ATN Round Britain
Alacrity is lone American entry for Great Britain and Ireland race

Alacrity is lone American entry for Great Britain and Ireland race.

When the Shetland Round Britain & Ireland Two-Handed Race gets underway in June, there will only be one American entry. However, since the crew claims it has the hottest boat in the fleet, one entry may be all that’s needed for the US to register another offshore sailing victory. Against a largely European fleet, an Alacrity win would be reminiscent of a certain schooner that sailed over from New York in the 19th century and trounced the Brits in a race around the Isle of Wight. But maybe that’s getting fanciful.

The Boat: Alacrity is a Dick Newick design, originally a 48ft Traveller, lengthened to 50ft by Walter Greene of Maine. Built in 1999 by Lone Star Multihulls of carbon, glass, Corecell and epoxy, she is the most powerful trimaran Newick ever designed: full amas, carbon wing mast, Kevlar rigging, carbon and Kevlar sails. Upwind sail area 123 sq m (1,324 sq ft) offwind, 237 sq m (2,551 sq ft). Among all the other necessary gear for a grueling race of this kind—hardware by Harken and Antal, B&G and Raymarine electronics, Alacrity will also be carrying ATN spinnaker sleeves and Topclimber bosun’s seat, the choice of offshore racing and cruising sailors everywhere.

The Crew: Owner Rex Conn, 52, of Still Pond, Maryland, has been sailing multihulls for 35 years and has more than 60,000 offshore miles racing and cruising. A former software developer, he started sailing multihulls, beach cats, in 1971. A chance meeting with Phil Weld after the latter won the 1980 OSTAR gave him the urge to do ocean racing and shorthanded sailing. After missing the OSTAR last year because of a late dismasting, his desire is now to win the Round Britain and Ireland Race.

Co-skipper: Etienne Giroire 51, is an OSTAR veteran who won his class, 40ft multihulls, in 1992, setting a course record. In his most recent attempt, the 2005 STAR, he was plagued by gear failure and had to retire. Apart from OSTARs, Etienne has raced in the Whitbread, is a former maxi boat skipper, completed seven transatlantic crossings and has 200,000 nautical miles under his various keels. Born in France and now an American citizen, Etienne is president of ATN Inc., a firm specializing in designing and manufacturing sailing gear. Among the many items Etienne has either invented or produced to make sailing easier and safer, are his famous spinnaker sleeve’s, of which he is the world’s largest producer, and the Topclimber. The latter is a unique bosun's chair that allows a sailor to get up the mast safely and quickly, using the leg muscles, without any outside help.

The Race: Established in 1966 by Blondie Haslar, the event is held every four years, starting and finishing in Plymouth, England. The course is clockwise around all of Great Britain & Ireland, with four compulsory stops of 48 hours each at Kinsale, Barra, Lerwick and Lowestoft. These provide the opportunity for competitors to rest, make repairs and, not least, socialize. Classes are arranged by the IRC handicap system which is a departure from the old formula whereby yachts raced level within size bands. The Race, which starts on 11th June 2006, is open to all yachts and multihulls between 30ft and 50ft in length, crewed by two people only. With sudden changes of weather and large tidal ranges, the race is accepted as a unique 2,000-mile challenge for the short-handed sailor.

Read more about the race and meet the crew at www.rwyc.org/ShetlandRBI/competitors.asp