News

Forecasters are predicting that the first 300 nautical miles are likely to be a bumpy ride to say the least. The navigators and tacticians will come in to their own as they will look to keep everything together to ride out the prediction 30-40knots headwinds with 4-5 metre waves when they hit the Bass Straits. The weather is tricky to predict beyond the first 48 hours but suffice to say this year, The Sydney Hobart is unlikely to see any record breaking runs.

Good luck to the crew of Celestial!

To follow the race, log on to:www.rolexsydneyhobart.com

The crew of the Rogers 46 Celestial is now in the final stages of preparation for this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. This will be the second time a Rogers 46 has taken part, so we will all be avidly watching!

This will be the 66th year for this eminent 628 nautical mile ocean race with a total of 99 confirmed entries; for one third of the fleet, it will be their maiden voyage. With a spectacular race start in Sydney Harbour on Sunday 26th December, the fleet will then head into the Tasman Sea, cross the Bass Straits, head up the east coast of Tasmania, turn right into Storm Bay and finally……..head up the Derwent River to the famous port of Hobart. It would be easy to say that this race is not for the faint hearted.

We wish Sam Haynes, the owner of Celestial and all crew the very best of luck. To follow Celestial go to:www.rolexsydneyhobart.com

From the moment she nosed out of the build yard in Bristol Rhode Island, she turned heads. The jungle drums have started beating and the word on the street is that the Rogers 82 is something special.


With sea trails now successfully completed, the final tuning is taking place prior to her departure for the warmth of the Caribbean. Her first major engagement will be as the honeymoon platform for the owners daughter who is to marry in January, followed by her first major event- The RORC Caribbean 600 in February and then on to The St Martin Heineken Regatta.

A few words from Simon: It was a thrill to see Brian sailing his boat for the first time and a real pleasure for me to see this beautiful yacht finally on the water. Her performance was sparkling and first indications suggest that she is all that we had hoped for.


To view more images, please go to our Current Project section of this webs site.

We are delighted to report that after 18 days and 3,500 miles of intensely close racing Bernard Stamm came 9th and Damien Seguin on his first outing in his Rogers Class 40, came 10th overall.

Bernard especially has achieved an incredible result having to make a forced pit stop into the Azores due to a faulty auto pilot, which was made even more painful as the wind died on his approach. For those following the race, it won’t have gone unnoticed that in the last week, he charged through the fleet taking eight boats. Having led at the start of the race for much of the time, only jostling places with the winner Thomas Ruyant one can only imagine what the outcome would have been if his auto pilot hadn’t failed.

Tanguy du Lamotte was just out of the top ten in 15th but had the highest average speed in the fleet at 26.7 knots against the winner at 21.8 knots.

Congratulations to all our Rogers Class 40 skippers who have completed this marathon Trans Atlantic event.

This year 76 yachts from 18 different countries took part in the 31st edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race- a 600 nautical mile race which started and finished in Malta. This event is quite unique in that it follows a square shape course as opposed to a straight Rhum line, whilst crews can enjoy the most fantastic scenery from islands to mountains, as well as the sites of the active volcano Stromboli. With this come the changeable and demanding conditions of micro climates and tidal changes giving crews and particularly tacticians a race to remember.

We would like to congratulate Jen Kellinghusen and his crew on board his Rogers 46 Varuna who were yesterdsay crowned winners of ORC Class 2. Bravo!

St Malo – Sunday 31st October – 1320hrs, the gun will fire for the start of the 9th Edition of The Rhoute du Rhum-La Banque Postale, a gruelling 3,543 mile ocean race which sees the finish line off Pointe- ?° -Pitre in Guadeloupe. It is often referred to as ‚ÄòThe Queen of Transatlantic races‚Äô.

The race happens every 4 years and this year they have a record number of entries totalling the maximum allowed of 75 boats. These range from multi hulls to monos with the cream of shorthanded skippers at the helm. In the Class 40 division 25 boats will be racing, of which three will be our Rogers Class 40s.

Tanguy De Lamotte is a well known success story and again he will race under the boat name: Novedia/ Initiatives.
We are delighted to once again have the celebrated Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm at the helm of Chemin?©es Poujoulat which he has chartered from his friend and double handed partner Bruno Jourdren. Damien Seguin recently acquired his Rogers Class 40 and has rebranded Des Pieds et Des Mains. Like Bruno Jourdren, Damien also flew the French flag at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics Games which resulted in a silver medal for Damien in the 2.4 and gold for Bruno in the Sonar.

We look forward to following this race (probably 24/7) in the hope that the Rogers team can once again take their places in podium positions. To follow this race, log on to: www.routedurhumlabanquepostale.com/en/s01_home/s01p01_home.php

Simon’s father Jeremy Rogers MBE and his brother Kit recently completed their mission to build a family Contessa 32, whilst exploring a more sustainable way of doing things.

This journey of discovery started with their introduction to Kebony, a teak replacement which has been used throughout the boat and which visually contributes greatly to her established heritage and Classic lines. One recent visitor at the Southampton Boat Show, suggested that below she now looked bigger and that the overall effect was similar to that of Endeavour, the well known J-Class yacht.

Every aspect of the build, from holding tanks to varnish, mattresses to antifouling has been re-considered as new products such as a hybrid engine, solar panels and wind turbines, fuel cell technology and a whole range of additional energy efficient products have been incorporated.

Calypso
is a magical combination of a green vision, a classic yacht, a legendary boat builder and launched at a perfect time to satisfy the growing appetite for, and interest in, sustainability.

“After nearly 50 years in the industry it’s been great to discover so many innovative and exciting products out there. It really has been a fascinating journey and I hope this will start a bit of a green revolution in the industry” said Jeremy Rogers.

Visit Calypso at this year’s Southampton Boat Show: Berth M502 or log on to: www.jeremyrogers.co.uk

The conditions in this year’s Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race couldn’t have been more favourable for the powerful Artemis Ocean Racing and with Jonny Malbon returning to the helm, after 6 days 10hrs 32mins and 27secs at sea, AOR broke the IMOCA 60 course record in the early hours of Monday morning.

At that point she was leading IRC overall but despite the land based comforts that Jonny and his crew were enjoying, they all had very painful wait to see if their closest rival Tonnerre de Breskens would arrive by the 01:54:35 deadline this am to take the overall IRC lead. Tonnerre crossed the Squadron finish line at 03:26:55 this morning leaving Artemis to claim two great wins. Well done boys!

Photo: RORC/Rick Tomlinson: 2010 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race – Artemis Ocean Racing.

With a prestigious Royal Yacht Squadron start at 5.30pm, six Artemis 20s took part in the inaugural Artemis Even Keel Pro-Am Challenge just off the Squadron green. This special 2 day series was raced by six novice sailors with disabilities, all of whom had been through the Even Keel Project/UKSA selection trials over the past few weeks.

They were paired with professional sailors who had not only found the time to give, but had also willingly donated their time for free. This generous group of skippers included Nick Rogers (double Olympic silver medallist), Rob Greenhalgh (Volvo and Extreme 40 Skipper), Brian Thompson (Vendee Globe Skipper and multiple record breaker) and Steve White (Vendee Globe Skipper).

In glorious sunshine and fabulous conditions, the final races were started by the Royal Yacht Squadron with much support both on and off the water. Craig Rose sailing with Rob Greenhalgh narrowly beat James Loosemore and Nick Rogers, but by far the biggest measure of success was the smile on all the UKSA sailors who had competed on an ‘even keel’ with the best of them.

As a tribute to this little 20 footer, a UKSA sailor said at the prize giving: When you enter the world of disability, design is generally left behind. You join a world of monochrome and straight lines, of function without form. Thank you again for designing such an extraordinary boat, one of beauty and speed. It’s been a delight to be in a boat that’s both so exciting to sail and so stunning to look at. Too many objects in the world of disability are dull: the Artemis 20 breaks the mould.

Cool Artemis 20 video to check out:www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxiEpDptldc&feature=fvst

A major milestone has recently been reported by Carbon Ocean Yachts, the builder of the Carbon 82, formally known as the Rogers 82.

The final dry fitting of the deck has taken place. Installation and plumbing of water, fuel and waste tanks has been completed as well as the installation of the mechanical and hydraulic systems.

In addition, all major components are now installed in the owner’s suite, both guest cabins and crew quarters. Joinery work has just commenced in the saloon. The project is progressing extremely well and all is on target for an early Autumn 2010 launch.

To follow progress, please log on to: www.carbonoceanyachts.com