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Welcome to the first Weekend Edition... if you're reading this in plain text, you might want to tweak your email program to accept HTML email. For the time being the weekday issues will remain in text only, but as our weekend edition will focus more on editorials, books, movies and photo galleries, it is in full living colour...

America's Cup

Lots of editorials and opinion pieces out this week about the legal entanglements and the chess game being waged between Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing:

* Yacht designers Schickler-Tagliapietra comment on the new AC90 rule:

We welcome the release of the new AC 90 rule. There are not too many surprises in the document, though a general attempt to simplify is clearly present. In fact, many concepts from the latest v5 rule remain, but not the formula trading length, displacement and sail area. This is a true box rule, something we really favor. Displacement is essentially fixed at 23 tonnes. Perhaps this was done in order to limit the design space because of the short cycle. We felt that the AC boats could have been lighter together with a less generous sail area. On a DLR basis, they will be an extrapolation of performance keel boats like GP42, TP52, and STP65, but fortunately this rule does not limit VCG. The new sail plan is quite impressive. Without any stored energy, and only 20 on board, it is going to be a lot of work.

On the boat building side, things such as panel weights and core thicknesses remain, though construction rules have been simplified in general. With added core thickness and heavier panels, even less structure will be utilized within the boats. A particular engineering challenge will be designing the lifting keel structure and its mechanism, to be powered from a source aboard a tender. It would seem the keels will be deeper when raised than originally stated.

There are not a lot of radical ideas in the mast and rigging. In fact, the rule specifies a very similar weight per length as the IACC v5. But with composite rigging being allowed, the mast will be made much stiffer, possibly with fewer spreaders. In the end the spars will need the stiffness, because the RM is going to be huge. The mast will not be rotating, which would have been an interesting development. There is no spinnaker pole - all spinnakers must be tacked on the centerline. This is a big change from previous AC racing, and will perhaps increase the attractiveness of form stability and lower heel angles, hand in hand with higher AWA, i.e. planing. -- more at Valencia Sailing

* Britton Ward & Bruce Farr, Desafio Espanol America's Cup Challenge / Farr Yacht Design:

Despite its quick gestation, the new AC90 Rule does a nice job of balancing the demands of design freedom and closely matched performance for good match racing. The complex trade-offs between length, sail area, stability and rated length of the past are gone in favor of a set of fixed limits - a 27.4m (90ft) overall length limit, an essentially fixed displacement, set upwind sail area of 475 m2 (5100 ft2) and rig dimensions [mast height of 37.4m (123 ft) above the sheer] and a maximum beam of 5.3m (17.4 ft) and draft of 6.5m (21.3 ft). At 23,000 kg (50,700 lbs) these boats are very light for their length, more in-line with a VO70 or an Open 60 than the former V5.0 AC Class. Combining the light displacement with a substantial sail area increase, particularly downwind where spinnaker area is unrestricted, and the result is a much more powered-up boat both upwind and down. These boats will be challenging to sail to their maximum potential, but promise some spectacular performance that will be very exciting to watch.

Determining the right amount of hull form stability will be one of the first major challenges all designers will face. Given the light displacement and the large sail plan you can expect them to be substantially more powerful hull shapes than the V5.0 ACC boats. These boats will be designed to maximize their sailing length so expect plumb or dreadnaught stems and potentially some level of transom immersion to be the norm. There are also only limited restrictions on the hull shape with limits only on transverse hollows leaving designers substantial latitude in shaping the hull. We expect there will also be plenty of variation in the appendage choices - single or dual aft rudders are allowed and will be tightly related to the style of hull form. -- full article in Scuttlebutt

* Sail-World spoke to leading designer Brett Bakewell-White and got his view of the new class.

'These new boats aren't massively bigger over all than the old ACC V5,' Bakewell-White said, 'at 83-84ft in overall length. But the waterline length is a lot longer, going from 65ft to 90ft, as a result of having a plumb bow and stern.

'The old rule wasn't physically measuring overall and waterline lengths, but girths between measurement points. These new boats are going to be 25ft longer on the waterline.

'They are going to be fast at a tonne lighter. The rigs are going to be bigger and the deeper keel will generate more power. The designers will be racing to see who can generate the most power for the least drag' he adds.

The mast dimensions are significantly bigger at 500mm fore and aft, where the old ACC V5 ones were 300mm, so they have obviously grunted them up'.

'Dimensionally these boats are not dissimilar to the maxis from the period of Rambler (the old 90ft Shockwave) and Zana. If you cut eight feet of overhang off Zana's stern effectively you are close to the new rule except they are three tonne heavier with less draft. Sail area and everything is all pretty similar.

Zana, designed by Bakewell-White does not have a canting keel, and is waterballasted.

Beam on Zana is 5.2 metres and Shockwave is 5.8metres (the current AC 90 max beam is 5.3 metres). Draft on the old ACC yachts is one metre less at 4.5 metres - so there is significantly more righting moment in the AC90 yacht, says Bakewell-White.

Zana is currently for sale. Rambler is in full racing condition and doing very well on the offshore circuits.

'All Zana needs is eight feet taken off the stern and you basically have an AC boat,' says Bakewell-White. Aside from these two, there is only one other supermaxi that would fit the AC rule. -- Richard Gladwell, full article on Sail-World.com

* Rolf Vrolijk discusses the AC90 Rule:

What can you tell us about the AC90 Rule?
"Well of course the new boat has to be the optimum boat for the next America's Cup. So the intention of this new rule is clearly to develop an impressive match racing boat, which is also impressive in fleet racing. It's important that it be very challenging for the crew; very exciting to look at and impressive in size. Of course this all has to comply with the Deed of Gift. That is very important."

What are the main differences from the America's Cup Class?
"Well we really wanted to go for the maximum performance that we think we can get out of a concept that logistically you can handle and that also complies with the Deed of Gift. I think those are basically the compromises we had to make. We also had to ask ourselves how you can handle a big boat with pure man power. These were the points that we pushed really hard."

What is the difference between box rule and rating rule?
"You already see quite a lot of boats racing within a box rule. The biggest difference of course is that the box rule gives all the important parameters and dimensions a maximum number. That means basically everybody ends up with the same numbers: the same sail area; the same configuration; the same overall length; the same beam. This of course guarantees very close performance on the water. I think this is very important for match racing. It means that you really develop a concept, especially when it is a new concept. It also means that the boats will be competitive and there will be close racing.

The old ACC rule was a rating rule and the difference is that you have a formula where you can trade off speed performance factors. It means, for example, that you can make a boat longer, but then you have to have less sail area or you can make it heavier, with more sail area. It's basically a trade off of speed parameters so you have a big area where you can position the boat and optimise it for certain conditions. Of course what happens then is the performance differences become quite big. If you look at the ACC version 5, developed for this Cup, it was already like a box rule, the only difference was if you went out of the box you got a penalty. With the new rule you will not be penalised, there are no rating combinations, there is just a maximum number." -- full interview on the Alinghi team site

Judel-Vrolijk Naval Architects

* Magnus Wheatley in his Rule69 Blog:

In what is actually one of the more boring developments of the whole AC debacle, ACM climbed down this evening and published their version of the AC90 rule which creates another generation of dinosaurs already out-moded.

Previously ACM were pretty adamant that they would only show the rule to the syndicates that had signed up to their ridiculous Protocol but under intense political pressure from Bertarelli as the tide ebbed away from him, they've published a rushed-out version in full that actually poses more questions than answers. It is such a shame for the Cup that they haven't seized the clear and patent opportunity that was there to really take this event forward and I fear that this rule could really be the death-knell of the event in the public's imagination and if you lose that then you lose everything...

I'm sure the public will be conned again but will the smart money, the TV boys and the sponsors really throw their heart and soul into this? I doubt it. -- rule69blog.com

* For those how missed it earlier this week... here's the PDF file of the new rule. <

Documents from Golden Gate Yacht Club

ISAF Cancels World Cup Of Sailing

The ISAF has dropped the concept of a World Cup of Sailing, following failure to agree the format with the Grade 1 event organisers.

Instead the Executive Committee is to prepare a proposal to hold the ISAF Sailing World Championships every two years (compared to the current every four years). They felt that holding the event every two years would offer sponsors, the sport and the media a more comprehensive, easily understood and attractive event. They also recognized that there was support from sailors and classes to holding the combined ISAF Sailing World Championships every two years.

This marks a considerable U-turn from the ambitious plan to run a series of World Cup events through each year - a so called Formula 1 format - culminating in a World Cup grand final event. Apparently the Member National Authorities (MNA) and class associations were not happy with the format, and without the event organisers agreement, the ISAF was forced to back down.

ISAF Executive Committee - September 2007

7. Events

(a) ISAF World Cup of Sailingc Vice-President David Kellett presented a report on the implementation of the ISAF World Cup of Sailing. The Executive Committee noted the challenges in achieving a consensus agreement between ISAF and the ISAF Grade 1 Event Organizers.

Accepting that Council had approved the concept for the ISAF World Cup as presented by the Executive Committee in May 2007, it was noted that to implement the concept as approved and establish the profile of the event as set out in the concept was not possible at this time due to lack of agreement.

Decision
1. On the basis that agreement between ISAF and the event organizers could not be achieved, the Executive Committee agreed that the ISAF World Cup of Sailing concept as presented to and accepted by Council in November 2005, November 2006 and May 2007 be withdrawn with immediate effect.

2. That ISAF will not allow any event organizers to independently use the title 'ISAF World Cup' or derivatives of the name/title or any event title pertaining to be a 'world cup' of Olympic classes (equipment).

Sail-World.com
http://www.sail-world.com

Citing the ISAF: http://www.sailing.org/meetings

On The Coffee Table This Weekend....

An Absorbing Interest: The America's Cup by Bob Fisher
Two volumes hardcover with slipcover, 200 GBP.

This beautifully designed book charts the history of sailing's most enigmatic and greatest prize. In two volumes it covers the drama, boat design, personalities and sheer fascination of the America's Cup, from 1851 in Cowes to 2003 in Aukland. It is illustrated with photographs, cartoons,paintings and figures and can rightly claim to be the definitive history.

History, traditionally, is written by the victors and produces a one-sided view. The America's Cup had, for 132 years, only one victor and every major work on the subject reflected this. Since 1983, however, the Cup's progress has been of a more international nature but this has only been recorded by the winning teams for their own glorification. An Absorbing Interest This work seeks to retrace the history from all aspects and correct those glaring errors that have arisen previously. It is carefully researched, using contemporary sources beyond those of the yacht clubs who have challenged for and defended the Cup

The author Bob Fisher is yachting correspondent for the Guardian and Observer and writes for sailing magazines worldwide. He is chairman of the Yachting Journalists Association and has been covering the America's Cup for many years.

* A magnum opus and one that will deprive you, as it did your humble narrator, of many nights' sleep. My favorite chapters are those on years 1930 and 1934, with the J Class, T.O.M Sopwith, Sir Thomas Lipton and Harrold Vanderbilt. Those chapters contain not just beautiful photographs and the particulars of the races, but also extensive correspondence between the parties and the various clubs and other entities involved. The class of egos, money and immense yachts is utterly fascinating.

Sample chapters:

Chapter 2: The First Challenge

Chapter 29: Science prevails over art

Order on-line

"Yacht Rating"
by the late Sir Peter Johnson.

The news this week that the RORC Rating Office is 'retiring' IRM got me to bring this volume off my library shelf again. My work with Sir Peter at the ISAF and then with the World Sailing Speed Record Council remain some of my best memories of my ISAF webmaster days. Sir Peter passed away in 2003 and I miss him greatly. Every conversation with Peter involved smiles, laughter and wisdom imparted.

From his obituary on the WSSRC site:

"Peter Johnson was a leading figure in the world of yacht racing and held a number of senior posts in clubs and organisations, playing strong roles in the yacht rating development, and establishing the World Speed Sailing Record Council. He was a prominent journalist and yachting historian, contributing thousands of articles to the leading sailing journals, and wrote 15 books on yachting. In 1976 he became the 7th Baronet of New York, an inherited title that was established in 1755."

I can't begin to know what Peter would have said about the demise of IRM other than that all rating rules have a lifespan, eventually they all fade away, as is ably chronicled in Yacht Rating. Peter's gift as a writer is best exampled in this book, which one would assume to be about as exciting as a calculus text. Au contraire.. it's a fascinating read, almost impossible to put down.

Peter's admiration for CHS (IRC's predecessor) and disdain for IMS comes through loud and clear, with specific documentation as to why, some direct and some a bit tongue-in-cheek, for example this passage from the appropriately named chapter 'Scatter' concerning Alan Green's simple formula for Time Correction versus a complex computer program from the ORC (which reportedly crashed anyway)...

"This satisfaction for the British customer was a bit much for the ORC (international) chief measurer who wrote:

'So long as the object is to provide the most cocnsisstenly equitable scoring for a wide range of designs within an event IMS/PCS is the best system available. To the degree that the yachts are of similar size and design, the superiority of PCS (Editor: Performance Curve Scoring, see page 244) over single number systems is diminished, but never to the degree that PCS produces inferior scoring... The are some very important differences in using TCFs. These are differences which do make a difference and the result is the IMS/PCS will use time in a way which will produce more equitable scoring than a TCF, especially for fleets of diverse design...'

The reader will be spared any more of this."

It's not until one reads the endnotes for the chapter that Peter twists the knife on this specific passage: "Weller-speak, Seahorse, May 1995, page 27, ORC with Ken Weller."

Still in print, and available through Amazon.com and every good nautical book purveyor.

Seahorse Sailor of the Month

Last month's winner:

Geoff Holt (GBR)
Fifty three days at sea in a boat like that... Sailor of the Month plus Madman of the Year was a thought shared by some of the voters, something that would doubtless bring an even bigger smile to Geoff's face! And as for the chap who pointed out that this bravest of mariners cut through the Caledonia Canal, back in your box Sir!

This month's nominees:

Fred Eaton & Magnus Clarke (CAN)
The Little America's Cup has long been a favourite of Seahorse and its readers, and now the competition may finally come alive once again after these two extremely smart Canadian multihull sailors and 'speed-technicians' finally managed to end the reign of Steve Clarke and his incredibly and enduringly successful Cogito. And so now Steve has the excuse he wanted to build a new one... thank you guys!

Torbjorn Tornqvist (SWE)
Who cares if he had Coutts at his shoulder, between them the TP52 helming skills of Tornqvist and his now Monagesque rival Peter de Ridder have prompted calls for a special TP52 MedCup trophy... for the top-scoring professional helmsman! Another Group 1 wins the MedCup, someone out there sure is hurting!

Seahorse Sailor of the Month is sponsored by Harken McLube, Dubarry and Henri Lloyd.

Cast your vote at Seahorse Magazine

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