blogs

The Volvo Ocean Race got the ball rolling last weekend with their two
in-port races in Alicante, Spain, and will begin in earnest on Saturday,
Oct. 11, when the fleet of eight VO70’s set sail on a 6,500-nautical-mile
leg to Cape Town, South Africa. Another prominent race this fall is the
Vendee Globe, where 29 registered skippers will start November 9th from Les
Sables d’Olonne, France on this solo, non-stop circumnavigation in Open
60’s.

However, lurking deep in the shadow of these two behemoths is the inaugural
Portimão Global Ocean Race that starts on October 12th in Portimão,

The following is a guest blog post from Washington, DC-based sailor Charles Martin-Shields.  Those of us who look to sail around the world, to far off places, to the last remaining remote corners of the ocean should take special note of this and future posts from Charles.  I especially look forward to what he has to say about the intersection of environmental factors, human rights, and security. 

(October 4, 2008) On Friday, October 3rd, the Lüderitz Speed Challenge saw
Sebastien Cattelan of France become the first human being to sail at more
than 50 knots (93kph), a world record he held for only 24 hours before
compatriot Alexandre Caizergues snatched it away with not one but three runs
over 50 knots, reaching a top speed of 50.57 knots (93.65kph).

The massive winds that blew yesterday were exceeded today, although a later
low tide meant a slightly delayed start. Several of the top competitors,
including Cattelan and American Rob Douglas (who set a new world record in
the first few days of the Lüderitz Speed Challenge), selected slightly
smaller kites in today’s exceptionally strong conditions, but then swapped
back – possibly costing them a few valuable fractions of a second on the
record-setting day. So far the Lüderitz Speed Challenge has seen ten new
outright records and four new outright women’s records. --
http://www.luderitz-speed.com

* From American Rob Douglas, who had set the previous outright record of
49.84 knots on September 19th: “I picked a bad day to learn some important
things yesterday. The worst companion of defeat is fear, plotting and
methodical, it probes my mind for all the crevices where the remaining bits
of hope can hide. Eager to snuff out the last remaining light of strength,
it easily illuminates all the ingredients of failure - injury, doubt,
mortality, humiliation, and anger. This ultimate struggle raged yesterday -
fear vs. hope.

“I also learned two more other lessons …never sail for a result and never
get off the 7 Xbow (even in 48kts). Congratulations to Alex, an amazing
competitor with massive amounts of determination. Wednesday looks like the
last good forecast for the event. I look forward to applying the lessons
learned.” -- http://nassp.net/nassp

Portsmouth, England (October 4, 2008) - The Farr designed Telefónica Blue
(Bouwe Bekking/Iker Martinez) made it a win-win situation in today’s in-port
races held in Alicante, Spain, and now heads the leaderboard of the Volvo
Ocean Race. After two races held in the bay of Alicante in glorious
Mediterranean sunshine, leading from start to finish in race one, and
winning an intense battle from PUMA to take race two, Telefónica Blue

Sailing is still one of the purest and most nature-friendly sports, with fast and fierce competition depending only on the wind as the source of energy. The sailors in the Volvo Ocean Race are known to be concerned about marine life as well as the pollution of our oceans. To take this environmental concern a step further, it was announced today that the Volvo Ocean Race is to undergo a thorough environmental audit together with DNV (Det Norske Veritas).
 
DNV Software has created a custom-built Environmental Performance System (EPS) for the Volvo Ocean Race which will involve and include the race organizers, the sponsors of the race as well as the teams and their boats. The main objective is to clearly identify areas for environmental improvement as well as to create a benchmark against which to measure future races.

The Houston NOOD was recently canceled due to damage produced by Hurricane Ike.  If you've ever wondered how global climate change impacts sailors - look no further than the devastating impacts this storm had on the Houston Yacht Club and and a great sailing event. 

Climate change equals more severe weather which equals less sailing and more damage.  So let's get busy fixing the contributors to global warming.

Just a few weeks ago Tropical Storm Hanna nearly spoiled the Larchmont NOOD regatta, but fortunately she lost her punch, and what dirty weather she did bring came overnight.  But at that event I met a sailor who is off to do some amazing research related to climate change issues.

If you love oceans and ocean racing then October is the month to tune in. 

First off, the Volvo Ocean Race starts in Spain.  This is a fully crewed race around the world in huge racing machines capable of incredible speeds and exciting sailing action.

After that we have the Annapolis Sail Boat Show - the biggest showcase of new sailing stuff.  The Annapolis powerboat show follows right after - and I think there will be some interesting "blue" items to be found there.

Training begins today in Alicante, Spain for the Media Crew Members – the embedded reporters who will, for the first time in the history of the race, sail onboard each boat in the fleet racing in the Volvo Ocean Race, which starts from Alicante on 4 October.   Visitor numbers to the race village in Alicante over the weekend soared and at the last count were approaching 60,000 as the locals in Spain came down to soak up the atmosphere and watch the preparations.
 
To keep both the public and the media engaged in the race once it has disappeared over the horizon, each team has to have onboard a specialist responsible for capturing all the action.  Known as the Media Crew Member (MCM) this role is perhaps one of the most difficult jobs to carry out onboard and is pivotal: the world’s media will be relying on the action transmitted back from each boat by this key member of the crew.

 I have always wondered why marine diesel engines (the most common engine types on sailboats) don't run on biodiesel or even veggie oil.  It just makes no sense to combine a beautiful activity that is so in tune with nature with a black smoke belching noisemaker.  Well, we are a step closer to cleaning up our oceans and waterways because Yanmar Marine announced that it has approved the use of B5 biodiesel fuel in a number of its marine engines.

Biodiesel is the name given to clean-burning alternative fuel produced from domestic renewable resources. It does not contain any petroleum products and is blended with petroleum diesel to produce a cleaner burning fuel releasing less particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions. It is biodegradable, nontoxic and free of sulfur and aromatics.

The B5 blend contains a maximum of five percent biodiesel mixed with standard diesel fuel. It must conform to ASTM D6751 or ISO EN14214 specifications. Yanmar warns that biodiesel blends can adversely affect certain metal, rubber and plastic engine components in the fuel-supply and return systems and recommends customers contact their Yanmar dealer before using the fuel. Owners must verify that the correct fuel-supply and return system materials are being used or risk voiding their engine warranty.