SIGHTINGS When the first Transatlantic Race divisions depart Newport, RI, on June 28 (after this issue goes to press), among the 13 yachts on the line will be the classic S&S yawl Dorade, which won the race way back in 1931. Current owners Matt Brooks and Pam Rorke Levy of Tiburon are on a quest to repeat Dorade's historic victories, a campaign called 'Return to Blue Water'. Collaborating with Sparkman & Stephens, Brooks and Levy restored her to her intended use, open ocean racing, during a complete overhaul in 2010-11. The 52-ft yacht was barely a year old in 1931 when her designer and her builder, brothers Olin and Rod Stephens, with a crew of five that included their father, took just 16 days and 55 minutes to complete the Transatlantic Race. Not only was Dorade the first boat to finish the 2,800mile course to Plymouth, UK, and the overall champion, but she won decisively, arriving two days before the next boat and four days ahead on corrected time. In 2013 Dorade won the Transpac from L.A. to Honolulu overall on corrected time, repeating her In the 2013 Transpac the 1930 S&S yawl 'DoTranspac victory in 1936. This rade' made history yet again. Her owners now August, the S&S flagship will fol- hope to make more headlines. low the Transatlantic Race with the Rolex Fastnet, a race she won in 1933. For much, much more on Dorade, past and present, see www. dorade.org. The second Transatlantic Race start is scheduled for July 1 with 21 boats. The four fastest boats will start last on July 5: Jim and Kristy Clark's 100-ft Comanche, skippered by Ken Read; George David's Juan K-designed Rambler 88; Lloyd Thornburg's MOD70 trimaran Phaedo3; and the Irens 63 tri Paradox, owned by San Francisco's Peter Aschenbrenner. To cheer on your favorites, go to www.transatlanticrace.org. — chris
Point-based Catalina 320 Lokomaikai and Steve and Sherri Brenner's Santa Cruzbased Westsail 32 Pablo. Boats as small as 27 feet may enter, as long as they were built for, and are equipped for, overnight offshore sailing. Before the September 15 deadline, we expect the diverse fleet to swell to between 160 and 180 boats, as in recent years. For skippers in all these events, deciding whether to take additional crew is often a tough question. We say the more the merrier — and safer. But we highly recommend that you get to know potential crew before heading offshore with them, if possible. To meet potential crew or find a ride see our online Crew List at www. latitude38.com. Happy rallying! — andy & chris
DARRAL SLATER / WWW.BAYSHOTS.COM
america's cup world series begins Readers who are still interested in the Bermuda-based 35th America's Cup will want to note July 23-26 on their calendars, and the truly obsessed may be shopping for plane tickets to Heathrow. That's because the whole show kicks off in Portsmouth, England, this month with the first AC World Series event. With Italy's Luna Rossa out of the picture, Ben Ainslie Racing's homeport is the first venue on the 2015-2017 schedule. (BAR, by the way, has picked up a new title sponsor, Land Rover.) Hoopla surrounding the event will include aeronautic displays, rock concerts and a children's art contest. Sport sailing demos will feature a singlehanded foiling dinghy, Moth racing champions, and the kiteboarding family Team Bridge. All that fan-pleasing activity will prop up the actual racing, in which the six America's Cup teams will meet for the first time to compete with each other in the one-design wingsail AC45f. These foiling catamarans carry a crew of five plus one guest. This will be our first chance to see who might have what it takes to go all the way in 2017: Oracle Team USA, Artemis Racing, Team France, Emirates Team New Zealand, Team Japan or Land Rover BAR. continued on outside column of next sightings page July, 2015 •
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SHARON GREEN / WWW.ULTIMATESAILING.COM
dorade attempts transatlantic repeat
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