Yachting News 17th June
TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEG NINE DAY 3 QFB:
received 16.06.09 1525 GMT
Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race
Good progress…
Amazingly enough, from a convulsed mass of lead, now the bulb is back in its original shape, at least as close as it can be… I have no enough words to describe how thankful to the shore team we are, they’re doing an incredible job fixing everything up. We’re helping them as much as we can. This morning at 4am a group of people, Daryl Wislang, Pepe Ribes, Iker Martinez, Xabi Fernandez and Patan (Pablo Arrarte), went down to the boat and sanded the bulb.
What is really good to see is that everyone is doing the best they can, helping here and there to make good progress with the repair. Yesterday, the bulb was straightened up by using a big hammer. Six people alternating hammering the thing down for the first part, but the bulb didn’t move much. Then came the big Volvo Digger, but it was a bit of too much power for us. The best solution was to warm the aft end of the bulb up to a superficial temperature of 150 degrees and we ended up using a lifting beam as Archimede lever. The beam, that is normally employed to lift small boats out of the water, was lashed down at one end; the fulcro was on the bulb and at the opposite end, there were seven people acting a force of nearly three tons on the bulb.
A few seconds of leverage and job done, the bulb was incredibly straight again. We were all very surprised to see how close to perfection it was. At the present moment, the bulb is being faired and sanded down, hopefully tonight they will spray it and it will be ready soon after that. The daggerboard case has been closed up with a panel, but it needs lots of lamination to beef up the whole area. We’re still looking for late tomorrow night maybe Thursday morning to go back in the water and start racing again.
My best compliments to all the guys of Ericsson 4, they sailed a fantastic race, making very little mistakes and they deserve this overall victory. Well done guys.
Also congratulations to Puma, they deserve winning this leg, after we pulled out. It’s a shame for us because it would have been really interesting to see a close battle between us two.
But it’s not over until it’s over.
Gabri Olivo – MCM
Photos: Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race
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Plans unveiled for new superyacht refit facilities in Auckland
By IBI Magazine
Plans to develop refit facilities for superyachts have been unveiled as part of the redevelopment of the Wynyard Quarter on the Auckland waterfront. Construction of the new infrastructure is scheduled to start later this year.
Sea City Projects Ltd, which is managing the redevelopment for Auckland Regional Holdings, said new refit facilities could generate NZ$200m per year and employ 1,500 new workers. The company is putting together packages for private firms interested in taking part in creating the infrastructure. The new plans would allow for up to a half-dozen yachts of 80m (262ft) in length to be worked on simultaneously.
John Dalzell, chief executive and project director for Sea City Projects Ltd, told the website that the plans call for full integration of the water spaces adjoining the western edge of Wynyard Quarter, with new facilities to be created on shore. He added that the new facilities would generate a strong economic impact for Auckland. “While a yacht refit may be worth up to $8m, it is well recognised that associated spending by the owner’s family visiting New Zealand and the vessel’s crew can boost that figure considerably,” said Dalzell.
Dalzell said the idea is to work with existing superyacht facilities at Hobsonville and other locations in Auckland as well as Tauranga and Whangarei. The bulk of future refit work will be carried out at Westhaven, which has the capacity to refit 50 or more superyachts a year.
“There are concerns about our capacity to handle future demand, without the Wynyard Quarter redevelopment, which is currently being resolved,” said Dalzell. “Australia is making major investments in refit facilities, and the industry here needs to be able to assure overseas superyacht owners that we will have the infrastructure in Auckland to undertake refits.”
Dalzell said the plans for Wynyard Quarter would put New Zealand into the top 40 refit locations in the world. “We hope to have achieved a significant increase in capacity by the end of next year, with further capacity increases each year for several years after that,” he said.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 June 2009
NEXT STOP PORTUGAL
The World Match Racing Tour heads for the Portuguese resort of Troia for stage 4 of the 2009 season.
London, UK (16 June 2009) – Hot on the heels of the hugely popular Korea Match Cup comes the Troia Portugal Match Cup. Sailed in the purpose designed SM40 at the tip of the Troia peninsula the Troia Portugal Match Cup will see 12 teams racing for a share of the €50,000 prize purse and valuable World Championship points.
Leading the charge is ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing’s Adam Minoprio, (NZL), who has been spending some time in Valencia training on Victory Challenges SM40’s along with fellow antipodean Torvar Mirsky, (AUS) Mirsky Racing. Both teams are hungry for points towards their standings and will be giving it all they’ve got.
Defending Troia Portugal Match Cup Champion Sébastien Col’s French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge will be looking to turn the run of poor form of recent events and set his Championship hopes alight again with a good result.
Fellow Frenchman Mathieu Richard and his French Match Racing Team are currently third in the Tour rankings and will be confident about getting a good result with their strong track record in the SM40 having won in Brazil in 2007.
Back on the Tour with a new sponsor, YANMAR Racing’s Peter Gilmour, AUS, will be looking to emulate his success in Portugal in 2007 when he wiped out Ian Williams’, Bahrain Team Pindar 3-0 in the finals. Williams however will want to forget that particular encounter and will no doubt be primed and ready for a revenge attack on the seasoned Australian campaigner.
New Tour Card holder, Philippe Presti, FRA, French Match Racing Team has taken some time to build momentum this year and Troia will be the place for him to start his assault on the World Championship, the two time winner of the Finn Gold Cup and helmsman for Luna Rosa may not be the favourite going into the event but should be one to watch.
After a strong showing in Korea Bjorn Hansen, SWE, Team Onica, will return to Portugal with renewed vigour and with the knowledge that he needs to get some points on the Tour leader board if he intends to challenge for the world title.
Adding a little bit of the unknown to the line up are Ian Ainslie (RSA), Team Proximo and a young Kiwi team, Phil Robertson’s WAKA Racing. Ainslie is no stranger to the Tour and is currently ranked 10th by ISAF and could well take a few of the more favoured scalps given the opportunity. For Robertson Portugal will be his first Tour event though he has also secured an entry to the Danish Open later this year after winning the Warren Jones Youth Regatta. Young he may be but short on experience he isn’t having arrived in Europe early on this year to put in some serious hours match racing.
The Tour Qualifier Series has produced two teams for the Portugal Match Cup this year. The Campeonato Absoluto de Match Race has given Alvaro Marinho, POR, Seth Sailing Team his opportunity to take on the Worlds best and the Cleanport Winter Challenge hands Andrej Arbuzov, RUS a return ticket to the Tour after the Danish Open last year.
Racing starts on Wednesday 17 June with news, pictures, results and video updates available on www.wmrt.org
Entrants
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing
Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/K Challenge
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onica
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team
Philippe Presti (FRA) French Match Racing Team
Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team
Andrej Arbuzov (RUS)
Tour Standings
(After 3 of 10 events)
1. Adam Minoprio (NZL), ETNZ/BlackMatch 41points
2. Ben Ainslie, (GBR), Team Origin 40 points
3. Mathieu Richard (FRA), French Team 35 points
4. Ian Williams (GBR), Bahrain Team Pindar 34 points
5. Damien Iehl (FRA), French Team 32 points
6. Paolo Cian (ITA), Shosholoza 32 points
7. Peter Gilmour (AUS), YANMAR Racing 23 points
8. Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Mirsky Racing Team 21 points
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Giraglia Rolex Cup
St.Tropez, France / Genoa, Italy
BREEZE ARRIVES TO CONCLUDE INSHORE RACING AT
GIRAGLIA ROLEX CUP
June 16, 2009
The third and final day of inshore racing wrapped up in St Tropez today. The fleet of 200 boats drifted near the entrance to the bay of St. Tropez, as the race committee set the starting line. As luck would have it the wind line never quite reached them, and after a short delay, the committee picked up and moved to the wind. It was well worth the move – when racing got underway, a southwesterly sea breeze of close to 15 knots.
The IRC A and Swan 45 divisions were sent on a 19.7 mile coastal course; after a short upwind beat, the fleet sailed downwind to a mark midway along the coast between Ste Maxime and St. Raphael, and then upwind to a mark offshore of the famous Pampeleon beach, then back into the bay to the finish off St. Tropez. The IRC/ORC B division sailed a slightly shorter version of the course that was 16.7 miles.
The breeze-on day was not without drama — 26 protests were pending at press time, thus results were not finalized.
In the Mini-Maxis, Niklas Zennstroms’s stunning Judel-Vrolik 72, Ran (GBR) came into it’s own today in the building breeze and scored its’ first win for the series. Grant Simmer, tactician onboard said, “The race committee were a bit reluctant to move the starting line offshore, but once they did we started in 15 knots, but then the breeze got up to 18-19 knots – a good pressured up race. It was quite a good course with a long beat, about seven miles, and then an interesting finish, reaching with different sail combos coming in to the finish. On Ran we like a bit more pressure, so for us we had the legs to get away, particularly on the long beat.” Ran’s finish of 3-4-1 puts them provisionally in 3rd place overall.
Finishing 4th today, and 2nd overall is Bella Mente (USA). Tom Burnham, sails on board as strategist offered up his thoughts on a lively day, “we able to have a good first beat in about 12-13 kts of breeze, and around to the top mark and it just kept filling in. I guess we had 18-19 kts and we had a nice 20-minute long spinnaker run with Ran, ourselves, Luna Rossa, Container, Alegre all right next to each other, going downwind at 16-18 knots of boat speed, just flying along.”
Luna Rossa (ITA), which struggled in the lighter breezes of the first two days, reveled in the breeze today pushing hard at the head of the pack until they blew out their spinnaker and dropped back a bit. They hung in though and were able to capitalize on the final reach to the finish where they reeled in two boats and finished a respectable 3rd for the day.
Burnham continued, “The next beat in 18 kts of breeze was fun, we were hoping to go a little better against Alegre, but we missed a shift or two, rounded the mark and Ran stayed very conservative, they sailed really well and just jib-reached home.”
Bella Mente and Alegre put up code zeros and reached for a while and then went back to jib reaching when the wind angle decreased; Ran kept jib reaching along. Burnham again, “We made a fatal error when we put up a code zero again when the breeze was even tighter than before, it was a real disaster, too much sail area, too much horsepower and really hard boat handling-wise. In the end, the risk/reward ratio wasn’t worth it. The boat is basically brand-new sailing in those conditions, so it’s definitely a learning experience every time we get to sail in them. Since Palma Vela in mid-April, we haven’t had a windy day so it was real fun for these big boats.so powerful, so much sail aream and the amount of speed we get out of them, especially that spinnaker run – it was only 20 minutes but it’s the run we’ll remember for the rest of the week!
In ORC A, Franck Noel’s GP42 Near Miss (SUI) would seemed to have locked up 1st overall in their division. Gilles Morelle, navigator onboard attributes their success to a good crew that has sailed together for quite a while. This Near Miss, a GP42, is Noel’s third boat, after a X40, and an IMS 600. Morelle said, “Today was just a great day, typically the real St. Tropez weather conditions, with a bit of all: up-wind, reaching and downwind. We had very good boat speed and enjoyed the challenge.”
In the Swan 45 class, Fever (GBR) appears to have locked up the overall win. Klaus Diederichs, co-owner and helmsman today said, “The team worked really well. We had a clean start, the left hand side paid on the first beat and we led around the first mark. It truly was champagne sailing out there today. We are looking forward to the offshore race. It is our first time racing in St Tropez and the friendly atmosphere shore side, combined with nice sailing makes this a great event.”
No Limits (NED), with four-time Olympic medalist and America’s Cup sailor Jochen Schumann calling tactics had a good day, and he said, “It’s great that the Giraglia Rolex Cup is open for one-design classes. With this group of boats that are participating here, it is of course better to sail the coastal races (vs windward/leeward), even if it was a bit boring the first two days with only 6 – 7 knots. But today we had just great conditions, up to 18 knots. It is exactly what the crew loves: a lot of action, good upwind parts, spinnaker work, shifting gears, and lots of manoeuvres, so one can show their performance.”
Tonight the Rolex Gala and prizegiving for the inshore racing takes place at the fabulous Citadelle de Saint-Tropez overlooking the sea. In the 15th century, the Governor of Provence de l’Epernon, decided to enclose an area within the city walls to protect from eventual attacks. Prizes are to be awarded to the best-placed yachts from the past three days of inshore racing.
Tomorrow, a fleet of close to 200 yachts will depart on the Giraglia Race, a 243-mile distance race from St Tropez to a turning mark at La Fourmigue, and onward via the Giraglia Rock at the northern tip of Corsica to the finish in the Italian port of Genoa.
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US House of Representatives swiftly passes
“National Boating Day” resolution
By IBI Magazine
The House of Representatives swiftly passed House Resolution 410 yesterday evening, designating July 1, 2009 as “National Boating Day”. The NMMA said in a statement that it will recognise “the important role recreational boating and the boating industry” play in the lives of 59 million American boaters.
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SUMMER SAILSTICE 2009,
JUNE 20 at Treasure Island on San Francisco Bay
You are Invited to San Francisco Bay’s Top Sailing Festival! A benefit for Treasure Island Sailing Center.
The longest day of the year… the launch of summer… the summer solstice. Power your holiday with sun and wind to support a healthy lifestyle, a healthy Bay, a healthy planet!
FREE ADMISSION! Summer Sailstice brings together everyone who loves wind, water and sail! Sail in, motor in, or just come down for a full weekend of sailing, cruising, racing, windsurfing and onshore entertainment.
If you don’t have a boat, don’t worry… you can get FREE sailboat rides, watch sailboat racing and enjoy live music at the festival village. Or see if you can hook up with a ride on the Latitude 38 crew list or visit the new, complete Bay Area access to sailing resource: gosailingsf.org.
For boaters: On top of all the other fun there is free anchorage with complimentary water taxi and dinghy dock availability to enjoy one of the most idyllic spots on the Bay. Racers unable to anchor or stay overnight can raft up stern-to at the Treasure Isle Marina guest dock as space permits.
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18 year old completes 2009 OSTAR
and becomes the youngest ever finisher in this classic race
When he started the 3000 mile OSTAR as the youngest ever competitor 21 days ago, Oscar Mead had already set his goal out as being the youngest ever finisher. In his own words, “It doesn’t mean anything to be the youngest ever starter, that’s do-able, racing the Atlantic , and finishing, that’s harder!”
After 21 days of racing Oscar has just completed the race goal and set a record as the youngest ever finisher in the Original Singlehanded Transatlantic race. He sailed closest to the rhumb line of all competitors, battling through the ice fields of Newfoundland and led the Gypsy Moth class for most of the race. In a titanic struggle with Irishman Barry Hurley, he just lost out by 2.5 hours on the water and by just 30 minutes on handicap.
Oscar has been sailing since he was 8, he grew up in Hong Kong but sailing videos of Ellen Macarthur going round the world, combined with his innate desire to tinker led him to building models of what “his” Open 60 would look like.
From there it was a one way trip towards bigger boats and longer courses. His lucky break was a chance to sail the China Sea Race with Hong Kong sailor, Frank Pong, on Pong’s RP76 “Jelik”. Oscar ended up doing the 600 mile China Sea Race and the follow up inshore series on with “Jelik”, which by his own admission was a great introduction to big boat racing, As Oscar said “what’s not to like about sailing at 20 knots with the spinnaker up on a 76 footer in the sunshine!”
Oscar then managed to persuade his father that they ought to try 2-handed racing together and a J105 was acquired in early 2008. The two Mead’s then sailed the Royal Southampton 2-handed series, winning 5 of 7 starts over the season and totally dominating Class 1.
By mid summer Oscar was desperate to go singlehanded so he entered the Petite Bateau Channel Week, 7 days of racing across the Chanel and back in which he was “Top Rookie”. He only turned 18 the week before the series started to even be eligible to enter. After that he set his goal of sailing the OSTAR and did his 500 mile solo qualifier in late summer 2008.
In an appropriate weather window he was off, he completed his 500 mile solo sail out into the Irish Sea and back in 98 hours. Today, 9 months later, he has completed the challenge. In between time he did most of the work on upgrading his J105 himself, what he didn’t do he managed himself, and he found a sponsor in “King of Shaves”, a UK based men’s shaver company. Finishing means the end of 3 weeks at sea and the achievement of the goal.
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Confusing conditions ahead for the race leaders
Shortly after midnight on Sunday, solo sailor Michel Kleinjans on Roaring Forty crossed the Portimão Global Ocean Race Leg 5 Scoring Gate south-east of Newfoundland and is currently averaging 9.6 knots 600 miles due west of the Azores. While the Belgian single-hander is still pinned down by the Leg 5 Ice Limit at 41°N, the three double-handed boats in the fleet are now free of this restriction and are climbing north-east.
Having held the lead since the Leg 5 start in Charleston 11 days ago, Felipe Cubillos and José Muñoz are currently 120 miles north of Flores in the Azores Archipelago and in the 0620 UTC position poll on Monday morning (15/06), their red Class 40 Desafio Cabo de Hornos is 71 miles ahead of second place Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme on Beluga Racer – representing a 22 mile gain for the Chilean team in the past 24 hours. In third place, 220 miles further west, the British duo of Jeremy Salvesen and David Thomson on Team Mowgli were in the strongest conditions on Sunday producing speed averages of 11-13.7 knots as the double-handed boats rode south-westerly breeze over the top of the Azores High.
This morning, as race leader Desafio Cabo de Hornos begins to ascend the western face of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Cubillos and Muñoz have slowed marginally from averages of 12 knots to ten knots as the Chileans leave the corridor of strong south-westerly breeze. Weather models suggest that Desafio Cabo de Hornos has around 15-17 knots of breeze while the Germans on Beluga Racer to the north-west have a couple of extra knots of wind and are making 11 knots – one knot faster than the Chilean team.
Currently averaging the fastest speed in the fleet of 12.2 knots, Salvesen and Thomson on Team Mowgli remain in the band of breeze with around 23 knots of south-westerly wind. For Michel Kleinjans, 330 miles south-west of the British team, the stronger breeze is out of reach although Roaring Forty has consistently polled speeds of between 9-10 knots since Sunday morning.
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