posted Jan 23, 2008

Irrespective of whether the French man or the British lady wins its nature that gets the raw deal, Stephen Sackur questioned round-the-world yachtsman Robin Knox-Johnston weather his adventurism that has added to the concept of conquering nature and eventually breaking it! Robin answered yes, that is precisely what this is about.

This attitudinal arrogance leads to irresponsible assumptions on key issues concerning nature and fuels the belief that humans can control it. It isn’t about conquering nature but trying to live with it, to tread softly. One fails to understand the purpose of such sports/records, other than the fact it incrementally adds to the glorious record of humans abusing nature, well now its nature's turn. Sadly people who have truly been one with nature and least impacted it such as tribal, agrarians in third world countries will probably be the first affected as they are most vulnerable.

Crossing oceans with purpose as done by Thor Heyerdahl (Kon-Tiki/ Galapagos Expeditions) or more remarkably as in the case of Alain Louis Bombard whose experience has benefited others in similar situations (The Bombard Story) serves a higher need.

I am neither an idealist nor an environmentalist but commonsense dictates that we are pushing the envelope too far, it is individuals in respective countries that should voice their concerns against such pursuits in the guise of sports/adventure and possibly allocate those funds/sponsorships for more constructive purposes.

No disrespect intended

Vijayan Jan. 23, 08

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posted Jan 23, 2008

Why do people jump in with comments, which show such a lack of knowledge of the subject in question? Facts rather than uninformed opinions, please... Joyon's first message at the finish was he succeeded because he respects the sea and its power. He even reiterated the point in saying he has seen the world is so small we really need to take care of it. As for the environmental aspect, he particularly chose to avoid using an engine as generator, preferring solar panels and a wind turbine. I believe the sails are also recyclable. Green issues are moreover very important to many of the top round the world yachtsmen and race organisers today (e.g. Mike Golding, Conrad Humphreys, in the UK) What is the carbon footprint of a football match with all the spectators' travel? The Olympics in Beijing? And I dare not even mention Formula One racing. As for sponsorship, may I suggest you read the comments above about Joyon publicising the Paris Brain and marrow bone Research Centre.

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posted Jan 23, 2008

Aberdo,

Please remember when comparing boats, that the 75 foot trimaran "B&Q Castorama" was designed for a very different purpose than just a record breaking sprint across the Atlantic.
She was commissioned by Ellen mainly for the Solo Round the World Challenge. As such the purpose of the additional 15 foot length was primarily to provide more buoyancy forward than the typical Open 60 trimarans.
The additional stability / safety is absolutely needed in the extreme conditions of the Southern Ocean storms, to reduce the risk of pitchpoling and capsizing, which would quite likely have fatal consequences in an area so far from any chance of rescue.
To some extent, speed was therefore sacrificed for stability and safety.
At the time "B&Q Castorama" was launched, the record stood at just over 93 days ("PRB", Michel Desjoyeaux).
Within weeks, Francis Joyon had smashed the record in "IDEC", setting the bar at 72 days, 14 hours, 3 minutes, 49 s.
Ellen herself estimated that this would be a very tough challenge, with only a small chance of success.
Nevertheless, she took it on in the smaller boat, and beat the record by about 32 hours.
This forced Francis Joyon to build a new boat "IDEC II" to win back the record.

I would not be surprised to learn that an equally well sailed ORMA 60, even a 20 year old one like "Primagaz", could be faster than "B&Q Castorama" under certain conditions.
"Primagaz", in June 1994, sailed by Laurent Bourgnon, had set the Transatlantic W-E singlehanded record at 7 days, 2 hours, 34 min, 42 s.
Although "Primagaz" was an old boat, she had been kept up to date by extensive refits.
These types of trimaran are extreme light displacement racing boats and are very fast if you can keep them from flipping and avoid breaking up.
They are the Formula 1 class of Ocean Racing.
The fact is, an ORMA 60 type design would have been entirely unsuitable for a Round The World Record attempt, because it would not have survived the rigours of the course and the extreme storms and seas in the Southern Ocean.
The ORMA 60s have acquired an unfortunate reputation for fragility and turning over if not carefully handled.
For example, only three multihulls finished the 2002 Route De Rhum, from 20 starters, because of capsizes, storm damage, etc.

It is true that Ellen failed to take the record from "Primagaz".
However, she missed by just over 75 minutes. This indicates that the attempt was well worth the effort.
I repeat that Ellen needed to get "B&Q Castorama" back to Europe to prepare for the Solo Non-Stop Round The World Record attempt.
The normal weather pattern in the North Atlantic had not established itself that year (2004), and as a result she had to hook on to a less than perfect system and was forced well to the South of the direct (Great Circle) route.
Therefore she had to sail a much longer distance. Then the wind faded towards the finish, and despite the best efforts of Ellen and her weather routers, it was not possible to beat the record.
This does not mean that Ellen is an "average skipper". It simply means that it was not possible under those circumstances in that year to take the record.
To get an idea of the extra distance Ellen had to sail, take a look at the chart on this website:
http://www.segel.de/oceanyachting/2004/ellentrans/2004-06-261.html

If Ellen was just an "average skipper", Kingfisher might have sponsored two identical boats, not one, to get double the publicity.
One boat would be called B&Q, and the other would be Castorama.
Then they could recruit another "average skipper" to sail the other boat, and let the two sailors fight it out in a race on the water for the record.
They didn't do this, because there is only one Ellen, and it would not have been a fair contest!
So they painted one side of the trimaran in B&Q colours, and the other side in Castorama livery.

Ellen's brilliance was evident when she achieved 1st place result in her first race in the Open 60 monohull "Kingfisher" (Merf Owen / Rob Humphries design).
This race was the 2000 Transat Europe 1 NewMan STAR, formely known as the OSTAR (Observer Single Handed TransAtlantic Race), the first and classic E-W Transatlantic race.
Interestingly, Francis Joyon won the Multihull Division in "Eure Et Loire" in the same event that year.
Ellen's amazing performance in the Vendee Globe 2000-2001 is well documented.
She came second at her first attempt against experienced competiton, as the youngest ever competitor, despite having to recover from near-crippling collision damage to a dagger-board, and then having to nurse a broken forestay.
The finish at Les Sables d'Olonne was a memorable event for about 250,000 spectators. The crowd that turned out was larger than for the winner, Michel Desjoyeaux in "PRB", the previous day.

I previously mentioned the Route De Rhum race 2002, in which Ellen again showed her magic in pulling out all the stops to win, after a closely fought duel against "Ecover" (Mike Golding).
Ellen does not win every race; in the Transat Jacques Vabres two handed transatlantic race in 2001 on the trimaran "Kingfisher-Foncia", with Alain Gautier, their chances were thwarted by gear failure while in the leading position.
Ellen sometimes takes a setback, or may make an occasional tactical error, but is quick to recognise and fight back from a bad situation / decision.

Your remark about Ellen's Team only taking on "attainable" records is nonsensical.
Where is the business case for, or publicity value or fun in, taking on an "unattainable" or impossible challenge?
Ellen might just as well go on a world cruise.
If you want to have a go at Joyon's new record, as an impossible challenge, why not try it yourself in "B&Q Castorama", Ellen's record winning 75 foot trimaran?
She is advertised for sale at Offshore Challenges:
http://www.ocgroup.com/default.asp?section=5&id=11480
or contact:
Karen.butcher@ocgroup.com

The advert states:
"Completely refitted, and ready to go around the world again (or if not then a gentle life somewhere else), ex-B&Q is lying in Cowes, Isle of Wight, in excellent condition. For full details please contact Karen.butcher@ocgroup.com "

Note that no claim is made that this trimaran could challenge Joyon's new record.

Overall, what we can say is that both Francis Joyon and Dame Ellen MacArthur are outstanding sailors, and together their records represent the pinnacle of achievement in long distance Single-Handed Ocean Sailing.
It remains to be seen who will eventually take the record from Francis Joyon, or for that matter, the women's world record from Ellen.

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posted Jan 24, 2008

Remarker,

B&Q Castorama holder of numerous prestigeous records.

What RECORD time did she set on the Chittagong to Sidney run or was it Blackpool to Brighton ?

Meaningless.......great marketing thought until bordom sets in. Competition is required to keep media interest, the greats don't bother with the trivia.

So still no takers after 2 years for Castorama ? Self explai........

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posted Jan 25, 2008

Aberdo,

I believe that these are the records you are referring to:

http://www.asianrecordcircuit.com/
Records established by trimaran B&Q Castorama (Ellen MacArthur) during Asian Tour 2006:

Yokohama (Japan) - Jeju Island (South Korea) 906 nm [5d 11h 10m 51s] 2006-03-30 B&Q tri
Jeju Island (South Korea) - Dalian (China) 418 nm [1d 15h 57m 28s] 2006-04-01 B&Q tri
Yokahama (Japan) - Dalian (China) 1342 nm [7d 3h 8m 19s] 2006-04-01 B&Q tri The Manchu Record
Dalian (China) - Qingdao (China) 265 nm [1d 0h 2m 53s] 2006-04-05 B&Q tri The Marco Polo Record
Qingdao (China) - Shanghai (China) 308 nm [1d 5h 25m 33s] 2006-04-10 B&Q tri The Cotton Record
Shanghai (China) - Taipei (Taiwan) 580 nm [3d 0h 1m 55s] 2006-04-19 B&Q tri The Old Tea Record
Taipei (Taiwan) - Hong Kong SAR 465 nm [2d 16h 46m 37s] 2006-05-02 B&Q tri The Colonial Record
Taipei (Taiwan) - Hong Kong SAR 465 nm [2d 15h 40m 42s] 2006-12-12 Johan 2 mono (Phillippe Grelon)
Hong Kong SAR - Sanya (Hainan Island) 354 nm [1d 22h 53m 25s] 2006-05-02 B&Q tri
Hong Kong SAR - Sanya (Hainan Island) 354 nm [0d 29h 55m 00s] Ffree Fire
Sanya (Hainan Island) - Nha Trang (Vietnam) 360 nm [2d 01h 37m 45s] 2006-05-04 B&Q tri
Nha Trang (Vietnam) - Tumpai (Thailand) 570nm [2d 17h 55m 14s] 2006-05-07 B&Q tri
Tumpai - Terengganu (Malaysia) 75 nm [0d 5h 39m 26s] 2006-05-07 B&Q tri
Hong Kong SAR - Terengganu (Malaysia) 1350 nm [7d 0h 5m 50s] 2006-05-07 B&Q tri The Jade Record
Terengganu (Malaysia) - Singapore 280 nm [1d 23h 9m 8s] 2006-05-12 B&Q tri

I don't know what point you are trying to make.
Ellen has established these Records to encourage interest in Ocean Sailing Record challenges in the Asia region.
Some of the times may be easy to beat, and I agree that the numbers are meaningless until someone attempts to beat them, and either succeeds or fails.
But someone had to establish the time in the first place, and Ellen has done that.
Of course if you do not reside in the region, some of the place names may be unfamiliar, and the local publicity would be lost on you.
However, they have set a target for local yachts to beat.
This has been successful (two of the records have been broken already - see above).
In years to come, as interest grows, these Records will become more and more important.
Ellen's sponsors at the time are more than satisfied. See:
http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/templates/content_lookup.jsp?content=/aboutbandq/2004/company_information/ellen_2007-2009.jsp

Of course, none of these records bears comparison with the Round The World Single Handed Sailing Non-Stop Record.
Ellen has done that, and does not need to prove anything.

I doubt that Francis Joyon's record will be broken before year 2011.
According to The Daily Sail, the ultimate round the world race has been established in that year, for multihulls with no size limit:
http://www.thedailysail.com/ism/articles.nsf/News/6E9084232824F94B802573D90072603E?OpenDocument&Page=1

Perhaps the reason that the trimaran yacht has not been sold is that there are not enough people who could privately afford it, or who could convince a sponsor that they could successfully race it and recoup the investment.
After all, Ellen's example would be a very hard act to follow (but not impossible for the right person).

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posted Jan 26, 2008

Thats exactly my point, having failed to take a real, a meaningful record like the single handed atlantic she then cruises around asia claiming all sorts of trivia as records.

Pretty easy but very wearing and no international interest.

Superb local marketing though, she is/was great marketing and thats the bottom line.

Unfortunately the 20 year old girl against the ocean has a short validity.

Her sailing ability is at best average, the marketing of Mark Turner however is amazing.

You say she will be a hard act to follow, that is absolutely not the case, there are a number of far more talanted sailors that with equal budget would do significantly better because they can actually RACE.

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posted Jan 29, 2008

LuvThe Dragon :"i would suggest that to 90% plus of the population sailing just isn't affordable to try in the first place!"

Erm right - lets see...average salay in the UK is what? About £17000? I bought my first boat while earning minimum wage (i.e. £11000ish). I've since sailed bought another boat even cheaper than the first (a whole dizzying £200) and won races at club level quite happily.

A history lesson - during the 1960s there was the 'dinghy boom' when recreational sailing went from being an elite sport for the few to something popular enough for the national papers to start putting there name to kit built dinghies that were sold through their pages. The fact that there are 70,000+ [Daily] Mirror dinghies in existence shows the widespread popularity of these cheap little boats.

And the killer - if you want to sail you can do it for free. Most boats are owned by one person but need a team to be sailed properly. And most owners are only too grateful to find enthusiastic crew who'll turn up every week. The crew positions are just as important as the person steering and in all the years I raced on big yachts I never had to pay for anything (just as I wouldn't expect the crew of my boat to pay for anything now).

The real 90% of the population is the typical British mindset of 'I heard it from the mate of a mate so it must be true' which forms most 'informed' comment.

If you want to beat up on a real elitist and environmentally destructive sport then I suggest you look at golf.

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posted Jan 29, 2008

Aberdo,

After sailing round the world and beating Francis Joyon's first Record Time, Ellen chose naturally to take some time off sailing for rest and recuperation.
Her remarkable achievement in beating Francis Joyon's record in her 75 foot trimaran was universally acclaimed.
Shortly afterwards (July 2005), Francis Joyon, in his 90 foot trimaran "IDEC", beat the Transatlatic W - E Record, setting a time of 6d 4h 1m 37s, taking nearly two days off the Record Time set by Laurent Borgnon in "PRIMAGAZ" in 1994.
This would have required an average speed of 20 knots to beat, and was probably deemed unreachable by the 75 foot trimaran "B&Q Castorama" without waiting an indefinite time for perfect conditions.

The 75 foot Trimaran had clearly become outclassed by the larger multihulls sailing single-handed in the North Atlantic region.
The Transatlantic W-E Record was again beaten in July 2007 by Franck Cammas, in a 103 foot trimaran, setting an incredible time of 4d 3h 57m 54 s (an average speed of 29.26 kts).
This makes even Joyons' time seem slow. See:
http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/content/view/3/13/

Ellen also needed time off to consider her future after nearly 10 years of full-on professional sailing, and with the sponsorship deal with Kingfisher drawing to a close.
The Asian Tour 2006 was therefore an excellent plan to open up interest in Professional Sailing in a new region, while coinciding with Kingfisher's interests.
Meanwhile, Ellen has had the opportunity to pursue other important activities, such as working with her charity:
http://ellenmacarthurtrust.org/
This charity helps children with Cancer, Leukaemia and other serious illnesses through sailing.

Regarding Ellen's sailing ability, you clearly still do not understand what I have been at pains to explain.
I thought that I had given enough examples to prove that Ellen can successfully race, and her record puts her in the absolute top rank in the world in her specialisation of single-handed long distance ocean racing and sailing.
In the Vendee Globe, for example, the rules do not allow customised weather routing. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vendée_Globe
Ellen's weather routing decisions in the Vendee Globe 2000/2001 in getting through the Doldrums, and later in the Southern Ocean played no small part in her success in moving up through the fleet to second place.
These decisions (when and where to gybe, etc.) derived from her own independent analysis, based on publicly available information.
She did not follow the other boats (on paper maybe a lower risk). Some other boats followed her.
The fact that these manoeuvres paid off shows that she has skills in the top rank (because everyone in that race has above average skills).
This is just an example of one of her sailing skills at the time.
Those of us who followed the progress of this race day by day on Virtual Spectator were left in no doubt about Ellen's sailing skills in this event.
Later in the same race, she went on to catch up with the leading boat (and eventual winner), Michel Desjoyeaux, who had a lead of 536 nm at Cape Horn.
Then she had a collision with a submerged object.
Not even a smashed dagger-board 12 feet long weighing 75 kg, which had to be hauled out and swapped with the remaining good one (an effort that set her back 25 miles), was enough to stop her.
She lost her chance of winning because she overslept following the repairs, missing a windshift, and because of a broken forestay.

Skills such as weather routing would not be needed for shorter 'round the cans' type races, where other sailing skills are more emphasised.
Ellen does not claim the same skill set as her friend Shirley Robertson, OBE, double Olympic Gold Medallist, for example; and the converse is also no doubt true.

There may be a lot of talented sailors out there, and Ellen and Mark are doing what they can to help some of them find sponsorship, boats and events to sail in.
But at the end of the day, we are talking here about extreme Professional Racing, and simply having an abundance of sailing talent will not cut it. A lot more is also required.
As well as the long list of skills needed to operate the boat, they will need a lot of qualities other than sailing talent to get into the same class as Dame Ellen MacArthur.
For example, they will need the ability to form good business partnerships, build and inspire strong support teams, negotiate with naval architects and equipment suppliers and builders, make careful preparations and plans, come back after discouragements and setbacks, form correct decisions while under high stress, recognise and correct a losing situation, train for extreme physical fitness, survive for days with just snatches of sleep, draw strength and inspiration from deep within, and pull out that bit extra to win.
Ellen has got what it takes, and can win in the toughest conditions through sheer spirit, commitment and determination against more experienced competition.

As I see it, if there is a problem with Ellen's sailing future, it is that Ellen may need a multihull of length 100 foot or more to be competitive, and the physical workload in keeping these boats 'on the pace' in changing conditions could be just too exhausting.

To claim that "there are a number of far more talented sailors that with equal budget would do significantly better", even if true, is to completely miss the point.
What are these sailors doing to increase their budget?
How much of their own resources are they willing to invest?
Have they formed a business plan?
Have they given up their day jobs to work on their dream?
Are they fully qualified to at least RYA Yachtmaster Instructor Level (Ellen reached this at age 18)?
Have they tried writing to potential sponsors? (not necessarily productive - Ellen once wrote 2500 letters and got 2 replies!)
What additional training have they embarked on to further their dream?

Things came right, in the end, for Ellen because she made it happen, and by teaming up with business partner Mark Turner.
Ellen did not start out with a huge budget - she started, in fact, with "Threep'ny Bit", her first boat.

Complaining on this forum about "average skills", marketing, budgets etc. will not change history, or help other aspiring sailors.
You would do better to read Ellen's book "Taking On the World" and learn how she got to the finish line of the Vendee Globe 2000-2001.

Ellen is a highly competitive racing skipper, and will no doubt be interested, even grabbed, by the announcement of the Ultime Challenge Race 2011.
However, she has to be very careful, as the "No Size Limits" rule would appear to discriminate heavily against women of her size.
What size and type of multihull should she build? Whatever size she goes for, she runs the risk of being outclassed by a larger boat under construction at the same time as hers.
It might be bettter to let the "Crazy French Skippers" determine what are the practical size limits for this event, and maybe enter the next one herself.
Assuming that Ellen and her team can solve the problems of handling such a large boat singlehanded, and she decides to enter the race, then all her competitors had better watch out!

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posted Jan 30, 2008

My apologies, everyone; I need to post a correction.
The Transatlantic Record time set by Franck Cammas in Groupama 3 in July 2007, was of course, a fully crewed event (9 crew), and so not directly comparable with the single handed Records under discussion.
You can read more about Groupama 3 at:
http://www.cammas-groupama.com/en/trimarans/index.jsp
This boat will have foils and is intended for the fully crewed Round The World race for the Jules Verne Trophy.
For an affordable singlehander foiler (dinghy) check out the RS600FF.
This means that Joyon's Singlehanded Record time of 6d 4h 1m 37s is still up for grabs.

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posted Feb 8, 2008

it's some really good news we needed , but eleln does have her work cut out to beat this record !

Olympics 2008 should test ben ainsley and the squad hopefully we should raise our game nd win some medals

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