Nautor’s Swan are boosting their three one-design classes with a new calendar of races in some of the world’s finest sailing venues (of course)

Swan regattas have always been special. They are held in stunning locations where the sailing conditions are reliably excellent, and the events are impeccably hosted by some of the world’s most prestigious yacht clubs. Add to that some thrillingly close boat-for-boat racing interspersed with well-organised, genuinely social occasions, and you have pretty much the perfect regatta set-up, one that guarantees a strong entry list. Don’t forget that these boats are also well-appointed, luxurious cruisers, so once the trophies have been handed out many owners go family cruising.

In 2002 Nautor’s Swan made the racing even more exciting by going one-design. The Swan 45 class was followed in 2006 by the ClubSwan 42, both drawn by Germán Frers, and in 2016 by the Juan K-designed ClubSwan 50. Philippe Oulhen, ClubSwan 50 class president, explains why they decided to shift to one-design: ‘I believe ClubSwan one-design racing brings a perfect balance between high-intensity and close racing with very well-organised events at the best yacht clubs in the world. Our goal is to support each team to concentrate and learn the best from the racing on the water, with top-quality race management.’

By now there are more than enough boats in these three classes to support a range of dedicated Swan one-design events in the Mediterranean. The boats race in various ORC and IRC events in their home waters, and each is given a factor so that different events can be made comparable. That process creates a points-based world ranking, and the best boats will be invited to take part in the biennial Nations Trophy, where the best skippers in each one-design class race for global glory.

The racing is extraordinarily close. During the stunning first edition of the 2017 Nations Trophy, in Palma, nine of the 11 boats racing in the ClubSwan 50 class posted at least one podium and five boats recorded at least one win. Positions were changing at every mark and some boats finished within a second of each other. That is the beauty of one-design racing.

This international competition and camaraderie are within easy reach. In fact, due to the success of the ClubSwan 50, with 21 boats sold in its first year and many to owners of the Swan 45 or ClubSwan 42, there is a large selection of boats available in turnkey condition. One such owner is Hendrik Brandis. He was four-time world champion with his Swan 45 Earlybird before moving into the ClubSwan 50 class.

‘Swan OD racing is providing the very best platform to maximise fun for ambitious race sailors – both offshore and inshore,’ he says. ‘There are hardly any other offshore OD classes of a similar size that consistently bring decent fleets to the line and allow for fair competition at a high level. That, in combination with the special Swan community’s social events, is unique.’

So what are your options? You could choose the ever-popular three-cabin, one-head ClubSwan 42. Regina 2.0 is the 58th and last of the class, delivered in 2013. The hull and deck are infusion-moulded E-glass, foam-cored, with unidirectional carbon reinforcement where required. She features a two-spreader carbon rig, a retractable carbon bowsprit plus a full inventory of North Sails 3Di from 2017. The asking price for this turnkey route into some amazing racing in incredible locations? Just 350,000 euros, tax paid.

If 45ft is more your size, look at Earlybird, the 2003 Swan 45 driven to four world titles by Hendrik Brandis. The hull has foam-cored GRP topsides with solid laminate below the waterline and the deck is carbon epoxy Sprint with a foam core. The keel is lead and the rudder foam-cored GRP with a carbon stock. The Hall Spars carbon mast has rod rigging and a carbon spinnaker pole. She has a full B&G H3000 package, a cradle and a 20ft container full of spares, including a second forestay with a furler for cruising. Always professionally maintained, this three-cabin, one-head speed machine is on the market for just 310,000 euros, tax paid.

With these exciting new racing programmes and three one-design classes proven to deliver exhilarating racing, has there ever been a better time to be part of ClubSwan?

Click here for more information on Nautor's Swan Brokerage »

(Multiple) America’s Cup-winning sparmaker and composites pioneer Eric Hall has been at it again... with his perennial mantra: simplicity

For most product designers simplicity is the ultimate goal. The obvious benefits include lighter weight, lower prices and simpler servicing. Alphalock Systems had just those goals in mind in the design of their new automatic halyard locks. ‘The best-engineered products are always the simplest products,’ says Alphalock president and designer Eric Hall.

Hall explains that, to date, locks requiring no tripline have necessarily had systems of multiple torsionally acting springs, latches and ball detents. ‘Although they work fine as intended,’ he explains, ‘their springs eventually wear, the ball detents, which must be tuned for proper locking flipper operation, tend to rust if left idle for a time and their relatively complex disassembly and assembly, especially when reinserting the custom springs, have made servicing them a bit of a chore.’

‘Alphalocks, on the other hand,’ says Hall, ‘have basically only two moving parts, the counter-rotating locking flippers. When servicing them all you need to do is unbolt the clamshell housings and take out the flippers. To reassemble insert the two self-aligning flippers and refasten the clamshells.’

‘Their all-titanium construction ensures tough, long life and, because of titanium’s superior strength-to-weight properties, they are also the lightest products in their category. The counter-rotating lock flipper design is the secret to eliminating all the extra parts. It enables conventional locking slugs and bullets to lock automatically in a hoist-to-lock/hoist-to-unlock action without springs or any other parts.’

Well known to Seahorse readers, Eric Hall has been responsible for a long and extraordinary stream of innovations – often starting with the top of the racing market before finding wider use with fans of equally ergonomic cruising solutions

The Alphalock line serves several mast and deck applications. Internal locks, with the locking mechanism inside the mast, can be installed and removed externally through their own hole with the mast unstepped or aloft in a chair. The halyard element is a locking ball.

Another application is in bowsprits to lock tack lines of code zeros and similar light sails. They are also used in boom reef line locks.

Headstay locks mount externally, usually on the stainless headstay strop that attaches to the headstay. Whereas most headstay locks require detaching the headstay – requiring great care aloft – the Alphalock is removable for servicing without taking it off.

Block locks, which are popular on multihulls, are attached to the mast by a rope strop with the halyard passing through the lock and back down into the mast through an external entry. These also find application as external boom reef line locks.

Usually installed at the masthead with rope strop, hanging locks allow a light sail to be locked with the halyard passing from the lock into masthead sheaves.

Standard sizes are available with safe working loads ranging from 1 to 7.5 tonnes, with larger versions available on a custom basis. In addition, Alphalock Systems design custom track locking headboard cars, also with simple locking flippers requiring no springs.

The gaff headboard car combines the simple track-locking feature with their unique counter-rotating locking flippers to create a headboard car that requires no going aloft to attach the head of the sail to a car toggle. The car itself has no toggle, minimising its weight and windage. It is not the first of its type but, as with the other Alphalock products, it’s significantly simpler, lighter and more compact. All such gaff car products to date have required a tripline-actuated flipper to hold the car as the halyard bullet is locked or unlocked into the car, but the Alphalock’s gaff car simplifies that part of the system with an automatic upstop.

It’s hard to imagine locks much simpler.

Click here for more information on Alphalock Systems »

The 11th Yacht Racing Forum is scheduled to be hosted at Lorient in Brittany in October 2018... right at the heart of modern ocean racing

They call it the ‘Sailing Valley’. It is the very heart of international offshore yacht racing in the south of Brittany, a part of France (from Brest down to Vannes) that focuses strategically and with strong political support on watersports. A dream location for anyone involved in sailing and yacht racing – the logical and perfect venue for the Yacht Racing Forum 2018 (22-23 October).

Lorient is a natural shelter for sailors, while the rest of the area is a magical place of sandy beaches and jagged reefs, fortified port towns and standing stones. It is warmer than the wild north coast, but the traditions, independent spirit and seafood are just as good.

Go to the bakery in Lorient and your chances of bumping into a host of offshore legends are high. Thomas Coville, Armel Le Cléac’h, François Gabart, Franck Cammas, Justine Mettraux, Francis Joyon, Jimmy Pahun and Jean-Pierre Dick live, train and develop their racing boats in the area, and most will be at the Yacht Racing Forum 2018.

Brittany’s Sailing Valley earned its nickname due to the high number of companies involved in yacht racing that are located there: Multiplast, Lorima, NKE, GSEA, CDK, Plastimo… Even North Sails are now developing their new world R&D department in the Sailing Valley. There’s a huge economy centred around yacht racing here, with boatbuilders and designers, technical companies, sailmakers, riggers, yacht racing photographers and filmmakers, you name it… This year the Yacht Racing Forum will dedicate a third day – Wednesday 24 October – to a visit to some of these companies that have such an influence on our sport worldwide.

In the late 1990s several skippers such as Alain Gautier and Franck Cammas settled in and around Lorient, taking advantage of the conversion of the former Keroman submarine base, which closed in 1997. Today the old base is entirely devoted to sailing and yacht racing and, with its modern and adapted infrastructure, it is the first of its kind in the world.

Five out of seven Vendée Globe winners come from the Sailing Valley. Winner in 1993, Alain Gautier, was the first skipper to move to the harbour facility in Lorient when it opened in 1998. ‘The development of this area resulted from strong political leadership,’ he recalls. ‘Jean-Yves Le Drian, who was the socialist mayor of Lorient at the time [now the French minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs], understood that the military and fishing industries were in decline and that yachting, and especially yacht racing, was a promising alternative. The space was perfect for raceboats: wide and deep. I moved in with my trimaran Brocéliande and was soon followed by Groupama, Banque Populaire and many others. The industrial development took place in parallel and led to a fantastic, very powerful structure, supported by a local airport, a TGV [super-fast train] and a good road infrastructure. The entire area became a magnet. Like Le Mans for car racing.’

The quality of the site and the presence of specialised companies attracted other sailing teams. The city then developed an offshore sailing school (Pôle Course au Large) and the stunning Cité de la Voile Eric Tabarly, a giant museum dedicated to the sport of sailing, opened in 2008. This is where the Yacht Racing Forum evening reception will be on 22 October, in the middle of the exhibits.

The greatest teams from France as well as many international sailing teams are based here all year round to prepare for major competitions such as the Jules Verne trophy, the America’s Cup, Route du Rhum and the Vendée Globe. Accessible 24 hours a day, regardless of weather conditions, the submarine base and its harbour are the heart of Lorient and now incorporates companies such as riggers, sailmakers and suppliers of electronics and other essentials to the skippers who are preparing campaigns to the highest level.

Based some 35 miles away, in Port La Forêt, also part of the Sailing Valley, Michel Desjoyeaux, winner of the Vendée Globe 2000 and 2008, considers that the development of the Valley started even earlier than the 1990s, with sailors such as Eric Tabarly. ‘It has been a snowball effect that started in the 1970s, when good sailors, who were trying to become as good as the best, came to Brittany to compare themselves. The industry has gradually followed, and the political vision has accelerated it. We are lucky to have an extraordinary playground: the Atlantic, the Gulf of Morbihan and now the infrastructure and the technical background. We’ve got everything, and no need to go anywhere else!’ he says.

Essential resource for sailing
The annual conference for the business of sailing and yacht racing couldn’t dream of a more dynamic venue. Now in its 11th edition, the Yacht Racing Forum has firmly established itself as a must-attend event for anyone involved in sailing and yacht racing.

The Forum is open to anyone involved – or simply interested – in yacht racing. It assembles the sport’s leading personalities from all over the world for two days of conferences, presentations and social events. Sailing’s leading brands, events and classes showcase their products and events.

The programme and speakers will focus on the future of sailing including youth sailing, new classes and events, as well as event management, computerised systems, digital sailing, new materials, designs and technologies. It will also emphasise the sport’s leading events: the Volvo Ocean Race, the Route du Rhum, Class Ultime and the America’s Cup. Mainstream yacht racing, raceboat insurance, club management and popular sailing classes will be discussed, with conferences focusing on sponsorship, media exposure, sustainability and much more.

The sport of sailing wouldn’t exist without great imagery; yacht racing photographers and filmmakers will be celebrated too, through the Mirabaud Sailing Video Award and Yacht Racing Image award.

Below: The Lorient U-boat bases and their neighbours down the coast in St Nazaire, like other World War II constructions around the world, are simply too strong to dismantle (just as intended…). Now all these massive buildings and the open spaces that surrounded them have been turned over to the sailing industry and to the big race teams which rely upon it. This is where Groupama Team, which scored an unexpected debut Volvo Race win, prepared and trained. It is also where their in-house design team took their baseline Juan K-designed VO70 and finessed it further to produce their race-winner. Technology centre indeed

Run alongside the Business & Marketing Conference, the Design & Technology Symposium (22 October only) will focus on the latest innovations, materials and designs, data analysis, innovations in sail design and construction. Over the past few years the symposium has gathered momentum and now welcomes over 100 delegates, including experts from the America’s Cup, top-level builders, engineers and designers, software and hardware specialists.

Many of the sport’s most involved brands and stakeholders have already confirmed their participation. The conference will once again deliver important ideas and concepts, and open up new business opportunities. The event will also provide the chance to discuss the issues facing the sport and to share best practice. It is a must-attend event for organisers, sponsors, sailing teams, technical providers, venues, yacht clubs and agencies involved in the yacht racing industry.

Concrete achievements
The Yacht Racing Forum is an important conference for our sport. It isn’t a decision-making body, but it plays a leading role in identifying the sport’s key issues, debating its problems and highlighting specific points of interest for its future development. Many organisations also use the Forum to launch a new product, brand or event.

For example, the Forum initiated presentations and debates on risk management and safety in 2015, focusing on the effect of hydrofoils on safety. This subject is more topical than ever with boats that are faster by the day and not always managed by competent crews, and also race organisers who don’t always understand the implications of a regatta with foiling boats. The Forum also initiated discussion on sustainable development a decade ago; at a time when many sailors were still wondering what it means and what it has to do with yacht racing. Today

World Sailing consider sustainability an element of strategic importance, while many new organisations such as 11th Hour Racing, Sailors for the Sea or Race for Water focus entirely on the protection of our oceans. World Sailing also used the opportunity to disclose their new graphic identity. The ‘Bretagne Sailing Valley’ brand was launched at the Forum and the Volvo Ocean 65, used during the Volvo Ocean Race since 2014, was conceived during it. In short, an event not to be missed!

Click here for more information on the Yacht Racing Forum »

But where do you start? Vendée Globe competitor Conrad Colman has been among a handful of committed early adopters showing what is already possible – and without sacrificing any competitive performance

So do renewables actually work? Hell, yeah!

Conrad Colman’s 16th place Vendée Globe finish in 2017 was remarkable for many reasons: not only did he bring home his boat to a huge public welcome after losing the rig mid-Atlantic, but less well known perhaps is that he made it around without fossil fuels of any kind. And he wants to do it again.

‘I wanted to be the first sailor to complete the lap without burning fossil fuels,’ says the Lorient-based Kiwi. ‘Raphaël Dinelli tried in 2008 with Foundation Océan Vital, Javier Sanso’s Acciona in 2012 really advanced the thinking in terms of renewables. Sadly neither finished the race. So given the efforts by others to tackle this technological challenge I was delighted to have been the first to pull it off.

‘Even before I had a sponsor active in the renewables sector, I ripped the diesel engine out of my boat,’ says Colman. Look at his website (conradcolman.com) and you’ll find a revealing choice of quote, by Eleanor Roosevelt: ‘The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.’

Colman is a true believer and, with a will like that, a fossil fuel-free circumnavigation was always on the cards. ‘I replaced the engine with an electric motor from Finnish company OceanVolt, batteries by Super B in Holland and solar panels from Italian company Solbian. I also trialled prototype thin-film solar panels from a company in southern France, but they are not yet a mature technology and failed after a couple of days. It clearly takes an international effort to go green!’

Colman has proved it is possible to sail around the world without fossil fuels, but how much power was he generating? ‘The electric system from OceanVolt worked flawlessly, and I was one of the only boats in the fleet with a power source – using the engine as a generator – that could charge at over 20kt of boatspeed, and at that speed it generated 8kW... so much power I could have run the average American home!

‘Charging became strategic and I could replace 24 hours of consumption in only 15 minutes with the motor on recharge mode, with the propeller slightly opened to spin the motor,’ adds Colman.

‘During the day the 400W of Solbian panels could carry the base load consumption of the boat and also top up a little. The result was that I had about a week's autonomy stored in the batteries and didn't have to constantly worry about when I would next charge.’

So what will be the breakthrough that promotes the widespread adoption of renewable energy in offshore racing? ‘There doesn't need to be a breakthrough,’ Colman replies. ‘The technology is already on the shelf and selling to the regular leisure market.

‘Electric motors are simpler and more reliable than diesels – the newest models from OceanVolt are weather sealed to the point they will even work underwater. Now we need to optimise the installation so it doesn’t weigh more than a classic system,’ he explains. ‘As technology progresses batteries will become lighter and more userfriendly before the next Vendée.’

Has Colman ticked the box on fossil fuel-free sailing? ‘Absolutely not; I am currently putting together a new programme for the next Vendée Globe,’ he reveals.

‘I am in talks to renewables companies about using this as a platform to promote the new energy era. Having a boat that is constantly charging and is able to store sufficient energy to avoid a daily charge actually frees up a lot of mental space for the skipper to focus on other elements.’

Will we ever see renewable solutions for cruising boats, with air-cons, entertainment systems and toys? ‘Any sailing boat using good hydrogenerators can now meet its energy needs while sailing, especially any kind of performance boat,’ replies Colman. ‘For the moment a hybrid system with electric propulsion and regeneration, and a diesel generator is probably a good intermediary step, much as it has been with cars...’

The wider picture
Shifting the conversation from competitors to organisers, where do you start if you want to create a sustainable, carbon-neutral event? You could follow the lead of the Atlantic Cup, which in 2012 became the first carbon-neutral US regatta… ever.

‘The Atlantic Cup is the longest race on the US east coast, and the only dedicated Class40 event in the US,’ says Manuka Sports Management’s Julianna Barbieri. ‘It’s a double-handed race held every other year. Teams race from Charleston, South Carolina to New York City, then to Portland, Maine. There the teams convert to fully crewed mode and race a two-day inshore series in Casco Bay.

‘When we created the Atlantic Cup in 2010-11 we knew that we wanted to make sure our operations were not leaving a negative impact on the planet,’ Barbieri continues. ‘In partnership with 11th Hour Racing we started devising ways to implement sustainability solutions into every area, from working with caterers and waste management to communications. We changed our thinking right out of the gate.’

Offshore, all skippers are required to use renewable energy – hydrogenerators, solar or wind, for everything but propulsion. Most choose solar over hydrogenerators with some skippers voicing concern about drag. Single-use water bottles are prohibited by the NOR, with skippers encouraged to use their water tanks – in practice most skippers prefer water containers which double as moveable ballast.

The carbon footprint of the event in 2016 was 29 tons, broken down into transport (73 per cent), events (17 per cent), accommodation (four per cent), offices (three per cent) and waste (three per cent). To be carbon neutral the remaining carbon has to be offset. Since 2012 the event has offset 95 tons in total.

One step at a time… though there were previous attempts to complete the 27,000nm Vendée Globe course with no use of fossil fuel the first to take full advantage of modern developments in green power was Javier Sanso who raced the 2012 event on this Owen Clark design comprehensively fitted out with a sophisticated package of solar and hydro power generation and the most advanced storage systems of the day. Sadly Sanso was dismasted late in the race – but at least he hadn’t burnt any fossil fuel… 11th Hour co-founder Jeremy Pochman sums it up: ‘Identify each challenge, define an achievable set of objectives, then put your ideas into practical and sustainable solutions. Do the best job you can and then mitigate the rest… one step at a time’

‘Our carbon offset partner, We Are Neutral, calculated and offset our footprint,’ says Barbieri. ‘The offsets were used to retrofit lowincome housing in the southeast US with energy-efficient lighting. The cost of offsetting 29 tons of carbon to make the 2016 Atlantic Cup carbon-neutral was US$300-500. It’s really not that expensive.’

The end result was an event that was fully compliant with ISO20121, the event standard pioneered by the 2012 Olympics. ‘Being ISO20121 compliant not only holds the Atlantic Cup to a very high standard in terms of environmental responsibility, but it shows race organisers that it is possible to implement sustainability into their events without busting the budget. And it demonstrates to every type of sailor that they can adopt small changes that collectively over time will have a positive impact on our planet,’ says Barbieri. ‘It’s our hope that our efforts are inspiring change throughout the sport – to make a difference we all must do our part.’

Barbieri also drafted the sustainability strategy for Vestas 11th Hour Racing’s Volvo Ocean Race entry. For the team Barbieri’s plan touched on every area of impact relating to its carbon footprint. Throughout the Volvo race the team is tracking all travel, accommodation, electricity, water consumption and waste, to calculate their carbon footprint. The carbon impact will be offset at the conclusion of the event with the Ocean Foundation’s ‘blue carbon’ credits project, SeaGrass Grow.

Even in the details the team sought out partners with a strong environmental commitment: Karün sunglasses, made from recycled fishing nets; Aethic sunblock, with a formula that is coral compatible. Challenged by the team, clothing supplier Musto even reduced by 70 per cent the plastic used in the packaging and delivery of their Volvo Ocean Race Collection. Onboard, they use a desalinator for fresh water generation while onshore Bluewater filtration units provide for all water requirements.

The team sources food locally onshore, operating a ‘meat free’ Monday, onshore and at sea (surprising factoid… a tomato requires 13 litres of water to grow, making a hamburger takes 2,400 litres). Staff share transport ashore while flights are obviously mitigated as much as possible. The goal is to have a 75 per cent landfill diversion rate; all food scraps from operations on land are composted, and as is – or by now should be – today’s norm all food packaging comes back ashore for recycling.

11th Hour Racing have inspired other events to go carbon neutral as well: take a look at the successes of the 52 Super Series which has offset 248 tonnes of carbon through a portfolio of development projects managed by ClimateCare… and, on a much smaller scale, the 2017 Vineyard Cup, which offset its carbon footprint for just US$10!

Going carbon neutral is the right thing to do. Protecting and restoring the health of our oceans is one race none of us can afford to lose. It requires only the will to change and some forethought. Start by developing a strategy, learn from the many available resources online, seek assistance from organisations specialised in carbon offsetting and start tracking! The clock is ticking.

Click here for more information on 11th Hour Racing »