Say that again?
by John Curnow, Editor, Sail-World AUS 17 Dec 2017 15:54 PST
So World Sailing was running around this week, almost akin to the headless chook. They had a desperate need to get a rebuttal out there, stating ‘rumours abound’, yet the overarching element was, ‘Sure, but to what question, exactly?’ Underpinning that, and once you had sort of worked out what was going on, you next asked, ‘So who leaked it, and what was their mission?’
In a way, it was thanks very much for the heads up Dorothy Dicks, and your cheque is in the mail. In short, the events for 2024 Olympics got revealed, even though the veil of secrecy was Chiffon thin, and nothing like Harry Potter’s Cloak of Invisibility. Furthermore, the Board had already approved it, so February’s vote, which will include our own Matt Allen, is essentially a forgone conclusion.
Alas, it means the windsurfers are gone, no doubt with male and female foiling kites to come in, the 470 goes mixed like the Nacra, as too the 49er, but with which rig? The positives are budgetary (hhmmmm, we’ll just wait and see there), and it also meets the gender equality issues. Tick. Tick. Negatives? Fewer Olympians? Don’t think so….
Going way back, Carlo Croce said he’d love to see an offshore event, and just about everyone with a seat of power now, also sits behind this theorem. We’re talking about a 50-hour, 200-300nm event for a two-handed, mixed crew. There’ll be cameras everywhere, and a staged (flexible, electronic) finish, so it meets the old broadcasters timeslot. As the longest Olympic event (in one sitting), mainstream media could well hook into it.
In the end it is not so much of a scatter graph, and a bit like a simple join the dots, just like one in a kids book on the old kerosene canary. Remember when you used to get your junior wings, and a trip up to the room with a view! Anyway, we digress, for the story is that both the VOR (albeit under the old regime), and also the Olympics have had serious chats with the gang from Beneteau about their stupendous, then very new, and decidedly sexy Figaro 3.
For sure there is a lot of other intrigue embedded in all that, and the minutes of the World Sailing Council will be made available on December 20. Now apart from the dollar question, as in how much and who is going to pay, the whole thing makes really great sense.
Here is a boat designed from the keel up as a two-hander. It is not reliant on tail on the rail, such as the fully crewed vessels going around now are. It is modern, radical looking, and appealing to younger folk. It is get out of town stiff, for even the tapes over the bulkhead joins are vac-bagged into the original unitary hull form. It has real righting moment, and goes to wind with the height and ease of a 12m, yet lights up off the breeze in anything over 15 knots.
The Figaro 3 is not taxing on the crew in terms of helming, and of course, is inherently brilliant at being a complete One Design level playing field. I am fortunate to be one of the very few in the game that has sailed it in the 15+ knot sweet spot, and if I could shave off 20 years right now (and possibly about the same in mass), I would have a serious crack at trying out for the team.
Supply! Yes, I can almost hear the universal cry from the learned out there, and all I can say is that yes, the first 40 must go to Figaro, and can only be released in January 2019. However, there is a new factory to make them, and I suspect that can knock the ones for Figaro over in a matter of months. This then leaves plenty of time to get the others ready, for they will want to let the crews train up in them, and hopefully many have learned from the Nacra scenario, and will be looking for a fully tested and RTG package… You could even imagine a test event to be held at the 2024 venue in Marseille…
Time now to upsize it all a bit, and the writing was probably on the wall when he set the record for the solo 24-hour run, but now François Gabart has taken the RTW solo mark decidedly close to that of the fully crewed. In doing so, the separation that was so distinct between those, is now between Gabart’s new mark and Coville’s old time, just as it was when Thomas Coville put a gap between Sodebo’s new time less than a year ago, and that of Joyon and MacArthur, who are the only other two in this super-small and super-important club.
Along the way, Gabart set a new trans-Pacific record, and regularly smashed out 5, 6 and even 700nm per 24 hours. Overall, MACIF sliced the seas at an average, yes average, of 27.2 knots. Yikes. When we spoke with Miles Seddon from Phaedo 3 in So what’s it really like?, we learned just what it was like to bounce around when helming, or trying to ‘sleep’. I particularly liked the reference to the spray back vortex, and timing your spit appropriately.
Now think about doing all that for 42 days straight, and on your very own! I was utterly speechless with Coville’s record, so obviously cannot use that line again, and have had to think hard about how to contextualise it all. I hope the above works for you. Then contemplate how they took months to go over the boat in preparation for the assault on the record and that her North Sails 3Di Endurance wardrobe has been there for every mile to achieve every record to date.
Almost immediately, you also get to think about what the next gen Rothschild may be able to do once she has been fully worked up, just like it was with MACIF, but for now, lap it up Gabart. Lap it up, for you are no longer Lord Voldemort. We can now say your name without fear of putting the biggest hex ever on you. You are a star!
Our Publisher, Mark Jardine, was on ABC Radio this morning about it, and on the Beeb as well – see below. Such is the power of the global Sail-World network that we were one of the first to publish the achievement across various platforms.
The America’s Cup continues to attract everything from wild speculation to large amounts of media attention. Why not when you take a look at the proposed craft. So it is not surprising to hear about a second Italian team (it could still well be based there), and also a Chinese entry.
Naturally, the East Islanders get up in arms when anyone talks about it being taken away or sold off, but the hurdles they will have to get through are significant, and each day brings new comments from players now, and of yore. Tony Yae may have summed up the locals thoughts best with, “It's unbelievable that we as a small country can win these trophies and that we need to embrace the opportunity to defend it on home turf.”
Of course, where there is ying, there is yang, and others, like James Farmer QC, are sick of 'holding taxpayers to ransom'. He added that it was insulting to every Kiwi who has supported the team over the years and he’s qualified to speak about it, having worked for the team for years, and for free, as a legal eagle.
So then, in a week's time the other race that stops a nation will be heading off, so look for lots of material on Sail-World this week about all that. With the biggest ever O/S contingent and now four of the big guns calling Oz home, there is plenty to look at. No doubt many will hypothesise about the likely winner, but we’ll leave it to Huey and the River Derwent to be the final arbiters.
Well then, it has to be that time, and just as Tim Shaw said, “But wait! There’s more.” Now you will have to go to the website for other news, for it has been yet another bumper week. Check out the articles, which include Dale and Crosbie Lorimer’s SOLAS Big Boat Challenge video (above), Golden Globe, VOR, Clipper, AC, Etchells, Hobart, GC32, ESS, Sail Sydney, as well as some tremendous images from Andrea Francolini, and much, much more. Remember, if your class or association is generating material, make sure we help you spread your word, and you can do that by emailing us.
Finally, keep a weather eye on Sail-World. We are here to bring you the whole story from all over the world…