Volvo Ocean Race 2015 – Overnight Ian Walker reported getting ahead of Charles Caudrelier’s Dongfeng only to have Mother Nature take it all back again, getting caught under a rain cloud in light winds
...
[ more]
Barcelona World Race - Mythical, revered, renowned, legendary.....but above all Cape Horn is a time for extra care and caution. While observers and race fans may be poised to share and enjoy the passage of the race leaders Cheminées Poujoulat this Tuesday evening, Swiss co-skipper Bernard Stamm of race leaders Cheminées Poujoulat was clear that there will be little time for celebration
...
[ more]
Lloyd Thornburg's MOD 70, Phaedo3 crossed the finish line in Antigua at 20:35:30 AST on Tuesday 24th February 2015 in an elapsed time of 1 day, 9 hours, 35 minutes and 30 seconds.
...
[ more]
Barcelona World Race - Cheminées Poujoulat, which has lead the two handed round the world race for 39 days, has passed Cape Horn (67°15 11 W) at 01:00 UTC (02:00 Barcelona time, 22:00 Chilean time).
...
[ more]
For the seventh edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 records are predicted to tumble, which has one of the most spectacular line ups of high performance boats racing anywhere in the world.
...
[ more]
2015 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship - The Notice of Race for the 2015 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship has been released. Set to be held in Middelfart, Denmark from 8-12 July, the 2015 edition of the Women’s Match Race Worlds will welcome the world’s finest female match racers as they fight for the title.
...
[ more]
Many exciting changes have been implemented this year for the 35th St.Maarten Heineken Regatta, and one of those will be the Saturday night party, which will take place on Kim Sha Beach in Simpson Bay. This evening promises to be a night filled with undeniable sex appeal and a line up that boasts not one but two powerful female performers.
...
[ more]
RS Sailing and BIC Sport North America announce a joint effort to promote a new-age pathway for kids to find their passion for sailing. The goal is to provide a more formalized learning track parallel to what has been done traditionally, and excite youth sailors with modern sailing craft.
...
[ more]
On day 2 of the RORC Caribbean 600 by dawn the vast majority of the 64-strong fleet were negotiating the chicane of islands to the northern end of the course, weaving through the stunning islands of Saba, St.Martin and St.Barths. However Lloyd Thornburg's MOD 70, Phaedo3, was literally miles ahead of the fleet.
...
[ more]
Ten of the best collegiate sailing teams from across country will descend on Los Angeles Yacht Club® March 13 through15 to test their sailing prowess as they battle it out for the prestigious Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup Trophy. This perpetual trophy was deeded to Los Angeles Yacht Club by Port of Los Angeles in 2008, to encourage, '…young men and women to enjoy benefits of competitive sailing.'
...
[ more]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-copy-NewAdFeb1WeekB.jpg)
