Fleet pass Waiheke Island

Auckland to Tauranga Race fleet chased out of the Auckland harbour by one of many black clouds. One cat is upside down with all crew picked up a following yacht. more here and here

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Greetings yachties,

Thanks to my mate Boatslut for these images )

The lastest offering from Cookson Boats

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From our friends at PLL media

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If you ever testify in court, you might wish you could have been as sharp as this policeman. He was being cross-examined by a defense attorney during a felony trial. The lawyer was trying to undermine the policeman’s credibility…

Q: ‘Officer — did you see my client fleeing the scene?’

A: ‘No sir. But I subsequently observed a person matching the description of the offender, running several blocks away.’

Q: ‘Officer — who provided this description?’

A: ‘The officer who responded to the scene.’

Q: ‘A fellow officer provided the description of this so-called offender. Do you trust your fellow officers?’

A: ‘Yes, sir. With my life.’

Q: ‘With your life? Let me ask you this then officer Do you have a room where you change your clothes in preparation for your daily duties?’

A: ‘Yes sir, we do!’

Q: ‘And do you have a locker in the room?’

A: ‘Yes sir, I do.’

Q: ‘And do you have a lock on your locker?’

A: ‘Yes sir.’

Q: ‘Now why is it, officer, if you trust your fellow officers with your life, you find it necessary to lock your locker in a room you share with these same officers?’

A: ‘You see, sir — we share the building with the court complex, and sometimes lawyers have been known to walk through that room.’

The courtroom EXPLODED with laughter, and a prompt recess was called. The officer on the stand has been nominated for this year’s ‘Best Comeback’ line — and we think he’ll win.

(Courtesy of ‘Wheels’ of crew.org.nz forums fame)

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Tuesday 7 April 2009
From: Zoe Hawkins

In its first three years Yachting New Zealand’s Sailing…Have a Go! program, with its distinctive trailers, colourful boats and friendly coaches, has helped approximately 9,000 children experience the sport that we know and love. Now, for its success in breaking new ground, it has been named as a finalist in the innovation category of the prestigious SPARC Sport & Recreation Sector Awards 2009.

This summer, 2,630 boys and girls aged 9-13 took part in Sailing…Have a Go!  For many, the opportunity to sail set foot in a sailing dinghy was a once in a lifetime experience – around 60% of them had never been sailing before.

Consisting of several purpose-built trailer units each equipped with nine sailing dinghies and all of the tools required for a safe, fun experience on the water, Sailing…Have a Go! travels between Northland and Bluff for six months each year, offering students in Years 6, 7 and 8 the opportunity to try sailing in a safe and well managed environment.

Oneroa Beach, Waiheke Island

This year it spent a week on Waiheke Island, three days working with students with disabilities in Northland, and visited Lake the South Island Lakes of Te Anau Brunner for the first time.

“The goal of Sailing…Have a Go! is to make the child’s first experience of sailing a fun one,” says Yachting New Zealand Chief Executive Des Brennan. “We hope they’ll continue with the sport and give them the knowledge they need to join a learn to sail programme at a local yacht club and hopefully progress on into the sport as adults.”

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The latest Briefing from YNZ briefings-8-april-2009

more sailor chicks

Basher and crew during the womens keel boat nationals

they didn’t win, but they looked good )

well done ladies )

womens national Keel boat Champs results-2009-points here

more sailor chicks here

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Does Cheezezilla exist? debate it here

Look what I found

lost in space forever 2

Valencia Sailing

The Groupama and Gitana Team Extreme 40 yachts getting ready for the upcoming training session. Valencia, 3 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

BMW Oracle, Groupama and Team Gitana get ready to train in Valencia

When it was scheduled, we suppose quite some time ago, it was deemed necessary and relevant but yesterday’s decision of the NY Court of Appeals made it even more important, not to say primordial. We are talking about the joint training 2-week session BMW Oracle, Groupama and Gitana Team will start on Monday in Valencia, onboard their Extreme 40 catamarans.

The, as of yesterday, America’s Cup challenger will obviously make use of any opportunity to train as much as possible on multihull yachts, given the repeated statements from Alinghi that in case of a defeat in court they would face the Americans in a one-on-one race in giant multihulls.

Starting Monday, James Spithill will be on the helm of one of his team’s catamarans (we don’t know who will be driving the second one), sparring with Franck Cammas on Groupama and Yann Guichard on Gitana Team. Valencia Sailing will be there, so stay tuned.

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There are many that have their own opinions about this latest step towards the next cup race. One of the more balanced views I have found is this from …

Ross Erstwhile sailor. Partisan. Great believer in the honor and integrity of sport. America’s Cup is all about nations, boats, and teams, all of whom are focused on the same objective: a great competition among great nations. My great respect is for sailors (and their families) who devote their hearts and souls to this extraordinary endeavor.

from his blog

In a surprisingly simple opinion authored with astonishing clarity by Judge Ciparick (with Judges Graffeo, Read, Smith, Pigott and Jones concurring), the New York Court of Appeals today reinstated the decision by Justice Herman Cahn of the Supreme Court of New York to deny Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV) its status as Challenger of Record for America’s Cup 33.

Judge Ciparick affirmed the status of Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) as Challenger of Record, and urged GGYC and America’s Cup defender and trust holder Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) to get their acts together, resolve differences, and move forward.

It was a victory for many things, among them: (1) truth, (2) honor, (3) tradition.

Of course, ‘having’ had its day, that dastardly canard.

But the Judges clearly and unequivocally understood that ‘having’ had its meaning in ‘its regatta’, and concluded that, on the day it mattered, CNEV did not have an annual regatta, ‘its regatta’, or any other regatta, for that matter, at any time in the past or present, and had — at that time — no plans for having a regatta of any kind, anywhere.

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Elaine Bunting’s blog
Web log entry dated 2 April 2009

PRB may sue for cost of rescue

The race may be over, but the Vendée Globe has just dropped one of its biggest bombshells – one that ought to bring race organisers everywhere out in goosebumps.

The prospect is of the race being mired, America’s Cup style, in litigation. But it has much wider implications. This dispute is over who should bear the financial consequences of saving a life at sea, something that until now no-one has dared publicly place a price on.

One sponsor now has. PRB, backers of Vicent Riou, says it cost them €750,000 to cover the costs of rescuing of Jean Le Cam near Cape Horn in January – and they want someone else to pay it back.

more here

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The SYZ & CO hydrofoil catamaran has flown over Lake Léman.

After over two years of development, thousand of working hours and first trials marked by
teething technical problems between December and March, the hydrofoil catamaran finally
took off yesterday evening in the waters off Société Nautique de Genève.

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Photo credit: Loris Von Siebenthal

Photo credit: Loris Von Siebenthal

maybe Cheezezilla looks a bit like this puppy

more foilers here

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Put 20 copies of your logo on yachtyakka with live links back to your webpage for just $10 per week – bargain!!

Full Ahead to Hobart

- 02 04 09

I’ve now made the decision to put in for a brief pit stop in at Hobart and so I’ve headed up a bit more to come into Hobart tomorrow afternoon. I was really hoping to continue on without stopping, but as I’m so close I think it’s better to make the stop off, make a few adjustments and then head off soon after. Hopefully, this stopover will be no longer than 48hours.

There’s three main reasons to stop off here, all of which I could get by without, but it’s best to seize the opportunity to sort them out. Ever since the knockdown, one of my main charging sources has become a bit intermittent. I can charge the batteries in three ways, so losing one source isn’t so bad, but it’s best to have them all operational, just in case.

The second is that the bonding has come away from the rudder bearing/sleeve. This is simply a matter of sticking it back together.

The third and final job is to repair the clutch on the ballast pump, which has been misbehaving. The ballast can be filled without a pump but it’s better to have it as it makes filling the tanks much easier.

As Hobart is so on the way it’s definitely the right decision to stop here quickly and sort these minor problems out. I’ve sailed almost 7,000 miles since leaving Cape Town and am very pleased and impressed at how well Totallymoney.com has held up sailing in the Indian Ocean, the roughest of them all. I’m dead proud of her. She’s more than just an Open 50, she’s become a good friend and someone I can read very well.

Today the wind has gradually dropped and currently I’ve only got 5knots to play with so I’m edging along smoothly and peacefully. I bunged up the genneker an hour ago and it’s made a small difference, which is good to see. We’re currently close reaching so I’ll keep the sails nice and full in light conditions like these.

It’s a bit strange in a way to know that this time tomorrow I’ll be in Tasmania and on land. I’ve gotten so accustomed and used to the routine and cycle of being out at sea. I’m certainly looking forward to a nice hot shower though!

©Sailmike2009

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and here

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Officials are investigating a sailboat left on the marshy banks of a creek in Mount Pleasant, S.C.

Boats Too Costly to Keep Are Littering Coastlines

Brett Flashnick for The New York Times

Article Tools Sponsored By
By DAVID STREITFELD
Published: March 31, 2009

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — Boat owners are abandoning ship.
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Brett Flashnick for The New York Times

Gary Santos, a Mount Pleasant, S.C., councilman, checks a state notice on a forsaken sailboat.

They often sandpaper over the names and file off the registry numbers, doing their best to render the boats, and themselves, untraceable. Then they casually ditch the vessels in the middle of busy harbors, beach them at low tide on the banks of creeks or occasionally scuttle them outright.

The bad economy is creating a flotilla of forsaken boats. While there is no national census of abandoned boats, officials in coastal states are worried the problem will only grow worse as unemployment and financial stress continue to rise. Several states are even drafting laws against derelicts and say they are aggressively starting to pursue delinquent owners.

“Our waters have become dumping grounds,” said Maj. Paul R. Ouellette of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “It’s got to the point where something has to be done.”

Derelict boats are environmental and navigational hazards, leaking toxins and posing obstacles for other craft, especially at night. Thieves plunder them for scrap metal. In a storm, these runabouts and sailboats, cruisers and houseboats can break free or break up, causing havoc.

Some of those disposing of their boats are in the same bind as overstretched homeowners: they face steep payments on an asset that is diminishing in value and decide not to continue. They either default on the debt or take bolder measures.

Marina and maritime officials around the country say they believe, however, that most of the abandoned vessels cluttering their waters are fully paid for. They are expensive-to-maintain toys that have lost their appeal.

The owners cannot sell them, because the secondhand market is overwhelmed. They cannot afford to spend hundreds of dollars a month mooring and maintaining them. And they do not have the thousands of dollars required to properly dispose of them.

When Brian A. Lewis of Seattle tried to sell his boat, Jubilee, no one would pay his asking price of $28,500. Mr. Lewis told the police that maintaining the boat caused “extreme anxiety,” which led him to him drill a two-inch hole in Jubilee’s hull last March.

The boat sank in Puget Sound, and Mr. Lewis told his insurance company it was an accident. His scheme came undone when the state, seeking to prevent environmental damage, raised Jubilee. Mr. Lewis pleaded guilty last week to insurance fraud.

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Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division should
be reversed, with costs, and the orders of Supreme Court
reinstated.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Order reversed, with costs, and orders of Supreme Court, New York
County, reinstated. Opinion by Judge Ciparick. Judges Graffeo,
Read, Smith, Pigott and Jones concur. Chief Judge Lippman took
no part.
Decided April 2, 2009

The real court decision here

watch TVNZ report here

more here

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