FEATURES

Pragmatism
In this monthıs report from the Cup Defender MICHAEL RICHELSEN, JIM BUNGENER and MANOLO RUIZ DE ELVIRA discuss thepractical limits of various current CFD techniques

Who dares wins
DAVID HOLLOM explains why at a high level of technical competition, such as in ACC design, it is pointless to try to pair up a modest budget with a conservative approach

2008/9 Volvo Ocean Race
- Mean performers
Dutchman PETER DE RIDDER has assembled a mighty powerful technical group to support his first round the world racing campaign

Quiet but polished
ACG has been around a while, although their profile has always been kept low. Maybe Alinghi, SpaceShipOne (inset) and McLaren F1 know something however... DR JOHN NIXON gives a potted history

New toy
Seahorse ACC technical contributor CLAUDIO FASSARDI has launched his new laser-scanning system for more accurate real-time sail analysis

REGULARS

Editorial
ANDREW HURST

Update
COUTTS and CAYARD go public... TERRY HUTCHINSON - and extended-family - set sail for Valencia, time for old ideas in rig-management, Seahorse is dominant on the (icy) track and SEBASTIEN JOSSE looks at the contrasts between shorthanded sailing and his time with ABN Amro Two in the last Volvo Ocean Race

World news
The decline and fall continues for a fine sailor... but a great footballer bounces back in style, J-P's Virbac flirts with 'mobile hull shapes', Barker (just) holds off rising star Minoprio in New Zealand, Skandia Geelong on a roll and another blinder from Peter Craig's team at Key West. PATRICE CARPENTIER, CARLOS PICH, ROB MUNDLE, IVOR WILKINS and DOBBS DAVIS

Rod Davis
Rod Davis is another (see pg 35) who thinks that smaller might also be faster in the Cup game...

Olympic and small boat news - High fives
Team USA is beginning to flex its muscles... as ANDY RICE reports from Miami

America's Cup
Games from PATRIZIO BERTELLI (of course) and PETER GILMOUR plus a status report as the Cup teams arrive back 'in town'. TIM JEFFERY

Design - Quantum leap
DAVE BARNABY of Southern Spars looks at the recent design trends among IMOCA 60 spars

Seahorse raceboat build table
- A new face at the door
TANGUY LE BIHAN has incorporated many of the most recent advances in IMOCA 60 design into his first creation for the thriving Class 40

RORC news

Seahorse regatta calendar

Sailor of the Month
(Fast) beauty or (equally fast) experience!

Below:
From lab to factory and very nearly to the seabed. The sad story of Titouan Lamazou's 1992 Bouvet-Petit design TAG Heuer - which broke on its maiden trip - is a reminder of a point that crops up through this issue - it's no use working to high material specs based upon lab tests if you can't reproduce them on the shop floor. TAG was cut up for scrap