Yachting News 29th September 2010
Greetings yachties,
In this issue:
2010 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award,
TP52 World Championship,
Marine Business – latest issue here,
Geoff Holt – Journey Through Life,
Des Top News,
Promise Gold Cup Report,
Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez,
RC 44 World Championships,
Pumpkin Racing,
The Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda,
Lectronic Latitude – latest issue here,
Scuttlebutt Europe – latest issue here,
Scuttlebutt USA – latest issue here,
SailingXperience, – latest issue here,
Enjoy
ISAF AND ROLEX PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE NOMINEES FOR THE ISAF ROLEX WORLD SAILOR OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2010
Photo credit: Rolex / Daniel Forster
ISAF received nominations for the 2010 Awards from across the world for sailors representing all aspects of the sport. In deciding the nominees, the achievements of sailors made during the qualifying period of 1 September 2009 and 31 August 2010 are taken into consideration. There can be only one winner in each of the two categories, male and female, and we are delighted to announce the names of those sailors now vying for the coveted and prestigious 2010 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award.
The 2010 nominees are:
Female
Kristin Boesse (GER) – Nine Time Kitesurf World Champion
Siripon Kaewduang-Ngam (THA) – Youth Olympic Games gold medallist
Blanca Manchón (ESP) – RS:X World Champion & Double World Cup Winner
Lisa Westerhof & Lobke Berkhout (NED) – 470 World Champions
Male
Antoine Albeau (FRA) – Professional Windsurfing Association & Formula World Champion
Mat Belcher and Malcolm Page (AUS) – 470 World Champions and World Cup winners
Lorenzo Bressani (ITA) – Melges 24 and 32 Champion
Franck Cammas (FRA) – Record breaking offshore racer
Tom Slingsby (AUS) – Laser & Etchells World Champion
Ed Wright (GBR) – Finn World Champion and double World Cup Winner
The achievements of the 2010 Nominees are here
Mayor Newsom And Members Of The Board Of Supervisors Introduce Agreement For Hosting The 34th America’s Cup In San Francisco
“We believe there’s no better place on earth than San Francisco Bay to defend the America’s Cup and bring millions of new fans from around the world to the oldest international sailing competition,” said Mayor Newsom. “This agreement establishes the strong partnership between the City, the BMW Oracle Racing Team and the entire community if San Francisco is fortunate to be selected as the Host City for the 34 th America’s Cup. The entire City and State of California are united behind bringing the America’s Cup – and all the economic benefits, jobs and excitement that come with it – to San Francisco.”
It will be something of a tight schedule for those moving swiftly from the final Audi MedCup Circuit regatta of the season, the Region of Sardinia Trophy – which finished last Saturday in Cagliari – traveling directly across the Mediterranean to Valencia for the TP52 World Championships which start racing one week today, Tuesday 5th October.
The TP52 World Championship have a very different flavour, a unique atmosphere. That is not to say that any team drops their guard or relaxes any more when they are on the Worlds race course.
But ashore the mood is a little more relaxed than through the high octane five months long Audi MedCup season; there is a chance to reflect and to look forward, but also for some crews the World Championship present a great opportunity for the owner to come and step in to the hot seat and enjoy steering his own boat. The world championships offer a special owner-driver trophy.
The short transition time may fall in the favour of the current world champions. Matador (ARG) won a fiercely contested title in Palma a year ago. With owner Alberto Roemmers Jr. on the helm, they squeezed out the 2008 TP52 world title winners Quantum Racing (USA) but it went to countback, the two finishing on the same points tally.
This time it is Matador who arrive in Valencia with a winning momentum. They conclusively triumphed at the final event of the Audi MedCup Circuit season, the Region of Sardinia Trophy, the outstanding performer over the latter stages of the season, also finishing second in Cartagena, Murcia.
Quantum Racing (USA), world title winners in 2008, will be among their main rivals as will 2007 world title winners Artemis (SWE). Owner Torbjorn Tornqvist (SWE) was back steering Artemis in Cagliari and the Artemis team will be out to help deliver a trophy after missing out on an Audi MedCup season podium finish.
Up to ten races are scheduled with racing due to start Tuesday 5th October. Up to three races may be sailed each day with a coastal race on Thursday October 7th. While the race arena will be well known to many sailors who participated in the lead up to the 32nd America’s Cup, the winds in early October can be more complicated than the Cup diet of sea breezes. Typically over the week we might see some of a very strong, offshore breeze, some light sea breezes and/or a very strong NE’ly breeze which kicks up a nasty choppy swell.
One key contender which will miss out is Jose Cus’s Bribon (ESP), which was damaged in a collision in Cagliari. This is a bitter blow not least because Bribon lead into the final day in Palma last year.
Two British TP52’s join the fleet Pace (ex Patches) which will have Rob Greenhalgh (GBR) as tactician with TeamOrigin’s Kelvin Harrap (NZL) as strategist, and Weapon of Choice ex Matador 2007 which raced in Palma last year.
The TP52 World Championship will benefit from the excellent America’s Cup standard facilities. The regatta will be based in the Marina Real Juan Carlos I, run from the Veles e Vents Building.
Anyone in the vicinity of London town this coming Thursday, the 30th September, is welcome to attend an open speaking event when “yours truly” will be giving a lecture entitled a “Journey Through Life”. Hosted by lawyers Hodge Jones & Allen, it is a fundraising evening for the Spinal Injuries Association, a charity I’ve been a member of for 25 years. For more information about the FREE event and to reserve a place CLICK HERE.
With the Paralympics less than two years away, Channel 4 have begun a series of programmes focussing on the different events. In the latest programme, broadcast on Saturday 25th September, they featured two of our Team GBR paralympic sailors, Alex Rickham and Nikki Birrell. To watch the programme CLICK HERE.
GOSS AND SPONSORS DMS ANNOUNCE TIME TO ‘PACK IT IN!’
Legendary British sailor Pete Goss MBE has joined forces with title sponsor DMS to tell the world it is time to PACK IT IN! But Pete is not retiring from sailing; far from it, he is launching his latest solo campaign with a serious environmental message. Using boat graphics the like of which have never been seen before in ocean racing, Pete and DMS have pledged to the world of plastic packaging that it is time to PACK IT IN!
On his first solo ocean race since his heroic completion of the 1996 Vendee Globe, when he rescued fellow competitor Raphael Dinelli in the Southern Ocean, Pete Goss enters the gruelling 3500-mile Route du Rhum race in the Class 40 category. He is confident in his abilities to get a good result while inspiring race fans about the possibilities of changing business and consumer habits via the boats jaw-dropping graphics.
Partnering with Team Concise, winners of last year’s Class 40 World Championship, Pete and DMS enter a brand new boat into the Route du Rhum race, which commences from St Malo (France) on Sunday 31st October 2010. The boat (named DMS) showcases specially commissioned artwork from one of the UK’s leading street art duos and captures DMS’s experiences of reducing plastic packaging throughout their business of Creative Packaging Solutions and supplying CD, DVD and Vinyl Records to the music and creative industries.
Promise Gold Cup Race Report.
9:05 start. Up late the Friday night before, Barbie with friends, kids unsettled all night, so I slept in. In the mad panic I left behind behind my lunch and sunglasses. Threw sailing gear in car and set the helm for Westhaven. Obligatory pizza , dined at BP and landed at Westhaven at 815 ready for 8 am departure! Crew did a splendid job preparing boat, sort some last minute stuff, fit jackstays lash anchor down etc on way to start. Forecast is 25kn WNW maybe easing later, high tide now. No.2 headsail on deck, mutterings about number 1 conditions.
Got a good at start, timed for the pin on starboard, well would have been a great start if i could have pushed 25 port tackers out of the way! I only needed a few feet to gybe at the pin and go… Hmmmm not today! Looking for room, no joy, shut out, gybed and 360 at the pin and away 30 seconds late. Not too bad at least we are to weather where I wanted to be. On port tack towards Rangi light, going up to cover a Bene First trying to climb over us. They went into less air under the monster than us and we managed to get through reasonably well. Only light for a minute or so. Reach down to Rangi light clear air. Full main and no.2 headsail. Number one conditions still. Turned the corner at the light and headed to Rakino. Not much tide but a lot of boats were staying wide. Breeze building and going aft, so we hoist the number 2 kite. (Thanks for the loaner Bill). Get a couple of 12s and lots of 11s on the way to Rakino. A great run.
Bit of carnage to weather of us though, boats struggling, couple of kites in pieces, we get a couple of puffs but are ready, no drama. Gybe into Rakino channel as the rain arrives. Breeze less now but all of a sudden daylight appears on one side of the kite about halfway up and proceeds rather quickly across to the other side. (Did I thank you for the loan of the kite Bill?) Hmm hoist the headsail, get the mess in and fly Kurts kite. Back underway and breeze is dropping all the time after the front went through, check nowcasting and it is still 30 something at Bean and 40 something at Manukau. Decide to leave the 2 up.
Gybe at Gannet and arrive at the bottom of Waiheke with Waikiwi II and Whitebait. Gusty through the channel, we manage a straighter line than the others and only lose about 100 metres on them by the time we exit near passage rock. On the wind, straight across to the other side, breeze slowly building from WNW, the other boats now have legs on us and are dissapearing into the distance. Aint no substitute for waterline .. ‘Ye cannee change the laws of physics cap’n’. .So away they go. It is a long way back from the bottom of Waiheke and twice as far when the breeze is coming from where you want to be! The Bene 40.7 had a huge struggle downwind and was also behind us at the bottom. He has a small headsail on and is matching us for speed, but not height.
We get as close as we dare to the Maraetai coast, flatter water, less tide. And keep ahead of the Beneteau. The depth transducer is on the starboard side so going into the coast on starboard we had no readings bashing into the seaway. One tack revealed 2.4m of water. A timely call. Beneteau changes sides. We tack up the beach side for next couple of hours and the Beneteau crossed behind by miles as we passed Motuihe. We passed Browns and they had made huge gains, only a few hundred behind, sporting a number two headsail. They eventually passed us at Bean Rock. Thanks to my crew and the race committee, great race, Sailed a clean race, yes could have done with the number one kite downhill and should have tacked to put a loose cover on the Beneteau before Browns. 15th out of 17 on line, I am not gonna win this series, would be great to have some boats to sail with, but i like the long races just the same. The bit that confuses me is how my PHRF is the same as a Farr1220….
BRETT
Photos by: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi
LES VOILES DE ST TROPEZ KICKS OFF
The grande finale of the yachting season – certainly for the classic yachts that all summer-long prowl the Mediterranean in search of competition and camaraderie – began today. Close to 300 yachts filled the Vieux Port and nearby marinas for the weeklong Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, a ‘don’t miss’ stop on the yachting circuit. Spectacular fall weather conditions, a brisk mistral from the north with clear blue skies, prevailed on the first day to please competitors and photographers alike.
The Tradition class boats, which start racing tomorrow, don’t have the stage to themselves however; there is a impressive grand-prix fleet of “moderns” from maxi yachts such as the Judel Vrolik 72-footer Rán, straight from a win at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo, the Wally class’ towering 44 metre Tripp-designed Esense, to the Tofinu class, most of which at 9.5metres are just below the official minimum length, but this local fleet have been grandfathered in and seemingly up to the challenge of sailing on the same body of water as these comparative behemoths.
But it is the solely the Traditional class and, within this grouping, only boats 16 meters and over, that can compete for the Rolex Trophy – this year there are 50 entries eligible. The winner will be the boat with the overall low point score after the week of racing. The winning boat and skipper will be awarded the Trophy and a Rolex Submariner timepiece.
This one is the very first one out of the mould and I immediately liked it! It felt very slippery and in the gorgeous little ten knot breeze we had in a sparkly Chichester harbour the boat felt great! Specifically with high ride height the leeward tip did not come out, as it tends to with the standard rudder and three foiling tacks in a row seemed to indicate that there is no lift penalty.
The first RC 44 World Champion will be crowned in Lanzarote
Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis, with Terry Hutchinson at the helm (for the match races), is one the favorites of the RC 44 World Championships
The first ever official RC 44 World Championship, recognized by the International Sailing Federation, will take place in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, on October 11-16.
The world’s best RC 44 teams are getting ready for the first ever official RC 44 World Championship recognized by the International Sailing Federation. The event will take place in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, on October 11-16.
“This regatta promises to be very special”, comments Russell Coutts, the founder of the RC 44 Class and CEO of BMW ORACLE Racing. “First of all because our Class is now officially recognized by the International Sailing Federation and this allows us to organize a legitimate World Championship. But also because there will be a record number of entries; the strict one-design concept and Class’ cost control measures definitely appeal to a growing number of owners. And finally, Lanzarote is a great place for sailing and an amazing Island to visit. I am really looking forward to this event.”
Also looking forward to the RC 44 World Championships Islas Canarias Puerto Calero Cup, Synergy Russian Sailing Team, and Peninsula Petroleum will join the Class for the first time, bringing the total number of entries to thirteen.
“We have never organized a regatta with so many teams and it is a big step in the right direction for us”, comments Bertrand Favre, the RC 44 Class manager. “We are already working hard on next year’s schedule, which is almost finalized. It gives us the opportunity to present a trendy top level sailing Class with the world’s best sailors to potential venues, who can in return offer this to their local public, media and partners. This is definitely a very positive period for the Class.”
Battle For World Match Racing Tour Championship Hots Up
The world’s leading sailors will be fighting for precious points at The Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda, with next week’s match race representing the last chance saloon for skippers to move up the leaderboard ahead of the the ISAF World Match Racing Tour’s season ending finale – The Monsoon Cup in December. Racing for the Argo Group Gold Cup starts October 5 and concludes October 11 at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.
The Argo Group Gold Cup is the eighth event of the WMRT season and invites to the final Tour event, the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia, are only guaranteed to the top six teams in the year’s points table. With both the Tour Championship and the ISAF Match Racing Championship that rides with it still hanging in the balance the battle for points in Bermuda this year is sure to be even more fierce than usual.
At the top of the WMRT leader board France’s Matthieu Richard (French Match Racing Team) has seen his mid-season lead cut to just 27 points with reigning champion Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing breathing down his neck, while two time World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar and Australia’s Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team are still within striking distance.
Split Enz to defend record honour against giant red tri
by Wild Media
Split Enz has held the race record in the HSBC Premier Coastal Classic for 14 years, and for the second year in a row will make the journey from Noumea to New Zealand to defend its honour.The vintage pink boat, dubbed the ‘Pink Pig’ was dogged by a rudder problem in 2009 that prevented its crew from pushing it beyond cruising pace, but is back better than ever for 2010.
And it will have to be, because racing for the first time ever is Simon Hull’s giant Orma 60, TeamVodafoneSailing, which aims to be the first boat ever to break the six hour barrier, to beat Split Enz’s standing record for multihulls of 7 hours and 20 minutes, and to beat the overall race record set in 2009 by Alfa Romeo of 6 hours and 43 minutes.
Apart from some tweaking to the sails and strengthening work, Split Enz remains in nearly identical configuration as its 1996 record blitz.
Owner Georges Auteret says from Noumea, that he secured a shipping sponsor to help him bring the boat to New Zealand and is determined to prove the boat still has the ability to perform very well. He also enjoys the opportunity to race the boat against other top multihulls.
TeamVodafoneSailing is not the only competition for the sleek pink boat – Roger Pagani’s new fifty foot catamaran Tripe 8 is out to make a splash, as are reworked multihulls Frantic Drift (owned by Olympian Dan Slater), Dragon and Timberwolf, all sporting new America’s Cup style technologies, and twice line honours winner, Taeping.
