Dauphin Is. Race tragedy, VOR, Cup, Ficker, Congo Cups—News from U.S.

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 2 May 2015 Here in the USA, the tragedy that has unfolded on Mobile Bay, Alabama after a severe storm with winds to least 58 knots overwhelmed boats racing in and returning from the Fairhope Yacht Club's 18 nautical mile Dauphin Island Race last Saturday continues. Rescue authoriities report that at least five sailors have died, with another still missing. The Yacht Club has not issued any statement, the website refers those seeking information to a phone number which does not answer. We have a number of stories, news clips and video footage etc. from Alabama.

Happier news from offshore. Sailing conditions don’t get much finer than those that Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) crews have been experiencing for the last few days as they scorch up the North Atlantic towards the Caribbean before making their turns towards New England. At the time of this writing, all teams were posting speeds in the high-teen and low-20s on the speedo, with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing leading the charge, followed by Dongfeng Race Team and Team Brunel.

Still, as the old cliché about having a cake and actually eating it says, nothing in life is entirely perfect and all teams have reported that seaweed has been an issue, with all players being forced to de-weed their foils.

‘We would have had a really good last position report averaging over 20 knots until the last hour when we got so tangled up in seaweed it caused numerous involuntary broaches, lots of attempts at clearing it and in the end we had to do our second back down,” said Ian Walker, skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

The fleet now has some 1,660 nautical miles remaining before the celebrations begin in Newport, Rhode Island, but in Europe, skipper Chris Nicholson and his Team Vestas Wind are in a one-boat race to finish their rather extensive repair list (after running aground at 19 knots during Leg Two) and make it to the start of Leg Eight, which will take the fleet from Lisbon, Portugal to Lorient, France. While the timeline is tight, the team is tracking nicely.

“We managed to build 70-percent of the boat in half of the time that would normally be needed,” said Neil Cox, Team Vestas Wind’s shore manager. “The hull is totally new, 60-percent of the internal structures have been replaced, while we managed to keep some 70-percent of the original deck. The deck was the only part that hasn't been produced here, but at Multipast in France.”

Get the full VOR update, including racecourse and rebuild reports, inside this issue.

Meanwhile, in America’s Cup news, Softbank Team Japan and the Kansai Yacht Club formally announced their challenge for the 35th Americas Cup this week, as well as their participation in the America’s Cup World Series. “It is an honor for the Kansai Yacht Club to try for the America’s Cup for the first time,” said Commodore Ko Watanabe of the Kansai Yacht Club. “This is a great challenge to take on, not just for our club, but for the entire country. With support from across the entire nation, I am sure we will represent Japan with pride.”

Also Cup-related, check in with Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) to learn more about how this determined team is training to “bring the Cup back home”.

“Previously America's Cup sailors were power/sprint athletes, like a 200-meter runner or a 100-meter runner,' said Ben Williams, BAR’s strength and conditioning coach. 'Now they are more akin to a 10-kilometer runner, or a rower, or a time trial cyclist because they are producing constant wattage without going into the red for 40 minutes. So they have become endurance athletes.”

“We did a lot of development work and then went and talked to the design team about how much power we thought we could give them with the four guys in June 2017 [when Cup racing begins],” continued Williams. “They will use that number; so the amount of power the sailors can deliver is central to the design of the boat.' More, inside.

And in Qingdao, China, fog has enshrouded the Extreme Sailing Series event (April 30-May 3), forcing the cancellation of racing on Day One. “We were all set up and the teams were going through their practice run when a fog-bank rolled in from offshore,” said Race Director Phil Lawrence. “Racing was impossible and we initiated our fog control plan with the fleet and supporting boats quickly returning to shore. Despite being held for two hours the fog became thicker instead of lifting and racing was abandoned for the day.”

Much closer to home, the Long Beach Yacht Club, in Long Beach, California, is gearing up to host two high-level match-racing events, the Ficker Cup (May 8-10) and the Congressional Cup (May 13-17), both of which are part of the greater World Match Racing Tour. For registered skippers, racing begins with a series of double round-robin matches in the Ficker Cup, with the top four teams progressing to the Congressional Cup.

“We’re looking forward to an exciting regatta, with these up-and-coming match racing skippers,” said Camille Daniels, co-chair of the regattas. “I encourage the public to come watch the action – it’s free – and cheer on this lively competition.' Get the full report, inside.

Also inside, learn about the America’s Cup Community Project, get the latest reports from Antigua Sailing Week, learn about the International 420 Class’s new Exercise E-book, and celebrate the opening of another great season of sailboat racing with the Bayview Yacht Club.

May the four winds blow you safely home,