BWR and VOR, GC32s and Rio 100—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond
by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 26 Mar 2015
01/01/2015, Barcelona (ESP), Barcelona World Race 2014-15, First Day at Sea, Cheminées Poujoulat (Bernard Stamm, Jean Le Cam) Gilles Martin-Raget / Barcelona World Race
In mountaineering circles, there’s a little expression that the last 100 feet of a climb are always the hardest-a truism that Bernard Stamm and Jean Le Cam, sailing aboard 'Cheminees Poujoulat' in the double-handed Barcelona World Race (BWR), are currently experiencing first hand. At the time of this writing, a mere 37.6 miles separated their bow from the finishing line off of the iconic W Hotel in beautiful Barcelona, Spain, where this non-stop circumnavigation race began on December 31.
Still, with a reported boatspeed of just 5.4 knots (again, at the time of this writing), it could still be several hours before Stamm and Le Camm touch dry land for the first time in almost three months.
And while these last sticky miles no doubt feel like an eternity for the sailors, who are surely thinking of their reunions with family and friends, they can at least be comforted by the fact that-shy of a cataclysmic catastrophe-this win is theirs, as second placed Guillermo Alatadill and José Munoz, sailing aboard 'Neutrogena', still have some 974 miles remaining.
'I think those ashore see it differently from us,” said Stamm. “We don’t feel like we have arrived, it’s something that is still ahead of us. The race isn’t over. And we still have to keep going. We’re not likely to have any damage sailing at two knots, but there could still be some strong winds ahead. No wind at all makes it just as complicated, as you just have to try to keep moving.'
Get the full BWR report, inside, and stay tuned to the website as Stamm and Le Camm (slowly) push through the last 100 (metaphoric) feet of their proud climb.
Meanwhile, the action has been fast and furious in the Southern Ocean as the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) fleet screams from Auckland, New Zealand, towards Itajaí, Brazil, and approaches the so-called “Pole of Inaccessibility”, which is the most remote spot on the globe. According to reports, the first few days of this southern leg were “warm” and “calm” (relatively speaking), but now the gloves have fully come off and teams have been negotiating everything from big daily mile averages to wild and unexpected gybes that can lay a boat flat on her ear, and which can tatter sails and break spirits.
“Holy crap, the waves were so huge and we were suddenly pushed right over on to our side,” said Dongfeng Race Team’s Black (aka Liu Xue). “My brain went blank when that happened… Wolf (aka Jiru Yang) and I were quite astonished, firstly because we’ve never experienced this before, and second it was happening during the night. But everyone was quite calm, no one was screaming or yelling. We tried to find the highest point (to stay on the boat), to make sure we were safe and then to find the solution to get out of it.”
Get the full multimedia VOR report, complete with hair-raising video footage from the Southern Ocean, as well as the latest rebuild updates from Team Vestas Wind, inside this issue.
Meanwhile, much closer to home, Manouch Mosheyadi and his crew aboard “Rio 100” took line honors in the 800 nautical mile Newport Beach to Cabo San Lucas International Yacht Race. While the fleet experienced light airs that prevented “Rio 100” from setting a new course record, the win was a great way to start “Rio 100’s” 2015 North American campaign, which includes this summer’s Transpac Race. More, inside, including some gallery images of the mighty fixed-keel 100-footer.
And in foiling news, Ernesto Bertarelli and his “Alinghi” team have announced that they are stepping up to the high-flying world of foiling catamarans and will be competing in the 2015 GC32 Racing Tour.
“Sailing in three dimensions will of course be a new challenge for all of us, but it is an exciting one and the opportunity to learn and then master a new type of boat is one that we couldn’t miss,” said Bertarelli. “The GC32, as with the D35 and the X40, is a strict One Design class. That’s very important to me, because it means that the racing is not about the equipment we use, but about how the crew works together on the water. It is true competition.”
More, inside.
Also inside, get the latest news from the Etchells West Coast Series and the 2015 Yacht Racing Forum, and be sure to check out the preview report from the upcoming Antigua Sailing Week (April 25 to May 1).
And finally, don’t miss Erik Simonson’s image gallery from the Single Handed Sailing Society's Corinthian Race, which just recently took place on the waters of San Francisco Bay. Enjoy!
May the four winds blow you safely home,
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