News History

15.03.2006 - Ti Wai GBR 386 For Sale

16.12.2005 - Ti Wai Returns to Europe

05.11.2005 - Tobias' reflections on the race

Q: Four days into the race you run over a piece of driftwood. What happened exactly and what was the damage?

A: Yes – a piece of driftwood caught itself in such a way between the twin rudders that it essentially completely locked the steering of the boat. We were moving at 12 – 13 kts under spinnaker when it happened and without steerage I quickly lost control and the boat capsized. When she came up again, with the big spinnaker full of water the forestay fitting couldn't take the load and disintegrated. All I could do was to continue the race under mainsail only, and head for the Cape Verde islands to see if I could repair the fitting. Three days after the incident I arrived there and, I indeed managed to weld the pieces together again. After approx. 15 hours I was back in the race. However, it didn’t take long for me to realize that the damage to the fitting was not the only one but there was also a problem with the bow of the boat where the fitting was attached. I was worried that the loads created by the bigger spinnakers would break something which couldn’t be repaired at sea. I decided to play it save and only used the smallest spinnaker for the remaining 2.000 miles. When the wind went up to more than 15 kts I was even down to just running with the Gennaker.

Q: What did you like most during this second leg?

A: The first four days after the departure from Lanzarote were just great. Ti Wai was performing at her best and it felt really good to at the top of the fleet. I started to think that if all goes well there’s a chance to finish the race in the top ten………..

Q: What was the biggest frustration for you?

A: No doubt, the fact that I could never really fully attack due to the problem with the boat. Physically and mentally I was in great shape and could have pushed a lot harder. This was truly demoralizing.

The other frustration was the fact that the front runners had gone straight through the doldrums without hardly slowing down while those of us in the middle of the fleet ended up in fickle to no winds for three days alternatively being nearly drowned by unbelievable downpours of rain, followed by being roasted by the sun.

Q: How did you manage sleeping and eating?

A: Sleep management wasn’t a problem at all. After a few days I settled into a reasonably comfortable sleep pattern where I allowed myself a number of 20 minute cat naps after dinner interrupting them briefly to check the course, the wind and the sails. This usually left me rested enough to drive the boat through the night. Toward dawn, before breakfast I repeated the routine until I was rested again. The freeze dried trekking food which I had on the second leg complemented by the snacks for my goodies bag kept me well in shape during the entire trip. I hardly lost any weight.

Q: Did you know your position in the race?

A: Not really. All I knew was that I was not moving fast enough to keep up with the top guys. Unfortunately, I was never able to pick up the Radio Monaco position broadcast and I therefore had no clue what my ranking was.

Q: Now that the big adventure is over, do you already have plans for the future?

A: First of all, I have to pack up the boat and get her ready to be shipped back to the UK. Once there, I’ll have to make arrangements to get her fixed and put up for sale. The other big priority is of course to bring my still very much stretched financial situation in order. I’ll be looking for a job which will give me a regular income. I hope that my previous experience in the America’s Cup with Team New Zealand will help me find a job there.

It’s time to wrap up and to say goodbye to you our readers and to the Transat 2005. Despite the ups and downs it was a fantastic experience for which I want to sincerely say thank you to all of you who have financially, morally or otherwise helped me make this dream come true. Thank you and see you soon. There will be another Transat in two years time. Who knows who will be there……..

01.11.2005 - Complete Freight arrives in Brazil!

The fitting which underwent an emergency repair during the unscheduled stop at the Cape Verde islands continued to cause trouble as soon as they were out at sea again, forcing Tobias to sail the remaing 2.000 nm very conservatively. This meant only using the smallest spinnaker during the entire trip while his competitors were pushing there boats hard flying bigger kites most of the time.

Please join us in congratulating Tobias on this major achievement and tune in again soon. We'll be speaking with Tobias tomorrow.

16.10.2005 - Unplanned stop-over in the Cape Verdes for TiWai

Four days into the race in 25 kts of following breeze a piece of driftwood got stuck between TiWai’s twin rudders. Without the ability to steer the boat which was running under spinnaker she quickly broached and ended up laying on her ear. When she came up again it became rapidly clear that the forstay fitting had disintegrated making the further use of any of the headsails impossible. No wonder that Tobias, now limited to the use of the mainsail only, started to lose ground!

The good news, however, is that Tobias is well, and although he is very unhappy about his current position he is in good spirits because the damage is fixable. In fact he expects to make the necessary repairs today and be on his way again by tonight.

As always, if you want to follow the race visit the website of the race organisers at www.transat650.org

14.10.2005 - Leading Boats approaching the Cape Verdes Islands – Tobias reported problem with his forestay

The boat braking conditions of the last days are starting to take their toll and it is reported that several skippers, among them Tobias, are planning to make temporary stops in the Cape Verdes to make repairs to their boats. Tobias seems to be fighting with forestay problems of to us unknown nature, which seem to force him to sail significantly slower than the competitors around him. He has dropped back to place 30 in todays 1600 hours report. His position is approx. 150 nm NE of the Cape Verdes.

To keep up to date with the development of the race click here: www.transat650.org

09.10.2005 - They are off!

When leaving their moorings in Puerto Calero a couple of hours before the start most boats and sailors looked well prepared and there was an air of keenness to get going again after this much longer than anticipated stop-over in Lanzarote.

The number one point of discussion in the hours preceding the start was once more the weather. The reason being a rather unusual weather situation which had developed and which had moved a trough of a low pressure system situated some 300 miles to the NW of Lanzarote right overhead the Canary Islands causing a 15 – 20 kts SSW airflow instead of the expected prevailing North Easterly Trades. Expert and less expert weather advisors had a busy time coming up with their best advise how to deal with this unexpected situation which gave the sailors the choice to either going West and stay with the breeze longer but sail a greater distance or head South East where the weather models predict little wind except for the sea breeze off the coast of Africa during sunshine hours. A tough decision indeed!

After the start the two schools of thought became very obvious when about half of the fleet kept going on starboard tack heading South East while the other half short tacked up to the SW tip of Lanzarote before heading West leaving Fuertaventura to port. In accordance with their strategy the British/Swiss contingent took the higher risk / higher gain Westerly option with Nick Bubb leading the pack, followed by some 30 other boats among them Phil Sharp and Tobias Hochreutener. While the start took place in rather fickle winds and lumpy seas the wind pick up very quickly towards the SW tip of Lanzarote and it was blowing at a fairly steady 15 – 18 kts south westerly when the friends and family of the British / Swiss contingent waved there final good byes to them. On behalf of all of us who were given the opportunity to follow the start of the race aboard “Keoma” I would like to thank Charles and Juliet Dearlove with their lovely children Alice and Pips for their fantastic hospitality. We wish you a great time in the Canaries and much success in the ARC race.

As we won’t be in a position to contact the sailors until their arrival in Salvador we suggest that you check out the daily updates on the organizers website www.transat650.org to find out how the race to the first waypoint in the Cape Verde Islands and onwards to Brazil unfolds.

06.10.2005 - Nearly Ready to Go!

Having my Mum and Dad crewing for me we had a good start and picked our way though the shifty conditions to round the first and only mark of the course in second place behind Yves Le Blevek, FRA 151.After gybing around the mark we initially sailed a little too conservatively and lost a few places finishing in 7th place. A reasonable result as the prologue was always going to be sailed in "safe mode" in order to not risk any damage this close to the start of the all deciding 2nd leg of the Transat. What's once more been very visible was that my boat is much more suited to do well in light conditions such as yesterday's than what we've found in the 20 kts plus downwind blast from La Rochelle to Lanzarote. Ti Wai is relatively narrowly built and is also one of the lightest boats in the fleet. All design features for racing in lighter airs which we'll hopefully find more of during the 2nd leg.

Now after almost two weeks in Lanzarote I am totally focused on the 3000 miles ahead of us. There are a few last minute jobs to complete such as loading water and food for myself and fuel for the generator. However, the most important thing to concentrate on is the correct strategy for the race ahead. I am doing this with the help of Commanders Weather and my weather router Clemency Williams from Reading University. As we are not allowed any outside assistance during the race we need to analyze the available weather information as well as we can before the start and, based on that information create a "game-plan" to give us the quickest route to the first waypoint, the Cape Verde Islands and from there an optimal approach to the Doldrums with their notoriously light winds.

So, all systems are go and the batteries are recharged. Next stop Brazil! For details of the race after the start on Saturday October 8 at 17:17 local time please refer again to the Transat 6.50 website: www.transat650.org.

27.09.2005 - Complete Freight arrives in Lanzarote after 7 days and 13 hours

During the morning of the start of the Transat 6.50 in La Rochelle there was a rumor going around the docks that we are most likely in for a very fast trip to Lanzarote. But who would have believed that we will complete the 1350 mile course in absolute record time at speed you would expect from much bigger race boats but not from 21 footers. The time of the winner, Corentin Douguet, of 6 day 15 hours and 45 minutes is a fantastic new record for the first leg of this race. To put this into perspective Sam Manuard, winner of this leg two years ago covered the same distance in a time of 9 days 5 hours and 8 minutes.

As we left the pontoons, heading out to the start area, the shores were lined with thousands of spectator cheering the boats. As I passed through the lock of the marina there were shouts of "Hopp Schwiiiz!" (Go Switzerland!) which really got me fired up.

The start was very well organized. The fleet was protected by the coast guard to keep the hundreds of spectator boats at bay which was just as well as the wind was gusting up to 30 knots when the start gun fired at 17:17 hours on the 17th September. Not holding back, despite the massive time penalty for being over the line early, I got a great start, rounding the first mark of the course in third place behind Nick Bubb from the UK, Kristian Hajnsek from Slovenia.

As the start was late in the afternoon, it was nearly dark when we finally cleared land and were out in the open waters of the Biscay. The wind consistently stayed over 30 knots and the seas were building. Sailing downwind with reefed mainsail and the spinnaker up I was hitting speeds of up to 17 knots in the pitch black night. I was just considering taking the spinnaker down as the boat was becoming very hard to control when a glorious moon rose over the horizon illuminating the dramatic scene. The light made it possible to steer the boat more effectively so I decided to keep the spinnaker up and continue with the slay-ride.

What happened next, only 10 hours after the start nearly put me out of the race. Still sailing fast, the boat suddenly came to an abrupt stop, driving the nose of the boat into water, all the way back to the cockpit before cart-wheeling and eventually ending up on her side. Luckily I was harnessed on and holding on tight on the high side of the boat I got a look at the keel as it was just coming out of the water and I saw this enormous fishing net caught around the bulb. As the keel was completely out of the water, the boat luckily floated over the top of the fishing net and we came unstuck. I regained control of the boat and the spinnaker, and turned her back on a downwind course. Instantly the boat started vibrating and shaking and it was so bad that I could barley stand on my feet. Thinking that I must have damaged the keel, I pulled down the spinnaker and reduced the mainsail to slow the boat down. The vibrating became bearable but as it was still dark I could not investigate the severity of the damage. The situation was very serious as loosing the keel would put me in grave danger. After about 3 hours of sailing slowly, waiting for the sun to rise the vibrating and shaking suddenly stopped and the boat started sailing faster again despite the reduced sail area. This could mean only one thing, I must have had a piece of the netting still stuck on the keel which caused the vibrations and with it now gone all seemed ok. Eager to get back in the race, I pulled the spinnaker back up and worked hard trying to make up lost time. It was a lucky escape.

The rest of the course continued in the same fashion. Strong down-wind sailing all the way in sometimes very big seas which the autopilots struggled to cope with. This meant that sleep was very hard to come by, averaging less that 2 hours every day.

When I arrived in Lanzarote in 31st place overall, (24th Proto) I was of course not very pleased with the result. I felt that I did better than that. However, considering the conditions which did not really suit my boat which has been designed for lighter conditions I have to accept it. Further more, it is encouraging to see that the boat in 10th place overall is only 7 1/2 hours ahead of me – not much considering that there are still over 2800 nm to go to Brazil.

Also, while many of the other boats suffered from various breakages and particularly damages to the sails, where the strong winds took a hefty toll, I escaped more or less damage free. I will be checking and double checking everything during the stop-over here in Lanzarote but I am very confident that Complete Freight is in excellent condition to take on the Atlantic crossing.

18.09.2005 - The race is on!

www.transat650.org

The cool images from the start (on the right and in the gallery) have been made available by Vjeko Orlandini and Shu Fen. Thanks to both!

17.09.2005 - Tobias' thoughts on the Morning before the Start

With only a few hours to go the Transat 6.50 fleet is waking up to a beautiful, although freezing morning, here in La Rochelle. Complete Freight and I are now fully prepared, loaded with food and water, longing to go. It’s going to be very strange to be finally on my own after spending the last few days talking to hundreds of visitors at the race village and journalists from all four corners of the world.

The forecast for the next few days looks great. We are setting off at 17:17 today in a 20 kts NE wind which should push us at great speed towards Cape Finistere. Although the wind will be steadily decreasing and shift East, we don't expect it to drop below 10kts.

Once out of the Biscay, the same trend should continue but from a slightly more NW'erly direction.

So, after 3 years of hard work to get to the start line the big day is finally here. I am very excited and a little nervous which can only be good. Bring on Brazil!!!!

On a more somber note, I have spend the last forty Euros which my bank cards would give me on fresh food for the race. Although we are fully prepared, there are no resources to pay for any possible repairs or replacement of equipment in case I have to stop anywhere along the way. This will effectively put me out of the race. If you can or if you know anyone who can help out please let me know. It’s not too late and there is still room for further sponsor logos on the boat…… THANKS!

16.09.2005 - Sue Pelling from Yachting World describes the Transat 6,50 Prologue from aboard Complete Freight

Spanish sailor wins Transat 6.50 Prologue

Juan Carlos Sanchis Mari from Spain sailing a Bakewell-White 2003 design (ex-Chris Sayer's boat) has won the Transat 6.50 Charente-Maritime/Bahia Prologue - the 'practice' race. Sanchis Mari and his two-man crew (maximum 4 crew allowed for this race) made the best of the extremely light, shifty conditions and were able to monopolise on their good start and work their way through to a relatively clear, constant breeze.

The flat conditions on the bay of La Rochelle, which spanned as far as the eye could see this morning, as the 72 Mini 6.50 sailors made their way out the start line, fortunately improved and after one general recall and a postponement, a light, but shifty breeze finally filled in at midday. Getting the best start in today's conditions was imperative with those starting in the middle of the line and taking a quick hitch over onto port as soon as possible benefiting enormously just minutes from the line.

Sailing with Swiss sailor Tobias Hochreutener and his mast maker Croatian Weko Orlandini (Fibre Masts) aboard Complete Freight - a Mergui 2002 designed Proto, I was lucky enough to experience the joys of a port-tack flyer and, as we crossed the majority of the fleet, I knew we were onto a good thing.

Upwind towards our first windward mark up the middle of the course was definitely the best option with those either side of the course suffering badly from shifty, incredibly light winds. Although we didn't see much more than 5kts throughout the race at least we kept moving (apart from running over the occasional super-sized jelly fish) and, together with the others around us, including Sanchis Mari, were far enough ahead to judge what was happening on the two/three-mile leg ahead.

Once we had the layline established and had tacked over to starboard we were able to see clearly the result of our super-swift beat. Lying in second place just a couple of boat lengths astern of Sanchis Mari, and with Matthieu Cassanas snapping at our heels to windward and Corentin Douguet - the Transat 6.50 favourite - several places behind, the pressure was on, particularly as we'd just noticed the shortened-course flag flying from the committee boat. Chatting about the boat's performance Hochreutener said: "Basically we couldn't have asked for better conditions, these are the sort of conditions this boat loves. She one of the, if not the, lightest boats in the fleet and unlike some of the other Protos such as the beamy Manuard designs, she's relative narrow design which gives her the edge in these conditions."

A smart bit of sailing by Cassanas who basically sailed over the top of us in his Villenave 2000 Proto, relegated us to third position as we approached the finish. And the worst was yet to come. Just a second or two before the finish line Adrien Hardy - a young, extremely talented, French 420 sailor - sailing a 1997 Magnen design snuck up underneath us and with a fraction more speed, just managed to pip us at the post and take third.

A short race it may have been but there was definitely no lack of excitement. And to finish in fourth place in such a competitive fleet was a great experience. A positive Hochreutener concluded: "Fourth, what a great position to finish in a practice race. This gives me just a bit of room for improvement. I'm now really looking forward to the start on Saturday. The boat's feeling good and I feel well prepared for my first Mini Transat race experience."

Sue Pelling/Yachting World, 14 September 2005

http://www.yachting-world.com/auto/newsdesk/20050814165222ywminitransat05.html

14.09.2005 - Complete Freight finishes Transat 6,50 Prologue in excellent 4th place

Today at 11:30 the 15th edition of the Transat 6,50 was at last launched with the start of the Prologue off the coast of La Rochelle. At first the committee tried to get the fleet started in a very light land breeze but had to abandon their effort due to lack of wind. However, at around mid day the light sea breeze began to fill in and the racing finally got under way in 5 kts of westerly wind.

With 72 boats on the start line in light, fickle winds it was absolutely critical to get a good 'clean' start. Our strategy to go for the pin-end of the line, tack away early and cross in front of the whole fleet in clean air worked very well, and we managed to firmly establish ourselves among the top five with good boat speed.

With the help of Sue Pelling from Yachting World and Vjeko Orlandini from Fibra Spars, who joined me for this race, we successfully avoided the light patches on the way up to the windward mark and held our position at the head of the fleet. Unfortunately, half way around the course, the committee, due to lack of wind, was forced to shorten course to ensure that all the boats could safely return to the marina prior to the changing of the tide.

Sue, Vieko and I were of course thrilled to cross the line in the confidence boosting 4th place just a few boat lengths behind the winner Juan Carlos Sanchis Mari.

Congratulation to Juan. Thank you, Sue and Vieko.

11.09.2005 - „HORBÄCHLER“ Interview mit Tobias

UNTER ZUGER FLAGGE EINHAND UEBER DEN ATLANTIK

Yacht Club Zug-Mitglied Tobias Hochreutener (25) von Aeugst am Albis startet am 17. September zur Mini-Transat 6.5, einem Einhand-Rennen über den Atlantischen Ozean. Der junge Berufssegler war kürzlich beim Mittwochstraining in Zug dabei und gab dem Horbächler ein Interview:

HORBÄCHLER: Tobias, das Mittwochstraining auf dem Zugersee ist nicht gerade die klassische Vorbereitung auf eine Einhand-Atlantiküberquerung. Wie kam es, dass Du bei uns dabei warst?

TOBIAS: Ich war in der Schweiz, um am Fest zum 80. Geburtstag meines Grossvaters teilzunehmen. Da hat mich mein Vater angefragt, ob ich die Sailcom Surprise Crew, mit der er jeweils am Mittwochabend im YCZ
segelt, trainieren würde. Es war cool, wieder einmal auf dem See zu segeln , auf dem ich meine ersten Wenden und Halsen übte.

HORBÄCHLER: Du warst anfangs der 90er Jahre bei den Zuger Junioren aktiv, hast Deine seglerischen Grundkenntnisse hier erworben. Was verbindet Dich heute noch mit dem Zuger Yachtclub?

TOBIAS: Der YCZ war immer “mein” Club. Um beim Transat 6.50 dabei zu sein, musste ich offizielles Mitglied eines Clubs des Landes sein, unter dessen Flagge ich segle. Der YCZ war da natürlich meine erste Wahl.

HORBÄCHLER: Seit 1998 bist Du Profisegler. Für die Teilnahme an der Transat hast Du sogar deinen Job gekündigt. Was bedeutet diese Regatta für Dich?

TOBIAS: Seit dem Start meiner Karriere, welche mit der Verteidigung des
Americas Cup im Jahr 2000 mit Team New Zealand begann, habe ich immer auf grossen Rennjachten gearbeitet. Obwohl mir das sehr viel gegeben hat, war mein wirkliches Ziel immer, einmal ein eigenes Projekt zu verwirklichen. Die Transat war wohl schon immer irgendwo im Hinterkopf vorhanden und eines Tages, mitten auf dem Atlantik habe ich mich entschieden, es zu wagen. Jetzt, wo ich für das 2005 Rennen
qualifiziert bin, ist für mich ein Traum in Erfüllung gegangen.

HORBÄCHLER: An den Start gehen 72 Boote in zwei Klassen. Was für Chancen rechnest Du Dir aus?

TOBIAS: Das seglerische Niveau in der Transat 6.50 Flotte ist in der Zwischenzeit auf einem sehr hohen Stand angekommen. Wie ich, sind auch die meisten andern Athleten sehr auf ihr Projekt fokussiert. Sie haben eine Menge Regattaerfahrung in der Transat 6.50 Szene vorzuweisen und sind gut vorbereitet. Ich hoffe jedoch, dass meine grosse off-shore Erfahrung mir den entscheidenden Vorteil bringen wird. Ein Platz unter den ersten 15 ist mein Ziel, aber ich glaube, dass alle Teilnehmer,
welche dieses Rennen zu Ende segeln, sich als Gewinner fühlen dürfen.

HORBÄCHLER: Wie sieht Dein Alltag bis zum Start am 17. September aus?

TOBIAS: Vorbereiten, finanzielle Unterstützung suche und weiter
vorbereiten. Eine gesunde finanzielle Basis ist notwendig, um mein Boot konkurrenzfähig zu halten und um möglichst viel Zeit auf dem Wasser mit testen und trainieren verbringen zu können. Eine sehr gründliche Vorbereitung ist in diesem Projekt lebenswichtig.

HORBÄCHLER: Mit was für einem Boot wirst Du unterwegs sein?

TOBIAS: Die Transat 6.50 wird nach einer “box rule” entwickelt, welche von den folgenden Massen bestimmt ist: Länge = 6.5 m, Breite = 3.0 m, Distanz zwischen dem Ende des Kiels und der Spitze des Masts = 14.0 m. Diese Regel begünstigen die Vorwindeigenschaften der Boote und führen zu Geschwindigkeiten von über 20 Knoten.

HORBÄCHLER: Du bist einer der jüngsten Teilnehmer.Mit was für Erfahrungen im
Hochsee-Segeln und in dieser Art von Wettkampf gehst Du an den Start?

TOBIAS: Ich habe verschiedene Bootstypen in meinem Logbuch. Dabei sind z.B. die Überführung einer 68 Fuss Swan von New Zealand nach Frankreich, mehrere Atlantiküberquerungen in beide Richtungen oder die
600 sm Newport – Bermuda Regatta. Dazu kommen natürlich all die
unzähligen “Round the Cans” Regatten wie Swan Worlds, Antigua Sailing Week, Cowes Week etc. etc.

HORBÄCHLER: 4250 Seemeilen oder 7871 km liegen vor Dir, allein auf einer 6.5
Meter langen Rennyacht. Was geht Dir durch den Kopf, wenn Du daran denkst?

TOBIAS: Bis heute habe ich auf meiner Mini mit Regattieren und Trainieren schon gegen 7000 sm gesegelt. Auf meinem Qualifier im Mittelmeer habe ich dabei im Golf du Lion das scheusslichste Wetter
angetroffen, das man sich vorstellen kann. Mein Boot und ich haben bis jetzt alle Situationen gut gemeistert und ich habe grosses Vertrauen in
das Boot und meine eigenen Fähigkeiten. Solange man die Elemente respektiert und seine und die Eigenschaften des Boots richtig einschätzt, kann eigentlich nichts schief gehen...

HORBÄCHLER: Wie lange wird es dauern, bis die ersten Boote im Zielhafen von Bahia in Brasilien einlaufen?

TOBIAS: Das Rennen besteht aus zwei Etappen. Die erste führt von La Rochelle nach Lanzarote auf den Kanarischen Inseln und wird ca. zehn
Tage dauern. Für die zweite Etappe nach Brasilien werden wir dann noch einmal zwischen 18 und 21 Tage benötigen.

HORBÄCHLER: Was für Möglichkeiten gibt es, Dich zu unterstützen?

TOBIAS: Da gibt es natürlich die verschiedensten Möglichkeiten, die von einem ermutigenden eMail bis zur finanziellen Unterstützung reichen können. Ich bin immer auf der Suche nach Geld. Damit ich am 17. September dann auch tatsächlich optimal vorbereitet an den Start gehen kann, sind neben grösseren auch kleinere Beträge natürlich sehr willkommen. Meine Ausrüstungs- und Optimierungsliste ist immer noch sehr lang...

HORBÄCHLER: Wie können sich Schweizer Segelfans während der Regatta über den aktuellen Stand informieren?

TOBIAS: Auf meiner Homepage www.solosail.com berichte ich regelmässig
über den neuesten Stand der Dinge. Während dem Transat gibt’s dann tägliche Updates über Position und News auf der offiziellen Website des
Veranstalters unter www.transat650.org.

Interview: Christine Vollmer

05.09.2005 - Less than two Weeks to go!

I arrived here in La Rochelle a couple of days ago after a rather time consuming trip from England with very little wind. Helped by my sister Anna it was my final chance to perform tests on the boat and the new mast and I am happy to report that everything went well and the boat is in great shape.

The next two weeks will be very busy and will undoubtledly pass very quickly. Tomorrow the boat will be re-measured to ensure that she still conforms to the Class rules after the new rig has been fitted. There will also be countless briefings on weather, safety, race course etc. and of course the boat preparation will continue to take up a considerable time.

In the run up to the start there will be a number of actives in support of 'Label Bleue', an organization active in the protection of the marine environment. Their aim is to raise the public awareness about the unacceptable amount of pollution in our oceans. There will be 1500 children involved in the activities and to symbolize their support of the project every skipper who is taking part in the race will be carrying a drawing done by those children on his or her boats mainsail. At the prologue to the race on September 14 the more lucky ones among those children will then be given the chance to actually sail the prologue as our guests on the Mini’s. Knowing from own experience about the poor condition of the worlds oceans I am certainly very happy to fully support the aims of “Label Bleue”.

25.08.2005 - Seilerei Denzler joins the Solosail project as offshore clothing sponsor

Seilerei Denzler which started as a rope making business has a history of more than 170 years of product innovation, quality and customer orientation which makes it one of the oldest and best known businesses of its kind in Zürich.

Since 1996 the owners Walter and Ursula Stutz have successfully adjusted the product and services offering to the changing needs of their yachting clients while maintaining the highest level of customer service and focus. As Walter Stutz says: At Seilerei Denzler the customer is still king.

From their wide variety of products and services for the yachting customer Seilerei Denzler are suppying me with state of the art offshore clothing.

I am very proud to have Seilerei Denzler as my sponsor and I am committed to reflect their reputation of excellency within the yachting community with my own campaign.

21.08.2005 - Great first test sail with new carbon rig

Apart from a few minor adjustments which are still required the rig feels very good. As predicted, the mast has greatly improved the stability of the boat, allowing us to carry more sail area to a higher wind range and the weight reduction is very noticable, too. With an extra set of spreaders (three pairs instead of two) the rig shows much greater stiffness which is significantly reducing the 'fall-off' that has always been a problem with the old rig when flying the big spinnakers.

There are now exactly four weeks to go to the start of the first leg, and the race to get myself and the boat ready is fully on. Weather permitting, my sister Anna, who’ll be crewing, and I will be setting sail for La Rochelle later this week. Upon arrival there will be a long list of tasks waiting to be dealt with including the re-measurement of the boat, the provisioning of food and a thousand other small things. And there is of course still the continuing struggle to find funding to improve my financial situation which unfortunately has taken a turn to the worse now that the extra cost for the new rig has hit my bank account. Any help to ease this situation would still be greatly appreciated.

12.08.2005 - New Rigg Arrived!

It should prove to be very useful that Nick Bubb and others Mini sailors have also stationed themselves at Hamble Point near Southampton. This will allow them to race each other and thereby optimize the tuning and set-ups of their boats.

The final delivery to La Rochelle is expected to take place at the end of August to arrive there in time for the final measurements and ultimately the start of the Transat’05 on September 17.

27.07.2005 - Lot's of cool shots from an earlier training session in the Solent

The deliver of the new rigg is now expected early next week. Watch this space for how the story unfolds.

16.07.2005 - Build of new carbon mast is progressing well

The shipment of the mast to England will take place by road transport next week and the stepping in the boat should be completed by the end of the month.

Unfortunately, the delayed delivery which was not least caused by the global shortage of carbon fibre prevents us now from the planned participation in the Transgascogne race which will be started on July 23. It was originally planned to use this race to test the new rig. However, we are still in good time to be ready for the Transat and the rig will now have to be thoroughly tested in the UK prior to the delivery of the boat to La Rochelle at the end of August.

30.06.2005 - Back in the office

I have based myself this week at the Complete Freight offices in the UK where we've began to organize the return shipment of the Transat fleet from Brazil back to Northern Europe. Complete Freight do have an attractive offering for the Transat sailors and I encourage you to check out their website www.completefreight.com for further information on this and their other services.

Btw: Read this

25.06.2005 - The skippers viewpoint: A Terrible end to a good race

After a rather chaotic start with 84 boats on the line we worked the boat hard through the Canal de Four, the first gate of the course, and moved up into the top 10. Very pleased with the boats performance we managed to keep in touch with the leaders despite the wind conditions not particularly favoring our light-weight boat.

The race proved to be very tactical as far as sail selection and the choice of course were concerned. The weather forecasts we received on the boat turned out to be 90% inaccurate which meant that we had to sail with our "Heads outside the boat" all the time, constantly monitoring the conditions as they developed. We coped well with this and after and initial drop in the rankings we recovery well and entered the last 10 miles of the race in about 18th position in sights of the next 10 boats ahead. With very light winds working in our favor we soon caught up with the boats ahead. Both of us, having been without sleep for the previous 36 hours, knew that we had to dig deep if we were to take this opportunity to achieve a top result.

All was going well, we had approximately 0.5 of a mile to go, and we had to gibe to lay the finish line. Going through our normal routine as we have done countless times before we rolled the boat trough its turn. A loud crack which I have heard once before some years ago when I had the mast of 68 footer come crashing down on me caused me to look up and just confirmed what I already knew. The mast was gone, lying in a tangled mess in the water. My first thought that went through my mind was that I need to finishing this race for a guaranteed place in this years Transat 6.50.

Being only half a mile from the finish we quickly lashed the mast to the deck and rigged a very basic jury rig which consisted of the headsail flying upside down from our spinnaker pole and the other end attached to the remaining two meter stump of the mast which was still in the boat. We were making headway but the rudders were hardly responding due to the 10 meters of broken mast and sails still mostly in the water. While I was trying to get the sail to fly, Tom worked frantically, using anything at his disposal including the broken mast itself, to steer the boat in the right direction!

After a very nerve-wrecking 30 minutes or so we at last crossed the finishing line accompanied by a loud cheer from the Race Committee and some fellow sailors who have been waiting at the line to watch the spectacle. While the objective to finish the race, and thereby securing a guaranteed place in this years Transat 6.50, has been achieved, I must not underestimate the major setback which this incident has created to my campaign. In the coming days I will have to figure out how to get the damage which accounts to a broken mast, a damaged mainsail, a irreparable spinnaker and badly damaged mast head instruments repaired and paid for in time and be ready for the next race at the end of July.

24.06.2005 - Complete Freight finishes Mini Fastnet in 36th place despite a broken mast

The good news of course is that by finishing this race Tobias is now definitely qualified for the Mini Transat ’05 Tansatlantic race from France to Brazil which will be started in September. The downside is that there is damage to the sails and the wind instruments which will require extra funding to fix. The fund raising campaign therefore continues and any help will of course be very welcome and most appreciated.

The full results of the Mini Fastnet ’05 can be found on the organizers website which can be found under “links”.

Stay tuned for more details which we expect once Tobias and Tom will have had some well deserved sleep.

23.06.2005 - Complete Freight on the Home Stretch in 17th place

Position: 50°03.798 N 007°05.178 W

Distance to Leader: 15 nm

Distance to finish: 162.1nm

Unless the fleet will get stuck in the area of fickle winds to the West of the Scilly isles the arrival of the top of the fleet is expected in the course of Thursday night

22.06.2005 - Tobias and Tom around the Fastnet Rock

Boat Nr 433 "E.Leclerc-Bouygues" with Corentin Douget and Samuel Manuard are leading the fleet. Nick Bubb and John Parker on board "Whittlebury-Hall" rounded in 16th place.

The Fastnet Lighthouse is 4.5 miles southwest of Cape Clear and southwest of Mizen Head off the Irish coast. It is built on a rock rising to a height of 30 m above low- water mark surrounded by deep water.The Tower was finished in 1853 and the light first shown on January 1st. 1854. The total cost including the dwellings was £20,000

21.06.2005 - Complete Freight now 15th of 74 boat still racing

Position: 50°34.482 N 007°13.032 W

Distance to Leader: 12 nm

Distance to finish: 388.8 nm

20.06.2005 - Complete Freight in excellent 8th place after first night of Mini Fastnet

Position: 49°15.978 N 005°15.936 W

Distance to Leader: 9 nm

Distance to finish: 500.7 nm

17.06.2005 - Complete Freight Ltd announced as title sponsor at the start of the Mini Fastnet

Complete Freight is a dedicated team experienced in all aspects of performance yacht transportation and co-ordination. Their ‘all in one’ approach is to relocate yachts, motorboats, containers or specialized marine cargo in an effient and hassle free manner. Complete Freight provides their clients with a seamless transportation offering.

At the party, which was attended by fellow Transat 6.50 competitors, race officials and friends, Complete Freight’s Director Angus Bruce–Jones explained their decision for supporting Tobias in this years Transat 6.50 “With Tobias’s help we have identified an opportunity to help all the Transat 6.50 sailors with the shipping of their boats from Brazil back to Europe after this courageous race. We will offer the sailors a complete package, which will ensure a safe and swift return. The last thing these sailors will want to worry about after such a race is the safety of their boats.” With translation into French from fellow Transat competitor, Isabelle Joschke, Mr. Bruce–Jones went on to explain the finer details of their proposed shipping arrangements to the sailors.

I am very proud to have Complete Freight as my title sponsor, as I am committed to reflect their reputation of excellency within the Yachting Industry with my own campaign. Joining forces with Complete Freight is another step in the right direction.

Check out www.completefreight.com for all your shipping needs or contact them at angus@completefreight.com for further information on the shipping of the minis from Brazil back to Northern Europe.

..... and with this the racing season for the the renamed Ti Wai is at last lauched.

The Prologe of the 2005 Mini Fastnet marks the start of the most important racing season. Effective immediately Ti Wai will enter the races under its new name ‘Complete Freight'.

With 84 Minis entered for this years Mini Fastnet, it will be the first show down for those expecting to compete in the Transat 6.50 in September. With most of the highly regarded sailor of the fleet present it will be important to leave our mark on the fleet in this event.

This will be our 3rd Fastnet and I have Tom Horsfall returning as my crew for this important event. With our knowledge and experience in this race and a vastly improved boat we have high expectations for a good result.

The boats are equipped with Satellite Positioning Beacons, which will enable you to follow the race more closely than ever. See www.winchesclub.com or check in here for loads of updates!!!

10.06.2005 - Ti Wai successfully relaunched

The Fastnet will be the first event for Ti Wai and myself this year, followed by the Transgascogne taking place in Port Bourgenay, Brittany, from 23rd July to 3rd August. The TG, which I will be sailing single handed, will be the final test for the boat and myself before the start of the Transat 650 on 17th September from La Rochelle.

And here is another date for your diary: Don't miss next Fridays announcement of Solosail's new official title sponsor. Come back here to get the story and to see cool pictures of Ti Wai in its new look.

18.05.2005 - Carbon Rig Ordered from Fibra Spars

I would like to thank those of you who have provided the financial means required to enable me to push ahead with the commissioning of the new rig. Without your generous help this would not have been possible. Thank you!

Watch this space for a diary of the building of the new mast and boom.

15.05.2005 - Whale joins the Solosail project as official supplier

Munster Simms Engineering, better known under the product brand name Whale, is an independent company engaged in the design, manufacture, marketing and selling of pumps, valves, faucets and plumbing (water systems) for use in mobile or low voltage environments.

Based in Bangor, Northern Ireland, the company has a long history of product quality and customer orientation and a track record over recent years for product innovation.

Whale are supplying the parts for "TiWai's" new water ballast system which is currently being installed.

10.04.2005 - Tobias’ Race report from the Odyssee D'Ulysse '05

We were not to be disappointed. After a great start we were chasing Sam Manuard and defended our second place against a couple of very strong starting Slovenian boats. This all changed as the fleet arrived at the Straits of Bonifacio which runs between Corsica and Sardinia. With the wind funneling between the two islands, we experienced up to 28 knots of headwinds on a totally moon-less night. Losing sight of all our competitors we powered on to windward making some tactically smart decisions. Checking in with the race committee the
next morning we were informed that we were in second place behind Sam Manuard. On the water, we could not see any other boats anywhere which suggested that we had a big lead over the main bulk of the fleet.

The race continued in light winds down the east coast of Sardinia and around the southern tip, past Capo Spartivo before turning North for the 300 mile leg back to Villefranche. On the way up the wind begun to increase from the North-East which saw us making great gains with speeds up to 19.1 Knots under Spinnaker. Pushing hard, hoping to catch Sam Manuard, we where flying north extending our lead over the fleet.

We finished the race at 04:39 (02:39 UTC) on Saturday morning, 2 hours behind Sam and are very pleased with our performance. We averaged 6.22 knots around the track which is fast considering the light air around the east coast of Sardinia. Being a long race at 800 miles we were concerned that we will not be able to push hard without running out of energy but it turned out that we managed to get by with only 3 1/2 hours of sleep each day.

At the time of writing, 14 hours and a lot of sleep later the 3rd placed boat has still not arrived which means that we managed to lead the fleet
by over 100 miles in a 800 mile race!!! Now that's fast!

09.04.2005 - Tobias and Phil finish L'Odyssee '05 in 2nd place

Congratulations to the winners!

08.04.2005 - Rafiki on course for an excellent result in the L'Odyssee '05

06.04.2005 - Rafiki in 2nd place after Day 3 in the L'Odyssee

03.04.2005 - Odyssee ’05 started at 1800 hours today from Villefranche

Although there are now only 20 boats in the race (“Adrenaline” skippered by Clement Giraud and Sebastien Roubinet didn’t start) the skippers and crews on the various boats represent a strong selection from the "who's who" of mini sailing. Sam Manuard is in the fleet with his own brand new design boat and Seb Magen is competing in a new concept production boat.

All the boats are equipped with Satellite beacons which will update our position every 12 hours on the official regatta website (see “Links” page) To find out how we are doing check for boat number 419 “Rafiki”.

18.03.2005 - From 70' back to 21' !

It's been confirmed that I will co-skipper Phil Sharp's Transat 650 'Rafiki' in this years Odyssee d'Ulysse race starting on the 3rd of April in Villefranche (French Riviera). This race will see the Transat 650 fleet rounding Sardinia's Cap Spartivento before returning to Villefranche. This being the first race on this years Transat 650 calendar, both Phil and I are hoping to get our campaigns off to a flying start with a great result. More to follow – watch this space!

For more details on the race go to the Links page and click on "L'Odyssee d'Ulysse".

05.03.2005 - Weird Atlantic Weather Slows Delivery

Using the American based weather routing company 'Commanders Weather', we set off from St. Martin in light-medium headwinds. With a massive high pressure system placed over North-Western Europe disrupting the normal path of the depressions which are very frequent this time of the year, we very soon found ourselves sailing fast chasing the tail-end of the low pressures which we experienced a lot further South in the Atlantic than what is regarded as the norm for this time of the year.

Having arrived in Lanzarote in great time (14 day crossing, Average 200 miles/day) we are now waiting for a weather window to complete the delivery to Palma. The same weather which has allowed us to cross the Atlantic in such good time and with relative ease is now the source of our headaches. With the 'storm-bands' 20 degrees further south, we are stuck in Lanzarote in 25 - 40 knots of wind from the North-East. According to Commander Weather, our next weather window is most likely to open on Monday.

Tobias

08.02.2005 - Ti Wai Refit Started

Stage two of the refit will include the strengthening of the deck, refairing the bottom of the boat and all the appendages and the reshaping and changing of the structural properties of the rudders and their attachment points on the boat.

This will take place during the second half of March after completion of another transatlantic delivery which I have accepted to do to improve my financial situation. I'll be flying to St. Marten later this week to deliver 'Basic Logic', a Swan 68, to San Remo in Italy. This should be an interesting trip as it is very early in the season to return to Europe. Low pressure systems are very frequent during this time of the year in the north Atlantic and we will be mostly sailing against the prevailing winds.

Fair Winds, Tobias

26.01.2005 - Busy times at the Solosail camp

Here is the "to do" list for this spring:

- Reinforce water ballast tanks
- Replace water ballast system plumbing
- Stiffen the deck in certain areas
- Build low-drag, high efficiency rudders
- Race prep the underwater with antifouling
- Replace/resplice all the running rigging (ropes)

Plus: A NEW CARBON MAST!

A change in the class rules now allows the use of carbon fiber as material for the spars. The advantage of carbon over aluminum lays in its more favorable weight to strength ratio which will lead to a 50% reduction of the weight of the mast.

Why is this modification so important?

“Ti Wai” is one of the lightest boats in the fleet. In light winds she is, due to her shape and minimal displacement (she pushes less water than most 650’s), ultra fast. However, as the wind gets up into the 14 - 18 knots range “Ti Wai” becomes quickly overpowered and the sail area has to be reduced while heavier boats will still be able to keep their full sails up. By decreasing the weight of the rig she’ll be able to carry more sail over a greater wind range. Additional benefits of the weight reduction are that “Ti Way” will be even more of a rocket ship in lighter conditions and, as her righting moment will significantly increase, she’ll also be less ‘tippy’.

How much faster?

I believe that a new rig will make “Ti Wai” approximately 0.2 knots faster. This may not sound like a lot but over a 24-hour period that puts us a mighty 4.8 mn ahead of the “old Ti Wai” with the aluminum mast! So, over a period of 20 days, which is the approx. length of the second leg of the Transat from Lanzarote to Salvador, I will gain an advantage of almost 100 nm or, in other words we’ll arrive in Brazil 11 hours earlier! In a fleet of 80 boats that can easily make the difference of 10 places.

How much will it cost?

The total cost of a new mast and boom is in the region of 9’500 Euros. Currently I do not have the money in the bank to order those all important new parts, and I am therefore once more looking for sponsorship and other forms of funding. If you or someone you know would be interested in a sponsorship opportunity, including the title sponsorship which is still available, please contact me. Of course any other form of contribution to the project would be most welcome, too.

Stay tuned into www.solosail.com We’ll be keeping you informed about the latest developments as they happen.

A happy New Year and fair Winds from the Solosail Team.

Tobias

11.12.2004 - Transat Outlook 2005

Feb – May 2005 Refit of ‘Ti Wai’ in Lymington

June 2005 Mini Fastnet race

July 2005 Open Demi-Cle race

August 2005 Transgascogne race and preparation for the Transat 650

September 2005 Preparing for Transat 650

Sept 18th 2005 Start of Transat 650 in La Rochelle

In the meantime, I’ll be working on finding more sponsorship to finance the new carbon rig which I plan to build, as well as other modifications required to keep the boat at a highly competitive level.

My ARC assignment on board “Spirit of Jethou” (see previous news flash) has ended a couple of days ago and I am flying back to the UK tomorrow. I plan to spend a few days in Lymington to work on “Ti Wai” before heading back to Switzerland for Christmas with my family.

Merry to Christmas to all, have a wonderful New Year and I look forward to keeping you all posted as the project develops.

2005 will be a good year!

08.12.2004 - ARC 2004 on board ‘Spirit of Jethou’, Swan 601

For this race I joined Peter Ogden’s brand new Swan 601, Spirit of Jethou, which was entered into Racing Class A, competing against similar sized boats such as the Volvo 60’s, Open 50’s and a large number of other Nautor Swans.

The forecast for the 2700 nautical mile race was showing variable conditions but mainly light with total absence of the trade winds, which are normally well established at this time of the year. In anticipation of finding stronger winds, the bulk of the fleet headed south. In the opening stage of the race, we chose a slightly more direct route. This was working well for us and the daily positioning reports showed us trading places with the Volvo 60’s in the top 5 positions.

Half way through the race, the boats to the south of us started to get more established conditions and were able to make more westing towards St. Lucia. This was very frustrating as we experienced a communication break-down as we filled the computer key-board with water when a wave crashed over the boat. Due to this, we could no longer connect to the Internet to receive weather forecasts and weather maps, which may have helped us to predict this change in the weather.

Despite this, the atmosphere on board was very upbeat. The crew were great fun, a lot of laughing and the fishing was pretty good, too. We caught 4 dorados and, with precision timing, as the rice was boiling for sushi creation, a tuna hopped on the line and we enjoyed a leisurely lunch of sushi, sashimi and white wine. Life was pretty good.

With 2 days to go to the finish, the weather turned and we finally got the conditions the Atlantic is famous for: solid 20 – 25 mph wind, blue skies, dolphins and whales. Carrying the big spinnaker day and night we recorded 240 mile days and speeds up to 18 knots. It was the perfect end to a tactically very demanding race. It was quite a new experience to sit on deck, table laid, eating dinner with the stars above, racing along at 14-16 knots.

We arrived in 7th place on elapsed time in St. Lucia on Sunday 5th December after 14 days at sea. At the time of writing this, the overall results are still outstanding as approximately half of the fleet is still at sea.

Thanks to Peter Ogden and his crew for a great ARC.

10.07.2004 - Mini Fastnet Report