Tuesday, December 18, 2012

2 Freight Trains Heading to the End of the Track @ Full Speed


Dennis St. Onge/ DA-WOODY.com sent me this video.
Velos versus Stars and Stripes.
 Of course DA-WOODY's boat is even faster.






- HOT RUM SERIES. Finish in race 3 (on bottom of page 10 of that race).
http://www.da-woody.com/Photoindex.htm

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Vendee Globe 2012. In 24 hours; 545.3 miles.

                     
- We are talking about miles over a 24 hour period in the Vendee Globe Race.

- Besides the weather routing, wind and options in tactic, superficially I want to analyze the best of the Imoca 60's. Macif and Banque Populaire are the current leaders as they approach the Western side of Australia. The two boats are the latest VPLP/Verdier collaboration in design. Under present condition and for that matter nearly all the time, M and B-P. seem to have an advantage in speed over the rest of the fleet. On the Vendee Globe web site, I gather that M. is the lightest of them all, that both M. and B-P have rotating masts which I consider essential to make a substantial difference in performance. This can explain the small deficit of the close sistership Virpak-Paper who has a conventional standing mast and rigging configuration. From my point of view the drawback of the rotating mast is presented in the form of the fragile and cumbersome outriggers. They have been the cause of problems past and in present circumstances. I think there is a better solution as explained in one of the comment.

Monday, December 3, 2012

San Diego Yacht Club. "Hot RUM Series".

- This year the "Hot RUM Series" had 130 entered boats, in six classes.

- Velos is a Tanton 73' based in San Diego.
The 28 years old girl is still going strong, but it is all about the wind. For instance. First race: positions, first in class, 8 in the fleet. Second race: very light wind. Only 57 boats finished and Velos ended up 28. Third race: nice breeze; Velos, first to finish and first in fleet.
It is hard to have a career based on the vagaries of the wind !
Suspense of the finish between Velos and Dennis Conner's Stars and Stripes.

Photos courtesy of Bob Betancourt and Bronny Daniels

Tanton Yacht Design is 50 years old!

  Very hard to believe.  - From being 27 years old to now and to the future. - Making me, in my field one of the oldest Design Firm in Ameri...