Team Concise
I always find Cowes week too overwhelming to enjoy it as an occasion but the week is the sum of its parts and much as I may prefer to avoid the crowds it's the kind of event that simply can't be ignored.
So yesterday I joined the Red Funnel scrum - amazing how many you can get on that boat - to cross over to the Isle of Wight and spend the afternoon in the Extreme 40 stand with the Pindar GAC and Sail Oman teams. Andrew Pindar, who has been supporting sailing for years as a sponsor, arranged for me to join Pete Goss for a short sail on Team Concise.
Pete is sailing this new Class 40 yacht in the Route de Rhum in October. It's a great class, restoring some of the Corinthian spirit in to sailing with competition yachts that cost a fraction to campaign compared with their Open 60 big sisters.
But they are still pretty sophisticated with water ballast controls and a swinging bowsprit that can be operated in the same way that you would "pole back" or "pole forward" your spinnaker on a conventional yacht.
They have a fixed keel and no carbon in the hull to save on costs. But they're strong boats and amazingly stable. There's no wheel so you might try spotting the helm in the picture above (he's second from the left).
It was good to catch up with the Extreme 40 event that seems to go from strength to strength, running its own show independent of the regatta. The Pindar GAC yacht is a new arrival in the event with Nick Moloney at the helm, and seemed to be doing well. Not all the yachts escaped the competition unscathed, however.
Closer to the Royal Yacht Squadron was the 1851 tent. This America's Cup-style competition seems to have re-ignited interest in what commercially has become damaged goods in spite of its great history.
Hopefully with the kind of commitment shown by Sir Keith Mills and Team Origin and Larry Ellison's apparent willingness to rebuild the event, we might see a full revival of the cup. With Ben Ainslie showing this week he can be a match for the Americans, a British-based team might even win it. Just to whet our appetites the trophy was on show between two beefy security guards.
So yesterday I joined the Red Funnel scrum - amazing how many you can get on that boat - to cross over to the Isle of Wight and spend the afternoon in the Extreme 40 stand with the Pindar GAC and Sail Oman teams. Andrew Pindar, who has been supporting sailing for years as a sponsor, arranged for me to join Pete Goss for a short sail on Team Concise. Pete is sailing this new Class 40 yacht in the Route de Rhum in October. It's a great class, restoring some of the Corinthian spirit in to sailing with competition yachts that cost a fraction to campaign compared with their Open 60 big sisters.
But they are still pretty sophisticated with water ballast controls and a swinging bowsprit that can be operated in the same way that you would "pole back" or "pole forward" your spinnaker on a conventional yacht.
They have a fixed keel and no carbon in the hull to save on costs. But they're strong boats and amazingly stable. There's no wheel so you might try spotting the helm in the picture above (he's second from the left).
It was good to catch up with the Extreme 40 event that seems to go from strength to strength, running its own show independent of the regatta. The Pindar GAC yacht is a new arrival in the event with Nick Moloney at the helm, and seemed to be doing well. Not all the yachts escaped the competition unscathed, however.Closer to the Royal Yacht Squadron was the 1851 tent. This America's Cup-style competition seems to have re-ignited interest in what commercially has become damaged goods in spite of its great history.
Hopefully with the kind of commitment shown by Sir Keith Mills and Team Origin and Larry Ellison's apparent willingness to rebuild the event, we might see a full revival of the cup. With Ben Ainslie showing this week he can be a match for the Americans, a British-based team might even win it. Just to whet our appetites the trophy was on show between two beefy security guards.Labels: 1851, America's Cup, Andrew Pindar, Ben Ainslie, Oman Sail, Pete Goss, Pindar, Team Concise, Team Origin
posted by Richard Donkin at
2:13 PM
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