The Bol d'Or - or sleepless in Geneva

It is again the season when I like to occasionally visit the Bol d'Or Mirabaud website to check if any strange new craft are entered for this charming race up and down Lake Geneva; the start is on Friday, 14 June this year.

New this year in the M1 class there are so far two GC32 foiling catamarans. It's a long time since a catamaran was able to win this race (or do better than all the Décision 35's), and the last catamaran which failed at this glorious dream of smashing D35 dominance was the Ventilo 35 sponsored by Nicolas Gonet a couple of years ago - Some people refer to the D35 as a catamaran, but I prefer to call it a trimaran even if the center hull is often only moistened by the odd droplet of champagne, from above.

Gonet is sponsoring the P28 foiler now, which has not entered yet (no hurry until midnight on the 12th) which they call a monohull, although it has two slim outriggers, which also has a most interesting reefable wing of sailcloth, and which weighs a delightful mere 320 kilos ready to go.

That compares nicely against the 950 kilos of the once-hopeful SYZ-foiler, a very expensive experimental 35 ft craft which appears to have run down its bank account. And for some reason Hydroptere.ch, which ought to dare show its face at the Bol d'Or, is still being shy about it.

The other foiler MirabaudLX - if you recall that interesting assembly of carbon tubes which occasionally flies - is entered again (for the 4th time?) in the TR1 class. Antoine Ravonel and Thomas Jundt have got a new hull this year and sooner or probably later there will be perfect wind for them all around the course?

But they should be immediately disqualified if they make use of this dirty trick of picking the boat up and running it across the water, to get it up to speed!

 

Looking forward to this one. The Pi28 is very slick and beautifully built looks like a low float volume foiling trimaran to me but whatever they call it I like it.

 

Any info on the entry of the Quant 28? Not a multihull but faster than some multies using DSS. It's been sold and the new team was supposed to enter....

 

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It's the only multifoiler I know of designed with telescoping foils.....

 

Perhaps the class is more fun if they rate as a monohull, then they don't risk the sneers of so many Ventilo 28's if the wind is inadequate....

Inadequate wind in the Bol d'Or?

lol


As regards the Quant 28 Doug, I don't see an entry like that yet, but you can check the link in my post above later, since it is still unfashionably early to register for the French and Italian speaking sailors.

 

Seems like divine inspiration to me. Wonder if this crewman can feed the whole fleet with a loaf of bread and turn bilge water into wine?

--
CutOnce

 

We never tolerated much bilge water, on account of this guy not being in the crew.

But if we can sign him up, I'd be happy to drill some holes!

 

The helmsman's obvious use of a whip is despicable.

 

Great humour, you blokes. Still laughing.
The lake racers are leading edge, must be a wonderful place to live.

 

Salt ...need salt water....runs in the veins....no wonder he is sprinting!

 

Love it! Thanks for posting it

(another video...)

 

^^^

You're most welcome, of course!


Here's the English alternative to the Bol d'Or: First you get an amazing number of boats to show up for a race that starts at 0500hrs on a Saturday morning - which is beyond masochistic - then your race organization is so excellent that a professional video covering half the race is posted on YouTube within 3 hrs.

... A frightening display of efficiency!


And the AC45 you see sailing in the twilight here smashed the course record.

 

...

More appalling efficiency, all too early on a Saturday:

But at least Ainslie was thoroughly beaten on corrected time, by the Seacart 30 BUZZ who finished 1hr 2 mins later, but bettered the AC45 by 33 mins on corrected time. Glad to see that. Go and gripe to the guy who rated your boat, Ben.

lol

 

Just adding this because I dislike the AC sailors hogging too much limelight.

From the Round the Island blog:

 

I kept half an eye on that Round Island blog, cheerfully expecting Jo Richards to appear at the top of a results list with one or another peculiar little boat.

I don't think anyone has skippered more extremely fast boats more often around the Isle of Wight, but lately it's been his entertainment to do something completely different.

And there he is! Sailing a boat called Woof, with sailnumber K9. Ha-ha. Clear winner in the IRC3c class... Let's see what sort of boat this is now....

An H Boat, from 1979! Laughable low rating.

I hope at least he put some great big fins on the rudder.


Hopefully he takes part in the Bol d'Or this year, I don't know if any foreigner has done as well there as him, and his boats.