It's a beautiful world
by John Curnow, Editor, Sail-World AUS 3 Nov 2019 13:00 PST
Devo and their Energy Dome Helmets (Flowerpot Hats) © Event Media
So yes if you are old enough, dust off your flowerpot hats and sing away in memory of Devo. Of course if you are not old enough to remember the new wave, post-punk, alternative, synth pop, rock band, you could be wondering why is he devastated. I'm not. In this instance it is deevo, not devo. Such is the modern language BTW... (Argh. Argh. Argh.)
Now whilst Devo's song had a more sinister tone based upon their theories that we had in fact regressed as a race, I was thinking to myself just how far we had come. Take the Jules Verne for instance. A trophy originally conceived to honour the man and the title of his oh-so-famous book, we are now at just on half of the prescribed 80 days as the current record. Even the single-handed 'lap' at just under 50 days is well under, and only around 22.5% behind that of the crewed dash.
It all began when I started looking at Sail-World.com, and all the people racing around local patches, bays and harbours, coastal hops, or oceanic passages. Evidently I am not the only one surveying all the stories either, BTW, for our numbers continue to show that you are as well, nearly always in record numbers. So thank you for your patronage; on behalf of the Sail-World team, and also our terrific partners, without whom none of it would happen.
And as the digital ages continues on its inexorable march, if you cannot be on the water itself, then cyberspace offers you another world again to go and explore. There are virtual regattas going on all the time, e-championships to win, and Excess even gave up a brand new catamaran to the winner of their electronic sail-off so that they could cross over from one world to the real one.
No doubt my own mind got to wandering when I was posting the material from the Down Under Rally, and their upcoming information sessions on heading into the beautiful (yes, its use was fully intended, and won't be the last time either...) South Pacific as part of the rallies. They are also conducting some real-world passage making preparation classes, including extra detail from Lisa Blair.
So whether it is journeying far, far away, or way more local like all the crew having a ball at the recent Beneteau Cup on Sydney Harbour, sailing does afford all, whether novice or salt-encrusted, the chance to be part of this beautiful world. Best of all, it is something you can do all your life, have a break from and come back to it, even pick it up later on when you chose to.
Talking about things of beauty, this image is of the sixth Allanson/Murray Etchells about to be delivered to her owner. Lucky seven will be handed over soon to her skipper, who is very much like an expectant father. It is the last one for 2019, as her name on her transom will reflect. Spending time investigating the brilliance in the detail on these works of art is mesmerising.
In all, and as of today, there are 18 either delivered or to come in 2020. There is just one build slot left for next year, and with the 2020 Etchells World Championships being staged in Perth next November, I think somebody will be very lucky to have an early Christmas present, but I reckon you would have to move quickly. Just saying...
Now as we progress to the terminus, as it were, think of all the places you have seen, and all the people you have met through this thing called 'going for a yacht'. One such soul was yet another reason I have been on this particular train of thought, as the die-hard racer contemplates going off into the big blue now, before it all gets too hard. I'll certainly be there to help cast him off.
Finally, we continue to work on the subject known as 'End of Life'. There'll be no Viking funerals here. What we are talking about is the plastic boats from the 60s. Yes, this is when mass production took hold, and by the 70s it was going gangbusters. We are at the front of tsunami of 20 to 50 foot boats that can no longer do anything but clog up waterways, or become instant hazards to navigation.
We have already put way too many vessels into landfill, so whether it is substrate to road base, covers for plants or outdoor seating, beer cans, or whatever, we do need to find a way to make the craft that showed us the beauty, be repurposed into something befitting of their original role. Ultimately, we hope that we can continue to make it a beautiful world for those generations to come. Here endeth the lesson.
Right oh - here today there are some gems for you to review like intel from North Sails, U21 Lasers, delays for the Brest Atlantique with the Ultim Tris, ocean and passage training coming up with the Down Under Rally team, Transat Jacques Vabre, Joyon and the record-holding Idec Sport, the Clipper, 18s, tickets for SailGP, World Sailing and the AC sort it out, meet Herr Müller - the man taking Bavaria onwards and upwards, Beneteau Cup on Sydney Harbour, radars from B&G, classics to set sail before the Big Race, and certainly there is much, much more below.
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John Curnow
Editor, Sail-World.com AUS