Greetings yachties,

My mate boatslut reckons I need to post more stuff. He is sitting at home with shaggers back and wants to surf yachting news. Here you go mate, shag this

Grant Dalton has confirmed involvement in the next Volvo Ocean Race

Where is Jessica Watson now?

Peter Williams QC – Petals of Memory

Tasman Trespasser – Shaun Quincey

Clipper – update

Cowes online – Pelican Racing

Geoff Holt – Atlantic update

Sr-71 – update

Liz Wardley – Hit something

British yachtsmen held captive in Iran

Sailing Sponsorship

more later,

Enjoy

Emirates Team NZ CEO, Grant Dalton has confirmed to Sail-World that he has been in discussion with Spanish telco Telefonica regarding an involvement in the next Volvo Ocean Race.

Dalton would not disclose the specifics of his involvement, saying: ‘It is no secret of my desire to be involved in the Volvo Ocean Race and yes I have spoken to Telefonica. There is no commitment at this stage from either party. I have also stated a number of times that Emirates Team New Zealand should consider expanding its horizons, the successful TP52 season is an example of that and the Volvo Ocean Race must be considered as well.’

Sail-World has spoken to several international media sources who confirmed their belief that Dalton was discussing a CEO and skipper role with Telefonica who had two entries in the last edition Volvo Ocean Race.

While many of those spoken to by Sail-World believed Dalton was to depart Emirates Team New Zealand, it is not believed that this is the case. Dalton is expected to drop back into a role for the professional team, similar to that adopted by Sir Peter Blake in the 2000 America’s Cup Defence in New Zealand, leaving Dean Barker as skipper and Kevin Shoebridge in an Operations role. Dalton would obviously have a more hands on role with the Volvo Ocean Race type projects.

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Shaun Quincey will row solo from Australia to New Zealand. If successful, Shaun will be the only solo rower, other than his father, completing the first ever Tasman Crossing in 1977. Following in the footsteps of his father, Shaun Quincey will depart Australia in January, rowing the Tasman Sea from West to East, solo with no assistance. Shaun will battle a distance of 2200km as well as 10m swells and one of the most treacherous seas in the world. Taking an estimated 50 Days, Tasman Trespasser 2 will be an epic adventure.

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follow Shaun here

Out in the Southern Ocean the leaders are closing in on the scoring gate and it’s a nail biting and frustrating time everyone. Focus is at a maximum on all of the yachts.

Spirit of Australia emerged from stealth mode last night and, although behind Cape Breton Island in terms of Distance to Finish, the Australian team is further east and therefore closer to the scoring gate.

Having reported a wind hole yesterday, skipper of Cape Breton Island, Jan Ridd, has now found more breeze than he dared hope for. “We have spent the last 24 hours as fully powered up as my nerve allows as we all sprint towards the gate,” he says. “Towards evening the wind was gusting above the upper recommended limits for the medium kite but regularly dying back. It was when the helm really started fighting the boat that I took the wheel to see if we could hold on to the kite as the speeds we were achieving were spectacular!  As it was getting dark, a couple of large waves combined with gusts of over 40 knots true wind finally broke my nerve and had me hastily calling for the kite to be dropped. Again the crew, in very marginal conditions, did a textbook drop. In these heavy winds, pulling down a sail as enormous as our medium kite is a daunting and potentially dangerous task, and they did it without a hitch.”

Cape Breton Island’s excellent 24-hour run has come at the detriment of Uniquely Singapore and skipper Jim Dobie is feeling the pressure as his team slips behind the Canadian entry once more.

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Swap your spreadsheet for a jib sheet

Cowes-based Pelican Racing has announced the inaugural City Racing Challenge for 2010, to be sailed on fully race fitted Laser SB3s in the Solent.

Credit: Pelican Racing

Pelican Racing have announced the new City Racing Challenge for 2010

The company that brings you hassle free racing is hosting this exciting new event, inviting London’s City workers to swap their spreadsheet for a jib sheet and race against their competitors on the water.

The event will involve four heats where teams can compete within their own business sector, and there will be four divisions, insurance and asset management, legal, banking, and IT.

The season will kick off in April, culminating in the grand final event in September, where the winning three teams from each heat test their sailing skills, precision and teamwork on the Solent onboard fully race fitted Laser SB3 sportsboats. Teams can leave behind the rat race and show their business competitors what they are made of!

“The City Racing Challenge will provide an opportunity for City-based companies to enter a team of three or four persons to enjoy their passion of sailing in exciting boats and all on a level playing field. The event will also offer great networking opportunities not available in the boardroom!” said Ian Gilmour, Managing Director of Pelican Racing

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It’s a lovely day here today, warn sunshine, 24 degrees, cloudless skies.  I’ve just had my breakfast which included 2 of my 5-a-day fruit and veg – peanut M&M’s and a Bounty bar – peanuts and coconut count don’t they?  We are moored stern-to in the Marina Rubicon.  Today is Market Day and the esplanade behind us is full of stalls selling tourist tat and no end of tourists (mostly Brit & German) buying it.  It’s a little bit like being in a goldfish bowl as passers-by gawp down at us. I’m assuming it is the boat they are looking at and not Susana doing her version of “Car Wash” by Rose Royce as she dances and swabs the decks with the hose pipe and brush to get rid of this confounded red sand which is covering everything.

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Photo©Gareth Cooke – Subzero Images

ISAF Match Racing World Championship Title At Stake At The Monsoon Cup

Monsoon Cup 2009

Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

The Monsoon Cup, the final event of the nine-stage 2009 World Match Racing Tour, will commence on the Pulau Duyong Basin course in Kuala Terengganu tomorrow and the stage is set for an epic battle to decide the 2009 ISAF Match Racing World Championship.

Heavy monsoon rains have been falling in eastern Malaysia for the last week and today the World Tour’s top match racing crews were on the water acclimatising to the conditions.

The leader of the 2009 Tour, New Zealander Adam Minoprio (NZL) commented as he came ashore this afternoon, “We are set for a very challenging event this week and there is a lot at stake, the biggest prize money of any sailing event in the world [around US$450,000] and the 2009 World Match Racing Championship.

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Progress

Actually went out and cleaned the shop and worked on the boat today. I’ve been in a state of perplexity concerning this project and how I was going to fit it into my life, it just ended up being me needing some decompression time, and I’m back on it now.

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We hit something

Message from Liz Wardley this morning onboard the SolOceans One-design to Yvan Griboval (President of SailingOne), while she was at around 150 nautical miles South-West from Finistère (Brittany – France): “It happened at around 0330 UT, I was sailing at 20 Knots with one reef in the main-sail and the staysail and a 25-Knot wind. I fell again from a wave much bigger than the other one and that’s when we hit something with the hull bottom at the level of the cockpit behind the engine. I didn’t see anything outside; I don’t know what it was, maybe a cetacean or something soft floating in the water. I don’t have a waterway, the structure of the boat looks intact, but I think the sandwich construction is starting to delaminate at the level of the bulkhead of the cockpit. I’m heading towards Brittany (France) that I should reach at around 1100 UT on 2 December. I hope to restart as soon as possible. Everything is fine on board; I’ve just had some chocolate cake offered by the triplets on Sunday before the start. It’s good for the moral, I feel much better.

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British yachtsmen held captive in Iran

By IBI Magazine

Five British yachtsmen detained by the Iranian Navy last week after their Volvo 60 yacht, The Kingdom of Bahrain, inadvertently strayed into Iranian waters are said to be safe and well.

According to local news reports, the Pindar-sponsored yacht was making its way from Bahrain to Dubai for the start of the Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race, which began on November 26, when it was captured in the Persian Gulf.

IBI’s sister publication, Yachting Monthly, reports that the seized yacht had problems with its propeller and drifted 500 yards into Iranian waters near the island of Sirri while trying to negotiate restricted area around an oil field.

The UK Foreign Office has confirmed that the five crew being held are Luke Porter, Oliver Smith, David Bloomer, Oliver Young and Sam Usher.

It is thought that Iran is holding the crew as a bargaining tool with the West over its recent criticism of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

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What is the current state of sailing sponsorship?

The World Yacht Racing Forum asks sports marketing consultant Nick Masson to share his views on the current state of sailing sponsorship. Nick is CEO of Crossinitiatives and a specialist in strategy, planning and project management. Well known in the sport of sailing, Masson also works for brands, rights holders and teams across a variety of sports.

* WYRF: How difficult is it currently to talk about the sport of sailing to potential partners? How does it compare with one / five years ago?

Nick Masson: “The market was very strong until the summer of 2007. The economy worldwide was going well and companies were investing for brand growth. In September 07, unsurprisingly the lights went out and people stopped answering the phone (not just for sailing projects: sponsorship in general was affected). This period lasted until about three months ago, and we are now seeing much more activity.”

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This post is tagged clipper, Cowes online, geoff holt, grant dalton, IBI News, Jessica Watson, Liz Wardley, Pelican Racing, Petals of Memory, Peter Williams QC, Shaun Quincey, Sr-71, Tasman Trespasser