Sea, Sail & Surf newsKiwi minis
One year after, Chris Sayer’s new mini going to be back up the blue
Two kiwi sailors prepare the 2003 Transat 650
lundi 27 janvier 2003 –
Dreaming of Vendée Globe, Chris went back in 1999 in New Zealand to find new founds for a bigger boat campaign. But with no money enough to sail an Open 50 or 60, he decided to get involved again in a mini season with the goal to win the race !
His new mini, Up the Blue, took the lessons of the french mini circuit : larger, lighter... faster ! In February 2002, the new boat was sailing, being the 403th mini ever launch in the world since 1977 when Bob Salmon invented the first Mini-Transat Mini-Transat #MiniTransat .
In May 2002, Sayer and his boat enter in the Tasman Race. Two years before, he made a good result in the Solo french transatlantic from Concarneau (Brittany) to Guadeloupe (Caribbean seas) because he was one of the sailor to have race his boat in the longest distance ever covered before a race. Navman and Sayer did sailed 7 000 nm before entering the race...
In the way to train again and be ready for the 2003 edition from La Rochelle to Salvador de Bahia in Brazil (new course of the Transat The Transat #thetransat #ostar 650 - more serious name than ’mini’ !), the kiwi sailor was sailing early. But the first problem appeared when a rigging failure made him abandon in the Sydney to Auckland race.
The adventure goes worst when Up the Blue’s keel goes down the Blue ! On May 20th, Chris is forced to abandon his ship. He is rescued by a Taiwanese cargo-ship 480 km from Cape Reinga, northwest of Auckland.
Unfortunately, le boat was lost and was added to the long list of mini boats floating on the seas and which will arrive one day on a beach.
- Chris’ third mini’s black hull
Not discouraged by the adventure, the 30 years-old sailor decides to launch the construction of a new 6.50 meters long racing boat. That what he did one month after thanks to the support of many people impressed by his story.
The new kiwi mini is now being built by Vaudrey-Miller Yachts in Auckland in double copy ! Liz Wardley has joint Chris Sayer. The young woman was a crewmember in the full female team of the last Volvo Ocean Race. She also entered in 2002 in a 650 double-handed race, the Open Demi Clé. With Swedish Pia L’Obry, the two women did finished second of the race !
In February 2003, both hulls designed by Brett Bakewell-White are nearly finished as we can see in the photo Chris did send to the redaction.
Sayer and Wardley have now few months to finished their boat and ship to the northern hemisphere where they are awaited to get qualified for the 2003 Transat 650.
The race will start in September 7th from La Rochelle, in the Bay of Biscay. If the solo transat is opened to 70 competitors this year, only 35 places go to the prototype division. The other 35 places go the serie one.
Height months before the start, 57 sailors have already enter in that division ! Most of them (24) are ready to go has they have completed their qualification for the race (1000 nm solo navigation plus 1000 nm solo race).
Chris Sayer who has already competed and finished a Mini-Transat Mini-Transat #MiniTransat may have only to enter in two races of the circuit to complete his 1000 nm racing qualification. He will then be able to enter in the race if the entry list is still opened... For Liz it will be harder as she has to complete the full qualification program.
Since the ’99 edition when height sailors had to be rescued in the big storm of the start, the qualification are very hard for candidates for solo racing across the Atlantic. In 2001, most of the sailors were able to join Brazil thanks to this level of qualification. Now, to enter the race, most of the sailors are ready one year before and sail two years before the start of the transat The Transat #thetransat #ostar .
That is the strict rule for the most international and biggest Open class of the world with 300 members registered to the Class Mini for 2002 with Spanish, English, Irish, Israelian, Swedish, Norvegian, French and may be New Zealand entries in the 2003 edition.
More news on http://www.bakewell-white.com/csHom...
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