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Have you ever experienced a water spout? In 1985, off the coast of St. Simons Is. Georgia, USA, on a delivery to Norfolk, we encountered a waterspout. We were about five miles off the coast having just left St.Simons. It was about 10am and we saw the front approaching from the west with a significant roll cloud.

I was at the helm and was being handed a cup of tea from the companionway when my crew shouted "waterspout behind us". I turned to see what he was seeing and my heart just sank. The spout was no further than a mile away and drifting toward us. We were motoring about at about six knots so there was no need to handle sail but I ordered lifejackets and tethers and all ports and hatches secured. All we could do was wait as the spout bore down on us.

About 100 yards from the boat the spout seemed to lift. We were lucky to have had instruments on the bulkhead. As it passed over us we cowered in the cockpit and watched as the wind indicator was spiked for what seemed about 30 seconds and settled into around 60 knots for another five minutes. The temperature dropped 15 degrees and was accompanied by rain and small ice pellets. The sky cleared in 15 minutes. We had no damage to the boat, a 40ft Groupe Finot steel ketch.

From David Bains
Have you ever experienced a water spout? Yes I saw three quite close to my yacht in the Tyrrhenian sea about 30 miles southwest of Salerno. The first two were some distance away and very long and thin off the same cloud. As they headed south they developed kinks so that the middle part was nearly horizontal.
The third was much fatter and nearer and indeed started to follow us so I turned through 180 degrees and headed north again. The spout was catching us and I had the engine on despite maintaining eight knots under sail. We gybed twice and soon the bearing started to change and not long after it collapsed. I put into Camerota for R&R!! We also had lightning strikes very close on both sides of the boat!

From G Burrells
Why do the Sydney-siders turn out in such force for this race start? For Sydney siders the Hobart race is as much a part of Christmas as carols, tinsel and presents under the tree. That's why we all turn up to watch the start. The race starts right in the middle of the harbour which gives spectators plenty to look at and Sydney Harbour and it's fore-shore provides a brilliant amphitheatre to watch all the action. The media get right behind the event and the CYCA have a very open policy which allows the interested public easy access to view the yachts before the start.

From Sir Peter Johnston
What format do you think the Admiral`s Cup should take? As there are some strange statements flying around elsewhere, can I state a few facts; maybe even the odd opinion! The years which saw maximum teams were 1975, 1977, 1979 (storm year): 19 teams, not 23 as reported on a US website. All were different nations (no fudging with Wales, etc!) - that gave 57 yachts.

Since 1979 the numbers have dropped steadily as nations peeled away. So for 20 years it declined, not ten which again gets said. This kind of yachting was on the way out. The same happened to copy cat series such as Sardinia Cup, Onion Patch, Southern Cross. In fact RORC's Admiral's Cup did better than most. Conclusion: it will require a miracle effort to get back somewhere. And where should that somewhere be?

It was never the world championship of ocean racing. That was just repeated by puffmakers. How can it compare with the Vendee, OSTAR, etc? There is no ocean racing championship as there is no racing dinghy championship. Each class in yachting has its own regattas.

In these last 20 years all sorts of other offshore events have taken over along with new types of yacht (60ft tris, etc). They have moved to warm and welcoming locations which was not done in the earlier days of AC. Things have moved on. This is not the fault of my club, the RORC. Their fault is to have plugged on dismissing the evident circumstances.

Why does this piece of silver and gold have to be used in 2003? That is an illogical starting point. I do not want to see it and RORC humiliated again. I am not joking when I say put the cup in an armoured glass case and surround it with pictures and material from the great days of 1957 and onward. Let it be in RORC, or perhaps at National Maritime Museum.

As for the RORC, it should get on with offshore racing in accordance with its rules and constitution. There are myriads of other yacht clubs which can run inshore races, team events etc. If some wonderful new contest emerges in five or so years hence and it is judged that this cup can be used for it, then it should be considered. Lastly I do hope any announcement by my club, the RORC, is reasonable, literate and coherent, clear of obvious puff and false hopes and is not laced with this chronic obsession that it has to appear 'international' - whatever that may mean.

From Jane
What format do you think the Admiral`s Cup should take? None! There are IMS Europeans, we have IMS Worlds and then the Offshore One Design series, like Farr 40s. The AC will remain dead no matter what they do. But the reason is another one: - The series is too short to attract the pros, who are engaged in America's Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, Open 60 or offshore multihull projects; they would have to leave their jobs to do the AC.

Their employers, ie. top profile racing projects may do a couple of Farr 40 series during a season, just like they might go 12M racing, but they will not be able to create an entire national team. Ironically, this can only be done by amateur regional events like the Commodore's Cup (dead, too by the way) or the new popular B.O.N.Cup. And these will remain regional as cruiser/racer owners are sick and tired of going to Cowes.

From Gale Browning
The most influential man in British yachting? When I saw Mark Turner just before the start of the 2001 Transat 6.50 (formally the Mini Transat), I had to choke back the lump in my throat and dry my eyes. He said, "getting to the starting line is the hard part, isn't it?" It was two years of full on work with an alarming number of deadlines to meet and unexpected traumas.

But I made it, the first American to compete in almost two decades and Mark Turner was a big part of my success. I sent him dozens of e-mails throughout my campaign with an endless number of questions that he responded to almost instantly. My team and I worked hard to secure sponsorship but in the end, I had to admit defeat and go for self sponsorship through a company I co-own.

Many times I wished I had a promoter as experienced and dedicated as Mark Turner. Ellen and Mark are both exceptional people and have worked hard for their success. I admire both of them and will continue to look to them for advise as I train for the 2006-7 Around Alone Race.

From J Falsone
Tried the big spinnaker on the 505? We've been using the new big spinnaker in the US for quite some time. We are still on the back end of the development curve, however. We are not quite sure where to put the spinnaker sheave yet to optimise for all conditions. Our current configuration is very close to the max allowed (850mm above original I think).

We are also going to experiment with a slightly stiffer mast and modified rigging to help keep the rig in the boat. We are also not sure how big is optimal. There's a great deal of latitude on the girth now. The new chute if quite a bit faster, though, with wire running starting around 10-12 knots I think. The US class will publish findings on the new BS in it's next newsletter - "Tank Talk".

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