Greetings Yachties,

Virtual Sailing on line

Alinghi

Superyacht News

Odlo

ishares

Melges 24

TP52

Des Top News, English- French- Deutsche

Mike Perham

Blind Swimming

St Moritz Match Racing

505 Worlds

Cowes online

Clipper Round The World

Waka Racing

Enjoy,

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Is Virtual Sailing becoming bigger than the sport itself?

Hundreds of thousands of people competed virtually in the last Vendée Globe and Volvo Ocean Race, comfortably sitting in front of their laptop or mobile phones. The new IT technologies allow the development of popular games, race players and viewers, as well as strategic assistants for those who actually like to sit on a real boat…

CEO of KaliBee Emmanuel de Bressy and Marketing and Operations Director at Many Players Philippe Oliva tell us about the present and future of virtual racing.

*
WYRF: Please tell us about the current state of the technology, and what your tool is all about.

Philippe Oliva: “Virtual Regatta is a race simulator for offshore races. We have developed a game that aggregates and combines topographic and meteorological data with the characteristics of the boats (VPP, measurement rule…). We use Adobe Flash as graphic interface. This leads to a game that depicts the reality whilst remaining simple and compatible with most computer hardware.”

Emmanuel de Bressy: “KaliBee develops support tools for debriefing and live broadcast of inshore regattas. Our web architecture is very powerful and evolutionary; however, what’s most spectacular with our technology is the 3D rendering that it offers. It is very fluid and very detailed at the same time. Thus, with the same tool (TCPlayer), we can broadcast on the internet, project on a huge screen or produce TV images.”

*
WYRF: What are the main purposes of virtual sailing

Emmanuel de Bressy : “Two different types of virtual sailing must be taken into account:

* The multi-player games – this is all about mobilizing a large number of players through a low-tech solution. The games have become essential in offshore sailing events. But they don’t adapt to inshore races yet.
* The live coverage of regattas, with two objectives:
o Communicate around the sailing events, provide live broadcast at the race village and on the internet, offer content, explain the regatta and bring value to the sponsors.
o Help competitors and sailing fans to debrief their races. This requires a fluid solution with pertinent information. Every KaliBee solution can be replayed (check www.tcreplay.com).”

Philippe Oliva: “Virtual Regatta finally allows the public to take part to the world’s biggest oceanic races. People are not only spectators anymore; they become actors and compete in the same conditions as the real sailors. The characteristics of the boats, route, weather and schedules are identical, which allows them to live the race just like the real skippers. It also strengthens the bonds between the real and the virtual races. When you hear the players talking about their regatta, you really wonder if they were on the water or playing a game. It’s amazing.”

*
WYRF: How far will development go? How do you see the future?

Philippe Oliva: “The potential for development is huge and we regularly add new applications. If I tell you that in the future, the players of Virtual regattas will steer a real boat in a real race, from their home, it sounds like science fiction. But it is already the case. During the four last legs of the Volvo Ocean Race, Ian Walker, the skipper of Green Dragon, was receiving instructions given by the players of Virtual Regatta. That’s when he got his best results in the regatta (he was third twice).
Perhaps Virtual Regatta will compete in the next Vendée Globe. The real one!”

Emmanuel de Bressy: “The technologies are in place; now the key is whether the race organizers will use them. Globally, we can say that Internet is going to have a privileged place in the broadcasting of information (real time follow-up, classification, ranking list etc).
Personally, I believe that a more local marketing must be developed in order to generate the public’s loyalty, by providing more content.
Our sport suffers from the absence of ticketing and the lack of images that explain the game. The virtual footage compensates those lacks by offering real-time content and by providing a marketing platform in the race villages.”

*
WYRF: Does virtual sailing bring people into sailing or does it take them away from the sport?

Philippe Oliva, Marketing and Operations Director at Many Players

Philippe Oliva: “Virtual Sailing definitely brings the public closer to real sailing. I’ll give you some examples:
A primary school class took part in the Vendée Virtual Globe on Virtual Regatta, finishing at a brilliant 350th place out of 340’000 players. The teacher used sailing to illustrate her program. In April, the whole class went sailing for real in the club closest to their home.
Numerous players discovered sailing with the Vendée Globe, many of them by playing on Virtual Regatta. Some joined training courses; others went to les Sables d’Olonne for the arrival and to get in touch with the real sailors.
Finally, the French Sailing Federation (FFV) recognized virtual sailing in March 2009 as a new discipline. Virtual Regatta is now officially affiliated to the Federation and is authorized to deliver (real) sailing licences. The FFV quickly realized that virtual sailing brings a wide public to real sailing.”

Emmanuel de Bressy: “The games definitely bring a new audience to the sport. People are not scared by the complexity of the game and they go for it.
This broadens the reach of our sport, thanks to the tools developed to explain the event and provide content to the media and the race villages.”

*
WYRF: What are the commercial perspectives for virtual sailing?

Emmanuel de Bressy: “An offshore event cannot exist any more without a virtual tracking tool. The market is mature, and saturated.
It is less true for the inshore races; however, at KaliBee, we believe that the promotion of inshore races will happen alongside the development of tools that allow the public to get closer and this will inevitably be in 3 D. This market is less mature, however much bigger. We are here to help the organizers set up their communications strategy and to help them to broaden the reach of our sport. The TV’s and web based TV’s also need some didactic content.”

Philippe Oliva: “Virtual sailing can use the same model as sailing whilst avoiding the constraints of real life. First of all, the sports calendar is almost unlimited: type of boat, route, period, duration…we have no constraint and can offer all year round exposure to brands.
The opportunities to join virtual sailing are numerous and varied. The brands or the companies can create their own virtual sailing event and thus strengthen their impact.”

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So.. Does This Get Louis Vuitton Back into the AC Somehow?

Consider the nexus of these two press releases:

First one from Alinghi on Tuesday:

“Alinghi, Defender of the 33rd America’s Cup, is proud to announce Hublot, the Swiss luxury watchmaker, as a team sponsor for the 33rd America’s Cup. Alinghi president Ernesto Bertarelli and Hublot CEO Jean-Claude Biver held a joint presentation at the Alinghi base in Genoa, Italy, this afternoon to announce this union of Swiss expertise.

Hublot was created in 1980 and made an immediate impact on the art of watchmaking with its signature porthole-shaped watch case. It was the first Swiss watchmaker to fuse a precious material – gold – with rubber, a design that immediately caught the imagination of trend setters guaranteeing the company’s significant success. Jean-Claude Biver took the helm in 2004 as CEO and has steered the luxury brand to new heights. He comments on a ‘fusion’ of two leading Swiss brands: “We were lucky enough to admire Alinghi 5 as it was launched and again when it sailed for the very first time on Lake Geneva. It is a fabulous boat and a culmination of Swiss savoir-faire with 200 Swiss providers playing their part in the construction. Alinghi 5 merits its Swiss Made label…”

And this from Brand Republic on 24 April 2008:

“Luxury goods group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is acquiring top of the range Swiss watchmaker Hublot for an undisclosed sum. LVMH will acquire Hublot from Carlo Crocco, who founded the group in 1980, and a company controlled by Jean-Claude Biver, who has managed Hublot since 2004. Biver will contribute to the development of LVMH’s watchmaking division.

LVMH said that Hublot would complement its existing watch portfolio, which comprises Tag Heuer, Swiss watch manufacturer Zenith, Dior Montres and Louis Vuitton watches. The company also holds watch collections for jewellers Chaumet, Fred and De Beers.

Hublot has its headquarters and workshops near Geneva and has started building a factory at Nyon as part of expansion plans.”

So… Louis Vuitton leaves in disgust from the last AC, but its subsidiary joins in for the Dogzilla / Cheezilla match? Curious…

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Follow the latest chatter from the waveface here on the worlds most up to date website about the cup, sailing anarchy.

From Crew.org, an old chestnut

Last year Yachting New Zealand announced with some fanfare the launch of a web based system whereby owners could view their individual race performances used to compute their PHRFs. The stated reason for implementing this was to make the calculation “transparent”. Serious flaws have been identified in this system.
Yachting New Zealand has stated that PHRFs are an average of the handicaps that yachts sail to in individual races. These “sail to” numbers are unfortunately heavily dependant on the division in which a yacht competes. As a result a yacht’s sail to number and PHRF can end up significantly higher than other yachts who do the race faster. PHRF cannot be dependant on the division in which a yacht competes in any one event. This problem was identified to YNZ in May 2009. YNZ subsequently removed the offshore sail to numbers (and transparency) from their website. There have been further flaws identified in the system where the average of the sail to numbers does not resemble PHRFs either for a particular yacht or for its immediate competitors. As PHRF is a relative measure owners need not only to investigate their own sail to numbers, but also those of the yachts whose performance is known to them. It can be demonstrated that some yachts which have high sail to numbers are not having these reflected in their PHRFs. Indeed YNZ is selective in which sail to numbers are applied.
In reality YNZ is using the sail to numbers to placate owners who complain about their PHRFs and who do not or can not investigate further. One must therefore ask how the PHRFs are determined?
Some light can be cast on the real mechanism for determining PHRF if I describe a conversation which I had with John Bennett, PHRF handicapper, three years ago. I asked why The Chairman had such a high PHRF. Note that the owner of The Chairman was unknown to me. Bennett was reluctant to answer but after some prompting in the presence of witnesses he replied “ the owner is a c**t and I don’t like him”.
Yachting New Zealand has stated that there exists an appeal process in relation to PHRF. Mr Bennett has stated on multiple occasions that it is pointless appealing as he will “throw such letters in the bin”.
Yachting New Zealand apparently wish to make the PHRF calculation transparent. John Bennett determines PHRFs for Auckland based boats and, in order than owners can have confidence in the system, YNZ needs to either:
1. endorse Mr Bennett’s “qualitative” method (as described above) for determining PHRF or
2. consider his suitability for the role

Peter Schischka
Force Eleven

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Sydney approves plans to boost superyacht berthing

Sydney is to upgrade its superyacht berthing facilities following the approval for more than A$50m of investment from the Ports & Waterways Ministry. Rozelle Bay marina, the city’s main superyacht facility is to be redeveloped with the preferred bidder currently being Sydney Superyacht Marina Pty Ltd (SSM).

As part of this project Island Global Yachting (IGY) will manage the marina making this its first project in Australia. Under the redevelopment plans space will be provided for 24 stern-to berths as well as an adjacent pontoon finger pier able to handle yachts of between 20m and 70m. The work is scheduled to take place in 2010.

Part of the A$50m will also be used for a second project based on the southern side of Blackwattle Bay with a plan to develop it as a major marine precinct. The quay in this area, largely derelict at present, will be rebuilt and other on-site infrastructure reconstructed. The plan is to provide a permanent facility for charter vessels including 18 dedicated berths with completion scheduled for 2011.

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ODLO on board of Alinghi

With its giant catamaran Alinghi 5, the Swiss Defender of the 33rd America’s Cup, Alinghi, is facing a tough challenge. In February 2010 Alinghi will have to perform at its very best in Ras al-Khaimah (UAE) if it is to beat BMW Oracle in the world’s greatest and oldest sailing competition, the America’s Cup. ODLO, official clothing supplier to Alinghi, will be supporting the Swiss team lead by Ernesto Bertarelli by providing highly functional sailing wear which is geared precisely to the needs of sailors. ODLO, a leader in the manufacture of functional sportswear for over 60 years, is synonymous with top quality, extensive know-how and passion. When developing the Alinghi clothing ODLO was responding to the needs and wishes of the sailors. The ODLO Collection therefore guarantees an optimum fit («free move»), extremely minimal weight, multi-functional quality that provides protection against water and wind, is watertight and offers UV protection. ODLO guarantees that the Alinghi crew will be ideally equipped when it goes to the start line in the Persian Gulf in 2010. Ernesto Bertarelli is highly convinced that «with ODLO the crew has the support of a strong, reliable partner ». ODLO and Alinghi have been working in partnership since January 2009, for the 33rd America’s Cup.

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Economic Impact of ishares Cup at Cowes Week.

Good and Bad news for Cowes Week. The good news is that the OC Events run iShares Cup brought visitors and money to the town during the opening days of the traditional regatta. The bad news is that now Cowes Week needs to work to retain a spot on the popular European tour for the extreme 40 catamarans.

It was the third time that the iShares Cup had been held at Cowes Week but 2009 saw an all-new set up, including the first ever public viewing area for both iShares Cup and Cowes Week racing at Egypt Point.

The organisers estimate that 30,000 spectators packed the shoreline along Egypt Esplanade over the three days of iShares Cup racing from August 1st-3rd 2009, with hundreds visiting the iShares Cup race village – on the final afternoon of racing over 1,500 people entered the race village in just a single hour.

OC Events Director, Gilles Chiorri, commented:

“As organisers of the iShares Cup we were really pleased with the outcome this year and felt we had achieved our objective of creating a genuine entertainment event for the public. The decision on the UK venue for 2010 and 2011 will be made in the coming months following the tender process that all potential host venues around Europe are currently responding to, and we hope the Isle of Wight will participate in this tender process so they can bid to retain the iShares Cup event at Cowes Week.”

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Sleepless Nights Ahead

Well, Hurricane Bill is really kicking in now. The wind has built up to around 40knots and it is still increasing up hour by hour. The cold front that will deliver the biggest punch will pass through between midnight and 4am and that’s certainly going to give me a good kick up the backside!

So this morning (Tuesday), I was in slow mode and, for the first time ever this trip I was actually pleased to see I was only travelling at 5knots in a good breeze. I’m still ahead of schedule, so I need to slow down even more tomorrow.

I’ve currently got a handkerchief size of sail up but Totallymoney.com just wants to go and there’s no stopping her! She’s currently doing around 9.5knots, but I’m sure she’ll slow down quite a bit tomorrow morning. I only need to average 6knots to cross the line on Thursday morning, so I’ll really have to put the brakes on tomorrow.

Everything is getting really, really exciting for the crossing of the line and also for the homecoming at Gunwharf Quays on Saturday at 11am. I’ve been doing tonnes of interviews over the satellite phone, all made possible by Clearpoint Weather’s sponsorship. Thanks guys! We use Clearpoint all the time for our weather routing and it’s really great!

Tonight is going to be my last chance to get some of goodish sleep as I’m certain I won’t get a minute’s peace tomorrow, what with all the crazy shipping running up and down the English Channel. So although it’s blowing a really good gale outside, I need to make the most of tonight to get in some good zzzz…

©MikePerham

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Mike’s yachtyakka story here

more solo teenagers here

Revenir au contact

iShares Cup à Kiel, Allemagne, du 28 au 30 août 2009

Pour la quatrième épreuve du circuit iShares de la saison 2009, Groupama 40 retrouve son équipage de base avec le retour de Franck Cammas à la barre, Tanguy Cariou à la tactique, Benoît Briand aux réglages et Fred Le Maistre à l’avant.

Groupama 40 – © Yvan Zedda

A Kiel en Allemagne, site bien connu des spécialistes de l’olympisme qui participent chaque année à la semaine internationale, les régates d’Extreme 40 s’annoncent une nouvelle fois très disputées : « Nous ne courrons pas au même endroit qu’en 470 » nous dit Tanguy Cariou « mais un peu plus haut sur la rivière qui donne sur un grand port de commerce. La mer sera plate et le vent probablement un peu irrégulier car le bassin est entouré d’immeubles et d’arbres ».

Comme à son habitude, le circuit iShares se dispute à proximité immédiate des spectateurs : « Le site se prête bien au spectacle. Les quais sont relativement hauts, ce qui permettra aux nombreux spectateurs attendus de bien suivre les courses » poursuit le tacticien de Groupama 40 qui débute aujourd’hui les entraînements : « Groupama 40 est bientôt prêt à naviguer. Nous attendons Franck qui, contrairement à Venise et Cowes, sera bien avec nous dans la mesure où il n’y a pas de tentative de record sur Groupama 3. Ca fait du bien de se retrouver dans ces conditions pour naviguer ».

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The Quest For The ‘King Of The Mountain’ Is Open

The spectacular Lake St Moritz plays host to the world’s top match racers next week
©Loris von Siebenthal – www.myimage.ch

The St. Moritz Match Race, stage six of the 2009 World Match Racing Tour, will take place next week in the Swiss Alps and
will commence from September 1 through to September 6.

The coveted ‘King of the Mountain’ trophy will be awarded to the best performing team from the five day match racing event, Mathieu Richard (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team, are the current leaders of the World Championship standings and second in the ISAF Rankings, as well as the current ‘defender’. He won the 2008 edition of the event ahead of Ian Williams (GBR) Team Pindar.

Racing will take place on Lake St. Moritz, a natural amphitheatre that provides a perfect and natural viewing platform from the shore. The local Maloja thermal breeze blows daily from 8 to 20 knots and with a little help from the sun the breeze picks up, guaranteeing a fantastic show to the numerous spectators who flock to see their sailing heroes in action.

Twelve teams representing eight nations have been selected for this regatta.

more  here

Entry List

Mathieu Richard (FRA), French Match Racing Team
Ian Williams (GBR), Bahrain Team Pindar
Adam Minoprio (NZL), ETNZ/BlackMatch
Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Mirsky Racing Team
Sébastien Col (FRA), French Match Racing Team / K-Challenge
Peter Gilmour (AUS), YANMAR Racing
Philippe Presti (FRA), French Match Racing Team
Johnie Berntsson (SWE), Berntsson Sailing Team
Bjorn Hansen (SWE), OnBoard Saling Team
Álvaro Marinho (POR), Seth Sailing Team
Eric Monnin (SUI), Swiss Match Race Team
Francesco Bruni (ITA), Joe Fly Match Race

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Martin And Nelson Working On A 505 Worlds Sweep

©Christophe Favreau – www.christophefavreau.book.fr

SAP 505 World Championship 2009
San Francisco, California, USA

Good thing the wind calmed down a bit Tuesday or Mike Martin and crew Jeff Nelson – notorious for their heavy weather sailing – would be running away with the 2009 SAP 505 World Championship, hosted by the St Francis Yacht Club.
Wait a minute. The Newport Beach, California sailors were every bit as dominant in mom and pop breeze of 8 to 11 knots to start the day as conditions built to 20 by the end of the second race. They led at every mark in both races, sometimes seemingly too far ahead to read the sail numbers of their closest competitors, if they ever bothered to look back.

Their speed has been exceptional, their tactics solid and their boat handling like clockwork. When the wind came up, while others were flopping and flipping in their wake, their teamwork at executing jibes as they skipped over the waves at more than 20 knots was as slick and quick as a pas de deux at the Royal Ballet.

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Chinese lanterns mistaken for distress flares

The growing popularity of Chinese lanterns, especially at weddings and beach BBQs, has prompted the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to ask the public for advance warnings when releasing them off and along the UK coastline.

There is also a growing concern from the NFU (National Farmers Union) who have said the lanterns pose a risk to animal welfare and are a fire hazard when they land within crops, woodlands, and farmyards. Now that the harvest is almost over the worry is that these lanterns will set fire to barns which are stacked full of hay and straw.

Considered to be good luck in the Far East, the lanterns have only brought problems for the UK Coastguard. When lit they can soar to over a mile in the sky. Visible for up to 20 minutes on a clear night, the lanterns are increasingly mistaken for marine distress signals.

The public are being urged to inform the Coastguard if using the lanterns near the coast. They are also being asked to refrain from using them near airports, heath land or other areas likely to catch fire, and always avoid releasing them in built up residential areas.

A recent incident between Bexhill and Pevensey in East Sussex led the Dover Coastguard to be called out to a sighting reported as a “red flare” sent up by a boat in distress. A Coastguard Rescue Team was sent to investigate the incident, where it turned out that a countless number of these lanterns had been released.

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Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

Gosport is home to the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race – the only global challenge raced by people like you. On Monday 31 August 2009 the fleet will depart Portsmouth Harbour and won’t return for almost a year. Come and see off the ten teams from Royal Clarence Marina, Gosport. Events start at 11am and entry is free.

From 11am you will be able to see the yachts as the crews prepare to set sail for the Humber and the official start of the Clipper 09-10 Race on 13 September. There will be a street market on the promenade in Royal Clarence Marina with stalls selling food and other goodies while local bands play to create a party atmosphere.

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Winning in Chicago

Race 1 we entered from starboard and lead back at to the pin end. With our time on distance spot on we won the favoured pin end forcing him to tack off to the boat. By the top mark we had tacked on him several times and had a 5 length lead. We defended this lead upwind by not giving him an inch and carried on to win the 1st race.
By the second race the wind had dropped even more down to around 4kts. With the course skewed towards the right we wanted him to be to the left of us. We started to windward and tacked off to the right hand side of the course. With tacking angles around 110 degrees we didn’t look to hot but tacking back at him for the first cross no one looked hot. We were practically pointing at each other on opposite tacks. We lee bowed him, forcing him left to the short side. A few more tacks and lee bows and we were on the port hand lay line with him tight to windward of us. We saw this as not a very strong position in the light winds approaching the top mark so we luffed him and sat head to wind until both boats had stopped . In a now strong position we bore away when he was stuck head to wind. Our timing to do this was impeccable as we gained about a 10 boat length advantage rounding the top mark. We lost a little on the downwind in some of the toughest conditions we had sailed in but maintained our lead upwind. Rounding the mark for the second time we had a comfortable lead and covered him on the downwind. He caught up a lot but we managed to hold our lead and win by two boat lengths. Score 2-0 and the first Chicago Match Race regatta going to Waka Racing.

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This post is tagged 505 Worlds, Adam Minoprio, Alinghi 5, Alvaro Marinho, Bjorn Hansen, blackmatch, Clipper Round the World yacht race, Cowes online, Eric Monnin, Francesco Bruni, Groupama ishares, Ian Williams, Johnie Berntsson, Katie Burns, Mathieu Richard, melges 24, mike perham, ODLO, peter gilmore, Phil Roberston, Philippe Presti, Quantum Racing, Sebastien Col, St. Moritz Match Race, Torvar Mirsky, Waka Racing