Records tumble, OD, Bart’s Bash—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 19 Aug 2014 Every so often, Mother Nature and history cooperate to create ideal conditions for updating racecourse records, and this year’s Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race proved to be such a contest. First, skipper Sidney Gavignet and his crew aboard the MOD70 trimaran, 'Musandam-Oman Sail', broke the overall course record, then skipper Ian Walker and his 'Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing' team destroyed the standing record for the fastest monohull around the course. Skipper Brian Thompson and his team aboard the IMOCA 60 'Artemis - Team Endeavour' followed suite by breaking the course record for the fastest 60-footer around the track, and skipper Sam Davies and her 'Team SCA' also broke the record for the fastest all-female crew to complete the course.

'I’m very, very pleased, because it was the perfect performance,' said Ian Walker, who team nicked the overall monohull record from a Volvo Open 70, a boat that-until this race-had been considered to be slightly faster than the new generation of Volvo Ocean 65s, such as Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s latest 'Azzam'. 'And I’m delighted for every crewmember because it was a lot of work,'? he told the Volvo Ocean Race website.

As for his thoughts on obliterating a record that was set by a vessel that was previously considered to be the quicker contestant, Walker was noticeably pleased how this event turned out. 'It’s pretty exciting that we smashed it by more than a day with these new Volvo Ocean 65 boats,' said Walker. 'And all five boats made it around safe and in one piece despite the rough weather. It’s a good sign of things to come.'

Get the full report from the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race, and the first prt of a new interview series with VOR CEO Knut Frostad inside this issue.

And in One Design racing news, young Dalton DeVos, along with his 'Delta' team took top honors at the Melges 32 Nationals, which just wrapped up in Newport, Rhode Island. DeVos’ crew included Morgan Reeser, Zach Hurst, his father Doug, John Wallace, Linda Lindquist-Bishop, Cody Schlub and Jonathan McKee, who called tactics for the team. 'This was such a great weekend.' commented Dalton. 'This was one of the best events we've had. The racing conditions were great, the competition was intense and overall it was so much fun!'

Interestingly, DeVos and his 'Delta' team beat out Ryan DeVos’ 'Volpe' team, which benefitted from tactical help from two-time America’s Cup winning skipper Jimmy Spithill, by a mere point, with Jason Carroll’s 'Argo' team landing in third place. Get the full report from the Melges 32 Nationals, inside this issue.

Also One Design-related, word is emerging of 'Bart’s Bash', a global event that will honor Andrew 'Bart' Simpson, who was tragically killed in a training accident aboard Artemis’ Racing’s first-generation AC72 in preparation for the 34th America’s Cup. Over 2,364 sailors, from 588 yacht clubs (in 50 different countries) are signed up to participate in what is set to become the world’s biggest regatta. According to reports, each participating club hosts an event within 24 hours of the September 21, 2014 calendar date. Get the full scoop, including an entry form, inside this issue.

Also inside, get the latest news and wrap-up reports from the Hamilton Island Race Week, the 2014 Chicago Grand Slam, the C44 Marstrand World Championship 2014, and the CORK Olympic Classes Regatta 2014.

And finally, be sure to spend some time scrolling through Crosbie Lorimer’s great image gallery from the ongoing Hamilton Island Race Week. Enjoy!

May the four winds blow you safely home,