2003 in review part 2

We look back at the months of June to April

The second quarter of any year starts with April 1st. This year a number of stories published on April Fool’s Day caught some of you out. This included the ‘Flying International 14’, Alinghi deciding to challenge for the Little America’s Cup and some innovations at Cork Week – which included a complete ban on mobile phones. True? Nah!

If the first part of the year was dominated by the America's Cup and record attempts the period from April to June saw the Olympic Classes have a number of top-level regattas across Europe. Great Britain emerged as a real force with an impressive set of results at each main event.

First up however was more record breaking news. There always seemed to be a bit of gap in the grand plans of Ellen MacArther and this was plugged by the announcement of her ‘made to measure’ 75ft trimaran project. Designed specifically for solo record attempts, the new boat is due to be launched in a couple of weeks. James Boyd spoke to Ellen in April about this new project and to designer Nigel Irens.

While on the topic of speed, we published some video footage of the super maxi Bols cranking it up at over 30 knots.

Following an ISAF meeting the previous November, a new grand Prix rule was proposed by RORC, US Sailing and the ORC. The main problem has been the lack of an internationally respected rule. The RORC did not look too flash cancelling the Admiral's Cup in 2001 and the 2003 event had to incorporate IRC and IMS, forsaking their own IRM rule for Grand Prix yachts. The debate moved into the public domain at the beginning April. We published the views of Stephanie Merry, the IRM class chair, the ORC’s Bruno Finzi about IMS and leading yacht designer Jason Ker. These interviews make for interesting reading now we are at the end of the year. Opinion is now positive towards a new rule to be published in the autumn of 2004.

The Around Alone fleet embarked on their final leg of the race, from Brazil to the finish in Newport, Rhode Island. Race leader Bernard Stamm was the favourite to collect the honours, however with an elapsed time lead of 10 hours 50 minutes, it was by no means certain. His closest competitor Thierry Dubois had written in marker pen the words ‘Ultimate Fight’ on his cabin wall. It proved to be Stamm’s race and he won the leg, his fourth of the race, to win the Around Alone.



James Boyd was at the finish at talked to Stamm about how he did it. One of the more unusual sights was that of Simone Bianchetti with Tiscali (above). His mast snapped 30 miles from the finish line after encountering some heavy weather crossing the Gulf Stream. He cruised across the line with all the wreckage still in place. Very sadly just six weeks later Bianchetti suddenly died - solo racing had lost one of its real characters.

During this last leg of the Around Alone came the welcome news that the Farr office had finally entered the Open 60 arena. Virbac, for French sailor Jean Pierre Dick, was launched in Auckland. And what a good first attempt she turned out to be.

Following the winter training schedules the European Olympic classes kicked off with Barcelona Olympic Week at the beginning of April. In the 52 boat 49er class Draper and Hiscocks came out the victors, winning by five points from European bronze medallists Christoffer Sundby and Frode Bovim from Norway.

Next up was the Palma based Princess Sofia Trophy. This brought everyone out, with a record breaking entry list that topped 1,200 sailors representing 40 countries. The racing was run over five days and was predominantly light air. Last day upsets saw Ben Ainslie and Paul Goodison being knocked from the top spots in the Finn and Laser classes by Sebastien Godefroid and Swede Daniel Birgmark respectively. We spoke with Goodison about being pipped on the final day.

Norway’s Siren Sundby finished seven points off first place in the Europe. Sari Multala took the win with Carolijn Brouwer pushing Sunby into third. The Star class lacked it strong American contingent and the comfortable victory went to Sweden’s Freddie Loof and Anders Ekstrom.

Back in the UK the RYA’s Youth Championships were in full swing with several youngsters showing real talent. We spoke to Laser Radial gurus Keir Clarke and Colette Blair to get the teenage take on things. Top 420 sailors, which was no mean feat, were Callum MacDonald and Haakon Karlson, who won the hottest ticket to the ISAF Youth Worlds.

Hannah Mills also started to shine in April - the start of a very successful year for the Optimist sailor. She won the International Easter Optimist Regatta by 17 points.

Among all this success for British sailors there came news at the end of April that the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy was looking in the balance. A decline in lottery ticket sails, which hands UK Sport a heavy wad of cash, resulted in all major projects being put on ice.

Next up on the Olympic circuit was the Hyeres regatta in the South of France. The Finn title went to Sebastien Godefroid, with Ben Ainslie four points behind in second. Ainslie was to comment: “My main focus for this year is the Europeans in June and the Worlds in September so I don't want to peak too early."

Tight is one way to describe the finish in the Laser Class. Roope Suomalinen on 23 points , Michael Blackburn on 24 and Paul Goodison on 25.

At the other end of the displacement scale, the Round Britain Challenge kicked off in the Challenge fleet yachts. The race started off Cowes in breezy conditions, treating those yachts competing at the Red Funnel regatta to an interesting spectacle. Tim Louis’s Bear of Britain won the big IRC class in Cowes.

Moving to slightly warmer climes, Antigua Sailing Week concluded. Frank Savage’s Swan 56 Lolita won racing division II in style. It was much closer in the racing division I, where Sotto Voce clinched the win from Chippewa.



In May the first of the glamour Mediterranean events took place at Porto Fino. Carlo Borlenghi was on hand to snap the rich and famous on their Wallys, Swans and Maxis at the Zegna Trophy. This was the start of Neville Crichton’s pot hunting spree in his rather special Alfa Romeo (above).

The ORMA 60 foot tris dusted themselves off for the season. The first event was the Grand Prix in Lorient. Franck Cammas and his team on Groupama, a boat that is one of the older ones of the fleet, showed what sort of form he was going to be in for the year – a winning one. We caught the action on camera.

On May 11, 12 of the tris headed off on the Challenge Mondial Assistance. This was the first big race of the season for the boats and once again they were fully crewed. The course took them from the start in Cherbourg, into the Med and a finish in the Italy port of Rimini. Two days later Alain Gautier and Ellen MacArthur on board Foncia were to capsize off the Portuguese coast. The team had had a race on their hands just getting to the start line following a broken mast foot just two weeks previous. We spoke to Ellen and got the camera film off the photographer. Belgacom and Bayer CropScience were also to suffer, both boats dismasting. Just nine days after the start victory went to Cammas on Groupama.



In Scotland 194 yachts took to the startline of the ever popular Bell Lawrie Scottish Series. The big prize of the week, the overall winner of the Bell Lawrie Trophy went 22 year old local hero Ruairidh Scott. From host port of Tarbert, the young Scot helmed the 1720 King Quick to victory and no doubt got stuck into a very large party afterwards.

The match racing season was in full swing, with Peter Holmberg winning the Swedish Match Toscana Elba Cup, and 77,500 Euros to boot. This however paled slightly when just a few days later GBR Challenge’s Andy Green won a £50,000 Mercedes for winning the Laureus Sport Awards match racing event.

At the end of May Pedro Campos won the IMS Offshore World Championship, held in Naples. It was somewhat fitting that a Spanish team won an almost entirely Italian dominated entry list. One entry from the Britain was Mr Carphone Warehouse, Charles Dunstone. His new Enigma of London was on the brink of a successful handicap season against a number of other maxis. We caught up with the number 33 on Fortune’s Under 40 Rich List, and as usual talked about boats!

With the RORC’s season in full swing we spoke with the new man at the helm Chris Little. Little’s Bounder was to take fourth spot at the IRM Nationals, with the win going to a very slick team on Peter Harrison’s Farr 52 Chernikeff 2.

A couple of weeks later and it was the turn of the IRC to host their national championship. This saw the new Jason Ker designed Aera prove to be a formidable opponent. The custom built IRC 55 footer finished the eight race series with nine points. A couple of weeks later in June thedailysail got to have a proper look at the beast.

The final Olympic class event of the spring was SPA regatta. At one point the Brits led in five classes. However it was the ever improving form of Leigh Macmillan and Mark Bulkeley that grabbed the headlines, winning the first Grade 1 event in the Tornado for Britiain in….well, years. We promptly go them on the phone.



June was also a big month for the International 14. Earlier in the year Ted Rogers a dailysail reader and 14 sailor had enlightened us on the use of composite rigging on his 14. 10 June was the historic Prince Of Wales trophy, we got down to Hayling Island for some photo action. Bitten with the bug with 14 technology we then ran a three part series on the what was going on in this exciting fleet (Part 1, 2, 3).

We also found enough space to publish a cracking two part interview Steve Clark. The main man in US dinghy sailing (and also C Class master with Cogito), Clark had some interesting views on a wide variety of topics. (Part 1, 2).

Ainslie was true to his word (above) and won the Finn Europeans with a day to spare, with two bullets on his final day out racing. Ainslie commented: “The big event is now the world championships in Cadiz this September which is the first opportunity to qualify for the Olympics." Talk about having a master plan…

At the end of June the annual spectacular of 1,600 boats taking part in the Round the Island Race took place. Winning the coveted Gold Roman Bowl for the second time in a row was Jeremy Rogers in the family’s Contessa 26.

The last big race of the quarter left Newport, Rhode Island bound for Cuxhaven in Germany. The American yacht Zaraffa, a Reichel Pugh 65, was the first yacht home in the DaimlerChrysler Transatlantic Race. You’ll have to wait until the next instalment to see if she held onto the handicap honours.