ROUTE DU RHUM THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SAIL RACE?

Certainly not by the number of boats, "only" 91 on this edition but probably the biggest in public interest, even more than the Vendee Globe and there is a reason for that: This was the first Transat that said no to the ratting rules. Here you arrive first and you win. Simple as that. Yes I know they have introduced classes but that is not the same thing as ratting. Anyway that's one of the few races where they depart all at the same time and off course, independently of the classes the overall winner is the one that arrives first, even if the classification comes in classes.

http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2014_09_01_archive.html

Le Rhum, cap sur 2014 ! by routedurhum

On the first one, in 1978 there were no classes and it was the first Transat where you could race in a mono-hull or a multihull of any size for the win.  And the win went for a Multihull...but only by 98s after 23 days racing. That was really incredible!!! of course the Monohull was a lot bigger than the trimaran that won, but sizes are free on this race. 

You can pick the fastest mono-hull in a transat, that is certainly the new Comanche, and race it on this race on the class of monohulls bigger than 39ft (minimum size is the only limitation). There is a snag...someone would have to sail the huge Comanche solo :-)...because this is a solo race. Crazy? not more crazy then sailing on of the maxi trimarans solo (and they do it)...if someone has the balls and knowledge to do it and the rigging is adapted. Off course, probably you can count by the fingers of your hands the sailors that have the ability and the potential to do it and that is one of the things that make this race great: The boat counts but only the best have the ability to sail one of these monsters solo. Here the skipper counts more than in any other race. Just look at the size and speed of these boats.They have to be sailed by a solo master and they are all in this race, on different classes.

Yann Eliès sur Paprec Recyclage by routedurhum
Lionel Lemonchois sur Prince de Bretagne by routedurhum
Sodebo Ultim' - Thomas Coville : Objectif Route... by sodebo-voile

For me one of the most interesting boats racing are the Multi 50. They are very tricky boats to race, fast bur nervous and fragile. It's double interesting because in the end, specially if the weather is rough, their performance is very similar to the one of an Open 60. What normally happens is that just one or two manage to go faster on those conditions and it can happen that an Open 60 beats them all. As I say, they are fast but the risk of capsize is big, they are not that good upwind and have to have much more care not to break the boat than the guys on Open60's. Here you have them, being raced with a crew: look even with a crew how nervous these boats are. Really tricky for a solo sailor. To go really fast it has to be a very good one.

Multi50-2014 from Multi50 on Vimeo.
Sailing one of those solo is only for the best:
Actual - Yves Le Blevec by routedurhum
and then we have the well known IMOCA open 60's with all the stars from the Vendee Globe.

and the 40class, that here really looks like a promotional class. No, I know they are incredibly good sailors on those boats...except that they all want to go to one of the big ones and there are a reason why they have not arrive there yet...but the rising stars are all there, some coming from the mini racing. This racing is so interesting that an old legend could not resist to have a go at it.

Route du Rhum : Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, doyen... by OuestFranceFR
He is going to race an old Open6o. Because it is an old one does not race on the IMOCA category but on the category of monohulls bigger than 39ft. Off course the boat is old, but brand new when compared with him: 75 years and still racing with the best!!! Damn, how can he do that? Thumbs up for him ;-)

The race starts November 2 at 14.00 (French Time GT+1)
http://www.routedurhum.com/en/s01_home/s01p01_home.php

MALANGO 888 NEW TEST AND NEW VIDEOS WITH THE MOJITO 888.

I had posted recently about the Mojito 888:
http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2014/10/mojito-888-voile-magazine-boat-of-year.html
http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2014/10/on-water-rm-890-versus-mojitomalango.html

After having won the Voile magazine boat of the year contest the interest in the Mojito went up sharply and the boat has been tested by the other main French sailing magazines (Voile and Voiliers and Bateaux) and looking how the boat sailed on both occasions I bet we will continue to hear nice things about the boat. First a video with the boat being tested by Bateaux (very light wind) and then 3 others from the Voile and Voiliers test showing the boat sailing in medium wind in several points of sail:

The interest on the Mojito seems to make revive the interest on the Malango 888, basically the same boat with a different cabin and we have a new test, surprisingly by a British Magazine. It seems that on the last years finally the British, that have a more conservative approach regarding cruising boats, seem to be interested on the light fast and seaworthy cruising boats derived from the Ocean solo racer's hull concept.

The test is from Sailing Today. I did not like other test made by the magazine but this one is made by a new tester and what they say about the boat corresponds to the information I got about it, reading other test sails. It seems a good test to me. They say about the boat:

"The boats are drawn by Breton naval architect Pierre Rolland, who favours a purposeful plumb bow, hard chines and a wide stern. The racing pedigree is immediately obvious, and in fact, the design is derived from a singlehanded mini Transat racer. And yet, the boat’s raison d’etre is to provide a sporty sail for cruising sailors...It’s all about the pleasure of sailing,..

The techniques used to build the Malango are decidedly modern. Vacuum infusion spreads the resin evenly through the layers of fibreglass and honecomb-cell felt for the minimum weight.

..it’s worth noting a key feature of the boat, and one of its chief concessions to cruising: the transom includes a deep 2.1m recess which perfectly accommodates a 2.4m dinghy. Being low to the water, the cut out for this dinghy garage doesn’t intrude on the stern cabin, but forms part of the structure of the stern berth.

.. we scoot upwind at an easy 7 knots, heading some 40° off a true wind of 13 knots. Reaching up and down off the beach at nearby Port-la-Forêt, dodging waterskiers, we settle into a 7.8 knot lope and we hit 9 knots surfing back downwind flying the 75m2 symmetrical spinnaker. Although this is a sporty boat, she’s very well behaved, reluctant to broach (you can really feel the chine digging in aft) and therefore easily handled by one."

The genoa is on a furler and the sheeting point is controlled not by a traveller (keeping the side decks clear), but by the increasingly fashionable light eye on a Dyneema strop – a barber-hauler which can be pulled closer to the centreline or slacked off.

Verdict: At a touch under 30ft, the Malango 8.88 ..she has the heart, soul and the capabilities of a larger cruiser.... Her lithe, sporty lines and muscular performance mark her out from the many gaffer-likes produced in Britain – we simply don’t have an equivalent to the Malango that I’m aware of. She’s fast, but stable and easy to handle, making her good for family cruising or outings with friends. She’s been designed to a firm cruising brief, with the ability to dry out easily on sand – perfect for her native Brittany and with a few modifications – renewables, watermaker, extra electronics – she’d make a capable, but cosy, bluewater cruiser. That’s why she’s able to make a European Category A rating and indeed one of the 11 boats built so far has crossed the Atlantic to the Caribbean".

http://www.sailingtoday.co.uk/boats/big-boat-review/melango-88-8-review-test/

They also have made a video of the test:

COMANCHE: FIRST SAILING VIDEO OF WHAT IS SUPPOSEDLY THE FASTEST MONOHULL

I confess that I have mixed feelings about Comanche, the new Maxi designed by Van Peteghem Lauriot Prévost (VPLP) and Guillaume Verdier: It looks enormous, not only a big sailboat but a huge sailboat, incredibly beamy and needing a very numerous crew. Anything but elegant to my eyes. I like monohulls but I have to admit that if Comanche is the way to go in what regards race monohulls, I find much more elegant the maxi trimarans, that are even faster.

On the video we can see how fast the boat goes downwind but also how surprisingly wet is and not even on big seas. I would have expected a 100ft racer to be less wet.

I can't wait for the next Sydney Hobart where Comanche will measure forces, in a race that is not predominantly a downwind race, with some of the fastest Maxis. I have no doubt that the Comanche is the fastest monohull downwind, but in what regards racing upwind in nasty seas, I have some doubts. That's why I think the next Sydney Hobart will be so interesting

LIFE 7.5: COMPARED WITH SAPHIER 27 AND SEASCAPE 27

Some years ago when I saw the first designs of the 7.5 (Dieter Blank) I was not very impressed mainly with the transom design that seemed to me too sharp on the transition allowing not enough heel upwind. Well maybe I was right if we consider absolute performance but it will make the boat easier to sail solo or with a short crew and easier to explore by a non expert crew.

Anyway the photos and movies showing the boat sailing through the water gave no doubt: this is a very fast boat and one that will not be only at ease in lakes but also in semi protected waters and that transom works very well limiting heel and don't seem to limit much performance.

The hull is moderate in what regards beam (2.5m) that is like on the Seascape 27.The Saphire 27 with more 0.5m in lenght has the same beam and the Seascape 27 has more 0.4cm. The Life 7.5 has a deep swing keel (0.75/2.00) with a very high B/D ratio (47%). The Seascape 27 with a similar keel has only 42% and it is a very stiff boat.The Life 7.5 should be even stiffer and the sail power: HUGE.

The hull design is closer with the one from  Seascape than with the one from Saphire. Like the Seacape it has all beam pulled back, a swing keel and two rudders. Even considering that the boat is 0.5m shorter the weight is impressive, specially if we consider the superior B/D ratio : only 1000kg while the Saphire has 1300kg and the Seascape 1370kg. 

Regarding sail the Life 7.5 carries upwind 43m2 (Saphier 44m2, Seascape 48m2). A huge sail area on a lighter boat as a result of that impressive stiffness given not only by the hull form stability (that is maximized on this type of hull) and by that impressive B/D ratio, specially in a 25ft boat with 2.00m draft. Even if stiff such a big sail are should imply a great performance in light winds but the need to reef in medium winds.

Slightly smaller the boat shares the Saphire 27 and Seascape 27 program: Daysailing, weekend cruising and regatta program with some offshore capability. Between the three (money considerations apart) I would chose without hesitation the Life 7.5 by a simple reason: Gorgeous boat, beautifully made and with cracking details.

 But that's me, to whom beauty is important, and no doubt the Life 7.5 is a beautiful thing...with a snag. For keeping it beautiful you have to sail it without an engine, even an outboard because contrary to the other two this one has not a dedicated space to put an outboard inside the boat (on a well) and with an outboard stinking outside the Life 7.5 the beauty is gone.

In what regards that aspect the Seascape 27 wins easily since it is the one that can carry the bigger engine and have that way much more flexibility while cruising. That makes it the one that will be able to be at ease in more situations, the one with the wider program. But who says that beautiful things has to be practical? .... love is blind and I just love the Life 7.5 :-)

LIFE 7.5, it's in the details from Peter on Vimeo.

LIFE 75 2012 from Life Yachts Group AB on Vimeo.

MIDDLE SEA RACE: MORE GREAT VIDEOS

The first one and my favorite is taken on the Neo 400 the hottest 40ft performance cruiser in Italy and probably in the world. This one:

 They gave more than 4 hours to the 40ft boat that won the race in compensated, a J122.  On the beginning of the video we can see them, in light wind, going away from a race boat, a 40class one. What a boat!!!

An then we have a great video from Tulip, and aluminium classic 88fter, a German Frers design, a gorgeous boat that is only classic from the water line up. The hull is very modern with a big draft (lifting keel) and a torpedo keel.

 They are showing on that video that the boat can sail fast and comfortably even in a storm. They took more 5 hours than the rocket Neo 400 but even so they managed to sail faster than one of the racing VOR 60 and did not lose much for the others!!! Racing with class :-)

And finally a video taken on a Swan 45 (sistership photo):

They finished the race in 17th place (IRC) but took almost 7 hours more than the Neo 400 and two hours more than the Tulip.

CORSAIR CRUZE 970 AND CORSAIR PULSE 600

Corsair is the more affordable brand of small cruising foldable trimarans and I love the concept, that is shared by Dragonfly: Fast solid boats that can fold their amas and enter a normal place in a marina. On most places multitudes pay 50% more than a monohull with the same size and given the prices of marinas that is very important. Also the folding amas and the light weight of the boats make them easy to be towed by a car and easier to transport.

 I like more Dragonly, by their better interior but the difference in price is very considerable and make the Corsair a very interesting small fast cruiser also with regatta potential. Unfortunately, even more than Dragonfly, the Corsair basic design has not been actualized in way to reflect the improvements in design that come fro the top racing scene, and they have been many. The boat just looks outdated, specially in the shape of its main hull.

And then Corsair comes out with Pulse 600 WOW!!! that one looks modern and I am sure it will be very effective. In terms of design it reflects all those developments. Just compare the two superior views and look how different are the hulls and just contemporary, sharp and modern the Pulse looks, specially when compared with the Cruze 970, that is a "new" boat.

Well, now it seems simple: Corsair has only to remake their cruising line following Pulse 600 basic design lines and I am quite sure that will give not only better and more beautiful boats as it will increase their sales. What are they waiting for ;-)?

RAPIER 550 AND THE EUROPEAN BOAT OF THE YEAR CONTEST

The Rapier 550 is a big cat, the last from Broadblue shipyard and was nominated for the European boat of the year contest. I don't see nothing strange in that, it is a push pull button boat, a light and fast sailboat that the shipyard describes as a performance model (they have a performance line and a cruising line). What strikes me as odd is the category she is competing: Bluewater boats.

http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2014/10/the-nominated-boats-for-2015-european.html

Rapier 550

Off course it is a bluewater boat in a sense that it will have no problem in sailing offshore, but is a boat expressly designed for it, like the Garcia Exploration 45 or the Boreal 52? It is a more bluewater boat than the Euphoria 54, Italia 15.98, Moody 54DS, Centurion 57 or XP55 that run on the Luxury boat category and performance boat category? 

We can say that the Garcia exploration 45 and the Boreal 52 are imminently practical boats, the hulls are not even painted and therefore can be considered not luxury boats but the same cannot be said from the Rappier 550 or the Southerly 535 that have luxury as one of the main ingredients. Their brands confirm that: Broadblue talks about "Luxury interiors" on the Rapier 550 and Nordshore talks about "luxurious accommodations" regarding the Southerly 533.

Southerly 535

So I am a bit confused here: if they are as luxurious as the boats that run on the Luxury sailboat category and they are not more seaworthy or more designed for bluewater work than some of the boats on the luxury category why they put the Southerly 535 and the Rapier 550 on a different category, competing as Bluewater boats? Certainly those two have nothing to do with the Boreal or the Garcia in what regards their design purpose. Or they consider that a bluewater boat has to have a closed place from where the boat can be steered? That's odd to me, that is not what make a bluewater boat on my book, just a preference and besides the Moody 54DS can be steered from the interior. It is not a bluewater boat? 

Southerly 535

They should review their qualifications and categories: a luxury boat cannot be a family boat? Off course it can, but it seems that they are afraid to call family boats for what they are: Budget cruisers, boats made to a price that allows many to buy them and cruise. Luxury sailboats is a stupid qualification since they are not used for luxury purposes but for cruising, exactly for the same purpose than family boats, the only difference is that they are more expensive, have better quality interiors and hopefully a better built. They should be called as what they are: medium to high price cruisers.

So, after this rant, let's have a look at the Rapier 550 through a Yachting world test: