Monday, December 31, 2007

Happy New Year To All!



Happy New Year from Damian and JP in the Southern Ocean avoiding icebergs on Paprec-Virbac 2

Here at Sailkarma we would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and thanks to all of you for supporting Sailkarma.com. We look forward to a great year and bring more info on the world of sailing. Have fun and see you on the water!

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Hugo Boss puts the pedal down



© Chris Cameron / DPPI / Barcelona World Race
Hugo Boss leaving Wellington after their pit-stop to rejoin the Barcelona World Race.
Who knows even after a few days of repairs Hugo boss still has a chance to win with the amount of break downs that have accord the race is still wide open!

Friday, December 28, 2007

Paprec-Virbac 2 makes repairs



Going on 46 days at sea-

Yesterday, Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall had to repair serious damage to the starboard (right) rudder following a collision with a UFO (unidentified floating object). This caused a massive impact, which was a threat to its structure, notably at high speed in the Southern Ocean. So Damian Foxall has undertaken some high precision, acrobatic work in order to reinforce the rudder with sheets of carbon. (see photos in the picture gallery).
Jean-Pierre Dick describes what happened: Damian covered the damaged area of the rudder with carbon material and coating. The idea behind it was to form a protective layer to ensure that the carbon wasn’t in contact with the sea in its raw state. At high speed, there was a risk of the rudder delaminating (ref: layers of carbon becoming unstuck). The hardest thing was gaining access to the lower section of the rudder. Damian was extended outside the boat with a harness. It was pretty acrobatic! -http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com/

More from Hobart


Skandia w/ broken rig.

Rosebud

Rosebud


Rosebud

Quatum Racing Photos by ROLEX / Daniel Forster

Handicap waiting game continues as Rosebud moves to the top
With the line honours trophy again going to Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI after her close, race-long duel with Mike Slade's UK-based City Index Leopard, the focus in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race shifts to an intriguing contest for the sailors' most prized trophy, the Tattersall's Cup for the top yacht on IRC corrected time.
At 7pm today local time, five yachts were positioned to win the Cup, according to computer calculations by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, as a hot nor'west wind, which has sent the temperatures soaring to more than 34 degrees Celsius, swept the next group of yachts at high speeds under spinnakers down the Tasmanian coast.
The American yacht Rosebud (Roger Sturgeon), first of the new STP65 box-rule class to be launched, currently sits in first place overall on corrected time. But her position wasn't guaranteed until the boat crossed the finish line. Less than two hours earlier, Rosebud dropped from the first place she held earlier in the day, as she slowed in light patches in the nor'wester in Storm Bay. - regattanews.com

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Wild Oats takes line honours Sydney Hobart Race


Click on images to enlarge.





ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi & Dainel Forster
Bob Oatley's 98-foot super-maxi Wild Oats XI, with Mark Richards as skipper, crossed the finish this morning in Hobart at 10:24am local time to take the line honours win for the third consecutive year.

The yacht's elapsed time was 1 day, 21 hrs, 24 mins, which was only just over 3 hours off their record pace set in 2005.City Index Leopard crossed the finish line 27 minutes later, to take second place.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Sydney Hobart Photos






Photo by: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi
Wild Oats is out in the lead followed by City Index and Skandia. For full race tracking of the boats go to http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/yacht_tracker.asp

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Artemis build off


Hobart or bust!


WILD OATS XI, Bob Oatley (Rolex Trophy)

COUGAR II, Allan Whiteley

Volvo 60 Hugo BOSS II, Alex Thomson, sail checking in Sydney Harbour


TP 52 RAGAMUFFIN, Syd Fischer
With less then 72 hours to the start of the Sydney Hobart race the yachts are making final preparations. Stay tune for more photos and coverage of the race.

WOT?


Crosbie Lorimer Photo
Don't ask us this is all we know... another boat going for 50 knot world speed record.
The Wot Rocket is half sailboat and half sailplane; a nine metre long canoe style hull with two tiny foils, each about a sixth of the size of a Moth foil and a nine metre rigid sail, then a transverse beam out to an aerodynamic twin pod crew compartment. -

Update from Paul Cayard

Saturday, December 22, 2007
I am back in San Francisco after a three month stint in Valencia. The short story is that I joined Desafio Español assuming that we were in for a short America's Cup, with a new class of boat which I found very interesting as it meant a new game and a compressed time frame.

As we all know, the event has yet to gain traction. The court case between BMW Oracle and Alinghi has completely derailed the America's Cup. As of this time, there is no date, there is no class of boat, and no venue. There is a defender (Alinghi) and one (1) challenger, BMW Oracle.

Desafio Español, like most other teams, has had to make new plans. In the New Year, we will go to a reduced operation until there is some certainty about the next Cup that the team will be able to participate in. A new program has the team competing on the TP 52 Med Cup and GP 42 Circuits next summer, both in the Mediterranean. These circuits are very competitive and in fact most of the America's Cup sailors race there. By having its own team boats, supported by Iberdrola and other top sponsors, Desafio will keep the sailing team working seriously and together and continue its presence in the sport of sailing.

This situation is obviously hard on the people on every team who have to, after getting their lives organized to be in Valencia for 2 years working for the America's Cup. It is also a shame for the fans of the sport and the corporate sponsors who were starting to appreciate what sailing can offer.

It is amazing to think that just 6 months ago, on the 21st of June... the longest day of the year, we were heading to the most competitive America's Cup final in many years following one of the most interesting Louis Vuitton Cups. The first America's Cup in Valencia raised the profile of the event world wide and indeed Alinghi is to be complimented for that. But, how long will it take to get back to that level? When will we next see a harbor with 60,000 spectators and the kind of enthusiasm we witnessed last summer? What a shame to be in this situation.

For me, I hope to continue with Desafio on their TP 52 project, keeping the team together and hoping for some Cup news before December of 2008. I will sail on Warpath with Steve and Fred How of San Diego, on the Farr 40 circuit this spring which includes Key West, Miami SORC, and the World Championship in April (also in Miami). We finished 4th in the World Championship in Sydney a few years back, so it will be fun to try to improve on that.

I am also revisiting a plan I had last year to race with my kids and a few others to Hawaii. There is a lot of organization required to get a project like that to come to fruition but no time like the present. No Star sailing for the time being although my new boat still sits in a friend's hangar at Gnoss Field in Novato....fully cured I guess by now.

For now, a bit of a rest and family time. We will be at our home in Kentfield, CA for Christmas and then off to Lake Tahoe for a week of skiing. I want to wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas and the Happiest of New Year's!

Paul Cayard

Going deep into the lower 40's





photos barcelonaworldrace.com
A few pictures form the team that are still in the Barcelona World Race as they go deep into the lower 40's as temperatures drop and seas build! For some it’s going to be a cold and wet Christmas.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Cape Town...


Strange circumstances ... Whilst the Barcelona World Race was announcing that the monohull Veolia Environnement had dismasted, the monohull DELTA DORE was mooring in the Cape town's marina in South Africa. It was at 9 h 20 French time on this Tuesday morning that the monohull DELTA DORE was welcomed after having been towed for two days and a half days in the Indian Ocean by the Ocean 7 catamaran. The rescue and towage, organised a few hours after the monohull dismasted on Tuesday the 11th of December by 47 degrees South, became a success thanks to an experienced and efficient Franco – South African team. The rescue operation is a great achievement considering the dangers that can be met in the Indian Ocean.
Since a few days, the rumours have been growing in Cape Town. Why did the Ocean 7 catamaran go to sea with its crew reinforced with the presence of the rescue station's Commander on board? Why is it daring to go below a latitude of 40 degrees South, into the roaring forties? Nobody adventures into those feared parts of the world. Yet this time it was to rescue the French dismasted monohull DELTA DORE. The Captain, David de Villiers, and his associate Bruce Tedder, exceptionally accepted the rescue operation considering that that it had been well prepared by DELTA DORE's sail team; and that the weather forecasts were fair despite a depression announced in the zone and whilst the boat was on tow.
Four days after dismasting, Ocean 7 met Jérémie Beyou and Sidney Gavignet. In less than one hour their monohull was roped up and being towed at a speed of 12 knots in a sea sometimes described as chaotic. It only took them 2 and half days to cover the 750 miles on tow.
At 10h20 French time on this Tuesday morning, the Imoca 60 monohull DELTA DORE entered the port of Cape Town and went past the Wing bridge and the blue tilting gates before arriving in the V&A Marina. They were escorted by the Rescue station's boat "NSRI Sea Rescue" that had sailed out to welcome DELTA DORE and it's two skippers. Other leisure boats also had equally sailed out to welcome them.
The team in the V&A Marina welcomed the monohull before mooring her next to Estrella Damm and PRB. The city of Cape Town welcomed DELTA DORE in the best of ways. It was a sunny day, very bright and hot, lightly refreshed by a southeasterly breeze. A lot of reporters from the press and television as well as spectators massed along the quayside for to welcome DELTA DORE.
For the Ocean 7 catamaran that did the towing, it was an exceptional mission. It was the first time it's Captain accepted to go under latitude of 40 degrees South for such a rescue operation. If it appeared to be a lovely summer's day in Cape Town you mustn't forget that the Indian Ocean surrounding it is feared. It's Alghuas current that lifts the sea against the wind and its frequent depressions can transform it into a hostile and dangerous place.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Dicksons New Venture



America's Cup skipper Chris Dickson has joined the afterguard on the board of NZX-listed amphibious boat builder Sealegs.

Sealegs makes inflatable and aluminium boats with steerable, retractable wheels that allow them to be driven in and out of the water, without the need to back trailers down to the water's edge.
Dickson said: "Anywhere land and water meets there's a market for Sealegs. I think there's a great future."
Dickson had watched Sealegs boats develop over a number of years.
"Today from what I see it's more than a good idea, it's now a proven idea, it's in production and it's a great little New Zealand company that's going about proving themselves as a business."
Sealegs chief executive David McKee Wright said the company had an order book for more than 140 boats worth about $9 million. - www.nzherald.co.nz

Maximus out! Keel damage...

New Zealand's Maximus, one of the favourites for line honours in this year's Sydney to Hobart yacht race, has pulled out because of keel damage.
Owner and skipper Bill Buckley yesterday said he was gutted at being forced out of the blue water classic because of damage to the boat's keel, done at the weekend during its delivery to Sydney.
The 30m maxi arrived in Sydney early yesterday and was lifted at Woolwich Dock.
An examination by Buckley, who is an engineer, revealed that the damage to the keel could not be repaired before the race start, on December 26.
He said that before the examination, he had been hopeful the boat could be repaired in time.
Maximus was forced out of last year's race with mast damage, but Buckley hopes to have it back for the event next year. - Photo / Brett Phibbs - www.nzherald.co.nz

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Lies... no way!

Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth has quashed speculation he is about the leave the America's Cup holders.
Reports in the last week have suggested Butterworth was moving to either Oracle or Team New Zealand, but Butterworth says those reports are rubbish. He says he can not believe such things would be written because they are just lies.
The legal battle over the rules of the 33rd America's Cup has been extended into January. A New York court, which last month ruled in favour of US syndicate Oracle in its case against Swiss defender Alinghi, will hold a session on January 14 to finalise the text of its ruling. -http://www.nzherald.co.nz

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Team Aqua are crowned RC 44 champions 2007


This morning, as they started the last day of the Dubai Gold Cup, Chris Bake and his Team Aqua were only fourth of the provisional fleet racing ranking. They knew however that a better score was a possibility as their direct opponents were only a few points ahead.

Held in fairly light wind, the first fleet race saw Patrick de Barros’ first victory on board Team ES Bankers Dubai, ahead of Team Omega and Team Aqua. De Barros started the race at the pin end of the line, at full speed, and dominated the entire regatta: the left side of the course was clearly the place to be.

Already a clear dominator in the fleet event since day one of the Gold Cup, Team Omega, with Vittorio Codecasa at the helm, got a fourth bullet in the eighth and last fleet regatta, giving his team a comfortable lead over its competitors before the concluding coastal race.

Behind Omega, the situation was particularly interesting with four teams fighting for the second place: Team Aqua, Ceeref, Hiroshi and ES Bankers, just separated by a handful of points.

The coastal race took the eight RC 44’s in the inner waters of the Dubai Palm - a surprising real estate development shaped as a palm. There has probably never in history been a sailing regatta surrounded by so many cranes!

Chris Bake’s Team Aqua wanted to win this coastal race more than anybody else. Based in Dubai, Bake had his family and many friends on the water to look at his passion. No doubt they got the show they were expecting! Indeed, Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref took a better start and dominated the first part of the race. As he reached the second windward mark, Bake opted for a jibe set and managed to gain a few meters over Ceeref; just enough to gain the interior at the next leeward mark. Despite Igor Lah and James Spithill’s numerous attacks, the Aqua boys remained in the lead throughout, jumping in the second place of the fleet ranking thanks to this victory; a result that also allows them to grab the second place overall ahead of Team Ceeref.

As for Russell Coutts and his Team Omega, he wins the Dubai Gold Cup after having won the fleet race and finished second of the match race.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Game Over!


Estrella Damm skippers Guillermo Altadill and Jonathan McKee have made the difficult decision to retire from the Barcelona World Race. Although it has been possible to repair the rudder system, it has become evident to the team that it will not be possible to test the rudder system fully and get Estrella Damm back in the race to stay in contention with the remainder of the fleet within a reasonable timeframe. In addition, the serious consideration of safety for the skippers and the boat rejoining the race at its most perilous stage has to be taken into account.
- http://www.estrelladammsailingteam.com/

Coutts calls for 'clarity' from Alinghi

DUBAI - Russell Coutts called on his former team Alinghi to clarify their intentions for the next America's Cup before thinking about ambitious revamps of sport's oldest running competition.
Ernesto Bertarelli, owner of Swiss Cup holders Alinghi, proposed radical changes to the event last week after losing a legal challenge to Coutts' new team, BMW Oracle of the United States over arrangements for the 33rd America's Cup. The next regatta was originally scheduled for Valencia in 2009.
"We need an answer now, yes or no to an America's Cup in Valencia in 2009," Coutts told Reuters by telephone from the Dubai Gold Cup, the last leg of the 2007 championship of the new RC 44 class that he started.
"Maybe he has a long-term vision, but we've been asking for clarity about what's happening now.
"A lot of teams are gearing up for Valencia. We need a decision. We need to know what boats we are racing and where we are racing," said the three-times America's Cup-winning skipper and Olympic gold medallist. -http://www.nzherald.co.nz

"Let's not talk about this"



© Jacques Vapillon
A day to forget for Team Aqua
Team Aqua hasn’t had a fruitful day today on the opening of the Dubai Gold Cup. “Let’s not talk about this”, said Chris Bake back on the pontoon. However with a big smile on his face: tomorrow’s another day. After a nice third place in the opening regatta, Team Aqua missed its start in the second race and finishing the race in eighth. The third race was going well until the team got a penalty during the first downwind leg. Spinnaker down, 360°, spinnaker up: the other boats were gone!

Ericsson Racing Team 3 New Boat


Click on photo for high res!

Click on photo for high res! onEdition Photography
Stockholm, Sweden. The brand new Volvo Open 70 Ericsson Racing Team 3, designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian, and built by Killian Bushe, istransported from the team's boatyard at Kista, through the Stockholm's highway system to Frihamnen harbour in Stockholm. The boat will then be shipped to Lanzarote to the team's training base. The boat is the first ofthe second generation Volvo Open 70 to be launched for the next Volvo Ocean Race, starting in Alicante, Spain on Oct 4th 2008.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Bummer


Having arrived in Cape Town last night (2140 GMT), Estrella Damm skippers Guillermo Altadill and co-skipper Jonathan McKee were welcomed back on dry land after 32 days at sea by their shore crew, before getting onboard to quickly begin the preliminary work of repairing the rudder system and sorting the other work that the team will also try to fix during this pit-stop. The have team removed the two rudder cassettes off the boat so they can be worked on independently. This morning the skippers and the shore team met again to discuss the time-line involved of making the repairs and getting back into the race, the team will continue to assess this time-line during today and by this afternoon make a decision as to whether to continue in the Barcelona World Race or not. -http://www.estrelladammsailingteam.com