“We got a nice puff and extended down the run. At the bottom of the run, a strong gust came through…. about 35 knots. We had just gotten around the bottom mark and were going up wind as BMW Oracle and Artemis were coming downwind straight at us, pretty much out of control. I thought they were going to hit us and told our guest to get ready to avoid them. They both missed us and both broached. There was carnage all over the place. Gennakers flagging, boats on their side”

more here

Auckland to Noumea Ocean Race 2009

Press Release 29 May, 2009

A strong fleet of Premier Division boats have entered the 2009 Ocean Race to Noumea, New Caledonia. With advance entries closing on the 27th  May, a fleet of 16 are so far confirmed, with the possibility of a few late entries still to come.

A farewell function for the crews will be held at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club on Thursday 25 June, with a fantastic door prize, a ‘Trip for Two to New Caledonia’ is up for grabs. More information will be available next week on this party.

Live tracking from each boat will be available after the race starts, hosted by Navitec. This means that instead of waiting for the twice daily radio schedules, the race can be followed with more regular updates.

The Entry list currently is:

1.Limit
2.Living Doll
3.Internautic 6
4.Lagoon Ozone
5.Mustang Sally
6.Antaeus
7.Outrageous Fortune
8.Route 66
9.V5
10.Wild Card
11.Lion New Zealand
12.Bare Essentials
13.REVS
14.Bird on the Wing
15.Bullrush
16.Ran Tan II

HMNZS Resolution is the Start Boat, with Commodore G.R Smith in charge of setting the fleet off at 1400hours on Saturday 27 June. Viewing opportunities for friends, family and public can be found on Orakei Wharf and North Head.

Regular updates and news prior to the race can be found at www.rayc.org.nz, or for more information please contact Tash Paget on or 09 524 9945

Thanks to our sponsors, New Caledonia Tourism, Aircalin, GLP Hotels, Reef Shipping, Predictwind.com.

Ralph Cahoon painted “The Sailors’ Favorite” to commemorate the Old Howard, a famous Boston burlesque theater which had closed its doors in 1953.

Valencia Sailing

No, we are absolutely not their pawns

Valencia Sailing: I have a lot of questions and I will start with the most direct one, asked by several of our readers. Are you a pawn of Alinghi, used in their quest to buy time in order to better prepare for the inevitable one-on-one race with BMW Oracle?

Francesco de Leo: No, we are absolutely not their pawns. This is a challenge that started with completely different objectives and has its own global agenda. It isn’t a coincidence that we are called Green Comm and this has to do with my personal background. Probably your readers don’t know it but I won the third mobile phone license in Spain when I was managing director of Telecom Italia, the youngest managing director of a listed company in Italy because at the age of 35 I was the managing director of M&A, of international operations, of business development as well as manager of our affiliates abroad. I was in charge of 12,000 employees and 9 billion euros of business.

Valencia Sailing: Let me rephrase the question. Is Green Comm’s challenge a delaying tactic used by Alinghi?

Francesco de Leo: No. Look, I have no connection whatsoever with Ernesto Bertarelli…

Valencia Sailing: That was my following question. Are Ernesto Bertarelli or Alinghi, directly or indirectly, financing Green Comm?

Francesco de Leo: The answer is again no. I have to admit I’m also very surprised with these questions that your readers posted on your website. Let me clarify it once and for all. The reason I am talking to you today is to clarify that this is an independent, unrelated challenge and I am myself, Francesco de Leo, organizing it.

more here

Hi Guys,
The forecast is looking good for Sunday (probably 10-15 knots
territory and good weather).

Whatever excuse you’ve got – try and make an effort to get to Howick -
we’ve heard them all before:

I’ve got a hangover – Harden up, have a few more,  or don’t drink
Saturday – you’re too soft
The Wife will get angry (probably the real excuse) – live on the wild
side – or ask her to unlock the nose chain  just for a day.
The Kids need more attention – no they don’t – you just think they do
I’m not sure about the weather – please put your boat on trademe
immediately and buy a zimmer frame
Where’s Howick – If in doubt open your map book and you’ll find it
bolted on the side of Pakuranga (another clue – it’s quite close to
the water)
I’m a really good sailor and will kick your ass! – ok I can agree with
you on that.

FOCUS AND PASSION

May 28, 2009

Veni, Vidi, Vici. Three-times in a row Vincenzo Onorato and Mascalzone Latino, the current champions, have taken the sword to all other opposition at the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship. Whether in a month’s time he will have done so again, is in the lap of the gods and the hands of his fellow competitors, all of who have their eyes set on one of the pre-eminent trophies in the yachting calendar. The 2009 Rolex Farr 40 Worlds runs from 24 – 27 June, Porto Cervo, Sardinia, and the burning question is, as ever, over recent seasons: who has the mettle to beat Onorato at what is seemingly his own game.

With 26 boats from 10 nations, including the USA, Australia, Greece, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, the Ukraine, the United Kingdom and, of course, Italy, slated to compete, the event will be a truly international affair. The Farr 40 Class is justifiably pleased in these difficult economic times to maintain not just a high number of entrants, but also a high level of competition. Geoff Stagg, of the Farr 40 Class Management Committee, expressed the feelings of the organisation, “it’s just fantastic. Frankly, I’m astonished. We’ve got ten countries competing, at least 26 boats. When one sees that number of forty-footers on a start-line or at a mark rounding, one realises just how many boats that is. It’s a lot of action.”

Stagg is also impressed with the level of preparation he has seen at the regattas leading up to the Worlds and believes it is wide open despite the dominance of Mascalzone Latino over the past three championships, “everyone is ramping up for a great, great event. It is remarkable to think that Vincenzo has a shot at his fourth title in a row, but for certain he will not feel safe. There are a lot of people lurking that could spoil the moment. This year already, Alessandro Barnaba and Fiamma won a tight battle in Porto Rotondo; Massimo Mezzaroma and Nerone were clear winners in Miami.”

“We’ve seen at Rolex Capri Sailing Week that Marco Rodolfi and TWT along with Carlo Alberini and Calvi Network are up for the challenge and look at the Americans – Doug Douglas and Goombay Smash, Helmut Jahn and Flash Gordon, Jim Richardson and Barking Mad – they’ve shown too that they can do well in these waters,” Stagg continues. “There are ten races and no discards, so that puts on a lot of pressure. You cannot afford too many mistakes. Everybody will have one bad race, but you cannot have two. To win this you are going to have to work really hard, whoever you are.”

more here

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
28 MAY, 2009

Bruni positioned well without a loss on day one

Langenargen, Germany (28 May 2009) – The teams competing in the 12th annual Match Race Germany, stage 2 of the World Match Racing Tour, were greeted with glorious conditions today as Lake Constance delivered a beautiful 12 knot north westerly morning breeze for racing to get underway.

Although the breeze steadily eased throughout the day, all 12 of the competing teams at this years event saw action on the water as 24 match races were completed in all.

Making his debut on the Tour was Italy’s Francesco Bruni who was keen to make an impression against the well polished Tour regulars but with an undefeated scorecard and a smile on his face it was clear the first day had made a good impression on him.

“We are very happy and surprised after day one to do so well. However we appreciate there is a long way to go in the round robin and our feet are firmly on the ground. We will take each match as it happens. This is a very positive period in my life at the moment. I have had a succession of good results. I have just come from the Med Cup where I was tactician on Matador and we won, coming second at the Congressional Cup and fourth at the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series with Team Italia. In addition to this I was blessed with a baby girl five days ago and I am a very proud father. Life is good.”

Bruni was able to extend his lead against two of his competitors today which secured him the wins, however a tight race with the current world number one ISAF ranked match racer, Seb Col, put his skills to the test and he didn’t disappoint, using a combination of good strategy and boat on boat tactics to over come his opponent.

Mathieu Richard currently number two on the Tour standings and ISAF rankings also faired exceptionally well in today’s conditions, winning four of his five matches. The tenacious Frenchman, who looked solid on the race course all day, will no doubt be looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings for the racing on Lake Constance.

It was a tough day for Sweden’s Bjorn Hansen, who after winning four of his five starts, no mean feat in the assembled fleet, could only convert two of these in to wins. “It was a frustrating and disappointing day and we need to be more switched on for tomorrow” said Hansen.

After the days racing was finished, an upbeat chief umpire Philippe Gomez was pleased with the successful start to the regatta. “Today was a good day and we are expecting similar conditions for tomorrows racing,” he stated.

Results
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Team                          4-1
Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar                      3-2
Peter Gilmour (AUS) Yanmar Racing Team                   3-2
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing             2-3
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onboard                            2-3
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Joe Fly                           3-0
Sebastien Col (FRA) French Team/K-Challenge             2-1
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team                     2-1
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Team                                 1-2
Eric Monnin (SUI) Team Search.ch                             1-2
Ben Ainslie (GBR) Team Origin                                    1-4
Carsten Kemmling (GER)                                            0-3

more here

PRESS RELEASE – RC44 Championship Tour – RC 44 Austria Cup

Very talented and a bit lucky, Team Aqua grabs the match race title in the RC 44 Austria Cup

Despite leading the tournament since the onset, Cameron Appleton and his team remained under threat until the very last race. Karol Jablonski’s Organika finishes a magnificent second ahead of Dean Barker’s Artemis and Paul Cayard’s Ceeref.

May 28, 2009 – When asked what the key to his success was, Team Aqua’s pro skipper Cameron Appleton was humble enough to answer “a huge amount of luck”. But luck doesn’t explain all and it is fair to say that Team Aqua sailed very well and that the team grabbed all the opportunities available – and there were many.

Following a successful ride against Team No Way Back, Aqua won the match that would be the decisive one in Flight 8, against Paul Cayard’s Ceeref. Despite loosing the start and incurring a penalty, Aqua managed to come back during the first downwind leg, taking advantage of a massive right shift to grab the lead. Appleton and his team then perfectly executed their penalty on the arrival line, finishing a couple of seconds ahead of Ceeref.

Two teams were still in a position to beat Aqua at this stage: BMW ORACLE Racing and Organika. The Americans blew their last opportunity during the pre-start of Flight 9 against Organika, incurring a penalty and crossing the line prematurely.

more here

Photos : Copyright GEPA pictures / Marie Rambauske / RC44 Class Association

Danish Yachts enjoys busy spring

By IBI Magazine

Despite the recession, Danish Yachts in Skagen is said to be enjoying a busy spring, with ex-Challenge yacht Ecover about to undergo sea trials following an extensive refit at the group’s yard.

During the trials, Ecover’s new deck layout and on-deck systems will be trialled, as well as the new hydraulics, air-conditioning, generator and main engine systems.

In addition, the composite part of the new 38m (125ft) Espen Oeino-designed dayboat is over two-thirds finished, with just the superstructure to complete. It is well on its way to being commissioned in early 2010.

Two Holm Class vessels for the Danish Navy have also been in for upgrades and refits, and the company has received a large number of enquiries for specialist carbon structures.

“We are delighted to report to the industry that we are enjoying a busy spring despite the recession,” says senior sales engineer Jonathan McDonnell. “We have a number of projects recently completed and more currently underway and ongoing. We have been quoting on one or two part built projects, which now require finishing through to commission and sea trials.”

(28 May 2009)

more here

Anne Caseneuve Retires

In an email sent to the Race Office at 0700, Anne Caseneuve has informed us that she has unfortunately had to retire from the race and is returning east. We have no further information at this stage.

The retirement of the only two trimarans in the race leaves the Line Honours Prize of winning OSTAR 2009 to a mono hull. So now the battle to Newport is really on. The retirement of the two tris emphasises the toughness of the OSTAR and shows that anyone who finishes is a winner. The first three days of this race have lived up to the reputation of the race as being one of the toughest in the world. The fact that most of the competitors are not professional sailors adds to the special ethos of the race.

This follows yesterday’s news:

Reini Gelder Retires

The OSTAR race office has received an email from Reini Gelder, sailing on the trimaran ‘Light for the World’, to say that at 1200 UTC his starboard top diamond broke with a loud bang. He saved the rig by immediately tacking. He is now running under staysail and 3 reefs in the main towards Lorient, France. He says it has been a fantastic 48 hours of racing but unfortunately it is now over for him.

Please keep checking the news pages of the OSTAR website as this will be updated with news as and when it reaches the OSTAR Race Office You can also view the skippers’ blogs on popular website Blogstar

June 2004: What a surprise! To find Impy buried on the beach at Pulau Rawa in the Johor islands of Malaysia’s east coast. Washed ashore during the December 2000 monsoon season, she now rests in a sandy grave about 100ft from the steps to Tunku Alang’s restaurant and resort – Le Club Rawa. This Jeanneau – Selection 37 won the first Phuket Kings Cup 1987 in Thailand, when she was then owned and helmed by Dato Azizz with a crew drawn mainly from the Royal Selangor Yacht Club in Port Klang. Any body interested in salvaging her?

Raising Impy from her sandy grave

22nd May 2009: On a recent visit to Pulau Tioman, Capt Marty was recalled to Pulau Rawa as Tengku Khairul decided to dig out his farther’s beloved racing yacht Impy that has laid buried on the beach for the last eight years in front of his Rawa Island resort. At the height of the La Nina storms back in December 2000 the mooring line on the Jeanneau – Selection 37 broke and the rough seas drove her onto the beach in front of Le Club Rawa, breaking off the keel in the process.

When the shifting sands returned the winner of the first ever Phuket King’s Cup in Thailand was completely submerged up to the deck and full of sand inside to the gunnels. (See Photo Edition) There she laid for many years and became a discussion topic for resort guests and passerby’s to glare at in amazement. How did she get here? Who owns this boat? and Who would leave it in this condition? Were the most commonly asked questions.

Unfortunately Tunku Alang passed away before he could do anything about Impy and often remarked that going by the extent of the visible damage, it would take a miracle to revive her. Recently when some of the original crew, Singapore’s Jeff Low and Toon came together on the island, they issued a challenge to the incumbent Tengku Khairul to raise Impy from her sandy grave and that a concentrated effort was being made. So come quickly!

After watching 60 plus year old guests digging in the sand, the staff were shamed into joining in as Khairul offered them a bonus in their monthly pay packets. Rawa Safaries next door kindly lent their small excavator that made good progress around the outside and dug a deep channel to the high water mark, if she were to be moved to the water. Removing all the sand on the inside soon turned into a laborious task of hand bucketing and dumping. After three days they finally got down to the top of the keel inside the boat, which revealed a huge hole and extensive broken hull fiberglass, where the keel was ripped off as the boat washed ashore on that fateful day.

With each spade load of sand, the extent of the damage became evident and the interest to completely restore the yacht quickly dwindled. The initial enthusiasm soon settled back into the island way of life and the project is best described as an ongoing work in progress. My suggestion was to completely empty all the sand inside then try to lift her up and somehow move her up to higher ground. Perhaps place what is left of her on a concrete slab and secure steel cradle along side the restaurant. Then AsianYachting will strike up a plaque to be attached in memory for both Dato Azizz and Tunku Alang plus all the merry crew that have sailed on her.

more here

Yachting-Quarterly-Winter-2009

Few would argue that Carlo Borlenghi has earned his place amongst the greats of the international yachting photographers. First choice as the official photographer at the premiere international regattas, his unique vision and skill has produced some of the most memorable yacht racing images. We caught up with Carlo to find out a little more about the man, how he got his start as a photographer and how he has managed to maintain his place at the top of his profession.

You can see a selection of some of Carlo’s best images in our Galleries Section here….

OR: Carlo tell us how long you have been photographing sailboats and if it is true that you are not a sailor?

CB: I’ve been shooting sailboats for the last thirty-two years. Yes, it’s true I’m not a sailor.  I was born in Bellano on the Como Lake and I started by taking pictures of the local regattas there. Then I started to work with some of the magazines and began to travel the world following the most important regattas.

OR: Tell us about the early days. How did you learn to be such a great photographer? When and where?

CB: I started when I was twenty. At first it was to make some extra some money as I was studying Engineering at university.  Then I started travelling in my van to shoot sailing events. Inside the van I had a dark room to develop the pictures so that I could sell directly to the sailors. Business went so well that I was able to stop studying and follow my passion for yachting photography full time. In 1989 I created the water sports agency Sea & See which is now owned by the Mediatree Group.

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more Galleries here

Carlo’s website