Newport RI, May 13

Icarus teams up with All-American Offshore Team for Inshore Races In the Inaugural Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing

Photo by Billy Black

May 11, 2011 – Newport, RI – Skippers Ben Poucher and Tim Fetsch of Team Icarus, announced today that they will team up with the All-American Offshore Team (AAOT) for the inshore series in The Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing. The AAOT, an extension of the non-profit U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) Sailing Foundation, which gives opportunities for young cadets at the Academy to experience sailboat racing. Additionally, the Foundation is committed to providing “high-performance offshore training opportunities for an upcoming generation of American ocean racing leaders.”

Icarus is one of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy boats and was donated to the Academy approximately three weeks ago and prior to that she hadn’t been sailed in two years. Upon acquiring Icarus, Ralf Steitz, the president of the USMMA Sailing Foundation heard about Skippers Ben Poucher and Tim Fetsch’s active search to campaign a boat for the Atlantic Cup and he generously allowed Icarus to be put into racing condition and used by the young duo. With only five days to put Icarus together and get her to the start line in New York, Ben and Tim didn’t have the same amount of prep time as the other teams and attribute that to being the final team to cross the finish line in the offshore leg arriving Monday morning with an overall elapsed time of 38:42:20.

As they turn their attention to the inshore series, they have their sights set on capturing a podium finish this weekend. Said Skipper, Ben Poucher, “we are very grateful for this opportunity that Ralf and the Academy gave us and we’re looking forward to winning this weekend when we team up with the All-American Offshore Team.”

Rounding out the crew of six for Team Icarus will be USMMA Sailing Foundation President Ralf Steitz, AAOT Team Members Emerson Smith, Patrick O’Connor and a still to be named team member. While Steitz’s current role as Foundation President has him campaigning the boats donated to the USMMA Sailing Foundation, he has an impressive resume of inshore racing experience. Steitz was mid-bowman for the AmericaOne America’s Cup campaign in 2003 and sailed with Stars & Stripes for its 1992 and 1995 America’s Cup campaigns. His sailing experience includes match racing and fleet racing aboard Maxi Yachts and 50 footers. Steitz has also sailed in the worldwide grand-prix circuit as trimmer on the Farr 40 Solution and foredeck on the Farr 40 Infinity.

The inshore series for the Atlantic Cup takes place Saturday and Sunday May 14-15 in Narragansett Bay. Race organizers are anticipating running approximately four races Saturday and two on Sunday depending on conditions. Inshore races are weighted less in points, however any of the teams could see their current position change dramatically. Currently the standings are: 1st – Dragon, 2nd – Cutlass/11th Hour Racing, 3rd – Toothface, 4th – Icarus. The overall lowest point scorer will win The Atlantic Cup and claim a portion of the $15,000 prize purse.

Image by Ingrid Abery - www.ingridabery.com

Day 2 at the 2011 Rolex International Regatta produced more perfect conditions with 15 plus knots and crystal clear skies. I jumped at the offer to join the biggest boat at the regatta - the one-off Dubois 90 foot canting keel, 'Genuine Risk' - for the day.

Meeting the boat and its 22 crew early this morning on the superyacht dock at the Yacht Haven Grand I could quickly tell I was in for a fun day. Even on the dock, Genuine Risk is an impressive sight, its five spreader rig dominating the skyline and its surprisingly narrow (just 15' max beam) deck bristling with racing hardware and a mind boggling network of control lines. For a largely professional racing crew the atmosphere as the team prepared the boat for the day's racing was refreshingly upbeat and relaxed - this is not always the case I can assure you. We were warmly welcomed by Genuine Risk's skipper Ralf Steitz (he is kind of a big deal, having three America's Cup campaigns under his belt - including one with America One and two as part of Dennis Connor's Stars and Stripes crew). 'We are glad to have you aboard. Make yourself at home and enjoy your day with us'.

Somewhat surprisingly, the excitement started almost the moment we left the dock. With very little wiggle room between us and the two monster motor yachts moored at our bow and stern - I was intrigued to see how boat captain Dave Culver would extract us from our berth. After a few brief moments of low rev backward and forward maneuvering, Dave gave the boat a surge of power and simultaneously began to wind the wheel hard over. My heart was in my mouth as Genuine Risk surged forward towards the towering bows of the power boat in front. Just as I was ready to jump up in panic, the boat's bow slowly began to answer the rudder and we glided by our multi million dollar neighbour by a few feet. Trying desperately to regain my composure I glanced around at the rest of the crew, who including Dave, we acting like nothing unusual had happened. However after a silence of about 30 seconds Ralf looked directly at the seemingly implacable Culver and said drily 'Well I'm glad that worked! Could have been an expensive starat to the day!' The rest of the crew immediately broke into laughter as Culver slumped over the wheel laughing.' 'Phew!' was his only comment.

Designed primarily for distance race sailing, Genuine Risk's canting keel and gargantuan rig guarantee an an equally enormous and debilitating IRC handicap which makes it almost impossible for her to win around the (relatively) short course racing at this regatta. That didn't stop Ralf and his slick crew from throwing their ninety foot flying machine around like a dinghy against the clutch of TP52's and Cookson 50's in their class. After an exciting close proximity start in the first race of the day (an 8 mile windward leeward) where Ralf clearly enjoyed mixing it a little with the TP52's, we quickly powered away from the fleet, touching 11.7 Knots upwind. When we turned the corner to come downwind the speedo leapt immediately to 15 knots with surges to 17. tacking and gybing this boat turns the crew into a whirling melee of arms and legs as the trimmers and grinders do their work - all to the accompaniment of a rumble from the hydraulics which moves the canting keel through 100 degree in just 12 second. ('It used to be 8 seconds' explained Ralf 'But that was way too quick - so we slowed it down'). Despite the complexities of sailing this boat the crew work appeared faultless and the mood onboard was almost playful, with the afterguard trading gentle abuse with each other and the crew. When I commented on how relaxed and fun the experience was, Ralf had this to say 'I'm glad it feels like that. We work hard to make sure everyone enjoys themselves on the boat. Otherwise what is the point of doing all this?'

What looked like a massive line honours win was converted by the handicappers into a third place on corrected time, but the Genuine Risk crew quickly shrugged this disappointment off and refocused on the longer afternoon coastal race. Another tight start at the committee boat saw us tacking almost immediately out to the right where after about five minutes we picked up more pressure and a nice shift to the right, which allowed us to flick back onto starboard. By this point the rest of the fleet had already faded into the distance and for the rest of the course we were racing alone. There can be few better experiences than sailing a flat out racing boat like this in shorts and t-shirt, with the beauty of the island of St Thomas as a backdrop. Given the chance to stretch her legs genuine Risk really delivers and I will remember for a long time the downwind element of that race, where we regularly and seemingly effortlessly touched 19 knots of boatspeed.

Despite, to my eyes at least, sailing near flawlessly for the entire race and consequently winning on the water by nearly 30 minutes, the handicap once again put paid to our chances of a corrected time victory and relegated us to a disappointing fourth. To be honest I struggled to care - the pure experience of sailing on this boat and with this crew for a day was more than enough to keep a goofy smile on my face for days afterwards.

To give you some idea of the 'Genuine Risk' experience, take a look at our video compilation from the first race of the day. We chose not to add music so you can enjoy the wonderful noises this boat makes.

Justin Chisholm
St Thomas
26th March 2011

www.offshorerules.com/articles/2011 St Thomas Rolex International Regatta - Day 2 - Onboard Dubois 90' 'Genuine Risk'

You're an experienced sailor and someone who's competed in boats of various sizes with large crews. What's the most important thing you've learned in the Barcelona race?

Patience! It’s a very long way you know! With long distance races a sailor needs a very strong mental attitude. On our way down the Atlantic towards the Southern Ocean there were days when the weather wasn't working for us and we saw other boats just far enough away to have better breeze and gain valuable miles; there is nothing more frustrating. I am very competitive and this kind of situation was very difficult for me to deal with. Over the race I have learned to temper myself and take the good with the bad. The rewards came later on when we were blessed with a few good runs gaining back those lost miles.

Otherwise I have learned, or rather, I have confirmed in my head that the race does not start on the start line. It starts months beforehand with the preparation of the boat and the team. I know this boat very well and I know that she has been prepared by a great team; previously, I worked on her for over 3 years when Roland Jourdain was the skipper.  At this stage 4 boats have had to stop the race due to technical problems; I really feel good that our preparation has stood the test of time - or, rather, is standing....

Can you explain the significance of sailing around the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn)? Was this always a dream of yours?

Yes, definitely, to race non-stop around the world has always been a dream of mine and to have passed the three capes is a great feeling. The most impressive was when we passed Cape Horn, we were close enough to see land, it was sunrise and there was a great atmosphere.  To race nonstop around the world, be it solo, double handed, or fully crewed puts you in an elite category-  I think there are less than 10 Americans in the history of organized sailboat racing around the world to have accomplished this feat.  It is an incredible journey, and a privilege to be able to say you have accomplished it.

Have you experienced any scary moments, injuries or mishaps that had you questioning the choice to compete in a 25,000 mile race with two people?

Nothing that would make me question why we are out here but yes, we did have a couple of scary moments. One in particular in the Indian Ocean. We were in big seas sailing with the spinnaker up. We had a problem with one of the ballast tanks which is a tank we fill with water to balance the boat; all of a sudden we had a huge amount of water inside the boat causing us to lose control and do a Chinese gybe (when the sail goes over to the wrong side of the boat) this caused the boat to tip right over and one of the large sails that was in its bag on the deck of the boat was lost over the side. The sail in its bag weighs around 150lbs. We managed to get the boat back under control and then decided to go back see if we could recuperate the sail. It took us two miles to turn around and get back to where we thought we had lost it and we were just about to give up on finding it when we spotted a group of Albatrosses in the water. As we got closer we noticed that one of these huge seabirds was sitting right on our sail! Incredible. It took us an hour to get it back onboard because of the large seas, its size and weight but we managed. Then we had to turn around, get the boat going fast again and go down below to clean up all the water inside the boat! We have both been lucky to have had no injuries at all. We are both still in good health, if a little thinner.

It's amazing to see the video from the race on your Twitter feed.  Have email and Internet access been an important part of this experience? Not just for staying in touch with family, but also current events, sports scores?

From the boat we have a strict budget with regards to communication and I can't 'surf' the net. However, to overcome that, I send a daily update email to our boat captain, my wife and the race direction. I always try to add a line for twitter/FB as I know that lots of people are following online. It’s a great way to communicate and I think that sharing the adventure is as important as being in the adventure. With regards to news and current events; I do receive news by email from a family member. I also follow ALL sailing news avidly be it America's cup, offshore, inshore dinghy, Olympic so I also receive an email with articles about sailing events taking place around the world as well.   In today’s world it would be impossible to do something like this without the communications side, plus it is the easiest way to keep Neutrogena, our sponsor happy which is my main goal!

What books have you read (you mention you have 4-5 on the boat)?

• Our kind of Traitor- John Le Carre   A spy thriller
• The Lost Symbol- Dan Brown   A thriller/suspense mystery
• How to Practice- the Dali Lama  Buddhist teachings
• The Next 100 Years- George Friedman     A forecast for worldwide geopolitics of the 21st century
• 100 Pionniers pour la Planète- Dimitri Caudrelier    A collection of small scale environmental projects from around the globe.

These were all hastily collected in Barcelona in the days leading up to the start.  Honestly, I have to say they were all quite good, even if they are quite diverse.  I can recommend the last one particularly; it is a good inspiration for anyone concerned with our planet’s well being.

Competitive sailing generally doesn't get a lot of attention in the U.S. mainstream media outside of America's Cup. Do you think your success with Herrmann -- fifth place in your first race at this distance -- can make a difference in bringing the sport more visibility in the future?

I agree that historically it hasn't had a huge amount of coverage but I think that is in the process of changing. Puma with the Volvo Ocean Race made big inroads with that in 2008 and I certainly hope that what I am doing now will help. Sailing racing is very diverse and I hope my effort will help with putting offshore racing on the US map.   If I can inspire some young people who have not done any sailing before to go out and give it a try, I will have succeeded even more than my possible 5th place finish.

Through this race I also hope to encourage upcoming young sailors to consider offshore racing as a career and not watch it enviously from afar. As an example I am supporting the All American Offshore Sailing team which is a new team organized by Kings Point Sailing Foundation and has as aim to form young sailors to seriously compete in the big races, starting with a transatlantic race this year. I also hope that the non-sailing public can discover this kind of racing and learn that you don't need to be a sailor to appreciate this kind of racing; there is the human adventure; the diversity of the course sailing through the world’s difference oceans and different climates; the technical aspect of the race with the boat on the cutting edge of technology (and the reparations we do at sea!),  and of course the professional and human relation between the two skippers and the outside world.

You've had a lot of freeze-dried food over the last 90 days. What's the first meal you'll have once you're in port?

I love to eat! I know that there is a really good little pizza place in a little street not far from the port where the boat will be docked - I think I'll be heading straight there.  Otherwise, I am going to be very happy to sample the huge variety of foods on offer in the world; after eating the same things for 100 days, I am ready to have something different – bring on some culinary diversity!

Where are you and how much longer until you're finished with the race?

Aha! The question we all want the answer to! We are currently heading due north in the north Atlantic; just west of the Cape Verde Islands. Unfortunately we don't have very favorable winds so to get to Gibraltar and then Barcelona.   We have to zig zag into the breeze sailing upwind. I am still optimistic that a nice big cold front will roll across the ocean and push us through but for now our ETA in Barcelona is looking like around 2 weeks time. Nothing really considering we have been out here now for 3 months already.

 

Visit www.breymaiersailing.com for more information.

How fitting that one of SA’s favorite races should have not one but TWO great reports from this awesome race!  The first is from J. Ryan Parker aboard PHRF Overall champ Donnybrook, and the second from skiff super-stud (and All-American Offshore Team Member) Matty Noble aboard IRC Champ and Pineapple Cup recipient.  You can also take a look at the Facebook updates from the Jamaican team for some solid middle-of-the-pack news.  Oh – and check out the sweet tracker replay from Kattack to see why the winners won.


GENUINE RISK REPORT

It was a great race. Not much wind for us but that’s what the boat likes. At the start it was between 12 and 15 kts reaching. The very narrow GR had a hard time keeping up with the more beamy powerful boats like Beau Geste and Rambler 100 (who managed to put 65 miles on us in two days).

That night the wind went light and forward. For the next day and a half we were switching between the jib top and medium jib until we inched around Cuba, set the big kite and really started making gains.

Around Noon on day four we saw Rambler way off in the distance on the opposite jibe. They crossed fifty yards in front and jibed to leeward. For the next 30 minutes we had a bit of a line up, and were able to sail over the top of them and come down to their line. 8 kts of breeze helped that. The wind picked up for the last 10 or 15 miles of the race and Rambler took off again. In the end, we crossed the finish line 25 minutes behind Rambler 100.

We owe a lot to our navigator Peter Tans, who did a great job of always keeping us moving, never dropping under 8 kts of boat speed. The rest of the crew is awesome as well. We have a mix of Swedish, Kiwi, British, and American guys. Everyone on the boat worked very well together, which seems to be a good start to having a strong team
DONNYBROOK REPORT

OH!! What 24 hours can do to the psyche of offshore racing crews.  For the past week, my eighteen awesome colleagues and I aboard Donnybrook (USA66) have experienced the full spectrum of the possible rollercoaster.  

Our ride started Friday. Like riding to the top of that first crest of a rollercoaster track, the crew’s expectations built-up as boat preparations finished up, weather forecasts predicted untypical weather patterns not conducive to our Santa Cruz maxi sled’s design, and more of our Corinthian crew arrived.  Though the forecasts were bleak, our DB crew set out to the starting line with optimism that the race would bring us all the amazing bucket list experiences we know trade wind sailing can produce.

While milling about Fort Lauderdale Harbor on the way to the start line, it was hard to miss the unmistakable voice of Kings Point Foundation President Ralf Steitz as he boarded Genuine Risk.  Ralf and crowd’s efforts are amazing to get another maxi on the line with our sports future, our youth, on board.  I am supportive and a bit envious of the opportunities available to these KP rising stars to go up against the pros of RamSpeed/Speedler 100 and Beau Geste.

Under beautiful blue skies and 18-20 knots of wind, the Pineapple Cup got underway.  Being the scratch boat in PHRF, we put the pedal to metal in hopes of ensuring we could gain the time on our fleet and set our sights to chasing down as many of IRC fleet as possible.  As the sun set on our first night, we had pushed our steed hard and worked our way through to a point of having Vela Veloce and Bella Pita on the horizon forward and to leeward while Sjambok was riding a mile or so off on our weather hip.

As the days went on, the watch system fell nicely into place and we marched on hoping the forecasters would be wrong.  But that unfortunately seemed less and less possible as the winds dwindled to the point of being becalmed as Tuesday mid-day came upon us.  This put my morale at its lowest point as  discussions began of food/water rationing, weekend flight reservations possibly being missed, and worst of all, the possibility of not getting to enjoy copious amounts of rum in Jamaica.  But as we sat there searching for wind, it was great to hear a rumor that the young bucks of Genuine Risk had reeled back in a considerable deficit from Rambler100.

Then as night fell on Tuesday, the trade winds built and to the crew rejoiced, the boat speed rocketed as USA66 turned the corner at the eastern light of Cuba.  An adrenaline rush pulsed through the crew as we found the sled ride continue through the night and on through the next day.  Each watch bested the previous and pushed the boat harder and faster.  It was a Resounding HIGH for the crew as we closed in on Jamaica and the possibility of a nearly 300nm 24 hour run (288nm officially).  With the sun fading and miles to finish nearly to single digits, JC Raby steered the boat surfing down a wave to a top end of 19.8knots for the race.  What a highlight to the Pineapple Cup to watch the miles disappear so quickly during that awesome 24 hour run!

In the amazing hospitable fashion they are known for, USA66 was so graciously met on Wednesday night around 2100 at the dock by the membership of the Montego Bay YC.  And to the crew’s excited anticipation, there was immediate transfer of Red Stripe to the boat.  

As the rum and Red Stripe flowed over the coming days to celebrate our hard fought race and push to the finish, no one expect to be hit with another low.  As the trophy ceremony loomed on Friday; it was unfortunate to find out that though our amazing 24 hour run had ensured us class and fleet honors, we never had a chance of winning the Pineapple Cup.  The race committee had awarded the Pineapple Cup for “best corrected time” on Wednesday afternoon with only 5 out of 14 finishers across the line.  Having fought so hard, it was a bit gut wrenching to not even be considered for the Prestigious 50th Anniversary Pineapple Cup.  But with that being said, my hat is still off to young men of Genuine Risk and the well fought win.

From the pre-start chitters about a weather forecast that would kill us to the exhilarating feeling of getting off the starting line under a beautiful 18-20 knots of breeze, to the lowest of lows sailing through not one but two becalmed mid-day watches, to the OFF THE CHAIN HIGH of a 288nm downhill sled ride for the final 24 hours, to the gut wrenching low of finding out the overall Pineapple Cup was awarded before all yachts had finished, and finally the unexplainable good times enjoying Jamaica has to offer.  As the idiom says, “You must take the good with the bad” and I would not trade the experiences of the past week for anything.  Especially sitting in my cubicle back in DC.

It was such a pleasure to sail with the Donnybrook crew of Kurt Lowman, Will KeyWorth (Northsails), John Dodger, JC Raby, Peter Manikas, Andrew Manikas, Charles Imhoff, Chia Chang, Fred Osmer, Talbot Wilson, Keith Chipping, Dina Hickman, Gregory Petry, Craig Priniski, Randy Gray, Richard Michelle, Ed Paglee, and of course owner James Muldoon.

2/17/2011