August 12, 2007Cowes, Isle of Wight

To the Crew of Artemis and to my brother Glen Carlin at Shake-A-Leg,

We thought all of you would enjoy these English "Sunny" summer pictures. David and I were about to experience a 6 metre Carbon Fibre Performance Keelboat.....

Kerry Gruson is saying: " Glen started all of this."

Kerry greets David and me with great warmth and spirit. Kerry is an intrepid sailor with sparking eyes and a zest to try out a boat that has been viewed as one of the fastest and coolest racing machines on the Solent this summer.

John Muir ( WhyDitTOT Innovations Inc. of Toronto ) who accompanied Kerry on her adventures this summer in Cowes says:"Glen is your brother?" ...you mean " The Little Tornado" I recounted, as I used to call Glen. He will be very happy today to see us all together. Glen closed the Transatlantic gap, making sure that we could all meet up in Cowes. Glen is at "Shake-A-Leg" in Miami waiting to hear about the sailtoday.

Kerry is getting into position on the sliding and canting seat with the boom neatly on the deck. You can see there is a second seat in front of Kerry.

The Artemis 20 and crew are almost ready to sail up the river past the UK sailing Centre at Cowes; notice the furling jib and the two reef points on the mainsail. On the sail is the name Skandia which is the sponsor of Cowes Week.

Olivia Cosgrove (from Ireland who is the chief executive of "CashTrail", a financial software for NGO's ), is at the stern and ready to change the seat position with a simple lever which cants the seat to windward. Kerry was happy to be in a fore and aft position to sail the boat. The wind was quite gusty at times as Kerry watches the tell tails on the shrouds smiling to herself at the speed the boat accelerates up the river. Kerry remarked that she was pleased to be able to see the bow unlike other boats she has sailed. The boat tacks in a neat way and is quick and ready to gather speed which is fun and responsive.

Earlier, David Alan-Williams put a small line around the joy stick so that Kerry could have a different type of grip while using the joy stick which swings from left to right. There is a second steering stick that can be used by a person in the front seat.

The boom sports the web site for www.Vizmarine.com or the company owned by David Rutter who was based at the UK sailing Centre during Cowes Week.

Vizmarine or Vizual Marine came to Simon Rogers ( Lymington ) for the design after a research project by David Rutter. Simon added the America's Cup profile and lines which gives the modern appeal and the smooth sailing ability. The first boat was built by Vizmarine for the Southampton Boat Show last year.

The mainsail outboard clue easily clips onto a fitting near the end of the boom. As the boat came back to the dock, Olivia simply unclipped the clue and the power was taken out of the mainsail immediately and the boom dropped out of the way along the deck. There was no heavy boom looming overhead or in the way of the dock as the lines were tied off at the end of the day. This also seemed appropriate as the boat was towed out into the river.

The second crew was Jack Ginty who was an instructor at the UK Sailing Centre. He is sitting on the side of the boat and is next to first tandem seat which also slides fore and aft as well as cants to windward and leeward. Jack handled the mainsheet and furled up the jib. Jack was very helpful and keen to be involved with a quadriplegic or disabled person or with able bodied crew. The Artemis 20 was designed for a full range of abilities which makes this boat special for many events in the future. This means that the Artemis 20 could be selected as an Olympic class.

The sails are well made with full batons on the mainsail. I understand there is a bigger mainsail if needed and a storm jib which can replace the sails you see in this picture or used together in a different configuration. The smaller jib can also be rigged with the furling system. The stern of the Artemis 20 is open and the water and spray drain easily away. The mainsail track uses a boat rope sewn on the mainsail that guides the sail up the mast. There is a central panel of cleats in front of Jack where most of the lines are led for easy access.

The Artemis 20 is a lot of fun with a wonderful "Lines Profile" like an America's Cup Yacht ! It is very responsive when sailing and easy to handle. As you can see there is plenty of room to sit on the side of the boat. There is also an asymmetric spinnaker ready to hoist in it's stowed away position in a recessed area of the fore deck.

Simon Rogers, the designer of the Artemis 20 is steering the R.I.B. while talking to John Muir on the left. Andrew Boosey who is next to Simon works for Vizual Marine and is an agent for the Artemis 20.

Katrina McGirr is the senior Administrator for "Waterways Ireland". Katrina crewed on Kerry's "Sonar Class" boat for Cowes Week. John Muir was also crewing on the Sonar. My David is taking the photographs and I am wearing the hat. I do not have a photo of Lian, a lovely lady from Holland who has been helping Kerry for the last ten years. She stayed ashore and greeted us when we had a coffee at the UK Sailing Centre's canteen.

This is David Rutter steering the second R.I.B. There is a custom seat that he helped tp design for Hilary Lister who is a quadriplegic who sailed solo

around the Isle of Wight earlier this year. The seat is very unique because it can swing freely or be fixed in a canting position. Hilary's boat is an Artemis 20 called "Me Too" and the photo was taken at the UK Sailing Centre. Hilary used a "sip-puff" system to steer and control the sails of the boat. There were small generators sited on the deck near the mast for this system.

The Artemis 20 was a good luck charm yesterday. The profile of the Artemis Logo looks forward all of the time. We had perfect conditions for a beat to windward, a close reach and a run back to the marina dock.

This boat will be a big hit on Biscayne Bay for the City of Miami and for "Shake-A-Leg".

All the best for sailing,

Laurel Alan-Williams