Bravo Loïck Peyron, who has won the single-handed Route du Rhum race and set a new record of 7d 15h in the 31m trimaran Maxi Solo Banque Populaire VII.

In a race characterised by fatigue and stress, and an incident that brought him dangerously close to capsize, Peyron nevertheless dominated.

He led from the first night at sea, racing a boat he was only brought in to handle as relief skipper two months ago when Armel Le Cléac’h damaged his hand. He had planned a very different race, having this year restored a sistership to Mike Birch’s Olympus Photo, which won the first race in 1978.

But this 103ft giant is a different beast. Taking over on Maxi Solo Banque Populaire VII, Peyron joined a nine-strong fleet of giant mulithulls designed originally for crewed records, a class the race dubbed the ‘Ultimes’.

These giant mulithulls require utmost care, especially in the squall conditions of the tradewinds.

Peyron sailed 4,199 miles over the ground at an average of 22.93 knots.   He arrived after a tense last night at sea, closing land and dodging fishing boats, yet he was reported to be relaxed and on good form.

“It is a very nice victory, but a team victory,” he commented. “I was not supposed to be on this boat two months ago. I was supposed to do the Rhum race on a very small yellow trimaran, which will be the case in four years time – I will be back. But it is not a surprise because I knew that the boat was able to do it. I knew that the team was able to help me a lot.

“The last day was difficult; there was a lot of maneuvering to be done.

“I never imagined that I would win a Route du Rhum on a boat like this. A race like this is never simple and that is what is so exciting and incredible about it. It is also very stressful for the boat to withstand such high speeds in bad seas. I was able to sail the boat well but was scared.

“This is what the multihull game is all about. You have to constantly manage the boat. One night I fell asleep at the helm and nearly capsized the boat. This is a great victory; possibly one of the nicest and breaking the record is the cherry on top of the cake.” 

At the age of 54, his Route du Rhum triumph is another new summit for Peyron, who can turn his hand in many yachts, from foiling Moth dinghies to the America’s Cup. ?

On course to finish second, some 140 miles behind, is Yann Guichard in Spindrift 2, a much bigger 130ft trimaran – in fact, this was the boat in which Peyron set the outright round the world record in 2012.

Read Elaine Bunting’s comment, ‘the world’s greatest sailor’, here.

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The new online home of Motor Boat & Yachting has arrived and it has been designed to be easier to use than ever before

The online home of Motor Boat & Yachting has been completely redesigned to make it easier than ever before to keep up with all the goings-on at Europe’s best motorboat magazine.

On the new MBY.com you will find more news, features, galleries and top tips, along with a new layout to show off all our best photos and videos.

The site is completely compatible with tablets, mobiles and all other Android and iOS devices that can connect to the internet.

Old favourites like Spot The Boat will continue, but we will also be bringing you more boat reviews and gear tests.

We’ve also added new sections covering Cruising, Gear and Training with expert articles from the Motor Boat & Yachting team.

Don’t forget you can still subscribe to our interactive iPad edition to get the full Motor Boat & Yachting magazine delivered to your tablet every month.

http://www.mby.com/mby-magazine/new-motor-boat-and-yachting-website-launched/

Four coastal areas around the UK have been chosen among five sites for new sculptures by Angel of the North creator Antony Gormley.

The art installation project to mark The Landmark Trust’s 50th year will see the five sculptures installed between May 2015 and May 2016 at:

LAND comprises five distinct life-size standing sculptures by Antony Gormley cast in iron and installed at five Landmark Trust sites personally selected by the artist:

Martello Tower, Aldeburgh, Suffolk

Clavell Tower, Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset

Saddell Bay, Mull of Kintyre, Scotland

Lengthsman’s Cottage, Lowsonford, Warwickshire

Lundy Island, Bristol Channel

Founded in 1965, the Landmark Trust has rescued and restored almost 200 extraordinary buildings that would otherwise have been lost and given them a safe, secure future by letting them out for holidays to pay for their maintenance.

For its 50th anniversary, Landmark sought to do something for everyone, not just for the 50,000 people who stay in their buildings each year. LAND is the result.

The five life-size vertical body-forms aim to add a point of focus to each location, being thoughtful to their setting, encouraging visitors to contemplate the specific elemental conditions of each site, and in the case of the four coastal locations, the different qualities of the North Sea, the English Channel, the Kilbrannan Sound, and the Bristol Channel.

Gormley said: ‘The challenge is to make the verticality of each sculpture the focus, as a kind of rod or conductor for thoughts and feelings that might arise at a site.

‘The sculptures identify the place where a particular human body once stood and anyone could stand, and in that respect they are open spaces empty of content and waiting for your attention.’

The sculptures will have full public access and be free for everyone to enjoy.

Golden Weekend launch

The launch of LAND will coincide with Landmark’s special Golden Weekend. On 16-17 May 2015, 25 Landmarks will open to everyone

Anna Keay, director of The Landmark Trust, said: ‘We are hugely excited to be working with Antony. He had the idea some years ago to join the British Isles together in one installation and we are thrilled that Landmark can make this idea a reality through our amazing sites.

‘We hope that the whole nation will want to experience, enjoy, and of course, share their thoughts and responses on LAND with us.’

Pictures: Lundy Island, Bristol Channel

Studio casting for one of the LAND works. Credit: Antony Gormley Studio

http://www.pbo.co.uk/external/article/537567/angel-of-the-north-creator-sets-sights-on-new-sites

A 68m superyacht concept and a sculpture of a Riva tender will form the centre piece of the Hamburg exhibition

Hanseboot is over for another year, but the Hamburg boating scene hasn’t completely gone into hibernation just yet.

CRN and Riva have teamed up with one of the city’s foremost museums for a new art exhibition with a nautical twist.

Rich Pickings: Displaying Wealth is open until 11 January at Hamburg’s Museum Für Kunst Und Gewerbe and features a display called ‘The Finest Art on Water’.

This area includes concept art for a 68-metre CRN superyacht (pictured above), as well as a sculpture of the Aquariva Cento tender.

Commissioned to celebrate the 100th Aquariva built, the Cento is a limited edition 33ft model that came with twin 380hp Yanmar engines.

Luca Boldrini, sales and marketing director at CRN, explained the thinking behind the collaboration:

“Art and design have always played an integral role in all that CRN and Riva stand for and we are incredibly proud of ‘The Finest Art On Water’ and its ability to transcend a yacht from an object to a covetable piece of art.”

With bold styling from Officina Italiana Design, the display hopes to challenge art lovers and yacht aficionados alike.

As curator Christian Jankowski puts it: “The yacht is the perfect sculpture, a perfect self-contained vessel of information.”

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http://www.mby.com/external/article/537546/crn-and-riva-to-star-in-hamburg-art-exhibition

The widow of yachtsman Roger Pratt is concerned she could have to wait up to five years before the four men accused of his murder go on trial.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Margaret Pratt, 60, describes how she’s become increasingly frustrated with the “delays in the judicial process” in St Lucia, despite an “impressive” response to the case initially.

Mrs Pratt and her 62-year-old husband had been moored in the commercial port of Vieux Fort when intruders attacked them on board their 41ft yacht Magnetic Attraction in January.

Mr Pratt died trying to defend his wife and Mrs Pratt was later treated in hospital for cuts and bruises following the incident.

Speaking earlier this week, she said: “Initially it was very impressive, the Royal St Lucia Police really put a lot of effort into getting evidence and preparing the case.

“More recently I’ve become increasingly frustrated by the slowness’s in the judicial process and the delays in the judicial process.

“I’m now concerned that it may be four or five years before this case comes to court.”

In a statement, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) denied that the legal process had “stalled” but did admit that they were dealing with a “backlog” of cases.

“While I understand Mrs Pratt’s frustration, one has to get an understanding of how the criminal justice system works and take into account the available resources,” they said.

“The office of the DPP has the responsibility to prosecute criminal cases before the courts. Currently there is a total of over 2,000 cases in the high court and these cases are dealt with according to antiquity.

“The fact is that the criminal justice system does not have the resources (judges, prosecutors, physical resources and support services) to handle this volume of cases expeditiously and so there is a backlog.”

Since the death of Mr Pratt in January, the four men charged with his murder have appeared in court for a number of pretrial hearings and are due to attend a hearing today (31 October) regarding robbery charges.

The defendants were committed for trial over the murder charges on 17 October and the matter was adjourned to 6 February 2015 for the crown to report on the indictment.

A trial date is yet to be set.

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