Friday 24 April 2015

Gitana team relaunch MOD70 trimaran with experimental lifting foil setup

From the following update on the Gitana team website:
 
 
In refit since her return from the West Indies back in December, the Multi70 Edmond de Rothschild left the cosy atmosphere of her technical base in Lorient this Wednesday morning to return to the liquid element. Benefiting from the first tide of the day and the summery weather, it didn’t take long for the members of Gitana Team to release the carbon machine, which is now safely tied to the dock at the Keroman submarine base. This launch is synonymous with the start of phase two of a project initiated in early 2014 by the team created by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild: namely the mission to make the Multi70 the first flying trimaran on the offshore racing circuit.

An adventure in two chapters

Back in 2014, true to its philosophy, the team created in 2000 by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild paved the way by opting to kit out its 70-foot trimaran with lifting surfaces on the float rudders. The aim at that time was to participate in the 10th edition of the famous Route du Rhum and hence cross the Atlantic singlehanded. It was a bold challenge! Indeed, besides the technical development required by such a project, on the water the human commitment was significant since Sébastien Josse would have to compete against the giants of the Ultime class; the largest of which measured twice the size of the Multi70…

read more here

Tuesday 21 April 2015

All conquering Phaedo3 team release highlights video of racing in Les Voiles de St. Barth Regatta



Phaedo³, Les Voiles de St. Barths 2015 from Ocean Images on Vimeo.

Phaedo3 took a clean sweep of the racing in the multihull class at the Les Voiles de St. Barth Regatta.  You can find the results for all classes including the multihulls here:

https://app.regattaguru.com/lesvoiles/100085/results

Gunboat G4 foiling catamaran capsizes at Les Voiles de St. Barth regatta

The Gunboat G4 foiling catamaran capsized while racing at St. Barths only slight injuries onboard and the boat was righted without any major damage.


Wipe Out from Gunboat on Vimeo.

And a good article over at Swizzle Media about the capsize.

http://swizzlesportsmedia.com/g4-undaunted-and-even-more-badass-after-capsize-recovery/

Lending Club Sailing set new record on the Newport - Bermuda route

The record for the Newport - Bermuda route has long been held by the maxi catamaran PlayStation skippered by the late Steve Fossett.  The Lending Club sailing team have set a new reference time for the route smashing the existing record and reducing the record time to less than 24 hours!

From the following article on the Royal Gazette:

http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20150418/NEWS/150419690

Lending Club 2 successfully completed an attempt to break the Newport to Bermuda course record with plenty of time to spare.

The 105ft trimaran simply obliterated the previous record that had stood for 15 years, taking less than 24 hrs to complete the 635-nautical mile ocean crossing from Castle Hill Lighthouse in Newport to Kitchen Shoal Beacon in Bermuda.

The new record, subject to ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council, is 23hr 9min 52sec at an average speed of 27 knots.

The trimaran, believed to be valued at about $3 million, completed its record attempt at 1:44.32am — shaving a staggering 15 hours off the previous mark set by the late Steve Fossett aboard the catamaran PlayStation.

read more here


Thursday 16 April 2015

Corsair Pulse 600 trimaran update # 15

From the following entry by Corsair marine:

http://sail.corsairmarine.com/development-update-15-on-the-pulse-600

Following some great sailing last weekend on hull 3, it really feels like this Pulse is getting its rhythm!

We had decent wind conditions with 12-15 kts of breeze in semi-sheltered waters and the boat just felt fantastic. We were running without the bowsprit option (coming soon) and had some great screacher runs where the boat really got up and started to sing. As if the blood wasn’t pumping enough, skimming along at around 13-16 kts with the kite up, it was time to test the rudder balance. It felt so controlled that taking your hand off the tiller extension and letting the boat go was never an issue. So there we were, on a brand new boat, with all hands off. A great feeling!

read more here

Wednesday 15 April 2015

New Harryproa website launched

Rob Denney's Harryproa website is active again and includes updates on current projects including the demountable and container transportable racing proa "Bucket List".

http://harryproa.com/

Video of day 1 of racing at Les Voiles de St Barth by the Phaedo team


Phaedo³, Day 1 of Les Voiles de St Barth from Ocean Images on Vimeo.

And an article on Sailing Scuttlebutt with more details of the days racing:

http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2015/04/14/les-voiles-de-st-barth-starting-off-just-right/

results from Day 1 of racing in the multihull class:

https://app.regattaguru.com/lesvoiles/100085/class_results/100688

Pegasus Aeronautics release wind instrument and mast rotation systems to suit trailerable trimarans.

Pegasus Aeronautics website:

http://www.flyorsail.com/

and Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/PegasusAeroNautics


Lending Club Sailing, Newport Bermuda record next to be contested

Lending Club 2 is now at the Newport Shipyard and the crew welcome visits for a look around.  They will remain on standby till a suitable weather window for the record attempt presents.  You can follow their updates on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/LendingClubSailing

And a press release from the team in regards to the upcoming record attempt:

NEWPORT, R.I. (14 April 2015) – Just two weeks ago the maxi-trimaran Lending Club 2 set a new world sailing speed record on the English Channel: from Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, to Dinard, France. Driven by Renaud Laplanche, CEO of Lending Club, with co-skipper Ryan Breymaier, the 138-nautical mile passage was completed in 5 hours and 15 minutes at an average speed of 26.36 knots; shaving 8 minutes off the record that had stood since 2002.

Now prominently berthed at the Newport Shipyard, the attention commanding 105-foot Lending Club 2 and her crew are in preparation mode for their next challenge: the 635-nautical mile Newport to Bermuda course record. The current record, which has stood 15 years, is held by Steve Fossett who set a time of 38 hours, 35 minutes and 53 seconds – at an average speed of 16 knots – with the 125-foot catamaran Playstation in 2000.

One Down, Two to Go Laplanche chartered the racing yacht for the 2015 season with the express goal of conquering three speed sailing records: Cowes-Dinard, Newport-Bermuda and the 2,215-nautical mile Transpac (Los Angeles to Honolulu). With one course record under their belts, Laplanche and Breymaier hope to sail Lending Club 2 – which is capable of speeds over 40 knots in the right conditions – to a new Newport-Bermuda record that is significantly faster than the existing time. The attempt will be observed and ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) and Guinness World Records.



World Sailing Speed Record Breaker Lending Club 2, driven by Renaud Laplanche and Ryan Breymaier,
during the Cowes-Dinard passage. (Photo Credit Lloyd Images).

The yacht will be on standby in Newport while the crew observe the weather and wait for suitable conditions, ideally a moderate following breeze, and manageable conditions, to allow for top speed. As of now, the weather window looks favorable for a departure on April 19.

Laplanche is no stranger to success – either on the water or off. A two-time French National Champion in the Laser class (1988, 1990), the now 45-year-old entrepreneur put an Olympic campaign behind him to focus on business and progressed from work as a securities lawyer to founding the software company TripleHop Technologies (acquired by Oracle in 2005), before founding Lending Club in 2006. It was while racing in the 2013 Transpac, on John Sangmeister’s 72-foot trimaran, that Laplanche met Breymaier and discovered a shared passion for sailing and winning. (They were first to finish and took first place in the multihull division on the Orma 72.) Breymaier, a native of Annapolis, Maryland, has become one of America’s most prominent offshore sailors and currently holds the world sailing speed record for New York to San Francisco: 13,225 nautical miles in 47 days.

Lending Club 2 will return to the City by the Sea following the Newport-Bermuda passage. The yacht will then head to New York for a week to share the sailing experience with Lending Club employees and guests, as well as with students from two New York-based maritime schools who hope to eventually make a career on the water.

In June the trimaran will arrive in San Francisco, corporate headquarters for Lending Club. A month is dedicated to sharing the sailing experience with employees and guests of the company, with early July reserved for sail training. In mid-July the crew will take the trimaran to Long Beach, Calif., for their start in the Transpac Race on July 18 (date to be confirmed by the Organizing Authorities once entries have closed.) Crossing the starting line of the longest ocean race in the world (first sailed in 1906) will be the culmination of months of effort; the focal point of this season’s two previous record assaults being a win of not only the Transpac course record but also the outright sailing speed record across the Pacific to Hawaii.

The Lending Club Sailing team is an international crew with a mix of American, French and German sailors. Training and racing together since the start of the program, the same team will race all three record attempts: Co-skippers Renaud Laplanche (FRA/USA) and Ryan Breymaier (USA), who is also the Project Manager; Captain Jan Majer (USA); Navigator Boris Herrman (GER); Roland Jourdain (FRA); Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant (FRA); Stanislas Delbarre (FRA) and Quin Bisset (NZL) who handles onboard media.

News updates, pictures and videos of the record-breaking runs can be viewed on Facebook or YouTube: https://www.facebook.com/LendingClubSailing https://www.youtube.com/c/LendingClubSailing/

About Lending Club 2The trimaran, designed by VPLP and built in France in 2006, was originally named Groupama 3. After three failed attempts, skipper Franck Cammas and his crew won the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe (48 days, 7 hours, 44 minutes, 52 seconds) in the spring of 2010.

The yacht was then modified for solo sailing (principally with a shorter mast) and has been sailed to victory in the last two editions of the Route du Rhum, from northern France to Guadeloupe.

When San Francisco-based Renaud Laplanche decided he wanted to return to break the Transpac course record from Long Beach to Hawaii, after closely missing the fastest time in the 2013 edition, he and co-skipper Ryan Breymaier negotiated the charter knowing this trimaran was the perfect vessel for their mission. Their first step was to reinstall the taller rig, bringing the yacht back to full power mode, ideal for crewed record-breaking attempts.

With special thanks to Lending Club Sailing technical partners:
Switlik Survival Equipment www.switlik.com
Marlow Ropes www.marlowropes.com
Guy Cotten foul weather gear www.guycotten.com
Events Clothing www.eventsclothing.co.nz
Underwater Kinetics technical equipment www.uwkinetics.com

Tuesday 14 April 2015

Lending Club's new record for the Cowes - Dinard route a detailed account by the crew

From the following article on Sailing Anarchy:

http://sailinganarchy.com/2015/04/09/grinding-it-out/

Well, that didn’t take long! Lending Club CEO Reynaud LaPlanche has only had his VPLP trimaran Lending Club for a few weeks, and he’s already set his first passage record. Look for some serious records to fall over the next 6 months thanks to this youthful and enthusiastic Franco-American billionaire. Project Manager and skipper Ryan Breymaier tells the story exclusively for you Anarchists…Mark Lloyd photos (except the last one, credit Quin Bisset) with galleries over here, and be ready for the LC’s next assault – the ages old Newport-Bermuda passage record – coming far sooner than you think.

About 15 minutes after our start in 20 knots of breeze upwind, JB Le Vaillant looked at me and said “We should turn around, go back and put all the sails up and start over!” I was tempted to agree with him as we found ourselves with the J2 and 2 reefs in the main upwind in 12 knots, tacking towards the Needles.

read more here

MOD70 trimaran Phaedo3 sets new Round the Island Record (St Maarten)

From the following article on the Daily Herald:

http://www.thedailyherald.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54775%3Aphaedo3-sets-new-around-island-record&catid=1%3Aislands-news&Itemid=54

SIMPSON BAY--It was a "magical day" for Lloyd Thornburg as he steered his Phaedo3, a Multi One Design 70 clockwise around the Friendly Island to set a new course record Friday.
Steve Fosset set the record on his 125 foot catamaran PlayStation back in March of 2003 at 2-hours 4-minutes 23 seconds.

The 70-foot trimaran hitting a top speed of 35 knots in the Anguilla Channel rounded the Island in 1-hoour 30 minutes 19 seconds.

read more here


Sunday 12 April 2015

Gunboat G4 launched and foiling in St Marteen, videos of boat in action

Several videos of the recently launched foiling Gunboat G4 catamaran have been published. 


GUNBOAT G4 from Gunboat on Vimeo.

The sound of speed onboard the fully-foiling Gunboat G4 from Bill Springer on Vimeo.

Multiplast rebuilds maxi catamaran Orange II as high performance cruiser Vitalia II

The maxi catamaran Vitalia II (formerly Orange 2 and one time holder of the Jules Verne record) is set to be relaunched on April the 17th at 4:30 local time at the Multiplast facility.

http://www.multiplast.eu/fr/actualit%C3%A9s/newsletters/actualit%C3%A9s-composite-yachts/763-mise-%C3%A0-l-eau-du-catamaran-vitalia-ii.html

The rebuild which was commissioned by Francois Bich has seen the one time race boat rebuilt with the intention of creating some creature comforts but retaining the essential performance qualities of the craft.

A website will be made live on the 15th of April to follow the boats relaunch and future adventures:

http://www.francoisbich.vitalia-2.fr/



Friday 3 April 2015

Corsair Pulse 600, development update #14 new folding system and refinements in place

From the following press release by Corsair Marine:

http://sail.corsairmarine.com/development-update-14?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonuqnIZKXonjHpfsX56esrW6SzlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4DTcdgI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFTLLCMbR4w7gJWxI%3D

After the successful test sail on the water testing in Nha Trang last month (update #13 http://sail.corsairmarine.com/sailing-review-on-the-pulse-600 ) we have been focussing on some modifications to really take the boat to the next level, and ready for the real product launch. Hull #2 is heading out to Brisbane, Australia next week where it is to be demo sailed and then exhibited at The Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show. We also have Hull #3 due to hit the water here in Vietnam as we have some local testing and demonstration sailing to be done!

So what have we achieved?

Folding System
The biggest modification is the folding system. We have moved away from the soft lower strut system which was simply too hard to use and in reality didn’t offer the rigidity we required for this product. We have now replaced this with a new anodised aluminium folding system. Similar in concept to our larger Corsair models however the new folding system uses a solid “V-shaped” lower strut on all four beams.

The complexity of the geometry involved is particularly high as the buoyancy of the float will dictate how much you can push the float through the water when you are folding. Not easy to setup however after testing the boat on the water, we struck off another milestone with this project by confirming that it is now an easy single person job to fold both on the water and on the hard. Another important feature to mention here is that the capshroud does not need adjustment when folding the boat. Likewise, the trampolines require no adjustment when folding as they self-tension when the folding system is opened out.

read more here

Pulse 600 with dual strut folding system fitted, photo courtesy Corsair Marine

Thursday 2 April 2015

Lending Club sailing set new multihull record on the Cowes - Dinard route

A new record has been set on the Cowes Dinard route by Lending Club Sailing who have chartered the former Banque Populaire VII trimaran for a crewed record program.

The average speed for the crossing was 26.35 knots the new record time (yet to be ratified) is 5h 14 mins and 7 seconds.  This new record improves the reference time by 9 minutes and 25 seconds.  The record time was previously held by the maxi cat Maiden.

https://www.facebook.com/LendingClubSailing/posts/603745413062218

and a press release from the Lending Club team:

http://ir.lendingclub.com/file.aspx?IID=4213397&FID=28694340