Two new Solent Sunbeams were recently launched at Itchenor for the start of the 2013 season. Molly and Alchemy are the fifth and sixth examples of composite GRP Solent Sunbeam completed since the class expansion programme began in 2010. The Sunbeams - beautiful classic racing keelboats date from 1923 and Mark Harvey, co-owner with his wife Nicola of Alchemy, described the Sunbeam as “the queen of the enduring Alfred Westmacott’s Solent classic dayboat class designs.“

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Back in 2009 Lila Lou Design developed 'Ankida' as an example of what they saw as the natural progression for sailing yachts, with a new look at the traditional centre line mast arrangement: "the most fundamental aspect of which is the mast, rig and keel configuration, moving away from a traditional centre line mast arrangement in order to structurally integrate the entire set-up with the hull and superstructure, making all wind generated forces work homogeneously with the craft, thus maximizing the propulsion efficiency."

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When Olympic Star Gold Medallist, Andrew Simpson, was discussing other possible projects with Alex Newton, builder of the 2008 winning Olympic boat, they came up with an idea for a combination of carbon and wood furniture. Simpson's brother in law, James Tyler of Sitting Firm Chair Makers, collaborated with Newton to fuse carbon and wood to create striking pieces of furniture. The first of these is the Darwin 2012 Chair which they have launched in a limited edition of 500 chairs celebrating the success of the Olympic Games held in London.

An exact replica of the famous racing J Class Royal Yacht Britannia is back in Cowes . . . the stripped hull arrived on Saturday, 4 February at Southboats Yard in Venture Quays, East Cowes. The original yacht was scuttled following King George V’s death in January 1936. He’d left instructions that she was to ‘follow him to the grave’. Stripped of all her spars and fittings, her hull was towed out from Cowes and sunk off St Catherine’s Deep, somewhere west of Ventnor and south of the Needles, on July 1 1936..



His Majesty’s Yacht “Britannia” was a gaff-rigged cutter built in 1893 for Commodore Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. She served him and his son, King George V, with a long yachting and racing career. In 1931, she was converted to the J-Class with a Bermuda rig and her last race was at Cowes in 1935. During her racing career she had won 231 races and took another 129 flags.

In 1994, the only exact replica of the Britannia was commissioned (after due approval by the Queen) and built in Russia, and after many problems and hard negotiations with her Russian shipbuilders, was finally released to her then owner, Mr. Sigurd Coates, who duly shipped her to Norway in 2009. The completion of the project came to a standstill until now.The Britannia and the rebuilding project have been acquired by Minicast Holdings Ltd, Gibraltar, which, upon its completion, will be donating the use of the yacht for a minimum of 10 years, to the Britannia Trust, to be wholly used for charity.



As you might expect, after Artic winters and battered by storms on her way here, the hull looks the worse for wear. The plan: for her completion to commence, and for the Trust that now owns her, to invest in fitting-in new deck ware, restoring her interior, her mast, rigging and sails, back to what they were in the Classic Days of Cowes Yachting.

The goal: for her to become a flagship for charity, reaching out to underprivileged children, war veterans and to be used as a fundraising venue for upcoming charities in the UK and across the globe. Head of the Trust, Scott Ward, says “The hull needs a good brush up and tender care, but we hope to introduce her to you all in a few weeks, once she is out of the water and looking her best”.



And to get upto date with all the J Class news Dave Pitman, the class secretary of the magnificent J Class, will be at Lee on Solent SC on 23 February to talk about the history of the J boats and the plans for them sailing in the Solent this summer.

This is a rare opportunity to hear how the class has developed since 1996 and see exclusive pictures of these unique craft. Numbers are limited so early booking is recommended. All would be welcome, but please book to avoid disappointment. That is Thursday 23 February starting at 19:00 hrs, bar open at 18:00. Cost: Talk only £3.00 Chilli or Mushroom Stroganoff available by pre booking at £5.00 (available at 18.30). Contact gwkingstonminnis@virginmedia.com to book.

Visit the Britannia K1 website for more details on progress in Cowes.

A design for a concept sea-going vessel is claimed by its designers to present a vision of the future of luxury yachting. In a project named Utopia, BMT Nigel Gee and partners Yacht Island Design have designed what is described as an avant-garde island-like yacht that exploits existing technologies to create a new maritime experience.

What BMT has devised is a piece of floating real estate that measures more than 65m above water with four legs that support a 100 x 100m structure spanning 11 decks. James Roy, yacht design director of BMT Nigel Gee said the gross tonnage (as a measure of volume) is around 100,000GRT.

Roy told The Engineer that the main global load bearing structure will be steel. Areas that are minor load bearing might be made in aluminium to save weight and local areas with high degrees of compound curvature might be made from Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP).

Keeping a ship stable is vitally important for passenger safety and comfort. The potential to move in six different ways — heave vertically, sway side to side, surge front/back motion, roll, pitch and yaw — can lead to an uncomfortable trip if the motion isn’t minimised.

Each leg employs azimuth thrusters to maintain the station keeping of the so-called ‘island’. This system, which uses a propeller encased in a pod that can be rotated, provides greater manoeuvrability than traditional fixed propeller-rudder systems, and should allow Utopia to smoothly redeploy to any desired location at a speed of about seven knots, said Roy.

The exact nature of power generation is still under consideration but Roy explained: ‘Perhaps a mix of solar, tidal — using the thrusters as turbines to generate power from currents when moored — and wind. However the mix is likely to be quite heavily skewed towards fossil based fuels.’

The concept design for BMT’s moveable super-island was unveiled at the Monaco Yacht Show in September. Read more: http://www.theengineer.co.uk/sectors/rail-and-marine/news/designers-claim-island-like-vessel-is-future-of-yachting/1010537.article#ixzz1cC8hVD4e