December 12, 2019

      And they didn’t forget about youth
      The Royal New Zealand Sailing Club (NZRYS) today announced the holding of the America's Youth Cup on the new 9-meter AC9F class single-hull winged yachts designed and built by New Zealand-based design company Yachting Developments.

The revival of this regatta is an initiative of NZRYS, China Sport Industry group and Emirates Team New Zealand. The cup will be held in several stages:

1. Fleet racing in China in November 2020
2. Match flight in Auckland from February 18 to February 23, 2021
3. The final race from March 8 to 12, 2021

According to the rules of the team race, sailors from 18 to 24 years old can be participants. Also in a team of 4 people, the number of boys and girls should be the same – 2/2, and their total weight should not exceed 311 kilograms.

In accordance with the rules of the Cup of America, this race is also a competition of yacht clubs. But unlike previous editions, several applications from one country are allowed. Registration of applications will last from December 12 to February 29, 2020 (yes, the year will be a leap year)

117 December 12, 2019 # 9760
                                                    
      
    

Chief Editor

The revival of this regatta is an initiative NZRYS, China Sport Industry group and Emirates Team New Zealand. The Cup will take place in several stages:

1. Racing fleet in China in November 2020
2. Match race in Auckland from 18 to 23 Feb 2021
3. The final race from 8 to 12 March 2021

According to the rules of the race team members can be sailors from 18 to 24 years. Also in the team of 4 people, the number of boys and girls should be same – 2/2, and their weight must not exceed 311 kg.

In accordance with the rules of the America’s Cup, this race is also a competition between yacht clubs. But unlike previous editions permitted the submission of several applications from the same country. Registration will run from 12 December to 29 February 2020 (Yes, a year is a leap year)

November 22, 2019

      Irina Gracheva: firsthand – about the main thing
      Finally the details! On her page Irina Gracheva Racing Mini-Transat 2019 on Facebook, Irina talked about the reasons for the crash and the status of the boat at the moment:

Now I am in Martinique, delivered safe and sound with a Ti Ble catamaran. And first of all, I am very grateful to the team for the welcome, great moral support and a warm atmosphere on board.

***

Now the dry facts:

Transat turned out to be very difficult. Long wait for the start. Two cold fronts and 300 miles of tacking in the October Biscay, strong winds along the Portuguese coast, delamination of the transom in the first stage. At the second stage: an intensive start and acceleration zone along Gran Canaria, winds 20-25-30 all the time after the start, squalls from under the clouds with gusts of 35-45 began to arrive in the middle of the path, although 300 miles to the finish were expected, the squall all the way.

My mast collapsed in complete darkness, on the 3rd day of squalls, November 11, at about 7 am UTC. That night was calm at first, and I could rest a bit. By morning, clouds began to come again, their outlines were visible, but not completely. Between the clouds, the wind fell as much as 12 knots. I carried the middle spinnaker and then took, then gave the reef in the grotto. I saw the outlines of a cloud passing from the leeward, received from her approach and acceleration. I saw a cloud passing from the windward, but along the nose, received from her the standard expected approach and gain up to 25. After that, everything calmed down. A flurry came up quickly and suddenly, with a force of 30 knots, which the boat and I were able to successfully overcome at the ridge and etched the spin. Then came a downpour with even greater amplification, on which we went into broaching. Broaching is a common thing, in general, and we waited for an early easing – the clouds moved fast with a gradient wind. None of the weak knots of the boat were damaged – the sails withstood, the bowsprit held. At one moment, the sound came that you expect with alarm at such moments, and the mast broke half a meter above the boom. There were 1,170 miles to go.

The windward cableway passed through the deck. Inside the boat, the cable tie was made in the form of an 8 mm steel cable in crimping and with a lanyard. The cable vomited from crimping. The cable itself had no signs of damage, the photo shows the line along which the crimping took place. Could this be foreseen?

It took me about 5 hours to free the sails and the mast in the wave and under squalls. The side was practically not damaged, and later I was able to position the mast along the side at three attachment points with slings, which allowed me to safely manipulate and completely disarm the mast. The mainsail broke during the manipulations a little – it was incredibly difficult to pull a huge mainsail with through armor from the damaged paint base. I thought to raise the mast on board, but it was difficult to do it alone, and it was pointless – the mini do not go on repaired masts.

The first escort ship came up when I completely emptied and handed over the mast. They immediately offered the evacuation, which I refused, intending to install emergency weapons and restore the autopilot. The entire NKE electronics system gave a full blackout after the crash.

A few more hours were spent on disconnecting the remains of the mast, installing a boom in its place and setting up a file system. The boom was 50 cm longer than the fragment of the mast, which made it possible to better set the sails. I started with a storm staysail, but very quickly put on a grooved genoa. In gusts it was possible to accelerate right up to 5 knots …. but not in the direction of the finish line. Placed along the side of the large staysail pulled strongly into the drive. In any case, the task of being on the move before dark was completed.

Tired terribly, the whole body hardened and hurt. After a terrible night, she immediately set about fixing the autopilot. I managed to arrange the supply of electricity, but only on one of the three displays, which informed me that we had a short circuit on the data cable. Naturally, when returning the mast, all wires were neatly cut and insulated. The electric circuit was not damaged at all – all devices, lights, and battery charging were functioning normally. In addition to the NKE electronics circuit, in which, in fact, only the wind sensor data cable was damaged, which was also insulated. In general, I tried all the combinations on the three NKE junction boxes, but failed to identify and exclude the cable with short circuit. It took another whole day.

All the time I counted miles, speeds, received forecasts (two days ahead only) and calculated days, food and risks. Realizing that the autopilot could not be repaired, and in advance they predicted changes in the direction of the wind and a decrease in its speed, I requested the nearest escort vessel. It was a Ti Ble catamaran 100 miles from me. Even more than a day I had to meditate in a drift. I will tell you about all aspects of my choice, thoughts and feelings at a conference in St. Petersburg, which we will arrange as soon as possible.

I drifted for almost 3 days when the catamaran arrived, and the final decision to leave the boat was very difficult. Highly. There are many aspects of making such a decision – from the goals and objectives of the project to risks and respect for the feelings of loved ones. I thought it over very carefully and weighed it. The rescue operation was performed on November 14 at about 4 a.m. UTC.

The boat was left afloat. As a rule, in this condition the boats reach the shore and can be picked up by the owners or those who want to pick it up. Flooding a mini is almost impossible, and a half-sunken boat is a great danger.

The Yellow Brick tracker was put into report mode every 6 hours to save battery. At the time of leaving the boat, the battery is 80%.

An emergency VHF antenna was installed on the top of the emergency mast. AIS is left on to make the boat visible to passing ships. The visibility range was 1-1.5 miles. The solar panel is installed and connected on the solar board. The EFOY fuel cell is charged with a new cartridge. Everything is made for unlimited supply of electricity and maintenance of AIS in work.

Running lights and lights are left on for better night visibility.

At the moment, the boat continues to drift at a distance of 800 miles in the zone of stable trade winds, in the direction of the Caribbean islands, it passes about 25 miles per day. Rescue actions are currently not possible.

Irina Gracheva

952 November 22, 2019 # 9704
                                                    
      
    

Chief Editor

Now I am in Martinique, delivered safe and sound catamaran Ti Ble. First and foremost I am very grateful to the team for the warm welcome, great moral support and warm atmosphere on Board.

***

Now the dry facts:

Transat was very heavy. The long wait start. Two cold front and 300 miles looked like in October Biscoe, strong winds along the Portuguese coast, delamination of the transom in the first stage. In the second phase : intensive start and the zone of acceleration along the Gran Canaria wind 20-25-30 all the time after the start, gusts under the clouds with gusts of 35-45 began to come to the middle of the road, although it was expected for 300 miles to the finish, squallo all the way.

My mast collapsed in the dark, on the 3rd day of squalls, November 11, around 7 am UTC. The night was calm at first, and I was able to relax a bit. The morning began again to come in the clouds, their outlines were visible, but not completely. In between the clouds, the wind fell as much as 12 knots. I carried a medium Spinnaker and it took, then gave reef the mainsail. I saw the outlines of the clouds, which was held from the Lee side, got a sunset and acceleration. Saw the cloud passing windward, but on the nose, got her the standard expected time and increased to 25. After everything calmed down. The squall came quickly and suddenly, by the force of 30 knots that the boat was able to successfully overcome the Uvala and corrode spin. Then came the heavy rain with an even bigger gain, where we went to bracing. Bracing – normal, in General, the case, and we waited lying imminent easing, the clouds were moving quickly with the gradient wind. None of the weaker nodes of the boat was not damaged – weathered sails, a bowsprit rested. At one point he heard the sound that you expect with anxiety in these moments, and the mast broke in two feet above the boom. Left to the finish 1170 miles.

Windward of ventures passed through the deck. Inside the boat pull ventures made in the form of 8 mm steel cable in the crimp and lanyard. The cable pulled out of the crimp. The cable itself was not damaged, the photo shows the line at which the test was passed. Was it possible to anticipate?

It took me about 5 hours for the release of sails and masts on the wave and under the squalls. The Board almost was not damaged and later I was able to place the mast along the side on three mounting points, the straps, which allowed me to safely manipulate and to completely disarm the mast. The grotto was torn during the manipulations a bit – to steal a huge grotto with a through armor with a corrupted likasa was incredibly difficult. I thought to raise the mast on Board, but it was difficult to make one, and pointless mini stuffed do not go on the masts.

The first ship of the escort came up when I cleaned out and gave it to the mast. Suggested the evacuation, which I refused, intending to set the alarm arms and fix the autopilot. The whole system of electronics NKE given a complete black-out after the crash.

Still a few hours left to detach the remnants of the mast, the installation of the boom in its place and the system setup files. The boom was 50 cm longer than the broken piece of mast, which gave the opportunity to set sail. I started with the storm headsail, but very quickly put in a corrugated Genoa. In the gusts was able to accelerate right up to 5 knots….but not towards the finish line. Placed alongside a large staysail strongly pulled in the drive. In any case, the task is to be on the move before nightfall was completed.

Terribly tired, the whole body burned and ached. After a terrible night immediately started to fix the autopilot. Managed to adjust the supply of electricity, but only one of the three displays, which told me that we have KZ on the data cable. Naturally, the impact of the mast, all the wires were neatly trimmed and insulated. The electric circuit is not affected in any appliances, lights, charge the batteries functioned normally. Beyond electronics NKE, which, in fact, was damaged only data cable of the wind sensor, which was also insulated. In General, I’ve tried all combinations on the three connecting boxes NKE, but to identify and eliminate the cable with a short circuit and failed. It took another whole day.

All the time I thought milage, speed, received the forecasts (for the next two days only) and was counting the days, food and risks. Realizing that the autopilot work there, and ahead of predicted changes in wind direction and decrease its speed, I asked for the nearest escort vessel. It was a catamaran Ti Ble 100 miles from me. One day I had to think to drift. On all aspects of my choices, thoughts and feelings I’ll tell you at the conference in St. Petersburg, which we will arrange at the earliest opportunity.

I was left stranded for almost 3 days when he came to the catamaran, and the final decision to leave the boat was very difficult. Very. Aspects of such a decision are many – from the goals and objectives of the project to risks and respect for the feelings of loved ones. I very carefully thought out and weighed. The rescue operation was performed on November 14 at about 4 a.m. UTC.

The boat was left afloat. As a rule, in such condition the boat reach the shore and can be taken by the owners or willing to take. Flood mini is almost impossible, and a half-submerged boat is very dangerous.

The Yellow Brick tracker was transferred to the regime of report every 6 hours to save battery. At the time of leaving the boat battery 80%.

Was installed an emergency VHF antenna on top of the mast emergency. AIS is left on to the boat was visible to passing ships. The sight turned out 1-1,5 miles. Solar panels are installed and connected on the solar Board. Fuel cell EFOY loaded a new cartridge. Everything is done for unlimited power and maintain AIS in operation.

Left on running lights and lights for better visibility at night.

At the moment the boat continues to drift at a distance of 800 miles in the area of sustainable trade winds toward the Caribbean Islands, is about 25 miles a day. To take action to rescue at the moment impossible.

Irina Gracheva

November 12, 2019

      Grache need to walk about 1130 miles
      As you probably already know, on Monday morning the disturbing news came from the Mini-Transat race: the organizers of the race reported that two yachtsmen at once – Russian Irina Gracheva (579, serial division) and Frenchman Julien Bertahl (742) – reported the masts were broken on their yachts.

It was assumed that assistance to the athletes will be provided by two escort vessels that go along the route after the regatta.

Judging by reports from the ocean, the mast on the Bertalema yacht is broken in the area of ​​Kraspits, but the athlete intends to continue the race, going with emergency weapons. The same can be said about Irina: she does not ask the organizers for help and is going to independently move to the finish line, using the remains of the mast to set the sails. This morning, the Russian woman was at a distance of about 1130 miles from Martinique, the speed of advancement of her yacht in the distance was about 3.5 knots.

Of course, talking about the struggle for high places in this situation is no longer necessary, but Irina Gracheva’s decision to continue the race in itself causes deep respect. A brave and responsible act!

The second Russian participant, Fedor Druzhinin, on the night of November 12 was 1150 miles from the finish line, going to 18th place in the Proto division.

The leaders of the divisions are still the same: Francois Jambo (865) in Proto and Ambrogio Beccaria (943) in Serie.

Andrey Petrov

331 November 12, 2019 # 9672
                                                    
      
    

Chief Editor

It was assumed that the athletes will have a two vessel support, which are on the route after the regatta.

According to reports from the ocean, the mast on the yacht Bartlema broken in the area of crespin, but the athlete intends to continue the race, going with emergency service. The same can be said about Irene: she does not ask the organizers for help and going on their own to move to the finish line, using for the production of sails remains of the mast. This morning the Russian was located about 1130 miles from Martinique, the speed of advancement of the yacht in the distance was about 3.5 knots.

Of course, to talk about the fight for the top places in these circumstances it is not necessary, but by itself the decision by Irina Gracheva to continue the race is profound respect. A brave and responsible act!

The second Russian participant, Fyodor Druzhinin, in the night of November 12 was 1150 miles from the finish line, going 18 in the Proto division.

The leaders of the divisions while still: Francois Gambo (865) in Proto and Ambrogio Beccaria (943) in Serie.

Andrei Petrov

Yesterday

      And again about the rotors
      The Finnish technology company Norsepower, which designs and installs Fletner rotors on ships, has confirmed more than 8 percent fuel savings from testing its products aboard Maersk Pelican Maersk Tankers.

Rotary sails are a modern version of Flettner's rotors, rotating cylinders that use the Magnus effect to help propel the ship and increase fuel economy using wind power.

In August 2018, two 30-meter rotors were installed on board the Maersk Pelican, which travels in a variety of conditions in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.

According to Norsepower, during the annual tests from September 2018 to September 2019, the total amount of fuel saved was 8.2%, which is equivalent to a reduction in emissions of about 1,400 tons of CO2.

These data, obtained during the study, were analyzed and confirmed by the Lloyd's Register of the Ship Performance Group.

46 Yesterday # 9609
                                                    
      
    

Chief Editor

October 9, 2019

      Reality show about yachtsmen!
      Four teams – future participants in the 36th draw of the America Cup – one after another, demonstrated their fans their AC75 yachts. And what about the fifth team – Stars + Stripes, representing the yacht club of the city of Long Beach in California? For a long time nothing was heard about her – maybe she was going to leave the game?

The question is not idle – if only because the team from the west coast of the USA entered the fight at the very last moment, literally a day before the deadline, and from the very beginning experienced a severe lack of funds. However, rumors about the imminent death of Stars + Stripes, which repeatedly appeared in the press, were "somewhat exaggerated." Alive, alive – and even builds an AC75 boat. True, unlike four other teams, only one. They didn’t scrape together for two money.

And then the sensational news: in the near future, the financial position of Stars + Stripes may improve – and significantly. There will be no shortage of news about what is happening in the team. For the simple reason that soon a new reality show will appear on American television screens – a purely yacht show dedicated to the preparation and participation of Stars + Stripes in the draw for the 36th America Cup. What the agreement was signed about – between the bosses of the team and one of the largest entertainment companies – Condé Nast Entertainment (CNE).

What attracted this “one of the largest” CNEs to some midnight team? Just the fact that she is midnight. But – young, energetic. It has set itself the most patriotic goal: only US citizens should play for Stars & Stripes. And not just perform, but in the end, after a year and a half to win the Cup. This is what the new reality show will talk about (or rather, show).

P.S. We can only envy about this – black envy. Could it be in Russia that a program regularly appears on one of the central television channels where yachtsmen are the main characters?

183 October 9, 2019 # 9544
                                                    
      
    

Chief Editor

Not an idle question – not least because the team on the West coast of the United States joined the fight at the last moment, literally the day before the deadline, and from the beginning experienced the most severe lack of funds. However, rumors of the imminent death Stars+Stripes, has repeatedly appeared in the press, were “somewhat exaggerated”. Alive, alive – and even builds a boat АС75. However, unlike the other four teams, only one. Two money is not scraped.

And here’s sensational news: in the near future the financial position of the Stars+Stripes can be improved – significantly. There will be no shortage of news about what’s happening in the team. For the simple reason that soon on the screens of America there will be a new reality show – especially yachting, dedicated to the preparation and participation of the Stars+Stripes in the draw for the 36th America’s Cup. What is a signed agreement between the bosses of the team and one of the largest entertainment companies – Condé Nast Entertainment (CNE).

What is this “one of the largest” CNE attracted some impoverished team? Just the fact that she is impoverished. But – young, energetic. Has set itself the most that neither is a Patriotic goal: to play for the Stars & Stripes should be exclusively citizens of the United States. And not just to act, but in the end, after a year and a half to win the Cup. This will be to tell (or rather show) new reality show.

P. S. We for this reason can only envy – the black envy. Could it be in Russia is that in one of the Central TV channels appeared regularly program, where sailors are the main characters?

September 2, 2019

      About smart and fools
      We bring to your attention a comment by Vasily Senatorov, published in the September issue of Yacht Russia magazine under the heading "From the publisher."

I don’t know what it is, the everyday experience or the profession of a journalist, but there is less and less confidence in me in the great-heartedness of idealists. And how many times he gave himself a vow, but I can’t hold back …

The sail is in fashion now. Especially among escapists. In their opinion, a yacht is a great tool to get away from the challenges of the world, a sea passage is a watershed between the “right” and “wrong” life, and all those who took their children on a hike are adherents of a new reality. In a word, the sail is not only the LIFESTYLE, but also the only correct one! And only those will be saved from the filth and hypocrisy of the present world, who will exchange the bustle of cities for the vast expanses of the ocean. Therefore, it was this logical substitution that made me take up the pen – all yachtsmen are the heroes and apostles of the new paradise on earth. Moreover, this has long been known in the West, and now we are lucky because we got freedom …

But what about the theft of stoppers and the cutting of files at competitions (a very common practice in the Soviet years), what about lies in protests, how to interpret fraud with documents and measurements of boats and sails? Where to include the captains who promise clients paradise and extort their euros or dollars for each additional overstag? Where do the highly skilled skippers involved in transporting migrants come from? Who raised yachtsmen stealing yachts for human traffickers and drug traffickers?

After all, all these are also people of the sea.

Therefore, it is not necessary to make a profession or a strong passion a criterion of decency.

Everything, in my opinion, is much simpler. People are not divided into nationalities, parties, factions … People are divided into smart and fools, but fools already divide others by nationality, into parties, factions, religions. For new arrivals, this maxim applies to sailors.

What about the sea? It is and will always attract people. And let us be lucky to meet there less crooks and crooks.

Vasily Senators,

publisher

758 September 2, 2019 # 9428
                                                    
      
    

Chief Editor