Category: Uncategorized

Roger Badham (popularly known as the weather guru of team New Zealand) has recently and very bravely questioned the legitimacy of the boat that was utilized by USA team Oracle during the America’s Cup 2013.

Oracle was able to win the America’s Cup last year in spite of the good performance of team New Zealand. During the America’s Cup 2013 there were some speculations in relation to the boat utilized by team Oracle. However, team New Zealand did not pay that much attention to it.

Later on, team NZ protested against Oracle’s boat claiming that the team had used some automatic, computer-based and hydraulically powered stabilizing system that allowed the boat to be in a stable condition while gibing. But the protests were dismissed by the authorities on the basis of timing.

While giving an interview to the Australian online yachting magazine named Afloat.com.au, Badham highlighted the fact that team NZ’s Dean Barker struggled during the regatta to keep the boat stable. On the other hand, team Oracle’s captain- Jimmy Spithill was sailing his boat very conveniently.

One of the spokesmen of team Oracle stated that the article in the Australian magazine did not state any facts which were true and many incorrect assertions have been made in the article which seems to be ridiculous to a certain extent.

Concerns that were raised by Roger Badham during the interview have also been a part of the extensive review that was carried out by team New Zealand after its failure to win the 2013 America’s Cup.

Sir Stephen Tindall (director of team NZ) had hinted that a portion of the review will be released. However, it seems that the team New Zealand has decided not to make the review public as it consists of sensitive details which will turn out to be helpful for the rival team.

Two young boys have been arrested by police in link with a huge blaze that devastated a historical yacht club. According to reports, around 30 fire fighters fought through the whole evening to extinguish the fire at the Alexandra Yacht Club located in Clifton Terrace in Southend. A single chimney is all that stays as the immense fire reduced to ash.

Essex Fire and Rescue and Essex Police started a probe earlier this morning into the reason of the fire that was so fierce the house in Clifton Terrace got collapsed. In the meantime, 2 boys aged sixteen and seventeen, both from Westcliff, are presently being questioned by the police. They were caught on arson suspicion after being stopped by the police in Westcliff at around 3 am.

The hundred and thirty year old club house that has been shut down and would be torn down because of subsidence was well ablaze at around 11.45 pm previous night. Fire crews from 6 engines spent the next 2 hours eliminating the flames from the Royal Terrace with an aerial ladder when police shut down either side of the road there as well as the pavements on the Western Esplanade.

Fire officers as well as police officers have had yet to wait till day light to start an investigation into the matter as the ground is too unstable for investigating officers to be carried out in darkness. Steve Parker, the station officer and incident commander, stated that the fire started in Alexandra Yacht Club on Southend seafront just before midnight on Saturday evening. The building was derelict and was situated on the side of the cliff on stilts.

As the excited people throng the streets of Monaco the port Hercule dresses up once more for the most fabulous yacht show of the season. The luxurious witnesses of prosperity and success adorn the harbours. But there is something special in the sir this year. The Solar 1 races and Vripack are combining the most hyped about Formula One craze and the yacht show to launch the first ever solar-powered yacht Grand Prix at the solar one race. This is set to take place from July 10 to July 12 in Monaco.

This race began in Holland eight years ago, then known as the Dong energy solar challenge. It comprised of two levels, first the hobby level cruising class and then the professional yachting class, whose cost made it almost prohibitory for most of the entrants. So after competing for three years in a row in the hobby level cruising class, Vripack decided to come up with a third level, that would judge the expertise of the skipper and not the boat builder. They would be tested on a fair and uniform platform. For this purpose they came up with the V20 series. When compared (on the plain sailing facebook page) to the Navy vessels Vripack make “there’s not that much boat” Droogsma has been quoted saying. And why not? While a fully equipped yacht may take over a year to build the 19 foot V20 takes only six weeks, because it lacks the complex on-board systems.

The boat has a molded carbon shell and as many solar panels as feasible as this is the prime source of energy for the yacht. Set to reach a maximum of 18mph. It comes for a mere 55,000 Euros where as a professional yacht can cost as much as 130,000 Euros. So a mere compromise in the top-speed seems acceptable especially when there’s no cost for fuel.

Latvia has reportedly emerged victorious at Yachting Russia championship this time. The regatta was held last week with j/80 International on-design sportsboats.

It was the 9th edition of the Yachting Russia championship which is hosted by Fraglia Velva Riva, one among the oldest of yachting clubs from Europe. The race is meant for Russian-speaking sailing community.

Around sixty athletes from Ukraine, Russian, Latvia, Italy, Germany and Belarus were distributed into 11 squads for the race. The championship allows each of the skippers to pick 1 crew member from all the participants & the remaining crew is decided by a lottery. Given such a selection method, each squad is somehow forced to get involved in team training, organization  & a unified team-work culture. The winner is the squad which shows up with great team work with least mistakes. It’s quite a unique and fun format leading to amazing camaraderie & fun parties among the team members as sun sets.

The initial 3 days feature an unusual ambience for Lake Garda with lighting, heavily overcast sky & variable breeze blowing from all wind direction. However, it was the harmonious and accurate operation on part of the racing committee that finally enabled the sailors to take part in forty0three matches to decide the top 4 crews. It was followed by semi-final meetings & selection of championship participants & consolation finals.

Since the very start of the championship, the participants have shown signification escalation of skill. The final day of the race featured the perfect ambience with the shining sun and nice wind. The finalists had quite an intense fight and finally it was Riga’s Sergey Pervushkin who won the honor for Latvia on Baltic Sea. Russian sailor Sergey Ezhikoy came second while it was Dmitry Zaritsky who was the second runner-up.

With the 2013 season coming to a close the sailors would be welcomed to the new season with some changes in 2014. The regulatory bodies have come to a conclusion that there needs to be some change for this year and the changes are for the better sailing. One of the most important changes that will be seen is the percentage of fuel sulfur which should be 1000 ppm.

This would help to reduce the airborne particulate matter resulting in less emission of sulfur dioxide. According to the Load Line Convention the southern limit of the allover load will soon be moved by 50 miles towards the south which would give more room to the yachts and ships to pass from the allocated area. Previously this was always planned but it was not incorporated but from this year it will be taken care of and it will help the sailors a lot.

Apart from this there will be some other changes as well such as the length of the yacht can be changed and each yacht will be able to have either a shore based support or an onboard stability computer that would be having more than three vertical fire zones.

There will be changes in the fire safety systems as well and as per the changes that have been made a yacht can only have a radiotelephone apparatus that too in the two way portable mode so that it becomes easier for the firefighter’s communication. The communication will be done via radio and the radios should be intrinsically safe with explosion proof facility. In addition to this the yacht should also have some spare cylinders with a facility for onboard recharging and breathing apparatus cylinder. Changes in the noise level are also been looked into but the definite information about this has not yet been updated.

The 50- to 115- feet motor yachts by the Pershing has now been joined in by a new member the Pershing 62. The Pershing 62 has brought with it ZF SeaRex drives that is helping the motor yacht to give a sublime performance. However, before onlookers notice all that, seems like they would be absolutely pre engaged wondering how does the Pershing 62 look so amazing. Yes the Pershing 62 looks that great and has a handling capacity that is even better.

Pershing has been designing, producing as well as marketing luxury motor yachts for almost 30 years now. It is one of the leading brands in the sector of Made in Italy fibreglass open yachts. Their ranges of yachts have always shown superior performance, consistent development in style, best quality materials, the best designed interiors along with incomparable comfort. The Pershing 62, too, showcases the same style and beauty, in fact even better, than what the shipyard has been providing for years.

Spectators will especially be fond of the swim platform of the yacht. The swim platform is about half the depth of what you would usually see in the Pershing range of yachts. The extra space in the Pershing 62, has been used for a tender garage. The garage lifts up, and the centre section of the swim platform drops. Thus, a personal slipway is created. This surely is a super nifty plan that has been implemented by the developers. Apart from the swim platform, another element that is sure to catch glances in the ingenious salon door and window. First the window will retract below decks, following which the door will move to the centreline. It also drops down, thus giving an unhindered access to the open cockpit.

The automatic trip system helps the Pershing 62 to rise into plane with almost no fuss. The speed performance of the yacht has amazing smoothness. Its standard engines are a pair of 1,381-hp MTU Series 2000 diesels.

With the dust settling down and the Cup World waiting for the 35^th America’s Cup protocol, the architect of the 34^th edition of the Cup spoke exclusively to Yachting World about the thoughts and ideas for the upcoming event.

The CEO of Oracle Team USA, Russell Coutts has been working relentlessly for defining the boundaries of the 35^th America’s Cup and has been meeting representatives of the Hamilton Island Yacht Club, which has emerged as the challenger of the record and also the other potentials teams. Though nothing has been finalized yet, there is a shared vision about the event that is soon approaching and that will build on the success of the 34^th edition of the Cup.

Talking to the magazine regarding the cots, Coutts said that America’s Cup is a unique event and is right there at the zenith of the yachting sport world but it does not require to be more sustainable as far as the cost is concerned. He said that the cost versus the potential revenues that will be earned by the clients have been far out and there is a sincere effort to close this gap and finally reverse the trend where cost exceeds the revenue. He further said that this time he was expecting and hoping to reduce the cost to two third of what it was the last time around.

As far as the participating teams were concerned, Coutts said that in his opinion it was always better to look for quality than quantity. Right now there were four teams from the AC 34 which are active and there is also the Australian challenger of record. So, the Cup will see five top quality teams and he was hopeful that the number might increase. He said that it would really be great to have a team from Asia.

Sailing is the art of propulsion of a vehicle, usually a ship, in the water. Sailing involves travelling from one point to another using the medium of the sea or ocean. For this purpose, fabric is used to direct the ship. The direction and speed of the ship can be managed by changing the rigging and keel of the ship.

Although it is not fully effective and easy to operate, sailing was used in olden times for travelling purposes. Even today, sailors use this mechanism to propel the ship. Modern technology has replaced sailing with more effective and easy to control methods. The biggest problem with sailing is that it is more or less weather dependent. One has to depend on the air current and its direction. The strength of the current also plays a factor. It is not easy to move the fabric or change the tension, because the equipments are rigid and difficult to move.

However, with the advent of technology, the fabric and keel could be moved with some ease. Today, internal engines are used to run ships. The engines are very efficient in use and are dependable. This is the reason why people prefer them over sailing equipments. Sailing is only limited to recreational and sports purposes. There are racing competitions held, which involve sailing. In spite of the limited scope, sailing is looked at as an activity to perform with friends. This has given rise to companies which provide sailing instruments to interested people. With the growing interest of enthusiastic sailors, sailing is becoming popular in areas close to water bodies. Tourists visiting these places are made aware about sailing and are given facilities to enjoy sailing. This has resulted in the promotion of sailing as a sport and recreational activity. Countries like America and Greece are the places where the popularity of sailing is growing.