August 2014
FEATURES
An explosive recovery
The TP52s could be back into the mid-teens next year with at least six new boats. ROB WEILAND
Politics, philosophy and engineering
GEOFF STOCK of Green Marine describes the groundbreaking data gathering tools that will be carried by this year’s Volvo Ocean Race fleet
Fastest (monohull) on the planet?
That will almost certainly be the outcome of JIM CLARK’s New3 project as GUILLAUME VERDIER explains to JOCELYN BLERIOT
Aerial advantage
DR JONATHAN JOHNS looks at the fast-growing market for unmanned drone usage in sailing performance evaluation
A fascinating (and challenging) task
Foiling Moth pioneer DR IAN WARD has recently completed a project designed to put foiled sailing within the reach of practically everybody
REGULARS
Commodore’s letter
MIKE GREVILLE
Editorial
ANDREW HURST
Update
TIM JEFFERY stands impressed as SIR BEN AINSLIE unveils his America’s Cup challenge, TERRY HUTCHINSON muses upon the goading by JIMMY SPITHILL of which Emirates Team New Zealand has recently been the victim, IVOR WILKINS reveals that we were nearly in for another Deed of Gift Challenge plus the next High Performance Yacht Design gathering in Auckland
World news
Record hunters prepare, Figaro 2014, ‘that’ Protocol receives an initially cool reception in New Zealand, before matters are revisited, GRANT SIMMER decides to stay put for 2017, taking on – and defeating –Oracle Team USA. Plus deciding the Cup venue… BLUE ROBINSON, IVOR WILKINS, PATRICE CARPENTIER, DOBBS DAVIS, CARLOS PICH
Rod Davis
Some things that Emirates Team New Zealand got wrong back in 2013 and a number of other things that they almost certainly got right…
ORC column
And another record that will be broken at this year’s ORC world championships in Kiel…
Design – No end in sight
DEAN HARPER and JARRAD WALLACE explain just how far grand prix spars have come in even a relatively short space of time
Seahorse regatta calendar
RORC news
EDDIE WARDEN OWEN
Seahorse build table – A new twist
HUGUES TURCKHEIM has taken a long hard look at the latest wing rigs in an effort to come up with something more widely relevant
Sailor of the Month
Two worthy – and recent – champions
The Volvo Ocean 65

As GEOFF STOCK explains, if you’re going to drive a boat to its limits – you’ll need to know where its limits are…
Custom racing boatbuilders such as Green Marine succeed and prosper according to the quality and rigour of their R&D programmes. Mostly, our efforts have targeted the development of reliable process methods and the application of the latest materials and techniques to the boats we build. But increasingly over the past seven or eight years we have taken on the responsibility for structural engineering, and our efforts have been directed at the more general goal of building more reliable racing yachts.
So, in June 2012, when presented with the task of leading the construction of the new Volvo Ocean 65 fleet, our first priority was to define the structural imperatives of the project. In the spirit of the Volvo Ocean Race itself, we put in place a programme that we hope will make a lasting contribution to the safety of ocean racing.
There is an inherent conflict between the performance and the strength of a yacht. The line between a racing boat being light enough and strong enough is not as sharp as we’d like; so with every project a decision must be made regarding how ‘close to the sun’ the structural engineers should fly. Twentyfive years ago race organisers decided that as far as boat structures were concerned they would make the ABS scantling guidelines the lower limit. This simplified the work of engineers considerably; their objective became a matter of getting the lightest boat possible throughout ABS plan approval. The ABS guidelines have long been replaced by ISO and GL, but the principle is the same: engineers work to a set level.
For most custom yacht projects that level is decided by the owner with advice from the architect and builder; and usually it is simply an agreement as to which classification rules are to be used. But for the more extreme projects this ‘call’ is a matter of judgement and experience rather than pure engineering. The VO65 is a boat that will race in inhospitable conditions and far from shore; the crews will push their boats hard and the consequences of structural failure can be serious. Green Marine worked with a group of racing yacht engineers who were able to bring 30 years’ experience of Whitbread and Volvo racing to bear on the issue of setting the strength level for the VO65. Clearly that level had to be significantly stronger than previous generations of Volvo Ocean Race boats; and in fact we settled on levels well in excess of ISO and GL requirements as well.
Though we set out to build a very robust boat, no one ever considered that the new VO65 should or could be unbreakable – a point that is made on page 1 of the Owners’ Manual. The speeds attained by modern racing yachts, coupled with the intensity with which sailors drive their boats, make hull slamming a real concern for both hull shell integrity and the longevity of a yacht’s internal structure. The VO65 is a high-performance racing yacht and there will be times when crews will have to ‘throttle back’ to preserve their boat. In fact, racing crews have always had to exercise seamanshipand experience to look after their boats; and this rather obvious fact was the starting point for the R&D programme that we refer to as the Structural Feedback System.
It’s one thing for a group of engineers to make a judgement as to how strong a boat should be – it is quite another for the crew to know what it feels like when their boat is close to its limits. To date we are not able to give crews a clear line up to which they can push their boats without concern; and even if there were a clear line, it would be expressed in water pressure head or acceleration. To a large extent we are currently relying on engineers’ judgement being sufficiently in excess of what sailors find acceptable.
The task we have set is to see if, during the course of the Volvo Ocean Race, we can develop a system that will display a visual warning of when the boat is close to its design limits. To the best of our knowledge this is not something that currently exists; we are aiming for a system that analyses the behaviour of a boat and indicates the level to which the hull is being stressed while slamming from wave to wave at high speed.
In June 2012 we recognised that the new one-design fleet of Volvo Ocean racing yachts would be the perfect platform on which to gather data and develop a system that would eventually be of use to all racing yachts. But the challenges involved are not trivial. It is easy enough to collect the data and to install an LED array to indicate loading. The technical difficulty is in analysing the many strands of data input and converting that into a single piece of data output that is sufficiently meaningful for the crew to act upon.
To get the project off the ground we have installed on each VO65 a set of accelerometers and a data logging system that measures and records the accelerations of the boat in six axes: up/down, fore/aft, port/starboard, roll, pitch and yaw. We are logging the movement of the boats through the sea and relating this data to environmental information, rudder angle, keel ram position and rig loads. The output from the system will be displayed in real time on an LED panel mounted in the cockpit between the companionways. The panel houses a series of lights that progress from green to amber as the slamming loads approach the design limits; and then to red when safe working load is exceeded. The intention is to give the crew a clear comparison between the slamming loads being applied to the hull and the slamming loads that the boat has been designed to withstand.
In reality it will take time for our technical team to combine the angular and vertical accelerations in such a way that the single line output is trusted and used by crews. Structural engineers can analyse data and relate this to the design pressures used for hull shell calculations, but this remains academic unless their data and calculations can also be related to anecdotal evidence from sailors. It is vital that we get input from experienced oceanracing crews to calibrate what is normal and what is exceptional when it comes to hull slamming.
We are mixing judgement, engineering and experience and it will take time to generate information to which both engineers and sailors can relate. We don’t think there has ever been a better opportunity to develop a structural feedback system than by working with the VO65 one-design fleet in the 2014-2015 Volvo Ocean Race. So to the 60 or so racing sailors and their support crews (all avid Seahorse readers, we assume) we look forward to your collaboration and support in this bid to make ocean racing a safer sport.
Click here for more information on Green Marine »
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An explosive recovery

Rolex Capri Sailing Week was for the first time integrated with the Barclays 52 Super Series and the outcome was a success from any angle you looked at it. The owners and sailors who had never raced at Capri before were unanimous that this small island in the beautiful setting of the Bay of Naples fully lived up to their expectations. Rolex and the Yacht Club Capri are impeccable hosts.
The world’s largest luxury watchmaker and what must be one of the world’s smallest yacht clubs made for an endearing combination. The island and village of Capri were stunningly beautiful, the weather, as feared, light. But guided by the expertise and charm of chief race officer ‘Luigi’ Peter Reggio we got six proper windward-leeward races and a fair result. The coastal race got off to a good start but was left stranded by lack of breeze among the sheer beauty of the rocky Faraglioni pinnacles at Capri’s southeastern corner. When the race was abandoned Gladiator and Vesper had a solid lead over the seven boats trying to catch them. Tough decision for the two leaders, but also for Luigi.
Nine TP52s are a good start to the 2014 Barclays 52 Super Series, Capri is a good start, Azzurra winning is good and a welldeserved finish for the team that never gives up but that did not seem capable of matching Quantum Racing in Key West and Miami.
Jim Swartz, driving his 2008 and much-optimised Vesper to second overall and best owner-driver, had a strong week, guided by a calm but determined Gavin Brady. This result was based on good starts and boatspeed that matched the newer boats. Quantum Racing scraped through to third but only just, in the end leading Niklas Zennström’s Rán Racing by just 1pt.
Eduardo de Souza Ramos helmed his brand new Phoenix to a dream start. A first in its first Super Series race. From there on they were always in the mix to finish 5th. Tony Langley’s Gladiator with a certain Slingsby calling the shots in 6th, Provezza 1pt more in 7th and Paprec and B2 in 8th and 9th. Much can be said, the results certainly do not tell how close it often was.
Next up is the Audi TP52 Worlds in Porto Cervo. It will be nailbiting again. This time we have an unusual mix of three coastal races with only two days of windward-leeward racing. The rocky scenery of the Costa Smeralda will be exploited to weave the fleet through the islands in a pattern that for sure will lead to a few frustrations but also to a worthy winner. Again nine boats: Vesper is on her way to the US east coast and is replaced by the Italian TP52 Hurakan, last year’s ORCi World Champion (ex- Powerplax/Oracle).
In Capri we were not just racing and enjoying life. Decisions to build and buy for the 2015 season were made there and then. The owners of Azzurra, Quantum and Rán pushing the button on new boats might not be a surprise, but to learn that two other teams are to join them, one already building, to make it five new boats already on the go this early in the year, is more than good news.
On top of that the owner of Paprec Recyclage, Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, shook hands with Niklas Zennström to close the deal on the existing Rán to change hands after the final event in Ibiza. Jean-Luc and the Paprec team committed to the 52 Super Series 2015 with a new boat – superb!
With one US team already having indicated they will join the full 2015 series as well, I am optimistic and up my prognosis for the coming year. Traditionally the decision on where and what to race is made between August and November; if you include Phoenix, with six new boats and two 2011/12 boats committing to the 2015 Super Series, it is already possible that we’ll see as many as 10 new boats and starts with between 12-15 boats in 2015!
Where can you go to watch this and pinch my arm? The calendar will be released during the 2014 Copa del Rey, so first week of August. With so many new boats we feel we shall stay in the western Med and possibly extend to the Atlantic coast of Portugal and not start crossing oceans again til the end of 2015. So expect us in places like Capri, Porto Cervo and Palma. Increasingly popular also is our big brother, the Mini Maxi. With that fleet reaching critical mass to have proper fleet racing with boats all on the 72ft limit, as well as Mini Maxi owners racing TP52s (or vice versa) and certainly the nucleus of many of the crews racing in both fleets, it is of growing importance that we streamline the 52 Super Series scheduling with that of the Mini Maxis. This will mean that from 2015 choices have to be made when it comes to joining existing events. We cannot both race at the same time at Copa del Rey or Rolex Capri much longer. I am sure that together we can work out a schedule that brings us to the places where we like to race and to keep enjoying the friendships that we have built over the years.
Finally some words to the many people who ask how it is possible that the TP52s got back on their feet... look no further than the many TP52 owners who have through the years supported the class and with often surprising confidence supported the many changes that were required to upgrade the TP52 Rule to produce the new boat, of which Phoenix is the first taste. Her name so well chosen, for other reasons but nevertheless. Three of our boat owners, Alberto [Roemmers], Doug [DeVos] and Niklas [Zennström], initiated and underpin the current 52 Super Series. They have initiated so many enterprises in their successful careers, but this one has my heart and admiration. I am sure many sailors agree with me for once. Onwards, no time to rest…
Rob Weiland, TP52 class manager
Click here for more information on the Barclays 52 Super Series »
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A fascinating task
Foil pioneer Ian Ward tackles the creation of a practical and usable foiling system for the trusty original Laser… Part 1
Based on his experience designing, building and sailing over 20 different Moth designs since 1970, Ian Ward developed a keen interest in foiling, which began in 1996 when he was given the chance to sail a Hobie Trifoiler. When it exhibited incre - d ible performance in a breeze, he thought, ‘How much better could it be if it were much lighter, simpler and even faster’!
His first ‘trifoiler’-style foiling Moth was built in 1996 and modified further until 1998 when, inspired by Rich Millers’ foiling sailboard, he was struck by a thought… ‘what if it were possible to foil a Moth on just the centreboard and rudder foils alone?’
The benefits of heeling to windward for increased righting moment, and the reduced drag from fewer foils in the water were immediately obvious. What was not clear was how to make it work and if the Moth would even be sailable as it appeared to be an impossible balancing act.
Ward built the first ‘modern’ foiling Moth in 1998 using centreline foils and proved it could be done in November 1999. It was later on that John Ilett independently developed his own design in Perth, which has now become the basis of the modern foiling Moth.
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Aerial Advantage
Drone specialist Dr Jonathan Johns opens up the world of unmanned aerial imagery and looks at the performance advantages it can deliver
Increasingly the use of drones at sea in a sailing environment has become more popular, but do we truly understand their value, potential and associated risks? Many high-profile racing campaigns are now utilising drones, primarily in a covert way because of the powerful quality data that they produce. Drones are regularly being flown to amass data in various ways and for a number of uses.
To achieve success at the highest level today’s grand prix sailors are accruing as much data as possible to enhance performance, make adjustments to settings and trim, find the edge on the competition and ultimately win. For some sailors, though, performance and winning are not everything; however, read on as this story has a few twists. In simplistic terms we now have the ability to see exactly how a rig and sail function together on any point of sail in almost any prevailing conditions; from more obvious concerns such as sail shape to exactly how a rig reacts, are we using too much rig tension, or not enough?
We have all been there, lying under the boom to take pictures up the main or up the mast to examine rig set-up. We have bounced around on the foredeck looking at headsail luff curve, and leaned to leeward examining the slot. This data is compromised by taking ballast off the rail, and therefore the boat is not sailing to its optimum, resulting in consistently poor data and therefore poor results. Next option to get those vital shots is the RIB support, bouncing along camera in hand – the value of which again is compromised. Options exhausted, we continue, with guesswork being an overrated commodity in our drive to climb the fleet. Or perhaps not. Drones capable of 70kt are available to provide the next true advantage. They say a picture is worth a thousand words – well, here you can judge for yourself (above). If you agree with the value of a picture, consider how you would value stable HD video footage.
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