vela veloce sailboat

Challenge and Adventure

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Vela Veloce

Richard Oland, Owner of Vela Veloce, Has Died

International Rolex Regatta Squeezes The Most Out Of Paradise

George David’s Rambler 100 Breaks Monohull Race Record In The RORC Caribbean 600

Sorting Out For Some Top IRC Competition In The International Rolex Regatta

Vela Veloce Rolex US – IRC National Champion

Genuine Risk Wins Open Division Newport Bermuda Race 2010

Speedboat Takes Line Honors In Newport Bermuda Race 2010

Speedboat Leads Newport Bermuda Race With 175 Miles To Go

The Fastest Monohull Sailboat In The World

The fastest monohull sailboat in the world is a needle-nosed ocean racer called V.O.60. It was designed by Bruce Farr, and is capable of 36 knots. That's 41.4 mph. This sleek machine is 64 ft. long, just over 17 ft. wide and weighs 30,000 pounds. The mast soars 85 ft. in the air. The bottom of Farr's speedster has a flat after section like a powerboat--the hull lifts out of the water and planes at anything over 17 knots.

To achieve this record-breaking performance, with handling to match, the weight of all equipment is concentrated in the center of the hull for a low polar moment of inertia. Both the hull and deck are as clean as possible for minimum resistance. The keel is a narrow blade sticking down into the water, with a 12,000-pound lead torpedo at the bottom that's contoured to provide lift. The rudder is T-shaped, with its own lifting foil. To help trim the boat against the tilting force of the sails, 13,000 gal. of water can be pumped into three holding tanks in the hull.

The hull is Kevlar cloth set in resin, and the mast, boom and spinnaker pole are carbon fiber. The sails are a woven composite, vacuum-formed under heat and pressure to hold a preset shape. Everything that's not some form of composite is either aluminum or stainless steel. A Volvo Penta MD2030 Diesel generator provides power for extensive electronics, and a Volvo Penta MD22P provides auxiliary power for docking.

Some 35 of these racing boats have been built, comprising an international 1-design class. The premier V.O.60 event is the around-the-world Volvo Ocean Race held every four years. The latest competition started in Southampton, England, on Sept. 23, 2001, and will end in Kiel, Germany, on Sept. 6, 2002. By that time, the crews will have raced 32,700 nautical miles, with stops in Cape Town, Sydney, Hobart, Auckland, Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Baltimore, La Rochelle and Göteborg.

Expensive Racing--Is There Any Other Kind? Racing around the world is not cheap. The eight participating V.O.60s cost $3 million each and are owned by multinational companies including Australian Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., Swedish lockmaker Assa Abloy and German construction company Illbruck. The companies will have spent an impressive $15 million each by the time their boat reaches the finish line.

Each V.O.60 requires a crew of 12 to race it flat-out, day and night. Nearly all crew members are full-time professional sailors, who can earn up to $1500 per day. Most are in their 20s or 30s and look like bodybuilders. Only the helmsmen and tacticians, whose experience is more valuable than bulging biceps, are apt to be older than 40.

Volvo has its own V.O.60, called Volvo Spirit . PR guy Dan McCue was able to secure berths in Volvo Spirit for six U.S. journalists, including me, on the 922-nautical-mile Miami-to-Baltimore leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. We'd be paired with six professional sailors from Sweden who were none too sure what they'd gotten themselves into.

Before we neophyte ocean racers were allowed out, we had to go through two days of sail training with our new crew mates, plus an all-day course in safety and emergency procedures. We were restricted to one small carry-on bag and told not to expect to bathe, shave or change clothes during the trip.

Above decks, Volvo Spirit looks like an oversize dinghy. There are tandem steering wheels, a dozen winches, two grinders and a convex deck fenced by lifelines. When Volvo Spirit buries her nose in a wave, there's nothing to stop the water from flowing smoothly over the boat, sweeping anything not tied down--including careless sailors--over the cut-down transom.

Down below, Volvo Spirit has all the cheerful ambience of a World War II U-boat. There are a half-dozen pipe berths, a token marine toilet jammed against the mast, and a cubbyhole crammed full of computers where the tactician spends his days and nights. The galley consists of a foot-square sink and a single propane-powered burner. Ocean racers live on tasteless freeze-dried food reconstituted with distilled seawater.

Volvo Spirit 's skipper divided the 12 of us into three watches, 3 hours on and 6 hours off. We lined up next to the eight race boats and left the starting line just north of the entrance to the Port of Miami at 1 pm on Sunday, April 14. Amazingly, six of the professional skippers jumped the start and had to turn around and recross the line. We sailed behind the leaders, and ahead of the miscreants, until the group spread out over miles of ocean.

The sailing was magnificent, hour after hour of running before the wind or on a broad reach, pushed along at 14 knots by 20-knot winds. We made only a handful of sail changes in four days. Twice, I was able to steer for a full 3-hour night watch without touching a line, delicately balancing the main and spinnaker, Polaris ahead and Orion behind, providing my only illumination, and 150 miles from the nearest land. It was sublime.

We reached the finish line in Baltimore at 12:04 pm that Thursday, 10 hours behind the leader, News Corp. We'd covered 922 nautical miles in 95 hours. To our delight, the last three competitors entered the harbor while we, having shaved and showered, were eating lunch on the waterfront. The perfect ending.

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Island Windjammers Tall Ship Vela

Ship Specifications

Length: 156 feet Beam: 30 feet Draft: 14 feet Built: 1988 Crew: 10 Capacity: 26

Her name means “sail.” One look, and you’ll be taken back to a time when tall ships ruled the waves. Everything about Vela will light your imagination and inspire a sense of wanderlust. Vela’s snug cabins all feature portholes and private bathrooms. Her teak decks are spacious and inviting with plenty of room to spread out.

Sail Vela and experience the kind of small-ship adventure that fulfills your pirate soul in 21st-century comfort!

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• Rates & Deck Plan
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Rates are PER PERSON, in U.S. funds. Solo cabins are single occupancy. All other cabins are double occupancy.

All-Inclusive Cruise rates include meals, beverages (water, juice, soda, beer, wine, and rum punch), cabin service, port charges and taxes, and complimentary use of snorkel gear for the week. You’re welcome to bring your own spirits on board to mix your favorite drinks.

Payment Terms A non-refundable deposit of $750 pp is required on 6-night sailings, or $1500 pp on premium cabins. Premium class cabins are the Owners' Suite, Topsail, and Compass cabins, and Lyra Suites and Staterooms. The non-refundable deposit on 10 and 12-night sailings are $1500 pp. Balance is due no later than 90 days prior to sailing. Full payment is required if reserving online or within 90 days of sailing. Book online or give us a call Monday through Friday 9 AM to 5 PM EST at 877.772.4549. After hours and weekends leave a voice message and your call will be returned promptly.

Payment may be made with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express. Checks are not accepted.

Here’s a link to our complete  Cruise Terms & Conditions .

Vela accommodates 26 guests in air-conditioned single and double occupancy cabins. All cabins feature portholes, 110v outlets, blow dryers, and shampoo/soap are provided in all cabins.

Cadet Solo Cabins are single occupancy cabins with a twin berth and a compact, all-in-one bathroom.

Standard Cabins feature a wider lower and single upper berth and an all-in-one shower/bathroom.

Deluxe Cabins feature a double lower and single upper berth and a private bathroom with shower.

Staysail Cabins feature a roomy double berth and private bathroom with shower.

Compass Cabins are located in the aft section of the ship. These spacious cabins feature a queen size bed (no upper bunk) and an ensuite bathroom with shower.

A queen size bed and luxury bathroom are the star features of the roomy Topsail Cabin.

The spacious Owner’s Suite boasts a king size bed and large bathroom. There are portholes in both the cabin and the bathroom.

ALWAYS ON ISLAND TIME

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VELA VELOCE , Sail N¡ CAN84248, Owner: Richard Oland, City: Saint John, CAN, Model: Southern Cross, Skipper: Richard Oland , Tactitian: Stu Bannantyne , Helmsman: Richard Clarke , Navigator: Geoff Ewenson , One Design Division: US-IRC

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7 x Racing yacht graphic

This is the collective racing yacht graphic illustration that I did for the past few years - Synergy, Katusha, Ran, Artemis, Al Fresco, Vela Velo Read More

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• katusha racing
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Attribution, Non-commercial, No Derivatives

Algae-monitoring drone sailboat Vela launched in Lake Okeechobee by Harbor Branch

PAHOKEE — A remote-controlled sailboat set sail Tuesday from the Pahokee Marina on a 10-day to two-week mission searching for blue-green algae in the vastness of Lake Okeechobee.

But it promptly ran into a barrier wall protecting the marina.

A crew from Seattle-based Navocean , the boat's maker, and Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, which is overseeing the research, retrieved the boat and made some adjustments.

Soon, it was sailing across the lake's open water again.

"A slight technical difficulty," Jordon Beckler, a Harbor Branch assistant research professor heading the project, said with a grin.

The crew wanted to give the news media a photo opp, Beckler said, and released the boat too close to the wall. Sending navigation signals to the boat via satellite takes a minute or so, time enough for the north wind to push the boat into the wall.

Algae type and intensity

The boat, named "Vela" from the Italian word for "sailing," is equipped to gather data that will help researchers determine the type and intensity of algae in the lake.

When high water in Lake O threatens the dike around it, water is discharged east to the St. Lucie River and west to the Caloosahatchee River. If there's an algae bloom in the lake, the discharges spread it to the river estuaries, where it damages the environment, the economy and people's health.

More: Scientists agree Lake O discharges cause St. Lucie River algae blooms

More: What are Lake O discharges?

Several government agencies already take water samples by hand to test for algae in Lake O, particularly in the hot, wet summer months when blooms are likely.

"Vela" will enable researchers to "put scientific tools where we want them, when we want them and at a lot lower cost" than manually taking samples, Beckler said.

Lord of the Rings

The boat will send data collected from onboard, solar-powered sensors via satellite to a NOAA-certified regional office in the Integrated Ocean Observing System .

The data then will be published online in real-time on the  Gulf AUV Network and Data Archiving Long-term Storage Facility.

The facility's developers must be "Lord of the Rings" fans: That acronym is "GANDALF," as in the wizard Gandalf the Gray.

For its maiden voyage on Lake O, "Vela" will follow a star-shaped course researchers have plotted to cover and crisscross much of the lake's open water.

Researchers also can send "Vela" instructions to change its course if, for example, satellite images indicate a bloom in a section of the lake the boat could investigate.

George Foreman grill

Under wind power, the boat can cross Lake O in about a day, Beckler said.

The autonomous sailboat "can read the wind," said Navocean President and chief designer Scott Duncan . "It's smart enough to tack or do whatever is needed with its sails to get to where we tell it to go."

Beckler compared the boat to a George Foreman grill: "You just set it and forget it."

"Vela" can handle high winds, too. In a test run last weekend in the Banana River section of the Indian River Lagoon , he said, the boat's sensors measured winds up to 54 mph.

The boat draws about 2 feet, 6 inches of water, so it won't be sent into the lake's marshes. The boat's body and sails are bright orange and marked "RESEARCH," so boaters can see it in the open water. 

4ocean support

So far, the boat's longest "mission" has been 16 days, Duncan said. Plans are to slowly keep extending that.

"It won't run out of gas," he said. With sunny weather, "Vela" could stay out as long as six months.

More: See TCPalm's complete coverage of water issues

Harbor Branch is partnering with 4ocean , a global group known primarily for removing trash from the ocean and coastlines, to help fund the project.

The boat, which costs about $75,000, is on loan from Navocean.

SeaPRISM project

Last August, Harbor Branch installed a SeaPRISM on a platform in the middle of Lake O. The sensor developed by NASA can look into the lake every hour and, by the color of the water, determine how much blue-green algae it contains.

More: NASA-made algae monitor installed in Lake O

Real-time data from the SeaPRISM (Photometer Revision for Incident Surface Measurements) is relayed to NASA and available to researchers (and the public) on the agency's Aeronet website within a couple of hours.

One of the boat's tasks on this first mission, Beckler said, will be to sail concentric circles around the SeaPRISM to double-check its data.

Nav 2: By the numbers

• Weight:  85 pounds (plus payloads)
• Length: 6 feet, 6 inches
• Draft:  2 feet, 6 inches
• Rigging:  Mainsail and jib in high visibility fabric
• Speed:  1 to 3 knots (about 1.2 to 3.4 mph)
• Electric drive:  1- to 3-knot boost (about 1.2 to 3.4 mph) 
• Power system:  12 volts from solar panel
• Mission duration:  Up to 6 months
• Cost:  About $75,000 for basic configurations

Walkabout 43: the sailboat for your charter

The Walkabout is the first Walkabout 43, designed by naval architect David Reard and built by our boatyard ; is a boat made for blue water sailing

The very large hull ensures stability and offers a large living space inside and in the cockpit. The hull, inspired by the modern open ocean sail racers, has two rudders and is planing. Under the right conditions, you can reach safely speed up to 15 knots.

Its highlight is the cockpit, which thanks to the width of the hull to the stern is "huge" and it gives ample space to the crew and to who is sitting relaxed in the shade, sheltered by the canopy and bimini.

The interior is composed of 3 double cabins with two bathrooms, a very large dinette and living space, with a very ample kitchen.

Come and experience the excitement of a cruise with a fast offshore sailing boat

The walkabout is a modern sailing boat designed and built for ocean sailing, which combines excellent performance with plenty of space and an excellent comfort and safety for offshore sailing..

John John Florence and Crew Set Sail on 2,500-Mile Expedition in New Docuseries, ‘VELA’

Rumors of John John Florence’s fascination with sailing have not been greatly exaggerated. If anything, it seems like they’re understated.

Case in point: Florence sails foil boats. And racing boats.

“Sailing in general for me has opened my mind up to a whole different world,” says John John Florence in his brand new project, VELA , which documents his expedition to the Palmyra Atoll in the Line Islands after getting injured last year.

“I’m super thankful to have met so many awesome people in the sailing world,” says Florence. “When I go on these big race boats, I’m a beginner, and I’m trying to learn everything and I’m so excited, and I can come back to surfing and look at it with a totally different mindset. With a different framework.”

The best tend to get inspired by adjacent, sometimes unrelated influences, and it seems that sailing has played a critical role in expanding John John Florence’s approach to surfing.

“I love surfing and competing, and that’s where I put the majority of my time, but getting injured this year kinda gave me that silver lining to go sailing and do this dream trip I’ve been wanting to do. I just wanted to do an open ocean trip and go somewhere that none of us had been. I was pretty nervous about a trip this big.”

“What Nainoa (Thompson) and the Hokule’a team has done to explore and sail around the world navigating off their knowledge of the ocean, their knowledge of the stars has shown me how knowledge can be freedom.”

Florence and his crew, consisting of Kona Johnson, Nathan Florence, Jacques Vincent, and Eric Knutson, are committed to finding out for themselves. We’re excited to watch the journey unfold.

Episode one is above, and episode two is below. Enjoy.

Only the best. We promise.

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VX Evo Complete Sailboat

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• Description

The VX Evo is a fresh concept in big dinghies. Designed by the VX design team specifically for larger sailors (or teams of 2 smaller sailors) wanting a simple, yet technical race-boat, optimized for performance, handling, and ergonomics whether upwind, or downwind under a balanced Asymmetric sail plan. No other performance dinghy will provide the feel , control and sailing experience of the Evo.

• LOA = 15'8"
• LWL = 18.83′/5.74m
• Sail area #1 = 110 SF
• Sail area #2 = 100 SF
• Sail area #3 = 90 SF
• Gennaker = 120 SF
• Displacement = 180 lbs.

• Utilizing laminates of Carbon, E glass and PVC cores together with advanced epoxy resins the Evo is a tough yet light platform and should provide many years of racing performance.
• The kick up rudder and dagger-board configuration was chosen for launching in any location. Top quality hardware by Harken and Allen Brothers and race cordage by Marlow giving you years of quality performance on the race course
• The CST rig is all carbon and tuned to three mainsail plans, then controlled when off the wind with a calibrated shroud only system to provide Gennaker support without compromising the easiest of high-speed Jibes.
• The Evo will offer not just strict One-design racing but also a platform for any “crew’d big boat sailor” wishing to master apparent wind sailing with independence from his regular team. Sail any time you want from ramp or beach.
• Complete Boat - Ready to Race.
• CST Carbon Rig Package, Harken and Allen Hardware.
• Marlow Race Cordage.
• Carbon Rudder and Daggerboard / Sea Sure Rudder Stock.

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Sneak peak of the new VX EVO prototype being put through her ...

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