MotR: Clodia, Giacomo & Co. Cross the Channel

Clodia in Ramsgate prior to the crossing

Giacomo sailing out

crew Bruno rowing out of Ramsgate

Giacomo amidst the Channel









video and all photos courtesy Man on the River/Giacomo De Stefano

Our Man is back on the River, rather, this time on the sea. After a hiatus from his ambitious project, Giacomo De Stefano has triumphantly resumed his adventure after a bout with a rare and potentially deadly virus. High congratulations are in order. Giacomo and his crew Bruno Porto successfuly navigated the English channel in about 9 hours, sailing from Ramsgate Uk to Gravelines France aboard their 19' Ian Oughtred designed Ness Yawl, Clodia.

Here is Giacomo's report of the crossing:

"We did it!

Crossing the English Channel is something special:
To make it real we had to rely on many friends and on our best commitment and effort. Not to mention lots of luck.
I thought to all those people who lost their lives in these cold and troubled waters, even in the best weather conditions as we were so fortunate fo find yesterday.
Streams, sea beds,shallows, big ferries and commercial ships: A lot to worry about for a nutshell like Clodia.

We could never have done it without the help of Chalky, a sailor friend, who escorted us all the way from Ramsgate to Gravelines.

A support boat is required by maritime regulations to cross the Channel for a small boat, engine free, like our Ness Yawl.

This is the report of our day: We leave from Ramsgate at 6 o’clock after a rainy night that didn’t seem like a good omen. Chalky already offered us a good coffee.

We get out of the harbour by rowing, under a bright sun: In the meantime Paolo is filming us from the top of the pier.

To cross the shipping lanes at 90°, Chalky asks to tow us, because the wind is contrary and he wants to get to Gravelines before 4.30 p.m. for the high tide. We can’t turn his offer down, even if it doesn’t stick to our values: We could have easily made it without any help, but not following the regulamentary 90°.

We need to get out quickly from the routes of the big ships, that need many miles to stop, so we accept to get towed for what is strictly needed.

When the shipping lanes are at our back, the wind calms down. The green power of Bruno comes very handy and we row for a couple of nautical miles: Then, when we have to cope with an opposite stream of nearly 2.5 knot (faster than us!), the wind comes to our help at about 12-16 knot, keeping constant for the following hours.

We can now swiftly sail for hours: The day is beautiful and Clodia doesn’t seem to care much about the sea, running fast toward the French coast.
The last 12 miles are fantastic: We literally fly over the waves caused by streams and shallows, and by a stronger wind, reaching 6.3 knot speed.

We enter the canal of Grand Fort Philippe al 4 p.m. local time, after 9 hours and 35 nautical miles of navigation from Ramsgate. A little thrill: The gaff jumps over the peak of the mast, hit by a naughty wave. I quickly turn down the mainsail and leave the rope, avoiding any further trouble. Everything goes well, but it could have been very dangerous.

The access to the channel leading to Gravelines is a bit difficult, but we enter quite well, then we sail for the last 3 miles and dock in the wonderful Marine. Fantastic!

Gravelines welcomes us with all its peace and beauty. The fortress of Vauban is very nice.
We also discovered a 57 metres vessel, replica of the 18th century original, under construction: Impressive! Here you can find more info.

Thanks to all of you for support and help, we felt your presence every time. We dedicate a special thought to Roland, Silvio and Jacopo that should have been aboard with us.
Shortly, we’ll set sails to Saint Omer. A big hug.

Giacomo and Bruno"

You'll find map of the crossing, more on the project, and full documentation with a link to the project Flickr site at Man on the River.

See previous posts on the adventure here.

Giacomo, it's lovely to see your triumphant return, welcome back and my deepest congratulations on the successful crossing!

thomas

Chris Kulczycki, Chesapeake Light Craft and Velo ORANGE: Boats and Bikes part two.

Chris and son Alec out in a folding kayak recently

Chesapeake Light Craft

Chris' first CLC boat, built in his garage.

A host of CLC demo boats

An early CLC kayak kit

Showroom and warehouse at the CLC under Chris' tenure

Mill Creek kayak with a reef in

John's Sharpie

Chris at the CLC showroom last weekend

Velo ORANGE

Most cyclists don't race, yet they ride uncomfortable racing bikes and try to go too fast and so miss much of the world around them. Our emphasis is on a more relaxed and comfortable style of riding, and on refined bikes that are comfortable on a century ride, an inn-to-inn tour, or even on a ramble down your favorite dirt road.

For many years some of the wonderful parts and accessories once produced by small firms in Europe for the cyclo-tourist and randonneur have been unavailable, or outrageously expensive. So I started Velo Orange to find and sell these remaining items, and to produce those that were no longer available.

Happy riding,
Chris
Founder & President (from the introduction to the Velo ORANGE website)

Chris with his VO Passhunter. VO no longer offers this frame design. It was a custom design and Chris is no longer offering custom designs, due to the great amount of time it takes. It's my impression, however, that his production frames at least approach the quality of a custom or equal it. See here an early post from Chris on Pass Hunting
and here the consideration for such a bike, which was eventually acted on.

VO Gentleman's bike,VO showroom as backdrop. This was also a custom bike, not available at present.
VO is currently offering very high quality production frames, and build kits of components to kit them out with matching gear.

The 'Gentleman's Bike' aka 'The City Bike'

The first VO Randonneur outfitted with the very best classic French components

Blue Randonneuse



Chris' favorite bike is this Passhunter. Nice color.

VO randonneur front rack, quite handsome. Note the small red oval on the rim indicating Super Champion rims.

An array of quill stems, I am particularly interested in the center one

Fender production at the renowned Honjo in Japan. VO offers Honjo fenders as well as their own.

Chris Kulczycki is another rather interesting figure involved very deeply in both bikes and boats. Formerly an engineer, his genius is entrepreneurial. He has created out of whole cloth two rather successful companies, Chesapeake Light Craft, a supplier of wooden boat kits for homebuilders, and his latest venture, Velo Orange, a supplier of bicycle frames and components inspired by the glory days of the French Constructeur.

Chris steered CLC for ten years, I think from 1989 to 1999 when he passed off the business to his first mate, John Harris.

I have been aware of Chesapeake Light Craft for decades and met John C Harris, the current owner, last summer at the WoodenBoat show at Mystic Seaport, and had been trying to find the time to get to Annapolis for an interview and some photos.

Completely unrelated to that, I have recently been building a bicycle from the ground up. While doing research to find components for my new bike, I ran across Velo ORANGE and was pleasantly surprised to find them offering just the kind of components and accessories I needed to kit out my bicycle in the way I envisioned, and at reasonable prices. I was delighted and have already purchased a crankset and other items from VO. I am even more delighted to learn that the owner and creator of VO is also the originator of CLC! A flurry of emails ensued, culminating in this interview:

What was the genesis of CLC, how and why did that happen?

CLC was an accidental company. I was working in civil engineering, but had been moonlighting as a freelance writer for various boating and woodworking magazines. I wrote an article for Sea Kayaker Magazine about a kayak I'd designed and built for myself. And I offered plans for sale, thinking I might sell a dozen or so. The weekend the issue came out I was crewing on sailboat going from Chesapeake Bay to New England. I called my wife when we arrived and she said that 11 orders for plans arrived over the four days we were sailing. Maybe there was a real business in this?

A friend who had recently opened a small marine woodworking business in Annapolis offered to make kits for the kayaks. We outgrew his shop in 6 months. Another acquaintance had a larger shop and we outgrew that shop in about as many months.

John Harris, who had worked at that second shop, suggested that I hire him and simply open my own manufacturing facility. So I did. CLC grew and grew. Soon my wife quit her job to join the company and we hired several more employees.

Why the transition to Velo?

I sold CLC and we retired for about six years. I was, frankly, burned out. We traveled, sailed, cycle-toured and enjoyed time spent with our young son. Eventually I got a bit bored and decided to start a little company to sell some of the cycling components and accessories I liked, but were very hard to find in the USA. The plan was to have a little part-time business. I guess I got carried away because now, 5 year later, we have hundreds of our own products and sell to over 400 shops and custom builders in a dozen countries, as well as through our own e-store. We've outgrown our offices and warehouse twice and today have a staff of 11.

Any inspiration from Rivendell?

Not really. I knew that Rivendell existed and even considered getting a Riv frame once. But the fancy lugs, two-tone paint, tweedy aesthetic are just not my style. Most of the bikes I've owned have been French, or French-inspired like my Ebisu. So that's the sort of bikes I was drawn to. The French custom builders, or constructeurs, developed the most comfortable and advanced randonneuring and light-touring bikes of all time, and that's what inspires VO

Are you still sailing, paddling, riding?

We sold our big boat a few years ago, though we still have a Dyer “Daysailer.” I only go paddling occasionally. I often enjoy cycling, particularly long leisurely rides in the countryside. And I'm flailing away at becoming a competent longboard surfer.

Your business trajectory brings to mind Yvon Chouinard. Any influence there?

My main sport from the age of 16 into my late 20s was climbing, rock, big wall, ice, alpine. So I first heard of Yvon as a climber, even met him a couple of times. I also used his pitons, nuts, ice axes, and other climbing gear. Even today at least half the clothes in my closet have Patagonia labels. So, yes, I've followed Great Pacific Iron Works and Patagonia for decades and been greatly influenced by them.

What are your feelings on the current CLC?

I like what they are doing. John Harris, the current owner, was the shop manager at CLC since the very beginning. He is a skilled builder, but more importantly a supremely talented designer. I like his new boats a lot and drop by the CLC shop every few weeks to see what's new.

Whats next?

After two companies (three if you count VO Imports, our wholesale distribution company) I'd like to share some of the lessons I've learned with entrepreneurs in emerging economies. An organization like SCORE, but in developing countries, might be of use.

I really enjoy building companies and developing products, but running the day-to-day operations of a company is not something I find exciting. So I'll eventually look into selling or merging VO with a bigger company. But for now we are still growing and having fun.

Orange seems very clean, spare and direct (to the point). How'd it get that way?

That is simply the style that we like. Our web designer, Kyle, deserves most of the credit for translating our desire for a simple, but elegant, aesthetic into HTML.

Do you randonnuer?

No, at least not in organized events. A few years ago we went touring in France and we realized that we most enjoyed riding no more than 50 miles or so a day. And we like to stop for a long lunch at a nice restaurant, and visit some of the art shops and harbors and vineyards we pass. It's probably a sign of impending old age. So I stopped doing organized rides, save for the occasional local charity event.

What do you ride, sail, paddle?

I most often ride a custom VO Pass Hunter built by Ahren Rodgers, though I also have access to various VO prototype and production bikes. As for sailing, we have the Dyer “Daysailer”, but are considering buying another cruising boat. We also enjoy our two Klepper folding kayaks.

What did you learn during the CLC years that carried over to Velo Orange?

We learned that it was crucial to communicate with our customers and to be sure that information flows both ways. We learn a lot from the folks who use our products, often making improvements and developing new products based on their suggestions and observations. At VO this has become very easy with the blog.

Another valuable lesson is to hire the best employees; try to hire people that are smarter and more talented than you are.

And we learned to continually improve our products. It drives the factories that make our components batty, but almost every production run has some tiny improvement.

Whats your take on the symbiosis between cycling and sailing?

I'm not sure I know, but here are two observations. First, traveling relatively slowly in a pleasant environment is what I most enjoy, be it in a boat, on cross-country skis, on a bike, or on foot. That is the way that the countryside or the ocean are best appreciated.

A special part of cycling is the rhythmic effort, not only pedals spinning, but enjoying how your effort is in tune with the terrain. It's also low-stress exercise that, with time, becomes almost like meditation. Cross country skiing and sliding-seat rowing are the only other sports where I experience this as fully. Sailing also has a certain rhythm, but it's quite different.

VO and especially Grand Cru, and the CLC boats belie a sensitive, developed aesthetic. Where did that come from?

It's important to study the masters that came before you. Study the best effort of great boat designers or bicycle designers and try to incorporate the lessons you learn. I don't mean copying technical details, but rather trying to emulate the beauty in their designs. I've long believed that, all else being equal, the prettier boat will sail better. Perhaps it's only because her crew appreciates her and tries harder. A similar lesson probably applies to bicycles.

At CLC and at VO we spend a lot of time, an awful lot of time, considering not only if something works as it should, but also if it looks right.

Thanks to Chris for this interview:

Pertinent websites are:

Chesapeake Light Craft

Velo ORANGE

and Chris' Blog and Tweets @ Velo ORANGE

and a generous offering of photos via PicasaWeb



Stay tuned for an interview with John C Harris.

Guilty Pleasures/Books

Cover, Sennen crabbers picking up moorings in 'Pol-an-da' , the anchorage of Sennen Cove, from a painting by Allan J Hook 91853-c 1895) (Courtesy the Royal
Exchange Art Gallery).

Frontspiece: Scottish fishing craft off
Great Yarmouth (NMM, neg no P75443)

The Maldon smack Joseph T MN9

Sheringham crabbers

The lines, construction drawings and sail plan of the Sheringham crab boat Star of Peace.



all material courtesy Seaforth Publishing

I must confess to a penchant for buying many books, especially on the history of working craft and small boats. Sometimes they are bargains, sometimes they exceed my budget. One of my favorites in the last year was Twice Around the Loggerhead, a beautifully produced volume on the whaleboats of the Azores, with Lance Lee and Yvon LeCorre, among others (available in my bokstore). This new (to me) book, Inshore Craft, just arrived from Canada, and it's a treat. Not unlike Edgar March's two volume set on the same subject, but with a more recent feel, more photos and line drawings. Very coherent headings and subheadings break it down into easily understood categories. Instructive and a delight, the book is the work of a real collective of British scholars. I only recently became aware of it and I have the impression that it's a bit obscure, though I think WoodenBoat did offer it. Still in print, I think. It's also large format, hence my inability to capture it all with my scanner. I'd love to hear from readers who also make purchases of interesting books beyond their budget.

Nomadness, an interview with Steven K Roberts: Boats and Bikes part one.

Steven K Roberts

S/V Nomadness somewhere in Washington state.

S/V Nomadness

Pilothouse/control center

Not all of the on-board systems are electronic

This ER grade medical kit is the latest offering from Nomadic Research Labs. Steve is here addressing a perceived need.

Land based mobile laboratory. This is in the process of moving aboard.

Microship, in all her solar panel glory

Wordplay, predecessor to Microship

Steve's biotelemetrick helmet for his bike journeys, which included a head operated mouse.

BEHEMOTH

Here is BEHEMOTH's new display in the Computer History Museum - it's part of the permanent exhibit that just opened this month: “Revolution: the first 2000 Years of Computing." I'm working on the combined book of my three bike epochs, and this might be the wrap-up image... it's a fitting long-term home for this machine that took me 17,000 miles. (Thanks to the museum for the photo!)

Many hobbyists used the newly introduced microprocessor to create their own personal computers. Steve Roberts’ microcomputer used the Intel 8008 chip. Roberts was known later for BEHEMOTH, a bicycle that was a portable computing platform.
1974-10-31 © Mark Richards

all photos courtesy Steven K Roberts unless otherwise noted

To say Steve Roberts is interesting is inadequate, he is astonishing. Steve first came to notice and notoriety during his 11 year sojourn across America aboard his computerized recumbent bicycles, pioneering a nomadic lifestyle. Sort of a modern day John Steinbeck traveling the countryside but also working as a technical writer and consultant, making a living while moving around the country aboard an innovative and outlandish series of sophisticated contraptions. Steve increasingly adapted his vehicular home with more and more technological innovations which eventually led to the establishing of his Nomadic Research Labs. Like many nomads, ancient and modern, Steve Roberts eventually heard the call of the sea and has been working toward transitioning his entire enterprise to a floating home and laboratory. There is a personal connection here. Steve grew up in suburban Louisville near my own homeplace. A close friend of his, Dave Wright has long been a friend of my brother, Rand Armstrong. Rand had met Steve during a visit to Dave on the west Coast and hearing about that I recalled reading about Steve , I think in a Whole Earth publication. I recently interviewed Steve by phone and email to get a check on his trajectory and recent activities. There are tons of information on Steve's websites and blogs to allow you to fill in the blanks in my overview. Steve is what I'd have to name a geek encrusted visionary renaissance man.

Here's the interview:

What is the significance of Homebrew? I have partially answered that question with the entry from the computer museum, but if you'd care to elaborate on that, please do.

I think that I recall from the phonecall that you're referring to my 8008 system (1974) not more recent homebrew projects. It was very early in the game and I was a lone wolf-geek and I didn't make any attempt to market it. In retrospect...Oh well.

How's the book doing?

Which one? The most recent is Reaching Escape Velocity, which folks really seem to enjoy...though it is a somewhat specialized market (people who want to create insanely audacious markets and need to leverage sponsors, media and teams of volunteers...sort of a Martial Arts Geek Expressionism). My better known book, Computing Across America, is in the process of being edited and folded into a large combined volume that includes it's unpublished sequel as well as a host of gizmological goodies (especially about BEHEMOTH)

Why the transition to sea?

Ah so many reasons. Freedom, self sufficiency, the noise of the road, open space, global range...and new conceptual territory. My Microship project was a direct human scale spin-off of BEHEMOTH and it kept evolving over a decade until I had to admit that I needed something bigger than a pedal /solar/sail micro trimaran.


I hope someone needs one, however. It's sitting here in my lab. Know any technomadlings with a yen for adventure and (access to) Deep Pockets?

Any cruises on the horizon? Would you say sail out to the Marshall's and spend a year or two? What areas interest you?

Initially my own waters; so far I've single-handed my previous boat (Corsair 36 tri) up to Desolation Sound, and the aboard Amazon 44' explored Puget Sound, San Juans and Gulf Islands with my ex. Now it's time to head further north...the boat can take it...and is perfect for this environment. Steel hull, stout rig, wood stove and lots of self sufficiency tools.

Anyway, once I've had some larger adventure on this coast, it will be a natural thing to head out the Strait and turn left. South Pacific, Aus/NZ and Europe including Scandinavia are all inviting.

Are you completely transitioned or or you still somewhat land based?

About 50/50 now, with the boat gradually becoming home. The weekly forays to the home base facilities gives me the space for business, working and spending time with my partner, and tonnage reduction...and boat projects are warming up with the weather and the completion of my mobile lab (now parked inside a building, about 2 blocks from Nomadness)


What is the next product project?

We've just started producing a much-needed line of "Expedition Medical Chests," with ER grade supplies in gasketed Lexan cases. See here.

I'm also starting a publication series ("design packages") that document various interesting boat projects, and not just geeky ones. All are detailed enough to serve as a full how-to, though of course boat contexts differ widely and they're probably more likely to be used as resources more than blueprints. Still, having a working system in hand is hugely helpful. Some will have associated kits.

You are consulting a bit, what is the nature of your consulting?

A very common problem in industry is a lack of writing skills...some amazing engineering comes with such unreadable documentation (or none) that companies stay busy with more hand holding than is necessary. I'm on the other side of this now, in fact.

Something I've been doing freelancer for about 30 years is acting as a translator...it's unglamorous but really necessary. It's also kind of fun, giving me a short but intense learning curve.

I'd like a statement of the big picture from you, what's this all about? I mean a lot of that is self evident from your material, but what's the vision, where are you going?

Well, I usually just quip, "It's fun", since that's such a big question. A somewhat more precise answer is that I find the most rewarding lifestyle to be one that incorporates all my passions into a self-sufficient enterprise...not with any emphasis on business, but with that as a sort of automatic nickel generating component that burbles along in the wake of whatever I find most interesting.

What I find interesting at the moment is a layer of intelligence on the boat that provides a deep situation awareness (both ship internals and the outside world). This should not be misunderstood as a complicated system that will lead to even more breakdowns, I would never trust a microprocessor to turn on my nav lights. But a toolset that allows me to observe trends, do failure analysis, and otherwise overlay a sort of industrial-control environment onto the boat...now that's fun stuff. It also creates a system context into which it is easy to integrate other things of interest: a piano studio, 3D printing capability for parts creation, video production, efficient power management, robust communication tools and so on.

Why a sailboat? A tug like Stewart Brand's might be easier to negotiate, what's the allure, statement made/goal. Non petroleum?

Heh...years ago when I did the Phil Donahue show, he asked me, "Why not a Harley?"

I'm not a purist, though of course the ability to move with a minimum of expensive fuel is increasingly worthwhile. A lot of it is just my personal sense of aesthetics, though I do sigh with envy at the space inside some trawlers. Really it goes back to my general desire to blend passions: interesting stuff happens at the boundaries between specialties, and if those a seemingly divergent (sailing vs distributed control networks...or bicycling vs on-board computers back in the '80s) then it's intrinsically entertaining and door opening.

I look forward to being the only guy in the anchorage who can crank out a toner-transfer printed circuit board or a custom 3D printed plastic part. Geek pleasures, mixed with the languid pace of the traditional nautical life and the time-honored practice of barter.

Personals/Dave Wright/College or self taught/How did you get here?

Self taught, which is really just another way to say that passion is a much stronger motivator than fear of tests. I've spent my life doing whatever is most interesting, and that automatically causes education. The more I learn the more I find things I would like to know...and the more I am attracted to people who have related and highly varied expertise (that's why I've always found Dave Wright so interesting). I used to have a vague sense that I had missed something by skipping out of engineering school, especially with the obvious holes in my education...but I got over that when I spent a couple of years teaching a senior projects course at a large university. I was glad not to have been defined by such an environment, though of course some folks can just extract the good bits and not be damaged by the process.

Being self employed is not easy, though-I have terrible work habits and only get away with it because my interests keep me moving in the same general direction for a long time. Sometimes interesting things emerge.

Please add anything I may have overlooked or that you feel is relevant.

The biggest challenge is that my fantasies of what can be done keep on evolving faster than my abilities to actually build the stuff...and that can be deadly. Dave once said, "You're staggered by your own imagination". That sounds like a compliment but it's actually a rather accurate assessment...I need to freeze a specification and get 'er done. Recently I've been getting a little better at that, since I am annoyingly aware of being finite. The average completion time of a homebuilt boat is 137 years, and even though my boat is already "built", it's easy to see how projects can just never end. Here there be dragons...you see them all the time in the marinas.

Good project management skills help with this, keeping focus on what I call CDT's (Clearly Defined Tasks). When working on the boat, I try not to get lost in blue sky brainstorming, or the next version will seduce me long before the current one is done enough to enjoy.

You can access far more of Steve's technomadic brilliance at these sites:

Nomadic Research Labs

Nomadness weblog

Behemoth

Store

And others pursuing a technomadic lifestyle here.

Luke Shingledecker test sails the new Farr 400 One Design

Luke Shingledecker - FYD Senior Naval Architect

Last week, I headed to Dubai with Bill O’Malley (of Farr Yacht Sales) to visit Premier Composites Technologies and sail the very first Farr 400. FYD was responsible for both the design and engineering on this project, working closely with Premier to sort out all the details. This was our first chance to find out whether we had met our goal – to produce an exciting new one design in the 40 foot range that is fast, fun to sail, and with broad appeal to sailors well into the future. I had been anticipating this trip for a while - we have been working on this project since last summer. The program for the week was quite full, including launching, measurement, and some local racing in Dubai. We also spent time working on the details of the Farr 400 class rules.

The Farr 400 incorporates lots of unique elements, especially for an offshore-capable one-design. As expected, a couple of these features make a strong impression. The bow is full and powerful – a shape designed to emulate a longer boat and promote fast, bow-up downwind sailing. The deck configuration is a clean flush-deck style, but the boat has plenty of volume down below to allow easy movement through the interior. The boat presents a bold, modern appearance.

The asymmetric halyard layout allows all pit functions to be lead aft to the pedestal-driven primary winches. This is a central part of sailing the boat, as it allows for easier spinnaker hoists and gybes. The layout also includes a sliding foredeck hatch with a pedestal-driven spinnaker takedown system. I believe these features, which have been borrowed from TP52’s and other grand prix classes, will prove to be highly desirable as sailors become familiar with them. Some observers might initially have the impression that they add to the boat’s complexity, but once understood, it should become clear they allow the boat to execute quicker boat handling maneuvers without requiring exceptional strength or rare crew skill. I definitely think this style of layout is more fun to sail, and points to the future for racing boats in this size range.

After the first several days of sailing, I can report that the boat performs very well. Sailing upwind, the boat responds easily in light winds but feels very powerful in stronger breeze, producing impressive speed and great pointing height. Downwind, the boat gets up and takes off, even in surprisingly light conditions. The boat is very responsive to sail trim and crew position.

Premier Composites has done a great job building a beautiful boat and they have included lots of functional and attractive details. Southern Spars has engineered a stiff, user-friendly rig with carbon standing rigging and spreaders.

I am very pleased with the boat and everyone at the sea trials felt it has all the necessary elements to be a great ride and successful project. When we left Dubai, there were 10 confirmed orders with at least one outstanding contract and a growing list of serious inquiries. Interest in the class has been strong and continues to grow, and Premier is working to ramp up production to 2 boats per month. I think this design meets its mission and goals, and I believe that anyone who is interested in performance one-designs should take a close look.

Raz de Sein

© University of Washington Libraries

Raz de Sein and the three lighthouses

courtesy
Amoureux de la Bretagne

courtesy John Ushant

courtesy Jean Guichard via Pulgatorio de Tevennec

Ar-men Lighthouse

Courtesy Purgatario de Tevennec

Caprice FLOTS
In 2601
AD 184855
troller built in 1966 in Douarnenez
Site Jean Marie Tanguy
Skippper: Paul Milliner - Ile de Sein
main features;length:6.87 m Width: m GRT: 5.41 tx engine: 41 hp MWM
Incorporated by Eric Losq Plogoff, it was then registered in district of Douarnenez. He is now finishing his life quietly in the cemetery of boats Locquéran
in the port of Breast with Vagabond Islands (photo G) and with Hope in God (photo D)
the bar in the Raz

courtesy Audiernnes les Dundees

cyclone: CYCLONE
In 2666
Ad 279097
potters / long liner / shell built in 1970 to Freight
Construction Stipon
Skipper: Follic François (François Cyclone) - Ile de Sein
main features; length: 9 mwidth: 3.58 m GRT: 7.97 tx engine: 90 hp Baudouin
During a campaign Jacques scallops in the harbor of Brest, "Cyclone" hook a former anchor in the middle of the pool shell and sink. It will then be salvaged and sold to La Rochelle.
Follic Francois (Francois said cyclone, named after his old boat) has long been the patron of the "City of Paris" SNSM the canoe from the island of Sein
the bar in the "Trouziard" also said the Torpedo channel (Raz de Sein in the Old)
A Breast is not only a tradition to name the boat to his boss, it's almost a necessity as many surnames are identical (Spinec, Guilcher, Follic, Milliner, Fouquet ...). Jos Fouquet told me that at one point there were 17 Joseph Fouquet on the island ...
After the accident in the harbor of Brest, "Cyclone" will turn to the districts of Saint Brieuc and then Sables d 'Olonne under the name "Candy" and then to La Rochelle in 2005 still under the same namPhoto taken shortly after the accident at the port entrance channel. The boat was towed to the level of ASM to clear the password input port where it presented a danger

courtesy Audiernnes les Dundees

Cyclone fishing in the Raz. Note the birds. This is how the fishermen hand or longlining for sea bass know where to go.

courtesy Audiernnes les Dundees

Tevennec lighthouse is located at the tip of Raz in Brittany. The transition from the tip of the island Raz de Sein, presents enormous difficulties and dangers, in part to the destructive force of the water.
Crossing these waters at night is suicide .

Courtesy Purgatario de Tevennec

The French Raz de Sein translates literally in English as 'storm within'. How apt. It's a treacherous, infamous stretch of water at the confluence of at least two opposing currents off the coast of Brittany that can be a nightmare for mariners. It's also been and is a favorite for adventurous and hardy fishermen attracted to the bountiful sea life there. Sea bass is the draw, apparently sustainably harvested, at least recently. The contemporary practice of fishing in this fabled area is written about in Maritme Life # 34, a sadly defunct publication which was a joint effort between WoodenBoat and Chasse Maree.
here's what Wikipedia has to say about the Raz de Sein:

"The Raz de Sein is a stretch of water located between the Isle of Sein and the Pointe du Raz, in Finistère, in the Brittany region of France.

This tidal water is an essential passage for vessels wishing to pass between the Atlantic and the English Channel because further west, at high tide, the Isle of Sein and its embankment stretch for more than thirty miles.

This is a very dangerous zone for navigation, due to the violent sea currents from the tides (up to six knots during the spring tides). The current causes the sea to rise quickly, and it is recommended that heavy vessels should only attempt to cross this strait at still water during calmer conditions.

The Raz de Sein is bounded by the La Vieille and Petite Vieille lighthouses, and by the shoreline of the île de Sein.

Maritime disasters:

On May 26, 2006, Édouard Michelin died while fishing for sea bass on his ship Liberté. The skipper of the boat, Guillaume Normant, also lost his life in the accident. The boat was found two days later with no apparent damage, roughly 15 km from the Île de Sein."

And Yachting Monthly had this as an introduction to the video below:

"Off the NW tip of Brittany lies the Raz de Sein. Few other stretches of water have such a fearsome reputation: the tide can rip through at 6 knots at Springs, and when an Atlantic storm hits, the result is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Pity the lighthouse keepers of old. The Ar-Men lighthouse, the most westerly of those marking the shoals around the Île de Sein, was nicknamed the 'Hell of Hells' by its former keepers. Closer inshore, the square tower of La Vieille lighthouse was the second last in France to be automated, due to the protests of the live-in keepers. It took until 1995 for the light to be automated and the keepers to depart."

kayak extrem dans le raz de sein by wavestar