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Welcome to yachtyakka, all the best yachting stories from the best yachting websites with a little humour to keep the deadshits, wallies and wankers out.
Des Top News
Kiwi Kawau Challenge
C -Class Cats – Team Invictus
Jules Verne Trophy – A day from the Horn – Where are they now?
Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race – China to USA start
Midnight Sun Yacht Race – Iceland
Lisbon gets Volvo 2011-12 race
Tsunami hits Christchurch
Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland LIVE on Valencia Sailing
Omega Auckland Match Racing Regatta
The Yacht Week
Red Bull Air Race World Championship 2010
Enjoy
First NZ Marine Cup set to sail
Auckland; 3 March, 2010: With scenic Kawau Island as their destination, a small fleet of superyachts will set sail from Auckland Harbour late in the morning on Thursday 4 March for the first NZ Marine Cup.
Hosted by the New Zealand Marine Export Group (NZ Marine), the one-off race sees the beautifully-crafted superyachts SY Drumbeat, SY Shenandoah and SY Celandine as the official entries for the Kiwi Kawau Challenge.
NZ Marine chairman Mark Wightman says other superyachts presently in Auckland may sail alongside the official competitors as they head for Kawau, making for a truly spectacular sight on the Waitemata Harbour.
“The course sees the yachts start one by one off Princes Wharf in downtown Auckland from 11:30am, then they head around North Head and north up the channel between Rangitoto Island and the North Shore,” says Wightman who will be hosting sponsors and media onboard a support craft travelling alongside the yachts.
“The yachts then veer to the northeast to go between the eastern end of Rangitoto and Rakino Island, before turning northwest to the channel between the end of Whangaparaoa Peninsula and Tiritiri Matangi Island. Then they’re to the west of Motuora Island before reaching the finish line at the southern-most point of Martello Rock, a little before Kawau Island’s Bon Accord Harbour.”
Brits challenge for C-Class Cat Championships
Team Invictus is a British team aiming to challenge for the International C-Class Catamaran Championships in 2010 and attempting to conquer the trophy that has evaded the UK for almost 40 years.
Team Invictus on the water. Credit www.teaminvictus.com
Bristol-based Team Invictus comprise a number of aerospace engineers and professional sailors, who share a common vision to produce a highly efficient, exceptional, and original craft to compete in the next International C-Class Catamaran (ICCCC or 14C) Challenge. The team has grown in capacity following Airbus UK’s sponsorship with the help of both experienced and graduate aerospace engineers, and with that growth has come the expansion of skills and knowledge.
Within the team, there is now a range skills, and the team are building their capabilities all the time. Paul Larsen and Helena Darvelid are the team’s professional sailors.
Whilst the “big boys” in Valencia were wondering what colour knickers to wear for the big day and whether the “Swiss Made” stickers on Alinghi 5 were actually made in Switzerland or not, we took Invictus down to Weymouth for our first shake-down sail of 2010, with the support of Paul and Helena, our friends from Vestas Sailrocket.
We have recently move away from Cardiff as the bay was getting too small four our C-Class to stretch its legs comfortably… Weymouth offers the kind of space that we need and with the Olympics sailing being hosting there, the facilities have been developed quite a lot, so we’re likely to be frequent visitors there. If you are interested in coming to see us, let us know and we will keep you posted of our next appearance there.
A special day
Less than 250 miles out from Cape Horn this Thursday morning, Franck Cammas and his nine crew are sailing in an increasingly moderate NW’ly breeze on seas which are slowly becoming calmer. Groupama 3 should round Cape Horn this afternoon, at the end of thirty two days at sea…
A day from the Horn
Groupama 3 isn’t done with the Southern Ocean just yet, but the exit is within sight on the approach to Drake’s Passage. Franck Cammas and his men must remain vigilant in their descent towards 56° S in a powerful W to NW’ly wind and messy seas…
Still 800 miles to go this Wednesday morning before they reach the longitude of Cape Horn! This amounts to a long day at sea since Groupama 3 should pass offshore of the tip of South America during the course of tomorrow between 1200 and 1800 UTC. However, the sailing conditions are still very lively with a stiff breeze and, above all, seas which aren’t yet organised, forcing the crew to maintain a speed of less than thirty knots.
“Groupama 3 is sailing with care at the back of the gale: the sea is rough but practicable, the W’ly swell is lengthening and the W to NW’ly wind is blowing at between 30 and 35 knots. Further South the severe conditions are shifting down towards the 60s. The W to NW’ly wind will remain strong until Thursday morning at which point it will drop off rapidly: a period of very light winds (less than 7 knots) is expected prior to the Isla de los Estados” explains Sylvain Mondon from Météo France.
![HH_100302_hull and humber leaving qingdao_P3021050_702 []](http://yachtyakka.co.nz/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/HH_100302_hull-and-humber-leaving-qingdao_P3021050_702-.jpg "HH_100302_hull and humber leaving qingdao_P3021050_702 []")
Following their hero’s welcome and an unforgettable stopover in the Shandong provincial city of Qingdao, China, the teams competing in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race were treated to a spectacular send off for Race 7 of the 35,000-mile global challenge to San Francisco. As the brave sailors manned their boats and prepared to do battle with the largest ocean on the planet, thousands lined the breakwater of the Olympic Sailing Centre to send them on their way. A 15-knot breeze from the north gave a gentle introduction to the 5,680-mile race to California, USA, the longest leg in the history of the Clipper Race.
Having taken line honours on the race into Qingdao, Spirit of Australia immediately showed they were a force to be reckoned with as they crossed the start line in first place. Hot on their heels were the two North American entries, Cape Breton Island and California with Uniquely Singapore, Hull & Humber, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, Qingdao and Jamaica Lightning Bolt completing the order across the line.
As they rounded the first mark Hull & Humber had moved into the lead with Qingdao in second place, much to the delight of the home crowd. California had moved ahead of Cape Breton Island with the Canadian entry rounding just seconds behind Spirit of Australia. Next at the mark was Jamaica Lightning Bolt, the only team to opt for their Yankee 1, followed by Uniquely Singapore and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital.
In a slick hoist manoeuvre, Hull & Humber was first up with their medium weight spinnaker and as the fleet headed out into the Yellow Sea the English entry had a clear lead on the rest of the teams.
In the wake of Vikings
The Iceland Midnight Sun Race is a truly unique yacht race and the only one of its kind in the North Atlantic.
Midnight Sun Race 2009. Credit www.icesun.is
The second edition of this race will be held on 10 July, a time when the sun stays aloft around the clock!
The 75 nautical mile race starts in the town of Siglufjörður in north Iceland, and winds around Grimsey Island, which is traversed by the Arctic Circle. The shortest line from Scotland to Iceland is about 440 nautical miles. The distance from Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík, to Siglufjörður is 286 nautical miles, a route lined with majestic landscapes and filled with diverse marine life.
The Vikings who settled Iceland came from Norway, Scotland and even Ireland. Their expansion into new lands was made possible by their longships, ideally designed for warfare and travelling long distances. These ships handled well in open seas, were easy to sail and row, and were fast. They had a shallow keel, making it possible to sail deep into Europe on raids.
These Vikings went looking for new lands, and had heard of places in the west from Irish monks who had gone to Iceland. The settlement of Iceland had enormous significance for Norsemen. Land was fertile in Iceland, and the Vikings who initially attempted to make home in Scotland and Ireland eventually settled in their promised land.
Lisbon has been chosen as the first of the European ports for the 2011-12 race. It will be the first time that the historic Portuguese port has hosted a stopover.
Lisbon, located in the west of Portugal, will be the finish of the transatlantic leg of the race during the summer of 2012.
Interest in hosting the race in Europe was received from 34 cities, 15 of which went through to the final phase of the bidding process. Europe was by far the most competitive continent in the selection procedure.
“It is great to have such an iconic city included in our list of stopovers and Lisbon, especially, has wonderful sailing conditions, which will make for a very exciting in-port race,” said CEO Knut Frostad.
“Lisbon is a delightful city with much to offer the race. This will be a stopover to look forward to after the rigours of the transatlantic leg.
Antonio Costa, Mayor of the City of Lisbon, was delighted that the city had joined the Volvo fold. “Lisbon has a great navigational past and the Volvo Ocean Race helps increase this. It is the capital of the Atlantic and it’s natural for Lisbon to be the transatlantic finish.”
Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland LIVE on Valencia Sailing
It couldn’t be otherwise. Starting March 9th, you will be able to watch all the action from the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland, LIVE, right here on Valencia Sailing. Just like we did during the previous Louis Vuitton regatta in Nice last November, we will have a dedicated player on the top of the website.
Given the 12-hour difference between Auckland and Europe, there will be a replay of all the day’s action at 10am Valencia time for the European audiences. So, tune in from March 9th until March 21st for all the action from the Waitemata harbour.
more images here Photos by Chris Cameron
Shifty winds and strong tides on Auckland’s Waitemata harbour tested the teams competing in the opening day of the Omega Auckland Match Racing Regatta today and produced a results board that defied any form guide.
Spectators were treated to extremely close racing, with spectacular luffing duels, tight finishes, penalties and collisions as teams fought for ascendancy. At the end of a full day’s racing, Ben Ainslie of Great Britain topped the leaderboard with a 6-2 score while Dean Barker (NZL, Adam Minoprio (NZL) and Bertrand Pace (FRA) were on 5-3 each.
“The level is very high,” commented America’s Cup veteran Pace. “Everybody can beat everybody else.”
This regatta has pitched young rising stars Adam Minoprio of New Zealand and his arch rival Torvar Mirsky of Australia against a fleet of more seasoned America’s Cup campaigners. Minoprio and Mirsky, who are ranked one and two in the world, are having their work cut out against more experienced match racers with lower rankings because of their infrequent appearances on the world match racing circuit.
Omega Auckland Match Racing Regatta
3 – 6 March 2010
Ten top international match racing skippers are here for the Omega Auckland Match Racing Regatta.
Today’s Results Round Robin One
Round Robin 1
Flight 1
Ainslie beat Dickson by 17s
Barker beat Mirsky by 31s
Bruni beat Col by 8s
Minoprio beat Holmberg by 10s
Pace beat Jablonski by 29s
Flight 2
Bruni beat Mirsky by 9s
Col beat Holmberg by 5s
Dickson beat Minoprio by 31s
Jablonski beat Ainslie by 35s
Pace beat Barker by 12s
Flight 3
Col beat Dickson by 23s
Minoprio beat Jablonski by 12s
Barker beat Ainslie by 9s
Mirsky beat Pace by 14s
Holmberg beat Bruni by 18s
Flight 4
Minoprio beat Barker by 8s
Ainslie beat Pace by 1 minute 31s
Mirsky beat Holmberg by 18s
Bruni beat Dickson by 19s
Jablonski beat Col by 30s
Flight 5
Ainslie beat Mirsky by 47s
Holmberg beat Dickson by 5s
Jablonski beat Bruni by 7s
Barker beat Col by 1s
Pace beat Minoprio by 34s
Flight 6
Holmberg beat Jablonski by 24s
Barker beat Bruni DNF
Pace beat Col by 24s
Ainslie beat Minoprio by 30s
Mirsky beat Dickson by 18s
Flight 7
Minoprio beat Col by 48s
Jablonski beat Mirsky by 27s
Dickson beat Barker by 11s
Pace beat Holmberg by 16s
Ainslie beat Bruni by 4s
Flight 8
Barker beat Jablonski by 27s
Dickson beat Pace by 14s
Ainslie beat Holmberg by 44s
Col beat Mirsky by 8s
Minoprio beat Bruni by 1m9s
British sailor Ben Ainslie holds the outright lead after a tight first day’s competition at the Auckland match racing regatta on Waitemata Harbour on Wednesday.
After eight flights of racing in shifty winds and strong tides, Ainslie emerged at the head of a high-calibre featuring several seasoned America’s Cup campaigners with six wins and two losses. New Zealanders Dean Barker and Adam Minoprio were one win behind him, along with Frenchman Bertrand Pace.
Ainslie bounced back from losing two of his first three races – by 35 seconds to Polish skipper Karol Jablonski and by 9sec to Barker – to win his last five races in fairly comfortable style.
The most keenly-awaited match of the day saw Minoprio pip Barker by 8sec, in a race which saw the lead change hands twice and Barker penalised.
Barker said dominating the regatta would be difficult because of the calibre of sailors.
“It is very hard to win races. Everybody is sailing well and everybody is losing some matches,” he said.
Join as an Skipper!
Sign up to join as a skipper and we will find a crew that needs one. You will be part of their crew and have an incredible holiday together! This has been very popular, in 2009 we had 89 skippers participating this way.
All you have to pay for is your flight down and personal expenses ashore. (such as food and drinks at restaurants if you decide to eat on your own). Your crew is responsible for all of the yacht costs and other expenses, as well as meals onboard the boat and at restaurants with your crew.
The Exclusive Summer Sailing Event!
Starting from only €300/ person you can charter your own yacht!
The Yacht Week provides an exhilarating experience of sailing, regattas, entertainment and much more… Gather your friends and be part of an epic voyage on Caribbean waters in the spring, Spanish, Croatian and Greek waters in the summer. Simply choose a sailing week and a yacht to accommodate you and your friends. We welcome sailors of all abilities and can provide you with an option to sail with a skipper if the experience is new to you.
This post is tagged Abby Sunderland, C-Class Catamaran, Clipper Round the World yacht race, Jules Verne Trophy, Kiwi Kawau Challenge, Lisbon gets Volvo, Louis Vuitton Trophy, Midnight Sun Yacht Race, Omega Auckland Match Racing, Red Bull Air Race World Championship 2010, Team Invictus, The Yacht Week, Tsunami hits Christchurch
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