Friday, October 30, 2009

BMW ORACLE Racing: Look Mom No Rudder!


Hey look Oracle finally let's us embed there files! I guess they realized that if they don’t let us who would ever see them!

BTW: No more rudder and centerboard on the middle hull!

Butterballs all nighter


Maybe it’s just me but Butterballs looks like crap! I guess he’s trying to drinking away the pain after making such as stupid mistake. Have fun getting sand blasted in RAK BB!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Russell Coutts calls for Valencia

Statement
Russell Coutts, Skipper and CEO BMW ORACLE Racing

San Diego, CA, October 28, 2009 – Valencia is the best option to get the
America’s Cup back on track as soon as possible. This is what sailing fans from
around the world are waiting for.

Both BMW ORACLE Racing and Alinghi still have bases in the Port America’s
Cup. The infrastructure created to the specification of the Swiss defender is in
place, available and ready to recreate the atmosphere of the previous America’s
Cup in 2007.

Last week Cristobal Grau, Director of Sport for Valencia City, said it would only
take a few weeks to have Valencia back in action. Today the Mayor of Valencia,
Rita Barbera, said her city would welcome the Cup back with open arms.
In her ruling at the New York Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Shirley
Kornreich confirmed the primacy of the governing Deed of Gift document for the
America’s Cup. This means that Société Nautique de Geneve (SNG) must
choose a Deed-compliant location. Although Valencia is in the Northern
Hemisphere, it is possible to hold the 33rd Match there in February because both
SNG and Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) had agreed to it by mutual consent.
Were SNG to propose a location in the Southern Hemisphere instead of
Valencia, we ask the defender to name it as soon as possible so that we have
the maximum opportunity to make an informed assessment. We say this noting
that nearly three months of the court-ordered six month minimum notice period
for the venue has gone already.

We again confirm our willingness to sit down immediately with SNG/Alinghi for
talks to resolve the outstanding issues surrounding the 33rd America’s Cup.
There is no reason why SNG should not ask the International Sailing Federation
(ISAF) to appoint an independent, neutral jury with the usual duties and powers
of an international sailing jury, and to do this immediately. In that way any future
disputes involving sailing rules and related issues could be referred to the jury
instead of needing to go back before the court.

GGYC and BMW ORACLE Racing are eager to race in the Match, starting on 8
February 2010. Our BOR 90 is back in the water in San Diego, more refined than
ever and there are further technical developments in the pipeline that we are very
excited about. - http://www.ggyc.com/

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Groupama 3 : Prêt à partir.... de Brest !


Jules Verne Trophy 2009 - 2010

Arriving in Brest on the afternoon of 26th October, Groupama 3 is now ready to set off on her bid to conquer the Jules Verne Trophy from 1st November onwards.

"We're seeking to gain any advantage we can. Setting out from Brest will be easier from a maritime viewpoint, both in terms of hoisting the sails in the lee of the harbour, and making for the start line off Ushant with what we expect will be a fairly strong N'ly wind" explains Franck Cammas.

For this final sail between Lorient, the home port for the Groupama trimarans since 1998, and Brest, five of the ten Jules Verne crew were aboard. Boat captain Loïc Le Mignon was naturally in position, as well as Bruno Jeanjean, Lionel Lemonchois and finally Thomas Coville, who knows the port at the tip of Brittany like the back of his hand: "I have a lot of memories of this place. Some good, some bad, but none that have left me feeling indifferent".

Moored in the new port of Le Château, just in front of La Boudeuse, Groupama 3 is making the most of the fine facilities in Brest to finish off the vast amount of preparation: "We still have to remove the propulsion engine and lift out the propeller shaft" explains Yann Mérour, a native of Brest in charge of logistics. He adds: "The supplies will be loaded as soon as the bilges are clean, on Wednesday or Thursday".

Responsible for keeping an eye on Groupama 3, Yann and his team will be making regular return trips between Lorient and Brest: "There are always a few details that can be improved on; a boat is never ready" he concludes, though he is not averse to making the most of the stand-by period in Brest to invite his friends along to admire the maxi trimaran. Meantime, some of the other members of the team will be deciphering the grib files on a daily basis, in search of the right weather window... -http://www.cammas-groupama.com

A force to be reckoned with: BlackMatch


A brief look at the BlackMatch racing team's year so far, and preview going into the final event of the 2009 World Match Racing Tour.

Italy's Gabrio Zandona Edges Chris Larson


© Pierrick Contin
Italy's Gabrio Zandona Edges Chris Larson Into Second Place After A Light Airs Day Three At The Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis Melges 24 World Championship

For the competitors arriving at the City Dock this morning on day three of the Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis 2009 Melges 24 World Championship, the chances of racing taking place seemed unlikely, with Annapolis shrouded in low cloud and no evidence of any wind whatsoever. Despite the gloomy outlook, Principal Race Officer Jeff Borland put all trust in his local knowledge and led the fleet out on to the race area.

This forthright strategy was eventually rewarded, when after a prolonged delay, a fitful breeze finally developed and racing got underway. As a further bonus the quickly clearing skies soon bathed the competitors, race management fleet and the many spectator boats in some welcome warm sunshine. With winds peaking at no more than seven knots, by no stretch of the imagination could the racing today be described as high adrenaline, but nevertheless the conditions did produce some fascinating tactical battles at the front of the fleet.

Race one saw the three Championship leaders, Chris Larson on 'West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes', Gabrio Zandona on 'Joe Fly' and Bill Hardesty on 'Events Clothing/Atlantis', round the first windward mark in that order. Hot on their heels was first Corinthian helm Bruce Ayres on 'Monsoon'. Rather than follow leader Larson down the left hand side of the course, 'Joe Fly' tactician Daniele Cassinari opted for an early gybe on to port. As Larson and the rest of the leading pack went almost to the left hand layline, the Italian team on 'Joe Fly' made good progress closer to the middle of the course.

When the boats converged at the leeward gate it was neck and neck between the first two; Larson coming in from the left having to handbrake his way round the port gate, whilst Zandona arriving with more pressure and speed from further right was able to make a smoother exit from the right buoy. Zandona immediately captialised on this slight edge and moved smootly into the lead up the second beat. As the leg progressed the breeze became increasingly unstable; dropping as low as four knots at times. Staying in the maximum pressure, Zandona rammed home his upwind advantage and rounded the second windward mark well ahead of Larson, who was now having to deal with a sustained challenge from Ayres.

These three boats had pulled out a big gap on the rest of the pack and were well into the run before the fourth boat, Lorenzo Bressani on 'Uka Uka Racing' rounded the weather mark. There were no place changes amongst the top four on the one sided and somewhat processional final leg, with Zandona claiming his second race win of the series ahead of the ever consistent Larson in second, a clearly delighted Ayres in third and a relieved looking Bressani in fourth. Norwegian Eivind Melleby on 'Full Metal Jacket' continued his impressive form in this series, clocking up another top ten result in fifth. - Read more...

Provisional Overall Top Ten After Six Races

1. Gabrio Zandona - Joe Fly - 15 points
2. Chris Larson - West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes - 16 points
3. Eivind Melleby - Full Medal Jacket - 22 points
4. Bill Hardesty - Events Clothing/Atlantis - 38 points
5. Carlo Fracassoli - Gullisara - 41 points
6. Terry Hutchinson - Quantum Racing/Gill Race Team - 42 points
7. Lorenzo Bressani - Uka Uka Racing - 43 points
8. Brian Porter - Full Throttle - 43 points
9. Nicola Celon - Fantastica - 44 points
10. Flavio Favini - Blu Moon - 50 points

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Melges 24 Worlds Daily Interviews




By TACKTICK.COM
27 Good Day For The Italians But Larson Extends His Lead At The Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis Melges 24 World Championship
October 2009
Despite the decidedly damp and cold conditions which prevailed on day two of the Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis 2009 Melges 24 World Championship, the quality of racing for the international fleet was nonetheless characteristically red hot. Overnight leader Chris Larson aboard 'West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes' turned in a solidly consistent 6,4, scoreline for the day, which sees him extend his margin at the top of the leaderboard tonight to eleven points. Surprisingly perhaps Larson believed that the Annapolis conditions today had been more predictable than normal. 'The wind didn't really move about that much today, so much so in fact that in both races we were actually able to one-tack both first beats by simply hitting the left hand layline.

This afternoon though the wind did begin to get a little spotty, with more pressure in some places than others.' Whilst obviously delighted to still be leading at this stage, Larson also recognised that there was still a long way to go in this Championship. 'We are four races in to a twelve race series and so far I've been successful with doing my job on the boat, which is to get us off the line cleanly. Richard Clarke has been doing a great job on tactics and the whole crew has been solid. I think if we can maintain this approach then we will be in good shape.'

Today also saw a return to more familiar form for two of the Melges 24 fleet's most well known teams, as Italians Lorenzo Bressani on 'Uka Uka Racing' and Gabrio Zandona on 'Joe Fly' respectively, each took a gun in today's two races. Bressani followed up his win in the first race with a second place in race two, after a prolonged battle with Zandona at the front of the fleet. 'Uka Uka Racing's' 1, 2 score today earned them boat of the day; an achievement made all the more impressive given that they were racing with a substitute crew, following a severe ankle injury to their regular bow-girl Francesca Prina.

For the first time this regatta, they have broken into the top ten and now sit in seventh place overall. Trimmer Federico Michetti was full of praise for stand-in Meredith Adams, who he said had coped well with sailing with a foreign speaking team. 'To be honest I was very nervous about how things would go today as we have raced and trained for so long with Francesca. Meredith fitted in really well however and picked up our way of doing things very quickly.' Asked if he thought 'Uka Uka Racing' could still win this championship, Michetti glanced down at the results sheet and commented 'For sure we could.

There are lots of teams in the top ten with poor scores. We definitely have no more room for mistakes and it will be very, very difficult. However, we like a good fight and of course will be trying to the very end.' Michetti has his own special incentive to keep striving for victory; already a triple Melges 24 European Champion, victory here this week would make him the first ever person to have sailed on three Melges 24 World Championship winning crews. Read more...

NO RAK

Statement
Tom Ehman, Golden Gate Yacht Club Spokesperson

New York, NY, October 27, 2009 – We’re pleased with the court’s decision today
that Alinghi’s choice of the venue for the 33rd America’s Cup was not allowed
under the Deed of Gift.

We look forward to Justice Kornreich’s decision later this week regarding two
additional issues.

First, we hope she will agree with our position that Alinghi cannot add
additional ballast, equipment or sailors to the boat after it has been measured
for compliance with the Deed of Gift’s restriction on length along the load water
line. Enabling any team to add additional weight after measurement – thus
lengthening its load water line and increasing its speed – violates the Deed of
Gift, decades of sailing practice, and the spirit of the rules that govern the
America’s Cup.

Second, Justice Kornreich understands the need for a fair and impartial jury.
Our position is that the sailing jury must have the normal powers to adjudicate.
We remain motivated to negotiate all remaining issues with Alinghi to ensure a
fair, competitive and successful America’s Cup in February 2010. We took a
big step towards this goal today. - www.ggyc.com

Monday, October 26, 2009

On the dock interviews from Day 1…. Melges 24 Worlds




Tacktick Media Coverage of the Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis 2009 Melges 24 World Championship: On the dock interviews from Day 1….
Photos are posted from Day 1 of the Melges 24 Worlds: www.sail22.smugmug.com.
Results goto http://www.melges24worlds2009.com/results.asp

Battle of Boating Billionaires












SYZ & CO Record October 2009

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Sailrocket...like a freight train.


...like a freight train. This boat can beat the existing record. Yesterday she made that perfectly clear to me and those who watched.

Sitting here the following day... we know we went fast... but we still don't know how fast. We normally sail with three independant GPS systems onboard.

1/ One simple, standard hand-held GPS I strap to my arm which gives an immediate indication of peak speeds and 500 meter averages. It is not accurate enough for official timing but puts us in the ballpark. For some reason that was not put in my kit bag and we didn't know until it was too late.

2/ The mighty Trimble 5700 unit which is used for the official record. It records points every 1/10th of a second and can get down to millimeter accuracy. It has no displays so we have to post process that data once we have returned. The WSSRC (world speed sailing record council) official who watches our runs makes sure that he is present when it is loaded and unloaded to make sure that the data we present is indeed off the boat we are running... and not a jetski! We are struggling to process that data and have been for some time. The data is there... but we can't get it to make sense. We will send it to Trimble today.

3/The pi/Cosworth black box data logger. This brilliant little piece of kit also has a high rate GPS... but also needs to be post processed. It is much easier to process than the TRIMBLE... but not as accurate.

So yesterday whilst waiting for the wind to build to record breaking levels... I decided to do a shakedown run to keep everyone sharp including myself. It was at this point that we realised we didn't have the small gps. Nevermind. Not critical. The run went brilliantly, the boat was rock solid with great control. The nose was riding sweet even with the extra 20 kg of water ballast in it. The pod was skipping but not flying as were only doing low-mid 40's.

As we headed back up the course it was obvious that the wind was kicking in. The team at the timing hut radio'd in confirmation that the wind was topping 25 knots in the gusts.

It was on.

The French film crew was getting excited and the day had turned. It was also getting late. The grey overcast that normally hangs offshore blew in and it all began to get dark. We quickly put VESTAS Sailrocket in full record trim with all fairings and stripped rigging.

I started the run at near on 7pm. VESTAS Sailrocket leapt of her tether and tried to plane down-wind with a fully stalled wing. There were still lulls of 20-21 knots... but this was good.

I noted that the mainsheet cleat was jamming open for some reason. This was surprising as we all check, check and double check this system. I considered the options and had to act quick as we were already getting out. The marker buoys were getting hard to see and the chop was up due to the windstrength. As soon as I gave the wing a sniff of attached flow... the rocket launched. the spray was heavy and I sailed with the wing out to allow me to close on the shore and get out of the chop at a mild speed i.e. 30-35 knots. The wing flap was set to be sheeted in... which meant that if the mainsheet slipped in a jammed cleat that the wing would back-wind and come crashing down. I had to hold the mainsheet to be safe... which meant I had to sheet the flap with the other hand... which meant I had to steer with my feet all the way. I lined up the course but struggled to line up the two marks. It was flat enough but the sheeting had distracted me for a few seconds. We were now high in the 40's and I only got the flap in as we flew past the timing hut. They had 21 knots at the timing hut as we went by. the wind was being relayed over the VHF. I knew it was fast. I also knew that I wasn't in as close as I should be. I let the boat have its head and just rode the next big gust to the end before dumping the flap and abandoning the run. It was less than ideal... but the boat itself behaved brilliantly. Rock-solid, pod flying and locked in.

Damn... I knew it was fast... but too rough.

We had no idea how quick it was. It was a terrible thought to think that it could be a world record for all we knew... but we wouldn't know. So we couldn't get excited. It was possible that the magic moment you dreamt of for so many years could be blurred by slight oversights. I personally thought that it was a new personal best... but that's probably all.

When we got back to the container in the dark we quickly got the TRIMBLE and PI/COSWORTH boxes out. Helena was first to come out with data off the PI Black box. It measured a peak of only 49.17 but a 500 meter average of 48.27 knots. The trouble was that the peaks had all 'flat-lined'. The unit probably struggled with all the water washing over the decks. It looks like the real peaks will be in the 50's which will drag the average up. That's how it looks.

So it was new personal best... which I guess makes it a new 'B' class world record. But we are after bigger game. Much bigger game.

Alex is still crunching away on the TRIMBLE data beside me now. when I look at the video and how the run went... I can easily see where we will get another three knots from. The boat is in brilliant form and yesterday was nothing but confidence building. It could have been a record day... but I'm not going to deal in 'if's' here. We have a few days left with a couple of good forecasts. We will be sailing at low tide which is a bit of a pain.

Today it is forecast to blow 30. Yesterday reminded me of Malcom's belief that we don't need super strong winds... a steady 23.5 will do it. The average yesterday during the run was only 22.4!!! Being fully sheeted in and copping a 26-7 knot gust will send us ballistic again. The boat has no means to shed the power other than acceleration... and that power will give speeds where the foils will fail us. So we must be firm in our decision making... not gung-ho suicidal! It's a hard balance when standing waste deep in water at the top of a remote beach with officials, team members, film crews... and most importantly... all your dreams and aspirations... waiting at the other end.

We continue to refine the boat as every day we find new little issues. She's no teenager anymore. Even the support RIB is throwing us curve balls. yesterday the steering cable snapped and we had to quickly fit a makeshift tiller onto it.

So today... looks goooood. And I feel goooood about it.

I know we have the fastest sailing boat in the world... we just have to keep all the plates spinning to make it official.

One of these days.

Cheers, Paul. http://www.sailrocket.com/blogs

Second place overall...


Photo: Renee Athey, Oct 2009
October 24, 2009
St. Pete, FL

Our team finished in second place overall today at the Rolex Osprey Cup here in St. Pete, FL. We had some great races against eventual winner Giulia Conti from Italy, but in the end she got the better of us with a 3-1 record to win the series.

The morning started with light winds, but we were sent out anyway as the winds were forecasted to strengthen as the approaching cold front got closer. When we got to the course, we had perfect conditions, and racing started on time. Our first race of the day was against Karin Hagstrom from Sweden. We were still completing the semi-finals this morning, and our team needed one more win to wrap up the series. Off the line, Karin had the lead, but we put ourselves in great positions up the beat to be neck and neck with her at the top mark. We managed to get inside of her after we both tacked to get around the mark, which then set us up for the pass downwind. We took the lead at the bottom mark and held on to it to take the win and advance to the finals against Giulia.

The finals provided some exciting and tense racing. In the first race, at the first mark, Giulia had the lead, and then at the bottom mark we had the lead. On the last downwind leg, Giulia had the advantage of being in the attacking position, but we thought we could hold her off. We held her past the layline to the finishline pin, but gybed half a boatlength too early, which allowed her to hang on just enough. Both boats crossed the line at almost the same time, and given that it took the race committee a couple of seconds to put up the flag of the first boat, it must have been a tough call. Anyway, the call went to Guilia, so we were now one race down.

The second race, we led her off the line and held on until the finish to even up the score line, even though it was a tight race the whole way. The third race, we made a couple of mistakes as a team which put us in difficult positions. We started a couple seconds early which meant that we had to play catch up from the start of the race. We managed to catch up to the point of rounding the last mark right behind her, but ended up with a twist in our spinnaker which allowed her to pull ahead just enough to take the win. With the series now 2-1, we had to win the next race to stay alive.

The next race, we drew a penalty on her at the start of the race, but the race was called off right after the start gun, so we attempted it again. We stuck to our game plan, but now the cold front had come through and the wind had shifted to an offshore breeze which meant that it was really shifty and puffy. Guilia and her team sailed a great race in the shifts and took the lead early and maintained throughout the race to take the race win and the overall win for the regatta.

It was great sailing today. We had a lot of close races and we again, as a team, learned many valuable lessons. We are all looking forward to our next event which is the US Women's Match Race National Championships in November.

Tomorrow, I am doing Laser training with my fellow USSTAG teammate, Paige Railey, in Clearwater and team coach, Leandro Spina. It is three days of training, which should be fun, then I get to go home for a couple of day's recharge.

I would like to thank Carmeuse, and USSTAG for their continued support of my campaign for the 2012 Olympics in London. I would also like to thank Gill for their support of our team for this event.

Sail Hard, Anna Tunnicliffe http://www.sailanna.com

Open letter from Brad Butterworth

Open letter from Brad Butterworth, seven-time participant to the America’s Cup and four-time winner

In Defence of Mr. Schuyler’s Deed
Some have been calling for a rewrite of the America’s Cup Deed of Gift, offering the Defender their own vision for the sailing competition. These shrill calls have been common before every match in recent times, usually from those with no record of success in the Cup. Claims of imminent death of America’s Cup competition have always proven to be greatly exaggerated.

Two American yacht clubs: the New York Yacht Club and the San Diego Yacht Club held the America’s Cup between them for 140 years. For them everything was perfect, “the wind was in their sails,” as some would say. There were no calls then to strip the winner of its trusteeship, to strip the winner of organising the next regatta or for an independent entity to manage the America’s Cup (although they perhaps did pass a few of those Trustee Interpretive Resolutions to keep the challengers at bay.) Now the Cup is again in foreign hands and after nine failed American challenges to get the Cup back – all failing even to make it to the match – it is time (according to some Americans and their fellow travellers) while their tenth challenge is in progress to rewrite the Deed of Gift; to strip the winner of its fruits of victory, making it easier for a challenger to win. If the Deed and the competition it created are really that defective, where were all those reforms when the Cup was in American hands? The answer of course is that it is not defective. The answer is that a few are still having difficulty adjusting to losing the Cup and failing to get it back again. They are now seeking to make winning it easier.

It is important not to judge and write off the competition based on the present difficulties, which will soon pass, but instead to judge with the wider perspective of 150 years of competition. Yes, there have been in our time two rogue challenges without mutual consent and both of those challengers dragged the competition through the courts, but within the 150 year time frame of the competition, these are only brief exceptions, although we all agree it is twice too many. If there is to be a change, all that is needed to help keep disputes out of the courts is to add a simple arbitration clause to the Deed for speedy dispute resolution within the sport so that competition remains on the water. For sure the Deed is not perfect, but it is hardly broken down and in need of major surgery or the wholesale butchery that some now propose.

The mutual consent clause is the key to the Deed, it enables the competition to move and respond to changing times and circumstances. What may look like a good idea now may not be in 10, 50 or 100 years time. The last thing any generation should do is lock in and impose its will on future generations. If anyone wants to manage the competition differently – go and win the Cup and agree it with your challenger of record, it is really that simple. But please don’t pretend to be George Schuyler and paste the vision of what you think the America’s Cup should be on to his Deed. No one is stopping anyone from acquiring a trophy, pen and paper, and creating another competition. Just don’t try to steal Mr Schulyer’s competition to seek credibility for your own.

The America’s Cup is a tough demanding competition. It is, to use the words of my friend and broadcaster P.J. Montgomery, “the Everest of sailing”. These days, however, anyone’s granny can get dragged up Everest for a fee. The Cup, to continue PJ’s climbing analogy, is more like K2: difficult, technical and merciless, and must remain so. The old phrase “there is no second” truly captures the demanding and ruthless spirit of the competition. Defeating the Defender with all its advantages is an essential part of the foundation, history and fabric of the Cup. For those who seek a level playing field, go and race in any of the numerous competitions that exist in the world. Of course what often happens are those that are successful, end up competing in the America’s Cup because it is the ultimate sailing challenge and the ultimate proving ground, with real rewards for the successful. Lowering the mountain serves no one.

When I think of Larry Ellison’s litigious challenge, I am reminded of a comment made by my old friend Dennis Conner in his great book of 1998 “The America’s Cup: The History of Sailing’s Greatest Competition in the Twentieth Century”. He said of the lack of success of our early Kiwi challenges for the Cup:

“Sir Michael [Fay], however would be condemned to repeat the past: This “backdoor man,” who came to Perth with a plastic 12-Metre in 1986-87, and to San Diego with a superyacht in 1988, returned to San Diego in 1992, as we will see, with an oddly designed boat that flew and jibed its spinnaker in an unorthodox fashion. Once the Kiwis came in through the “front door” in 1995, they left with the America’s Cup.”

Great sportsmen seek victory on the field of play, or in our sport; on the high seas. A sportsman seeking to win through the courts or through what Dennis called the “backdoor” only demeans themselves as sportsmen and taints any victory, as well as the sport.

Having challenged for and defended the America’s Cup successfully, I have always found it has been won by designing and building the fastest boat and sailing with the best team. It is hard to win, as it should be for such a trophy. Reducing the challenge might make the conquest easier, but gone is the attraction and achievement.

Changing the Deed to make it easier for challengers to win only cheapens the America’s Cup and reduces George Schuyler’s challenge to succeeding generations of yachtsmen and yachtswomen to emulate America’s 1851 victory to the realms of the ordinary and mundane. - http://www.alinghi.com

Don’t miss Alinghi on Seamaster Sailing this week

Tune in to follow the 33rd America’s Cup defending team from Genoa, Italy, to Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, where Alinghi has set up base for the defence of sport’s oldest trophy in February next year…

Here are the broadcasting times for Sky UK and Ireland:

Sky Sport 2 Sky
25 October 1130
25 October 1600
26 October 0130
26 October 0700
26 October 1030

Sky Sport 3
25 October 1430

Sky Sport Xtra
25 October 1830
27 October 1630
28 October 0100

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Nick Celon Takes Two Firsts in the Melges 24 PreWorlds



The opening day of the Pre-Worlds regatta at the Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis 2009 Melges 24 World Championship brought some very mixed conditions with variable wind and a fair bit of rain to test the competitors to the full out on Chesapeake Bay. After two races it’s an all Italian top three with Nicola Celon, the 2006 Melges 24 World Champion, leading this warm up series with Lorenzo Bressani sailing Uka Uka Racing second and Flavio Favini aboard Blu Moon third.

America’s Bill Hardesty sailing Vince Brun’s Event’s Clothing/Atlantis lies in fourth place just ahead of Bruce Ayres and his Corinthian crew aboard Monsoon. For all the news from the race course today please check out the IMCA Blog sponsored by Tacktick and supported by Verizon Wireless. Full results are available on the Event Web Site. Tomorrow the Pre-Worlds concludes with two more races planned and Championship racing gets underway on Monday. -

UKA UKA RACING ARE READY TO DEFEND...

UKA UKA RACING ARE READY TO DEFEND THE 2008 WORLD TITLE THEY WON IN PORTO CERVO

THE REIGNING CHAMPIONS HAVE A GOOD INSIGHT INTO THE LOCAL CONDITIONS THEY FACE WHEN RACING IN ANNAPOLIS

Uka Uka Racing, Lorenzo Santini’s team who are holders of the world title for the Melges 24 class, are back, arriving last Monday, here in Annapolis – located in Maryland on the North-Eastern U.S.A.-coastline – to prepare to defend their World Champion title.
This is this the fourth time this year that Uka Uka Racing have flown across the Atlantic Ocean to come to Annapolis to learn the difficult racing conditions here.

In the course of the first few days, characterized by light breezes, the team were interested in testing their speed and to understand the situations and condition to be expected in the different race areas on Chesapeake Bay, where on Monday , October the 26th, the Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis 2009 Melges 24 World Championship will start.

After having won the 2008 World Championship the team has won all the races which they took part in, notwithstanding small crewing changes to key roles.
This is the winning sequence of their triumphs: the Premiere Racing of Key West (U.S.A.) at the beginning of 2009, then the NOOD Regatta in Annapolis (U.S.A.) followed by the Italian Championship in Cagliari, followed by victory at the Torbole Week (the last leg of the Volvo Cup) and finally but not least the European Title in Hyères (FRA) at the end of August.

This is a real dream team, whose key members have been Lorenzo Bressani at the helm, Federico Michetti team manager and trimmer, the tacticians Jonathan McKee and Branko Brcin (replaced McKee in Hyères), Francesca Prina, the Bow, Matteo Sprecacenere (replaced Prina in Key West), Carlo Zermini (replaced Santini in Torbole) and lastly the owner Lorenzo Santini, the foundation on which the successes are built .

“My opinion – says the owner Lorenzo Santini - is that we trained very well for the main event of this season; I am therefore confident, and so is everybody in our team. Of the difficult racing area, we decided to strengthen the team by relaying on the experience of Dave Scott, an experienced sailor and North Sails worker, who knows this racing area very well.”

“I’m looking forward to getting going – says the helmsman Lorenzo Bressani - we are ready to race. We trained well, together with Terry Hutchinson, Favini, Zandonà and Larson. The feedback is very positive. No doubt the racing area is complicated and speed itself will not be so critical t as at other events, but certainly it will not hurt.”

“This year has also been fantastic for us – continues Bressani – we won all the races in which we took part, therefore I do not feel any more tense than we should for an important event. We are all focused and ready.”

The Pre-Worlds event, ahead of the World Championship, will take place today and tomorrow – starting at 10.30 am – and will consist of 2 races for each day.

For more information regarding the event please refer to the official website:
http://www.melges24worlds2009.com/

The event will be closely covered in real time with footage, team interviews and pictures on the website: http://www.sailinganarchy.com/otwa/ - http://www.t2p.tv

Friday, October 23, 2009

Rolex Osprey Cup

October 23, 2009
St. Pete, FL

Today was a long day at the Rolex Osprey Cup, given that we only did five races. For our team, we had a great day, winning all five races, although they were close races. The wind was up and down all day long again, giving us an extra long lunch break as the gradient breeze died out and the sea breeze filled in.

Photo: Renee Athey, Oct 2009
We wrapped up the second round robin first thing after lunch, maintaining the lead in the regatta with an 18-0 record. We had some very good races, including a very tight race with Samantha Osborne (NZL) that came down to half a boat length at the finish line.

The race started with Samantha having a penalty in the pre-start, for luffing too quickly. We led the way up the course and around the top mark, with Samantha close on our tails. We made a bad decision on our boat and gybed too late for the layline, whereas she gybed right on it to take the lead downwind. Upwind on the second beat, we stayed within two boat-lengths of her which was our goal so that she wouldn't have enough room to spin her penalty turn and still keep the lead. She spun her penalty turn at the top mark giving us the lead, but leaving her in the powerful position downwind of being right behind us. We defended her most of the way down until about six boat-lengths from the finish line, where she caught up right to us and sailed to leeward of us. She sailed slightly above her proper course, earning her another penalty. In a last ditch effort to draw a penalty back on us, she did a couple of gybes, but at that point it was too late and we managed to cross the line just ahead of her. It was a great race, and given that it was our first race of the day, it shook us awake and got us going for the rest of the day.

After finishing the round robins, we started racing the semi-finals. We are seeded against Karin Hagstrom (SWE). We completed two races in the semi's before we were sent in for the day. The races were close and a lot of fun. In the first race, we called a bad layline to the pin end of the line, missed it and ended up about two boat lengths behind, off the line. We caught up on the upwind leg and ended up taking the lead at the top mark. Downwind, we got into a tight battle, where we ended up sailing past the leeward mark then sailing back to it under jib and main on a tight reach. We rounded ahead and maintained the lead for the remainder of that race to take the first race in the best-of-five series. The second race had an interesting start. After a huge misunderstanding, we found ourselves behind on the upwind leg, but worked exceptionally hard as a team, pulled ahead and held on to win that race too.

Tomorrow we will finish the semi-finals and then go onto the finals and petit-finals. You can check the results on the regatta website. A few regatta photos can be viewed by clicking here.

I would like to thank Carmeuse for their continued support of my campaign for the 2012 Olympics in London, England. I would also like to thank Gill for their support of our team for this event.

Sail Hard,

Anna

France 3 19/20 du mardi 20 octobre 2009

Transat 6.50 - Thomas Ruyant interview Transat 6.50

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Rolex Osprey Cup

October 20, 2009
St Pete, FL

We have just finished racing on day two of the Rolex Osprey Cup in St. Pete, FL. We had eight races today and won them all. To add to our record from yesterday, we are now 15-0, and leading the event half way through the second round robin.

Holding Position In The Pre-Start (Anna, Hull #7)
Photo: Renee Athey, Oct 2009


This morning we wrapped up the first round robin with two good races against Anne-Claire Le Berre from France and Karin Hagstrom from Sweden. Once we finished that round, we completed two more races before we came in for lunch. After lunch, we had a great race with Gulia Conti from Italy. We had a close first beat after being about even off the line. We were on the left and she was on the right. We were slightly ahead up the beat, managing to leebow her the whole way and lead her into the mark. On a close downwind leg, we managed to retain the lead. On the second upwind leg, we again had some close tacks, but extended our lead by another boat length to hold on for the win. It was our closest race of the day, and a great way to re-establish the flow after lunch.

The next three races were held in changing winds. The wind was increasing for some of the time and decreasing at other times, which made for challenging and choppy conditions. It was a fun day, that kept everyone on their toes. We also saw some sea life between races today, including a couple of hammerhead sharks.

Tomorrow we will finish the last three races of the second round robin before we advance on to the next round. Full results weren't available at time of press.

I would like to thank Carmeuse for their continued support of my campaign for the 2012 Olympics in London, England. I would also like to thank Gill for their support of our team for this event.

Sail Hard,

Anna

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Great day of racing...




Photos by Char Doyle
Update by Anna Tunnicliffe
St. Petersburg, FL: After day one of racing, our team finished the day with 7-0 at the 2009 Rolex Osprey Cup. It was a great day of racing with steady winds from 6 - 10 kts.

We had some very exciting pre-starts and made a couple of silly mistakes, resulting in two penalty flags. But we managed to exhonorate ourselves successfully. It was a good day for us all to get our heads back into the game of match racing.

Our last race of the day was against Samantha Osborne, from New Zealand. We had an even start with Samantha, with her to leeward of us, off the line. In the light and choppy conditions, she edged out on us slightly. We tacked away and she tacked with us. We worked up to her and slowly got to the point of pinching her off, but it was right on layline to the windward mark. We held on to being overlapped to her into the mark, but we sailed high of the mark outside of the zone and when we turned down to the mark, she was ahead of us. Downwind, we closed up the gap as we managed to get onto her wind, but again it resulted in us rounding right behind her at the mark. Upwind, we sailed a great beat which enabled us to get a piece of her at the top mark, forcing her to tack before she rounded the mark. We rounded the top mark in the lead, sailed fast and held onto the lead for the finish. It was a great way to end the day.

We have two races left tomorrow morning to finish this round robin before we start the second round. The forecast for tomorrow is similar to today, so we should get in a lot more racing. Check the results here.

I would like to thank Carmeuse for their continued support of my campaign for the 2012 Olympics in London, England. I would also like to thank Gill for their support of our team for this event.

Sail Hard,
Anna

Pre-Regatta: 2009 Rolex Osprey Cup

St Petersburg, FL: After a week off at home recharging, I met my team this morning at Tampa airport then headed to St Petersburg for the Rolex Osprey Cup, an ISAF Grade 1 women's match race event. The event started today with practice and registration; racing begins tomorrow at 11am. Racing runs through Saturday.

Photo: Joanna Tunnicliffe, Oct 2009
Debbie, Anna, Liz, Molly on the steps of the Easton House, Rochester, NY

I am sailing with the same team from last week, Molly Vandemoer, Debbie Capozzi, and Liz Bower. This is our fourth time at this event, and we are very excited to be competing. There are 10 teams total, from six countries: USA, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, France, Sweden. We are racing in Sonars and the racing will be very close.
I will be writing nightly updates on our day, but you can also check it out on the regatta's website.

I would like to thank Carmeuse for their continued support of my campaign for the 2012 Olympics in London, England. I would also like to thank Gill for their support of our team for this event.

Sail Hard,

Anna

Rolex Middle Sea Race - Update


Photo credit: Rolex / Kurt Arrigo
UPDATE - WEDNESDAY, 21 OCTOBER 2009 @ 10.00

October 21, 2009

This morning brought home another four yachts bringing the total finishers in the 2009 Rolex Middle Sea Race to fourteen. Whilst all finishers are celebrated and feted as they cross the Royal Malta Yacht Club line deep in Marsamxett Harbour, the greatest cheer this morning was reserved for Strait Dealer, the first Maltese boat home. Strait Dealer has been a stalwart of the race since 2001 when, in the different hands, she won the race. Since 2002, she has been under the ownership of Maltese resident David Franks. This year Strait Dealer was skippered by local hero David Anastasi and as usual crewed mainly by sailors from the island state.

Franks was delighted to be home and to secure the prize of first Maltese boat home on the water, despite enduring some difficult times, "I enjoyed the race very much, and we had a good crew. There were some very tough points, but we didn't break too many things and we didn't lose too many things. We got tangled up in a lobster pot and went through an ice storm. I've never had such a cold Rolex Middle Sea Race and this is my seventh."

"This is a most fantastic race. It is so well organised, it's so exciting, so many great boats come along, it's very competitive and there's a good social programme before and after," continued Franks, who indicated this may be his last race since he is moving back to the UK after twelve very enjoyable years on Malta. "The crew held up very well, David Anastasi had a lot on and did very, very well. Strait Dealer is a very wet boat, but everyone just got on with it."

Skipper, David Anastasi was pleased too, but admitted that their hope had been to win first Maltese boat on handicap. Strait Dealer does better downwind than upwind and with more of her race being into wind, she will be hard pressed to secure that prize. "We had a really good race up to Messina in conditions that the boat loved. From then on the wind was on the nose, which is very hard for us. Everything went well, the crew worked well together including the younger ones such as Sean Borg, Darren Cauchi and Alan Tabone." Anastasi admitted that the biggest problem had been eating, even freezer-dried food that needs just boiled water adding to it, "the conditions were so bad, and it was practically impossible to cook since there was just too much going on below."

The most experienced member of the crew was Nigel King, who counts a Volvo Ocean Race in his résumé. He was quite candid about the difficulty of this year's race, "it was probably the toughest race I've ever done. Quite a lot of storms came through, with squally showers. The guys had to work really hard to keep the boat moving. The most difficult bit was once we got round Stromboli. It was windy and rough to there; the sea state was pretty bad. Then there were lots of squalls and showers and storms coming through. Lots of sail changes and fighting the occasional fire when they came a bit quicker that you expected them. It was very hard at night because there was complete loss of visibility and it was much harder seeing the wind that's coming. You've got to be a bit more pre-emptive in getting things done. The Mediterranean's famous for days like that though."

The other finishers this morning were Tonnerre de Breskens III (NED), Fever (GBR), Nix (NED), Shambala (ITA) and Big One (CRO).

A more detailed report will be issued later today

For more information about the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2009 including the entry list, position reports and results please visit http://www.rolexmiddlesearace.com/

To receive daily reports and to download high-resolution images, copyright free for editorial purposes, register online at http://www.regattanews.com/

Preparations Gather Pace for Louis Vuitton Trophy - Nice


October 21st, 2009 - With two weeks to go until the eight teams are scheduled to assemble for practice sailing in Nice, preparations for the first Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta are gathering pace.

The facilities in Nice are being readied, the race boats are being tested, equalised and prepared for racing, and some of the teams spent some time on ACC yachts last week, working out the kinks ahead of the first race day, November 7.

In Valencia, the site of the last America’s Cup where several teams still maintain a base of operations, the four ACC boats that will be used for the racing in Nice have been set-up for the November regatta.

On Tuesday afternoon, two of the boats, GBR 75 (provided by TeamOrigin) and FRA 93 (provided by ALL4ONE - previously known as K-Challenge) arrived in Nice under tow, following a 400-plus nautical mile journey up the Mediterranean coast.

“It’s great to see the first two boats here in Nice,” said Laurent Esquier, the CEO of the World Sailing Teams Association (WSTA), who, in partnership with Louis Vuitton and the Club Nautique de Nice, is organising the regatta.

Nic Bice, head boat captain, said: “It was certainly a relief to arrive in Nice unscathed. Our weather window was extremely small but due to the hard work of all the guys and girls involved we were able to leave when the time was right and arrive with the boats 100% and ready to go."

The other two boats, ITA 90 and ITA 99, supplied by the Mascalzone Latino team (who won’t be competing in Nice) will be shipped to the venue later this month.

“We have a very hard-working team already on site in Nice, preparing the race village and the logistics for the regatta, and everything is running to schedule,” Esquier confirmed. “We look forward to welcoming the eight teams here at the beginning of November for some practice ahead of the racing.”

The confirmed line-up of eight world-class sailing teams for the Louis Vuitton Trophy - Nice, which runs from the 7th to 22nd November, includes:

ALL4ONE (FRA/GER)
Azzurra (ITA)
BMW ORACLE Racing (USA)
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL)
Swedish Challenge Artemis (SWE)
Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS)
TeamOrigin (GBR)
Team French Spirit (FRA

BMW ORACLE Racing, Emirates Team New Zealand and ALL4ONE (as K-Challenge) each competed in the last America’s Cup and TeamOrigin competed in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series earlier this year. While the other four teams are new to ACC racing, experienced Cup sailors are sprinkled throughout their crew rosters. This past week in Valencia, the Synergy Russian Sailing Team and Azzurra had an ACC familiarisation session using boats belonging to Victory Challenge, while ALL4ONE sea-trialled with FRA 93.

The Louis Vuitton Trophy - Nice is the first event inspired by the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in Auckland, New Zealand, earlier this year. The host team of the Nice event is ALL4ONE.

Further dates and venues for the 2010 season will be confirmed soon.

NOTE FOR MEDIA: Media registration for the Louis Vuitton Trophy - Nice is now online at www.louisvuittontrophy.com. Media must pre-accredit online before arriving on site in Nice.
_______________________________________________________________________

About Louis Vuitton

The world leader in luxury, Louis Vuitton has been synonymous with the art of stylish travel since 1854. Since 1987, it has been part of LVMH/Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton, the world’s most prestigious luxury goods group headed by Bernard Arnault. Since 1997, with the arrival of the designer Marc Jacobs, it has extended its expertise to women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, shoes, watches and jewellery, glasses, combining traditional craftsmanship with flair and innovation to create a complete lifestyle experience. Today, Louis Vuitton has an exclusive network of stores all across the world.

About WSTA

World Sailing Teams Association (WSTA) was founded in 2009 by a group of professional yacht racing teams to develop a regular series of high-level competitive racing events. The WSTA is jointly owned by its preferred shareholders and represents the interests of the teams for fair and highly-competitive racing. The WSTA, in conjunction with title partner Louis Vuitton, co-organises the Louis Vuitton Trophy.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Oman unveils Majan; the first Arabian 100 trimaran




After four months of assembly in Oman's southern most port of Salalah, skipper Paul Standbridge has been stretching the legs of Oman Sail's new Arabian 100 (A100) trimaran during sea-trials off the Omani coast. Now named Majan, after the ancient name for Oman, Oman Sail's new flagship is now operational and is heading into the Gulf and a tour of neighbouring countries.

Based on the proven design of another trimaran, Sodebo, which is the holder of the solo North Atlantic crossing record, the design has been tailored for the needs of Oman Sail and their objective of training and developing Omani sailors to compete on the international stage.

The launch of Majan is an ambitious addition to the project's mission to inspire a new generation of young Omanis. The first chapter was started when Mohsin Al Busaidi returned to the shores of Oman after successfully circumnavigating the world non-stop on Majan's 75ft sister ship, Musandam. From there, success has followed success as the two Oman teams took 1st and 3rd in the 2009 European iShares Cup and two Omanis are currently also sailing around the world in the Clipper Race. At the heart of all this success lies the Oman Sail Academy where young Omanis are now taking part in try sailing courses and looking to emulate their peers. Oman Sail's aims are ambitious: by 2015, the project aims to have seven academies running across the country enabling over 30,000 Omanis to try sailing.

Majan will sail with a crew of seven: 50% of the sailors will be Omani offshore trainees joined by three international professional crew and a cameraman providing the one-on-one training that the recruits require at this early stage of their career. The first chapter will be a 'Tour of Arabia' starting next week from Muscat, which will include stops in UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar before Majan joins the Dubai-Muscat race back to Muscat one month later.

The name Majan is used with pride within Oman and is a fitting name for a futuristic racing yacht for a country with a long maritime history. As Majan's newest crew member, Mohsin Al Busaidi, commented "The acceleration of Majan is incredible: we moved from 20 - 30 knots in one gust of wind. We now look forward to showing the world what she can do!"

Monday, October 19, 2009

Annapolis Training Session


By TeamBrickHouse:
It was a joy to return to the helm of the Melges 24 last week during a training session in Annapolis, MD. I’ve come back to the Melges after spending the summer match racing in slow tactical boats. The Melges 24 is anything but slow. They reward feel and strength and seem to handle better the faster they go through the water. Believe me, we put the boat through the ringer this past week and it felt great!

This past session proved to be extremely valuable. Annapolis delivered classic conditions- everything from 3kts to 35kts. We sailed in it all, including the 35kts which was reminiscent of the 2007 World Championship in Santa Cruz CA (except it was windier in Santa Cruz). The down wind rides were great. The upwind beats were humbling...

We benefitted greatly from sparing with our training partner Alan Field and his crew aboard “WTF.” Alan is an excellent driver with a history in the 470, Martin 242, and Farr 40 classes. Sailing with Alan is Steve Hunt, Erik Shampain, Jeff Reynolds, and Sarah Curran. The WTF team is a top performing boat in this US Class and Team Brick House was grateful for the chance to line up next to them.

Leading the group was our coach Dave Ullman. A sailing legend, Dave is the 2007 Melges 24 World Champion. Dave put our training group through a rigorous test of boat handling and side-by-side speed testing. WTF and both Brick House Boats were using our Ullman sails and we were able to share tuning information because of the similar set ups.

Jumping into some of our practice starts, Billy Hardesty and Vince Brun along with the Full Throttle team made the days leading up to the weekend regatta quite memorable. At one point we were side by side with the top US boats speed testing - it was a thrill. Click Here For More...

ICAP Leopard Line Honors


Photo credit: Rolex / Kurt Arrigo
ICAP Leopard Line Honors

At 11h 59m 3s CEST the Rolex Middle Sea Race committee signaled the line honors for ICAP Leopard (GBR) in Marsamxett Harbour.Close to breaking the course record set by Rambler (GBR) in 2007, the 100 ft Maxi was just 24 minutes and 30 seconds off record pace. - http://www.regattanews.com/

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Onboard living Doll- Flinders Islet Race






Photos by Christophe Launay
Onboard Living Doll, Farr 55, built by Cookson Boats for Melbourne yachtsman Michael Hiatt competing in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s (CYCA) dramatic 92 nautical-miles Flinders Islet Race that started off Point Piper on Sydney Harbour, where a yacht, Shock Wave, sponsored by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, crashed into rocks off Flinders Islet and ran aground at about 3am. Two yachts competing in the race, Syd Fischer’s Ragamuffin and Bob Steel’s Quest, both from the CYCA in Sydney, went to the aid of the PriceWaterhouseCoopers crew. Two other yachts in the vicinity at the time of the incident, Geoff Ross’ Yendys, also from the CYCA, and Michael Hiatt’s Living Doll from Melbourne also stood by to give assistance.
Experienced sailors Sally Gordon, 47, of Darling Point, and Andrew Short, 48, of The Spit, were pulled unconscious from the water but couldn't be revived.

My deepest and heartfelt condolences goes out to the families that have lost their loved ones.

Photo's attached or:
http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/sealaunay/gallery/Living-Doll/G0000kUF8yhy3KZ4/

Christophe Launay
www.sealaunay.com

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Rolex Champion of Champions

Paul Cayard
Thursday, October 15, 2009

I am here in the heart of America sailing in the Rolex US Sailing's Champions of Champions regatta. This is an annual regatta bringing together 20 nation and world champions from the USA. Each year they rotate the venue and the type of boat used. This year the boat is the Lightning. I had never sailed a Lightning before yesterday but had two great coaches to help me get familiar. The first one is part of my team, Kristine Wake and the second was regatta chairman Matt Burridge. Matt is a very experienced Lightning sailor and he took time to coach me yesterday.

The Lightning is a fairly heavy boat, very flat bottomed and wide. It has a fractional spinnaker and a fairly small upwind sail plan. It is basically underpowered. The competitors are representing classes like the Snipe (long time Star Sailor friend - Augie Diaz), Lightning, 505 World Champ (Mike Martin), Comet, Day Sailor, Finn, FJ, Geary 18, Highlander, Mercury (childhood friend of mine Chris Raab), Optimist, and many more. These sailors are all very good and very competitive and some of us have known each other for years so that makes it fun.

My good friend and Star crew Austin Sperry has joined me here and together with Kristine, we are a strong but heavy team. Not Kristine, she weighs 105 pounds. But Austin and I are big for this type of boat at 430 between us. The ideal total weight is about 470 pounds. Today it was very light wind and 46 degrees! We all sat on the wind side once for about 10 seconds. The wind was also very shifty so it was tricky and sometimes frustrating sailing - not just for us but for everyone I think. We had a lot of ups and downs in our scores. It is like a college regatta in how the scoring looks. We did have a bullet right before lunch so that was nice.

I have no idea what the scores are. We were in 8th at lunch time after four races. We did four more races after lunch for a total of 8. We are scheduled to race 20 races through Saturday 1200. We rotate boats after each race so that evens things up a bit. All the boats have new North Sails so that is very nice. Really it has been about the start and the shifts more than the speed of any boat.

You can see the results at 2009 US SAILING's Championship of Champions

Forecast for tomorrow is more of the same. Off to dinner in downtown Carlyle, population 3500.

Cayard Sailing Website

BMW ORACLE

Destruction...







Foiler Catamaran SYZ & CO

Yesterday's strong wind conditions had attracted several candidates trying to break the Lake's different speed records.

The northerly "bise" was blowing at over 25 knots when the SYZ & CO sailed out of the Société Nautique de Genève's harbour yesterday in an attempt to break the 1 km speed record, with two reefs in the mainsail and the jib.

After sailing upwind and showing that she was able to fly against the wind, the hydrofoil catamaran eased downwind to attack the record.

Unfortunately, as she was flying at 30 knots, she hit a rogue wave and the fore portion of her starboard hull suddenly snapped.

Fortunately, no one was hurt on board and the boat was kept afloat.

Best regards,

Sandra

Taken it to the Extreme

OC Events, organisers of the award winning iShares Cup, the European Extreme 40 Sailing Series, has announced today the creation of the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia to be staged between November 2009 and March 2010. The first year of the Asian series will include events in Hong Kong, Singapore and Oman with the possibility of a fourth venue to be confirmed, and with a plan to grow this to a six-event series by 2011/12. Bids have already been received for the future series from a number of other venues across Asia.

After the spectacular finale of the six-stage European iShares Cup circuit last weekend in Almería (Spain), five of the boats were packed up to be shipped directly to Hong Kong. Mark Turner, CEO of OC Group, which includes the Series’ organisers OC Events, declared: “The iShares Cup has been running very successfully for three years now in Europe and the Extreme Sailing Series Asia is the next step in the evolution of this exciting sailing format - a format which has become a benchmark in terms of changing the way sailing is seen. Our aim is to build this series each year on the same foundations on which the European iShares Cup has been built - a comprehensive sailing entertainment event that packages the sport to appeal to the public, media and provide experiential VIP client hospitality. For this inaugural series in Asia we won’t be focused on the public side directly, instead we will work hard on the VIP and media aspects, as we did in the early iShares Cup years. But, of course, our aspiration is to build this circuit up over the coming years to match the award-winning iShares Cup format including a strong public element.”

Each event will consist of five days of racing, combining the established format of short, easy to understand races, a media day, VIP sailing days and special events. The Extreme Sailing Series Asia Notice of Race has been issued today and the announcement of the first of the competing teams will follow imminently. Five boats have already committed to the Asian circuit, as in the first year of the iShares Cup series in Europe.

The first event in the Extreme Sailing Series Asia will take place over the 20th-24th November in Hong Kong, supported by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, to coincide with their annual ‘Around the Island Race’ on the 22nd November. With over 200 entries the Around the Island Race is Hong Kong’s largest and most inclusive sailing event. The RHKYC is well equipped to support the series given its long time presence in Hong Kong waters as the premier sailing club.

The circuit will then move on to Singapore from 11th-15th December where sailing has become synonymous with sporting excellence in the region, after multiple medal success at the Asian Games and the ISAF Youth World Championships. One of the country’s key objectives is to make Singapore a key hub for sailing competitions.

Muscat, Oman will host the third event over the 1st to 5th February just before the America’s Cup in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, subject to the current legal dispute. The Sultanate of Oman, home to the legend of Sindbad, is known throughout the Gulf for its spectacular beauty and hospitality. The two Oman Sail boats that finished in 1st and 3rd place in the European 2009 iShares Cup, will return to the Extreme Sailing Series Asia this time with two Omani recruits from the Oman Sail Academy on board as part of the crew.

The inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia will see the same high calibre of competitors currently competing in the European circuit with Olympians, World Champions and Record Holders battling it out for victory in this new territory.

For further information, please email info@extremesailingseriesasia.com

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Sail22 Regatta


www.Sail22.com
Light air on Sunday provided the Sail22 Melges 24 Worlds Regatta Competitors a glimpse at the full range of breeze they may experience at the Worlds later in October. At the 10am start, the breeze was around 5 knots, but tapered off on the second downwind leg. Uka Uka managed to win race 6 of the regatta, followed by Kristen Lane, Stuart Simpson, Chris Larson and Bill Hardesty. Racing was abandoned for the rest of the day at 1pm and teams headed into shore for awards.

Chris Larson’s Team West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes was first overall and received a $500 gift certificate from Henri Lloyd and shoes for the entire team from Sebago. Alan Field’s WTF was second overall and received shoes for the entire team from Sebago, a vest from Melges Performance Sailing and a shirt from Ullman Sails. Third overall was Bill Hardesty’s Ask Vince who received shoes for the entire team from Sebago and a couple of Team McLube t-shirts.

Sarah Curran was the lucky winner of a pair of Kaenon Bolsa’s after her team on Alan Field’s WTF lobbied hard for her to be the very deserving winner. Sarah had broken her sunglasses on Saturday. After the awards teams hung around and enjoyed snacks and Heineken beer.
Alec from Velocitek has made a YouTube video of the 5 races on Saturday. To replay the races go to this link. For photos of the event you can go to the Sail22 Photos page. Full results are available here.

Ready and raring to go...



Nico Martinez/GP42 Global Cup
With a practice race now under their belts, the eight teams assembled here in Puerto Calero have only a few minor details left before the real battle begins in earnest at tomorrow's start to the Puerto Calero GP42 Global Championship. A few sails loaded and unloaded, some rig details here and there, but in general everyone is relaxed, confident and happy to be in such a picturesque place and recipients of the legendary hospitality of the Calero family.
After a few days of preparation and measuring, today’s practice race was a great opportunity for teams to put themselves to the test in mock battle, especially in the five pre-starts Principal Race Officer, Peter “Luigi” Reggio and his race management team provided for the fleet. In these it was apparent some teams were pushing hard to test themselves and the race committee, most notably Caser-Endesa (ESP) who was called OCS more often than not, though it was Roberto Monti’s Airis (ITA) that got that on their scorecard when it counted in the one practice race of the day.

Conditions for today’s practice racing were perfect for old and new teams alike: a gentle 8-10 knot east-southeast breeze allowed for close maneuvers in the practice starts to test their skills at positioning and timing, and the 1.3-mile legs were long enough to shift gears, play a few shifts, and gauge each other’s speed potential for the upcoming week. Most teams have saved their last new sail slots for use here, but there are also other upgrades: Monti and his team, for example, will be looking closely at how their brand new keel with its longer thinner bulb will be helping enhance their upwind pace.

One team – Team Nordic (SWE) - had to sit out the fun while making a few final tweaks to their new keel installation job on the Cognit-designed Totalboats before launching this afternoon. The team, led by skipper Magnus Olsson (SWE), spent many months here training up prior to the last Volvo Ocean Race. - http://www.gp42globalcup.com/

BMW ORACLE Racing prepares for another round of testing.

SAN DIEGO, CA: BMW ORACLE Racing prepares for another round of testing.
Following three weeks of modifications, the BOR 90 emerged today from the boatbuilding tent at the team base in San Diego.

The latest iteration of the giant trimaran the team will use to challenge for the 33rd America’s Cup boasts new features which will be worked up on shore, before the boat hits the water for more testing near the end of the month.

Most significantly, and in response to the new rules issued earlier this year for the 33rd America’s Cup by the Defender, SNG/Alinghi, the team has modified the BOR 90 cockpit to accommodate an engine. For the first time in the history of the America’s Cup, the Defender has altered the racing rules to allow using an engine to replace human power on board the race boats. Since the Cup’s inception in 1851, and in almost all other yacht racing, only manual (human) power may be used to trim sails and do other work.

On BOR 90, the engine will primarily be used to drive hydraulics for trimming the enormous sails - the mainsail alone measures nearly 7,000 square feet - that propel the boat.

Alinghi’s insistence on the use of engines has resulted in the team having not only to add an engine and related gear, but to redesign the boat’s cockpit on the center hull. With the engine, there is no longer a requirement for the grinding pedestals and sailors (“grinders”) who until now provided the human power for the boat, so the cockpit has been reconfigured.

“When we originally designed and built the BOR 90, we assumed we would have to use the crew to provide all the power on board, as that has always been the case in the America’s Cup,” said design team director Mike Drummond.

“With the change to the rules, we’ve had to adapt, adjust and modify. Otherwise, the engine power that Alinghi designed into their boat would have given them a significant advantage. This all part of the process of preparing to race in February. We’ll spend some time with the boat on shore now, doing some finishing work and preliminary tests and then we’ll be sailing again to continue our boat testing and development.” - http://bmworacleracing.com/