With reference to Matt Belcher's remarkable run of wins - As I recall it, Rodney Pattison didn't loose a single race in Flying Dutchman between Acapulco 1968 and Kiel 1972?

That would break some records, Mike is over 80!! He delivered Aqua Blue back from Corunna in 77!

Suggest they get Mike Birch back to skipper Happy?

Suggest they get Mike Birch back to skipper Happy?

Hello, it's really a great achievement to be able to put together a powerful sailing catamaran with the FHE 400 Bras d'Or technology, which was initially designed in 1967 by De Havilland for military purposes. To make also flexible the lozenge front foil to create a perfect damper climbing the waves like a buggy's wheel. Cheers. Rémi

Do we have a venue yet?

Agree with you KM. Surely would be better to allow OUSA to make informal challenges with LV competitors, limited to the same no. of hours on the course as the rest. That would allow for parity, save costs to Oracle (which I realise isn't their end game) and allow the other teams to each have a crack at the defender prior to racing for the Auld Mug for real. Like the nationality rule, though - it's a good starting point.

Lordy, so much of the protocol sounds like a cock up. Are we awaiting a new 'worst protocol ever'. If Oracle are allowed two boats and the others not it should be 100% identical to the first one. This is a bigger defender advantage than that eventually proposed by Alinghi which was one boat but the right to race in the challenger series. 4 teams only in the final? That's going to be an easy sell isn't it? "Hi can you sponsor me for a vague chance of being in the America's Cup". It is absolutely absurd to suggest that there is no suitable venue that cannot support more teams than that. Any large port with access to an ocean water course on the sea could do so. The boat sounds fun, though.

According to the Alex Thomson Racing Facebook page, they managed to save the pieces of the mast and are having it fixed at Hall Spars in Rhode Island. They are still aiming to be on the start line of the Ocean Masters New York-Barcelona Race on 1st June.

What does it rate?

Well done James 'Chippie' Gair and Zero II crew - great way to turn it around after the previous weekend!

Very interesting to see those pics James. I suppose Coville must be disappointed that the slightly longer and more technical Sodebo was unable to better the times set by Joyon on Idec. But then Joyon seems almost superhuman and Idec is an outstanding example of the KISS principle!! In fact it's been apparent for some time that Coville needed a bigger/faster trimaran if he was to return to singlehanded record breaking. And others have now taken that step before him. I was still surprised that Sodebo bought De Kersauson's "elderly" Geronimo. However now we find that the main hull and the mast and half the floats have all been replaced, plus the beams being strengthened and rudders added. One wonders how much money they are really saving over a completely new boat! The RdRhum will be quite a test for this much modified boat. I wonder what Joyon's plans are. He could still do well in Idec, especially in a race with changeable weather!

Yes! This needs as much support as possible. Great idea and Rob is the right man for the job to drive it forward. Owners fed up with carting furniture through the water - take note!

"39 to 43 footers such as the Ker 39s, King 40s and one offs such as Erivale and Zero. This new class will be raced under IRC with a rating band of 1.05 to 1.15." the slow 40's class

I think we need to distinguish between the Irens designed Idec and Sodebo which were always of moderate beam and meant to be sailed (and reefed!) solo, and the two flipped MOD 70s and possibly Prince de Bretagne. These latter three are much wider and more powerful with huge flat top mains and so often in pics seem to be flying the central hull. Obviously the MODs were flipped with crews onboard, altho only two in VP's case. Lionel on PdB altho hugely experienced was presumably caught out by a gust in the SE trades, not extreme conditions, as Joyon was on Idec. Projecting forward, altho I know Cammas and Le Cleach have both managed a trade wind Atlantic crossing solo on BPexGroupama, but it does seem alarming that now Guichard plans to enter the RduRhum on SpindriftexBP at 130ft!! Apparently he will set off if wx fcst is good but not if it isn't, since he cannot reef the main alone!!!! I do think the organisers should be considering some upper size limit for solo sailors, or will they wait until there is an another "accident"!

Richard Lema writes: Your comment on Prince de Bretagne capsizing brought back memories of years past when it was unfortunately not uncommon for a multihull to either capsize (too many to mention), or for the skipper to vanish during a race. For example, Loic Caradec who was lost during the 1986 Route du Rhum while sailing the 25.9 meter catamaran Royale II. The announcement of Yann Guichard sailing the 40 meter trimaran Spindrift 2 in the 2014 Route du Rhum alone reminded me of Alain Colas sailing the 72 meter (236 foot) Club Méditerranée in the 1976 Trans-Atlantic race. At that time, most of the sailing press was horrified at the thought of a lone sailor attempting to sail a 236 foot boat alone, as Club Méditerranée was possibly capable of sinking a small ship if he hit it at high speed. Club Méditerranée at the start of the 1976 Trans-Atlantic race http://www.lequipe.fr/explore/voile/img/full/clubmed.png?1EXPL_VOILE_000... Since the 1976 Trans-Atlantic race, multihulls have increased is size from the 70ft catamaran Kriter II, to the 40 meter (131 foot) Spindrift 2. I have a serious question with a solo sailor handling a 40 meter boat: "Can a solo skipper release the sheets, and turn a 40 meter boat by themselves in time to avoid a small craft if one suddenly appears directly in front of them? Or does someone, or maybe even a group of people aboard a small ocean-going sailboat, or even small power vessel get to enjoy the glory of being run down by a solo sailor on a giant race boat designed to be sailed by more than a dozen top racers?" The skippers sailing these boats are obviously the some of the best sailors in the world, and they are extraordinarily talented. However, they are not the only ones out there on the ocean, and this "Hey, look at me sailing this huge thing by myself" attitude could possibly cost someone other than the solo skipper their life. That's a very high price for a pleasure boater to pay for someone's ego.

We hope Lionel is going to be okay. Allegedly being inside a capsized trimaran is a relatively tranquil place to be... But this, Joyon's capsize in 2011 - http://goo.gl/k7dGR4, and Spindrift (http://goo.gl/axaCiZ) and Virbac Paprec (http://goo.gl/IMUUlS), haven't done much for the safety record of 'supposedly safer' modern racing multihulls, either solo or fully crewed...

Brave call. Let's hope he can get through the front without more damage.