Velocitek

Photos: Alinghi.com

The current custodians of the Auld Mug and their Velocitek SC-1's on Lago di Lugano in Switzerland.

Twenty six Vipers raced in the Viper 640 North American championships in Marblehead that finished on Sunday. The number of competitors has increased by 45% for two consecutive years mirroring the growth of interest in this modern 21 foot sportsboat. The record attendance at the Viper North American championships included participants from 5 new fleets that have formed in the last 12 months and exactly half of the skippers were new to the class since the last North American championships a year ago.

There were a few things that the Viper class did differently at their North American Championships. For one thing, the sailing instructions amended Rule 41 to read:-

41 OUTSIDE HELP
A boat shall not receive help from any outside source, except:- (f) The Viper 640 Class Association appointed coach boat

The coach boat was a bright orange rib flying the Viper Class Flag. The coaches consisted of the Viper's designer, Brian Bennett (who had flown over from New Zealand) and the builder, Paul Young (from the UK). Both are world class sailors and with an emphasis on boats in the second half of the fleet, they were motoring behind boats providing advice and tips on tuning, and taking photographs for post-racing debriefs.

The post-racing debriefs were enlivened further by online, interactive replays of the racing played on large screen television. Felipe Payet from the Texas Viper fleet had provided 15 Velocitek GPS units which stored the move by move action of each boat in the regatta. They can still be seen at http://www.sailhack.net/gps_replays/2008_viper_na/.

The post race debriefs and the race replays were instructional and often incredibly funny, including a classic moment when the replay recorded for posterity Timi's sudden change of course when the skipper fell overboard and pulled himself back on board with mainsheet still in hand.

The regatta saw a full range of New England's summer weather. The practice day on Thursday was abandoned in torrential rain as thunder storm cells moved through. The first day of racing consisted of light air 5 to 10 knots, with the winning boats focusing on keeping their boats in pressure. The early leader in the regatta was the team of Alan Block, Simon Strauss and Mer Block who scored a first and a second. Not bad, given they were sailing a Viper for the first time in a borrowed boat.

Saturday brought more breeze with 10 to 15 knots where shifts upwind and downwind planing speeds played a larger role. By the end of the second day, there was only one point between the first and second place boats, with Daan Goedkoop and crew in second place with a very strong discard situation. Their worst result was merely a fourth.

The final day of racing had oscilating breeze and a tidal change that created many interesting opportunities for places to change. The key was to keep the head out of the boat and watch out for the lanes that the local skippers chose. The final results were very close.

The nominations for the Ronstan Sportsperson of the Regatta included Brian Bennett and Rick Martin. This award is voted for, one vote per boat, for the regatta participant who most contributed to the overall fun of the regatta. The overall winner of the award, receiving a top of the line Ronstan watch, to a standing ovation, was Felipe Payet. Felipe had organized the Velociteks and had stayed up each night until the wee hours loading the race replays on to the Internet for our subsequent viewing. Then he had enough energy on the race course the following day to put most of us to shame. Without a doubt every Viper agreed it was a pleasure to be sailing with and against Felipe.

For information on the Viper class please visit the Viper 640 Class Association's webpage at http://viper640.org/.

Photo: Thierry Martinez

John Harris joined the Velocitek Pro Team as an Aussie 18 sailor back in 2006. About 18 months ago, John decided to accessorize his Velocitek device with a Bladerider Foiler Moth. Now John Harris has beat a field of 96 competitors, with rock-solid consistency, to become the 2008 International Moth Class World Champion. Congratulations John!

Velocitek is pleased to announce that West Marine is now stocking the complete Velocitek product line in several of its stores across the United States.

All Velocitek products are currently available at the following West Marine locations:

• 1250 Rosecrans, San Diego, CA 92106
  Phone: 619-225-8844

• 2300 S Federal Hwy, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316
  Phone: 954-527-5540

• 113 Hillsmere Dr, Annapolis, MD 21403
  Phone: 410-268-0129

• 1000 Mercer, Seattle, WA 98109
  Phone: 206-292-8663

• 111 Sand Island Access Rd, Honolulu, HI 96819
  Phone: 808-845-9900

• 730 Buena Vista Avenue, Alameda, CA 94501-2156
  Phone: 510-521-4865

• 4750 Admiralty Wy, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
  Phone: 310-823-5357

The world’s largest retailer of boating supplies and accessories, West Marine has 370 stores in 38 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. For more information on West Marine's products or to ask a West Marine store near you to stock Velocitek products, visit westmarine.com or call 1-800-BOATING (1-800-262-8464)

Arnaud Psarofaghis wins $1000 in the Velocitek Speed Challenge
26.1 knots average over 10 seconds proves to be the top speed among the Moths

Weymouth, England (9 July 2008) – After three somewhat frustrating days of postponements due to high winds, sailors at the CST Composites Moth Worlds got the chance to take to the water in an effort to try to claim the $1000 prize for highest speed at the Velocitek Speed Challenge. Conditions at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy in the UK were almost perfect for speed trials with flat water and winds from the South West at 20 knots gusting to 25. At 4:30 PM sailors left the harbor with two hours to log their top speeds on Velocitek devices.

With everyone pushing hard there were numerous wipeouts and gear breakages resulting in several competitors needing to get towed in for repairs prior to rejoining the action in hopes of claiming the $1000 prize. Sailors reported being on the edge of control while attempting to log their top speed over an average of 10 seconds. In the end the three fastest sailors proved to be: Arnaud Psarofaghis (SUI 3252) at 26.1kts who wins this edition of the Velocitek Speed Challenge and the top prize of $1000, James Owen-Smith (AUS 9354) at 25.9kts, and Bora Gulari (USA 3281) at 25.5kts.

“Conditions today were challenging but provided for some exciting moments and great speeds as these incredible boats and sailors pushed the boundaries of control. We want to congratulate Arnaud Psarofaghis on his impressive run at 26.1 knots and all the sailors who took part in the Velocitek Speed Challenge.” - Alec Stewart, President and Founder, Velocitek.

Full Results for the Velocitek Speed Challenge and race tracks for James Owen-Smith and Arnaud Psarofaghis can be viewed at: http://www.velocitek.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=214