In This Issue:
Mac Records
Nonsuch 30
Around Alone Report
ESPN Sailing TV
Fosset's Cat Launched
Mac Records
The last sailing of the Chicago to Mackinac
race saw a great deal of controversy over
whether or not a new record was set for the
333 mile course. This debate has continued
onto the letters to the editor pages of
sailing magazines months after the finish.
In attempt to find the facts of the
controversial situation Torresen Sailing Site
has conducted research about regulations
concerning sailing speed records, and the
actual records for both the Chicago to
Mackinac and Port Huron to Mackinac Course.
The starting point for sailing records
is the World Sailing Speed Record Council
(WSSRC). The function of the WSSRC, as noted
by the International Sailing Federation, is
"to be the International Authority
for Ratifying World Sailing Speed Records."
In this case we are concerned with offshore
records, but WSSRC also handles records set
on closed courses.
The WSSRC has several standards for
ocean passage records. First, the WSSRC rule
book states: "Individual courses and races
will not usually be considered for record
purposes unless they are more than about
250 miles." Both of the courses under
consideration are longer than this standard.
Second, the rule book states:
"Elapsed times achieved in yacht races
organized by clubs which are recognized by a
national sailing authority are accepted as
correct by WSSRC." The organizing clubs are
Chicago Yacht Club and Bayview Yacht Club,
both of which are recognized by the national
authority, in this case US Sailing.
The third passage that applies is: "No
form of rating, handicap or sail area class
is relevant."
This means that : "The shortest time,
without handicap, is the record for an event."
The WSSRC provides 7 different categories
for records, recognizing the diverse types
of boats that may make record attempts, and
the diverse crew(s) these boats may have.
The categories are as follows:
· Any type of vessel, any number of crew
(the outright record)
· Any type of vessel, sailed singlehanded
· Any type of vessel, sailed singlehanded
by a woman
· Monohull vessel, any number of crew
· Monohull vessel, sailed singlehanded
by a woman
· Any type of vessel, any number of all
female crew
· Monohull vessel, any number of female
crew
Torresen Sailing Site conducted research
to find the holders of the records in the
above categories. We received help from
several sources. We did not find records for
all categories, and ask that people who know
of additional record holders contact us.
Our research has turned up the following
records and record holders. For the Chicago
to Macinac course we have the following records:
Outright: Stars and Stripes sailed by Steve
Fossett a 60 foot multihull
18 hours 50 minutes and 15 seconds,
an average of 17.68 knots.
The any type singlehanded record:
David Rearick on a 33 foot monohull in a time
of 1 days 17 hours 53 minutes and 50 seconds
for an average speed of 7.92 knots.
The monohull record: Dick Jennings on
his 67 foot monohull Pied Piper, in a time of
1 day 1 hour 50 minutes 44 seconds for
an average of 12.88 knots.
We have been unable to uncover the
following Chicago to Mackinac records:
· Any type of vessel, sailed singlehanded
by a woman,
· Monohull vessel, sailed singlehanded
by a woman,
· Any type of vessel, any number of all female crew,
Monohull vessel, any number of female crew.
With apolgies to those we may have overlooked
we urge you to submit record claims in any of
these categories to: records@torresen.com
On the Port Huron to Mackinac course we
have the following records:
The outright and any type singlehanded record
is held by Jan Gougeon sailing his 35 foot multi hull
in a time of 1 day 2 hours and 9 minutes an
average speed of 9.96 knots.
The any type singlehanded, and monohull singlehanded
by a woman record: Cheryl Cameron
sailing a 36 foot monohull in a time of
2 days 11 minutes for an average speed of
5.39 knots.
The monohull any number of crew: Windquest,
Dick Devoss' 70 foot monohull in a time of
1 day 8 hours 13 minutes and 1 second for an
average of 9.70 knots.
The monohull singlehanded record: Jim Otton on
his 40 foot monohull in a time of
1 day 15 hours 46 minutes and 22 seconds for an average
of 6.51 knots.
We failed to discover records for these
categories: any type all female crew, and
monohull all female crew.
Again, the records presented are believed
to be accuarate, but we are open to corrections
and submissions in the categories that we failed
to uncover a record holder in. We look
forward to hearing from you.
For comeplete daily reports see:
http://www.torresen.com/aroundalone/leg2/stories.htm
Featured Brokerage- 1981 Nonsuch
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http://www.torresen.com/brokerage/nonsuch.htm,]
or contact the Torresen Marine Sales Department
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ESPN Sailing TV Schedule
If the Around Alone Reports have been
sounding interesting, then you will want to
see ESPN's TV productions on Around Alone.
Show # 1 covering Leg 1 of Around Alone
will be on at 0430 eastern on ESPN 2. Set
you VCR for highlights of the Charleston to
Cape Town Leg 1. The Around Alone Leg 2
will be shown on ESPN 2 at 1630 on Sunday
7 February. Leg 3's show will be broadcast
25 April on ESPN 2 at 1400. The final
Around Alone show will be on Leg 4 the 30th
of May on ESPN at 1230.
On February 21 ESPN 2 will show
a Key West Race week show at 1300.
For the complete list of sailing
shows that can be seen on ESPN and ESPN 2
please see:
http://wwww.torresen.com/sailingnews.net/tv.htm
Steve Fosset launches
Catamaran for The Race
The official launch of Steve Fossett's
giant catamaran PlayStation took place in
Auckland today with an announcement that the
American adventurer's plans for the 32m
supercat culminate with an entry in The Race
at the end of 2000.
Fossett could not be at the launch
because he is in mid-flight with Richard
Branson in a joint bid to become the first
people to fly around the world by hot air
balloon.
PlayStation has an ambitious sailing
program that includes: attempts at the 24-hour
speed record, the transAtlantic record, the
Trophee Jules Verne round the world record
and The Race.
PlayStation will begin sea trials in
the coming new year. Late January is a target
for an attempt at the 24 hour speed record.
The reference for the 24 hour record is
540 miles by Laurent Bourgnon in June of 1994.
To break this record PlayStation will need to
sail at 22.5 knots for a 24 hour period.
For more information including picutes
of this awsome machine please see:
http://www.therace.org/english/challengers/indexactu.htm