THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU EXPERIMENT

OFF THE NEW SOUTH WALES COAST: 26th December 2016

Michael Rummel reports from CQS that there has been further deterioration in the state of the DSS board. Calling by sat phone from the boat off the south coast of New South Wales, he said that the wing tips have come off on both sides of the boat, and the flaps on the trailing edge have also broken off.

Commenting on the situation he said that the boat speed had already slowed following the initial deterioration and that the present foil state will have very little effect on the speed of the boat, “this is what happens when you innovate”, he commented. 

THAT UNIQUE BOXING DAY BUZZ

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: 26th December 2016

There is no other feeling in the world quite like the buzz around the foreshore of Sydney Harbour on Boxing day. The excitement, the anticipation, the nerves, they are all in abundant supply.

Those who are doing their first Rolex Sydney to Hobart race are consumed by conflicting emotions, the nerves of going into the unknown mixed in with the excitement of being part of a unique Aussie event.

Then there are those showing a cool exterior, they’ve done the Hobart a few times before, but be sure, no matter how smooth they appear on the surface, underneath the nerves are still there.

CQS has a good mix of rookies and old timers. Sir Michael Hintze is not only new to the race, he’s new to sailing, "I'm not nervous, there is trepidation sure but I the crew Ludde has put together are amazing and I am looking forward to sharing the experience with them".

Ludde, Chris Dickson, Rodney Keenan and others have plenty of Hobarts under their belt, but this boat is a whole new ball game, so there are nerves hidden by the confident strides down the dock.

There are even nerves amongst the guests having breakfast on the dockside at Birkenhead Point Marina, all curious about the unique yacht they have come to bid farewell. There is no doubt CQS will be the most talked about boat on the starting line today. 

OLA ASTRADSSON JOINS THE CQS CREW

Sydney, Australia: 22nd December 2017

Veteran Swedish sailor Ola Astradsson has joined the crew of CQS for the Rolex Sydney to Hobart race, replacing Kiwi Jude Burrell, who has unfortunately been taken ill.

Ludde Ingvall welcomed his long standing friend Ola to the team after it became obvious that Jude Burrell would not be well enough in time for the Boxing Day start.

“We are sorry that Jude can’t sail with us,” Ludde said today, “we have waited to find a replacement for as long as we can, but it became obvious that she would not be fit in time, so I am very grateful that Ola was able to stand in such short notice.”

Ola’s association with Ludde and his sailing goes back to 1991, when they sailed together on UBF in England’s Fastnet Race. The list of races they have done together since then is extensive, and the successes are enviable.

Amongst the more outstanding achievements they have chalked up together are, winning in the ’95 Fastnet Race, a Trans-Atlantic record in ’96, winners of the Maxi One Design World Championhips in ’97, and winning the Rolex Sydney Hobart race in 2000.

Talking about joining the crew Ola said, “Chris Dickson was a boyhood hero for me, I have raced against him several times, so it’s a real privilege to sail with him on this Hobart. This is my first race since I retired 13 years ago, so it’s extra special for me.”

Today the team continued their training and tuning programme on Sydney Harbour, with watch leaders Chris Dickson, Rodney Keenan and Chris Main having flown into town from New Zealand yesterday.

CQS PREPARATIONS ON SCHEDULE

Sydney, Australia: 19th December 2016.

The CQS Racing team are making steady progress in their preparations for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, implementing improvements as a result of their training and tuning sessions last week.

On Monday they changed from a traditional forestay and headsail to a furling headsail.

“We learnt so much during our days of training last week,” said Ludde, “and with input from the whole team, but particularly Chris Dickson, Rodney Keenan and Chris Main, we decided to change from a hanked on headsail to a furling headsail.”

Ludde says they have been able to stick to a well organised schedule of training followed by maintenance in their preparations for the race, “this is the way we run our programmes, alternating training and tuning with maintenance and improvements”.

Some of the race crew have gone home to New Zealand during the maintenance period, and will fly back to Sydney for further training on Wednesday.

MAST BACK IN CQS

Sydney, Australia: 17th December 2016

The mast has been installed back into CQS in preparation for the Rolex Sydney Hobart race, after routine maintenance and some minor modifications.

Ludde thanked his team and staff from Hall spars for their work to ensure the mast is in first class condition going into the race on Boxing Day, “they have worked hard over the past few days, and checked the spar and rigging from top to bottom, we have made some minor modifications to the halyard lock.”

The boat was taken from its berth at Birkenhead Point Marina to White Bay on Saturday afternoon, just upstream of the Harbour Bridge, when a large crane lifted the 37.5 metre long spar into place.

The boat then returned to its berth, and on Sunday friends and family will get a chance to look at the boat before training resumes on Monday.

Ludde emphasised that there is still a lot of work to do as they prepare for the big race, but he becomes more confident each day that the huge rebuild that has taken almost a year has been worthwhile. “All we have to do is learn how to sail the boat to its full potential, and the Rolex Sydney Hobart race will be part of that learning curve.”

SYDNEY TO HOBART PREPARATIONS CONTINUE

Sydney, Australia: 14th December 2016

After the White Island Race, crossing the Tasman Sea from Auckland, a few days of hard training on the Pacific Ocean off Sydney and an excellent training session on Tuesday, the CQS team is taking the next couple of day to make adjustments ahead of the Rolex Sydney to Hobart

As part of the process we have to lift out the mast for 2-3 days to complete a number of improvements.  

Work will start immediately and we hope to have the rig back on Friday evening for the weekend the latest.

LUDDE INGVALL ANNOUNCES MULTI-NATIONAL CREW FOR CQS

Sydney, Australia: 10th December 2016

Ludde Ingvall has announced a very strong international, provisional crew to sail CQS in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, starting on Boxing Day, 26th December.

In addition to the three New Zealand watch captains already announced, Chris Dickson, Rodney Keenan and Chris Main, there are ten other Kiwis in the crew, five Australians and two from Britain.

Skipper, Ludde Ingvall, and navigator Scott Disley are both Australian, as are Sir Michael Hintze, Jude Burrell, Lucas Chapman, Ron Creevey and David Ward.

The British component in the crew are Charlie Egerton-Warburton and Michael Rummel.

The team doctor on board is New Zealander Adam Bartlett, then a string of rising young Kiwi sailing talent makes up the rest of the team.

Final crew training will commence on Monday, with any adjustments to the crew list to be made by the middle of the week.

The remainder of the crew are:-

Chris Skinner – N.Z.

Malcolm Paine – N.Z.

Logan Andresen – N.Z.

Ant Crossan – N.Z.

David Wood – N.Z.

Martyn Baker – N.Z.

Simon Minoprio – N.Z.

LUDDE INGVALL’S CQS ARRIVES IN SYDNEY.

Sydney, Australia: 6th December 2016

Ludde Ingvall’s super maxi CQS arrived in Sydney today from Auckland, New Zealand, having left last Thursday. The crew said they’d had a very good shake down.

Ludde Ingvall said he was very excited to see the boat arrive in her home port again, “after the huge effort by the whole team of designers, builders and engineers, it was a very significant moment when she came through the Heads. We have a number of tweaks and modifications to make and it will take a few days to iron them out. The only disappointment the crew had was that they didn’t catch any fish because they were going too fast.”

Once they have cleared customs, the yacht will dock at the Sydney’s Birkenhead Point Marina, where it will be based until the start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart race on Boxing Day.

The crew now have three weeks of intensive training and preparations for the race to Hobart.

Ludde and his cousin and sponsor, Sir Michael Hintze, will have their first sail together on CQS a few days before the start of the Rolex Sydney to Hobart race, which will be the realisation of a dream that started on Boxing Day 2014, while watching the start of that year’s race.

Ludde Ingvall’s CQS finishes race.

Auckland, New Zealand: 26th November 2016

Ludde Ingvall and his crew on CQS have taken line honours in the Royal Akarana Yacht Club’s Round White Island Race. The eye-catching super-maxi completed the 320 nautical mile race in a few seconds less than 1 day, 4 hours.

Speaking after the finish, Ludde said it had been a good shake-down for the boat and the crew, and paid tribute to everyone who had put in such a huge effort to get it from the builders to the starting line in time.

“We have now qualified for the Rolex Sydney Hobart, which was the prime objective of this race for us,” the skipper said. “It has given us a valuable opportunity to put the boat through its paces, and for us to work together as a crew in a competitive situation, for the first time.

“We had winds of 25 to 30 knots, and we achieved some good speeds during the race, but we know we are still on a steep learning curve. She has shown that she has potential, we now have to learn to maximize that potential.”

With heavyweight Kiwi sailing talent like Chris Dickson, Rodney Keenan and Chris Main in the team, there is no shortage of expertise to get the boat tuned up ready for the Boxing Day start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

The Round White Island Race started on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour on Friday morning, and took the fleet across the Hauraki Gulf, then south to the Bay of Plenty where they rounded White Island, an active volcano, before returning to Auckland.

CQS crossed the finishing line off the Royal Akarana Yacht Club at 13:14:04:44 local time, nearly seven hours ahead of the second boat, and set a new monohull course record.

Round White Island Race

Auckland, New Zealand: 25th November 2016

Day One: 

The Royal Akarana Yacht Club Round White Island Race started on time at 10:05 Friday 25th November 2016. CQS started conservatively on a port tack due to low tide. Taking north passage due to the draft. 

Throughout the day wind eased to 20 knots. Passing the Coromandel peninsula on a beam reach with FRO up and clicking along at 15+ knots.

Day Two: 

Wind was moderated over night from a northerly 20 to 25 knots to a westerly 5 to 10 knots. Sea state now calm and sailing past Great Mercury Island.

CQS crossed the finish line at 14:06, completing the White Island in 20 knot westerly on a fine day. Skipper Ludde Ingvall was pleased with overall performance. The race was a good shake down for the crew and boat, both of whom performed above expectation!