Richard Hewson the campaigned in 2012 and 2013 for the Mini Transat race sailing the RG650 AUS 816 nicknamed “Taz” after the Tasmanian Devil, the only carnivorous marsupial remaining in Tasmania, more commonly known for its appearance in the Warner Bros luny tunes cartoon Taz!
Richard hopes to one day race in the Mini Transat class again one day but for now family life is a priority, perhaps he will race with his daughter Isabelle when she is older! Solo and short handed sailing has always been a great interest to Richard, and he has raced and cruised single handedly around Australia and European waters since 1997.
Richards dedication and obsession to win the Mini Transat was noticed by press world wide and numerous articles were published around the world attracting unprecedented and invaluable press. The lessons learnt in the 2013 edition of the Mini Transat have only made Richard better, smarter and more determined to win the next edition of the Mini Transat. “The AUS 816 “Taz” is one of the first RG650’s and we have used her as a test bed to improve all the RG650’s in the future. When I started the 2013 Mini Transat AUS 816 Zhik was in fine form and we had made some awesome modifications to enhance the boats speed and performance. As we raced in conditions I have never faced in the RG650 I continued to fine tune the boat and record data from the experience, and If I was not forced to abandon the race, or we re-started from Lanzarote as planned I think I could have won the Mini Transat!”
What is the Mini Transat Race
The Mini Transat is considered to be one of the most extreme single handed events in the world due to the race length and the boat’s small size. These high performance 6.5m single handed yachts will race 4000nm across the Atlantic, starting on the 13th of October 2013.
The Mini Transat race is a hosts the best single handed sailors in the world including the majority of the skippers in this years Vendee Globe Yacht race.
“A demanding race and a true test for the best sailors as the route covers difficult and adverse weather conditions”
The Mini Transat is an extremely demanding race and a true test for a sailors ability to not only sail the boat to the best of its ability but also manage sleep deprivation in a variety of extreme conditions.
The 2013 Mini Transat race starts from Douarnenez in France, racing 1250nm down the west coast of France, across the Bay of Biscay and down to Arrecife in the Canary Islands where the fleet will regroup, before starting the second race of the Mini Transat where they will race 2770 nm across the Atlantic to Point Pitre in Guadeloupe”.
In total the Mini transat race will be over 4000nm in rumbline sailing, and could possibly take over 35 days of racing solo across one of the largest oceans in the world – Alone!
Richard Hewson and Mini 650
Richard commenced training for the 2008 Mini Transat race back in 2006 however was unable to compete in the 2008 race. “It has always been a dream of mine to race in the Mini Transat and be involved in Mini 650 racing. After Richard completed the Clipper RTW race, Katabatic gave him an opportunity to race their RG650 in the Mini Transat qualification races the Mini Valencia and the Barcelona race providing some fantastic results in a new and untested series class boat.
The boat
The RG-650 One Design ocean racing boat is the newest member of the Mini 6.50 production class family and is the first one to be built in the southern hemisphere. Designed by Argentinean Nicolas Goldenburg, commissioned by Katabatic Sailing in Spain, and built in Argentina this is the latest generation in Class Mini sailing.
The RG-650 features all the latest’s’ high performance design trends: a high performance chine hull. high aspect ratio appendages, big sail area and asymmetric spinnakers; the result is a very stable and powerful boat.
C0 25 m2
Links
RG 650: http://rg650.com/
Katabatic: http://www.katabatic-sailing.com/
The unofficial Mini Transat site: http://www.minitransat650.com/wordpress/