LOCH NESS MONSTER RACE IS ON

yes, it's on, and entries are starting to pour in

Micky Todd has confirmed he will be returning from Spain to enter this year's event.

It's all looking good - you all need to be there!

Nessie

We have a confirmed Spanish Entry
We have an almost definite entry from South Korea (ex pat returning on holiday)
We have an Australian trying to arrange his European tour to take part

This race will be bigger than last time, and Marine Design International have really stepped up as sponsors to help us make this happen.

Long Distance fans - this race is truly unique, and a race to do at least once in your life. Make it 2007!

email lochnesscatamarans (at) hotmail.co.uk to register your interest

Nessie
(i like cats, but couldn't eat a whole one)

Ideal Stelrad Formula 28 Racing Team are intending to take part.

Would be great to see cats of all sizes taking on this all comers challenge!

going to join us?!!!!!

contact lochnesscatamarans at hotmail.co.uk

A truely F*kin awesome event once again ,

Winner Andy Mac Pherson (Tornado )who had travelled from Australia to take part likened it to Texcel and the Archiapeligo raid which he had recently completed in stature of challenge , and a race that has to be done !!!

Nessys' breath eventually came to fruition after a slow start 90% of the distance must have been covered in wind that reportedly exceeded 30 knts !! and was totally mind and body numbing FANTASTIC !!, the highs and lows you go through on such a long race in such winds is absolutely amazing and something everycat sailor should experience , the fleet was over 40 boats and despite crews being totally exhausted all vowed to return .

I covered a distance of 50.1 mile and only two capsizes !!!

Can't wait for the next one .

Was also awesome to see the likes of Basillica racing and the beautifully built Tekcat ,

I predict this event has more

monsterous

growth still to come as the word of Nessie now spreads world wide as Nessieites gabble insessantly over a pint when ever the opportunity arises .

If you weren't there you certainly missed out on one of the most challenging and awesome distance races we are lucky to have in the UK .

As they sang at closing time in the pubs of Glasgow in days gone by

come on and have a go

are you up to it ?

There will be more

Many thanks to Chris Browing and the SNECCA team and the sponsorhip by MDI, Blaser Chiropractic , JJ Cats and Cairngorm Brewery was most appreciated.

Saturday dawned, the day of the race, not the sunshine of the previous day but rain. We arrived at the field, from when we had left another 30+ boats had arrived. After attending the briefing the fleet went afloat for the approximate 11:00am start. The fleet consisted of boats ranging from the VX40, Basilica, the new 23 ft all carbon Tek-kat, Tornados, Hurricane 5.9 SX through to Dart 18s. The wind however like the weather had changed and was now more NE and not the predominant SW that was expected, this meant a downwind start.

3 boats made an early break, Basilica, Tek-kat and the Team Musto-Australia/Tacktick Tornado of Macca and Stuart Offer. These 3 pushed each other hard to Urquhart Castle, were most sightings of Nessie have been, the 1st mark only to become becalmed going into it. There were worried glances over the shoulder from crews, not only at each other but the fleet was arriving in pressure. This must have been a great sight for all those visitors to the castle, seeing approx 43 catamarans heading for the mark. It was finally Basilica that rounded the mark first ahead of the Tornado, apparently they were not going to be beaten to the mark by a Tornado and then the Tek-kat, with the fleet no more than 50 metres behind them once again the 3 boats started to stretch a lead, this time with differing tactics, the VX40 and the Tek-kat taking the Northern shore and the Tornado taking the Southern shore, as the fleet got caught in the same calm patch. About half way to the 2nd mark in building pressure this time from the predominant SW direction, disaster struck the Tek-kat, with them breaking their mast. As the pressure built this allowed the VX40 to stretch her legs and open up on the Tornado. With most of the fleet out of sight from the leading 2 boats and the leading boat sailing into the distance from the Tornado, it was hard to say what was going on behind them. So at the 2nd mark it was Basilica and then the Tornado. At this mark the lead Tornado was asked if they wanted to continue, in the shelter of the bay they bravely said of course and carried on wondering why they were being asked this, 200 metres later they found out, the wind was now 20-25knots with gusts on top, still to late now a battle to Fort Augustus another 13 miles up the lake. The main fleet was now well out of sight and the VX40 was out of sight of the Tornado. Still no disasters struck the lead 2 boats and a clean bear away and hoist and set in the relative calm of Fort Augustus, now for the 26 mile run home with 1 mark at Urquhart castle to do before the finish line at the Dorres Inn. With lots of pressure in the sails, both Basilica and the lead Tornado stretched their legs.

However once again the calm of Urquhart Castle parked both boats however once they were clear of the castle the wind came back with a vengeance. Both lead boats having interesting moments on the final legs. It was Basilica that took line honours with the Tornado 22 minutes taking 2nd place but winning overall by a considerable margin. 3rd place on the water and 2nd overall went to the Hurricane SX, of Nigel Lynn and Alan Nesbit who finished approx 55 minutes after the lead tornado.

Thanks must go to the sponsors and organisers of the event, Marine Design International Ltd, Blaser Chiropractic, JJcats.biz, Cairngorm Brewery Company, DH systems Ltd, Peterborough SC and the biggest thanks To Chris Browning, whose tireless efforts were well rewarded.

We would also like to thank our own sponsors Team Musto Australia, Tacktick and Mardon Marine.

No Helm Crew Boat Type Sail No. SCHRS (HH:MM:SS) Elapsed Time (s) Corrected Time (s)
1 Andrew MacPherson Stuart Offer Tornado GBR406 0.935 04:55:43 17743 18976.47
2 Nigel Lynn Alan Nesbit Hurricane SX 455 1.007 05:50:29 21029 20882.82
3 John Beech Ben Burns F18 GBR699 1.005 05:57:16 21436 21329.35
4 James Grant Mike McIntyre + others Extreme 40 Basilica 0.76 04:33:11 16391 21567.11
5 Neil Rosie David Sinclair Dart 18 7268 1.181 07:07:10 25630 21701.95
6 Russell Clark n/a A Class 42 0.979 05:59:35 21575 22037.79
7 David Kent Ian Kent Hurricane SX 458 1.007 06:10:32 22232 22077.46
8 Ian Keam-George Simon Keam-George Spitfire 188 1.035 06:27:50 23270 22483.09
9 Dave Parker Dave Harcourt Tornado GBR389 0.935 05:53:25 21205 22679.14
10 Lindsay Henderson Colin Lawrence Nacra 6.0 350 0.981 06:20:44 22844 23286.44

I've visited the Tek-Kat website and I've fallen in love. I covet it and am already planning to rob a bank to be able to pay the undoubtedly elevated price for it, Marstrom 20 territory?. Lately I've thinking about how my ideal cat would have to be built, and Tek-Kat seems to be spot on. Big, wide, carbon everything, canted hulls, offset daggerboards to provide lift. I hope that they won't shatter to many masts, I will be following them. Can anyone tell us more about this beast?

Sorry for the off-topic declaration of love for the Tek-Kat, I've enjoyed reading the reports the race here and on Sailing Anarchy. Hope to participate one day

If you send me a PM I will put you in touch with the person in charge of the Tek-Kat.

My understanding is that it will be competively priced!!!!!

Tek-kat? Links?

Jake ! go to :

http://www.tek-kat.co.uk/

Ohh no, not another

lets make everything from carbon and we'll win for certain this time

design.

Welcome to the long list of predecessors

Marstrom M18
CFR 20
Ventilo 20

with some fancy name that I forgot already

Marstrom M20 (twice, second time 20 kg heavier so it would stay in one piece)
Hobie Fox special edition (found its grave at Texel 2005 if I remember correctly)
Eagle 20 (about a dozen different versions of this design have been launched already)
M20 GTI (second generation M20 but now with a sloop rig instead of just a mainsail)
Volvo Extreme 20

Wasn't there also an all carbon Tornado sailing the USA somewhere ?

And this is only the listing of all the beach cats of 20 foot length.

Basically this boat will suffer the same problems as all it predecessors above.

-1- stay in one piece long enough to finish a series of races.
-2- stay ahead of the lead F18 that is only a quarter of the purchase costs.
-3- stay on the legal side of the law during road transportation.
-4- accepting the fact that the lightest doublehanded racing catamaran will still be another design.
-5- accepting the fact that a hacksaw or very big purse is not included as standard to allow international shipping by sea container.

Added to this is the fact that its

mathematically perfect

lines have been designed by a monohull (dinghy) designer whose call to fame is the RS300 and RS600 dinghy as well as his participation in the invictus C-class catamaran. If I remember correctly none of these boats made a hit world wide.

Sorry, we've all been down this road too often before.

We already know that the doorway to higher performance lays not in the choice for carbon as the building material but in aerodynamic improvements in the rig as well as hydrodynamic improvements in hull shapes and foils. Most of these breakthroughs have already been achieved and all of these can be attained while using different (much cheaper) materials. To make things worse many cheaper designs have already incorporated these features in their designs. There are no easy wins anymore when designing a new catamaran. The F18 class and its spin-offs like the new Tornado and F16 boats have develloped to far to allow easy wins.

Wouter

Thats one sexy looking boat.

Wouter,

If people did not try stuff, we would still be living in caves eating roots.

And how will this be a problem ?

Take it to bits, put it on a trailer !

I assume this is how the VX40's travel around and so I don't see a problem. Please explain.

Jake:

Here you go. Interesting chute is a integrated part of the boat?

http://www.tek-kat.co.uk/

Doug

Try http://www.tek-kat.co.uk/

that is interesting. Spin is tacked off a bow bridle - old-school like. The slot is pretty small but then the forestay is pretty far back on the hull. I know the recent swiss big cats (forgive me, I can't remember the name and don't have the time to look it up) also use a central pod to stiffen up the boat...I would like to hear how it goes.

Dear Wouter,

I really appreciate reading your conrtibutions because of the your knowledge. However I might even enjoy them if you weren't such a vinegarpisser. Have you never thought

PHWOAR!!

when you see a good looking lady walk by and have said to yourself:

I want her

? If it turns out that she is out of your league well so be it. Or perhaps she is attainable but her breath smells of old socks or she turns out to be as thick as 3 planks stuck together with stupid glue. Whatever the case you can have fun lusting after her, you can even be a source of entertainment to your friends while you make an butt of yourself pursueing her. Or perhaps in that alluring package is a soulmate that is happy that she crossed your path and you'll be happy together ever after.

What I'm trying to say is that I just had such a PHWOAR!! moment, and I want to know more about this boat. And if you are not in the least bit curious about it you really disappoint me.
I know for a fact that right now, I can't afford a new cat but I would like the idea that the moment, hopefully in the near future, that I can there wil be some interesting choices, preferably some new designs.

yes, the Tek Kat showed up.

no road transport problems - split down on the trailer, Tornado style

took maybe two hours to fully rig.

went like a train in the light stuff

mast snapped before wind really got up, though. No pitchpole or gust, but a design error in the mast, and the lay-up is not quite right yet. Other than that - cant fault it.

Yes, it is new, it's different, and may not beat 'everything' out there, but it is challenging pre-conceived notions, trying something new, and we need people like this out there.

Come and take on the Monster next time.
I didn't get a bite in this year, but i will be waiting for you in August 2009!

This is a real challenge. Not everyone can drive home and say they beat the Monster!

Who's all talk, and who is going to join in next time?!

drop an email to lochnesscatamarans(@)hotmail.co.uk to get yourself on the e-mailing list for 2009 race

Nessie

(i like cats, but couldn't eat a whole one)

Okay, what on this boat is totally new. As in untried on another catamaran ?

Wouter

Wouter,

Why do you have a downer on development ?

It's a new boat, it looks like it should be fun, why have a go at it because someone has tried something different ?

Sorry if I ask a dumb question, but how does that central pod make the boat stiffer?
Wouldnt a regular dolphin-striker be cheaper, lighter, and easier when assembling?

You guys are mistaken scepsis with being a vinegar pisser.

Development and science are much helped by scepsis; of course as long as it doesn't become the dominant factor.

I'm sceptical about this design. The centre pod idea is nice but already tried and proven by those cats on like Geneva. The poleless spinnaker tack support (by a pair of bridles) isn't new either, the Swell Shadow for example has proven this setup to work. All carbon is nothing new either, see my earlier listing. The remainder of the rig is very standard, so too the hull shape and Marstrom rudders and rudderstocks for example. The platform is still two hulls, two beams and a trampoline.

So basically, what exactly is being developped here that hasn't already been succesfully developped by others ? One could almost say that they are trying to reinvent the wheel.

I respect the fact that a group of builders are going through the trouble of creating a new boat, but that in itself does not equal development.

Additionally, the boat is made larger then most other cats and therefor is very likely to be faster then the others. You don't need to be a top boat designer to figure this out. As such I'm personally not yet impressed by this design.

Alot more interesting would have been to use the same specs as the Tornado and then design it such that it beats the Tornado by a significant margin. Then we all as catamaran enthousiasts can learn something. Learn what new design features improve performance. Right now we can learn nothing because this boat is pretty much alone in its specs.

I will admit to feeling that the designers took the easy route to a line honours winner, by placing the specs well out of the way of other dominant cat designs. As such I fear they can only loose and never win. Afterall, if this design wins then HEY, it is a larger and lighter design, what will anybody expect ? But when it looses then everybody will be all over it.

No, it would have been alot more interesting when they used these idea's under a rule framework like the F18's or the specs of the Tornado design.

So again I'm being sceptical. The difference to being a downer is of course that I can argue my stance as I have done above.

Wouter

Most of the rig forces will be transmitted along this centre pod. So basically the are no bridles or forestay to flex the hulls.

However, there will be no difference in flexing due to

walking the waves

. As such the stiffness difference could be very marginal. Afterall the rig loads to tend to behave as a static pretensioned spring setup. As such they do not alter the stiffness of platform, they just reposition the flexing situation to a different operating point.

Example:

Hang a weight on a spring and measure its stiffness. This can also be done by measuring the oscillation frequency as that is proportional will the stiffness of the whole system.

No reposition this system to the horizontal plane so the force of gravity is taken out of the equation. Measure the stiffness again (frequency) you will find that they are the same.

Basically, adding a static force to a spring setup will not alter the stiffness of the system, it will only change the position of the weight and thus the average position of the weight when it oscillates.

Your other points are of course quite to the point. 3 and 4 mm wires and a dolphinstriker setup tend to be the lightest and cheapest solution most often. That is why dolphinstrikerless setups and unstayed or partically stayed rig have never really gotten into fashion.

The extra material needed in the hulls to take the bridle loads also doubles up as extra material to make the hulls and platform stiffer.

The conventional beach cat design is pretty well developped. Both in weight, stiffness and costs (cheap).

Wouter

Wouter,

Regarding this comment:

And then this boat would be directly against the Tornado; would you invest your money in trying to overthrow the Tonado. Mastrom has tried with the M20 and has not made much progress.

The Olympic teams will be sailing the Tornado and then the F18 for the fleet sizes. I'd wager that this boat is aimed at people who want to go faster than a Tornado (hopefully) but with less skill.

Yes, I'd agree it's nothing really new, but it may have a market and it looks like it should be fun.

Wouter

But doesn't it depend to a certain extent on what the boat was designed for? If you talk to the guy behind the project I think his main reasons were a)have a boat that big guys can sail without being penalised for being big (sorry but F20 just aren't competitive on handicap IMO) and b) a line honours machine. That the boat looks fantastic is a bonus.

When you consider that it has only had two outings, 1 at the Fast boat race where it was right up with the VX40 until the helm pitchpoled it flat out on the shallows (and no Wouter, it didn't break) and then the LNM race where the mast broke when again it was right at the front.

Last I knew no development had happened on the foils as this is a small team project who all have day jobs and it's one thing at a time, expect more to follow. And as regards questioning the designer !!!!! No, the RS600 may not be a Cat but it is one of the most popular boats in a comptitive field and had remained so since it's inception. Most cat classes would be envious of the RS600 regatta turnouts. I would think it safe to say that Clive Everest knows his stuff. I would add the same kind of comments for the sailmaker as well.

Big up to Jim M for putting the money in to support his idea and hopefully he'll take me out on it next time I'm down at Weston.

Indeed it does.

The ills of the F20 have surprisingly little to do with crew weight. Interestingly enough these very same heavy crews are just as fast on a F18 as they were on their F20. The basic F20 design is the problem. By far most of us know the F20 only by the Nacra 20. And this design has not seen much development at all over the years, while other designs like the F18 did.

For better installments to the F20 rule look for the White formula 20 (John the Vries special) and the Eagle 20 cats. But even then the F20 class specs are limiting the performance more then the crews weights. Modern F18's take large crew weights quite well.

For a line honours boat, yes indeed, they are on track.
I would have respected it more if it became a line honours boat through clever designing rather then brute force (larger boat) but those are just my personal feelings.

Okay.

I had figured as much, by the way. Hardly any beach cat is designed by a dedicated team. As good as all new developments have come from small private projects. That includes the Capricorn you are sailing. Basically Martin Fisher did the design and AHPC modified is at little bit here and there and took it into production. Most French F18 designs are 1 or 2 person jobs. A-cats and F16's same thing. Pretty much we are all doing it this way, so the Tek-Cat is nothing special in this sense either.

In the UK yeah, in the rest of the world it is

just another

dinghy with a microscopic following. In the netherlands (next to the UK) there is not even a RS600 class with races. You can't compare the RS600 and Clive to say Eigner and his Flyer A-cat. The latter broke through internationally and you can find fleets of his design on all continents, with other designers copying him. With the first named person you can't. With respect to innovative design he is no Rohan Veal or Bethwaite either. That is just the truth of the situation.

I never said Clive is an ignoramous, just that his history doesn't necessarily garantee a succesful cat design to come off his drawing board. With respect to RS600, it is totally non-existant in Australia, USA, NZL and it is still a very small class in continental Europe. And the RS600 is nothing like a line honours catamaran. Sorry all this is just too far fetched.

But indeed there has been enough scepsis on the design now, so I will butt out now.

Wouter

It ties the forestay directly with the mainsheet (when centered on the traveler) while sailing upwind permitting higher forestay tension and suposedly better pointing ability. With the traditional arrangement, the forestay is attached through the bridles, through the hulls, through the rear beam, and finally to the mainsheet. With the pod, forestay to pod, pod to mainsheet.

Wouter

I think what you are saying does make sence, but taking your argument from a logical starting point: When the person first tied two tree tunks together and put branches across it he invented the 1st catamaran, therefore every step since then has been a development and not an invention. Development is the key word here. The designer has never claimed to be reinventing the wheel, and yes we may have seen all the bits before on different boats.... but have we seen all the bits on the same boat?

The main point is yes it looks nice (to the majority) yes there is some development to do on the rig and the foils, but I don't think you can blame anyone for using marstrom rudders as a starting point...... THEY WORK!!!! And lets see what happens in the market place and in the sailing world when production starts.

Being sceptical is one thing but let it not stop development. Remember nothing ventured nothing gained.

Wouter

If we go back to what I understand Jim's original design brief was - carry weight + line honours I would say that it looks to be in the ball park and that the designer looks to be well on his way to fullfilling the brief. I don't believe it was intended to be a big leap forward in design so it would be diffficult to criticise him for not having done so.

Re the weight I am not talking about 160kg's helm and crew but something a tad higher and I do not believe that many F18's carrying >190kgs are competitive - IMO.

The RS600 may not be an international boat but how many RS boats are? It doesn't make them or the designers less effective. The dinghy market in the UK dwarfs the Cat market and my strolls through French sailing clubs tell me that the opposite is true elsewhere. To have introduced a sucessful boat into the UK against the well established Contender took some doing. And as regards

just that his history doesn't necessarily garantee a succesful cat design to come off his drawing board

- nor I suspect would anyone elses for that matter either!

Indeed. (on both accounts)