Rogers 46 - drei IRC-Turbos in der Ostsee

In diesem Jahr bebt die Ostsee. Und so soll es auch bleiben. Der Designer Simon Rogers hat hat mit der Rogers 46 einen Hochsee-Cruiser/Racer gezeichnet (bei den Cockpits wohl mit deutlich mehr Racer als Cruiser in der Blutbahn), der dank hohem Ballastanteil sehr steif und seetüchtig ist, leicht zu handeln und ein enormes Geschwindigkeitspotential hat (es wurden von David Aishers YEOMAN XXXII knapp 32 kn Speed vor dem Wind berichtet).

Die drei Rogers 46 DANEBURY (Bau-Nr. 1, 2005, links im Bild oben), gerade von Jens Kellinghusen (Hamburg/NRV) erworben, YEOMAN XXXII (Bau Nr. 2, 2006, oben rechts) von RORC Commodore David Aisher und GUTS'N GLORY (Bau Nr. 4, 2008, oben mitte) von Christopher Wuttke (Bückeburg/NRV), messen sich derzeit beim Baltic Sprint Cup. In der Klasse Racer1 (IRC) liegen die drei nach 5 Etappen entgegengesetzt zu ihrem Alter mit GUTS'N GLORY auf Platz 3, YEOMAN XXXII auf Platz 2 und DANEBURY auf Platz 1. Die Elliott 52 OUTSIDER von Tilmar Hansen hat sich lange zwischen der Dreieriege auf Platz 3 nach IRC gehalten und ist erst ganz am Ende auf Platz 4 verwiesen worden. Bemerkenswert übrigens, dass OUTSIDER als Canting Keel-Yacht berechnet direkt bei den drei Festkielyachten liegt. Die verschiedenen Kieltypen werden von der IRC-Formel offenbar gut erfasst.
Bei den Rogers liegt also nicht der neuste Bau vorn, sondern die erfahrenste Crew. Im Bild rechts sieht man bei YEOMAN (links in grün) die Länge des Bugspriets gut, GUTS'N GLORY (mitte) ist auch damit ausgerüstet, hat ihn aber eingefahren, DANEBURY fährt mit konventionellem Spinnakerbaum. Entsprechend niedrig ist das IRC-Rating der DANEBURY mit 1,270. YEOMAN hat 1,278, GUTS'N GLORY 1,284. Der Unterschied im Rating der beiden neueren Booten mit Rüssel liegt vor allem in den Segelflächen.

Wir werden diese Hochseerenner weiter beobachten. Damit hat es endlich eine neue Generation von Designs in unsere Gewässer geschafft, die Hochsee-und Langstreckentauglichkeit mit Spaß und ungehemmter Geschwindigkeit verbinden.

Ein ganz herzlicher Dank geht an Nico Krauss, der die drei Rogers 46 in Danzig für Lobster One eingefangen hat.

MCCONNELLS CHIEFTAIN - Ger O'Rourkes VOR70-Projekt vor dem Aus?

Irlands Green Dragon Team hatte wohl am wenigsten mit Konkurrenz aus dem eigenen Hinterhof gerechnet. Ger O'Rourke hatte sich die alte ABN AMRO ONE gekauft und machte einige Schlagzeilen als das sympatische Underdog-Team, das es mit dem verlässlichen Gewinner des Volvo Ocean Race 2005/06 gegen die neue Riege der VOR70 antreten wollte (Lobster One berichtete am 20. Juni).

Kurz vor dem Start zum stürmischen BMW Round Ireland Yacht Race verhinderte ein Loch im Rumpf die Teilnahme (Lobster One vom 24. Juni - Ger O'Rourkes VOR70 beschädigt). Seit dem wurde die Yacht umfassend mit einem neuen Kiel, neuer Elektronik, neuem Deckslayout etc. ausgerüstet, um der neuen VOR70-Regel zu entsprechen. Ger O'Rourke fehlen weitere € 2 Mio zu einem € 4 Mio Budget, das er alleine nicht stemmen kann. Bis zum nächsten Freitag wird er noch weitere Anstrengungen bei der Suche nach Sponsoren machen, aber die wirtschaftliche Lage scheint für solche Sponsoringaktivitäten wenig hilfreich.

Wir drücken Ger und der Kampagne weiter die Daumen.

[Quelle: Irish Times - David O'Brien]

Transpac '08 Tahiti Race - der schmale Schuh

Das Transpac Tahiti Race war neben allen sportlichen Leistungen auch ein Treffen von Klassikern, den klassischen California Sleds, die federführend von Bill Lee (Santa Cruz Yachts) und Alan Andrews (Andrews Yachts) entwickelt wurden, um den langen Vorwindsgängen und vorherrschend leichten Winden vor der kalifornischen Küste möglichst wenig Gewicht entgegenzusetzen. Magels leichter Materialen griff man damals zu besonders schmalen Designs. Das Bild von Ragtime oben zeigt sehr schön das extreme Läange/Breite-Verhältnis. Dazu muss man sagen, dass Ragtime keine Plastikzigarre der 90er ist, sondern 44 Jahre auf dem Buckel hat und ganz aus Holz gebaut ist.
An unserer Küste gab die Santa Cruz 50 mod. NORDDEUTSCHE VERMÖGEN HAMBURG (Baujahr 1990) einen Blick auf das Design dieser Zeit. Ihre aktuelle Nachfolgerin (Andrews 56) ist bereits deutlich breiter, weil ihre Gewichtsersparnis durch den Carbonrumpf erreicht wurde und nicht mehr an den Maßen gespart werden muss.

Hier noch Rich Roberts Epilog zum Transpac Tahiti '08:

July 25, 2008 - Epilogue

Ragtime, Mag 80 relive Tahiti Race; next one in 2012

LOS ANGELES---For Chris Welsh a victory, for Doug Baker a record, and both accomplished what they set out to do in the Transpacific Yacht Club's 13th Tahiti Race.

"First overall on our bucket is pretty neat," said Welsh, reflecting on the hard-earned handicap honors his 44-year-old classic wooden ocean racer Ragtime achieved to earn engraved immortality on the Fritz Overton Perpetual Trophy at the Tahiti Yacht Club.

And Baker, whose four-year-old Magnitude 80 speedster ripped about 3 1/2 days off Kathmandu's 1994 elapsed time record in 11 days 10 hours 13 minutes 18 seconds (average speed 13.0 knots), said, "When you have a boat like this, any record is always your goal."

But Baker also said, "It's an adventure, not just a race."

According to organizers and all who participated after a 14-year hiatus, the event was not at all diminished by having a fleet of only four boats---and, in fact, enhanced immensely by the hospitality of their Tahitian hosts at the finish.

"They couldn't have done better for us," race chairman Dave Cort said.

So much so that the TPYC directors voted this week to do it again in 2012.

The memories will forever warm the souls of the 37 who sailed the 3,571 nautical miles to French Polynesia, defeating the Doldrums, crossing the equator, dealing with breeze sometimes big, often baffling, suffering drenching rain Text Box: "Compared to doing Tahiti, Hawaii is a walk in the park." --- Chris Welsh and dark nights but also marveling at dazzling constellations of stars from the Big Dipper to the Southern Cross, fore and aft.

Mag 80 got the record---no surprise there---but the other three boats took well-deserved bows. Boat for boat, Ragtime and Bob Lane's 17-year-old Andrews 63, Medicine Man---both significantly modified from their original forms---also beat the record. Jim Morgan's much smaller, 26-year-old Santa Cruz 50, Fortaleza, corrected out second overall to Ragtime and logged the race's sixth best elapsed time ever (16:15:36:50), faster than all but Kathmandu and Sorcery in their two-boat race in '94.

"We had a great fleet," Baker said. "There were only four boats but they all finished, and in a race like that you could easily have a problem, so there's a lot to be said for all of them, especially Ragtime."

Indeed, Ragtime had a boatload of problems, including a worrisome wobbly keel to a torn main sail---blown-out sails were common among the fleet---to a ruptured gooseneck to a disabled engine, which cost them power for their electronics until they strapped a small, noisy auxiliary motor to a grinder post. It all created a challenge for an eight-person crew consisting entirely of Pollywog rookies, who included Genny Tulloch, 23, of Morning Light distinction and perhaps the race's youngest participant ever, Daniel Caponetto, 16.

Click here to view Ragtime's race video clips.

"I was very happy with the crew's performance," Welsh said, "because where the breakdowns get you is in the morale of the crew. Everybody held up very well and worked well together to get things taken care of. We lost a quarter-knot of speed the whole time [the main sail] was down. Genny is a very strong driver and dedicated to the effort, and tireless, and at [Daniel's] age it's unusual to have the patience and the drive and stamina to make it all the way through. I think being immersed in an older crowd brought his game up."

Caponetto, recruited only a week before departure, had sailed on Ragtime twice before---about 3,500 miles before, on deliveries back from Hawaii last summer and from San Francisco to Long Beach.

"That was part of my confidence in him," Welsh said.

Welsh had recently installed a modern fin-and-bulb keel on the boat, and on the second day out Mark Ivey was startled to feel a small stream of water squirting up on him as he emerged from his bunk. Two keel bolts had worked loose and pushed up through the deck.

"You could feel [the keel] move with your hand," Welsh said. "It wasn't a leak, per se, but it would squirt when there was a lot of pressure when we were heeling."

He managed to secure it somewhat from inside and informed race headquarters of the problem but requested it be kept confidential so as not to worry the folks at home. Fortaleza, the nearest boat about a day away, also was alerted, just in case.

A few days later Ragtime sailed thought the middle of tropical storm Boris and found winds up to 37 knots.

Then, Welsh said, "We went through the eye where the winds were 15 knots in about 2 1/2 hours."

Their main tore apart near the top 106 miles from the finish; they patched it back together with sheets of Stickyback.

And still they were racing. The four boats were diverse in design and performance, but it was a contest to see if Mag 80 could cover the handicap time it owed its rivals.

Welsh said, "I just wonder what would have happened if they'd chosen our route. When we made that first jibe [south into the Doldrums] we were the breakout boat. That's what paid off for us. They were far west of us, but when we were going south we were matching them on latitude mile by mile. For a while they were in lighter breeze so we actually had a few six-hour runs where we put miles on them."

Last summer Ragtime sailed the 2,225 nautical miles in the Transpac to Hawaii in just under 12 days. Tahiti, half-again as far, took less than three days longer.

But, Welsh said, "Compared to doing Tahiti, Hawaii is a walk in the park … yeah, 12 light-air days where the boat is flat and nothing broke and it's all easy, versus [14 3/4] days, eight days of which we didn’t see sun or stars and it was blowing 25 to 30 knots the whole time, [and] the boat's heeled over because you're reaching really hard, so getting around the boat you’re a monkey the whole time . . . [and] everything in the world broke."

Ragtime also had an anxious moment when one of its crew seemed to be stricken with appendicitis, which may have just been dehydration.

Welsh said, "It was a tension-filled race for me, trying to be skipper, navigator and head boat maintenance person [Ed.—not to mention e-mail writer to those at home]. My sleep patterns are still messed up. There's more re-entry after this race because it's a little longer and harder and you're more alone. This race you know you're on your own."

Four boats was the same number as sailed the first Tahiti Race 83 years earlier when the winner, L.A. Morris' 107-foot Mariner, took much longer than any of these four: 20 1/2 days. And now, more than ever, it's prohibitively expensive, time-consuming and demanding of crew members.

No wonder only 76 boats have ever done the race.

"They'd have 50 boats if it was easy," Baker said.

Next month Welsh will move Ragtime along to Tonga or Fiji and on to New Zealand in October where the sailing season in the boat's homeland starts. The Kiwis plan a colossal welcome. Delivery crews for Mag 80 and Medicine Man are making their way back to Long Beach via Hawaii, while Fortaleza will return on a Dockwise freighter.

The other sailors will scatter to the winds as new and envied members of a very exclusive sailing club: no longer Pollywogs but Shellbacks who have traversed zero latitude under sail.

Baker gave proper credit to his navigator, Ernie Richau---"He did a great job, as always … very under-rated"---and to Bob Lane, his Long Beach Yacht Club colleague who initially suggested it was time to do the race again.

"Bob Lane got it rolling and developed enough interest," Baker said. "Otherwise, who knows?"

Lane, home for a week, said, "I'm still tired. I just thought it was a good idea, and it was a good year for breeze. We had 1,200 miles with just a blast reacher and 12 to 18 knots of breeze, and that's all waterline [length], nothing to do with surfing. There was less wind in Southern California last weekend. It's a great race for big boats. If they had these 90- or 100-footers, they'd easily break [Mag 80's] record."

The race was organized by the TPYC and hosted by the Tahiti Yacht Club at the finish. It started in dense fog off Point Fermin at the edge of Los Angeles on June 22 and everyone finished not in South Pacific sunshine but at night.

"If you like ocean racing, if it comes up again, this is something you should consider," Baker said. "I mean, you only go around once. I'd never seen the Southern Cross."

Tahiti Race 2008 final results

1. Magnitude 80 (Andrews 80), Doug Baker, Long Beach, finished, elapsed time 11 days 10 hours 13 minutes 18 seconds (betters record of 14:21:15:26 by Kathmandu, Santa Cruz 70, Fred Kirschner, 1994); corrected time same.

2. Medicine Man (Andrews 63), Bob Lane, Long Beach, ET 13:08:35:23; CT 11:13:57:05.

3. Ragtime (Spencer 65), Chris Welsh, Newport Beach, ET 14:16:24:23; CT 10:22:11:18.

4. Fortaleza (Santa Cruz 50), Jim Morgan, Long Beach, 16:15:36:50; CT 11:05:20:23.

Das Foto aus dem Mast von RAGTIME hat Eric Berzins geschossen.

mcel Vasco da Gama Race - Maputo to Durban

Regatten in Afrika sind nicht immer das Hauptthema in unserer Segelpresse. Umso mehr erfreut mit 20 Teilnhemern die Länge der Starliste des mcel Vasco da Gama Race 2008 von Maputo (Mosambik) nach Durban (Südafrika). Der Start ist am 31. Juli. Organisiert wird die Regatta vom Royal Natal Yacht Club und dem Clube Naval de Maputo.
Die Hamburger Reederei MACS Shipping hat sich bereit erklärt, vier Boote in Kapstadt nach Durban zu verladen, um an der Regatta teilnehmen lassen zu können.

Hier einige Links:
- NoR
- Teilnehmerliste
- News

Transpac '08 Tahiti Race - Alle im Ziel

Inzwischen sind alle im Ziel, aber die Stories gehen weiter. Rich Roberts berichtet:

July 8, 2008 Polynesian sun sets on last Tahiti finisher tonight The sun is yet to shine on any finish in the Transpacific Yacht Club’s Tahiti Race, and Jim Morgan’s Fortaleza seemed likely to complete a nocturnal sweep Tuesday when it closes out the contest by crossing the line offshore from---appropriately---the Point Venus lighthouse near Papeete around midnight.

“Last day,” was the message from the boat. “Racing in for last call at the bar.”

For the race committee, it’s as anxious and sleep-depriving as waiting up for your daughter on her first late date, with one upside: “Gorgeous stars,” said Dave Cort, the race chairman from TPYC.

Meantime, the pause allowed time to reflect on Magnitude 80’s record run of 11 days 10 hours 13 minutes 18 seconds, in the words of navigator Ernie Richau, who charted the course for Doug Baker’s Andrews 80:

“The conditions were very similar to what we expected when we left. The start of the race was a typical Transpac start when we go to Hawaii and the Pacific High is down south. Typically we [follow] a course of around 200 degrees, and that’s what we did here, but at about Longitude 132.5, instead of continuing on to Hawaii, we jibed and headed south toward Tahiti.

“The weather was forecast. We got out past Catalina in about 10 knots of breeze and then began reaching in 20 to 24 knots of wind. After a day the wind started to free up and we went to our first spinnaker, and after another day we actually started running with our running spinnaker---a typical Hawaii race up to that point---until we jibed south to go to Tahiti.

“Once we jibed, we continued to run in 16 to 20 knots of wind. By that time we were into the [northeast] trade winds [and] the sail was very nice. The skies were very, very clear. It really was incredible.

“We ran all the way down to approximately 9 North Longitude as the weather continued to be fantastic, and then the wind started to lighten as we entered the ITCZ [Intertropical Convergence Zone, i.e. the Doldrums], which was about 5 North. For the three days prior, 140 West [Latitude] looked like a pretty good crossing, but within 12 hours before we got there it really changed. It was quite ominous the night we went into it . . . pitch black, very cloudy, one of the darkest nights we’d ever seen. We were reaching in maybe 12 knots of wind and we could see lightning strikes in the sky [above the area] we were sailing into. A big low [-pressure area] had flared up right in front of us, so it was a little slow there . . . wind from all directions through there, very light.

“It rained buckets in the ITCZ . . . very wet. At 3 or 4 North we were beating upwind. Once we got through that we were once again reaching, and the wind had shifted to the southeast trade winds and, as forecast, the wind had built from 10 knots up to about 20. We continued to sail in the southeast trades until we made our approach . . . reaching with a jib and a main or a jib, staysail and main in 15 to 20, until we approached the Mataiva atoll. We went within maybe a half-mile of the coast there. [Ed.: Mataiva was the second and last mark of the course, after Catalina.]

“This part of the race was a little different. A low had passed south of Tahiti, and that had softened the trade winds dramatically . . . maybe 8 to 12 the rest of the race from just north of Mataiva. [Tahiti was] like the pictures I’d seen of it where you could see the island from about 55 miles out with the tall mountains and the trade wind clouds.”

In finishing, Mag 80 set the pattern. It missed sundown by 2 or 3 hours on a moonless night. Otherwise, it was a good ride. “We probably did three to three-and-a-half days of the 11 days spinnaker sailing and the rest was reaching with jibs and genoas,” Richau said. A dozen of the crew, including Richau and Baker, had never sailed across the equator and thus graduated from Pollywogs to Shellbacks.

“Fantastic!” Richau exclaimed. “I’ve gotta tell you, this race is the best race I’ve ever done. You hit everything, and sailing out in the ocean and crossing the equator, there’s a lot more to it when you start doing that stuff, versus the Mexican races we do on the West Coast or Bermuda races on the East Coast. To go to Hawaii we do sail in the ocean---and that is real ocean racing---and when you throw the ITCZ into it, that really adds a big piece of the puzzle that makes it fun. I want to do this again. It was great.”

Blogs from the boats

Fortaleza: As Jim Brown summarized, "Another day, just like the last, only wetter." After we finished the reef as mentioned in my last post, we came back to course and continued to "slide on down the line." Lots of big waves on the beam and lots of sliding make for about 10 degrees of leeway. Somehow, even when it’s blowing 25 knots, we are still making 10 knots.

The night was beautiful again, makes you sad for what we've lost since electrifying our nights. Waxing crescent moon to starboard, the Milky Way to port and the Southern Cross on the bow ... now with some pretty good height. That's it ... getting a tad monotonous. Actually, got a dictionary here, let’s see … yup, third meaning, monotony: “beam reaching in the southeastern trades in the South Pacific ocean.”

Tahiti Race 2008 standings (boat for boat at 6 a.m. PDT Tuesday)

1. Magnitude 80 (Andrews 80), Doug Baker, Long Beach, finished, elapsed time 11 days 10 hours 13 minutes 18 seconds (betters record of 14:21:15:26 by Kathmandu, Santa Cruz 70, Fred Kirschner, 1994); corrected time same.

2. Medicine Man (Andrews 63), Bob Lane, Long Beach, ET 13:08:35:23; CT 11:13:57:05.

3. Ragtime (Spencer 65), Chris Welsh, Newport Beach, ET 14:16:24:23; CT 10:20:11:18.

4. Fortaleza (Santa Cruz 50), Jim Morgan, Long Beach, 238 miles in last 24 hours; 200 miles to go.

Mehr dazu beim Transpacific Yacht Club.

Der Dank für das Foto von MEDICINE MAN beim Zieldruchgang geht an Louis Laplane, für das von RAGTIME im nächtlichen Hafen an Dave Cort.

ERICSSON 4 - die flachste aller VOR70-Wannen

Harte Knicke im Rumpf statt gefälliger Kurven und "Spray Rails" sind wir von der neuen Generation von VOR70-Booten inzwsichen gewöhnt. Der Rumpf der neuen ERICSSON 4 hat einen so flachen Boden, dass der Designer Juan Kouyoumdjian sich die Rails sparte.

Das Foto von Oskar Kiehlborg/Ericsson Racing Team zeigt ERICSSON 4, als sie aus der Werft in Kista, Stockholm gerollt wird.

TELEFONICA AZUL wurde unterdessen auf Herz und Nieren geprüft. Um zu testen, ob die Hydraulikstempel den Canting Keel auch jeder für sich halten, wir das Boot mit angekipptem Kiel so weit gekrängt, dass der Kiel waagerecht zur Wasseroberfläche frei hängt. Auf dem Foto von Maria Muina/Equipo Telefonica ist die Spray Rail des Farr-Designs gut zusehen.
David Branigan/Oceansport fotografierte das irische GREEN DRAGON TEAM beim Training auf dem Solent. Das Reichel/Pugh-Design fährt ohne Landeklappen (oder was machen die Spray Rails doch gleich?) am Bug.
Das DRAGON im Namen kommt von dem neuen Titelsponsor, einem chinesischen Blue-Chip Händler. Wem bei "Green Dragon" Terry Pratchett einfällt, hat zu viel Fantasy inhaliert.

Einen Blick auf den von Humpreys gezeichneten Bug des russischen VOR70 KOSATKA zum Vergleich gibt es hier.

Rolex Commodores' Cup - GBR Red siegt, France Blue auf Platz 4

Team GBR Red holte sich mit insgesamt 122 Punkten vor Ireland White (144 Puntke) und Ireland Green (161 Punkte) den Sieg, die beide die Cup-Verteidiger France Blue noch am letzten Tag überholten und diese mit 166.5 Punkten auf den vierten Platz abrutschten.

GBR Red hatte sich am Vortag mit 3 ersten Plätzen so weit nach vorn gekämpft, dass ein zweiter Platz für FAIR DO'S VII in Klasse 1 (vor ANTIX EILE, Anthony O'Leary, Ireland White), ein neunter Platz für das Klasse 2 Boot QUOKKA 7 und ein vierter für ERIVALE III in Klasse 3 noch ausreichten, um die Spitzenposition zu halten.

Peter Rutter erkämpfte seinen Platz an diesem letzten Tag wohl am härtesten mit seiner QUOKKA 7, als er nach zwei Strafkringeln letztes Boot der Flotte war und am Ende gesegelt 12 Boote aus seiner Klasse wieder hinter sich ließ.

Der stürmischste Tag des Rolex Commodores' Cup mit über 30 kn Wind kostete einiges an Material und trug damit auch nochmal ganz anders zum Endergebnis bei. Bei Gery Trenteseauxs LADY COURRIER brach der Baum und rückte die Verteidigung des Cups in weite Ferne. SLAINTE, der Salona 37 von Frank Policky (Netherlands White), brach der Mast. Zahlreiche Sonnenschüsse gaben den anderen Chancen, Plätze gut zu machen.

Im Endergebnis schlug sich das Debutteam Hong Kong mit einer Grand Soleil 44, einer X 41 und einer J 109 beeindruckend auf den fünften Platz mit 180.5 Punkten, also nur 14 Punkte hinter den Cupverteidigern France Blue. Netherlands Red liegt mit seinem Team aus einer Swan 42, einer Grand Soleil 43 und einer Dehler 36 auch nicht viel weiter zurück. Die Dehler 36 ROSETTA FROM THE ROCKS kaufte der Niederländer Radboud Crul von einem Schweden, der das Boot ROSETTA getauft hatte. Nachdem er es von einer Schäre kratzen mußte, um es beim Verkauf zu übergeben, verewigte Radboud diesen Teil der Bootshistorie im Namen.

Hier geht es zu den
Einzelergebnissen
Teams
Newspage

Der Dank für die Fotos von FAIR DO'S VII (GBR Red, Ker 46), PAPREC RECYCLAGE (France Blue, Archambault 40 RC)/CONNECT LESONAL (Netherlands White, Sinergia 40) und ERIVALE III (GBR Red, Ker 39) geht an ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo.