M32 Class May Newsletter
by M32 Class 29 May 2020 07:45 PDT
M32 European fleet racing outside the island of Marstrand © Drew Malcolm / M32 World
Challenging Times
We live in challenging times, and it is the hope that this class update reaches you and your close ones in good health. The priority of any class activities will always be to keep the sailors and the community safe, and to obey any restrictions in place. Many events have been cancelled. At this time the schedule for July and forward remains in place. Both teams and race management have a streamlined organisation, and the class will be in direct contact with all teams for any developments and updates no later than a month out from the regatta.
North America Season
The M32 class calendar this year was designed to take the fleet to top sailing destinations in the US - Miami, Newport, Chicago and back to Miami for the World Championship in the fall (November 19-22). The next stop this spring was to be the Midtown Cup 1event in Newport June 5-7. We have been closely following the regulations and guidelines as they are developed in Rhode Island by the state government and US Sailing.
Unfortunately, we are in a position where we cannot move forward with the event and comply with these regulations. We are hopeful that we will be in a different situation for the July 17-19 Midtown Cup 2 event and the two events planned in Chicago August 21-23 and the M32 North American Championship September 18-20.
The Midtown Race Club is a new faculty based in downtown Newport RI. The facility which is being developed will provide a fantastic venue for events with launching and dockage of M32s on site. The M32 fleet will be the first to use this new facility and look to make this a major hub of M32 sailing in the US. Teams are currently making arrangements to transport their M32's from Miami to Newport this spring.
The US fleet is looking to be fluid as the season develops and modify the 2020 calendar to best suit the class and owners. Full schedule at: m32world.com/calendar
European Season
Due to the restrictions all over Europe, the events in May and June have been cancelled. We thank the organisers and teams involved in Sanremo and Amsterdam for all their help and support, and we hope to be back in coming seasons.
The priority for coming events are to keep everybody safe and to work with local organisations to follow regulations. Both the race management and the teams have a swift logistic organisation and the ability to plan for an event on short notice. The intention going forward is to follow the development closely and to assess the situation about a month before the event.
For the remaining events in Marstrand, Cascais and Riva, the class will keep in close contact with the local organisers and the teams to keep them informed about the situation. Full schedule at: m32world.com/calendar
The Class Drone
Since January 2020 the class has had its own drone filming the starts and all mark roundings in all races. Directly after the race, the clips are made available to all teams.
"It started as part of the program to give the Umpires and Race Committee a good tool for rule education," says Class Manager Mattias Dahlstrom. "It also proved to be a great resource for all teams and coaches to use for debriefings and training. With several teams and the race organisation running their own drone programs, air traffic control got a bit busy, and having this service in place takes away the need for some of that." If you have an interest in getting access to these clips please contact Mattias Dahlstrom.
Watch a collection of starts and OCS calls from the Miami February event with commentary from M32 sailor and multihull veteran Stan Schreyer on North Sails below:
Link to a collection of mark roundings with texts by M32 Chief Umpire Craig Mitchell explaining the rules involved: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCkqsAEEtPyeG1YiRZnCw5vuOxRtHJocC
Miami Winter Series 2021
The 2021 Miami Winter Series is already being planned and the preliminary dates have been set. Next year the series will be 3 (possibly 4) events with one each in January, February, March and April. With the Worlds in Miami a few months prior, the European teams are encouraged to leave their boats in Miami for the winter series, and to accommodate for this the European series will have a slightly later start for 2021. This preliminary schedule will be sent out to class members for feedback before being finalized.
Preliminary dates for 2021:
- Event 1 Jan 8-10
- Event 2 Feb 5-7
- Event 3 March 5-7
- April event TBD
Note: Dates preliminary pending class members feedback.
North Sails Webinar
During the lockdown, North Sails has produced a number of excellent webinars. One of them covers multihull sailing with a focus on downwind speed and tactics. It contains many images from the M32 Series in Miami, and on the panel is M32 veteran Stan Schreyer with a lot of useful advice. It's well worth watching.
Watch North Sails Webinar "Let's Talk Multihull Sailing" below:
Young American Article
Skipper Carina Becker with her team Young American was one of the new teams on the Miami winter series this year. Being new in the class and a youth team, they were in for a challenge and wrote a nice article about it in Sailing World. Enjoy the read here
Worlds 2020 November 16-22 Miami
The M32 fleet is getting ready for the highlight of the season, the World Championship in Miami. Like previous years' Worlds the regatta starts with the pre-worlds November 16-17, followed by a full day of measurement. The Worlds itself is four days of racing November 19-22. Like before in Miami, the class is happy to work together with Coconut Grove Sailing Club and Shake A Leg Miami where the fleet will be based. The class and organisers are closely monitoring the corona situation and will keep in direct contact with the teams for any developments. Venue and logistics information is available on the class notice board: m32world.com/onb
Worlds 2021 in Cascais Portugal
Earlier this year an agreement was made with the Cascais Yacht Club to host the 2021 World Championship. Class Manager Mattias Dahlstrom is very happy with a Championship in Cascais and comments, "When building a class it's crucial that we plan the racing seasons well ahead, and I'm glad to have the agreement in place already now. Cascais is one of the world's iconic sailing venues, and fits well with our commitment to good sailing in good places. The message we are sending is that with the M32 you will have good racing for years to come. Plans are already taking shape for another classic regatta venue for the 2022 Worlds."
"Last year in Riva we saw a big interest from the US fleet to travel and tick off the bucket list of epic sailing events. Cascais should be on that list," says David Doucett of M32 North America.
Find full press release here
Sail Order
June 1st is the date that Aston Harald will be placing the 2020 sail order. We have a target delivery date of September 1st, allowing teams to test the sails at the M32 North Americans championships and European championships in September. We have been working closely with North Sails and their suppliers to ensure a high level product delivered on time. Contact Dave Doucett for North America or Jakob Wilson for Europe
The M32 Demo Boat and Academy
Joining the class is made easy with the M32 Demo Boat and the M32 Academy. "With the Demo Boat we can create a tailor-made introduction to the M32 based on the team's previous experience," says Jakob Wilson, M32 Product Manager at the builder Aston Harald Composite. With onboard coaching and training a few days before the event, a silting team will quickly get comfortable in the M32. The Demo Boats will be available in Newport and across Europe. m32world.com/demoboat
The Academy is a few days of focused M32 training to get new teams feeling comfortable in the boat without the pressure of a regatta. There will be Academy opportunities in Newport, RI and Gothenburg, Sweden throughout the season. m32world.com/m32-academy
Retro fitting halyard lock on old masts
The builder and M32 License holder have made an extensive investigation and testing of the possibility of retrofit old masts with the gennaker halyard lock that is an included feature on the new mast. The conclusion is that it cannot be done, maintaining the high quality, reliability and inspection possibilities. For any further questions please contact Aston Harald Composite M32 Product Manager Jakob Wilson.