Oman Sail on their experience at the Grand Prix Guyader

From the following article submitted to Sail-World by Oman Sail:

http://www.sail-world.com/Asia/Grand-Prix-Guyader---Omani-sailors-step-up-their-learning-curve/121880

Oman Sail’s flagship campaign, Musandam-Oman Sail, got the racing season off to a flying start in Douarnenez last weekend at the Grand Prix Guyader with a majority Omani crew onboard for the first time.

As a first regatta on the MOD70 since the Transat Jacques Vabre last November, the objectives were to learn the boat and to continue developing the Omani sailors that make up the MOD70 and M34 squad for 2014, in a race environment.

The format with its stadium racing and speed runs was the perfect platform for some swift learning and a good warm up towards the next phase of the Grand Prix which kicks off today onboard the M34. The M34 fleet includes a number of Oman Sail’s closest rivals for the Tour de France a la Voile so will prove a useful benchmark event.

read more here

'2014 Grand Prix Guyader - Musandam-Oman Sail'    Jacques Vapillon ©

Radikal T26 trimaran design, first test sail

The recently launched Radikal T26 foil assist trimaran design has been out for it's first test sail.  This new entry into the trailerable trimaran field comes from the pen of Phil Roulin of Perspective yacht design:

There is also a short video of the boat sailing on the Radikal T26 facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1464448207125403

Spindrift Racing update, latest video in the "40 metres solo" series covers the autopilot installation and function on Spindrift 2

From the associated article on Spindrift Racing's website:

http://www.spindrift-racing.com/2014/05/spindrift-racing-series-40-metres-solo-episode-14-the-autopilots/

Designed for crewed sailing, the maxi-trimaran Spindrift 2 has never had autopilot. A small revolution has taken place on board since the decision to compete in the Route du Rhum. It is a fact that, sailing solo, Yann cannot be on the helm 24 hours a day. He has to sleep, and eat, but he also has to set the sails, make manoeuvres, or work on the computer on board, so, needless to say that without an autopilot, sprinting solo across the Atlantic would be impossible. But it took some ingenuity to devise a system suitable for a machine of this size. Meet Yoann le Quintrec, ‘Mr Pilot’ from Spindrift racing.

“The racing boats like those in the Vendée Globe or our future opponents in the Ultimate Class on the La Route du Rhum mostly use hydraulic pilots with actuators that operate the rudders,” Le Quintrec says. “That was an option that we had to discard because everything is supersized on board Spindrift 2 and there was no system that allowed us to have a strong enough lever arm. So, we had the idea of ​​studying electrical pilots developed for large multihull cruisers. It was an idea that soon proved worthwhile.”

 

read more here

Sodebo Ultime trimaran, Out of the shed at Multiplast

From the following press release (in French) by the Sodebo Team:

http://www.sodebo.fr/voile/actualites/article/grand

And the rough bing translate below:

In the great outdoors!

 

Metamorphosis lasted more than a year. A chrysalis away from the eyes during which the trimaran Geronimo of Olivier de Kersauson became Sodebo Ultim', the new weapon of the solitary sailor Thomas Coville.

 

The end of construction approach. Today, the 'beast' has passed through the doors of the hangar Multiplast in Vannes and met the rays of the Sun. The size is impressive and three slender hulls elongate a modern and aggressive silhouette. The work is not completed. Sodebo team do not release pressure, well instead. There is still a thousand details to finish and a few days to work outdoors on the banks of the Gulf of Morbihan before putting the boat in the water.

How will more than 30 metres long and more than 20 of wide but do it alone on such a machine? The question has not finished to be posed by those who discover this new Member of the ultimate class that will start on the Route du Rhum in November. For the skipper who has 20 years of multihull behind him and two circumnavigations of the globe single-handed at the helm of his previous trimaran Sodebo, this birth marks the beginning of a new adventure to his measure, in agreement with his experience and ambitions.

"When I think back to this day of March 2013 we went seek Geronimo on his platform to Brest...Need to project and believe it," remembers the skipper. "Very soon, we had numbers in mind, shapes, volumes, we imagined a new central hull, drawn from new fronts of floats. With the entire team involved in this project, we have created a boat that became ours over the weeks and months of construction."

Lord passionate enthusiasm of steel, Thomas viewing Sodebo Ultim' as if it were the first: "I could tell me: still a boat, one, the desire could erode home and although not, when hulls was unmasked after painting and I've seen the platform as a whole, it was a great moment." And treading the net for the first time, I felt the same emotion when we had turned Jet Services in Commodore Explorer (1990s). Today I have this same collective pride in having dared."

 

Picture Fred Morin/Sodebo

 

Sodebo voile - Thomas Coville : teaser... by sodebo-voile

And the modifications in an animated form:

Extreme Sailing Series, video of fourth and final day of racing in Qingdao

Radikal T26 trimaran hull#1 launched

It looks like the first shakedown cruise will be this week.

More details at Perspective designs website:

http://www.perspective-design.com/Trimaran-Radikal-26ft-full-carbon.html#.U2bRzTiKDrc

and you can follow the latest news on their facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trimaran-Radikal-T26/1410096839227207

Philippe Presti of Team Oracle USA interviewed by Vsail

From the following article on Vsail.info:

http://www.vsail.info/2014/05/03/philippe-presti-coach-of-oracle-team-usa-talks-to-vsail-info/

It is clearly evident that mastering the art of foiling will be a key in the America’s Cup, at least for the foreseeable future. Who better to talk about foiling yachts, of all types and sizes, than the French coach of the America’s Cup Defender, Oracle Team USA:

VSail.info: You have been foiling a lot lately and a few days ago you took your maiden sail on a Moth. How was the experience?
Philippe Presti: It was good fun. It was just my first try and it was very interesting. It’s a very small boat but I have already ordered one, in order to learn and figure out how to set it up and rig it. It’s very complex and if you don’t fine tune the foiling and the angles you aren’t going to make it. I went to the training camp with the Swiss team and we had a great training session.

read more here

Extreme Sailing Series, Video of Day 3 of Racing in Qingdao

Extreme Sailing Series, video of day 2 of racing in Qingdao

2013 Rolex Fastnet race, a great video covering the race in detail

Extreme Sailing Series, strong and gusty conditions challenge Extreme 40 crews on second day of competition in Qingdao

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

http://www.extremesailingseries.com/news/view/full-pressure-day-as-the-extreme-40-fleet-battle-huge-gusts-on-the-qingdao#.U2QjeK-KDrc

It was a full pressure day as the fleet moved into the stadium racing mode at the Land Rover Extreme Sailing Series™ in Qingdao, described by the skippers as ‘radical’, ‘full-on’, ‘unpredictable’ and gnarly’, with gusts up to 32 knots weaving their way through the surrounding skyscrapers like bullets screaming across the stadium racecourse. The racing was right on the edge, and the teams used all their strength to muscle their speed machines expertly around the track, tackling a huge wind range of over 20 knots. The experience of both Alinghi and The Wave, Muscat was evident, and the teams relished today’s big breeze as much as yesterday’s light winds, remaining first and second respectively, while one first and two second places for the Kiwis on Emirates Team New Zealand upgraded their overall position to third, ahead of tomorrow’s penultimate day’s racing.

There was plenty of hull flying, bows down and extremely close mark rounding’, with the fleet reaching top speeds of 25 knots as they tried to predict the huge wind shifts which saw the breeze go from 10 to 32 knots in a second. Before racing, Race Management made the call to split the fleet, first into groups of eight, and then groups of four, to minimize the chance of collisions on the tight race track. Leigh McMillan, skipper of The Wave, Muscat who is out to defend his title in Qingdao, commented: “We like it when the breeze is up, today was pretty radical. Gusts and big shifts is quite a handful. But we’re happy to have made it through the day with no big collisions which is great - it was pretty full on out there.”

read more here

A short highlights video from day 2 in Qingdao:

The first production F-22 trimaran designs shipping from Farrier Marine and F-33 trimarans from Multihulls direct being delivered

The first F-22 production trimarans are leaving the Farrier Marine factory.  A complete F-22 trimaran and trailer can be packed into a single 40' container.  More details here in the May 1st entry:

http://www.f-boat.com/pages/News4/FM-Factory2014.html

The F-33 trimarans that have been constructed in the Multihulls Direct facility in the Phillipines are also being delivered now.  These are a custom/semi production design and in this case built to a kit stage for the final fitout to be carried out by the owner, the finish looks excellent.

more detail and photos here:

http://www.f-boat.com/pages/News4/F-33Update1.html

Extreme Sailing Series update, day 1 of Qingdao event presents light conditions and tactical racing

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

http://www.extremesailingseries.com/news/view/testing-light-winds-on-day-one-as-the-home-team-make-best-ever-debut-by-an#.U2KD0q-KDrc

- Start line collision between Oman Air and GAC Pindar see the Omani team knocked out before racing even begun and with a long night of repairs in the pitlane ahead.
- Team Extreme Qingdao has best ever start for a home nation invitational team, challenging the more experienced crews to finish day one in third place.
- Alinghi dominate in the testing conditions, staking an early 14-point lead over second placed The Wave, Muscat.
- Series Main Partner Land Rover strengthens its commitment to the Extreme Sailing Series™ with the new Above and Beyond Award. Read more here.

Racing began in China’s Olympic sailing city today at the Land Rover, Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3 Qingdao, for the ‘Double Star Mingren’ Cup, where five different race winners emerged from the eight races sailed, in a day that saw the fleet struggle for consistency and the leaderboard reshuffle after every race. On the open water racecourse, the Swiss team Alinghi dominated in testing light winds and strong tide, to edge ahead on the leaderboard at the end of day. But it was the local boat, Team Extreme Qingdao, who will be grabbing the headlines tonight after an outstanding debut performance sees the team in third place at the end of day one - the best ever performance by a home nation invitational team.

Unfortunately for Oman Air, their day was over before it had a chance to begin, after a collision with GAC Pindar in the start line tussle of the first race left the team with severe damage to their port hull, forcing them back to the pit lane. Rob Greenhalgh, skipper of Oman Air - who has welcomed the talents of America’s Cup winner Kyle Langford to the team this week - explained what happened: “Just after the start of the first race, GAC Pindar tacked onto port and misjudged the dip on us and T-boned us pretty hard – we have a pretty big hole in the side of the boat. These things happen unfortunately. The shore guys will work hard tonight and get the boat ready for racing tomorrow. We will lick our wounds and be back. It’s a disappointment – we were pumped to race.”  The team will be given a redress and will likely be awarded average points from their races over the next two days by the international jury.

read more here

Extreme Sailing Series update, Results from Day one of racing in Qingdao, China

Spindrift Racing update, this edition of 40 metres solo covers the load sensors installed on Spindrift 2