Sign Up Now for the 2012 Whitsunday Rendezvous

Posted on February 23, 2012 by sarah

Now is the time to start planning out your summer schedule of rallies and flotillas. We think the Whitsunday Rendezvous is one worth adding to the list!

The Multihull Solutions Whitsunday Rendezvous is a superb sailing event where anyone can join the largest gathering of multihulls sailing and racing the stunning Whitsundays of Australia for a week. This year’s event will take place from August 27 to September 2. Private and charter multihulls large and small are welcome to enter.

The Multihull Rendezvous is a casual event designed to be a social gathering of multihulls of all sizes sailing in one of the world’s most printine cruising grounds. Continue reading →

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ORACLE Prepping for July Splash of AC72

Posted on February 22, 2012 by sarah

Workers at the team’s base at Pier 80 in San Francisco, Core Builders Composites in New Zealand and Janicki Industries in the Pacific Northwest are targeting July for the launch of the new class of America’s Cup yacht. America’s Cup rules permit teams to launch their first AC72 yacht after July 1.

“No question the AC72 will be a big step up from the AC45 we are currently racing on the America’s Cup World Series circuit,” says team skipper James Spithill. “The AC45s have proven spectacular; the AC72s will be sensational.”

The AC72 is the new class of America’s Cup yacht that is designed to a box rule, one that sets tight limits on parameters such as length, beam, weight and wingsail area. The team has split production of its yacht between three sites because each is a center of excellence. At Pier 80 in the 34th America’s Cup host city, the team builds the basic molds for the hulls and crossbeams of the catamaran. The molds are then shipped to Janicki Industries, north of Seattle, Wash., where the large structures are machined to fine tolerances. In a process in which Janicki is a world leader, high-tech resin is applied to the molds and then machined to its final shape by a five-axis mill to tolerances finer than the thickness of a sheet of paper. Continue reading →

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Multihull Racing Showing Increased Market Value with Extreme Sailing Series

Posted on February 21, 2012 by sarah

Havas Sponsorship Insights released earlier this month the full and final independent media evaluation report for Extreme Sailing Series 2011 showing a 2.7 times increase in value compared to 2010, to just over $34 million. Leading evaluation agency, Havas Sponsorship Insights, who has evaluated the media value for the Extreme Sailing Series since 2009 using consistent methodology, published the report following their interim statement in August 2010 that estimated an annualised media value of $30.5 million.

In 2011 the Extreme Sailing Series grew from five European events in 2010, to a nine stop global tour and the significant increase in media value was as predicted from the growing international interest and an ever-stronger TV news and programming footprint.

Lou Newlands, Media & Communications Director of organisers OC ThirdPole commented: “We are pleased with this continued upward trend and that we exceeded our targets too, even without any Main Partners in place to help activate. Importantly, we can continue to confidently market the Extreme Sailing Series to existing and new stakeholders in the knowledge that this award-winning circuit can deliver significant, and continually growing, media return to investors.” Continue reading →

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Pattaya International Multihull Festival Draws Strong Group of Participants

Posted on February 16, 2012 by sarah

The First Pattaya International Multihull Festival was raced in South Pattaya last week and it was an outstanding success. Sixty boats from 16 countries as far apart as Aruba to Australia and Netherlands to New Zealand joined a large Thai contingent for a week of fierce, competitive racing, good camaraderie and fun-filled shore activities at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in South Pattaya.

A highlight of the Festival was the Pattaya Mail-sponsored race day which consisted of two events: a regular windward-leeward course, set out in the bay, off the Royal Varuna Yacht Club and the Island Record Race which will be an identical course each year, allowing an annual challenge to the inaugural record set this year, by the fastest beach-launched catamarans in existence.

The Pattaya Mail, voted the best English language newspaper in the region for the past 12 years, had agreed to sponsor the Pattaya Mail PC Classic Challenge and Race Day on Sunday,  February 5 as a major feature of the Multihull Festival which ran from February 3 – 10. Continue reading →

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Outremer 5X Hits the Water

Posted on February 15, 2012 by sarah

On a cold February morning the long awaited first Outremer 5X catamaran was lowered into the Gulf de Lion. The Outremer 5X catamaran is the first collaboration between the famous VPLP design team and the Outremer yard. She is a high performance catamaran with a modern, yet spacious Frank Darnet design interior. The best is , you can steer this 60′ monster with your fingertips from the twin optional carbon fiber tillers. The Outremer 5X catamaran will undoubtedly follow the Outremer 49 as one of the most popular and desirable yachts in this class.

Being a full production boat (with semi custom interior) she is built in a consistent manufacturing process, which assures bulletproof construction, reliability and excellent factory support. The Outremer 5X catamaran is presently the largest high performance multihull with optional tiller steering. This provides not only thrill and fun at the helm, but also the best feedback and steering control. An innovative composite bimini covers the giant cockpit which is all on the same level as the saloon. Fully protected from the elements the cockpit effectively becomes an extension of the spacious saloon. The catamaran’s modern and “open-space” interior offers unrestricted views and the master cabin has huge “sea-view” port light and a separate private entrance from the stern.

For a taste of the Outremer 5X, check out the Outremer 49 catamaran at the Miami Boat Show from Feb 16-20.

For more information, go to www.aeroyacht.com.

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BWS to Sponsor Multihull Seminars at Strictly Sail Miami

Posted on February 14, 2012 by sarah

seattleBlue Water Sailing and Sail America are sponsoring three very informative seminars by The Multihull Company’s Phillip Berman and Matt Dunning at this week’s Strictly Sail Miami show from February 16-20. Whether you’re looking for your first catamaran or planning on moving aboard, there’s a seminar for you. The seminar schedule includes:

OUTFITTING A CATAMARAN FOR LIVE ABOARD CRUISING, by Matthew Dunning, Thursday, February 16th, at 2:15pm
THE TEN BIGGEST MISTAKES YOU CAN MAKE WHEN PURCHASING A USED CATAMARAN OR ANY SAILBOAT, by Phillip Berman, Saturday, February 18th, at 2:15pm
FINDING THE RIGHT CATAMARAN FOR YOUR NEEDS AND BUDGET, by Phillip Berman, Monday, February 20th, 11:45 am
For more information on the seminars and Strictly Sail Miami in general, go to www.strictlysailmiami.com.
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Weather4Sailors & North U to Offer Webinars on Communications and Weather

Posted on February 9, 2012 by sarah

Weather4Sailors.com has teamed up with North U to offer a series of webinars this spring. The first webinar entitled Onboard Communcications & Reading and Interpreting Weather Data will take place in a two part series of three hour sessions in March with both weeknight and weekend options to choose from.

The first session will include ways to get weather information onboard your vessel and will feature guest speakers who will cover radio (SSB and VHF), Satellite Communications (Iridium, Global Star, Older INMARSAT systems, Fleet Broadband and others), Navtex, and Weather Fax options including the pros and cons, costs, speeds, convenience, and reliability, of each option. Continue reading →

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Boat Review: Nexus 600 Cruising Cat

Posted on February 8, 2012 by sarah

BWS publisher George Day finds the Nexus 600 to combine great bluewater passagemaking capabilities with practical and luxurious accommodations.

I first got to know the Nexus 600 when I visited the plant in St. Francis Bay, South Africa in the fall of 2010, but I did not have an opportunity to go for a sail while there. Nevertheless, my first impression was most favorable and I came away feeling that here was a vessel that really works well and adds some fresh thinking to the business of designing and building a large cruising cat.

A simple concept lies behind the evolution of the Nexus 600. Mark Paarman was looking for a boat that he could take to the best surfing regions of the world with his friends and some paying guests. St. Francis Bay, we learned, is right next to Jeffries Bay, home to beaches that are considered to be in the top 10 surf spots in the world. But the waves of Indonesia and the south Pacific beckoned, and a 60-foot cat seemed like the best way to get there while avoiding the crowds that throng to surf resorts. Continue reading →

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Gunboat Relocates Manufacturing to NC

Posted on February 7, 2012 by sarah

Multi-hull yacht builder Gunboat has opened a new boatyard in the US. Located in Wanchese, North Carolina, the 30,000 square foot facility will be used for the construction of the Gunboat 55 series alongside the Pure Yachting carbon-fiber RIBs and larger custom Gunboat projects like the Gunboat 78 model. In addition, the new boatyard will have the ability to haul, launch, sea trial and provide service year-round. The boatbuilder had been manufacturing cruising sailing catamarans at its facility in China.

“After more than a decade of producing overseas in lower labor cost markets, we are bringing manufacturing home to the United States,” says Peter Johnstone, CEO of Gunboat. “We spent months evaluating locations in various states along the Eastern seaboard. North Carolina stood clear above the rest.”

The company plans to create 71 jobs and invest more than $1.8m over the next three years in Wanchese. Gunboat’s new boatyard was made possible in part by a $213,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund.

Courtesy of www.ibinews.com.

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Post-Survey Negotiations

Posted on January 11, 2012 by val

Setting reasonable expectations for the process of purchasing your dream boat
By Phil Berman

After-survey negotiations are a difficult and trying job for everyone involved, from the yacht broker to the buyer and seller. Why? Because buyers and sellers often lose sight of the fact that every yacht—no matter its condition—has a value. And determining what that value is…well, that is where the friction comes in.

Inexperienced buyers might claim that a catamaran “failed survey,” reject it and end up back on the market. In truth, very few yachts actually fail survey unless they are salvage jobs. And if they don’t fail, what happens? They just finish up the survey process with a host of problems or issues, nearly always repairable or correctable—but at what cost?

BRISTOL VALUE
I always counsel buyers of yachts to first establish the “Bristol value” of any catamaran brand or model they are considering. In other words, if you were in love with, say, a 2007 Lagoon 440, what is the most someone would ever pay for such a boat with the same equipment and engine hours, were it maintained by the most fastidious owner imaginable? If the value of this Bristol Lagoon 440 is $500,000 in the current market, you will obviously want to pay less for a 2007 that is rated less than Bristol. But how much less? First, you need to calculate what it would take to correct the defects to make her as close to a 10 as possible, then subtract those costs from $500,000. This is an inexact process, of course, but a very worthy one to undertake before you decide to accept a boat, flat out reject a boat, or even accept a boat with conditions and price reductions. That said, what it costs one sailor to refit a boat can vary widely, and the location of the repairs can also play a role here. Repainting a yacht in New England is considerably more costly than doing so, for example, in Trinidad.
Continue reading →

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Watch Lagoons in Action on New Website!

Posted on December 21, 2011 by val

The new website www.lagoonvideo.com was developed to automatically adapt itself to all screen sizes. Use your laptop, desktop, tablet or smartphone to view Lagoon videos in standard and high-res formats. See your favorite models under sail, check out interior visits and enjoy a birds-eye view of Lagoon owners’ meetings, the famous Lagoon Escapades.

Enjoy the viewing!

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Jules Verne Trophy: Banque Populaire V Edging South

Posted on December 5, 2011 by val

As anticipated, Banque Populaire has dropped south, having put into a couple of hitches south over the last 24 hours. Currently she is just over 100 miles south of the Prince Edward Islands, or approximately 350 miles south of Jules Verne Trophy record holder Groupama 3′s position when she was at this longitude.

These gybes south have cost some miles of the 40m trimaran’s lead over Groupama 3′s pace. At the 0945 sched yesterday, this reaches a peak of 1838 miles ahead, but has since dropped to 1725 – so still a substantial lead and probably better than the crew, led by Loick Peyron, might have dared hope.

As mentioned in our reports over the weekend, Banque Populaire has been forced to head south due to an area of high pressure barring her way. They are currently to the south of the high awaiting the northwesterlies to build with the onset of the next front. The depression, this front is associated with, is moving quickly and while the maxi-tri has already demonstrated herself capable of maintaining incredible average speeds, it looks like even she won’t be able to keep ahead of the front and will fall into the southwesterlies behind the front by Thursday. This isn’t ideal because even a trimaran as large as Loick Peyron’s blue monster still doesn’t particularly enjoy sailing through the lumpy seas created behind a Southern Ocean front when the wind backs from the northwest into the southwest.
Continue reading →

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Oracle’s Ellison Sets Sights on Promoting Sailing

Posted on November 29, 2011 by val
Courtesy Christopher Clarey, New York Times News Service:

SAN DIEGO — Larry Ellison’s team had just won another sailing race. His gear was still damp from the salt spray and the Champagne, and he was wearing a gold medal around his neck.

“The gold medalist passenger,” Ellison said mockingly of himself as he sat for an interview.

Ellison and humility are not often associated. A self-made billionaire who co-founded Oracle Corp. and is one of the world’s wealthiest men, he remains a conspicuous consumer in a nasty economy: A collector of trophy properties and, after quite a chase on the water and in the New York courts, the America’s Cup trophy, too.

But Ellison, lupine gaze and dandily trimmed beard in place, is more than clear-eyed enough to acknowledge when he is being taken for a ride. Last weekend, during the America’s Cup World Series event in San Diego, he sat as an observer on the back of Oracle 4, one of his team’s AC 45-foot catamarans, while the skipper James Spithill and the other four members of the crew owned the podium: winning the match racing title and the fleet race.

Ellison, the team’s owner and an accomplished sailor, hopes to take a more active role when the real America’s Cup is raced in a 72-foot version of these catamarans in 2013 on San Francisco Bay.

Continue reading →

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Three Rescued in Catamaran Capsize

Posted on November 22, 2011 by val

The Coast Guard rescued three people after their boat capsized in East Bay near Houston, TX on Saturday.

Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received a call from one of the persons in the water at approximately 3:15 p.m., stating that their 36-foot catamaran had capsized. The three were unable to put on their life jackets.

The Coast Guard launched a 25-foot Response Boat-Small and crew from Station Galveston and a MH-65C Dolphin rescue helicopter and crew from Air Station Houston to assist.

The RBS crew was able to reach two of the people in the water. But due to the catamaran’s rigging in the water, the small boat crew was unable to reach the third person. The helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer to assist the third person, an elderly man, and help him to the RBS.

The three people in the water were rescued without injury.

“This was an instance that our training came into play. All of us working together made this rescue run smoothly and without unnecessary risks,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Josh Magie, an aviation survival technician at Air Station Houston.

Courtesy of www.coastguardnews.com.

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ORACLE Racing Set for ‘Homecoming’ at ACWS San Diego

Posted on November 3, 2011 by val

ORACLE Racing Spithill will race with an unchanged crew lineup from the Cascais and Plymouth rounds of the AC World Series. ORACLE Racing Coutts sees Darren Bundock take over skipper duties from Russell Coutts with Tom Slingsby also racing for the first time.

The regatta is a return to ORACLE Racing’s second home. The winner of the 33rd America’s Cup spent 16 months in San Diego from August 2008 to December 2009 getting the giant trimaran USA 17 ready for the contest she won in February 2010.

“That was a memorable experience,” said ORACLE Racing skipper Jimmy Spithill. “San Diego was ideal for us to put in the hard yards preparing for the Cup. The hospitality and support we received locally was great for our team spirit. We’re really looking forward to a return.”

San Diego is a former America’s Cup host city (1988-1995). The racecourse was situated three miles off Point Loma in Pacific Ocean, but for the AC World Series it will be center stage in the harbor.

“San Diego is an awesome arena for this type of racing,” said Spithill. “People will be able to watch the action from their homes, offices, hotels and all along the harbor front. It’s going to be fantastic.”

ORACLE Racing Spithill is second overall after two rounds of the AC World Series while also holding second in the match and fleet racing championships. ORACLE Racing Coutts, is tied third overall, standing fifth and third in the two championships.

Bundock is a double Olympic silver medalist and Slingsby has recently been crowned Male Australian Sailor of the Year to go along with his 2010 ISAF World Sailor of the Year award.

Bundock is a pure multihull sailor while Slingsby is new to the double-hulled experience, but together they bring a wealth of talent to join the America’s Cup winners Murray Jones, Simon Daubney and Simeon Tienpont.

“San Diego is going to be my first time on the helm for an America’s Cup World Series. I’m really looking forward to it,” Bundock said. “We have a nice team onboard so we should have no excuses going for a good result.”

Spithill’s crew is John Kostecki, Dirk de Ridder, Joe Newton and Piet van Nieuwenhuijzen.

America’s Cup World Series Overall Standings
 Team (Country) Match – Fleet – Total
1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 19 – 19 – 38 points
2. ORACLE Racing Spithill (USA) 16 – 18 — 34
3. ORACLE Racing Coutts (USA) 13 – 15 — 28
3. Artemis Racing (SWE) 16 – 12 — 28
5. Team Korea (KOR) 16 – 10 — 26
6. Aleph (FRA) 6 – 12 — 18
6. Energy Team (FRA) 10 – 8 — 18
8. Green Comm Racing (ESP) 8 – 9 — 17
9. China Team (CHN) 6 – 7 — 13

Follow ORACLE Racing online at: www.oracleracing.com

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