Washington Yachting Group

When the news came on wings

THIS MONTH, AS the runup to the 2013 America’s Cup gets underway, television viewers of the 160-year-old yacht race will see something new: high-tech graphic overlays for the ocean course, inspired by technologies like the NFL’s digital first-down marker. Larry Ellison, the Cup’s billionaire impresario, hopes the explanatory graphics will help capture the attention of mainstream viewers who know a lot less about sailboat racing than, say, baseball.

In the regatta’s early days, the waning popularity of yacht racing was one problem the organizers and press didn’t have - spectators were fascinated by the sport, and in particular by a fierce rivalry between, of all cities, Boston and New York. But they shared one concern with Ellison, which was the question of how to clearly and speedily broadcast the events of a confusing race at sea to those on land. Without digital overlays, never mind television cameras, the press was still able to cover those electrifying early years of the Cup, and newspaper accounts of the time show that they did it using similarly innovative and up-to-the-minute technology. But their tools were simple: telegraphs, chalk - and pigeons.

By 1885, the Cup’s creator, the New York Yacht Club, had successfully defended it from a string of foreign challengers. In the process, the club’s members built a reputation as the bad boys of yachting. They would stack the deck against challengers by fielding a different boat every day to match conditions, while opponents were restricted to just one. They were criticized by the New York press for changing the rules to their own favor mid-regatta. When they could get away with it, they held the contest in local waters that were familiar to them but treacherous for outsiders.

At the time, Boston considered itself an important yachting center and chafed at New York’s dominance in the sport. So in 1884, a group of well-born Boston yachtsmen pooled their funds and commissioned a ship that could compete for the Cup. They were a band of amateurs, with a Civil War general, Charles Paine, for a leader; the ship’s designer, Edward Burgess, had been an entomologist at Harvard. The boat, called the Puritan, was built in Lawley shipyard in City Point in South Boston. With The Boston Globe and other newspapers reporting heavily on the Puritan team, local audiences grew intensely focused on the ‘85 Cup trials, which were set to take place off Sandy Hook, N.J. To advance, the Puritan would have to beat the New York favorite, the Priscilla.

USA. Awlgrip finished Attessa IV ... - BYM Product and Industry News

&Lsquo;Evergreen’, as she was then known, arrived in North Vancouver at the Washington Yachting Group yard in spring 2007 to begin the “world’s finest and most ambitious refit," says Chris Toole, Global Senior Product Manager, Awlgrip. "We are proud to have been such an integral part of this successful project and look forward to other exciting projects with Washington Yachting Group in the future.” As a part of the extensive re-fit, the existing coatings of the Attessa IV were tested extensively for their integrity and in many cases removal, before application of approximately 15,000 gallons of Awlgrip products, including 4500 gallons of Awlgrip primers, such as Hullgard, Ultra Build, High Build & 545 Epoxy Primer. Washington Yachting Group chose the complete Awlgrip system due to the ease of use, extended recoating intervals and reduced working time, saving numerous hours on this ambitious project. As part of the complete Awlgrip system for the Attessa IV, Washington Yachting Group also chose to use the Awlfair mixing machine along with Awlfair LW, the premium, epoxy trowlable fairing compound, to fair the exisiting and new sections of the hull. Awlfair LW provides a creamy smooth texture and easy application, and an estimated 8000 gallons were used to create the smooth, ‘better than new’ look the owner desired. Tony McCormick, lead Awlgrip Technical Representative on the project explains: “Labour savings were equivalent of two full time workers by the use of the fairing machine, which operated flawlessly throughout the three year refit.” Another milestone for this project was the extensive use of Awlcraft SE, a revolutionary metallic topcoat system, on the exterior of the sunbridge superstructure and mast as well as various entry areas, which were all finished in a custom silver metallic. A specially colour matched non-metallic pearl was produced for the satellite domes and radar antennas.

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