Puma’s New Cat Escapes the Bag—Sailing News from the U.S. and Beyond
by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 4 May 2011
If you’re into Grand Prix offshore sailing, the biggest news to have hit your radar recently has been the launch of several new Volvo Open 70s, which will be used to contest the 2011/2012 Volvo Ocean Race (VOR), which starts this October. While recent weeks have offered us sneak previews of Puma Ocean Racing’s new Mar Mostro, this week the team hoisted sail and canted keel for the first time off of Newport, Rhode Island, and photographer George Bekris has captured images of their outing.
While the boat’s graphically engaging sails are likely to initially grab your eye, be sure to check out Mar Mostro’s hull form, her pronounced forward chine and the interesting-looking lines of her forward gunwhale/rail. While the VO70 rule is certainly into its refinement stages at this point, this next generation of VO70s represents an important evolution over the boats that were used to contest the race's 2008/2009 edition.
And speaking of newly minted VO70s, be sure to check out Team New Zealand’s progress during their storm-fraught shakedown tour around NZ, also in this issue. 'We pushed through the night in 35-40 knots head winds,' reported Chris Nicholson, the team’s skipper. 'It was a really good test of crew and the yacht. The crew’s OK and the yacht performed really well.'
Meanwhile, in Olympic sailing circles, Gold and Bronze medalist (as well as multiple World Windsurfing Champion) Bruce Kendall has shared his thoughts on whether kiteboarding should be an Olympic event. Also, Sail-World New Zealand Editor Richard Gladwell sounds off about whether multihulls should be reinstated into the Olympic Games. And be sure to check out ISAF’s revised Sailing World Cup standings, which consider the results from the Semaine Olympique Française, which recently took place in Hyères, France. More inside.
Lastly, spend a bit of time checking out Gilles Martin-Raget’s image gallery from the ongoing America's Cup Media Trials, which are being staged on Auckland, New Zealand’s Waitemata Harbor. Love or hate the idea of cats competing for the 34th America’s Cup, even the crustiest stalwarts have to admit that the new AC45s are downright cool…even if they have two hulls.
May the four winds blow you safely home,
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