Warm-Water Sailing

by David Schmidt on 15 Jul 2010 Close your eyes and imagine perfect ocean sailing. It probably goes something like this: tropical air with water temps to match, steady breeze on the beam and surfing-friendly ocean rollers. Factor in long days and short, pleasant nights and you're talking the stuff of dreams.

While many of the boats sailing in the 'Vic-Maui Race' are dealing with some squalls, both big and small, they're certainly into better conditions than they were a week ago. Depending on how well the race leaders play these squalls, the RC should have some scoring to do in the next several days.

And in the Pacific Cup, Philippe Kahn's IMOCA Open 50 Pegasus Motion X-50 set a new 24-hour distance record of 403+ nautical miles (not yet ratified by the Word Sailing Speed Record Council). Impressively, the team broke the IMOCA 50 24-hour record by more than 80 miles!

Chances are excellent that these guys have been seriously enjoying themselves out there, hopefully savoring some perfect ocean sailing conditions for the rest of us less fortunate souls. We will get more on this shortly.

Switching gears from offshore sailing to match racing, TeamOrigin has been busy. While the Defender has yet to announce the class of boat for the next Cup (we'll check back on that in late September, hopefully at the latest), it's looking as though their design work with the brilliant Argentinean designer Juan Kouyoumdjian isn't progressing. Instead, TeamOrigin will likely move its design work in-house.

Of course its summer in Europe too and in Largs, Scotland, the Laser Radial World Championships were shut out of their last two days due to no breeze.

The Delta Lloyd 470 Worlds have also been facing tough conditions (first a wind famine, then a feast), but they finally got in some great racing. Americans Erin Maxwell and Isabelle Kinsolving Farrar scored an impeccable 1-1-1, putting them solidly in control of the leader board at that stage. And finally, ace lensman Dave Kneale has provided us with some great shots from the Volvo ISAF Youth Worlds in Istanbul.

Fair winds and following seas,