International C Class Catamaran Championship 2013, Paul Larsen writes of the battle to get the teams C Class catamaran to the starting line

An excellent article by Paul Larsen on the battle to get to the start line of the 2013 International C Class Catamaran Championship as part of the Invictus Team

http://www.teaminvictus.com/news_2013_11_08.html

A memorable event – the start is the biggest finish
Paul Larsen

Friday 08 November 2013

The 2013 ICCCC is now done and dusted and once again it proved to be a fascinating and memorable event. I'm not fully aware of what had transpired within the Invictus camp prior to our involvement this time but it was obvious that the team had taken on a lot (as they also had the responsibility of hosting the biggest C-class event in recent time) and that they were struggling. Getting a C-class catamaran ready for battle is a battle on its own so it was no doubt that running the event was going to be a huge distraction. "Struggling" is perhaps too soft a description for what confronted us when Helena and I drove up to Bristol on the 30th of August to see the state of affairs. We had had very little involvement prior to this but were curious to see how our old team were getting along. We wanted to get involved and actually I felt a little guilty for just waltzing up this late in the program. I soon lost that sensation.

A key delivery of major wing components had just arrived from overseas. They consisted of the flaps and the entire wing leading edge. We all decided that this would be a good time for us to arrive as we can be quite handy around the build side of things and finishing the details so the boat can actually go sailing. We walked into Dan Emuss' shed preparing to say hello to friends old and new and was greeted by a group of shocked and stunned people. I looked to my left at what was on the table and my mind raced to piece the scene together. For one reason or another the components that the team were waiting for had arrived in a form that was completely useless to us. The design and construction had changed so much that we simply had to write it off. There was now only three weeks to go until the actual race started. The wing build was already way behind schedule and now it had been dealt a death blow. We had a main spar with the ribs bonded on and that was it. No flaps, no leading edge, no hinges, or control systems...and no tooling to make the flaps or leading edge... oh...and next to no money.

read more here

Martin Fischer and Will Howden video walkthrough of the Groupama C Class catamaran at the recent International C Class Catamaran Championship

http://sailinganarchy.com/2013/10/12/video-weekend/

International C Class Catamaran Championship 2013, news from day 1 of racing in Falmouth UK

Video streaming by Ustream


Video streaming by Ustream
Results from Races 1 - 3

http://www.restronguetsc.org/results/2013/c-class/ICC%20Challenge%20Results.html

International C Class Championship 2013, warm up week in Falmouth UK by Clarksail

Little America's Cup/ C Class Championship underway in Falmouth, UK

The C Class catamaran championship (Little America's Cup) has returned to the UK for the first time since 1969 and is being held in Falmouth.  There are a number of new teams which are competing this year including the new Swiss HYDROS team and the Groupama team and Franck Cammas.  The event is just about to get underway I find it best to follow the action on their facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/ICCCC.2013?hc_location=stream

Hydros to begin testing foil configurations on Nacra F20 Carbon catamaran

From the following Facebook post by the Hydros Team

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=469966163066187&set=a.365052170224254.86031.364385763624228&type=1&relevant_count=1

Hydros C Class Sailing Team is packing, in one week from now, they will start training in La Grande Motte, at the CEM (Mediterranean Training Center) for the winter period.

While the C Class are being built at Decision SA shipyard, the first Nacra F20 Carbon - provided by H2O Sensations, Swiss Nacra Dealer - has just received the adaptations required to allow testing of the foils developed for the C Class by Hydros design team and built by Ravussin Concept.

The result is impressive. In one week, the Mediterranean Sea will be the scene of the first trainings of the Swiss Team for the next Little Cup.

Photo courtesy of the Hydros Team

New homebuilt C Class catamaran designed and built by Keith MacKinven

Designed and built by Keith MacKinven is the new C Class catamaran Boadicea II.  Construction method featuring ply except on the round bilge which is made from strip cedar.   Main beam is aluminium rear is carbon.  It has a 13 metre carbon mast and on it's first sail achieved 13 knots in 10 knots of breeze being sailed conservatively with much more speed to come once sorted out.  It's great to see some homebuilt C Class catamarans being constructed.

Thanks to Atom Ant on the crew.org.nz forums for posting up about this interesting boat.  You can read the forum thread here:

http://crew.org.nz/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=21144

And some photos of the new boat from the thread:

C Class Catamaran news, next event ENVSN - Saint Pierre-Quiberon, France

Article from bymnews.com

http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=113310

C Class Cup : The first French C Class Catamaran event

 

Wednesday, 19 December 2012

At the 2012 International Boat Show in Paris, Challenge France, the French challenger for the 2013 International C Class Catamaran Championship (ICCCC) in partnership with the French National Sailing Centre (Ecole Nationale de Voile et des Sports Nautiques - ENVSN), announced details about the C Class Cup: the first French C Class Catamaran sailing event.

 

The C Class Cup will take place at the ENVSN – Saint-Pierre-Quiberon, France, from 22nd to the 26th of May 2013.

4 sailing teams already registered for the C Class Cup including Swiss team HYDROS with Jérémie Lagarrigue, the French GROUPAMA team with Franck Cammas and the French CHALLENGE FRANCE team with Karine Fauconnier and Gwénolé Gahinet.

 

read more here

Clarksail article on the current teams competing in the "C" class catamaran event in Falmouth, 2013

Will Clark who runs the excellent news site Clarksail has put up an article detailing the current teams that are set to compete in the next Little America's Cup which is raced "C" class catamarans.  Franck Cammas and Loick Peyron are the latest competitors to join the competition fielding their own teams.

http://clarksail.com/2012/12/11/a-run-down-of-the-c-class-teams-and-builds/

Swiss Hydros team make progress on the construction of their new C Class Catamaran competitor for the Little Americas Cup

News Update from the Hydros team

http://www.hydros.ch/en/news/157-a-world-first-for-the-hydros-team

The Swiss team Hydros have made some progress on the construction of their new C Class Catamaran to contest the upcoming Little Americas Cup.  The hulls will be constructed using the North TPT method.  Photo courtesy of the Hydros shows the hull plugs for the new cat.

C Class Catamaran meeting at Rhode Island, Newport, US

Repost from sail-world article

http://www.sail-world.com/Europe/Pieces-in-motion-at-C-Class-Summit/103788

With the 2013 International C-Class Catamaran Championship in Falmouth, England less than nine months away, C-Class Catamaran enthusiast from six countries met at Rhode Island’s Bristol Yacht Club on the weekend of November 10th. With the Class growing at an unprecedented rate, and interest from Italy, Switzerland, and France joining the class renaissance started in the United States, Canada and England, International Chairman Steve Clark called for a summit in early November to discuss all things C-Class. After almost two days of discussion and deliberation one thing is clear – the C-Class game is afoot.

From 1960 to 1996 the C-Class Catamaran was dominated by an event similar in format to the America’s Cup, in fact the International C-Class Catamaran Challenge Trophy came to be known as the 'Little America’s Cup' because it was conceived along the same lines. However the restrictions of the event were not conducive to class growth. A yacht club would issue a formal challenge to the current holder of the cup, and the winner was determined by a best of seven series at the defender’s preferred location.

In the 60s and 70s the format worked brilliantly – the Cup was in England and teams from Australia and the United States challenged every year. However the format of the racing inhibited the defender’s ability to promote class activity or encourage racing of any kind without a formal challenge. So when the class went semi-dormant in the late 90s-early 2000s Clark seized the opportunity to restructure the class when fresh challenges arrived from Australia and Great Britain in 2004.

'Ten years ago I placed this class under martial law,' said Clark, who was re-elected as class chairman on Saturday. 'There was not enough activity to justify more than one class officer, so I did it all myself, and made a number of changes to the premier event format with the goal of making attending the event more rewarding and increasing participation.'

Clark’s Cogito, who first wrested the cup away Australia’s Edge IV in 96’ with helmsman Duncan MacLane and crew Eric Chase on board, carried the day in 2004 as well with MacLane at the helm and Clark as crew. However the race format was drastically different with both finalists having to be determined by a fleet race series before moving on to match racing for the championship. 'By eliminating some of the barriers to entry active teams are now able to support other prospective participants' said Clark. 'However with this in mind the involvement of Fred Eaton has been the most critical component to the success we are now seeing.'

The game changed in late 2004 when Canada’s Fred Eaton got involved. Eaton’s team took the cup away from the Americans in 2007 at Toronto’s Royal Canadian Yacht Club, and with Eaton’s Alpha and Cogito installed as what Clark calls a 'breeding pair,' the Canadians faced challenges not only from the United States but also Australia, England, and France in Newport, Rhode Island in 2010. Now, with as many as 16 boats expected in England in 2013, the class is well on its way to getting off the sailing endangered species list.

The meeting spent a long while reasserting the bylaws and constitution. However after Magnus Clarke had been elected to succeed Duncan MacLane as International Secretary, and national representatives had been appointed from each attending nation, the chairman opened the floor for team reports.

more of this article here

'From left to right: Steve Killing, Richard Korpus, David Tagliapietra, Roberto Grippi, Claudio Cairoli, Oliver Moore, Norman Wijker (vid Skype), Magnus Clarke, Duncan MacLane, Will Clark, Jaremie Lagarrigue, Stephane Dyen, Steve Clark & Benjamin Muyl' William Clark