Taste of winter in Newport.

To say the least we have seen a lot of snow over the past 3-4 weeks. A few pictures are worth a thousand words.

Une vie bien remplie. 1922-2014.

- It has been 12 years now since my mother passed away. We all miss her very much, Chauncey, my son, Dominique, my daughter, and, for sure, myself, along with so many friends on both sides of the Atlantic. The following is what I wrote at the funeral in the South of France, in the city of Grasse.

12 February 2014.

- Mesdames et Messieurs. Ladies and Gentlemen.

- Je vous remercie beaucoup d'être venus, en grand nombre, ici pour assister au départ final d'une vie bien remplie. Mme Jacqueline Le Liepvre, du nom de son deuxième époux, était une femme qui n'est pas passée inaperçue et qui comptait beaucoup d'amis de par le monde. Je suis ici pour en attester. Pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas toute l'histoire, je vais essayer de donner un compte rendu rapide d'une longue vie de 92 ans.
Né en Belgique, j'ai connu ses parents, mes grands-parents, qui étaient comme on dit des gens très bien. L'un aussi différent de l'autre mais unis dans un amour sincère, ils ont élevé deux enfants, ma mère mais aussi mon oncle Yves ici présent avec son épouse et ma cousine Florence. L'enfance de ma mère était plutôt dorée. En partie grâce à sa grand-mère pour laquelle elle avait une affection sans limite. Avec une jeunesse consacrée à la danse et à des études sans conséquence, rien n'aurait pu prédire à un autre futur que celui d'une jeune femme accomplie bâtie sur son rôle de jeune fille de bonne famille.

You want to have a leg up on the cold?

- Buy "Belle Ile". A 1995 steel, 33' M.B.C.C model. (Modern British Channel Cutter). Presently located in the Canary Islands. She can take you to the Caribbean, where I understand it is warm now! There is still time before the hurricane season. I am waiting for more information, in the meantime I can tell you that the asking price is 63K Euros.

- Belle Ile Video.
- I have just received more pictures of the boat.

- I designed Belle-Ile to recreate differently the nostalgic era of the Norwegian Rescue Fleet so well rendered by Colin Archer and so many others. The type of boats that shaped my life at an early age. I was enamored by Jacques-Yves Le Toumelin's  Kurun and the account of his voyage around the world. I must have been 12 years old at the time and in Boarding School. Not fun. When I got the book, I just could not separate myself from reading it again and again. To such an extent that I stole it from the School Library and it is still in my possession.

Have you seen me ?

- Well, it has been 42 years since that picture was taken. Now, it is common to see large boats, Imoca, VOR, Maxis, leaping out of the water like scalding cats. Sure, the 128' x 69,000Lbs., probably the lightest fiberglass structure for a monohull, does not compare in size and purpose to the others. She was designed for Jean-Yves Terlain for the 1972 single-handed Transatlantic race.

A Tall order.

-The new Rambler 88'.

I understand that Rambler is designed to be competitive on handicap and given the right conditions in light air and downwind (and luck) to address the heavier, bigger 100-footers with lighter weight, and a test of patience and skill to show them one thing or two.

Down East Boats.

- I have had the opportunity, over a period of 10 years, to design so-called "Lobster Yachts".  In size range from 36 to 40 feet. About one in every year; they are good boats and people liked them.
Then, all of a sudden, in 2008, the market dropped under us. The final draw happened when we had to cancel an operation to start in China. It was a wise decision considering that, since then, not one non-commercial boat has been sold. So what went wrong? And why are such good boats not taking off again with a slightly better economic climate?

Volvo Ocean Race. Cargados Carajos ?

- Vesta aground. The dramatic Video catching the moment where Vesta, the VOR competitor hit the Cargados Carajos Shoals. This cannot leave us without feeling horribly bad about the crew, the boat, and for the Race.

- The sequence of events must have been creeping for some time before, probably by compounding small errors to end up on an island. I am not to analyze the issue of responsibility but simply know that actions have consequences and that there must be a reason. Once, I have been in that situation of ending on a sand bar. Thank God without the complete disaster as depicted above.

A little side story.

- S.O.R.C 1979. We had a good clip on Desperado, an early 57' U.L.D.B capable of going 25 knots with very little help. That night, closing on the finish line we had to negotiate a channel. The navigator was down below at the chart table. Probably sensing something was not quite right, the owner asked me to check on the navigation. That is when we hit. Bone crushing, we were dragged on the bank and heeled well over. We took the appropriate precaution for the crew with a life vest, life raft overboard, and calling the Coast Guard. They were not long to arrive, we were not the only ones in this predicament. They towed us sideways out of the beach and out of danger and onto the nearest lift. If we did not sink on the way.

- Well, this Series may as well be over before even starting. But maybe not.

- On the spot, as you can imagine it was difficult to assess the amount of destruction and the amount of water ingress that could sink us. But going inside again just after the C.G dragged us to open water, I did not see any problem with the hull itself from where I was standing. Water was sloshing around the keel area, the vertical floor system inside the sump having been crushed. This fiberglass sump build over the entire length of the lead keel probably saved the boat of major rebuilding. As Desperado was battered by the swells, this space between the hull proper and the lead keel took the brunt of the crashes and slowly crumbling acted like a shock absorber. We rebuilt the floor and the spacer and went on missing only the next race.

- This drawing out of the accommodation plan does not show the construction details, only the sump.