Thursday saw the crew on board charter yacht AQUARIUS having a great first day of sailing, in which they valiantly defied a 90 minute morning squall. By the time of my evening arrival everyone was in fine form to party, having already finished taking the winches apart and cleaning them after this challenging day of racing.
The party, located at Dutch Sint Maarten’s Port de Plaisance on picturesque Simpson Bay, was tremendous fun, featuring rockin’ music and delightful cuisine. The eclectic crowd included jubilant local families, whose little children danced energetically about the grounds. Not to mention of course, the yacht crews, finally able to relax, drink lots of Heineken and eye the many local beauties. Big screens broadcast videos with highlights of the races.
I had dinner on board an elegant Jeanneau 43, which was moored out in Simpson Bay (a bit of a rolly polly place) and gliding on the water from the marina to the mooring on the dinghy the dense forest of glittering masthead lights was truly breathtaking. I am delighted to report that the number of boats in the harbor has easily doubled from last year, including an array of imposing mega yachts. I anticipate a brilliant day of events tomorrow and will keep you posted, with luck right from the rail!
Craig Cunningham has designed a new high performance cruising catamaran, ENDLESS SUMMER. This bold gunmetal multihull has an edgy presence, which projects right off the drawing board.
According to Cunningham, “the high performance hull form is married to styling that is inspired by the 1960’s Jaguar MKII with sweeping sensual lines.” The torpedo shape of the hull in profile also projects a masculine, militaristic command of strength and high performance.
As a high performance yacht many construction details remain under wraps, yet it is evident from the GA and renderings that ENDLESS SUMMER features impressive deck spaces and innovative interiors with ship design features that configure to a near Jetson’s futurism.
The voluminous salon stretches out full beam. Cabins with a maximum of twelve berths can be configured to suit a varying combination of guests and crew depending on private or charter use.
The ample aft garage has space enough to store the tender, waverunners, diving gear and other toys. When open this section folds out to create a sweeping beach deck. The raised cockpit provides excellent views and is similar to the high performance catamarans that tend to have an open bridge deck arrangement.
ENDLESS SUMMER is a cutting edge concept that would seem to have tremendous potential both as a private and as a charter yacht. We will continue to monitor the exciting progress of ENDLESS SUMMER.
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) Sailing Foundation’s STP 65 Vanquish will be used in the 2011 All-American Offshore Team (AAOT) Campaign. (Photo Credit Chris Gasiorek)
With the recent establishment of the All-American Offshore Team (AAOT), young American sailors have a unique opportunity to expand their sailing horizons. The AAOT, an extension of the non-profit U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) Sailing Foundation, is committed to providing “high-performance offshore training opportunities for an upcoming generation of American ocean racing leaders” and is currently fund raising and recruiting a team to campaign the Foundation’s STP 65 Vanquish in four key 2011 events: the 66th annual Storm Trysail Club Around Block Island Race; the Annapolis to Newport Race; the Transatlantic Race (Newport, R.I. to the Lizard, U.K.) and the Rolex Fastnet Race (Cowes, U.K. to Plymouth, U.K.).
The AAOT effort is led by Charlie Enright (Bristol, R.I.), Mark Towill (Kaneohe, Hawaii), Jesse Fielding (Wickford R.I.), Chris Branning (Sarasota, Fla.) and Matt Noble (San Francisco, Calif.), who is captain of Vanquish. Enright, Towill, Fielding and Branning helped lead Disney’s Morning Light team, which competed in the 2007 Transpac Race under the tutelage of the late Roy Disney. (Walt Disney Pictures produced a documentary that followed the TP52 Morning Light and its 15-person crew of young sailors, hand-picked from hundreds of resumes, through six months of training and the race itself.)
USMMA Sailing Foundation President Ralf Steitz hatched the idea for AAOT early in January, 2011, when his long-time desire to create a youth-driven effort in the sport of ocean racing was re-awakened by a German youth team entering the Transatlantic Race aboard the Andrews 56 Norddeutche. “I thought ‘if they can do it, why can’t we?’” said Steitz, whose concept was endorsed by USMMA and other leaders in the sailing world, including Oakcliff Sailing Center and the Storm Trysail Club. Steitz added that among the members of a newly forming AAOT Advisory Board are himself, Oakcliff Sailing Center’s Executive Director Dawn Riley and USMMA’s Waterfront Director Chris Gasiorek.
Enright, a four-time Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association All-American at Brown University recently competed in team race championships in Australia and England and took home top marks in the 2010 Caribbean 600. Towill, a senior at Brown University, is an active member of the Brown Sailing Team and after his Morning Light career he sailed in the 2008 Pacific Cup and 2009 Transpac Race. Fielding skippered his University of Rhode Island keelboat team in the 2009 Collegiate World Cup in France and has competed in numerous ocean races including the 2009 Transpac and the 2010 Caribbean 600 Race. Branning, a star navigator in the 2009 IRC East Coast Championships and the 2010 Newport to Ensenada Race, recently took home first place in the 2010 Rolex Middle Sea Race.
In late-May 2011, prior to the Storm Trysail Club Around Block Island Race, the full team will congregate at USMMA headquarters (New York, N.Y.) to participate in a Safety at Sea Seminar and begin practice. In early June, the 2011 AAOT will relocate to Annapolis, Maryland for the start of the Annapolis to Newport Race. Following that, in late June, will be an offshore training session held in Newport, R.I., as the final preparation for the 2,975 nautical mile Transatlantic Race, which takes place in late June 2011 and finishes in the U.K. In August 2011, the team will remain in the U.K. to prepare for the Rolex Fastnet Race, which starts in Cowes.
“Positive support from all corners of the sailing community is needed to get this team off the ground and on to the water,” said Charlie Enright, AAOT’s sailing team manager. “We finally have the chance to shine light on a new generation of offshore sailors and need to seize the opportunity.”
WHISPER is an extraordinary sailing yacht, launched in 2003, that features every classic detail you can imagine. This luxurious 116ft. sloop features naval architecture and styling by renowned Ted Hood/Ted Fontaine with supremely elegant interiors by Andrew Winch. WHISPER, built by Holland Jachtbouw, was the distinguished winner of the 2004 ShowBoats Award for Best Sailing Yacht Under 40 Meters.
WHISPER is an ideal yacht from which to view some of the Caribbean’s most exhilarating competitions. St. Maarten’s Heineken Regatta, March 3-6, St. Barth’s Bucket, 24-27 March, and Les Voiles de St. Barth, 4-9 April, pit award winning world class teams against each other to challenge the seas.
Guests on board WHISPER will thrill to magnificent views from the raised pilot house featuring L-shaped banquette seating and congenial bar area. This luxury sailing yacht also has a spacious cockpit that seats up to 10 guests.
WHISPER has a regular weekly rate of $80,000 but is being offered at the reduced rate of $69,000 per week. This supremely elegant yacht features a highly skilled crew of five that are dedicated to providing the ultimate charter experience.
Alloy Yachts shipyard, located in New Zealand, announced today the launch of the largest sailing yacht ever built in the Southern Hemisphere, 220 foot VERTIGO. For over two years the world has been anticipating the launch of this somewhat secretive build, and this morning she gracefully slipped into the waters adjacent to the yard, much to the thrill of all onlookers.
Alloy Yachts began building the 220 foot ketch in October of 2008. Naval Architect Phillippe Briand was charged with the design of this high performance sailing yacht capable of transoceanic cruising. The interior design of the yacht was conceived by the famous French designer, Christian Liaigre, whose design principle was based on the client requirement for an atmosphere of “urban at sea”.
Specifications:
LOA: 220.5
Beam: 41.1
Draft: 16.5
Sail Area: 5330m2
Engines: 2 x Caterpillar C32 DI-TTA V12
Generators: 2 x Caterpillar C9 200kW
Fuel: 16,907 Gal.
Water: 3,672 Gal.
Designer: Phillipe Briand Yacht Design
Interior Design: Christian Liaigre Interior Design
The party, located at Dutch Sint Maarten’s Port de Plaisance on picturesque Simpson Bay, was tremendous fun, featuring rockin’ music and delightful cuisine. The eclectic crowd included jubilant local families, whose little children danced energetically about the grounds. Not to mention of course, the yacht crews, finally able to relax, drink lots of Heineken and eye the many local beauties. Big screens broadcast videos with highlights of the races.
