Anyone know a story about this yacht?

I wish I could collate the feelings and thoughts of that time because It is at this exact point that my life, work, dreams and most of all, Ambitions changed. I was totally aware of magnitude of the task and during years as a shipwright and wooden yacht specialist I had seen all to often the dejection and defeat in the eyes of men who have tried and failed in the resurrection of an old and crumbling boat!

But This old boat was too gorgeous to die. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder and I was immediately hopelessly besotted!

I tried to run away. Telling myself that she was simply too far gone, I drove 20 miles only to return to her (in tears!) and start planning her rescue.

Victorious is a Kings Lynn (The wash, East coast, UK) fishing smack built by
Warfolk bros At the turn of the century.(strong rumours point to 1902 but not yet
documented)

She was 41-42′ LOD and would have carried some 15 plus Ft of bowsprit. 11’2″ beam and displacing about 15-17 tons. She was abandoned in her home port approx. 1988 and by the time I met her in Oct 98, she had silted up inside as far as the deck knees! All spars and rigging long gone, deck suffering badly from fresh water (rain) damage, Hood ends had all but let go and had I not rescued her the deck would have soon fallen in leaving only outspread frames and homes for the eels! I was soon to discover that the local council was planning to chain drag the entire quay as the surrounding area was to be developed.

I owe so much to so many for the assistance and enthusiasm from all concerned.
Peter and Claire Thomas Having never even met me before,extended exceptional hospitality over several weekends with accommodation, excellent food and conversation. Peter arrived at the boat Saturday morning with coffee and extra buckets and spades and worked all day in the pouring rain. Claire laughed at the exhausted muddy loonies as we arrived late in the evening to clean up, thaw out and refuel! Over that weekend we bucketed the mud from within and refloated her for barely long enough to get lifting strops around her, A local crane and haulage co lifted her onto a low loader, and one week later delivered her to the south coast.

Cranes Lorry. Logistics and moral support was all handled entirely by Andrea, And when at the last minute the boatyard decided it had no room for Victorious after all… She Totally reworked the frontage of her house including Gates and a small tree… A digger was brought in which Made a fair job of levelling a dreadful unmade lane. Three days flat saw space for a 40ft boat and access to it for a big crane and an artic. Again she organised the Plant and logistics.
A remarkable Lady… Her input would continue for years to come, and her resoucefullness would save me many times “One in a million”

Its a strange thing,

“Success is the child of audacity”

Four weekends travelling 250 miles each way to throw mud about, legal hassle to establish that she was “abandoned”, Local council red tape (she had been slowly sinking in council berth on the Town Quay for 12 years), finding (and paying) crane lorries, police escorts, Salvage pumps! Can you imagine the droves of “helpful” local *experts?* offering all types of advice??? Good advice , bad advice ,JOKE advice Stupid advice Pessimistic advice “It will never work”…. Advice! All of it Painfully time consuming advice! A lot of it appreciated but none really needed!!!! The physical effort has left me with aces and pains that continue to date! Only three weeks ago, I discovered that I can again sleep on my right side! When asked “what are you going to do with her?” I said ” I don’t know. Dig her out of the mud I suppose.) I gave It all no thought beyond solving the Immediate problems as they arose. Finally, In the pouring rain, (no locals Getting dark, we craned her onto trailer and I drove 60 miles to friends house, and bathed and fed, stayed up all night thinking- “HELP What have I done?” Some weeks
later I realised that I was hopelessly Obsessed!

She comes from a time when things were adapted to incorporate new technology and worked entirely by sail power until semi diesels were available as aux in the 1920s (they were little help and sails were still used until the war produced a glut of large lorry engines and the rig and sails were redundant. she then worked for many years until modern vessels and diminishing local markets forced the smacks out of business.

Now, some 10 months after her rescue, I have consolidated my own views and ethics and made firm decisions about the style of her rebuild.

I do not intend to “restore” her but aim to rebuild her continuing her “evolution” with some modern ideas whilst retaining her traditional elegance and lines including traditional gaff rig.
It is physically possible but financially unrealistic to have her back under sail by her centenary, 2003-4 is more realistic.

I have little Idea what I will do with her when she is afloat again but do strongly feel that ” A Smack is for Life!” and would like to die Peacefully on board her, at a ripe old age in the sunshine!

“There is nothing common about sense!”

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Don St Clair Brown widely regarded as the father of the New Zealand Yachting died peacefully in his sleep last Friday night. He was aged 94years.

‘Don St Clair Brown’s beloved Anticipation, aboard which he sailed his final race yesterday afternoon, pictured here at the start of the 2006 HSBC Coastal Classic’     Richard Gladwell      Click Here to view large photo

Brown raced his yacht Anticipation, on Friday afternoon. Had dinner with his crew, and then passed away in his sleep.

Brown will be remembered as one of the greatest benefactors of New Zealand Yachting, along with his wife Mary, together they helped competitors from P-class through to Olympics and offshore keelboats.

Don and Mary St Clair Brown formed the New Zealand International Yachting Trust, along with Sir Tom Clark, which has been a substantial independent funder of New Zealand sailors for 20 years.

In 1968 Brown commissions the first Dragon class yacht in New Zealand and competed in the 1968 Olympic trials in the class finishing fourth.

He was awarded Sailor of the Year in 1986 by the then New Zealand Yachting Federation, now yachting New Zealand.

Another of Brown’s many initiatives was the Air NZ Olympicsail which was first sailed in 1978 off Takapuna attracting 90 boats in just five classes, peaking at 145 in 1983 in six classes it ran to 1997, in the last few years it was sailed off Eastern Beach which took away a lot of its spectator appeal.

Olympicsail was formed in conjunction with a number of friends, including Peter Montgomery, who were disappointed at New Zealand’s performance in the 1976 Olympic Regatta and were determined to start a regatta similar to Weymouth Olympic Week, Kiel Week and others to lift standards and provide a focal point for the season for all Olympic sailors.

Winners of each class at the regatta received air tickets to a regatta of their choice in Europe (usually a World or European Championships) along with other assistance from New Zealand Yachting Federation’s Olympic Fund which had grown substantially under St Clair Brown’s tutelage.

The following Olympics, in 1980, were not attended by NZ, and during the effective period of this regatta 1984-1996 New Zealand sailors won 11 Olympic medals – including four gold, four silver and three bronze in five classes across just four Olympic regattas. The New Zealand medal drought was broken in 1984, when sailors won medals in three classes the Olympic program peaked in 1992, producing four Olympic medals and fourth placings.

Since its discontinuance New Zealand has won just three Olympic medals in three Olympiads in one class – windsurfing.

His greatest mark was on the ocean racing scene, with his beloved, yellow hulled Anticipation, an aluminum 50fter designed by Ben Lexcen. In Anticipation, Brown sailed in most of the major Pacific ocean races including the Clipper Cup and Sydney Hobart races.

Brown also commissioned Thunderbird, a Farr 43 he owned from about 1984 – 1987 and sailed in the 1985 Southern Cross Cup and in the 1986 Kenwood Cup winning that trophy for the first time sailing with Equity (Del Hogg) and Exador (Michael Clark).

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Wedding speach

Pendennis signs 46m Holland ketch

15 Dec 2008
NEW BUILD: There are still new boat orders being placed, with Pendennis set to build a Ron Holland designed 46m performance cruising ketch starting in the early spring of 2009.

The boat incorporates an interior that reflects classic yachting style with the very latest sailing performance technology. It has three staterooms and a study and will provide accommodation for up to 12, with a further four cabins forward sleeping eight crew.

‘We’re very pleased, considering the economic conditions we’re all facing,’ said Pendennis’ Toby Allies. ‘With the hull construction beginning early next year and the yacht due to be launched in December 2010, it’s a welcome addition to the Pendennis portfolio.’

New Trophy for the International 18ft Skiff Circuit

The 18 Foot Skiff International Association is delighted to announce a new global competition, the Mark Foy Trophy, to be sailed for the first time in Carnac (France) between June 29th and July 04th 2009.

Mark Foy was one of the founders of the 18ft Skiff Class in Sydney in 1892 and a uniquely designed trophy bearing his name was recently rediscovered in the clubhouse of the Sydney Flying Squadron. Newly renovated and kindly donated by the Foy family, this valuable trophy will now take its rightful place as an International 18ft Skiff trophy.

As a sign of the importance of the class outside Australia, and to show particular support for the class in Europe, the first venue to hold a series of races for this Trophy will be Carnac in France, often cited as the birthplace of European 18ft Skiff racing. A huge turnout of 18ft Skiffs is expected, with over 30 boats representing Australia, New Zealand, the USA and many European countries, with previous JJ Giltinan winners and champions from other classes competing over 6 days in a gala event hosted by Yacht Club de Carnac.

In 2010, the Mark Foy Trophy will return to its birthplace in Sydney, Australia and will be run alongside the JJ Giltinan Trophy to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the world’s most exciting skiff class. San Francisco in 2011 and Auckland in 2012 are then scheduled hosts for the Mark Foy Trophy.

www.18footer.org
www.18footers.com.au
www.yccarnac.com

Coville in the Indian Ocean

“There’s been an icy rain for hours and neither my shouts nor my tears change a thing. All of a sudden it stops. The boat stalls. The speedos which have been in the red start spinning as the S’ly wind kicks in. That’s what we were waiting for! This wind is coming straight off the ice floe and it nips at my wet fingers. I run forward and switch the immense sail to the right side of the stays and then go back to the man�uvres and sheet her in like my life depended on it. All of a sudden the boat kicks into life again. You feel her sit up and get going again. You recognise this behaviour and the apparent wind created by the speed whistles past your cheek. We’re off! You have to believe in it again. The wind has indeed kicked in and I treat myself to a flight lasting several minutes, the central pod completely clear of the water supported by the end of the daggerboard. High, very high, as if I was sailing off Quiberon, except that I’m at 49 degrees South and 96 degrees East. A single magical moment to wipe the slate clean and retrace my wake.”

Thomas Coville doesn’t disguise his desire to escape this damned Indian Ocean, which has been rather unkind to him the whole way. And he’s not the only one to curse it. In the vicinity of the Kerguelen Islands and it’s a “lumpy, bumpy world”, some of the skippers in the Vendee Globe have just paid the price for the brutality of the waves. For Olivier de Kersauson, “the Indian has always tortured sailors”, “The sea is cold and hard”, “A madhouse of mischief”, “The Indian is an irascible ocean which requires audacity and virtue from sailors”. And it’s not the skipper of Sodeb’O, former crew to Kersauson in a victorious Jules Verne Trophy attempt, who will say the contrary.

Still a few miles from Tasmania tonight, Thomas won’t have any regrets about leaving the Indian behind him, an Indian which has left him smarting. He has lost time and time is all that counts in a record attempt. At midnight last night the Maxi Trimaran crossed the longitude of Cape Leeuwin after 25 days and 9 hours at sea with a deficit of 2 days 18 hours in relation to Francis Joyon’s time.

This evening he is less than 800 miles from Tasmania, which will bring an end to the Indian and open the door to the Pacific, which he is set to reach in around two days time. — Translation by Kate Jennings, katejennings@free.fr

www.sodebo-voile.com

Stamm runs aground in the Kerguelen Islands

Cheminées Poujoulat entered Morbihan Bay in 40-45 knot winds on Sunday evening. In spite of the help that was given to him, Bernard Stamm was unable to moor up where a buoy had been set up for him while using his engine, the assistance of a RIB and the help of Dominique Wavre on board. Very quickly a series of events led to the 60-foot Imoca boat being driven ashore. The skipper was taken off safe and sound.

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PRESS RELEASE – RC 44 Championship Tour – Puerto Calero RC 44 Gold Cup

Team Ceeref wins the battle, Banco Espirito Santo wins the war

It was a punch-up between Team Ceeref and Banco Espirito Santo for fleet racing honours in the Puerto Calero RC44 Gold Cup, and also for the 2008 season title. Nothing was certain until the boats had crossed the line in the final high-wind race in Lanzarote.

Lanzarote, December 14 2008 – Having dominated proceedings all week in the Puerto Calero RC44 Gold Cup, Igor Lah nearly let victory slip from his grasp as Team Ceeref struggled to make sense of the big windshifts that tumbled off the mountains of Lanzarote in gusts that sometimes blew up to 27 knots.

Meanwhile the Slovenian’s closest rival – both at this event and for overall honours in the 2008 RC44 fleet racing season – was having a much better time in the tricky, puffy conditions. Owner of Banco Espirito Santo, Patrick de Barros credited Russell Coutts for making sense of the 40 degree shifts as the Portuguese boat picked up a 1,2 in the first two heats while Team Ceeref struggled with a 3,4.

The Portuguese were now within striking distance of the Slovenians for winning the event in Lanzarote, and were looking more secure in the defence of their lead in the 2008 rankings. Going into today, de Barros held a slim 3-point advantage over Lah in the season points scoreboard, and Ceeref had been the class act of the past week. Now de Barros had a bit more breathing room, and if he could win the final race with Ceeref last then perhaps he could steal the Gold Cup trophy too. With the strength and variable direction of the northerly wind, anything was possible.

Unfortunately Artemis had to bow out of the final race as keel problems forced Torbjorn Tornqvist to head home early. The battle for the remaining five boats was intense, with the whole fleet nose to tail at the leeward mark. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero led round that mark and while the other four boats tacked inshore, Daniel Calero kept on driving out to the right. When Calero tacked back to converge with the fleet, he was well ahead. The local spectators were getting excited at the prospect of a surprise win by a young and inexperienced team over some of the best professional sailors in the world.

The Canaries crew sailed a beautiful beat to lead handsomely around the final windward mark. However the chasing pack poured down behind them in a huge gust. At this stage Team Ceeref was way back in last place, and looked in danger of losing the Gold Cup if Banco could find their way through to first. But Ceeref tactician James Spithill called for an early gybe with the new breeze as the Slovenian boat hit 22 knots boatspeed in a gust of 27 knots. BMW ORACLE Racing was next to gybe and these two boats were locked in a high-speed battle for the lead. Ceeref prevailed, surging across the finish line in first place and securing victory in Lanzarote, to go with their match racing victory three days earlier.

Banco Espirito Santo was second in the fleet racing, followed by Team Aqua who edged third place by just a point from BMW ORACLE Racing.

Any disappointment that Patrick de Barros had for not winning the Puerto Calero RC44 Gold Cup was easily compensated for by his season victory. And Daniel Calero was happy despite having lost that last race which seemed to have been his. He is hugely encouraged by his team’s progress over the past week, and will be training harder than any team in the two months before the fleet returns to Lanzarote in late February.

They said:

Patrick de Barros, owner, Banco Espirito Santo: “Mission accomplished, thanks to Russell, and a fantastic crew. It was a great season, and today was very exciting. Russell did a great job, the boat was fine, we didn’t blow anything up, everything went well.”

Igor Lah, owner, Team Ceeref: “Patrick was dominant today, so congratulations to him, fortunately we won the last race. In sailing you need some skill and a bit of luck. That’s what we had on the last run to the finish. I think it was exciting, racing here is great. No matter about the result, the sailing is so nice, I really look forward to coming back.”

Daniel Calero, owner, Islas Canarias Puerto Calero: “It was extremely good fun. I wasn’t frustrated by losing the last race. We chose the good side of the run, but then a big gust came from the left, nothing we could do, and we were happy to finish like this. We had a lot of fun this week. We have learned so much in this regatta.”

Mark Mendelblatt, tactician, BMW ORACLE Racing: “The races we had a third and second in, we were last in both of those at some stage. And the race we were last in, we were leading at one point. With these boats and this kind of wind there were quite a few passing opportunities.”

Chris Bake, owner, Team Aqua: “I think we sailed phenomenally well today, other than ending up in the wrong spot downwind on a few occasions. In these races we were second round the windward marks, only to lose it on the downwind. But we had great boatspeed upwind, and managed to position ourselves much better on the start. This was a great venue, fantastically well organised.”

Torbjorn Tornqvist, owner, Artemis: “Life has its ups and downs. Sailing has its ups and downs, that’s for sure. Yesterday was a good day, today not so good. The boat broke down, we had to retire. That was disappointing. But the positives were that this was our first event as a team, and we were able to sail competitively in challenging conditions. I’m going to take away the experience of a very fun boat, and look forward to come back better prepared in February.”

Russell Coutts, tactician, Banco Espirito Santo: “It was an awesome week for sailing, you just don’t get much better than that. It came down to almost the last race of the season to decide the series. I’m really happy with the season. Obviously we’ve got to get the boats a bit more reliable, having more breakdowns than I’d like, so we’ll be working hard to iron out all those things for next season.”

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I’ve just heard of Gitana’s dismasting this afternoon – this is very bad news for the race as Loïck is such a great ambassador for sailing and French sailing in particular. I feel really very sorry for him as (apart from myself of course), I had him as a serious favorite to win the race. Whist I don’t know Loïck so well personally, he is and always has been, friendly and free with his smiles – he has no edge of arrogance despite his enviable sailing track record. As you can probably tell – I’m a fan and for me to be on the same race course and combating with such a legend of open class sailing has been amazing.

Conditions are pretty wild, 20 knots plus of boatspeed, diving down steep awkward waves with winds ranging between 22 and 35kts from the west. It’s saying something if I tell you that I had to bring the boat off the breeze a little earlier simply to enable me to use my bucket in relative safety! Also add to this that last night was so very cold (sea temp 3C) that even in full layer thermals and inside my sleeping bag I just could not sleep. So I got up made a drink, hunkering down over the stove. Then I charged the batteries which was a great excuse to have the engine on to warm up the nav station. Then with an almost endless stream of hot drinks of all description, I sat and trimmed sails and the pilot for many hours – probably in part accounting for my big gains this morning.

Over 1/3rd into the Vendee Globe and ECOVER 3 is currently 4th and 28 miles behind the leader – thats a little more than the length of the Solent – crazy !

With the dismasting of Loïck Peyron’s Gitana Eighty on their minds, there is no sign of any obvious let up in the intensity of the battle among the leaders of the Vendée Globe this morning. Some 430 miles west of the Kerguelen Islands, deep in the south Indian Ocean, there is now less than 40 miles between the leading five boats as Jean-Pierre Dick makes a small gain to lead by 30.4 miles from Roland Jourdain who is up to second place again. But there is now just nine miles between second and fifth place Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia).

Foncia remains consistently quick sailing a course which is not extreme. Desjoyeaux chose to go north sharply late on Tuesday after the evening poll, joining Seb Josse in the north and has moved forward progressively. He is second fastest to Dick this morning and has been waging a speed battle with Mike Golding, GBR, (Ecover 3) for fourth position, one and a half miles behind the British skipper.

With his route in the south, Bernard Stamm, SUI,(Cheminées Poujoulat)  is chasing down Brian Thompson, GBR, (Bahrain Team Pindar) just 14.2 miles behind and gaining close to five miles overnight, challenging for Thompson’s 13th place. The Bahrain Team Pindar skipper reported 25 knots of breeze last night.

In 18th place Steve White, GBR, (Toe in the Water) appears to be heading north east again on a course that will pass more towards easterly end of the second Ice Gate and seems to be losing miles on the pack he is chasing at the moment.

The next low pressure system is presently over the Prince Edward islands, or the equivalent of where Dee Caffari, GBR (Aviva) and Arnaud Boissières (Akena Verandas)  are, and will move over the fleet to reach the Kerguelens early morning tomorrow, while a bigger low is due to reach the Kerguelens Sunday yielding 40+ plus knots of wind.

Peyron Dismasted

At around 13h00 (UTC) this afternoon, Loïck Peyron’s IMOCA Open 60 racing in the Vendée Globe dismasted while sailing 180 miles south of the Crozet Islands and 650 miles from the Kerguelen Islands.

Peyron, the only skipper in the solo round the world race to have competed in the first edition of the race in 1989 , was in third place around fifteen miles from the new leader, Sébastien Josse (BT),

Early this afternoon Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) informed the Race Directors that his boat had been dismasted. He was sailing at the time under Solent with one reef in the main in thirty knot winds.  At the time of the incident he was inside his boat. The skipper was not injured and is in good health.

The cause of the damage is not yet known, but the French skipper confirmed he still has his boom and was thinking about where to sail under jury rig.  Loïck Peyron had proven to be one of the leading contenders during the first third of the 24,275 mile solo ocean race. For sixteen days Peyron had been in the lead (in the 11h rankings), at the top of the 26 boat fleet on the way down the Atlantic before Sébastien Josse and then Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) took over this role.

It goes without saying that this dismasting is a salutary reminder of what can happen in the Southern Ocean in this grueling solo ocean race and perhaps will influence some of the other competitors, who have been pushing hard over the past few days. Peyron had experienced halyard problems on his gennaker before entering the Indian Ocean and climbed the mast yesterday to deal with this.

At 49°36 south and 52°47 east this afternoon at 15h UTC, the monohull belonging to Baron Benjamin de Rothschild is making slow headway.

In a short report, Loïck Peyron spoke about the circumstances of his dismasting: “There were thirty knots of wind and Gitana Eighty had one reef in the main and was under Solent. There were no particular reasons for the damage and everything was fine on board, when the mast suddenly came down without fwarning. I was inside when I heard a loud noise. When I went outside on the deck, I could see the mast had gone.  I still have the boom and we’re currently considering our plans.”

The boys are back in town

RIP

The Stewart fleet as always, is very competitive. Promise, Princess and Pelagian taking advantage of a shifty northerly.

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and Hawke Sea Scouts

Crew.org-Mount Gay Xmas Rum Race.

This event is building by the day with a long list of yachts have entered already.

Boat Start time
Fusion 18:07:00
High N Fibre 18:16:00
Fast Company 18:17:00
Demonstrator 17:49:00
Higher Ground 17:57:00
Capricorn 17:59:00
Systems Thunder 18:04:00
This Way Up 18:07:00
Dirty Deeds 18:15:00
Fun-n-Games Next week
Creepy Crawler 17:53:00
Saint Fintan 17:52:00
Travell’n Man 18:06:00
Sailor Moon 18:14:00
Bewitched 17:45:00
Spellbound 17:55:00
Suburban Reptile 18:10:00 Every body run!!
Prism 18:14:00
Absolut Leisure 17:49:00
Blast Furnace 17:47:00
boogieFLASH 17:49:00
No Worries 18:13:00
Apparition 18:10:00
Ocean Pacific 18:03:00
Kiwi Menace 18:10:00
Hi Flyer 17:56:00
Faster Coyote 18:14:00
The V Team 18:08:00
Sundreamer 18:13:00
Barely Legal 18:16:00
Promise 18:14:00
Mojo 17:56:00

The start will be Mark Foy (staggered based upon handicap) with the first boats away at 5.45pm, with a mass finish planned. Handicaps are provided courtesy of racetrack.org.nz.

After the race there is a raft up/prizegiving at the Westhaven events berth, with a gold coin donation to a worthy cause (mixers to get the party started, and for ingredients for the Pina Coladas). Feel free to bring non-liquid nourishment.

Mount Gay have come to the party again, with various prizes up for grabs, including Mount Gay gear bags, torches, duffel bags, and of course the Nectar of the Gods: Mount Gay Rum!

The idea is to get non-sailors out on the water – remember this is a one off race not part of any series, so it’s the perfect opportunity to do so. There will be prizes for best costumes and best stuff ups (if there are any of note) so get out there and get sailing.

INVESTOR SEEKING PROSPECTIVE AMERICA’S CUP TEAM
To win the America’s Cup under the terms of the 2007 Protocol required budgets
around US$160,000,000. Now with the likely cost of an effective challenge, under
the proposed new 2010 Protocol, more in the order of US$20,000,000, but with the
same returns for sponsors and or investors, the package is potentially much more
attractive to certain people with access to those with deep pockets in so called
Sovereign Wealth funds.

I have been tasked to seek out the best America’s Cup group for these investors
to place their funds. If you are running, or planning to run, an America’s Cup
team and you would like to discuss how this primary funding can be attracted
then please contact me and I will send you the brief from the interested
parties. Contact Julian Everitt at mailto:julianeveritt@everittdesign.co.uk

* NOTE: For interested teams, the Deed of Gift requires they be represented by a
Club that, among other things, hosts an annual regatta. Not sure if everyone was
aware of this fact, but in case an interested team needs a partner, Scuttlebutt
Sailing Club meets all the requirements, and has been officially sanctioned by
US SAILING since 2001. Free memberships can be found here:

Yachting: Barker in control for fifth match racing title
4:28PM Sunday Nov 30, 2008
Dean Barker races against Rod Davis. Photo / Getty Images.

Dean Barker races against Rod Davis. Photo / Getty Images.

Sailor Dean Barker underlined his dominance en route to securing his fifth national match racing championship crown in Auckland yesterday.

The Team New Zealand America’s Cup skipper made no race of the final, beating Briton Ben Ainslie 3-0 in the best-of-five contest.

Barker had led the regatta from the outset and dropped his only races in the last two flights of round robin two, to Ainslie and Adam Minoprio.

That left Barker with a record of 17 wins and two losses as he qualified in top spot for the semifinals, where he eliminated Laurie Jury.

Ainslie saw off Rod Davis in their semifinal.

Results:-

Standings after round robin two: Dean Barker 17 wins/2 losses 1, Ben Ainslie 15/5 2, Rod Davis 14/5 3, Adam Minoprio 13/7 4, Laurie Jury 13/7 5, Phil Robertson 11/9 6, Josh Junior 6/14 7, Reuben Corbett 7/13 8, Jessica Smyth 6/14 9, Adrian Short 5/15 10, Jan Dawson 2/18 11.

Semifinals: Barker bt Jury, Ainslie bt Davis.

Final: Barker bt Ainslie 3-0.

Petite final: Jury bt Davis 2-0.

- NZPA

NZHERALD

Fusion Round White Island Ocean Race 2008

Thursday 27 November

0935hrs – The JOG Division started 35 minutes ago, with only 1 keen small boat on the start line. Wishbone, a 25ft Reactor with female skipper Trish Lewis and Phil Scott on board. They had a great downwind start, in a nice steady 16 knots from the SW.

Wishbone starting a long race to White Island and back, the only entry in the JOG Division.

Ragtime starts with the big boats on Friday night for another slow 300plus miles to White Island and Back.

By Chris Welsh, Ragtime
Auckland, New Zealand

The race started off the Royal Akarana Yacht Club on Friday night, Nov 28th at 7:00 PM by the end of a large pier. Close in quarters with one end of the starting area a seawall. Got off the line OK, not great but it is a little harder with the strong incoming tide, a short, steeply angled line favoring a “land” start, and a few new crew members. Besides our race, Friday night beercans were underway in the harbor, and a crowd of boats out. After the start, winded out through a heap (look at me speak Kiwi) of islands on the way out to the headlands that form the eastern boundary of the Hauraki Gulf. Very scenic, and we had a good getaway avoiding the incoming tide and putting some distance on faster boats.

About to round White Island 7:30 PM Sat NZ time (10:30 Pacific Friday night). Had a tough night, 18-25 knots upwind the whole way and confused seas – classic “not Ragtime’s deal” and a lot of slamming, no sleep. #3 Jib, reefed main. Rain. Very warm, thanks to Gill outfit, sweats, and Henry Lloyd boots (thanks for those Hubie). First time in the full getup since I got the boat and it was surprisingly nice (after being soaked on the Coastal Classic it was time for good gear).

Mid morning, wind faded and swung around, spent most of the day with #1 jib, then A1 chute in 5-9 knots of breeze. Becoming a slow race, will be going upwind through tonight. Hope to finish midday tomorrow. 3 boats rounded ahead of us two faster and one our speed, all in sight of us now but they are around the island and we are headed to round which is not the view we would choose.

Break forward a bit, Ahh, what a difference a few hours makes. Was a little disappointed that wind shifts had put us behind. But now we’ve rounded, and it was spectacular. The volcano was steaming from ten different spots on the backside, birds wheeling and in large white colonies here and there. Sulfur smell off and on. The middle and one side of the island are pretty well blown out; the jagged collapsed edges in stark contrast to the small forests on the older flanks. Huge sunset, and a few planets out already. This is what we all came for, and if feels like the reward of a perfect ski run, after you’ve climbed the hill to get there rather than just taken a lift up.

Just checked on deck – crescent moonset about to occur, with a gentle glow to the west, and we’re headed that way back to Auckland. Easy sailing with the #1 and full main, calm seas with a bit of a following swell. Really easy by comparison to last night, and dry. Hearty warm meal as well. We’ve been joking, between five bowls for ten guys, and dishwashing a lazy quick water rinse, it’s a full workout for the immune system. I cringed a little when I watched the rinse program at work…

Hoping to finish late afternoon Sunday, only 12 hours behind original estimate. Can’t complain though, the rounding has been a rare and memorable time and makes the rest all gravy.

By Chris Welsh, Ragtime

The White Island Race started tough, and not our race – upwind, pounding seas, and a tough push. The rounding was top drawer – really interesting, dramatic, and worth the ride, but with the race going a bit weak as we were carrying fourth place.

The second evening brought a turn around. Into the dark, we could see we were catching their stern lights. During the wee hours, this turned into drawing abreast with enough contact to make it a race again. Of the two, Ran Tan is a brand new and much faster canting 50 footer, and Starlight equally fast to us.

Sunday Morning, we approached the coastal Mercury Isles and the surrounding reefs. This presented opportunities, and Mike McCormack, our navigator, made the most of them. We separated and ran inside for breeze off the land; each time we would clear an island and look across, the two had slipped back a bit more. Good breeze for us, with a chute up, and their chutes looking a bit soft outside.

The final Mercury isle is the largest, several miles long, so we sweated it, wondering how the outside was paying. The island was gorgeous like Cape Cod; broad beaches, green grassy rolling hills, and pretty coves ringed by scenic bluffs.

Clearing the tip, we gybed to go out to Channel Isle, a mark of the course, and were happy to see our inshore strategy had paid off with about five miles of gain as we rounded Channel in 10-12 knots of wind.

Coming back into the Hauraki Gulf and Auckland, the breeze freshened steadily, and we had a terrific sail under blue skies. Ahead, another series of islands gave a series of choices whether to go left or right. Starlight got smaller and smaller behind us, but Ran Tan hung along, following us right of the first isle. As the breeze came on, she started to romp forward, pulling 16-18 knots to our 12 to 14, eventually coming by us on a plane with half the boat out of the water. It was impressive, and inevitable as the conditions became theirs.

Although we would have liked to be ahead, we knew we had them handily on rating, and I reflected that this was Infidel did to the crowd when she was new forty-four years ago.

The shorter course was to go inside (left) of the last two isles, and Ran Tan split for that track. We carried on and watched after each isle passed and they reappeared, clearly slipping back. Again, the last isle, Rototanga,( Rangitoto) a former volcano, is the largest, and left the two boats out of sight for maybe an hour with the finish line right after.

Clearing the island, we gybed in to the finish, looking eagerly to see where Ran Tan was – there was nothing for quite a time. Finally, Ran Tan appeared, clearly behind us again, our third pass of the race. Passing through the finish line, we were jubilant; the sailing had been magic, 20-24 knots of downwind breeze through a great setting, and a hard fought victory against a faster boat.

So the final outcome was line honors 2nd place (V5, a canting TP52 having finished an hour ahead), and IRC 2nd on handicap to a smaller boat which had run the race having started a day earlier in totally different (and better) conditions.

Fantastic scenery, great sailing conditions, and a great outcome with more hardware to pick up at the trophy ceremony. The crew work was superb, and Mike’s navigating flawless. Most of these guys will be on for Sydney Hobart. Everybody aboard agreed it was a exciting and truly memorable day of sailing; for me, it was among the best days in forty years on the water, and I felt very lucky for it.

more here

The thread on Crew.org tells the story.

Saturday 29 November

2045 Cosmic Cruz has retired from the race

1930 V5 has rounded White Island, Starlight Express and Ran Tan II are close to White Island now, with Starlight Express 100m ahead. Nevenka and Whitebait have retired from the race.  The first finishers are expected to be Sunstone and Waikiwi II at around 6:30am tomorrow, with V5 expected to be the first of the Premier Division finishers early tomorrow afternoon.

0700 Island Girl has withdrawn and is motoring to Tauranga. The rest of the Corinthian fleet have rounded White Island and are returning, heading towards the Premier fleet who are past Cuvier Island.  Ragtime reported 20kt winds from the SSE.

Sunday 30 November

0720 Wishbone is close to Cape Barrier, reporting no wind in the Colville Channel.  Sunstone is still expected to be first back, but her ETA is now 10:25am.

1555 Sunstone, Open Country and Waikiwi II all finished now. V5 just called in, a couple of miles off A buoy, will be finished approximately 1 hour.

1835 Wishbone just crossed the finish line. Also finished is Mako II, Starlight Express – with a spectacular blown out spinnaker not far from the line, Ran Tan, V5 and Ragtime. All finishing with a great tail wind.

Monday 01 December

0650 Foreign Exchange radio sched, 37 miles to go, speed over ground currently 5kts.

1530 Foreign Exchange is now finished. All boats home and safe from the 2008 Fusion Round White Island Race

View some photos from the finishes here

Sunstone, First yacht home

V5

Another fantastic effort from those ashore

Here come Ragtime and Ran Tan

Wishbone

Navy

Meanwhile in the Atlantic

THE SHIFT IS IN
(Nov. 30, 2008; Day 21) – For the leaders of the Vendee Globe, after crossing
the equator, the dive south to skirt the South Atlantic High is finally over,
and after about a week of aiming at Antarctica on port, winds are finally
backing around, gennakers are flying, and the bows are now starting to aim east
toward the Cape of Good Hope. Since last Wednesday, when then leader Loïck
Peyron (Gitana Eighty) got stuck under a huge cloud, Sébastien Josse (BT) has
held the lead, and is now being watched as he attempts to balance the eagerness
to point east toward the African continent and the desire to dip further south
for stronger winds. With the wind direction now WNW, these decisions are now a
combination of gybe angles and weather forecasting. — Event website:

* Jérémie Beyou, the skipper of Delta Dore, informed the Race Directors on Nov.
26th of his decision to retire from the race, deciding it was impossible to
carry out repairs without external help. It was three days earlier when Beyou,
who was lying in ninth, was forced to head for Brazil with damage to two upper
spreaders. When he arrived in Recife, he assessed a need for new titanium
spreader roots, new carbon spreaders, new standing rigging on the starboard
side, a new starboard runner, and a repair for partial carbon mast tube
delamination.

Solo, non-stop, around the world race in Open 60s.
Standings as of 18:30 UTC (Top 5 plus of 30 entrants):
1. Sébastien Josse (FRA), BT, 19167.8 nm Distance to finish
2. Loïck Peyron (FRA), Gitana Eighty, 30 nm Distance to leader
3. Yann Eliès (FRA), Generali, 53.4 nm DTL
4. Armel Le Cléac´h (FRA), Brit Air, 59.9 nm DTL
5. Vincent Riou (FRA), PRB, 60.5 nm DTL
14. Samantha Davies (GBR), Roxy, 312 nm DTL
15. Dee Caffari (GBR), Aviva, 396.3 nm DTL
20. Rich Wilson (USA), Great American III, 759.1 nm DTL
24. Derek Hatfield (CAN), Algimouss Spirit of Canada, 1469.2 nm DTL
Race tracking:
Complete standings:

BYM News