FEATURES
Perception
JAMES DADD looks at popular performance assumptions... with the benefit of recent analysis
A rare glimpse
MIKE BIRCH is one of the sailing greats, though he can be harder to track down away from the water... as JOCELYN BLERIOT discovered
A long road travelled
The sails on Banque Populaire V performed faultlessly around the world... but that had very little to do with luck. JEAN BAPTISTE LE VAILLANT and CESAR DOHY
Design for manufacture – Part IV
Structural engineer WILL BROOKS distills the various points raised in this series so far and suggests some practical and affordable steps
Size matters
NICK PARTINGTON demonstrates how out of all the froth the area of nano-technology now offers genuine opportunities for advancement
REGULARS
Commodore’s letter
MIKE GREVILLE
Editorial
ANDREW HURST
Update
ROSS FIELD is not happy at all, TERRY HUTCHINSON’s science project, Volvo Leg 4 routing with WOUTER VERBRAAK, ROY DUNSTER on Olympic ‘comparables’ and BLUE ROBINSON watches the air turn blue off Sydney
World news
Return of the king, Transquadra pressure, GRANT DALTON ‘won’t’ keep the big cats, the quietly superb JORDI CALAFAT, the Caribbean takes its place at the top table, the MARCO NANNINI fan club... and America’s Cup-winner SKIP LISSIMAN talks media intrusion. PATRICE CARPENTIER, IVOR WILKINS, CARLOS PICH, DOBBS DAVIS, BLUE ROBINSON, GIULIANO LUZZATTO, PETE HOLMBERG
Paul Cayard
And there’s more than one way to solve the new America’s Cup puzzle
Olympic and small boat news – Bygone era
MARK MENDELBLATT talks with ANDY RICE about America’s growing Olympic sailing challenge
Design – Historic roots, devilish details
As the High Performance Rule proposal from the USA gently bubbles forwards DOBBS DAVIS looks at its chances of gaining wider traction
Seahorse build table – Absolute beauty
ROY DUNSTER is one of the lucky few to have already tasted the joys of Marström’s new M32
RORC news
EDDIE WARDEN OWEN
Seahorse regatta calendar
Sailor of the Month
Two of the very best (but of course...)
Below: the square head is so 2011... They may lead, they may follow, but what you see working in the skiffs is likely to find its way on to a big boat some time soon. One of the greatest moments in modern ocean racing (left) as Mike Birch drives his tiny Walter Greene-built trimaran over the maxi sloop Kriter at the finish to win the first Route du Rhum in 1978 by just 98 seconds... and so create a legend of both the race and of a humble but brilliant skipper
