We’re not a singles club…
The Upto26Club is a club devoted to those who sail in yachts up to 26 foot in length and who love the joys, challenges, and adventure offered by small yacht sailing.

The UpTo26Club, founded in 1999, is dedicated to getting small boats out racing and cruising together. The idea behind the club is to provide for all boats 26ft and under, allowing people with boats that are similar in size, if not design, a social and competitive environment in which to enjoy their vessels.

We associate with a variety of clubs in the Auckland region to offer the abundant, yet often overlooked, small yacht sailor the enthusiasm and opportunity to get out and use their boats more often. Increasingly we have become a voice for small boat sailors to let the yacht clubs and other governing organisations know what we as small boat owners want from them.

The small yacht fleet which regularly sails with us is made up of vessels as diverse and colourful as those who sail upon them. Many of the under 26ft classes are well represented – Farr 727, Noelex 22, Reactors, Pied Pipers, Trackers, and many more as well as a wide range of the rarer and one-off vessels.

The UpTo26 club has some key philosophies which make it stand out from other yacht clubs. These philosophies, like the clubs other aspects, have been developed in response to the specific needs of the small boat sailor.

* One rule: 26ft or less
* No membership fees
* Independence – we aim to cater to small boats from the entire region
* We are not affiliated to any one yacht club

We are generally in contact with our members (it costs nothing to join – just let us know who you are) through email to our members database and via our website, along with occasional club meetings as the need arises. We urge anyone who owns, crews on, or even shares an interest in small yachts to email us your contact details and go on our list so we can better inform and serve the small boat sailor.
Cheers
The Upto26Club Team

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Thanks BooBoo

It’s all come as a bit of a shock to the system. Back onboard and trying to slip back into the routines which will once again be second nature in a day or so. But there are a lot of moments of Déjà vu.

The temperature drop was sudden – just a couple of hours after the start and I was in two thermal layers and a mid layer – close to the max worn in the southern ocean! Warm hats and balaclava’s plus gloves are essential on deck.

The thick chilling fog that descended whilst we were Boston Harbour lifted just before sunrise, it was the first time that the weather had not played ball during the Boston stopover after the beautiful sunny  weekends – perfect for the thousands of spectators who showed up to  support us.

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Photo by Sailkarma.com

Article By Paul Lewis – nzherald

Russell Coutts will not skipper the trimaran in the America’s Cup battle against Alinghi – but says Oracle will back a ‘normal’ America’s Cup regatta in 2011 involving all challengers if they win the big multi-hull showdown.

Coutts, regarded by many as the best sailor in the world, is tactician on the Swedish boat Artemis at the Audi Med Cup regatta in Alicante.

But he has ruled himself out of trying to steer the massive trimaran with a truly scary sail area and reputedly able to garner impressive boat speed in even moderate winds.

“Something like that [the trimaran] is a 100 per cent, full-time, focus and I’m quite happy to say it’s not my area of expertise. James Spithill will skipper it and he and the crew have been doing nothing else but working out on it and getting to grips with it.”

However, Coutts, as CEO of BMW Oracle racing, said an Oracle win would more than likely lead to a conventional, multi-challenger America’s Cup regatta in 2011.

Coutts was withering about the Alinghi court challenge that ended abruptly last week when the New York Supreme Court ruled the big multi-hulls contest would take place in February – Alinghi wanted May.

Coutts said Alinghi’s allegations of espionage were “ridiculous” and sought to make “something out of nothing”.

“It is an accepted part of what goes on in the America’s Cup,” he said. “We all do it – that’s why Alinghi have had people like [New Zealand Alinghi sailors] Peter Evans and Warwick Flury hanging round in San Diego. Last time I was there, I took them all out to dinner – that’s how normal it is.

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ALL STAR LINE-UP FOR KOREA MATCH CUP

5 June 2008, London, UK – Field of twelve skippers to compete over 11-15 June for their share of 300 million Won purse in the 2008 World Match Racing Tour’s richest event yet.

Excitement is building as final preparations are underway at Jeongok Marina in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province for next week’s Korea Match Cup, the third stop on this year’s World Match Racing Tour. A fleet of new purpose-built boats, a new marina, twelve top teams from around the world, live TV coverage, and the richest total prize money purse yet – 300 million Won, or about $300,000 – makes this brand new event a sought-after stop on the Tour.

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Laurie Jury makes it to the final.

Chatter on JJunior web page here

JJsailing.com

New Zealand Match Race Honours Board

Chatter on Crew.org

Roaring Forty in container ship collision

Earlier this morning (16/05), Belgian solo sailor Michel Kleinjans was involved in a collision between his Open 40 Roaring Forty and a container ship approximately 210 miles east of Grand Bahama. Kleinjans is uninjured but his yacht has sustained damage, although the single-hander is convinced that he can reach Charleston – the finish line port for Leg 4 of the Portimão Global Ocean Race – 420 miles to the north.

Kleinjans has been in contact with the Portimão Global Ocean Race director, Josh Hall, and the US Coastguard have been informed. Immediately after the incident, solo sailor Kleinjans was in contact with the container ship’s deck officer via VHF radio.

In a message to the four double-handed boats in the Portimão fleet, Josh Hall explained the situation: “At 0950GMT I received a call from Michel aboard Roaring Forty,” wrote Hall in an email. “He has been hit by a container ship and has suffered damage to the bowsprit and the side of the boat. He is shaken but OK. He is confident that he can get the boat to Charleston and we will be organising for the boat to be hauled and work
started as soon as possible following his arrival.”

Kleinjans has opted to take a safer route to the finish line to preserve Roaring Forty: “Michel is planning on a more northerly course and reduced sail in order to guard the boat better and hopefully have a wider wind angle when the front  comes through,” adds Hall. “This is not a distress or even a ‘Pan-Pan’ incident at this point, but Team Mowgli – can you please shape your course towards Roaring Forty and be prepared to shadow Michel in?”

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Beluga Racer take Leg 4

Shortly after midnight GMT in the early hours of Aunday 17th May, Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme crossed the finish line of Leg 4 in the Portimão Global Ocean Race off Charleston, South Carolina, at 00:49:47 GMT (18:49:47 local) after 21 days 08 hours, 49 minutes and 47 seconds after 4,800 miles of racing from the tropical island of Ilhabela, Brazil, on board Class 40 Beluga Racer. The German team crossed the finish line at twilight making 12 knots under full main and gennaker in approximately 15 knots of breeze.

As soon as Herrmann and Oehme crossed the line, a RIB pulled alongside and Oehme’s father and stepmother climbed onboard to greet their victorious son having not seen him for seven months since the start of the race in Portimão, Portugal, last year. As the celebrations continued onboard, Hermann Oehme and his wife helped the young German duo sail the boat to City Marina, Charleston.

This win nets Herrmann and Oehme an extra two points for crossing the scoring gate off Recife in first place after a week at sea on 1st May and a further ten points for the overall leg win, bringing the German team’s total to 46 points with one transatlantic leg from Charleston to Portimão remaining to complete the circumnavigation. With their nearest rivals, Felipe Cubillos and José Muñoz on Desafio Cabo de Hornos, set to total 39 points when they finish racing in Leg 4, the German team just has to complete the final leg to win the event overall even if their Chilean adversaries take the Leg 5 scoring gate points and the finish line points.

“It’s almost a sad feeling that the race feels a bit like it is over,” explained Boris Herrmann with deep regret as Beluga Racer cruised towards the marina after crossing the line. “Of course we had a good fight, but it is a great shame that the Chileans broke their rudder and we were disappointed to lose that tension that they always put on us.” The competition will recommence with the restart from Charleston on 31st May and Herrmann is already excited about the challenge as the honour of winning the final leg of the race is immeasurable and the transatlantic crossing will be intensely fought. “I’m looking forward already to the next leg as the Chileans will be really motivated and we can have a really hard race to Portimão,” he comments.

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The first day of the Lake Geneva Spring regatta is over and everyone is tied for first place.  The winds were a steady 23.4 mph all day with gusts in the 30s. The lake was boiling  but the water cold.

35 boats braved the the forecast and registered for the regatta. For those of you close like Pewaukee, there is still time to get in on the racing for Sunday – the forecast is much better. The races are starting at 9:30 “sharp” according to the PRO.

The Oshkosh Yacht Club has been completely remodeled to provide a great venue for the 51st E National Championship Regatta on Lake Winnebago.  This will be the first E National Regatta in Oshkosh in over 20 years.

The 2009 E National Regatta is scheduled Wednesday, September 9th through the 12th.  Registration will be the Wednesday after Labor Day, with sailing Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Regatta Chair,  Diana Isom
Fleet Chair,  David Sitter
NCESA Regatta Committee Member,  Bill Wyman
OYC Commodore,  Adam Cummings

I have to say that the Oshkosh Yacht Club has a fantastic group of volunteer members that I know will make this a fabulous event.

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Bel Tchiz Tour Season III

The IMOCA 60 Groupe Bel was launched today at Port Camargue. For the third consecutive year, Kito de Pavant and his red monohull bearing the image of the Vache qui rit (Laughing Cow) are leaving on campaign. After a winter spent “fiddling with the engine”, the whole team is very impatient to get back to sea. This 2009 season will be marked by racing and voyages, with new original destinations planned.

Since dismasting last November during the Vendee Globe, the team has not been idle. “We had a new mast redesigned and rebuilt”, continued the skipper. “We have adapted her to sailing with a crew by optimizing, in particular, the efficiency of the sail plan. We took a boat designed especially for single-handed sailing, for the Vendee Globe, and turned it into a crew version of Groupe Bel, whether it was inside for the comfort of living on board, or on deck where maneuvers were optimized to increase performance. Changing the spinnaker, for example, can take 30 minutes single-handed, when with a crew it needs to be done immediately.”

The 2009 season will begin by intensive training under the leadership of Franck Citeau and Guillaume Rottee, who have been Kito’s partners for a long time and responsible for the Mediterranean Training Centre.

“As soon as we’re ready and a weather window is confirmed, I’ll set off single-handed to attempt the Marseille-Carthage (Tunisia) record. This is both a technical and competitive challenge that we really wanted to bring up to date for IMOCA monohulls. As a second new and audacious part of our programme, we will be taking part in the Giraglia Rolex Cup in June, in which 200 of the finest yachts in the world compete between Saint-Tropez, Corsica and Genoa (Italy). This is an important race in a magnificent setting, where the presence of a yacht like ours will be an event.

Early August, we will fasten our suitcases to cross the Mediterranean, and visit the Bel workers in Alexandria (Egypt), on the island of Lattaquie (Syria) and in Istanbul (Turkey). There again, these destinations are new for an 18 meters racing monohull.

End of August, we will enter the main part of the competitive season with the start in Istanbul of the European Pro Tour: a new crew-handed race, reserved for IMOCA monohulls, which will stop over in Nice, Barcelona, Portsmouth and Brest. It is a race that means a lot to me and it is an opportunity to see our usual friends on the circuit again on a magical course between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Finally, we will end the season at Le Havre in early November, where we will be for the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre, which for the first time, will finish in Costa Rica. There again, the setting looks as though it will be incredible!”

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Changes in hierarchy… but the “bosses”

make it clear who they are!

16 May 2009
In Brief
- Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild moves into the lead after Day 2
- No room to breathe on the start line… or at the buoys where finding an opening was key
- Glorious sunshine and enough wind to fly hulls? A treat for the spectators crowding the Venetian quay

Skies cleared up above the eternal city of Venice, and as cruise ships entered the busy waterways one could only be under the spell of the sophisticated, timeless and classical elegance of the town, its ability to remain true to itself regardless of the world around it. Set within sight of the Plaza San Marco, a few steps away from the Arsenal and the shipyards which allowed the Republic of Venice to establish itself as a genuine European power (read more below), the iShares Cup race village enjoyed a fantastic sunny morning, gearing up for the afternoon races.

The Committee had to postpone the first start but the wind eventually kicked in, and BMW ORACLE Racing won the first race of the day just like they had done yesterday. Quite clearly, the American team, Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild, Renaissance and Masirah seemed to dominate and the mark roundings proved red hot, with a few contacts and subsequent penalties. Yann Guichard’s crew impressed with their speed, while Pete Cumming went on to win two races in a row… with Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild in his wake! Loïck Peyron had mixed fortunes and a few imperfect starts, but showed a great ability to get back in the game – unfortunately, the crew’s 5th man had a taste of Venetian waters and had to be picked up by a safety rib! The “man overboard” seemed to have enjoyed his experience, coming ashore dripping but with a big smile on his face.

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Another record time for

Groupama 3

Mediterranean crossing record, Marseilles / Carthage
And that makes five! Franck Cammas and his crew have bagged the first record of their 2009 campaign and the fifth since the 105 foot trimaran saw the light of day in June 2006.

Groupama 3 – © Guilain Grenier / Sea & Co

Setting out from Marseilles on Friday 15th May at 0719 hours UT in a bid to beat the time set by Bruno Peyron in 2004 between Marseilles and Carthage, Groupama 3 crossed the finish line situated abeam of the Ras Quartajamah lighthouse on Cap Carthage, this Saturday 16th May at 00h 27′ 23” (UT). After 17 hours 08 minutes and 23 seconds and in contact with Sylvain Mondon from Météo France, the crew of the maxi trimaran managed to get the very best out of the wind on offer and can now be satisfied with the work they’ve accomplished. (Course time subject to approval from the WSSRC).

A year and a half after their capsize during the Jules Verne Trophy attempt, Franck and his men have snatched a fifth reference time, improving on the previous record of 17 hours 56 minutes and 33 seconds, by 48 minutes and 10 seconds.

Groupama 3 covered the 458 miles separating Marseilles from Carthage at an average speed of 26.72 knots, compared with an average of 25.53 knots for Orange II.

Franck Cammas just minutes after crossing the finish line: “We had a very good first section of the course with peaks of speed reaching in excess of 42 knots. However, the final section was more difficult with some lighter winds than forecast, which were very variable in terms of direction. It was a feisty passage as the seas were short and breaking but Groupama 3 behaved very well. We didn’t break a thing and the crew was fantastic. We’ll arrive in Hammamet in a few hours’ time with a fifth record to add to our list of wins. It augurs well for the next stage in the programme as Groupama 3 is really quick”.

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Yachting: Round-world race looks attractive to Team NZ

Grant Dalton. Photo / Janna Dixon

4:00AM Sunday May 17, 2009
By Paul Lewis
Emirates Team New Zealand could quit the America’s Cup and race in the Volvo Round The World yacht race instead if America’s Cup court wrangling continues.

They could, in theory, do both. That would probably need economic circumstances to change and more sponsorship on board.

But the hiatus in the America’s Cup has woken the possibility New Zealand’s yachting team could turn back to the international race with which New Zealand has the longest ties – dating back to 1977 when Heath’s Condor competed in what was then the Whitbread and those thrilling duels between Sir Peter Blake and Grant Dalton, now Team NZ boss.

Last week, the one-on-one ‘big boat’ Cup challenge between holders Alinghi and BMW Oracle was set for February 2010. The venue has yet to be decided – most predict it will still be in Valencia – and Alinghi have the right to change it.

More vexing, however, is the possibility more court action under the Deed of Gift could nudge the America’s Cup off line in its course towards the date most consider likely for a real, multi-challenger event in conventional monohulls – 2011.

That is the date Team New Zealand’s current funding runs out, pending re-negotiation. It is also the date of the start of the next Volvo yacht race – appropriately enough from here in Alicante.

That has also woken the possibility the Volvo might again include Auckland as a stage and a stopover – even though cities around the world are pitching millions of dollars to attract the race which went into a slide some years back but which is regaining international momentum.

Dalton says: “We have to consider whether we are in the right event. We exist at this point as an America’s Cup team, not a Volvo team. But we are a New Zealand team and a brand which is so strong that we can’t allow it to fizzle out.”

His belief is that 2011 will see a conventional America’s Cup regatta no matter who wins the February 2010 challenge. However, Team NZ cannot wait until that is all decided. They have to “read the tea leaves” to try to discern if the Cup will take place by 2011 or be subject to more delays from courtroom action between Ernesto Bertarelli of Alinghi and Larry Ellison of Oracle.

They have to decide when to make their move, if such a move is needed, and that is tricky.

“The challenge from the yachting community to Alinghi now has to be to write the rules fairly [for the February challenge] for both parties,” he says. “The Deed of Gift talks about normal racing rules so we don’t want Alinghi to start making rules not considered normal under the Deed.”

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This post is tagged alinghi, americas cup, bel tchiz, bmw oracle, bruno peyron, carthage, e-scow, franck cammas, gitana extreme, grant dalton, group bel, groupama 3, imoca 60, ishares cup, korea match cup, laurie jury, lcf rothschild, marseilles, match racing, new zealand herald, oshkosh, pewaukee, portimao, scuttlebutt europe, sir peter blake, team new zealand, venice, volvo round the world yacht race, westhaven marine brokers, world tour