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Scuttlebutt Photos of the Week March 31-April 4, 2008 A random assortment of photos submitted to Scuttlebutt this week. Click here to submit your photos for consideration.  The Star Worlds begin next week in Miami, FL, which means that all the top teams are already training in Biscayne Bay. Among the local knowledge discovered by Australians Iain Murray and Andrew Palfrey (above) has to do with the black object that appears to be attached to the bottom of the boat. The locals have confirmed that the remora, aka sucker fish, are active, and are likely a lot worse to snag than the grassy weeds that are common to the area. Submitted by Star guru Rick Peters, he is currently testing whether the standard weed stick will make them go away, or whether an underwater cattle prod is needed.   Courtesy of New Zealand artist Jim Bolland’s newsletter are these photos of Chris Welsh, of Newport Beach, California, and the keel modifications to his historic John Spencer designed flying machine, ‘RAGTIME’. Originally ‘INFIDEL’ and launched in Auckland, New Zealand in 1964 for the late Sir Tom Clark, this hard chine plywood 65 footer has embarrassed the owners of newer and supposedly faster ocean racers for more than 40 years. She is particularly remembered by many ‘TransPac’ contestants for her ability to comfortably surf downwind in the company and ahead of much bigger boats! One of Chris Welsh’s major changes to the grand old lady is a serious up-grade of the foils and he has sent these two images of ‘the old and the (very TP 52ish) new’. To subscribe to Jim’s newsletter, send him an email at jim@jimbolland.co.nz  Construction of the SYZ & CO hydrofoil catamaran is in full swing. The team involved in the design of the project, comprising its four initiators (Patrick Firmenich, Jean Pfau, Jean Psarofaghis and Alex Schneiter), the VPLP firm (Van Peteghem – Lauriot Prévost), Yvan Ravussin, as well as the engineers, is striving for it to be the fastest sailing boat on Lake Geneva, Switzerland. The hulls of the SYZ & CO will measure 32 feet (9.75 m) in length. The overall length will be 11.7 m with its bowsprit. Equipped with a 15.4 m carbon mast, the catamaran will have an air draught of 16.3 m. The planned total weight is thus around 630 kg, which will be a critical factor to be able to "fly".    Top photo finds Maine resident, maxi-cat expert, and kitewing sailor Cam Lewis enjoying some air. Below is Charlie Meding on a record-setting run, with his GPS providing the proof: 63.9 mph. Photos by William Tuthill.  Marcelo Gonzalez send us this photo from an Optmist training session in La Palma, the north-westernmost of the Canary Island group, located off the west coast of the African continent.  Held this week was Balboa Yacht Club's race from Corona del Mar to Cabo San Lucas which saw Chris Calkins’ 50-year-old wooden 50-footer from San Diego not only be the first to finish in Class D but also first overall in the class and in the 37-boat fleet by both the PHRF and ORR handicap scoring systems. The only prize that escaped Calkins and his crew of navigator Fred Delaney, Doug Peterson, Norm Reynolds, Mike Dorgan, Jim Sakesegawa, and Bill White, ages 41 to 65, was a course record, which they missed by, um, about 33 hours. That went to Magnitude 80, Doug Baker’s Andrews 80 from Long Beach that sailed the 800 nautical miles in 2:10:23:27, an average speed of 13.7 knots. Click here to submit your photos for consideration. |
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