sifisailing

Posterous

2011-05-31T14:10:00.002+02:00

I have been playing around a bit with Posterous lately. It seems to be a nice way to post photos and has leant itself quite well to all the snaps I have been taking on my blackberry recently. I will try to make it update to here as well but in the mean time take a look if you like... http://sifisailing.posterous.com/

Two months to go: Commencing Countdown

2010-03-16T09:48:00.003+01:00

It is two months before the start of the first regatta of the 2010 Audi MedCup Circuit season, the Portugal Trophy which will take place on the testing Atlantic waters and winds off Cascais, raising the curtain on what promises to be a fascinating and exciting year for the world's leading regatta circuit.

Activity throughout the TP52 fleet has been building up progressively over recent months. Small changes to the TP52 Class Box Rule mean that all of the teams which plan to compete at this season’s five Audi MedCup Circuit regattas or the TP52 World Championships in October are required to have made the prescribed modifications to their existing boats: adding 150kgs of weight to the keel to compensate for the reduction in crew weight, moving to a ‘square-top’ mainsail with twin backstays and increasing spinnaker area and adopting bowsprits.

The Circuit organisers World Sailing Management, a division of Grupo Santa Monica Sports, are expecting to welcome the same number as 2009, or perhaps one more TP52 to the arena this season. Two new America’s Cup teams are well into their preparations.“ We expect 10 to 13 boats in the TP52 class and five or six in the GP42 class, all in all a good line up considering the economic climate.” Comments World Sailing Management’s Nacho Postigo (ESP), Audi MedCup Circuit's Technical Director. “ The TP52 class has gone through the winter modifications without major problems.”

Great Britain’s TeamOrigin have their new Juan Kouyoumdjian (ARG) designed boat nearing completion at Salthouse Boats in Auckland. Theirs is the only new build TP52 this winter and they are due to ship the boat directly to Portugal. Mike Sanderson (NZL), CEO of TeamOrigin said: “The schedule was always going to be tight but we are on time. The boat is due to leave New Zealand in the middle of March. We have it booked on a fruit ship which means it is pretty reliable because if it gets late then the fruit goes rotten. We will ship it directly to somewhere close to the venue and do its final measurement there and will sail it there for the first time. It is not optimum for how we would have loved to have done it, but we always knew that, we knew that that’s what the schedule was going to be before started building it, so we are just going to have to hope that we can get it on the pace as quickly as possible. We are really looking forward to it. It is going to be an amazing year. We really can't wait.”

Current Audi MedCup champions Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) completed their modifications in-house and have been trial sailing the new configuration on the waters off Auckland in excellent conditions. Otherwise, explains CEO Grant Dalton, the only change to their winning set up is the new paint job. They will sail with exactly the same core sailing team, with the exception of the reduced crew number.

2008 Audi MedCup champions Quantum Racing (USA) who finished overall runners-up are believed to have taken the opportunity to update their deck profile and have made a bigger winter refit. Torbjorn Tornqvist’s (SWE) 2007 champions Artemis (SWE), third overall in 2009 have a busy sailing season planned and will be back to challenge hard.

Alberto Roemmers’ (ARG) team of Matador (ARG) start training on March 19th as a build up to the Palma Vela regatta, where up to five teams will race including Artemis, Cristabella (GBR) Matador and Synergy (RUS) are expected to take part. Spain’s Palma based Bribón (ESP) has undergone some minor modifications along with the class rule modifications. They have changed to tiller steering, removing the twin wheels, changed the mainsheet system and extended the deckline to the vertical at the back of the boat, in line with all the other newer TP52’s. They will sail with an almost all Spanish crew with helm Gonzalo Araujo (ESP) taking on the role he completed so well at the TP52 World Championships in Palma last year. Great Britain’s double Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker (GBR) will serve as tactician. Ignasi Triay (ESP), project manager and trimmer on Bribón (ESP) concludes: “It will be difficult for us I am sure with our boat in its fourth season. It will be really tough for us to get a top five finish with teams like Quantum Racing, TeamOrigin and Emirates Team New Zealand fighting it out for the top spots, and then the two Russian boats and Bigamist (POR) going so well now, but we will be really trying our hardest. The World Championships really proved to us that in flat water and lighter winds the boat can be competitive. Dean Barker said last year that if we sail a perfect race we can finish top three. They have a boat that they can get back into contention in a race even if they don’t make a great start, and that – for us – is the big difference.”

Also based out of Palma is John Cook’s British flagged Cristabella which has a new rig and will have some crew changes with round the world Racing winning bowman Justin Slattery (IRL) joining at the sharp end, and round the world and America’s Cup navigator Simon ‘SiFi’ Fisher (GBR) joining the team again. Brendan Darrer (IRL/GBR) project manager Cristabella (GBR) said: “It is going to be difficult for us this season for sure. Each year we say it will be harder and it does get harder. But it will be a cracking year and we are really looking forward to it. Most of all we want to see a realistic improvement in our own performance, and if we can see that we will be happy.”

Home hopes for the opening regatta will be with Pedro Mendonça’s Bigamist who have been winter training hard off their native Cascais. Their prolonged training together was the foundations for a very successful 2009, and so on their own local waters, the Portuguese team have a good chance of starting the 2010 Audi MedCup season on a high note.

The GP42 fleet is taking shape presently with at least one boat which is new to the Circuit, stepping up after enjoying their participation at the 2009 GP42 World Championships. Thinking on the publicThe new season starting in two months will not just add new teams, rules and venues, but a new effort in popularising both the Audi MedCup Circuit and the sport of sailing. Fernando Iñigo (ESP), Audi MedCup Circuit and World Sailing Management Marketing Director, explains: "We are working on consolidating the TV successes we achieved in 2009, including important innovations that we will reveal soon which will revolutionise the way we communicate the sport of sailing. Apart from that, we are designing a new and more ambitious public area in order to keep on evolving our goal of making the Audi MedCup Circuit more popular. In that sense, the two new venues.

Written by: Javier Sobrino
Source: Audi Med Cup

"A Difficult Decision"

2010-02-03T08:00:00.001+01:00

This was taken from the 33rd AC website after having a chat in in the Press Office after a lot of waiting around they didn't race that day:

Simon Fisher (GBR) es navegante de Vuelta al Mundo y America’s Cup, con experiencia en Valencia después de haber militado en el equipo sueco durante la 32 America’s Cup. Le hemos preguntado sobre el escenario que afronta hoy el Comité de Regata.
“Una decisión difícil”, comenta el británico. “Hacia el Norte anoche ha habido este frente de componente Oeste, especialmente en el valle del Ebro, y más al Sur todavía un razonable viento de componente Noroeste, pero esta mañana se ha despejado. Hablando con varios regatistas esta mañana, me han comentado que el viento ha caído más rápido de lo que esperaban. El problema ahora es una burbuba de vientos flojos alrededor de Valencia en este momento, en la llanura alrededor de la ciudad”. “La preocupación ahora es que el viento podría rolar hacia componente Sureste a media tarde. Eso significaría que alrededor de las 15:00-16:00h el viento se daría la vuelta, para comenzar a soplar en sentido opuesto al actual. En este escenario, deberían empezar con este Noroeste, o sino esperar a que se establezca el Sureste”.“Si me preguntas, te diría que lo veo bastante complicado”, concluye Fisher.

Link to the original http://www.americascup.com/es/actualite/news/una-decision-dificil-19-1749

A Good Day

2010-01-13T19:29:00.005+01:00

All in all a good day today and whilst pedaling away in the winter sun I thought it may well be worth writing about. Not least because I keep promising myself to write on this thing and normally come up short.

Things have been starting pretty early for me these last few days, I fear I am stuck somewhere between jetlag and insomnia which has me up and about before 5am. That said I'm not so sure that it's a bad thing given that I had managed to cast free the shackles of my computer by 9am leaving me free to pursue all my little projects.

After some amount of hammering, in which the hammer definitely came off second best when the head flew across the room, the moth is finally ready to go sailing again. Admittedly it arrived some time ago although by this stage I was already at 30,000 feet and Sydney bound. After picking it up from Maria's office yesterday I was a little disappointed to find that it hadn't been that well wrapped and picked up a couple of dings along the way but despite this little hiccup you have to hand it to the Mach 2 guys, the foils are made of pretty stern stuff to be able to take a 30minute battering with a rubber mallet and still be in perfect condition. Much better condition than the hammer too. Hopefully tomorrow I can get out in the boat tomorrow if the forecast looks good. If not then I might tick a few more jobs off the list to get the thing looking good.

Once the main foil was back in one piece it didn't take long for my attention to turn to my bike, and given that today was considerably warmer than the previous two I headed off up the coast. I was feeling pretty good to begin with; charging along at 35km/h like the wind was behind me. Unfortunately when I turned round I discovered it was... and building! However, despite the legs giving out after 45kms due to an empty stomach and the building breeze I was reminded of how nice it is just to get out and about here in Barcelona. I managed to spot several places that should be good for a surf once we get some swell, the sun was shining and I even managed to spot a snow capped mountain, and all in a 25km radius from home.

After all that I was back in time for a late lunch, which I cooked on the BBQ! Happy days!

Resurrection

2009-12-23T06:07:00.004+01:00

Well, I have decided to try and resurrect my blog, despite failing miserably every time I have tried. Whilst doing the interview for Volvo the other day it made me think that perhaps I have done a few things worth writing about in the last few months. So here goes…

Ups and Downs

2009-12-23T05:58:00.005+01:00

Below is an interview that I did for the Volvo Website, speaking to Helena de la Gandara. It pretty much sums up what I've been up to for the last few months. Photo by Gabri Olivo.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Simon Fisher proved his versatility in the 2008-09 race. Starting out as navigator on Telefonica Blue, he performed in various roles during the team's incident-filled campaign. Since the end of the race, he has competed in various offshore races and tackled a multitude of tasks.

He has won the Rolex Middle Sea Race as watch leader on board the maxi Alegre, he was weather guru for his colleague Pepe RIbes, Navigator for the Fastnet on Pindar and for the Copa del Rey onboard the TP52 Bribon. He reflects on the trials and tribulations of 2008-09 and looks ahead to his next major event - the Sydney-Hobart.

Q: What has this Volvo Ocean Race meant for you, from a sailing point of view?

A: Simply put, competing in the Volvo Ocean Race is some of the very best sailing you can do. It is the very best of fully-crewed offshore racing and on fantastic boats too. This last Volvo was a tough race, much tougher than it was in 2005-06.

The racing was incredibly close from start to finish, the course we sailed was harder, both on the boats and the crew and there was little in the way of down time in between offshore legs. By the end, I was happy with what we had achieved but completely worn out. We had our ups and downs but really came together as a team and I think we can be proud of where we finished up.

For me competing in the Volvo is an experience unlike anything else and something very special indeed. It has been a great learning experience, something that is very important to me and I can honestly say I learned a lot from the last race and in lots of different areas.

Q: What have you done since the race finished?

A: The first priority after the race finished was to take a bit of a break and recharge the batteries. After two years of hard work I was ready to relax for a while. That said I have also had the opportunity to do some really nice sailing, on a variety of boats and in a variety of positions. I stepped in for Marcel van Triest for part of the Copa del Rey on board the TP52 Bribon while he was breaking records in the North Atlantic.

For the Fastnet, I navigated onboard the Pindar Open 60 sailing alongside some good friends from ABN AMRO, finishing a fairly respectable fourth place in a tough fleet in conditions that didn't necessarily suit us.

I competed in the Maxi Worlds as a grinder on board Alegre and then joined them as a watch leader/helmsman for the Middle Sea Race, where we were very happy to win the race on corrected time.

I am now down in Hobart preparing for the Sydney to Hobart Race as navigator on board the RP63 Limit. It has been a fun and varied season in which I have been lucky to be involved with some great teams and good people.

I have also been doing some work with Telefonica team mate Pepe Ribes and his co-skipper Alex Pella helping them out with their Open 60 campaign for the Barcelona World Race. On top of all this I have been spending as much time riding my bike as possible and learning to sail my 'Mach 2' Moth in the hope I might be able to do a couple of big regattas with it next year.

Q: What are your next projects and are you thinking about the next race?

A: Looking forward to next year I'm hoping to be able to continue to sail on a variety of boats and I will try to continue to work with the Open 60 programme in the lead up to the Barcelona Race.

I am looking to do some more TP52 sailing once again. That really is fleet racing at its best. It will also be nice to continue to be involved in the mini maxi scene. They are a nice size boat and it is becoming a very competitive class. I have some business projects in the pipeline too. However, I guess my mind is also starting to look towards the next Volvo too. It is definitely a race which is close to my heart and I'm sure I'll want to be there come start time in 2011.

Interview: Helena de la Gandara

Home at Last

2009-07-10T10:52:00.014+02:00

I can hardly believe I have been home nearly three weeks already. Nor can I believe that I have actually managed to write something! The dust has now all firmly settled on the Volvo and whilst I am glad it is finally all over I have to admit to having been a little bit sad that it all seemed to end so soon... That said I can safely say that I would like to do it all again and despite not having had the easiest race I can look back on it with fond memories and there is no doubt I am much richer for the experience. The one thing that always stands out for me in sailing is that there is always something new to be learnt and nowhere is that more true than the VOR.

However, it has been with a lot of excitement I have moved onto something new - doing nothing! Right now I am very much enjoying the gift of some time to myself, something that I have not really had for quite a few years now what with Volvos and AC's rolling around one after the other. That said despite a little bit of quality couch time I have resisted the temptation to hold the sofa down full time and my days seem to be filled with plenty of action. I am rapidly finding out outside the little Volvo bubble we have existed in for the last few years there is plenty of stuff that you need to stay on top of in the 'real world'!

It has been all go at home getting settled into the apartment, Maria has kept me more than busy unloading boxes from the storage room before she had to jet off around Spain to continue to look after the Telefonica Boats until the come to rest in Alicante in some time in August. Around all the unpacking the has been a bit of remodeling too, we figured better do it now and get it out the way then end up living in a building site. At this stage the new bathroom is almost finished, a few additions to the kitchen are almost done too and we have a nice new door out onto the terrace to save me having to trapse in and out through the lounge in order to get to the BBQ... When all the work is done I'll try and post a few pictures.

All in all life is good, i am thoroughly enjoying being at 'home' The Barcelona weather has been great, We are lucky enough to have a beautiful sea view from the terrace and I'm slowly discovering the city amongst and around all my other little projects. More on all of these later...

Another Attempt

2009-07-02T17:39:00.001+02:00

With the Volvo finished I'm looking forward to having another crack at this blog thing... More stuff coming soon.

Tuk Tuk Ride

2008-12-09T14:59:00.002+01:00

Here is something a little different from watching Volvo 70's sailing around - they probably go similar speeds but have to dodge way more stuff. I was going to put some music to it but thought it detracted from all the beeping of horns. Traffic is a little different in, they don't pay much attention to the lines on the road or the few roads signs there are either. Despite numerous near misses no one seems to hit each other although I am beginning to suspect they enjoy driving the wrong way through the traffic just to "entertain" the tourists like myself. The Tuk Tuk seems to be the best way to get around here but as I discovered the other night in the midst of a massive thunderstorm the lack of anything that resembles a door on them means they are very wet in the rain!

Passage to India

2008-12-05T13:35:00.004+01:00

Some cool aerial footage of the fleet arriving in India

Two Generations of Navigator - En Espanol

2008-12-05T07:41:00.006+01:00

Studying the weather, by the looks of things it's windy....

Here is a link to an article about the two generations of Navigators with the Telefonica Team, myself and the older and probably much wiser Roger Nilson. By the way it is in Spanish but before you think my Spanish is getting much better I will confess I answered the questions in English and Helena translated!

http://www.volvooceanrace.es/news/article/2008/noviembre/26_NAVEGANTES/

A Resolution to Write

2008-12-05T06:52:00.005+01:00

Sitting in the Nav Station staring at the computer, Leg 2 of the Volvo somewhere in the Indian Ocean, November 2008

For ages I have been thinking about writing a blog but somehow have never quite managed to get round to it. Something always seems to stand in the way of me sitting in front of my computer and writing something worthwhile. Ironic really as much of my day is spent staring at a screen be it in the comfort of an airconditioned office or getting bashed around somewhere out to sea on a VO70. However, I thought I might have a go to try and share some of my thoughts and experiences as we travel round the planet with the Volvo Ocean Race. I hope you enjoy what I write. Cheers, Si Fi.

Sailing World - The Si Fi Channel

2008-12-05T06:47:00.001+01:00

Here is the link to my somewhat sporadic blog on the Sailing World Website.

http://www.sailingworld.com/ocean-racing/people/the-sifi-channel-1000066551.html