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  AC, VOR and solo nonstop action—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond
 | | The new AC75 monohull will run a three ballasted foiling system - a concept that has not previously been seen. Emirates Team New Zealand |
While most Americans spent their long holiday weekend enjoying a tryptophan-induced daze that was filled with family, friends and perhaps the occasional over-indulgence, the unblinking pace continued in the international sailing world with big news coming from the America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race camps. Moreover, French singlehanded sailor Francois Gabart remains on pace to break the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation aboard his 30-meter Macif, however with just under half a globe of sailing to go, Gabart's proud pursuit is far from realized.
For months, the America's Cup world has pondered the future vessels that will be used to determine one of the oldest trophies in sports, following the conclusion of 35th America's Cup (June 2017), which was decided using foil-borne, wingsail-powered catamarans on the waters of Bermuda's Great Sound. Emirates Team New Zealand and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron won the Auld Mug in a decisive showing, giving them a huge amount of say in the design of the next generation of Cup boat.
Much debate spiraled around the issue of one hull versus two versus three, as well as the trickle-down merits of foil-borne sailing, and the Kiwis seem to have struck a funny kind of balance with their bold vision for the vessel's rough design. While a lot can still change between now and 2021, when “AC36” is expected to unfurl, the Kiwis released concept-stage drawings last week of a 75-foot, scow-like monohull that uses wild-looking twin canted T-foils that provide foiling lift while also providing righting moment and roll stability.
While much still needs to be revealed about the new boats, from their rigs and their ability to depower to the complicated structural engineering that will be required to allow these boats to fly (not to mention cost concerns, ahem), the boats are certainly a big departure from the cats that contested the last Cup.
It will be interesting to see how the Kiwis' vision for this boat evolves and grows between now and the March 31, 2018 deadline for the publication of the AC75 class rule. Stay tuned!
 | | MAPFRE wins Leg 2 from Lisbon to Cape Town – Volvo Ocean Race © Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race |
Meanwhile, the action has been fast, furious and downright relentless in the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR), which just completed the first major offshore passage of the 2017/2018 edition from Lisbon, Portugal, to Cape Town, South Africa.
After some 7,000 nautical miles of serious speed, an equator crossing and plenty of tactical and strategic sorcery, skipper Xabi Fernandez and his Spanish-flagged MAPFRE squad took top honors, followed by skipper Charles Caudrelier (FRA) and his Chinese-flagged Dongfeng Race Team, and skipper Charlie Enright (USA) and his American and Danish-flagged Vestas 11th Hour Racing.
'It's amazing, we're super-happy,” said Fernandez, upon finishing, in an official VOR press release. “We arrived here in one piece and in front of the others; we can't ask for more.” MAPFRE's proud win can be attributed a wise gybe that Juan Villa, the team's navigator, called some two weeks into the leg that cemented their finish ahead of Dongfeng Race Team.
 | | MAPFRE skipper Xabi Fernández grinding during Leg Zero – Volvo Ocean Race © Ugo Fonolla / Volvo Ocean Race |
In total, it took MAPFRE 19 days, 1 hour, 10 minutes and 33 seconds to sail the (ballpark) 7,000 nautical mile course, while Dongfeng finished less than three hours astern of their Spanish-flagged rivals.
Leg 3 of the VOR is slated to start on December 10 and will carry crews some 6,500 nautical miles from Cape Town to Melbourne, Australia, giving each team a serious Southern Ocean steeping en route to Oz.
Speaking of the Land Down Under, Francois Gabart is now east of New Zealand and-at the time of this writing-was whistling along at 22.3 knots of VMG and was 780 nautical miles ahead of the record time set by skipper Thomas Colville (FRA) aboard his maxi trimaran Sodebo Ultim in late 2016. Stay tuned for the latest news from Gabart's record attempt, as it becomes known.
 | | Solo Round the World - François Gabart © Vincent Curutchet / ALeA / Macif |
Finally, as a housekeeping note, Sail-World.com is thrilled to announce that we are in the final steps of matriculating the backend of our website from an old and antiquated content management system (think bubble gum and sealing wax) to a modern, user-friendly CMS that will support our work for years to come. However, this move will require a small, couple-week break in our regular newsletters. Please continue to visit the site for the latest news, as it breaks, during this small hiatus, and please know that we're working hard to restore weekly newsletter service ASAP.
May the four winds blow you safely home,
David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor
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