2004: How did it all go?


The news from the 2004 ICCC was as follows

The boat was finished and shown to the pubic before being shipped to Rhode Island via New York. The delays in build meant that testing in the UK did not happen.

Once in the US the boat was held in customs for just under a week, finally arriving at Bristol YC (Rhode Island) the day before the 1st race.

The boat was then rigged and launched and the first test sail took place along side the Australian "Ronstan". The omens were mixed, with the Aussies having a severe breakage, however Invictus sailed superbly in 12-15kts of wind. There were teething problems with some of the controls and changes were made.

The next day saw the races begin. Team Invictus had been attempting to secure insurance for some time, and by the start had not secured this with the result that the first race was thrown as insurance is a pre-requisite for competing.

The first race was held in light winds and heavy rain. The US boats led the way in a pattern that was to continue for the rest of the series.

The heavy rain proved more of a problem for the Aussies who were un-accustomed to such weather (coming from Perth). The Wingsail (which had been repaired) was constructed from a honeycomb sandwich structure, and the face skins were so thin that they were pourous, the result was that each cell in the honey comb filled up and the boat took on an estimated extra 80kg of water. The water was very difficult to remove, and the boats designer spent a long time that evening and the next day sucking the water out with a borrowed vacuum cleaner. The result was that they missed the second race.


Invictus secured insurance from Bristol YC and took part in the second race. The light winds meant that the race ran over the allotted 2hr max, however the race commitee decided that this rule should be waived as the weather pattern looked set to stay and the completion of the series was in doubt otherwise.
The following races saw the US boats consistently pulling away from Ronstan and Invictus. Invictus was showing the results of lack of pre-development, and many long hours were spent in the tent fixing minor breakages during races and upgrading controls etc to increase boat speed.

The US boats won the fleet series, so the grand final was between Cogito and Patient Lady VI. The "Petit" final was between Invictus and Ronstan.

Ronstan won the first 2 days sailing in the typically light 5kts of wind, however the wind picked up the next day to 10-12 kts and suddenly the tables were turned, Invictus took 2 races from the Aussies and it looked like the prospect of an exciting end to the series was in the offing.

Unfortunately this was not to happen. The next morning all was to play for, the boat was being prepared and no stone left un-turned in the search for speed. The boat was capsized in the carpark ready for rigging in the usual way. A moments lapse of concentration and the wind caught the boat bringing it crashing down onto the launching trolley and made a hole in the hull at the stbd main beam area (the highest loaded part of the hulls) and Team Invictus, unable to repair it, were forced to concede defeat.

The Aussies felt bad that they had to beat us in this way, but thats life. The experience of taking part could not have been bought any other way, and for any team entering such a high level of competition, a single challenge is a waste of time. This is why Team Invictus are forging ahead with the lessons from 2004 for a new challenge in 2007.

The ICCC showed that there are still many out there who support these superlative craft, if anyone doubts the capabilities of a boat like Cogito, they should take a trip to Rhode Island where Steve Clark will gladly show them his amazing boat.

The future looks bright following the 2004 event, many people attended and press interest was high. One team has come forward with a new challenge, and a New Zealand Americas Cup team have stated that following the 2007 Valencia cup, they will be looking toward the C class as the next challenge.

Following the 2004 ICCC the C class association secretary position was taken over by Steve Clark. The competition rules remain unchanged from 2004, however one change was made to the C class rule, allowing twin trapezes. Independance from the ICCT trustees allows the C class association to control the class AND the event, and this should be good for both.

At the meeting it was also agreed that the event should not follow the winning teams. Team Ronstan proposed that the event should move to Perth and so the date was set as March 2007

Since that time, the Australian team suffered from disagreements between owner and designer and this has resulted in doubts about the events move to Perth. The new challenger from Toronto, Fred Eaton has therefore arranged with the Royal Canadian YC in Toronto that the event will be held there in Sept 2007