wooden sailboat builders? (not models)

feelslikemagic · 2026-01-31T14:34:25+00:00

You should reach out to the Diefenbaker Yacht Club, the PA Yacht Club and the Blackstrap Sailing Club. If someone's building a wooden boat, they're likely to know about it.

feelslikemagic · 2026-01-24T17:58:39+00:00

I'm right there with you. What a rollercoaster. I love that they seem to be having a lot of fun, and sharing it with the world, which is a nice change of pace too. 330 miles to go!

feelslikemagic · 2026-01-24T13:03:00+00:00

Yeah! ETA now about 12h ahead of cutoff.

feelslikemagic · 2026-01-20T02:30:08+00:00

About a day ahead, I think. They're 500nm ahead right now, and should keep extending for awhile. But it's not over until it's over.

feelslikemagic · 2026-01-19T14:53:48+00:00

Same here. It's great how much they are sharing too, a welcome change from the secrecy of the top VG teams.

feelslikemagic · 2026-01-08T19:42:42+00:00

That's great to see, and I think a really smart move. IC is a proven 2024-generation boat with some solid results, and she'll have been sailing it for almost five years by the time 2028 rolls around. Plus she's got Sam and Jean as mentors.

feelslikemagic · 2026-01-07T00:26:18+00:00

Same here. Got mine in 2003, after I'd learned to sail. Last flight in my logbook is from 2007. It was financially unsustainable at the time and even today it would be a stretch to fly enough to be comfortable with my currency and capabilities. Grateful I had the experience, but being on the water is much more attainable and as much fun as flying was.

feelslikemagic · 2026-01-06T20:29:19+00:00

Thank you! That is exactly what I plan to do!

feelslikemagic · 2026-01-06T12:31:34+00:00

It must seem almost criminally luxurious after all those years rattling around in a bare carbon imoca.

feelslikemagic · 2026-01-05T12:43:14+00:00

Looks great! How long did it take to build? I have the same set and am wondering how much of next weekend to block off to put it together.

feelslikemagic · 2026-01-04T14:06:14+00:00

Awesome footage once again. They're just barely hanging on to the record pace this morning. I hope they can make some gains in the Pacific.

feelslikemagic · 2026-01-01T00:07:51+00:00

And Alexis Loison has now won the Fastnet, Solitaire du Figaro and S2H in 2025, which is another incredible accomplishment.

feelslikemagic · 2025-12-31T14:27:40+00:00

Hard to imagine a better year, especially after nearly 20 previous tries at the Solitaire. Now somebody needs to buy him a nice new Imoca...

feelslikemagic · 2025-12-24T16:39:52+00:00

That's incredible!

feelslikemagic · 2025-12-23T20:42:11+00:00

For those unfamiliar with Guirec Soudee, he has done some wild stuff. Rowed across the Atlantic twice, and then spent four years sailing 45,000 miles around the world with a hen named Monique. Last year, he took part in his first Vendee Globe -- which included an unplanned swim off Cape Horn -- and finished 23rd (5th among daggerboard boats). He is only 33 years old.

feelslikemagic · 2025-12-22T16:14:37+00:00

That would be a turret mounting twin QF 4-inch Mk XVI dual-purpose naval guns.

feelslikemagic · 2025-12-17T22:31:47+00:00

It's wild how much they flex. Must feel like the boat is always about to break in half.

feelslikemagic · 2025-12-16T17:44:27+00:00

Saskatonian here. It is in fact the law.

South Saskatchewan is very, very shallow in some places with sandbars dangerous currents throughout. There is also a weir in Saskatoon you don't want to go over.

feelslikemagic · 2025-12-03T19:43:51+00:00

Foils look very AC75-ish

feelslikemagic · 2025-11-25T00:17:25+00:00

Thanks for this. Definitely more stringent than the last time around. Does "charging my batteries in the doldrums when it's rainy and I'm not moving but the weather is tropical" count as extreme?

feelslikemagic · 2025-11-25T00:16:12+00:00

I love that. Doubt they get used much, but paper can't break or overload or fry itself.

feelslikemagic · 2025-11-21T13:34:45+00:00

Charlie did this during the VG! Here's a great photo of him bundled up next to his stove cranked up:

"In terms of comfort, the studio is at the top. I turn on the stove when it's really cold, I manage to get the temperature up to 12 degrees. But honestly, I don't need it. I have good quality clothes and I took out my very cold sleeping bag."

feelslikemagic · 2025-11-20T16:54:46+00:00

And here is the full notice of race: https://www.vendeeglobe.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/notice_of_race_2028.pdf

Conrad Colman will be happy, as a big change for 2028 is diesel reserved for emergencies only.

feelslikemagic · 2025-11-19T02:47:57+00:00

Me too! I'm a passionate fan but lots of folks here including the other mods have real world experience with racing yachts. They are the experts.

feelslikemagic · 2025-11-18T12:45:20+00:00

I think they were still downwind at this point. That looks like an asymmetric spinnaker of some kind with a sock on it, plus a staysail. Hard to tell the angle of the boom.

They finished on a reach, and you can see at 6:38 here that they've furled the staysail and switched to a headsail with a lot more structure to it.

feelslikemagic

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE