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February 16, 20132013 Sperry Top-Sider St. Pete NOOD Gallery, Day 2A rapidly building northwesterly breeze got the attention of all 100 boats sailing in the 2013 St. Pete NOOD. While Day 1 of the regatta was about getting the most out of a minimum breeze, Day 2 was all about making sure the breeze didn't get the best of you. Another great collection of photos (with many more on their site) from Allen and Daniela Clark of Photoboat.com.
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February 7, 2013Oracle Team USA's '17' ReturnsOracle Team USA was back on the San Francisco Bay on Feb. 4 with their new AC72. Photos: Guilain GRENIER / ORACLE TEAM USA
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January 31, 2013From the Road: College Sailing Photo ContestSometimes, the journey to a regatta is just as memorable as the racing. This fall, we asked students to share the essence of the college sailing road trip with our photo contest. Here are all the honorable mentions, and the winners.
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January 24, 2013Quantum Key West 2013: Day FourOnne van Der Wal brings us the Quantum Key West action from the regatta's big hardware: IRC, Maxis, HPR, and lots more.
Click here to access SW's complete coverage of Quantum Key West.
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January 16, 2013Vintage Key WestTake a look back at J H Peterson's photos from the very first Key West Race Week in 1987. There was lots of competition in the 50-foot class, along with an interesting mix of cruiser/racers in the Conch Republic.
Photos: J H Peterson
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January 2, 2013Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2012The 628-mile offshore classic got underway in 20-25 knots at Sydney Heads on Dec. 26. Robert Oatley’s Wild Oats XI 100-foot maxi Wild Oats XI secured Line Honours, Overall Winner and Race Record. The boat, skippered by Mark Richards, finished with a time of 1 day, 18 hours, 23 minutes, and 12 seconds, slicing 16 minutes and 58 seconds off her own record.
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December 20, 20122012 Holiday Product ReviewNot really a gift guide, but rather a collection of items that we've tested and reviewed over the past few months, including some of the usual suspects when it comes to gifts for racing sailors, and a few that you maybe didn't quite expect.
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December 14, 2012MC38 One DesignBest Grand-Prix One-Design
Photos by Walter Cooper
The MC38 One Design is a complete, modern grand-prix package, swimming in carbon and composites, and designed to do nothing else but tear around the cans at high-speed. As an excellent build out of McConaghy’s Chinese operation, the MC38, is presented as the upgrade for Farr 40 owners seeking a more contemporary design, and as a more substantial boat for Melges 32 owners that don’t have the athleticism for such a boat. Onboard, the MC38 feels like a lot more boat than either—it’s nearly 12 feet at maximum beam. With a flat deck and an open, uncluttered cockpit, a racing crew can just flow from rail to rail, as quickly as the boat goes into and out of tacks.
There’s a long list of engineering details that may not be immediately obvious says its designer, Harry Dunning, and these are details (such as the deck framing and sprit’s butt-end support) that they carefully engineered to save weight but deliver stiffness. With composite rigging, high-end ropes, a functioning string-take down system for the spinnaker, mast jack, and lots more, the boat is sorted for high-end racing. Developing fleets in Australia, Europe, and Asia are already enjoying close racing.
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December 11, 2012X-Yachts Xp 38Boat of the Year Nominee
Photos by Walter Cooper
Travel around Europe, and X-Yachts are a staple of all the major handicap races. There’s no denying that X-Yachts make fast, great sailing boats, and the Xp 38 continues the tradition, only better. Their updated crossovers now have robust carbon keel grids (instead of metal), and the hull shape of the Xp 38, said Greg Stewart, was very stiff, quick, and easily driven. From off the boat, it’s racy looking, with a low-profile cabin top, angular hull features, and flared topsides, Stewart added, so it will appeal to an owner looking for a more crossover-type aggressive design.
The judges noted the construction quality was very high, perhaps even the best of the entire BOTY fleet, and the interior is a purposeful three-cabin layout, with the head aft, on the starboard side. X Yachts owners tend to be racers first, so the cockpit is open, clean, and set up for efficient manuevers with twin steering pedestals located outboard to provide a good line of sight on the telltales.
Of the three crossovers in the competition, however, the Xp 38 came with a considerably higher price tag ($365K). “Build-wise, the thing is incredible,” said Chuck Allen. “We couldn’t find a single area of the boat with any flaws.” But under sail it was “so, so,” he added. “I think a carbon rig and a full race crew on the rail, would have made a big difference in how it felt.”
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December 11, 2012Tofinou 8mBoat of the Year Nominee
Photos by Walter Cooper
Imported from France, the Tofinou 8M, was a looker at the dock, thanks to the sharpness of its metallic paint and teak deck, but on the water, the judges quickly dismissed it because excessive friction in every control line, and a combative helm took the fun out of sailing it.
“The thing was a workout,” said Tom Rich, explaining that the practice of hiding ropes by leading them under deck from the mast to the jammer banks in the cockpit introduced too many 90-degree turns. The boat could’ve benefited from a top-down roller-furling spinnaker or sock system, added Chuck Allen, because a spinnaker launch from a turtle in the cockpit would likely fill with water before the tack reached the outboard end of the sprit.
As a daysailer, they deemed, it was too challenging to sail, and with winch pods dividing the cockpit seating, there was nowhere to stretch out and take a nap. The interior, too, was cramped.
