(Contents FEATURES REGULARS PressMB'ê? Foj^ei at 4 Gommodor 3's letter PETER HEPPEL explains that to do well in the TERRY ROBINSON Mini Transat first off you've got to enjoy it... America's Gup 2000 7 Editorial 35 Wow! ^^^^ ANDREW HURST As the seemingly ^ 8 UpdatB substantive com- ¥^ T.':" , .7 . , , , I bine of John ft ' ^ " Rolf Vrolijlt mtervievved, Mitch Booth goes Marshall, Ed ' ; Dutch, Malaysia Challenge goes from strength to Baird Young | strength and a lively finale to the Australian 4yer America and Farr / Olympic selections FRONT COVER France's Le Défi during its Yacht Design fails to ^ key victory over Paul make it to the last six in 12 World HeWS Cayard's AmericaOne at Auckland, we ask just what went wrong? R^ce 2000 - a feast, as Club Med and Cam Tewis the end of Round Robin 3 sign on, Van den Heede back in Chile, new Last month we reflected on 38 ClOarer and clearer... trimarans all round, ludde's new launching, how much stronger the JUAN KOUYOUMDJIAN, co-designer for Te Young America's demise - a New Zealand per- challenger for America's Défi, surprise member of the 'semi-final' team specdve Sydney's Olympic disputes roll on, CMC Cup XXX would be for the prompt return of an up-to- strength Young America syn­ dicate. Well, unfortunately DUNSTER, ROB MUNDTE and DOBBS DAVIS for followers of the New York Yacht Club's latest 40 Slow Starter %RnH navis challenge, it was not to Is the sobriquet attached to Nippon Challenge •^J ö be, and with the prompt skipper PETER GITMOUR. But slow finisher he 'On their day the Prada boys are nearly disallowance of any charter is not; GILMOUR talks to YOICHE YABE unbeatable,' says one man who should know arrangement with a rival US team, once again Bruce Farr, on a broad scale the world's 45 Signing UD 27 Olympic and small boat news top raceboat designer, is to At its 1999 annual meetings the ORC agreed to FRANK BETHWAITE looks at the evolution be denied a crack at the Cup. become integrated with ISAF. DAVID TYONS and development of the Flexi-tip dmghy mast No doubt the demise of reports on this and other developments Yoimg America will be the subject for a litany of 53 Design - Does it get any harder? reviews, but for now, 46 Tlie benClimarl( ^P Technologies explain what was uivolved in the USA-58, the boat that was CHAY BTYTH has changed the public mmimaiist but highly demanding structure of Pete certainly at least 'one' of the percepdon of sailboat racing, in Etirope at least. Goss' Philips Challenger fastest light-air performers in And now his efforts will broaden further, as he '_ " ^^ Auckland, is out. While it is easy to say that Young America took themselves out explains to TIM JEFFERY 56 SeahorsB racoboat build table of the contest, the improved fortunes of the tidy French team should not be under­ 49 Tiieory beliind tlie practice 58 RQRC news and Race estimated. As the breeze DAVID BRAYSHAW has prepared ddal routing ^„„«+„«'0 Ipttpp AT AM PRFFN lightens, with the move into models for a variety of illustrious clients, from UireClOP S KllGF ALAN GREEN the middle of Auckland's EF Language to Sayonara. This San Francisco- summer, the slender French based software expert describes his 'day job' 73 SSSihOrSB CalOHdar design will become an increasingly formidable Like something out performer, and will cause of a Star Wars movie, many upsets if Auckland's the various principal traditional January weather components of prevails. Meanwhile, the semi-finals will provide a Pete Goss' Philips fascinating contest; Italy - Challenger are set fast and increasingly solid in out prior to final their racecraft; America True assembly. Now - increasingly solid every­ • approaching where; Cayard - with a new and unknown boat John completion, this Kostecki describes as 'very £ 122ft Adrian fast'; Team DC - tough but Thompson-designed maybe vulnerable in the wave-piercer (see light; and Peter Gilmour's page 53) promises ever-improving Nippon copious amounts of Challenge - perhaps the ultimate dark horse? information about a possibly entirely new genre of sailboat Front cover: JON NASH rttfimrimg;! March 2000 FEATURES REGULARS 29 Here we go... 4 Commodore's letter GILLES OLLIER is the most successful offshore PETER RUTTER catamaran designer of recent years. Although building of his boats for .^^^^^ = t.A'V ' I The Race 2000 started relatively ^fWw^^ ~ CdltOrial late, he is not especially con- ^^^3 ANDREW HURST cerned about a lack of prepara- ^^OB >'^3 tion tune, as he explains to 1 ^ llll l -- PATRICE CARPENTIER ^ j fi| ° "POate ^^P^ -JMBP 'That book' reviewed, and a talk with French America's Gup 2000 ^^^^^^^'^ multihull skipper Frank Cammas FRONT COVER 32 Scrapper versus style 12 World news Steve Fossett's After some tight racing and a little aggravation, ^arc Lombard and Catherine Chabaud take their Morelli/Melvin designed in the semis, it s Cayard and AmencaOne versus ^^3^,^ ^^^^^ f^jj ^^^j ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ PlayStation blasts Francesco de Ange IS and Prada Challenge f^^^^^ ^^^^y ^ -^^ Coville and Dubois - solo Transat- through an icy January fmals of the Louis Vuitton Cup. TIM JEFFERY j^^j^, ^^^^^ racing, Team New Zealand mea¬ gale en route to a new sures the task ahead, a record shattering Sydney¬ record for the Newport- , / , „ Hobart race, controversies cloud Aussie Olympic Bermuda course Following their scare in the OÖ A bright future selections, and the De Vos' back America's new opening hours of their JUAN KOUYOUMDJL\N, co-designer of 6eme National Sailing League. PATRICE CARPEN- attempt on the Transatlantic Sens, is dehghted with Le Défi's performance in TIER, Fv^OR WITKINS, ROB MUNDLE and record, this success was a Auckland and believes the outlook is bright for the DOBBS DAVIS useful confidence booster future of the Cup - and for another French challenge for Fossett and his team. Though the record was only „ „ :, 23 Paul Gayard some two hours under 38 Gettin' there After topping out the Louis Vuitton semi finals, Fossett's own previous (solo) Although their progress was halted, yet again, in the AmericaOne skipper prepares to step up to the record - set on the 60 footer the semi finals' rounds, PETER GILMOUR feels plate... Lakota - conditions this time that the Nippon Challenge has made real progress were very much harder. Following the Bermuda record trip, the PlayStation 25 Olympic and small boat news team announced another 39 'The boss' FRANK BETHWAITE looks at the dramatic change of plan; instead of , , ., , . reductions in drag of the latest dinghy designs continuing on to Europe the Prada Challenge co-designer, DOUG PETER- giant cat will now head SON, one of the few factors common to the MI* n n • j nnnn south to Georgia for some winning teams at both the last America's Cups, 45 DBSIgU - OCeaU LeOpaPd 2000 warm weather testing and looks at some of the design variances in this JIM PUGH describes the challenging brief put to development. As the first of year's lACC fleet Reichel-Pugh for this water-ballasted superyacht, the new generation of super- and at how they set about meeting the objectives cats gets more miles behind it, it is becoming very clear ^ili' A sireat run that there is a lot to be learnt All in all America True navigator DEE SMITH is about 'managing' such a powerful boat successfully, 48 Seahorse raceboat build table especially for long distances. pretty pleased that he made it down to Auckland As well as being spectacular for the type of boat that it 50 RORG news has brought about. The Race '^é Beneath the surface Major Event organisers and the IRM 2000 is likely to prove a fascinat­ Everyone always talks about appendages, rigs. Championship Trophy. JOHN BOURKE ing challenge in terms of and hull design, but there has been considerable planning and crew organisa­ progress in the lACC fleet in the area of construe- 65 SeahOPSe Calendar tion. The simplest tion as well, says DAVID ALAN-WILLIAMS manouevres on these boats, ^j/jB^ •,'-/,)VoH I ^M/ly^ l.^"^ T|^J Harald Bruning's pardcularly if not able to be /^O / i/ ^m' I /''T '^SM Maletto designed ILC planned well ahead, use up enormous amounts of / „ ƒ. / f / • / ^^"S - '.^^mr" so ropas finished 4th human energy, and effective My'CW/biU'^''' ' jj iW/r ^3Wm i" »he dass wond pacing is likely to be a vital /' /'—-^W**- t^^fvl 9 championships in component of any successful performance around the world. Given the intense ''^'^WY^^S^^^ '"t^t^'*'*"^'" ' Ceccarelli designed demands on crew of the last semi- 'one-design' Whitbread ^^^Z^l^^W^^^:^ T^^^l Tj*';"^JBp»^J _ adding another title Race, this event is going to • / ^ &-J3S•^y^p '^"^^-^ *° "^^ '^^ °^ success- make grown men pale... '0 X/.- 4/ Italian helmsman i.^^^-f''^^^ ^ ' - A^^-^^i-^^ Vasco Vascotto, cur¬ Front cover: Dnne Van Der t f/ -y^- ^•,^P:i-^'jrir'-2-l^J^ "^^^^ rent Sydney 40 world Wal ::j:J:_iJj V ' ^h^'''^*"*' .^^^^ champion and top Inset: Marc Lombard FEATURES REGULARS 31 Essential ingredient 4 Commodore's letter During his successful Jules Verne challenge PETER RUTTER in 1993, with Bruno Peyron, CAM LEWIS taught, the world about the value ofthe new, 7 Editorial 'off-the-boat' media. Now Cam has his entry ANDREW HURST secured for The Race 2000, the event itself should be one of the biggest beneficiaries 8 Update New IRM 30s, Zephynis shreds Cape-Rio race America's Cup 2000 record and the Maxi One-Design circuit comes to FRONT COVER a sudden and unexpected halt... Typically 'painful' 36 Secret hero conditions at this year's Paul Cayard and AmericaOne did everything GMC Yukon Yachting Key possible to encourage them to trip up, but in the 12 World news West Race Week final analysis Californian coach ROD DAVIS got Farr 52 flies at Yachting Key West Race Week, After another great success his boys from PRADA Challenge through to the Monnet on track for new round-the-world record, for regatta organiser Peter final of America's Cup XXXX.