Yachting News May Part 4

May 9th 2009
One Comment
respond
trackback

TELEFÓNICA BLUE DOMINATES IN BOSTON

Telefónica Blue ruled the day on Saturday afternoon earning two wins from two starts on in-port race day at the Volvo Ocean Race stopover at Fan Pier, in Boston.

With Iker Martinez on the helm and Bouwe Bekking calling tactics, Telefónica Blue dominated the afternoon, leading from pole to pole in both races.

Racing was postponed for forty minutes in very light conditions before a weak sea breeze developed for the first race. Green Dragon and Ericsson 4 raced off the start line at the pin end and looked good initially, but by the top mark, Telefónica Blue and Delta Lloyd had used the right side of the course to their advantage to lead the fleet.

Approaching the top mark, Green Dragon was still holding a good third place position but trouble on their final tack to the mark left the boat floundering on the layline, with Ericsson 4 and PUMA roaring past. Upon rounding the mark, Green Dragon compounded their problems when they infringed on Ericsson 3, leaving both boats nearly still in the water. The Dragons acknowledged their mistake with a penalty turn, and trailed the fleet the rest of the way.

At the front, Telefónica Blue was never threatened, while Delta Lloyd earned a tremendous second place result with overall Volvo Ocean Race leader Ericsson 4 close behind.

The hometown heroes on PUMA were fighting with Telefónica Black for most of the race with fourth place as the goal, and in the end, Ken Read’s men were able to hold off the Black boat. Ericsson 3 never recovered from their incident with Green Dragon and limped home in sixth.

In the short delay between races, cloud and thin fog enveloped the race course, killing the sea breeze, but bringing a stronger gradient wind. Racing started in 10-12 knots.

There was plenty of action on the start line for race two with Telefónica Blue appearing to be danger of starting early just moments before the start gun fired. But Iker Martinez was able to luff up, slow down, and earn some precious room between himself and the pin mark. In the event, Blue had a clean start at the pin with plenty of speed.

Others weren’t as lucky. PUMA and both Ericsson boats were unable to scrub off enough speed and were called out for being over the line early. They all had to return and re-start while the others raced away at speed.

For Telefónica Blue, this early advantage was enough. Iker Martinez and Bouwe Bekking never looked back and stormed away to their second race win on the afternoon.

It wasn’t so simple behind. Telefónica Black, in clear air after three boats returned to restart, also sailed a strong first leg. As did Delta Lloyd. And Ericsson 4 recovered well from the start line error to round the first mark in fourth place. But PUMA and Ericsson 3 remained at the back of the pack for the first lap of the course.

Everything changed on the second beat to windward. A big right-hand shift saw Delta Lloyd stranded on the wrong side of the race course and tumble from third to sixth place. Ericsson 3 moved up to fourth place, while PUMA clawed their way past Green Dragon and Delta Lloyd.

On the final run, both Ericsson boats gybed inside Telefónica Black to make a pass and set up some complicated math for the race committee in determining the overall standings on the day.

In the final accounting, Telefónica Blue was the runaway winner, with Ericsson 4 clear second and Delta Lloyd holding on for third place. A three-way tie for fourth was decided in favour of the stronger position in the second race; terrible news for the hometown favourites on PUMA. It meant Ericsson 3 would grab fourth, Telefónica Black fifth while PUMA was left in sixth place. Green Dragon, with two seventh place finishes, brought up the rear.

On the overall leaderboard, Telefónica Blue creeps half a point closer to Ericsson 4, but more importantly opens up some margin over PUMA in the battle for second place.

The next in-port race day is in Galway on 30 May. But to get there, the fleet will race from Boston beginning next Saturday, 16 May.

Race One Boston

Before

After

Jim Young told me that the reason his launches were so popular was because they were designed by a yachtsman.

What do you do with a tired International 14?

Hot Rod it!

ORION RADIATES ORIGINAL BEAUTY

EMILIA AND BONA TAKE RACE 1;

May 8, 2009

Racing today in Portofino for the premiere edition of the Portofino Rolex Trophy began under dark clouds and light winds. A morning South-easterly breeze, expected to stabilize tomorrow, was lightly rocking the boats in Portofino’s tiny inlet harbour as crew members gathered in the Yacht Club Italiano’s (YCI) summerhouse for the daily breakfast and weather briefing.

Antonia Cairo, General Manager of the YCI, welcomed everyone to this iconic Italian port village for the invitation-only edition of this classic yacht event. “The Yacht Club Italiano is proud to welcome you here and is happy with the collaboration with Rolex for this regatta,” he said. “Thank you for joining us, we hope that for the next edition we will have an even greater participation and more mooring space for you here. In the meantime, I wish you fair winds, good sailing and I hope that you enjoy your time here in the beautiful village of Portofino.”

Considered to be one of the most beautiful Mediterranean ports, Portofino is a small fishing village that made an international name for itself when Europe’s aristocracy began frequenting the area in the 1920s. Known today for it’s many charming colours and the cobblestone Piazzetta on the water’s edge, Portofino is a place of elegance, fine Italian dining and fantastic ocean views. It is not for nothing that the Ligurian coastline is a popular yachting destination, and a boat trip along the coast is simply breathtaking in this area that is also a protected natural park (Parco Naturale Regionale di Portofino).

The Portofino Rolex Trophy began racing in the waters of the Marconi Gulf today, although only one race was held, Race 2 and Race 3 were cancelled due to lack of wind. Results for Race 1 in the 12-Metre Class saw Emilia take the win followed by Cintra in 2nd. In the 8-Metre Class Bona finished 1st, followed by Elsinore and Helen in 2nd and 3rd position respectively.

Racing continues through Sunday 10 May with a maximum of three races per day.

more here

Trying every trick in the book

For nearly two weeks at sea in Leg 4, the Portimão Global Ocean Race fleet have sailed parallel to the coast of South America. Over the past day, the two race leaders have now left the continent off their port beam and are sailing in new waters. In the latest 0620 GMT position poll this morning (09/05), Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme on Beluga Racer are 450 miles due east of Grenada at the southern end of the Caribbean’s Windward Islands, leading the fleet with a 65 mile margin over Felipe Cubillos and José Muñoz on Desafio Cabo de Hornos in second place.

Sailing 300 miles off the coast of Surinam, solo sailor Michel Kleinjans on Roaring Forty has been unable to keep pace with the double-handed teams and currently trails the lead boat by 235 miles and despite picking up speed, the British duo of Jeremy Salvesen and David Thomson on Team Mowgli have dropped back to 511 miles behind the race leader.

With Beluga Racer and Desafio Cabo de Hornos in the best of the Trade Winds, speeds overnight have been impressive with both boats peaking at 14.5 knots earlier this morning. However, the boats are evenly matched and the distance between the German and Chilean teams remains locked at just over 60 miles with Cubillos and Muñoz holding the windward station. On board Desafio Cabo de Hornos, the Chilean duo are trying every trick in the book. “The Trade Winds are very stable in direction and intensity and therefore our work – if you can call really call this work – is all about getting the maximum boat speed,” explains Felipe Cubillos. “On average, if you look at the past 48 hours, we have sailed 0.2 knots faster than the Germans, but this isn’t going to get us ahead of them before Charleston.”

# read more

Need a break?

Waiotemarama Falls Lodge

If you ask nicely you might get a laser to sail :}}

The Farr Bavaria Cruiser 55

The first Bavaria Cruiser 55 was launched at the recent Palma International Boat Show. This newest sailing yacht from Bavaria, created in close cooperation with Farr Yacht Design and BMW Group DesignworksUSA, a subsidiary of the BMW Group, has been available for test sailing in Palma de Mallorca this week where dealers and international sailing press have been getting to know Bavaria’s new flagship.

The test boat featured a hull in optional satin grey and was displaying many striking new features. Of particular note: The bow has a five meter flush sundeck with recessed hatches and a large sail locker. Aft is a very spacious cockpit with an adjustable bench seat alternating as helm seat, additional social seating or rotating to become a boarding gangway. Below the cockpit lies the dinghy garage capable of housing a three meter rigid inflatable with outboard. Access to the dinghy garage is through the cockpit floor or by opening the aft transom door which folds down to become an enormous swim platform and launch ramp.

Sailing capability and performance is enhanced with a variety of attributes. Twin rudders make for optimal water flow and minimal drag as well as being entirely redundant for safety. Sailing options include: German mainsheet system; headsail options of 135% performance-cut Genoa, self-tacking jib and Code Zero; mainsail options of fully-battened mainsail or roller-furling mainsail with full vertical battens.

Internally, the Cruiser 55 presents with modern style and functionality. The test yacht was showing one of three optional interior finishes (Light Oak) with grey upholstery and dark flooring. With three, four or five cabin options, separated shower room forward, a huge galley with island unit, full-sized fridge and freezer and ice box, spacious saloon seating and dedicated chart desk, the Cruiser 55 is adaptable, accommodating and luxurious in appointment

more here

Alan Grayson on Large Financial Institutions:

Who will say ‘enough is enough’?

This is outrageous.

see all his videos here

and here are the marine related press releases

Back to the Yachting

May 9, 2009

Today Portofino greeted regatta participants with warm rays of sunshine and a light south-easterly breeze. The harbour was awash in colour as crews met for the morning weather briefing at the Yacht Club Italiano. Light winds of 5-6 knots were forecast for the day, however with the wind and the sea more calm than expected, the 11.00 warning signal never sounded and racing was postponed for lack of wind. By 13.00 the fleet had returned to the harbour, waiting without luck for an afternoon breeze to build and racing for the day was later cancelled.

Racing will continue through tomorrow 10 May, with the prize-giving ceremony taking place directly following the last race of the day.

In addition to the vintage-era racing on the water, the Portofino Rolex Trophy has also filled the onshore area of this small Italian port village with maritime history. On display in Portofino’s Piazzetta is an exhibition of historic wooden one-design boats, organized in conjunction with Italy’s Old Wooden Skiff Society.