Ch7 Wild Oats Sydney to Hobart Waffle!

www.rolexsydneyhobart.com/tracker/

Hi
i was wondering if any one could simply explain what advantages the WOXI team are seeking to get from chopping 2 meters off her ass and putting it on her nose (except to go faster). Or should I ask how/why is WOXI going to go faster because of the hull modification, hull length staying the same.
I believe the sail plan is still the same but not 100% on that.
cheers

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SandS said...
thanks Trek !!

there you go Mcnaught !!!

Thanks Trek

No worries McNaught and Sands.

Re why the adding 2m up front on Wild Oats.

Just guessing, they could put on a much bigger Genoa (so called Code Zero). Perpetual Loyal apparently (gossip) has the largest Code Zero on a boat in the world and they want larger than that one.

It would be interesting to know if their Code Zero was at the sail maker recently!

And as MB said it could be buoyancy too. Watching a video of the boat going though bigger swells her bow does dig in. If they could reduce that it would help them I would think.

Foils.

www.yachtingworld.com/yachts-and-gear/wild-oats-xi-63434

those foils look like excellent seaweed catchers !!!!

More fascinated by this start than I expected I would be. WOXI got the start but as they get to the heads the others have made good ground. Great sailing.

Yep, one of the best races to heads in a long time. WOX1 got a great start at the line but then a brilliant move by Loyal going it alone to the west of the course, totally stuffed it for WOX1.

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MorningBird said..
More fascinated by this start than I expected I would be. WOXI got the start but as they get to the heads the others have made good ground. Great sailing.

Me too MB. Haven't watched the start for years, too busy poo-pooing the rock stars that dominate the coverage.
However, can't deny the quickening of my pulse and the smile on my dial watching the action - feeling, remembering the anticipation, the gut-churning and rush of adrenalin that accompanies the start of every yacht race, be it grand or humble. Purr, purr

Also can't deny that I really wish I was there

Hope Loyal sorts their stuff out...they must be furious

The forces involved are ridiculous. From memory even years ago on the Volvo 60s the halyard was locked in, then you went to about 6:1 purchase lead back to a winch about the size of a 50 footer's primary. You winched the 6:1 on until you could get no more in the lowest of the 3 sppeds - then you started winding up the hydraulic backstay. And patting the backstays, even on the old 80 footers (which had a similar system) was like patting the main girder on the harbour bridge.

I don't know how they do it these days, but the 100s must be running even higher pressures and it all means that getting the whole caboodle to revolve as one is a lot harder than it may seem. It's not easy trying to wind torsional forces on a bit of line. I've never sailed one of the big French tris but they used to use sling-wrap luff lines on their Code Zero. Instead of being a bunch of strands twisted together, they were one enormously long strand that went up and down the 100' plus luff line about 20 times and was then held together somehow and covered. A pair of brothers living on a little island in the Atlantic off Brest used to make them by hand, I think. This is all very specialised stuff.

"Rat" Blanchfield is on Loyal, and he was one of Australia's best bowmen. Sven Runow is aboard and he may be running the middle, and he's also absolutely world class. There are a lot of pros on these boats and they really are very, very good.

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Ramona said..
I just wandered in for a brew and to check the tracker. Wild Oats is on a bit of a flyer or be has plans for the arrival of the Southerly. The start was really interesting and even the prestart maneuvers. Very impressive how easy the maxis gybe in 25 knots of wind. Their boatspeed makes the relative wind that low that gybing is a real non event. In 25 knots I can make it real exciting!

That expensive SS34 looked tiny!

It is tiny!

For all the money spent on Azzurro it is still a 1968 designed and 35 year old hull. I feel there is a bit of exaggeration/embellishment in the estimates of her refit costs. Blondie, a new S&S34, is doing very well in WA and was built no expense spared. She cost 2/3rds of some of the estimates I have seen for Azzurro.
A Melbourne owner stripped another one back to the bare hull and undertook a total rebuild at a cost of $120,000. He didn't buy the sails Azzurro has but pretty much most other fittings etc.

Go Azzurro.

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MorningBird said..

Ramona said..
I just wandered in for a brew and to check the tracker. Wild Oats is on a bit of a flyer or be has plans for the arrival of the Southerly. The start was really interesting and even the prestart maneuvers. Very impressive how easy the maxis gybe in 25 knots of wind. Their boatspeed makes the relative wind that low that gybing is a real non event. In 25 knots I can make it real exciting!

That expensive SS34 looked tiny!

It is tiny!

For all the money spent on Azzurro it is still a 1968 designed and 35 year old hull. I feel there is a bit of exaggeration/embellishment in the estimates of her refit costs. Blondie, a new S&S34, is doing very well in WA and was built no expense spared. She cost 2/3rds of some of the estimates I have seen for Azzurro.
A Melbourne owner stripped another one back to the bare hull and undertook a total rebuild at a cost of $120,000. He didn't buy the sails Azzurro has but pretty much most other fittings etc.

Go Azzurro.

S&S 34s are big and comfortable as far as we half-ton sailors are concerned.

I haven't seen a reliable source for the cost of the Azzuro refit and it's hard to see how or why anyone would spend about twice the cost of a TP52 on an S&S34. I think you could put a brand new IRC 34 like Fastnet winner Courier in the water for that. Sounds like BS to me.

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crustysailor said..
Does anyone know the reason for Wo starting with the first reef in?

Any why no coverage of the on board cameraman and lady jumping ship at the end?
That has been a highlight in previous years

i have no idea Crusty...... but seeing this is the internet i will have a guess ............. i think i heard them say they had the #1 heady on before the start ........ so maybe he thought he had enough speed with that and that with a reef in she would be a bit more maneuverable before the start through all those boats ....???

I think you could be right on WOXI and upwind performance. It will be interesting to see how well Comanche points with that very wide beam.

We went out of botany bay and had a good 35knts an hour before the start with about 2m swell with another 1.5 of short sharp chop on top.