Guardians of the Galaxy
by John Curnow, Editor, Sail-World AUS 12 May 2019 15:00 PDT
Down below in the M.A.T 1070 © M.A.T
Collection. Agglomeration. Assemblage. Cumulation. Medley. Yes, the moment I realised I had a small gathering of bits for this editorial I was immediately thinking of Drax the Destroyer from the movie whose title is our headline today. More specifically, it was the comment by Peter Quill in the 'walking thesaurus' scene you can watch right here.
So with that segue completely built, herewith is our first little instalment. It is the M.A.T 1070. More than an interesting boat, although a 10.7m LOA with 9.55m LWL was enough to get one thinking. However, it was the CNC machined, 2,250 kilos of lead, fin only keel, as well as the full, vinylester resin-infused hull, deck and bulkheads programme, that got me pretty intrigued. Tiller or wheels is up to you, and you can even have the super sexy carbon stick and prodder if you like. BTW, there is just the right amount of furniture below to make you go 'yes', and not feel like you're stepping down into a cave. Be warned, the bag police will be on duty, so leave all extraneous elements behind...
Structurally she's a winner then, and comes from a yard with a not only a pedigree, but a world-renowned, and quite enviable reputation, for making proper boats. French Naval Architects par excellence, Bernard Nivelt, and Alexis Muratet, who have the Teasing Machine(s) to their credit, and have done well here in Australia previously, just made it all the more compelling. The M.A.T 1070 is also super close in design to the winner of the last Fastnet, so there is both pedigree, and provenance on offer here.
Looking at her you would think she would be an easy boat to sail, and be rewarding without being too demanding, like a Fast40. The fin keel will help her rate very well, and is also easier to drag around across the breeze or downhill. That deep rudder means you will be in control at all times, and there is plenty of space for your crew to work up top, and get some rest down below when doing overnights or further.
If you are in Australia, and looking for a great boat to do well in windward-leewards, as well as make an impact during passage racing, then contact Jamie MacPhail on 0408 114 477. Think mid 300s with the black stick and so on, ready for you to put your preferred rags aloft, electronics suite in situ, and you are there.
It has also been really good to see that what might be referred to as the lesser known clubs have been making contact of late. Thank you. Please keep it up. Our latest is the Sunshine Coast Yacht Club in Mooloolaba, Queensland. Rear Commodore, Heinz Seeberg, wrote in to inform us that, "July in the Sub-tropics - beautiful one day - perfect the next!"
Seeberg had been encouraged to contribute after reading Sticks and Stinks, commenting, "It was great to see the recognition for the relatively young, but dynamic NCYC. You went on to speak of the middle ground between our Summer season winding down, and the Northern hemisphere cranking up. You are right to highlight the Southern tropics and that the masses will be there soon enough."
"In between the 'Southern summer', and the Southern hemisphere tropics, is the Queensland Sub-tropics, where July is perfect for sailing. Another dynamic and even younger club, the Sunshine Coast Yacht Club, is in its sixth year of reviving the iconic Sunshine Coast Ocean Regatta. SCOR ran for 20 years through the 80s and 90s, when it attracted such greats of our sport as Hugh Treherne."
"SCOR 2019 is July 13 and 14, and is perfectly timed as a short course regatta, as preparation for boats entering feeder events to take vessels further up the coast. One of Australia's best PROs in open waters (Cat 4) will be in charge, and we are suited to racing and cruising yachts, as well as multihulls. Racing is off Noosa to Caloundra, with details, NOR and Entry for SCOR residing here..." www.scor.com.au
Are they Masters of the Universe, about to star in their own Marvel movie? Belcher and Ryan could be, you know. The Kings of the 470 certainly are good at it - like that wasn't known already - and coach Victor Kovalenko is quite possibly a demi-god, characterised by that beaming smile, and unequivocally brilliant statements about drive, enthusiasm, and performance.
A trio of bullets on the first day at the 470 Europeans in San Remo was an emphatic signal, and backing it up again on Sunday with another is more than cool. I would hate to put the hex on them, so instead let's see what they have to say about it all, courtesy of the great Iain Murray.
Reflecting on it, Mat Belcher commented, "12-16 knots made for a great day. We probably were a bit beaten up during the course of the earlier events, so it was good to change it around and step it up. We have been trying a few things during those regattas, so it is not all bad. Obviously it is about preparing for next year, and unfortunately we have to use some of these events to put ourselves in the best position."
"So yes, those early wins help with confidence, and get us into a good rhythm for the rest of the week."
Will Ryan spoke of the lighter winds experienced over the weekend, saying, "These are not the sorts of conditions I like in this boat. It is better with more wind so I can be on the side (instead of crouched down in the boat). It's called the doghouse, and it means Mat gets to do most of the work. We did a great week in Genoa thanks to World Sailing where we looked at light weather sailing. So that practice is certainly going to be useful over these next few days, and they were great lessons."
"One more qualifying race will get us into the final series, then the six race completion, and ultimately that medal race."
Victor would talk about the abrupt wind increases on the Saturday, and then also the Sunday, "We saw up to 20 knots on the horizon. There were three winds in the sky. It was amazing vision, like fireworks. Mat and Will were leading, but the Germans took a risk by hoisting their spinnaker on the reach, and could not make the mark. Mat and Will did much better with their observations, and did not hoist, gaining all the way, as it dropped from 22 back to four knots only, and they continued to lead the regatta."
Whilst waiting out some of the blow, before being sent ashore, the crew were under the side of one of the mountains and received a massive 90 degree flick, which capsized them, so a swim was greeted with smiles back ashore, and a change of wetsuit, as well. Gold Fleet racing is certainly close, tough and intriguing. In closing it looks like Will Ryan summed it up, "The extra wind and the waves means the boat surfs a bit on its own. Off the start there is always a bit of flapping around trying to get an edge over the others around you, but once we are on the course it is clear, and great close racing with the top six boats."
Short one and in now. Yes it is utterly commercial, but the reality is that they did provide the pathway for the material that we all LOVED to come off the boats, especially in the Southern Ocean. So you kinda get Inmarsat was going to be mentioned a few times in this video, but it did serve as a good aide-mémoire to go and surf the web for a few of my favourites from the last Volvo.... It was also more than enough for them to get a BT Cutting Edge Sport Award.
Right oh, here today there are some gems for you to review. We have information about the IMOCAs, the Clipper, Star Sailors League, Classics in Capri (just about anything is good in Capri as long as you're not talking Roman times), Finns, Golden Globe Race, Dragons, Phuket, Jeanneau SO319 at SCIBS, OZ Sailing has a word on the World Sailing mid-year meetings, GC32s, AC naturally, sales from the impending Marine Auctions event, 11th Hour continue to keep our focus on the environment, SailGP, and certainly there is 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. Should you have been forwarded this email by a friend, and want to get your very own copy in your inbox moving forward, then simply follow the instructions on our newsletter page, where you can also register for different editions.
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John Curnow
Editor, Sail-World AUS