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The Régate Dick Carter Cup in France!

Next month! August 10th and 11th in the beautiful port of La Trinité-sur-Mer in southern Brittany! A year ago, our good friend and Carter 37 owner Philippe Jacques-Roux came up with the idea for a Dick Carter Cup regatta to celebrate this year’s 50th anniversary of YDRA and the Carter 37. The regatta was then expanded to include all Carter yachts, custom and production!

Dick is very much looking forward to attending! On Friday, August 10, all the Carter yachts will assemble at 15h00 in the port for photos, videos and celebrations!

At 18h00 in the Mairie de la Trinité-sur-Mer, Dick will give his first talk in France: “the French Connection”. A renowned French explorer played a crucial role in Dick’s decision to design a yacht of his own. If he hadn’t met this explorer, there would have been no RABBIT, no TINA, no RED ROOSTER. No OPTIMIST, no VENDREDI 13, no YDRA, no BENBOW. No Carter 25, 33, 37, 39, 40, NA40, 42, Ragtime, Southerly, Luna. Rien de tout! The talk will be open to all attendees and the French press. There will be opportunities to ask Dick questions, have photos taken and do more celebrating!

On Friday, August 11, there will be a race for the inaugural Dick Carter Cup trophy.

Dick is extremely grateful to Philippe, who has worked hard for many months to organize every single aspect of the event. The event will be hosted by Philippe, l’Association Passe-Coque, le Yacht Club de France, la Société nautique de la Trinité-sur-Mer, les “Amis de Dick Carter” et Jimmy Pahun, député du Morbihan. Dick is very appreciative of all their contributions in making this such a special occasion. He can’t wait! We hope to see you there! Vive la France!!

A French Carter 33 greets the SS France, a French ocean liner, la Côte d’Azur.
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Carter 37s are getting ready to celebrate

The 50th Anniversary of the Carter 37 is next year and Carter 37s in Europe are getting ready to celebrate! TOMIRA, owned by Francesco & Mietta Gandolfi, is looking gorgeous in Italy. MUSTANG, owned by Philippe-Jacques Roux and his son François-Xavier, has just undergone a refit and is looking “sensationelle”, as is LINUEN, owned by Thierry Ollat. Jean-Michel Hoarau, the owner of another French Carter 37, HYLAS, is having her beautifully restored in anticipation of launching her next Spring. Skippered by her original owner David Edwards, Commodore of the RORC, HYLAS won Class III in the 1973 Fastnet Race, a prestigious victory for the Commodore and HYLAS alike!

TOMIRA
MUSTANG
LINUEN
HYLAS
HYLAS racing in 1973
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RABBIT looks bellissima!!

Grazie to Francesco and Mietta Gandolfi for the stunning new photos of their yacht RABBIT racing off Italy’s Ligurian coast. She was Dick’s first yacht design and the boat he skippered to victory in the 1965 Fastnet Race. The Gandolfis have invested much time and effort in her meticulous restoration, and it shows!

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“The ROOSTER has every right to crow!”

Gin & Tonics recommended!

The international Admiral’s Cup regatta was for many years known as the unofficial world championships of ocean racing. Held every other year off the south coast of England, the Admiral’s Cup was contested by teams of 3 racing yachts from each participating country.

The Admiral’s Cup consisted of four races with points awarded to boats based on placement: the Cross channel race, Brittania Cup and New York Yacht Club Challenge Cup. The final race, and the only one to award triple points, is one of the world’s most prestigious: the Fastnet, a 650 mile, four day ocean race with a course beginning in Cowes, England, rounding Fastnet Rock off the south coast of Ireland and then finishing in Plymouth, England.

In 1969, eleven countries fielded Admiral’s Cup teams. Selected for the US team was RED ROOSTER (with lifting keel), designed and skippered by Dick Carter; CARINA, a McCurdy & Rhodes design skippered by Dick Nye; and PALAWAN III, a Sparkman & Stephens design skippered by IBM CEO Tom Watson.

RED ROOSTER, the night before the final race, the grueling Fastnet. Cowes, Isle of Wight, 1969.

The Australian team had won the Admiral’s Cup in 1967 and looked to be heading for a repeat victory in 1969. But RED ROOSTER won the Fastnet in a fleet of 140 yachts. This enabled the US to win the Admiral’s Cup, an achievement not repeated until 1997. It was Dick Carter’s second victory in the Fastnet, having won it in 1965 with his very first design, the revolutionary RABBIT. And RED ROOSTER was the high point boat of the 1969 regatta.

Dick Carter (left) and Dick Nye receive the Admiral’s Cup trophy for the US.
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50th Anniversary of the Carter 30!

This past February 5th, the Russian Carter 30 Association celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Carter 30 yacht! There are more than 70 Carter 30s in the Moscow region. All except one were built by NAVIMOR in Szeczcin, Poland during the Soviet era. The Russian Carter 30 class has its own rules, regattas and a Russian Championship. Chapter 18 in Dick’s book traces the fascinating history of these yachts. Congratulations to all the Carter 30 owners worldwide!