Winning the Barn Door Trophy – Thank you from Manouch

Posted on July 26, 2015January 31, 2017 by Admin

Transpac is one of the best and most important yacht races in the world and the Barn Door trophy is one of the most coveted. The organization did a great job of organizing the race from the kickoff party to assigning us a great host here in Hawaii. This race was unusual in that at the time of our start there were three different weather anomalies that affected our routing and the amount of wind on the race course. We ended up finishing ten hours after the record time which forces us to come back again next time to see if we can break the record. A year and half ago we decided to build a boat that was able to win the Barn Door Trophy, this mission was well executed and achieved. I have to thank Brett Bakewell-White and the Cookson’s yard for designing and building such a great boat for us. My special thanks go to our most important team member, Keith Kilpatrick who supervised building the boat as it progressed inch by inch and then taking care of her and customizing her for our races. The boat is always prepared and in top shape. Keith is also […]

Sydney to Hobart – Video 1

Posted on January 13, 2015January 13, 2015 by Admin

Here’s a look at the Sydney to Hobart from onboard Rio 100 produced by Nick Vindin from SBS who sailed with us. LiveSailDie / Rio 100 Media will be coming out with our own version of this story shortly.

Entering Storm Bay – Sydney to Hobart 2014

Posted on December 29, 2014December 29, 2014 by Admin

A short clip from Rio 100 as she entered Storm Bay towards the end of the Sydney to Hobart – 2014. Low quality. A full movie of the entire race will follow over the coming days.

Sydney to Hobart race underway

Posted on December 26, 2014December 26, 2014 by Admin

(Filmed just after rounding the heads) Nick Vindin, who is currently on the Rio100, says there are five yachts ahead of them in the race.

Weather could ruin fortunes of many

Posted on December 25, 2014December 25, 2014 by Admin

If talk around the dock in the last 24-hours is anything to go by, the big boats are genuinely concerned about keeping their craft in one piece. The skipper of multi-million dollar, newly launched Comanche will have a rough sleep tonight, “It is crazy to do this as the first race and it could end in tears, you can get some weather that breaks an unproven boat.” The race record looks off the table according to the five skippers of the supermaxis in this years race, and Wild Oats XI don’t want to even think about setting a new race record for eight line honours wins. “To get any sort of record you’ve got to win. You got to finish the race. If we do a good job this week we will be in contention, who knows mate it’s the kiss of death we have to stay away from it,” says her skipper Mark Richards. The mind games are nearly over, it’s almost time for racing to take the spotlight.

Manouch Moshayedi feeling confident on race eve

Posted on December 25, 2014December 25, 2014 by Admin

The crew of Rio100 will go to bed hoping that the forecast holds true. Their talismanic skipper Manouch Moshayedi feels like the current modeling makes them a real player. The American owner caught up with Nick Vindin on race eve to share his thoughts.

On the dock with Manouch

Posted on December 24, 2014December 24, 2014 by Admin

Interview conducted by Fox News – On the dock with Manouch Moshayedi.

No rest for the super-maxi crew

Posted on December 23, 2014December 23, 2014 by Admin

Most people think of sailing as a leisurely pursuit, but in race mode during the Sydney to Hobart, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Climb on board Rio100, the boat carrying SBS reporter Nick Vindin to Hobart, to find out what it’s like in “training mode” on one of the biggest competitors in this year’s fleet.

Behind the scenes with the biggest and bravest at the Sydney to Hobart

Posted on December 23, 2014December 23, 2014 by Admin

For the second year in a row SBS’s own Nick Vindin will be reporting and competing in the world renowned Sydney to Hobart Yacht race – bringing viewers as close as they can without getting wet. After vowing he would never do it again Nick’s done an incredible backflip and will take to the start line on boxing day aboard on of five Supermaxi’s Rio 100. The entrant from the USA is crewed and skippered by professional sailors from all over the world and is a highly tuned racing machine. As part of SBS’s All Access Coverage of the Sydney to Hobart climb aboard the biggest and smallest entrants competing in this year’s great race south.

Manouch Moshayedi is hoping for light breezes – Sydney to Hobart

Posted on December 22, 2014December 22, 2014 by Admin

[Source: The Australian] AS yachtsmen in Sydney wonder if Boxing Day will bring a thumping southerly buster or a howling nor’easterly to test the 117 competitors in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart race, one skipper is hoping for the impossible. American yachtsman and computer industry millionaire Manouch Moshayedi is hoping for light breezes that never top 12-15 knots to waft over the 628 nautical mile course to Hobart — conditions that could see his unheralded supermaxi Rio 100 lead the fleet up the Derwent. Early this year Moshayedi bought the 11 year- old supermaxi that had sailed in various Hobart races as Zana, Konica Minolta and Lahana and took it to the famed Cookson yard in New Zealand for a makeover designed to make it the fastest yacht racing on the US west coast. “We rarely get winds above 12 or 15 knots, so Cookson was tasked with optimising Rio for those conditions,” Moshayedi said as he watched the racing sails being loaded aboard the sleek, black-hulled yacht in Sydney Harbour yesterday. “They cut through the middle of the hull just aft of the mast and grafted on a new wider and longer stern with twin rudders, making it a […]