Monday 30 June 2014

Extreme Sailing Series, Alinghi clinch victory in St Petersburg event

From the following press release by the Extreme Sailing Series:
http://www.extremesailingseries.com/news/view/five-team-final-race-shoot-out-sees-alinghi-clinch-victory-in-a-game-of-rus#.U7Csma-KDrc

After four days and 22 races, Act 4 of the Extreme Sailing Series™ in Saint Petersburg presented by Land Rover came down to an edge-of-the-seat final race shoot out, with five teams gunning for the podium and no room for error.

The game of Russian roulette between The Wave, Muscat and Alinghi continued until the final double pointer, but the Omani team needed seven boats between them to overhaul the Swiss – which proved too tall an order for Leigh McMillan, and Alinghi comfortably took their third Act win of the season.

With the Series now at the halfway mark, helmsman Morgan Larson has already turned his attentions towards the bigger picture: 'It’s nice to put a little stamp on our win and to let the guys know that we’re here to try and win the whole Series this time. The team is working well together and we finally feel confident that we can do it. Saying that, the heat is on, some teams are working really hard and we know that we’ll have to step up if we want to stay head.'

Hoping the Omani team would trip up and waiting in the wings to pounce for second place was Emirates Team New Zealand – and they almost did – until a last minute roll of the dice by Leigh McMillan and the team paid off, and a fifth place in the final race was enough for the boat flying the colours of Oman to take second place. But more importantly, keeping them in touch with Alinghi on the overall season leaderboard.

read more here


 And the highlights video is here:

 

Weta trimaran chosen as a class to compete in the World Masters Games to be held in New Zealand in 2017

From the following article on Sail-World:

http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?Nid=123860&refre=y&ntid=0&rid=1

Yachting New Zealand has announced that the Weta has been chosen as one of the classes for the World Masters Games, to be held in New Zealand in 2017.

With more athletes than the Olympics, the World Masters Games is the single biggest multisport event on earth. Now in 2017, the event will come to Auckland New Zealand. The World Masters Games is for everyone – whether you play to stay fit, to have fun or quite simply to win. In 2017, 25,000 athletes will converge on Auckland for the event of a lifetime.

Sailing joins 27 other sports codes as one of 28 announced as an ‘Official Sport’ of World Masters Games 2017 and while the final sports programme is still to be finalised, sailing will offer racing in the Laser and Weta classes.

read more here

Sunday 29 June 2014

Construction blog of a Russell Brown/Paul Bieker designed proa

Lately I've been enjoying following a very detailed blog by Jak on the construction of his Russ Brown/Bieker designed proa.  Thanks to the  excellent Proafile for this link:

http://proa32.blogspot.com.au/

Saturday 28 June 2014

Phuket Multihull Regatta/Multihull Solutions Regatta 10th to 13th July

From the following page on the Multihull Solutions Phuket Race week website:

http://www.multihullsolutions.com.au/events/phuket-multihull-regatta

Phuket Multihull Regatta Multihull Solutions Regatta – Phuket 2014. Dates: 10th July to 13th July 2014. About: 2014 hails the first year that Multihull Solutions is naming rights and major sponsor of the Multihull Solutions Regatta in Phuket and we are looking forward to supporting this fabulous, well established event.

This regatta is an Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) event and is run from the ACYC in mid July. Open to more boats and more divisions, the 2014 event is set to be the biggest and best yet. You too can join this “multihull only” event for three days of exciting racing and serious fun on and off the water. The fees to enter are modest, the scenery spectacular and the camaraderie is like no other!

For more details or to charter a multihull for the racing read more here

Extreme Sailing Series, video of Day 2 of racing in St Petersburg

Soft conditions render Day 2 rather less than extreme and bring focus onto tactical maneuvers:


Friday 27 June 2014

Extreme Sailing Series, underway in St Petersburg

From the following press release on the Extreme Sailing Series website:

http://www.extremesailingseries.com/news/view/david-freddie-carr-looks-ahead-to-act-4#.U6wEYK-KDrc

In 2014, David ‘Freddie’ Carr, a former winner of the Extreme Sailing Series™ provides an expert insight into the global tour, as part of the live commentary team. Freddie, who was recently announced as a crewmember with Ben Ainslie Racing for the British America’s Cup challenge, looks ahead to Act 4, Saint Petersburg, where he predicts the potential for a shake-up in the Series standings.

I think you can draw a line in the sand after the first three Acts, and now it’s time for the new teams on the block for 2014 to stop talking about being the new teams. We’ve had two stadium venues (Singapore and Qingdao) and one open water venue (Muscat) so far this year, and it’s been no surprise that at the stadium venues, in the really tricky Extreme 40 style conditions, that the old hands - The Wave, Muscat and Alinghi have come to the fore. Whereas in Muscat, a more open water venue, with what you could call more ‘classical sailing’ we saw a top six boat shoot-out. Going into Saint Petersburg we’re moving into what could be the trickiest sailing venue of the year and arguably of all time. One of the main reasons for that is the current.

Having spoken to the boys building the boats out in Russia today, they’ve taken a look at the racecourse already – it’s super light, and the current is ripping. This racing will always be about boat speed and boat handling, but in this new venue I really believe the pre-race strategy where the teams will talk about the way they’ll manoeuvre in these conditions will be so important. I think it’s going to be really tricky like Singapore, but magnified.

Looking at the results so far it’s been about The Wave, Muscat and Alinghi, but you can’t look too far beyond Emirates Team New Zealand, who are the newest team to have come in and effectively done the best. Dean Barker came in and did a great job at the first two Acts, and then the team changed to Pete Burling. There was a lot of pressure on Pete, and people were looking at the team thinking, this might be the time they have their wobble, but to be fair to him, he’s sailed superbly and got a third in China. The team have changed crew again, and in my opinion they’ve arguably got one of the best, if not the best tacticians in the world with Ray Davies, and this might be the perfect place for Ray to come and join the fleet. Having sailed a bit with Ray, what he’s awesome at is the bits in-between the races (obviously he’s amazing at the racing!). Ray’s one of those guys that can look up the course, read the water superbly well and then really communicate his plan to the crew, so that everybody’s reading off the same hymn sheet. We’ve seen from our SAP Analytics that Emirates Team New Zealand do well in the light winds – but I wonder if this is the event where they go and lift the cup.

read more here

Thursday 26 June 2014

Team Lalou's Multi50 trimaran returns to Verdon sur Mer after being rerigged in the Canaries

From the following press release (in French) on the Team Lalou website
 
 
and the rough bing translate below:
 
After 2 months of construction after its capsize on the Transat Jacques Vabre 2013, Lalou Roucayrol trimaran is finally back at home! Party in ferry Thursday, June 19 the Canary, the Arkema trimaran - France arrived at le Verdon sur Mer yesterday, Tuesday, after 4 and a half days of navigation. Accompanied by Etienne Cara (preparer rigger and coach), Lalou conducted 1500 miles this ferry in 'fake-solo' mode to resume its marks in solitaire; a nice way to prepare the major event of the season 2014: the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe.
 
Interview with Jane on his arrival at le Verdon sur Mer:
 
How have passed these few days of sailing?
 
"It was really great. I sign for tomorrow! First, we had unexpected conditions. We did a little closely at the time of the departure, but we quickly hit a South-South-West stream that has led us to the middle of the Bay of Biscay. It was really top to navigate under gennaker under these conditions, 22-28 knots with a perfect control of the machine. Then we had to go back more North to ride an anticyclonic bubble and we arrive after 4 and a half days. More than 400 nautical miles covered in 24 hours was 2 days... I am therefore delighted to return to navigation. »
 
Are satisfied you with the changes made to the trimaran?
 
"The entire platform is validated! Whether at the level of the rudders, sails or adjustments made on the deck, all the team did a great job and even more optimized boat! My feelings are quickly returned, and it is really nice to browse on it. We still have a small list of work that awaits us. »
 
What aspects do you particularly want to work on before the Route du Rhum?
 
"The grip of the trimaran and the first navigations made duplicate, in preparation for the Transat Jacques Vabre last year. I finally bit sailed solo on Arkema - Aquitaine Region. It was the objective of this ferry 'faux-solo' where I was the only manoeuvring full. Etienne was observed. We have thus identified several areas of work for my training solo: such as sleep or patterns of manoeuvres. We will promptly establish the planning of the next few months, to be the most efficient possible on the major event of the end of the year. »
 
Arkema - Aquitaine Region and its skipper trimaran are therefore well equipped to address this phase of pre-race.
 
 

Team Maitre Jacques, Loic Fequet completes solo qualification for the Route du Rhum and then goes on (with crew) to take line honours and class win in the Record SNSM

The revamped Multi50 trimaran Maitre Jacques has proved to be a super performer with it's new floats.  Loic Fequet completed a solo qualification for the Route du Rhum and then with crew took line honours in the Record SNSM and a class win. 

a press release here (in French) on the Record SNSM:

the rough bing translate below:

Master winner Jacques Record SNSM 2014!

 It has not dragged! The 50 foot skippered by Loïc Féquet trimaran crossed the finish line at 11 h 43'52 ". He won so very beautiful way the Record SNSM in the Multi 50 category with a time of race of 20 h 11'52 ", at an average speed of 11.39 knots on the theoretical distance of 230 miles. Congratulations to Loïc and his team! The two IMOCA, Initiatives-heart (Tanguy de Lamotte) and Imagine (Armel Tripon) are expected late in the afternoon, at the same time as the Multi 2000 Restabern (Jean-Christophe Lair), leader of the 180-mile course.
"Spikes up to 24 knots"
 
Escorted by the SNS 125 featured "Admiral de Castelbajac" upon his arrival, the skipper Loïc Fequet displays its satisfaction: « very happy Yes! The aim was to earn miles. More on actually, better. And then the Record SNSM is for a good cause, rescuers at sea, so the joy is even greater! We met a flat sea. It lacked a little wind at the start, which explains that we have toiled to Quiberon. Then it hit more air, a ten knots, allowing us to accelerate. Then there has again been a little downtime in Sainte-Marine, because the wind was not well established in the Bay. On the other hand, back, up to the island of Yeu, it was very nice, with spikes up to 24 knots on a sea of oil! The buddies (the two IMOCA including, ndr)? On little saw them. They came back on us in the Bay of Quiberon, when there was no wind, but as soon as we had a little more air it has again left behind them. Appraisal: it was very nice, with a beautiful time in Saint-Nazaire. Despite the lack of wind, could test some things. Let's write a small list to the preparer of the boat... »



and on the 1000nm qualification run for the Route du Rhum:

Qualifying check!

Maître Jacques paré for @RecordSNSM Loïc Fequet has cordoned off this morning its 1000 miles qualifying in the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe after 4 days and 4 nights in sea and positive technical assessment. Now place in the competition: the skipper Maître Jacques and his team are preparing now and already to play the Record SNSM, whose departure will be given this Sunday in Saint Nazaire.

Party Lorient Monday afternoon, Loïc arrived this morning to Saint-Nazaire... Its 1000 miles the Route du Rhum qualifier took place in excellent conditions. The skipper Maître Jacques was able to validate everything that there was to check on the boat following its big technical construction.

Replacement of floats has changed significantly the sensations of bar and the reactions of the boat: "there was a great job indeed, there is nothing to complain about".
Double satisfaction so the Team master Jacques who comes to qualify for the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe and find a boat ready to do battle.
These 4 days and 4 nights from sea also helped Loïc to recover in her bubble of solitary sailor: used to speed, to trust its automatic pilot...

This first step, Loïc will be able to address its training program and races, starting with the Record SNSM, as early as this weekend. Tomorrow, the Team master Jacques will be full in Saint-Nazaire. They all look forward to the red and white trimaran weapon of its new floats.
These 360 miles (666 km) consisting of two back and forth between the resident of Saint-Nazaire port and a brand of course located off the coast of Sainte-Marine in Finistère (North of the Glénan) will enable the crew continue validations technical and, of course, try a beautiful time!

Top departure Sunday at 3 p.m. off the coast of Saint Nazaire!

Loïc Féquet, skipper master Jacques: "the goal was really to qualify, I have therefore voluntarily not shot on the boat. But everything is perfect, the sensations are very good. It was also an opportunity for me to get used to the solitaire, at the speed of the boat, at night, to trust the driver!... The conditions were perfect for it. But the exercise will be to renew.
From a technical point of view, there is nothing to complain about. And other floats, everything else was already validated since last year. We will still do a complete check of the boat by receipt of consciousness, but it is ready to attack the Record SNSM and we also! » Multi50 official

Wednesday 25 June 2014

GF42 trimaran, platform approaching completion at Westerly Marine

Greg Lynn's GF42 trimaran is coming along well with the platform approaching completion.  This gorgeous foil assist carbon fibre trimaran is a collaboration between Greg Lynn and Fred Courouble and is being constructed at Westerly Marine.  The tooling is capable of producing up to three sister ships so if you are interested in a super fast 42' trimaran you can contact the designers here

ongoing updates are also posted to the Greg Lynn Yacht facebook page.

GF42 racer/cruiser trimaran, photo courtesy Greg Lynn Yacht design



Monday 23 June 2014

J.P. Morgan Round the Island Race, GC 32 catamarans of Team Richard Mille takes line honours Spax Solutions second overall but soft conditions not conducive to improving record

From the following article on My Sailing:

http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/longest-day-lives-up-to-its-name-for-round-the-island-race-competitors

22 Jun 2014

The longest day of the summer came close to delivering the longest J.P.Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race ever, writes Kate Laven, as winds ranging from zero knots to painfully light tested the patience of crews with high performance catamaran Team Richard Mille emerging as line honours winner with a time of almost nine hours.

Most of the 1,585 entries started the race around the Isle of Wight in around 3 knots and bright sunshine and as the hours went by, temperatures rose but wind speed dropped leaving hundreds of boats becalmed and a large proportion of the 16,000 crew desperately seeking ways of making their boats go faster or resorting to stretching out on deck to enjoy the sunny conditions.

read more here


 

Record SNSM underway

This year the Multi50 class on the 230 mile course has two entrants the revamped Maitre Jacques and the classic Nootka.  

The race website:

http://www.recordsnsm.com/

The tracker for the record snsm:

http://www.recordsnsm.com/cartographies

Friday 20 June 2014

Extreme Sailing Series update, St Petersburg event 26-29th of June

From the following press release by the Extreme Sailing Series:

http://www.extremesailingseries.com/news/view/fresh-faces-join-the-line-up-for-act-4-saint-petersburg-presented-by-land-r#.U6Ne06-KDrc

- Olympic gold medallist Nathan Wilmot takes the tiller of GAC Pindar.
- Two home teams for Extreme Sailing Series™ Russian debut.
- Series Technical Partner and Saint Petersburg Host Venue Partner SAP launch the ‘SAP Speed King Challenge’. Watch the teaser video here.
- Watch the promo video here including an insight to the Saint Petersburg racecourse from Land Rover Global Brand Ambassador Hannah White. 


The 34 Extreme Sailing Series™ containers, housing the Extreme 40 racing multihulls, support vehicles and the huge amount of event paraphernalia needed to stage one of the world’s largest spectator-friendly sailing grand prix, will arrive this weekend in Saint Petersburg courtesy of logistics partner, GAC Pindar. Over the next seven days the riverbanks and waters of the Neva will be transformed into the temporary residence for the assembly of the fleet of Extreme 40s ahead of the four days of Stadium Racing, 26-29 June. The Race Village is located right in the heart of Saint Petersburg on Zayachii Island, against a historical backdrop that includes the world-famous Palace Embankment and the Peter and Paul Fortress, between the famous Troitskiy and Drovtsovyy Bridges. At the halfway stage of the globe-trotting 2014 season, Act 4 is expected to throw up a mix of challenging conditions for the sailors, with strong tidal currents and a compact racecourse demanding maximum concentration, in what will be one of the biggest scale professional sailing events ever held in Russia. Watch the promo video here to find out what the sailors think about it.

Needless to say, the Russian public will undoubtedly get fully behind the two home nation teams – Gazprom Team Russia and RussianFirst. Gazprom Team Russia skipper Igor Lisovenko – who represented Russia at two Olympic Games and is currently fifth on the overall Series leaderboard - shared his local knowledge to explain what the fleet can expect. “We have a week to go and the weather promises to be very tricky. Add the current to the mix and you’ll have a formula for one of the most dramatic Acts so far.” Lisovenko continued to talk about the significance of the Act for his team. “As we’re approaching the season’s halfway stage we aim to move up the leaderboard and defend our position from our competitors. Also, it is important to us to perform well in home waters as our fans expect us to. So this puts an additional pressure to us. Nevertheless, I’m confident in our team as we continue to improve and we are ready to deliver the best result in Act 4.”

Russia’s top multihull and Olympic sailors will compete with the invitational team RussianFirst, led by Olympic silver medallist Georgy Shayduko. Shayduko commented: “To have two home boats competing in the Russian debut of the Series shows that sailing in our country is gaining popularity. Racing in front of our fans gives us lots of motivation and we will use that motivation to fight for a good result. I am sure not only the sailors, but also the fans on the shore, will enjoy the racing in Russia.”

read more here

Thursday 19 June 2014

Maitre Jacques with Loic Fequet at the helm departs on solo qualifier for the Route du Rhum

From the following Facebook entry on the Maitre Jacques Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Trimaran.Maitre.Jacques/posts/783068088391677

and the rough bing translate below:

Top departure for the qualif' Route du Rhum!
.. .the record SNSM to follow Sunday a week after the water of his trimaran Maître Jacques, Loïc Féquet enjoys a beautiful weather to set off, window this Monday, on its 1000 miles (1852 km) qualifying for the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe! To completion of the qualifying course, the skipper will directly sail on St Nazaire to take the start of the Record SNSM, this Sunday, June 22.

7 months that Loïc has navigated aboard his trimaran (since last November, following its damage to float on the Transat Jacques Vabre). This afternoon, he will finally return to the sea.
About 4 p.m. Monday, Loïc will cap to the West, towards a shadow off the Brittany coast, to browse its 1000 qualifying miles for the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe. 4 days of re-immersion in his costume of runner off the coast, 4 days of altimeter, 4 days of sensations and pleasures it will share contributors to Maître Jacques.

Loïc Féquet, skipper master Jacques: "there is a beautiful weather window: 15-20 knots for 4 days." This will be perfect for a grip. I will resume my brands, quietly reclaim me the boat. The weather will be lenient, I send news every day. » Already a point at 20 knots two outputs at sea will have been enough to stall everything aboard the Multi 50 master Jacques. Returned to the water Saturday, June 6 after a long site devoted to the replacement of its floats, the red and white trimaran is already ready for a big loop of 1000 miles off the coast. Rigging is set, the construction was thorough and the boat is ready to sail. As soon as the second drive, Loïc and his team already had spikes to 20 knots!

Loïc Féquet, skipper master Jacques: "rigging been rewrapped as it should be, there has been no cracking and the boat behaves really well. '' Thanks to the new floats and the complete overhaul of the system of bar, he won in agility, it responds much faster in transfers. And at the first exit, it was at 19.8 knots, the 2nd day at 20! "The Record SNSM to follow after his qualifying course Loïc will route towards Saint Nazaire, to take the start of the Record SNSM next Sunday. This crew test that pays tribute to the work and commitment of the rescuers at sea will also be an opportunity for the Team master Jacques to "shoot" a little more on the boat.

Chrono to beat this will be the 3rd Team master Jacques in this atypical event participation.
The 360-mile course (666 km) consisting of two back and forth between the resident of Saint-Nazaire port and a course located off the coast of Sainte-Marine in Finistère (North of the Glénan) is a very technical and intense exercise. Crews are at 100% all the time and boats show their full potential, if conditions permit.

During his first participation in 2011, the Team master Jacques had won the second fastest in its category with an average speed of over 20 knots. In 2013, the weather was less favourable, the average had dropped to 13 knots, but each time, Loïc and his team had pushed their boat up with spikes to 27-28 knots!

Multi50 official Route du Rhum Record SNSM Photos Pierrick Contin and Maître Jacques





Photos Pierrick Contin et Maître Jacques See More

Multi50 Officiel
Route du Rhum
Record SNSM

Sunday 15 June 2014

Spindrift Racing update, Dona Bertarelli claims line honours on Ladycat the teams D35 catamaran in the Bol d'Or Mirabaud

Press release by Spindrift Racing:

http://www.spindrift-racing.com/2014/06/francais-victoire-de-ladycat-powered-by-spindrift-racing-au-bol-dor-mirabaud-2014/

Skipper Dona Bertarelli, Yann Guichard and the crew of Ladycat powered by Spindrift racing, won a thrilling victory on Saturday in the 76th edition of the Bol d’Or on Lake Geneva, leading home the 518 boats entered. It is a magnificent triumph for the Spindrift racing team and its partners Mirabaud, Genes-x and Zenith and a second great feat for Bertarelli, following her first win in the Bol d’Or in 2010.

Tension, concentration, suspense, attack, audacity, victory and joy were just some of the words uttered by the Ladycat crew on their arrival at the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), where the wind was still blowing around 25 knots. That gives some idea of the conditions Ladycat encountered for this express return journey across Lake Geneva in 5 hours and 38 minutes, the second fastest time in the history of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud.

The 500 boats began in challenging conditions, crossing the startline of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud on Saturday morning at 1000hrs (French time) in 20 knots of wind. In the middle of the fleet, the 11 D35 one-designs, prepped and ready for battle, put a reef in the mainsail. After a cautious start, Ladycat quickly found itself among the D35 fleet. “The strategy was to stay in contact with our competitors and not to take extreme options, so that we could seize every opportunity and keep some cards up our sleeve," Bertarelli explained. The first part of the race was long and difficult with an upwind climb and lots of manoeuvres and transitions to manage, as Yann Guichard reports: “We suffered a bit upwind,” he said. “We made the choice to set the boat up for very windy conditions and we didn’t benefit from this option for the first few miles. The goal was still to be in the leading pack at the halfway mark and we managed to take the lead 150 metres from Bouveret.”

After the first sprint, the wind dropped a bit. “We knew the wind was going to soften at the halfway point and that it would return again strongly ahead of us. We had options in terms of the choice of sail so we could better anticipate the last part (of the race), which always promised to be tough.” Christophe Espagnon said. There wasno rest for the Ladycat crew, who went into this this final section of this course, elbow to elbow with Realstone and Veltigroup and touching speeds of 25 knots. “In the end, it really hotted up, we were at full speed in a neck-and-neck finish with Realstone and Veltigroup,” Espagnon said. “We managed to overtake them 300 metres from the finish line and they finished 50 metres behind us, so there was suspense until the very end. We had a good strategy and really great teamwork. We had made some configuration choices on the boat (with the sails and settings) and they paid off. This is the first time I have won the Bol d'Or Mirabaud. This is for me a legendary race, an event that I dreamed of winning one day in my career. I'm so happy.”
At the end of 66.5 miles covered in 5 hours and 38 minutes, the D35 Ladycat and the 5 crew members, crossed the finish line of the illustrious Bol d'Or Mirabaud as winners ahead of Realstone and Alinghi, who made up the podium. “We were very focused throughout the race because the conditions were really difficult and we were always on the attack and so racing on a knife-edge the whole time,” Bertarelli said. “I’m very proud of my team who sailed well from start to finish. It’s also an enormous pleasure to win the 76th Bol d'Or and the race for the second time. This edition has a special flavour because Ladycat is wearing the colours of Mirabaud. I’m proud and excited to share this victory with all my partners, Mirabaud, Genes- x and Zenith. Now we have to win the next edition because to keep the Bol d'Or forever you have to win the race 3 times in 5 years.”

Congratulations to Dona, Yann, Jacques, Christophe, Xavier and Francois for this outstanding performance and for doing the double by winning the D35 class and the race.
They said:"Thank you Dona, Yann and all the Spindrift racing team for fulfilling the dream which we have all had since the beginning of our partnership. I hope this victory heralds more great success to come. I know that at Mirabaud we believe in them.” Antonio Palma, Partner at Mirabaud.

“Zenith is particularly proud of winning the Bol d'Or Mirabaud for the second consecutive year, this time alongside Ladycat powered by Spindrift racing. We are happy to celebrate this new partnership with the victory of a crew who gave a brilliant demonstration of its talents after a very close and exciting race.” Juliette North, director of Marketing and Communication at Zenith.

“Genes-x is extremely proud of the wonderful performance today by Ladycat powered by Spindrift racing. By winning the Bol d'Or Mirabaud, the crew demonstrated their professionalism and their ambition for this season.” Fabio Cavalli, CEO and founder of Genes-x.