The world’s best yacht racing photographers will be celebrated for the sixth consecutive time on 8 December during the 2015 Yacht Racing Forum in Geneva

The 2015 edition of the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image Award has begun! Submissions are open and yacht racing photographers from all around the world are invited to select and send in their photos up until 25 October.

The Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image is now the world’s premier photography competition dedicated to the sport of sailing, celebrating the very best yacht racing image taken over the previous 12 months. Since its debut in 2010 this prestigious Trophy has been awarded to four world-class photographers: Thierry Martinez, France (2010 and 2011), Kurt Arrigo, Malta (2012), Abner Kingman, USA (2013) and Alfred Farré, Spain (2014).

A new standard was set with the amazing 2014 competition. Indeed, the last edition of the event revealed a stunning collection of images submitted by 108 professional photographers spanning 25 countries. More than one million people saw their pictures across various social networks, while the event’s dedicated website received more than 150,000 unique visitors.

‘I have been involved in this contest since day one as both a partner and member of the jury,’ says Antonio Palma, CEO of Mirabaud & Cie SA. ‘In my opinion the last edition of the contest in 2014 was the best. I was truly amazed by the quality of the pictures we received and the whole process was simply a great pleasure – it was also a real challenge to try to select the images that best represented the essence and excitement of the sport.’

In 2015 the top 20 pictures selected by the public will once again be displayed during the Yacht Racing Forum, on 7-8 December, in Geneva, Switzerland, where the winning photographers will each be called on stage to collect their prizes and share their experience with the Forum delegates. The overall winner will receive the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image Award and a precious Zenith El Primero Chronomaster 1969, while the Public Award trophy will also be presented along with additional prizes from event partner Nespresso.

The Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award is organised by MaxComm Communication and is open to professional yacht racing photographers from all over the world. Its purpose is to pay tribute to their work, to provide them with a promotional platform and to help promote the sport of sailing to a wider audience.

A member of the jury in 2015, America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race skipper Ken Read paid tribute to the quality of the photographs and the importance of yachting photographers to the development of the sport: ‘One of sailing’s enduring qualities is the fact that a single photograph can tell more about our sport than a book of words. Power, grace, modern and old-fashioned beauty, athleticism, variety. The beauty certainly lies in the eye of the beholder.’

International financial services group Mirabaud is the title sponsor of the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award. Mirabaud’s association with sailing is built on its alignment with local and global initiatives that convey professionalism, ethics and performance. The company has been involved in international yacht racing for many years, notably through its sponsorship of the Bol d’Or Mirabaud, the world’s biggest regatta held on a lake, its support of offshore sailor Dominique Wavre (Vendée Globe 2012-13 and Barcelona World Race 2010-11), and its current ongoing partnership with Yann Guichard and Dona Bertarelli’s Spindrift Racing as Gold Partner.

Top: definitely the team to join… not only are Mirabaud backed Spindrift Racing about to set off on a Jules Verne Trophy attempt with the mighty VPLP-design Spindrift 2, but the team’s inshore prowess was amply demonstrated with a win in the 2015 Tour Voiles on their Diam 24 – seen here flirting with the idea of a quick luff… Meanwhile, the Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image award will be a highlight (below) of the 2015 Yacht Racing Forum in Geneva

Post-match analysis – Tour de France à la Voile

While Franck Cammas’s Groupama appeared to dominate the Tour de France à la Voile, the team finally conceded overall victory to Spindrift Racing, jointly helmed by Xavier Revil and François Morvan.

It was a victory that didn’t surprise the Swiss Diam 24’s coskipper Revil: ‘We were racing consistently at the top of the fleet, with only a couple of weaker performances during the entire Tour.

‘Groupama did the same but the other way around; they started very well but had two bad races at the end. Altogether, our results are fairly comparable… just a little bit better for us!’

There were some concerns ahead of the event about the inshore programme, the format and even the new trimaran platforms chosen for the 2015 Tour. ‘But this was a great event,’ summarised Revil.

‘The blend of stadium events and coastal courses was perfect, and the boats were ideal for the job. What we observed is that virtually every team could perform well in light air, but the same five or six teams usually led once the wind increased. For us the lighter races proved to be the most challenging.’

It was a long and tiring month for all of the teams, and Spindrift’s co-skipper is sure endurance, health and fitness management were key ingredients of the team’s success. ‘It was also efficient for me to be able to share helming duties with François [Morvan]. This type of event is draining and it is essential – but far from easy – to find a way to maintain maximum performance all the way through.’

Spindrift’s management hasn’t announced yet if the Tour de France à la Voile will be part of the team’s programme in 2016. ‘Our current priority is the Jules Verne Trophy. The Tour de France helped us to get closer to each other within our squad, which is also of course positive for the future: three out of the five team members involved in the TdF will sail onboard the maxi trimaran this winter and we’ve now learnt how to both live and sail together over a long period,’ says Yann Guichard, skipper of Spindrift 2.

Jules Verne Trophy
The maxi trimaran Spindrift 2 and its crew go on standby on 19 October, ready to set off around the world the moment the weather allows. ‘The standby period is not easy to handle,’ explains Yann Guichard, ‘as other oceanic record attempts have also discovered.

‘Team members need to be prepared to go at any time. They have to be ready both mentally and physically during a period that can really drag out. To keep the team’s spirits up we currently all meet up at least once a week and compete together but in different sports – soccer, running, tennis and so on.’

Spindrift 2 herself has been updated for the round-the-world trip, with a new mast that is 3m shorter than the original but with the use of new techniques and materials is at least 500kg lighter. There are also new sails, plus a new daggerboard and revised deck layout. ‘We have worked very hard at saving weight; the boat is now approximately 1.5 tonnes lighter overall than it was during its previous Jules Verne-winning round-the-world voyage.

‘Our objective is to set sail as soon as the right weather window appears. And if there is a long delay we are prepared to remain on standby until at least early February, after which weather conditions in the Southern Hemisphere deteriorate too rapidly.’
Bernard Schopfer

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Class manager ROB WEILAND takes a stab at spotting the best (and not so best) features of this year’s TP52 fleet

It is like yesterday that we started the 2015 season in Valencia and now I am packing for the final event in Cascais, with its crisp Atlantic conditions and so close to the charm and history of Lisbon.

The Seahorse editor suggests I offer my personal take on the performance of the different boats this year. If I had something sensible to say then I guess I would be running a team and out on the water each day. Truth is nowadays I hardly ever get out to watch the racing as that means long nights spent catching up with my real work. So my take on things comes from following the tracker while doing other stuff and foremost from talking to owners and sailors.

Most of my working life has been spent putting together raceboats and to do this well you have first to find out what the client wants… basically to listen. Apparently easy, but of course it never is as what exactly do we want? And then we never want the same thing as a project evolves. I’ve learnt to be patient, not my forte, and have developed a sense for realistic deadlines and direction. Of course, foreseeing what comes next helps, it isn’t always history repeating itself.

Designers, builders and teams follow a similar process, narrowing down choices up to the moment that you have to deliver. A design, a boat, a team, a race, a win. In our TP neck of the sailing woods we have two design teams doing each four or five boats. These are of course not four or five unique designs, but they are each optimised to the input of the teams and of the specialist advisors the teams use.

Appendage shapes will vary, hull shapes by the same designer will vary but as far as I can see only marginally this year. All teams have the same mast supplier, Southern, but none of the masts, although from the same mould, has the same laminate spec and so all differ in characteristics, at least in theory. They also vary in spreader position, spreader angle, rigging attachment points and so on. The rigging for sure is not all identical. Different suppliers have different solutions, weights and diameters. And this goes on and on for all the detailing throughout the boat, equipment and sails.

Once the teams start sailing it gets exciting. Reality interferes every time that you hoist something new, try a new crewmember, a new technique, line up with another boat and for sure when you race. Boats are never exactly the same from event to event – the shore team always works on something new, the crew is optimised and of course the events each have their specific conditions.

Then there is the psychology, how to get the best out of the team? How to focus? How to keep things pleasant? In the end this is the owner’s hobby, not his work. Do not underestimate the importance of having a good time, having fun. Managing the team is an essential part of the puzzle, and of the fun. And I have just managed to get halfway through this story without burning my fingers or any name calling…

The 52 Super Series is 90 per cent windward-leeward racing, and with boats that are near identical in performance it is a tense affair. At our size of boat, as soon as we have over 10 boats there is no free space left on the racetrack. Such close fleet racing is a speciality that few master. Sailing is already very complex, but sailing under constant positional pressure also requires chess-type talent.

Even the most talented require top-level fleet racing experience from a young age complemented by practice, practice and more practice. It is therefore not strange that you regularly see the same tacticians in those fleet racing classes where pro sailors are permitted, like the RC44, Farr 40 and Melges 32. To name a few: Terry Hutchinson, Michele Ivaldi, Vasco Vascotto, Markus Wieser. Through the years you get a good idea who has the sixth sense that makes you an expert in this field. But never forget that the tactician is just a wheel in a rather large machine. Part of being a good tactician is how you pick your work – it’s easier to be good on a fast boat.

Who was fast out of the box this year? Easy to say now that Azzurra have shown such speed, consistency and intelligent optimisations. Their 35pt lead over second-placed Quantum Racing and about 50pt over numbers three to six going into the final event is impressive. Their boat’s detailing is based on many years of racing TP52s and building quite a few Azzurras. Their sailing team over the years has not varied that much, the Argentinean core can almost be seen as family and is now in a happy mix with four Italians, one Spaniard and the ‘odd one out’ Kiwi trimmer Grant Loretz. The boat is sometimes owner-driven by Alberto Roemmers Jr but 90 per cent of the time it is Guillermo Parada at the helm. Vasco Vascotto calls the shots (with a few variations on Mamma Mia) and Bruno Zirilli navigates. This year the team have shown more focus and better composure under pressure than before. I am sure this has taken a lot of work.

Maybe not a surprise, given Azzurra is the first sister out of the mould, but Bronenosec possibly was the fastest boat from hitting the water. In many ways the opposite from Azzurra as a team, as it is owner Vladimir Liubomirov’s first TP52. Vladimir always drives the boat himself, it was launched the week before the first event and the team had very little advance practice. The Bronenosec team is built around the crew of the same owner’s RC44 and is a mix of sailors from Russia, Italy, Australia and New Zealand.

Coincidence or not is that the ‘brains’ are Italian, as on Azzurra: Michele Ivaldi tactician, Francesco Mongelli navigator and Gabriele Benussi strategist. Not distracted by any time to test, modify or tune, from day one Bronenosec showed good speed. But to match Azzurra in consistency over a wide range of conditions is another thing. There is much still to learn. Possibly we shall take home from this team that it is possible to put together a fast TP52 project based on an existing team of good pedigree in other classes.

The same really can be said for Alegre and owner-driver Andy Soriano. A team honed in Soto40s and Maxi 72s and up there with the best from the beginning. Again not the consistency of Azzurra but, that said, Azzurra 2014 was nowhere near as consistent as they are in 2015.

How difficult it is to be consistent is demonstrated best by Quantum Racing. A new boat combined with a few changes in this stars-only team did not immediately produce the flawless performance that we are so used to. Winning the Copa del Rey and sneaking into second overall, however, shows that ‘never ever give up’ remains a good strategy. In hindsight it is perhaps a pity the team chose to have Ed Baird drive the TP52 worlds – father or son DeVos would have kept the team on track for the overall owner-driver trophy.

The competition that is the most exciting in 2015 is indeed the one for the John Cook Owner Driver Trophy. With one event left there is little between leader Sled (Takashi Okura), Bronenosec (Vladimir Liubomirov), Alegre (Andy Soriano) and Platoon (Harm Müller Spreer).

The Sled team have ample TP52 experience, Don Cowie cracking the mainsheet as well as the whip and the ever-smiling Canadian wizard Ross Macdonald on tactics alongside strategist Hamish Pepper (NZL). They have lost a few points that could have gone their way, but still in the lead so why not?

Strongest challenge might come from Harm Müller Spreer and Platoon. Seemingly built of steel, this boat and team are on the way up, finding more speed and confidence than any of the others since the worlds. The brains trust of Markus Wieser (tactician), Séb Col (strategist) and Johan Barne (navigator) did some good work recently with a second in the worlds and a third in the Copa del Rey – but most impressive and making their tactics look even better is that Platoon is more consistently fast than the other Vrolijk designs.

In seventh place overall after four events we find Provezza. Ergin Imre’s team have achieved the modest goals that Ergin set before the season, but alongside the joy of a handful of bullets and a podium place at the worlds there remains a lack of consistency in both speed and positioning that is probably related and that the team so far has not been able to resolve. Provezza is similar in set-up to Sled, both teams having a pro-am crew with nearly half the team certainly not making their living racing boats. I would say aim to match Sled in 2016 and achieve sixth or better overall in 2015…

With the top five after four events all Botín designs you can see why just looking at numbers can lead to the wrong conclusions – my take is that there is nobody in the fleet praising or blaming boats or equipment for their current placing. And this is as it should be; any boat out there can be in any position or can be brought to the level to be in any position. I already mentioned how fast the Botín-designed Bronenosec and the Vrolijk-designed Platoon sometimes are. If anything it tells us all boats are perfectly capable with the trick being to be the one staying at the optimum for the longest.

About sails I can state that I haven’t a clue what is best! Like almost anybody else, I like to add. As chief measurer I just know that sailmakers are sometimes a pain in the bum when it comes to the rules. It must be all this three-dimensional thinking that makes it difficult to live with the fact that we measurers are two-dimensional people: black or white, within the rule or not. Yes, the rule is sometimes stupid, yes, the rule is always behind, but then please help to improve the rule first and then build the sail you dream of.

And why are two ‘identical’ computer-designed, computer-built sails never the same? Please tell us, or better still resolve this. Boat racing is difficult enough as it is. Then again, modern sails look so much better than what we called high-tech in the previous century. Development never stops, certainly not in a development class.

Cascais, here we come!

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Not perfect but certainly getting there – Rio 2016

Leading up to the second Olympic Test Event in Rio de Janeiro we almost forgot that we were in Rio for the sailing competitions given the amount of press dedicated to the problem of water quality and ‘floating objects’ in Guanabara Bay.

Water quality continues to be of major concern to ISAF and to everybody else involved with the sailing competitions. ISAF’s tropical disease expert Dr Nebojsa Nikolic worked tirelessly with the Brazilian authorities and the Rio 2016 organising authority to monitor the water quality and the health of the sailors as well as of those officials who came into contact with the water. One area, inside the Marina da Gloria itself, is of particular concern; however, we are assured by the Rio organisers that the problem will be addressed before the Olympics. One of our 49er sailors experienced serious infection and there were several upset tummies but, difficult as this sounds, the situation is slowly improving.

The other area of concern, objects in the water, was dealt with very efficiently using daily helicopter observations supported by 10 ‘eco-boats’ which were constantly crisscrossing the bay in search of floating obstructions. Sailors who have sailed in the Guanabara Bay for many years, including the two ISAF Technical Delegates, agreed that the bay has rarely been as free of objects as it was during this latest Olympic Test Event. In part this was due to the prevailing southerly winds and lack of rain; an opposite situation, northerly winds with lots of rainfall, will certainly test the effectiveness of the eco-boats and indeed, in just these conditions, on the day after the event finished and following a night’s rain Ponte Course was tested and found to be unusable for racing.

Although by no means forgetting water quality, on Saturday 15 August everybody’s attention at the Marina da Gloria turned to the business at hand: sailing. With a turnout of 339 sailors from 52 countries it is fair to say that the elite of world sailing had gathered in Rio. All 10 Olympic classes were either at or almost at Olympic strength which gave race officials, Rio organisers and ISAF itself a perfect opportunity to test everything before the Olympics in exactly one year’s time. Six racecourses were tested with international and national technical officials harvesting the experience that will be needed to run the Olympic Regatta as well as possible.

At the second Weymouth test event in 2011, ahead of London 2012, no fewer than 18 of the eventual 30 medal winners were present. Given the quality field at the second Rio 2016 test event a similar cycle will almost certainly be repeated. Also worth noting, the fact that 19 different nations medalled at Rio shows that the ‘performance gap’ is reducing steadily.

It has to be said that the Rio organisers did a very commendable job in preparing the sailing venue, which was almost 100 per cent temporary given that the Marina da Gloria rebuilding project is running at full tilt. The marina project is scheduled to be completed by January when it should be handed over to the Rio 2016 organisation. If plans and artist’s drawings are anything to go by then Rio will deliver another excellent Olympic sailing venue.

For spectators, as sailing is one of the few Olympic sports that can be viewed for free, without the need to purchase a ticket, Flamengo Beach is expected to see record crowds – especially if Brazilian sailors get into the Medal Races. Following on from the London 2012 experience, the Medal Races themselves will be run as close to the beach as possible, with the final leg heading straight in towards the beach to finish just outside the breaking waves and as close to spectators as possible.

For our 2015 Test Event the weather was as near perfect as sailors can hope for. Most days enjoyed brilliant sunshine with temperatures during the daylight sailing time between 24°C and 28°C. Wind conditions did prove challenging at times, particularly on the three race areas outside Guanabara Bay; however, all classes were able to complete their scheduled programmes which is what ultimately matters most.

If the weather at the Olympics is anything like that of this year’s final Test Event, in the iconic setting of Guanabara Bay in the shadow of the Sugar Loaf and Christ the Redeemer mountains, then there is every chance that sailing will be one of the stars of Rio 2016.

Setting justified concerns over water quality to one side, the enthusiasm of the sailors, coaches and team leaders for the Rio venue and the actual racing conditions was contagious. We must not forget that the last two Olympics, Beijing and London, had the sailing competitions in locations away from the host cities. At the 2016 Rio Olympics sailing will be centre stage!
Scott Perry, ISAF Vice-President

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Much has changed in raceboat design with the advent of better materials and new stability solutions. In fact many of the old rules now no longer apply – advocates Juan Kouyoumdjian

Within the context of racing sailboats, length has always been treated as a major performance parameter. Therefore, most racing rules either limited length or dealt with it in one way or another. It has also always brought some magnificence with it that was not necessarily only related to pure speed. But there is now a case for a rebirth of the Maxis at the top of our sport, something that is taking place not only for monohulls but also multihulls with the Ultime Class. Beyond this magnificence, the Maxi ‘raison d’être’ is that it represents the environment within which the fastest monohull can be conceived. The intention of the following words is to try to explain why this is the case.

In the case of the largest racing monohulls, they are today gathered around the International Maxi Class [IMA] which, based on tradition, stipulates a few rules of engagement. Among them, length is restricted to between 24m and 30.5m, which is the reason why most modern maxis are at the long end of this range.

Indeed, one could be forgiven for believing that length is still everything in terms of performance, but this is not the case. The appropriate relationship between length, weight, power and the capacity to use it properly is what makes the difference. No element on its own can output high performance without balancing with the others. This is precisely why a smaller [shorter] sailboat such as a dinghy can outperform a much bigger [longer] one.

The single most influential parameter in this equation for sailboats this size is draft because it impacts weight and power; and it is obvious today that if we are talking about high performance at this size of boat, we can only consider a canting-keel set-up.