Update: Thursday 21st Feb 2013

We catch up with a tired David Kenefick straight after his first 140 nautical mile race in La Grande Motte, France.

David explains everything from preparation, race tactics, food, fishing trawlers and sleep deprivation.

David finished 2nd overall.

Listen to what David had to say here:

Attached Photo Credit: Brian Carlin
Interview: Brian Carlin

Visit David’s progress here : https://www.facebook.com/DavidKenefickSailing

Management Team:

Project Manager: Marcus Hutchinson
French Mobile: +33609123989
Irish Mobile: +353 86 244 1347
Email: marcus.hutchinson@me.com

Media Manager: Brian Carlin/Cube Images
Mobile: +353879449469
Email: carlinbrian@gmail.com
Twitter: @cubeimages
Website: www.cubeimages.com

ASM Marine Frostbite – Rob Howe from Brian Carlin | Cube Images on Vimeo.

Racing may have been abandoned at Kinsale Yacht Club but it did not stop a couple of die hard Laser sailors, we go onboard with a Go Pro deck cam with Rob Howe… check this little video out…

The Skiff Chicks Racing:
An Irish/American/Australian All Female Skiff Team:
Alexandra South (AUS), Saskia Tidey (IRL) and Lizzi Rountree (USA)

New video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsWx8vJ3AlE
Website: http://www.skiffchicks.com.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkiffChicksRacing

The JJ Giltinan Championship (18 Foot World Championships) in Sydney, Australia.
The regatta is the pinnacle of the seasons sailing, only 2 days to the start of a weeks racing, kicking off with the invitational race on the 15th of February.
33 teams announced to date and only 2 all female teams;

I caught up with Alexandra South from Skiff Chicks Racing.

Can you tell me about the upcoming championships? Is it the highlight of your seasons training…?

Alexandra: “Tomorrow is measurement day for the 18 foot skiff world championships. We all know it as “the JJ” – a week long regatta that showcases the best of the 18′s from around the world.
We’ve been training now for six months for this- that includes Saskia’s first time on a skiff and my big switch from the radial to the 18. Lizzi came on board later, so really it’s only a 3 month campaign with the current crew, so it’s been intense”

Great, and tell me what is the teams expectations for the regatta?

Alexandra: “Mostly, we’re looking forward to racing the other All Girl crew who’ve flown over from the US for the event. It’ll be fun to have a real benchmark out there. With that in mind, our expectations are to finish each race and to be as competitive as possible – not just with the girls but our fellow rookies and the experienced guys as well. We’ll be aiming for clear starts, smooth boat handling and minimising damage and injuries. If we can do all of this and still have smiles on our faces, we’ll be happy.”

Why do you think there is only 2 all female crews registered? And would you like to see more female teams?
Alexandra: “Let’s be honest, 18′s aren’t the easiest beast to tame- even for 90kg + guys. Obviously size and experience are big factors, alongside accessibility.There really aren’t many places in the world that offer 18′s sailing. It can be an expensive road, too. However, in saying that, it definitely doesn’t mean that there can’t be more girls in the class which is evident with two girls teams here this year. The limitations can easily be overcome with the right attitude and having the guts to get on with the job. You can’t give up and you’ve gotta send it!
Of course I’d love to see more female teams and just female sailors in general- in the 18′s and in sailing as a whole. That was one of the main reasons I originally started SCR.”

All Female Teams; Do you think this could offer a new angle for current sponsors in sailing?
Alexandra: “Yeah definitely. When I decided what path I’d go down for the campaign, I sat down with Frank Quealey who has worked with media at the 18′s for longer than I’ve been alive and we launched the campaign playing to our strengths, three girls in a boat, racing against the boys. We had the opportunity to play it up, so why not?
I think SCR is evidence that there is potential for sponsors, not just sailing based to come back into it. A point of difference is what gets you there and there is no real reason why sailing can’t be cast in the ‘glamour’ light that it used to… I think that’s what will bring more money into it- at least, I hope so”

Finally, whats going to happen to the team after the JJ, Saskia is returning home to Ireland right?
Alexandra: “Sas heads home to save her skin from the Aussie sun and check out her options for the next couple of years. Lizzi and I will serve out the season and then we’ll assess what’s the best plan of action for next year.
I’m weighing up my options between my dream of skiffs and speed and the Olympic route.
Lizzi, who works full time as a coach, is playing with lots of different projects, too”

In three words can you sum up the year so far…?
Alexandra: “that’s a tough one! Umm!
Challenging, Rewarding, Fun”

Well, not quite the same could be said if you were standing on the back beach in Castlegregory, Co.Kerry locally known as “Dumps” this Monday morning. The organizers of Red Bull Storm Chasers had scrambled all their crews and teams who had 48hrs to travel from across the globe to Ireland for the first “Mission” on the 3 mission challenge.

Its simple, Red Bull Storm Chase set a 4 month challenge where they require 3 “missions” to be completed. There is 7 possible locations, United States, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, France, Tasmania and Japan.
The conditions seemed just right for the organisers who pulled the trigger Saturday, a logistically nightmare to get the gear, teams, TV crews, helicopters to Ireland.

The first session of the day kicked off in Dumps, Co.Kerry at 7am. A dark morning that quickly brightened by mid-morning. There was a small gathering, massively understated as I read the event is “Windsurfing’s Most Challenging Contest”. It wasn’t long before I understood the attitude, these guys were interested in the sport, they didn’t care about hitting news headlines or making the papers, they spoke and were friendly but it was obvious the feeling was focused on the event and nothing else. Serious dedication. In fact I spoke with a competitor who told me his opposition flew in from Maui at 1.30am Monday to Dublin airport. He jumped straight into a car drove through the night. Had his breakfast and showered, then proceeded to suit up for the days challenge.

The crowds did begin to grow and by 12pm about 100 spectators looked on. The winds increased with gusts recorded over 50 knots. As the wind slightly shifted from south west to west south west the organisers decided to move the camp and head to “Hell’s Gate”. You couldn’t build what seemed to be the God’s natural Amphitheater for this event. A little rocky cove that backed onto the North Atlantic, slightly sheltered which made launch and recovery much easier. The cliffs were lined with a variety of young and old, even the local farmers stopped traffic in their tractors to what must have been a rather unusual sight, Red Bull cars and vans, a low flying helicopter and handful of windsurfers who seemed to spend as much time in the air that in the water.

Six sailors now advance to the next mission, where and when? only the weather can decide the time and date.

While us northern Europeans shelter in the warmth of our homes this week, seven toughened Figaro sailors are being pushed to the limits in bitterly cold training conditions at the CEM in La Grande Motte. The seven recruits spanning a variety of nationalities guided by their coach Nicolas Berenger are coming to the middle of their last training session. For most, the Figaro is coming all to quickly, training ends in a couple of weeks and most of these sailors will being to fulfill corporate responsibilities and actual events.
The first big test comes with the ICOM Cup on the 6th March.
The training wheels are almost off, time to get prepared for the big race……
See you on the 2nd of June, expectations are high but the competition is even higher!
Brian Carlin

The start is around the corner; June 2nd La Solitaire du Figaro 2013 from Brian Carlin | Cube Images on Vimeo.

15 days to 2 minutes – How and why I shot the David Kenefick Sailing Promo Video! from Brian Carlin | Cube Images on Vimeo.

Having been asked the question one to many times, I decided upon demand to reveal the making of David Kenefick’s Promo Video.
I have created this 19 minute video for those of you who are interested.
This project started on a ferry to France and takes me through 15 days sailing with David. It’s often a surprise to people who ask me how long did that take to do, and why did it take so long, well I’ve revealed a lot of the process behind such a video.
I explore a range of video techniques, editing, post production, motion graphics and plenty more.
In this video I talk you through all of this on this vodcast, I hope people will get an understanding of my process and thinking behind it all.
Enjoy.

The Making of David Kenefick’s Video: https://vimeo.com/57463026

Original Video Link Here: https://vimeo.com/53451005

First Night Sail – La Grande Motte, France from David Kenefick on Vimeo.

[La Grande Motte – France 14 November 2012] Young Irish sailor David Kenefick (21) announces today his shorthanded Figaro sailing programme for 2013.

With Irish ports hosting events as diverse as the Volvo Ocean Race, the MOD 70 European Tour and the Youth Sailing World Championships, and Irish sailors competing at the highest level around the world with Damian Foxhall winning this year’s Volvo Ocean Race and Annalise Murphy finishing fourth at the Olympic Games so another significant Irish project gets underway.

The shorthanded offshore sailing discipline is extremely popular in France with big races like the Vendée Globe and Route de Rhum enjoying major media coverage and able to attract 100s of thousands of spectators to the start ports for every edition. Winning sailors become household names no matter where they are from or what they sail. The proving ground for all champion sailors is the Figaro class and its racing circuit. A frequent visitor to Irish ports this race is now in its 44th year and in 2013 will see only the fourth Irish sailor enter the prestigious competition.
“I’m really excited about this incredible opportunity to embark on a Figaro campaign. The number of offshore legends that have passed through and regularly compete in the Figaro class is unbelievable. This 32-foot racing class features water-ballast, two rudders, some pretty sophisticated autopilot and navigation routing electronics and is strictly One Design. There is a well-supported racing circuit with this class in France that culminates with the Solitaire du Figaro race each year,” explains David Kenefick.

The Solitaire is a four–legged singlehanded race with each leg roughly 500 miles long. The stopovers between each leg are usually just 48 hours long making the personal and sporting management of the project absolutely crucial.
“I haven’t been sailing in this class for long but I already have an appreciation for how tough this is going to be. I would say that a few weeks ago I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Today I am beginning to appreciate the complexity of this discipline of the sport plus obviously managing myself, my fitness and my commercial programme,” Kenefick continues.

The sport of shorthanded offshore racing requires total commitment and years of practice, preparation and competition before skippers get to a credible level. From the moment in September that Kenefick decided to go ahead with this campaign every day has counted.

“There are just over seven months to the start of the 2013 Solitaire du Figaro race and everyday in my training schedule counts. My programme is being managed by Figaro veteran Marcus Hutchinson who has organised my boat and technical programme and secured for me a place in the elite CEM training centre in La Grande Motte on the French Mediterranean coast. We will be here for the next five months developing my shorthanded sailing skills to such a level that I can confidently compete in the Solitaire du Figaro in 2013,” he elaborates.

The season will see several training races before the Solitaire du Figaro in June and then several other big competitions later in the summer.
“My season after la Solitaire will see me racing in Cowes Week and then tackling the Rolex Fastnet Race, for which the Figaro class will have its own start next year. We are expecting at least ten boats to sail the race two-handed,” he concludes.

The full schedule for David Kenefick’s programme is as follows:

CEM Training Centre, La Grande Motte (November-March)
Icom Cup, Marseille (6-12 March)
Solo Concarneau, Concarneau (4-9 May)
Transmanche, l’Aberwrach (16-20 May)
La Solitaire du Figaro, Bordeaux to Dieppe (2 – 31 June)
Cowes Week (3-9 August)
Rolex Fastnet Race (11-15 August)
Two-handed Tour of Brittany (31 August – 7 September)
Generali Med (22-30 September)

Background:
The Solitaire du Figaro is one of the toughest yacht races for anyone to take on. It is sailed singlehanded over four legs of approximately 500 miles each with 48-hour stopovers between each leg. The event is now in its 44th year. Many of the champions of this class have gone on to win in other offshore events such as the Volvo Ocean Race and the Vendee Globe. The Figaro is considered the training ground for future champions. Three Irish skippers have competed in the past Damian Foxhall (1997 & 1998) – Marcus Hutchinson (1998 & 2000) – Paul O’Riain (2007).

David Kenefick
A native of Currabinny Co. Cork Kenefick has been sailing from a very young age from the Royal Cork Yacht Club. The classic path through Optimists and Lasers saw Kenefick win many championships before he moved into keelboats and offshore sailing. A keen kiteboarder David spends what little spare time he has now improving fitness, improving his French and making the most of French food and his culinary skills.

END

Kind Regards,
Brian Carlin

Please Credit: Photo and Video edit please credit: Brian Carlin/Cube Images

Video Promo Link: https://vimeo.com/53451005

Embed Link:

David Kenefick – Sailing Promo 2013 from David Kenefick on Vimeo.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidKenefickSailing

_____________________________________________
Management Team:

Project Manager: Marcus Hutchinson
French Mobile: +33609123989
Irish Mobile: +353 86 244 1347
Email: marcus.hutchinson@me.com

Media Manager: Brian Carlin/Cube Images
Mobile: +353879449469
Email: carlinbrian@gmail.com
Twitter: @cubeimages
Website: www.cubeimages.com

David Kenefick – Sailing Promo 2013 from David Kenefick on Vimeo.

Jeffrey MacFarlane originally from New Jersey, has spent the last couple of months racing his Mini in Europe.
Jeff will possibly be the only American to line up on the start line for the MiniTransat Race on the 13th of October 2013 starting in the North of France in Douarnenez.
Jeff is taking this rather seriously, posting some great results over the summer, 3rd in the Valencia AIR (Round the Island Race) and finishing 2nd in the Mini Barcelona race, narrowly missing out on first due to a spinnaker halyard failure only 25miles from the finish in which he was leading.

He’s now packing up his boat and heading to Lorient later this evening for some work to be done before he does his 1000 nautical mile qualifier early next year.

We really like this guy and I think he could do with a shout out from his friends at home in the States.

Watch this space, Jeff is certainly one to back for this race next year, he’s not leaving anything to chance and if his form of late is anything to base this on, i’d be getting down to your bookies to put some money on this fella.

Shortly I’ll be boarding what I think is my 23rd flight since April this year. Yes, people say I have a great life and i’m living the dream, and well, “Hell Yes” it really is, but it has it’s set backs also…. like my poor family who probably wouldn’t even recognise me if I called to the door. My brother rang me yesterday, i didn’t get to answer it in time but he did leave me a message, signing off “Eddie your brother remember me”.
Anyway that’s the life of an international photographer and camera man, its probably only one of the down sides, you do get used to airports, hotel’s, dodgy B&B’s, shit food, etc…. but what is partly the negatives, the positives outweigh them massively. I don’t think you could sustain this lifestyle if they didn’t.
For instance, i’m about to jump on a plane and travel to Bermuda, I very much doubt that I would have ever got to go here, its exotic and bloody expensive too… I will be working hard, but who cares, its Bermuda isn’t it…. I could be still stuck in an office in Cork, doing some drawings of a house for some pain in the arse client, but i’m not… i’m on a new adventure…

So far 2012 has kicked off with style and its going to end in a bang, Asia is where i will be in December and if anyone asked me last year would i have thought i’d be writing this grammatically incorrect post on what the hell just unfolded in the space of 12 months, NO! would be my answer….

I mean its been insane, I can’t even begin to tell you all the stories and if i did i think i’d only piss you off, ya it has been that much fun…
I’ve met some of the best people in the world, I can’t begin to tell you how much of a family the crew of Redhanded TV is to me. We all work for the Alpari World Match Racing Tour, filming live TV. Its probably the one and only time where a bunch on individuals were thrown together back in Germany in May and gelled like a super glue bond that is inseparable. I know we are coming to the penultimate stage of the tour and who knows who or what will happen to any of us when the season ends, but I have made friends for life with this bunch… Amazing people, amazing team spirit and well the mine furer himself Sam Usher is the cherry on top… legends!

Of course not only have I been blown away by these guys, I’ve built up good relationships with the sailors too. Had a couple of beers with Keith Swinton last Saturday and his crew Olaf, these two boys are so much fun to hang around with, Rickie there bowman is a character also, need to spend more time with Black Swan Racing.
Bjorn Hansen’s crew are the most likable chaps also, especially Philip. That guy always has a big hello and greeting when we meet at the WMRT venues. Actually all of the crews are pretty damn great guys, I’m hoping Phil Robertson comes back on tour soon, i miss the banter with him and his crew, but i bet he doesn’t miss me telling him daily that he looks like Rory McIlroy…. long story and time to be told at a later date…
And one more mention, Ian Williams… mmmm! what can i say, he’s given me my nickname on tour as lucky “Lobby” lobster ah i’m sure you want to know how that name came about, well lets just say an Irish man in the sun turns red pretty quick and when you decide to broadcast this fact using the nickname the Lucky Lobster live on TV, the name tends to stick, and Shawsy (Simon Shaw) didn’t help it either with a follow up statement live on air. But truth be told, the name is growing on me… Recently in Marseille, France I had Sabina from the MOD 70′s looking for “lobby”, i hadn’t even met Sabina before but somehow she knew me as Lobby, at that point I decided there was no point in fighting it, but just to accept it….

Having arrived in Bermuda, the humidity was so overwhelming it took my thoughts from being in this great little country, when we finally arrived into the air-conditioned hotel rooms and looked out at our view from the balcony i decide, “YES! its Bermuda mate”……..

Next day we pretty much got on with set-up and tests for the IPTV broadcast on Friday and then for Live broadcast Saturday and Sunday.
As the boats were too small I was tasked with our on-board GoPro camera’s, and as always its a struggle to find an appropriate position, mainly due to the RF Backpack that allows up send feeds ashore. Anyway after a frustrating first day we settled on a location.
The first day was manic, the breeze was light and shifty, but finally Craig Mitchell got racing underway. My job was to swap the onboard camera’s between races to a featured match, ha…. well that didn’t go quite to plan, that job was given to Gracie Ray as I was filming the live links with presenter Lynsey during the boat swaps and camera changes.. this 5-7min period is unbelievable crazy, trying to swap camera’s, backpacks, and skippers mic’s and shooting live with Lynsey all at the same time, your heart rates is up and when you hear Sam counting you in live, the tension really rises and the adrenaline levels soar, its for this moment we do what we do, its a rush like none other….

Anyway, we loved Bermuda and Timmy and Andy on the barge where we camped out during the day were just the best to us, they even went off and got me a can of Guinness for the Irish man… its these small gestures that make an event. The kit was being shipped Sunday night and with our flight leaving Monday night, we had for the first time all year a day off at an event. Bermuda was probably the best place to have a day off.
I was also lucky enough that the sailing school there had a J80 and Tom and Sean allowed me to borrow it for a couple of hours to bring Simone, Lynsey, Andrea and Gracie sailing. I mean if i actually had a bucket list, sailing in Bermuda with 4 girls certainly ticked it off my list of things to do. Amazing!

The Girls post J80 sailing in Bermuda

Blue waters off Horse Shoe Bay, Bermuda

Gracie, reading on the beach....

Having spent the morning sailing in the blue waters, it was time for lunch and off to the famous Horse Shoe Bay. This beach was just like the front cover of a holiday brochure, palm trees, white sandy beaches and a turquoise blue ocean. The stuff dreams are all about.

We all just chilled out, played with a frisbee and went swimming. I did venture off to do some snorkeling but half way to the beach i freaked myself out and was rather conscious that there are sharks in these waters, so i quickly came back in and decided doing this on my own was not going to happen… Snorkeling abandoned! back to lying on a beach…

That was it, the best day off ever… Time to back up and go home, and so we did…
Landed last night and now i’m finishing this off with some feeling of jet lag. Next event is a while away in Malaysia at the Monsoon Cup.
I will miss the best TV crew in history but we must all go back to our other jobs until we join again for another event.

Winner of the Argo Gold Cup, Taylor Canfield

I did manage to get some photo’s in-between filming and i will upload a full gallery soon, The overall winner was Taylor Canfield! such a nice guy..
And yes I know the grammar and syntax is all over the place but i’m too jet lagged to care…
Until next time..