XC 45 MKII

The Xc45 was the 2009 European boat of the year. I liked the boat as soon I saw it except for two small details, the interior that even high quality looked a bit dated and uncharacteristic and the weight that looked a bit high to me for a 45ft modern boat (13220kg) even in one maximized for cruising. That could be solved at least partially with a more modern designed keel and a bigger draft. The max draft is only 2.2m and that on a 45ft boat is not much. Depending on the area of cruising a 2.5m would seem more appropriate to me (as max draft) and would offer a bigger protection to the rudder.

The rudder is the most fragile part of the boat and it is a bad idea to have a rudder that is not a lot less deep than the keel, at least on the med when the boat goes to the quay backwards. In many small town ports the bottom rises sharply near the quay. What is the use of having a smaller draft if that way the first thing to hit the ground can be the rudder? Better to have a much deeper keel, compared with the rudder, to be sure that it is the keel that hits the bottom first. Hitting slowly a soft bottom with the keel is not a problem, now hitting the bottom with the rudder going backwards, even slowly, can be a big problem. I believe that, at least for the med, the boat would be better with a 2.5m draft and that, in conjunction with a more modern keel would make the boat about 1000kg lighter.

Regarding the hull even if it remains actual, maybe it would have some advantages to have the beam a bit more pulled back, a bit like the designer, Niels Jeppesen, has done on the new XP55.

Anyway this is a great cruising boat and the excellent sailing performances of all Xc45 that have crossed the Atlantic on the ARC proves that it is a very fast boat in cruising conditions, fast and beautiful. A bit on the classic side, but a boat that will age very well in what regards looks.

The good news is that the design of the new interior is great and at least judging by the pictures it looks much more cozy and modern. I liked a lot, now I like it even more ;-)

Looking at  these movies we can see a lot regarding how the boat sails and it sails remarkably well:  A great cruiser even with a short crew or solo.

ROUTE DU RHUM: DEMOLITION DERBY?

Yacht de magazine talks about a demolition derby and in fact we have to go back to the 2002 edition to see something similar, with the 60ft multihull fleet reduced to only three boats with many broken and capsized trimarans, including the one from Cammas. One thing is sailing in bad weather other racing in very powerful boats in bad weather, pushing them to almost breaking point. Deciding what the boat can take or not is a very difficult balance and obviously many were too optimistic about that.

 From the percentages of boat breakages we can see that finally the big trimarans (70ft and over) have reached a good reliability. From the 8 that started the race only one abandoned and even that one by a collision with a cargo ship. Sure, they are very difficult boats to sail and with a solo sailor they can't be pushed at 100% and some have reported limit situations where accidents were very near to happen. They all demand great sailors and a very careful sailing to go fast and that is not easy when one has to sleep.

Photo by Jean Marie Liot

The same cannot be said from the 50ft trimaran class that suffered a big breakage: They were 11 and only 5 remain sailing. Fortunately not any capsize but the boats, as on other occasions are very fragile. I believe  that has to do with size and and wave period and that on a rough sea a 50ft  trimaran. at speed has not enough length to allow it an easy passage trough several waves. The right size to manage that seems to be at least 70ft, since the 60ft trimarans also break a lot. Besides the breakage there is a huge difference in speed between the bigger trimarans (even the 70fters) and the 50fters, specially with bad weather. In fact the fastest two Open 60 are ahead of the first 50class trimarans and the rest of the fleet remains mixed with the Open 60.

The Open 60 showed a good reliability under the circumstances and from the 9 boats that started only two abandoned, one with a problem on a ram of the canting keel and other with odd structural problems.

The 40class racers, as usually, have been very fast and the difference from the best on the fleet, to the Open 60 is way smaller than the distance between the 50fter trimarans and the 70ft and over 70ft trimarans. Amazing since the Class40 difference to the Open 60's is not only a difference in size but also a difference regarding canting keel (they have fixed keel) and built materials (the Open 60 are carbon boats, the class40 are not).

That explains the popularity of the series (as also the relative low cost of the boats). The reliability has been smaller than in other races even if  only 9 retired out of  43 but, among those, there are two boats that lost the keel and that is unacceptable and should be investigated. Most retired with smaller problems that did not put in risk the boat but handicapped the sailing performance.

The Rhum class that is composed mostly with older racing boats (monohulls and multihulls alike) and some performance cruisers is a bit of a mix in what regards reliability. If the 3 abandons out of 20 seems to account for a good reliability that does not take into consideration the many boats scattered along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts making repairs: 6 of them.

Regarding the race, old Peyron is showing that age or the size of the boat does not matter that much and is making a truly fantastic race. After clearing the bad weather and at the middle of the race Peyron has now 150nm over Guinchard and the giant Spindrift II. Guinchard's boat is faster and the difference is diminishing (from 200 to 150). I hope that the mastery of Peyron and his very experienced routing can make up for that difference in speed because he deserves this win. What a satisfaction it would be to all of us that are not young anymore!!!!

Curiously Spindrift II was the boat where Peyron and his crew beat the world circumnavigation speed record that previously was in the hands of Cammas and his crew. Cammas's boat is the one that is now sailed on this race by Peyron, a smaller boat. Peyron seems to be too much occupied to send us  a video but this one sent by Lionel, that is pursuing him on his maxi tri Prince de la Bretagne (3rd at 300nm), gives you an idea of his pace:

Route du Rhum. Prince de Bretagne - Jour 4 by Letelegramme

On the Imoca class (Open 60's) we lost Gabart's principal contender, Riou, that abandoned with structural problems on the boat (that was a shame). Surprisingly Beyou has been able to keep up with Gabart and is only at 15nm. Interesting:-) I am very curious about the great Beyou performance and I hope he can keep it up.

Route du Rhum. A bord de Macif au large du Cap... by Letelegramme
Route du Rhum. Jérémie Beyou : "Tout va bien... by Letelegramme
I am still laughing. Beyou has a sense of humour: From Maitre Coq:"Salut les poulets":-)

On the 50class the fight between the two best sailors, Le Roux and Le Blevec was interrupted because le Blevec had to divert to Cascais, on the Portuguese coast, to repair his wind instrument that had blown from the top of the mast. Le Roux leads, Lalou follows at only 19nm and Le Blevec, already out of Cascais, is recovering. He is now at 336nm but he has already recovered 60nm. An Incredible sailor Le Blevec. Let's see what he can do.

Route du Rhum. Actual - Jour 4 by Letelegramme

 On the class 40 we had also an unfortunate abandon, the then leader Sebastien Rogues with a small but handicapping problem: A torn mainsail (he could only sail with it reefed).

A bit surprisingly Vauchel-Camus is making a great race and had already lead it. The actual leader is more used to the Open 60 then to the class 40, Kito de Pavant, that with some humor comments that the class 40 is all right but a bit wet (look at the movie). The first four, that include Pella and Bestaven) are separated by only 28nm.

Route du Rhum. Kito de Pavant : "On arrive au... by Letelegramme
La douche à bord de Solidaires en Peloton by routedurhum

Hot as usual, the 40class, that more than any other class (except mini racers) is the class where the talents of young NAs is revealed. Rogues boat is a Mach 40 as well as the one of Vauchel-Camus. Kito de Pavant and Bestaven have both Guy Verdier designed boats but slightly different, one is a Tyker 40 III the other Tizh 40. Pella has a Botin designed class 40. The next two on the classification have a FS40 designed by Owen and Clarke and a Akilaria RC3, a Marc Lombard design. On the first six there is not a single Pogo S3, the new Finot/Conq designed racer. Bad news for Pogo and for the S3, a boat from which much was expected. Guy Verdier, Sam Manuard and Botin designs dominated the last races and it seems nothing has changed regarding that.

On the Route du Rhum class the Italian Andrea Mura had dominated with great sailing and one of the last competitive Open 50 monohull sailboats: but he is pursued by Anne Caseneuve and I have many doubts he can hold on this lady and her junkyard but fast trimaran. She is a hell of a sailor. This is her 5th route du Rhum and she has crossed the Atlantic about 60 times!!! The boat is a cheap and very interesting one built with pieces of other old trimarans: The main hull is the one of Fujicolor, trimaran where Mike Birch was 4th at the 1990 Route du Rhum.The amas (lateral hulls) are from  RMO trimaran, where Laurent Bourgnon made  3rd on the 1990 Route du Rhum and won the editions of 1994 and 1998. The mast was the one from VMI/Sodebo, the monohull with which Thomas Coville made 6th on the 2001 Vendée Globe and with Sébastien Josse, 5th on the 2005 edition. The sail is from the Hydroptere. That's a damn fast funny boat considering that many parts are 20 years old and more ;-) And the best part is that the boat looks good!!!

Another very interesting boat making a great race is a RM 1350, with a lighter interior, a plywood mass production cruiser that is now 5th on the class, racing against race boats. To give you an idea of its performance and the one of his skipper (Pierre Yves Chatelin), it suffices to say that he is on the middle of the 40class fleet and ahead of the Open 60 of Robin Knox- Johnston.

Sir Robin is another one that is making a great race,if we take his age into consideration. Just have the balls to enter it is great, but at 75 he did not only enter it as he passed stormy waters, slowly but surely and is now in rapid recuperation. He was 13th and is now 7th. He is sailing a well prepared old Open60, Grey Power ( at 75 it should be white power :-) That's truly unbelievable that the first winner of a solo non stop round the world race, back in 1969, is still racing and going fast. Cheers to him that make all of us fell young again, even if we are more than 60 years of age ;.)

You can follow the race here, on English too;
http://www.routedurhum.com/fr/s02_corporate/s02p08_cartographie.php
http://www.routedurhum.com/en/s01_home/s01p01_home.php

ELAN 320, NOW WITH A NEW NAME, ELAN E3

When I saw some years back the Elan 310 at the Dusseldorf boat show I thought to myself that would be the boat I would chose to sail or cruise solo. Fortunately I cruise with my wife and with two I prefer a bigger boat. Also my wife and her cooking demands :-) would imply a bigger galley. She cares also more about interior comfort than I. Why am I talking about an old model?.... well besides being a great boat it has the same hull than the 320, and the inferior is not that different.

The 320 is just a better 310, slightly lighter, with a nicer interior, 2 cabins, lots of storage and a great sailing potential. Sure boats like the Pogo 30 or the Malango 999 are faster (lighter) and offer a swing keel but they have a much bigger price tag. The Swing keel is certainly very interesting for cruising in Brittany, England and in all places that have huge tides but dispensable on the Med or regions with average tides. If one has not the money to buy a much more expensive 30fter, and that includes the RM 890, the Elan 320 offers an unbeatable package in what regards price, interior space, cruising potential, fun sailing and some racing potential.

The boat can be ordered with an all infused hull and deck with epoxy that will make not only for a lighter but also for a stronger boat.

The 320, a Humphries design that was seen as a kind of revolutionary design in its  first version (310), seems to be looked now  as a fast but "normal" boat  and is not looked suspiciously by many as before. I believe that has to do with the many cruising boats with similar hull forms and characteristics, in several sizes , that have arrived to the market in the last years. The 310 hull shape has become even fashionable, chines and all. The 310 was, when it was launched, an avantgard boat, the 320 is already a midstream one. Changes have happened fast in what regards boat design in the last years.

The 320t has been tested by several sail magazines and all have been reporting great things about it. Sailing Today has made a video of the test:

Sailing Today is a relatively conservative magazine in what regards cruising boats and I bet that when the 310 appeared they would not have liked the boat that would have appeared too revolutionary but now they say about it:

"This new model is one of the only 32-footers available with twin helms and rudders. Don’t be fooled by her comparatively low ballast ratio – in giving her a deep-ballasted, T-bulb keel, designer Rob Humphreys, has created her sleek but shallow hull lines to ensure minimal drag, whilst incorporating discreet chines on her quarters to increase her overall resistance to heel....I expected her to be a quick boat, but I hadn’t expected her to be so well behaved and easy to handle when pushed hard...On the water she’s a spirited performer and damned good fun to sail, although she goes best if you keep her on her chines and don’t over-canvas her. She’s not unreasonably priced, but you need to study the inventory carefully and factor in the necessary extras that are offered in myriad optional packs. My only negative thought is that her tankage is a little limited for longer term cruising....

Furthermore, we were all pleasantly surprised at how nicely fitted out she was down below. In the past the interiors of the sports range had always been a little rudimentary and stark, whereas this boat could have been designed just as a cruiser if you judge her from below decks."

http://www.sailingtoday.co.uk/boats/big-boat-review/elan-390-review-test/

On the other side of the world the Australian Performance Cruiser magazine says also nice things about it even if the comparison with the Pogo 30 doesn't seem to make much sense to me but an otherwise complete and good test sail:

"...this is certainly a yacht that suits this growing market, older sailors looking for a boat that will go fast yet is easy enough to handle for the similarly-aged crew. Being comfortable down below adds to its desirability.... 

Twin rudders connected to twin wheels delivers a tight helm control on the boat: twin rudders are well outside the flow off the keel and the wheels allow the helmsperson to sit well outside to weather or to leeward depending on preference. ...Having loaded the boat up to see how she reacts to gusts I have to note that it is extremely easy to retain control in a roundup..

If sailing short-handed, full mainsail controls are just forward of the wheels with end-boom sheeting, giving the helmsperson quick access to control any weather helm issues. The mainsheet comes with a fine tune two-speed control. Deck hardware consists of Harken winches that are well-sized for the loads expected. Again this appears to be a nod to the target market in making the boat easy to handle. The genoa winches are well outboard of nicely rounded coamings that again make it easy to sit outboard and still wind on or be in the cockpit and easily kneel over the winch to grind....

On our sail review day we had cold gusty southerlies (with rain squalls) making consistent reading of handling difficult but providing opportunity to test the hull’s response to changing conditions. .. we easily exceeded the VPPs on each point of sail: 30º, 60ºand 90º. Pushing the boat to round up shows just how easy to drive this yacht is. The boat does lose control but the leeward rudder manages to retain grip, so the boat just quietly pokes its head to wind, riding on the chine and then leisurely resumes its previous course. It was quite an unnatural feeling as there was no shaking, no steep heeling, no panic. It was the same when flying the chute.

‘Quiet’ is good word to describe sailing the E3. The boat sashays through the water with very little hull noise. ...In 15 to 20 knots the E3 (formerly known as the Elan 320) was getting into its straps. Looking at the velocity prediction polar plot (VPP) it clearly shows that once the wind gets into the higher breeze range this boat loves to crack sheets. It is no slouch in the lighter winds mind you, as it attains theoretical hull speed of 7.17 knots in just seven knots of true wind, 90 degrees off the bow. Launch the asymmetric from its extendable prodder however, and you have one fast, responsive craft. At 140º apparent in 18 knots of true wind we hit 10.6 knots and easily sat above nine for the entire ride.....

 Down below it is even better...The interior design is strong and bonded well to the hull and deck. .. The galley is for’ard of the aft cabin and is a safe and simple L-shape. To starboard, for’ard of the head is the navigator’s table which is one of the biggest I have seen in any larger yacht recently.The two saloon berths either side of the table would each seat four comfortably. The bulkhead walls and door to the for’ard cabin are thick and sturdy."

http://performancecruising.com.au/files/elan/Elan320Test.pdf

The only shortcut regarding extensive cruising is the somewhat standard low tankage, 140L of water is not bad for a 30ft and 45L diesel seems to allow the  18hp diesel to run for about  17 hours at 6K or about 102nm, a bit short but they have space for more tankage so that should not be a problem.

If you are looking to buy a 30ft cruiser before going to the ones of the main market, I mean Oceanis, Jeanneau, Bavaria or Hanse, just have a look at this one and see if that has enough space for you because if it has you are going to have a lot more fun sailing, not to mention that it is a  more elegant sailboat that makes the others look fat;-)

RR: NASTY NIGHT WITH BIG SEAS ....AND AN OLD MAN LEADS!!!!

When Loick Peyron, now a 55 year-old-man, beat with his team, the Cammas record of the absolute fastest circumnavigation, I thought "Great sailor, he is old but he does not need to make efforts, he is a Maestro running a team and damn good at that." Then he started fiddling around with the most radical racing dinghy, the Moth and after a while he said that was fun and that he was going to enter the World Championship!!!! He did not run among the first but left some behind...and we are talking not about club racing but about a World championship where the best Moth sailors were.

I thought that his serious racing days were over and that now he was going to take a "student" like Desjoyeux had made with François Gabart, that he was going to pass his vast knowledge to the next generation and the same thought probably the sponsors because he could not find a competitive boat for this race, that is in what regards multihulls the more important race and is only raced every four years....and then surprise, Armel LeCleach , the skipper of Banque Populaire that was training for this race like a mad man hurt himself badly on an arm and the boat needed a new skipper at the last minute. 

There are only a few that could solo sail fast one of these monsters  and after some hesitations Armel and Banque Popular asked if the old sailor wanted and was ready for making another race at top level with a top boat..... and he said yes. I confess that I was not expecting much more than a nice race: the big trimaran is a monster of power, terribly physical and Loick is not a young athlete anymore, but an aging man and this time he is not only the Maestro, but the Maestro and the entire band since he is alone on that enormous boat. surely he cannot run that monster at 100% or that was what I thought and curiously I think Armel was also a little worried. He said to him just before the race: "..  be careful because this first night will not be easy. Getting out of the Channel the conditions will deteriorate and it will be very complicated. He needs to be carefula and not do anything silly, do not break anything."

But the old man is probably already a bit deaf : He started like a bullet and with a boat that is not the biggest neither the fastest, soon was leading the race and not just for a while, all night long (a terrible one with huge seas) and keeps leading, taking advantage of his vast experience with bad weather.

Chapeau Monsieur :-), I am convinced, you are a young man in disguise and an incredible sailor. I don't understand how you can manage that at 55 years of age, but facts are facts and you are beating all the young boys and their bigger boats. My admiration for you is simply HUGE!!!

Alessandro dans le gros temps ! by routedurhum

Regarding the conditions on the race some comments made for some of the skippers racing and these are some of the best sailors around used to bad weather so if they say it is bad, you can believe it ;-)

Lalou Roucayrol - Arkema Aquitaine (Multi50) 

" We have very strong conditions. The wind begins to shift a little and the seas are terrible. Now there is a little less wind but I had peaks at 40 knots. There are big gusts in these squalls. It is difficult. 

"Miranda Merron a lady racing a 40class racer puts it with more humour: Foul night, zero visibilty once the driving rain started, 35 knots or so for a while. Pretty big sea state too, but luckily it was dark, as the waves which revealed themselves at dawn around Ushant were huge - and occasionally breaking - clipped on in the cockpit AND arms around the winch to stay on board - not nice. 

Any maneuver is physically grueling." admitted Spindrift's Yann Guichard at 1000hrs this morning. He was looking forwards to his first micro-nap of 15 minutes and he aims to get some more through today.

Sébastien Jossse on Edmond de Rothschild, the first of the Multi70s said:"The boat is making ​​impressive jumps and we both suffer with every passing wave, I feel like the boat will break up. 

And it does not only seem that the boats are breaking as some boats are really breaking: These are breaking boat conditions at the speed they go.

Loïc Fequet – Maitre Jacques (Multi50) "When we were in big waves, the starboard float broke in front of the crossbeam. I do not know how. There was 28-29 knots so I did not go out to examine it but I can see that it is damaged the same as last year."

On class 40 several guys had to give up with problems, among them Bertrand Delesne (Teamwork40)  and the Italian Giancarlo Pedote but they just turned around, not as bad the Multy50 Royan that lost the mast or Angoulevant and Marc Lepesqueux that lost their keels. Also bad luck for one of the favorites on a big trimaran, Thomas Coville that was hit by a cargo and heavily damaged one of the hulls (amas). That was not all. A rudder damaged, collisions with buoys and other accidents made for a very hard night for all and even harder for some that had to abandon the race. Everybody is well and that's the most important.

Premier jour de course sur la Route du Rhum by routedurhum

Regarding the race itself it has been fantastic; upwind sailing and very hard sea conditions allowed the fastest smaller Open 60 monohulls to mingle with the giant trimarans for a while and even now most of the Muli50 trimarans are behind most of the Open60 and some even racing among the 40class racers that show once more that when the weather is rough they can go very fast. On the Multi 50 , that are very tricky boats to sail in bad weather conditions, ahead of the open 60, only two, the best, Le Blevec and Le Roux. Let's see if they can maintain the boats in one piece and the right side up. They are making a hell of a race as well as the first on the Open 60 that is led by the  winner of the last Vendee Globe, François Gabart. On Class 40 there is a big fight, as usual. Rogues is leading but is rival Pella is not far away neither Kito de Pavan.

But most of all I want to see if the old guy that is leading is able to maintain that crazy rhythm for the rest of the race and if the weather and sea condition will allow him not to be beaten by the bigger and faster boats. He needs a hard race to have a chance to win...and at least on the next days that will be so: From head winds to light and strong winds there will be a bit of all, including nasty seas.

What a race !!!!!! 

You can follow here;

http://www.routedurhum.com/en/s02_corporate/s02p08_cartographie.php

http://www.routedurhum.com/en/s01_home/s01p01_home.php

AND HERE THEY GO AT FULL SPEED POINTING TO STORMY SEAS: BEAUTIFUL IMAGES

Le départ de la Route du Rhum - Destination... by routedurhum

That's the start of the biggest solo Transat and probably the biggest of them all and the weather could not be more interesting: They are pointing to stormy seas and F8 seas. Some of the big monohulls are already reefed while the smaller 50 multihulls go with all sail out. I love those guys, the craziest on the race, the ones that take more risks and the more spectacular. Off course the Open 60 go with full sail as the Class 40 and i bet they want some bad weather ahead as a way to give them a chance to fight the multihulls, not the bigger ones (that are bigger then their monohulls) but the 50fters that are a bit smaller.

Passage de la bouée du Cap Fréhel by routedurhum Information about the race here:
http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2014/10/route-du-rhum-worlds-biggest-sail-race.html
http://www.routedurhum.com/
The tracker:
http://www.routedurhum.com/fr/s02_corporate/s02p08_cartographie.php

A GREAT RACE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD

Well, on the other side of the world for me and the Europeans, for the Australians that follow this blog it is next door on New Zealand. You just have to see the videos of this and past editions to see that it's a great race and a great race is made with great boats and great sailors. This one has all of that. The race is not big and is raced between Auckland and Russel, the name: COASTAL CLASSIC

I know some of those boats, that normally have the designer's name: Elliott, Ross, Young, all fast boats but what pisses me is that they don't have a list of entries with the name of boats and the result list does only mention the rating so no fun in looking at the boats and trying to understand the designs that worked better on those conditions and why, I mean ratings apart. We cannot also know which of them are stripped out racers and performance cruisers. A pity but if you like as much as me to see nice boats sailing fast you are going to love these videos.

A 9.50 class racer

This one is caro a Botin designed 65 Caro racer cruiser, well much of a racer and a very fast boat:

THE A13 AND A J122 ON THE MIDDLE SEA RACE

We had talked already here about the fantastic race the new A13 was making on this edition of the Middle Sea  race, going many hours at a steady 18k average...till she lost the mast very near the finish. Now we got some images of the boat doing it:

Regarding the broken mast that's very interesting and not usual: the mast broke inside the boat at the foot. Someone want to comment on that? I would be interested ;-)
We had already talked about the A13 on this blog, here:
http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2014/04/archambault-a13.html

And a video from the second J122 that finished the race. Unfortunately we don't have a movie from the one that won the race on compensated and was 8 hours faster than this one. That was an awesome performance regarding the boat rating since this one make a good race finishing in 6th place on compensated time.

Regarding the photo of the J122 on top, it is the new model that only varies from Otra vez on small details, the hull and rig are the same. The biggest alteration was on the interior that is now nicer, with views to the outside. A great performance cruiser. I really cannot understand why the boat is not popular on US, to the point of not being made there. Is, it is expensive but not more than other high quality performance cruisers, like Xyachts, for example. Take a look at the new interior. Really nice: