Full fleet gets sails at the Voiles de St Tropez
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
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Will the Bermuda Gold Cup be another French showdown or will Ian Williams and Ben Ainslie show their skill?
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
Two Brit teams will join the final event in the Melges 32’s Audi Sailing Series
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
A report from last week’s Morbihan Mondial 40
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
Golden Gate YC files an appeal while holding out for a settlement to its dispute with the Swiss
Original post by Jeffrey Davis and software by Elliott Back
The four J’s, Ranger, Velsheda, Shamrock V and Hanuman to race each other in Palma
Original post by Jeffrey Davis and software by Elliott Back
Frenchman Sebastian Col and his crew win the Match Cup in Portugal in tricky conditions
Original post by Jeffrey Davis and software by Elliott Back
After her success in the Mini, Isabelle Joschke leds the Cap Istanbul race fleet into Crete
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
[Source: RC44] The fifth event of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2008 will take place in Trieste (ITA) on October 7-11. The regatta will assemble some of the world’s best sailors on board ten strict one design RC 44’s. It will also mark the arrival of some new prestigious teams and sailors.
Torbjorn Tornqvist will sail his brand new RC 44 “Artemis” for the first time, with Dean Barker at the helm for the match races. Barker knows the RC 44 Class well, having already competed in many events. However it will be his first outing on an RC 44 with Torbjorn Tornqvist and his team.
Peter de Ridder joins Larry Ellison’s BMW ORACLE Racing as fleet race helmsman, whilst Pieter Heerema and his pro sailor Peter Wibroe will discover the Class onboard Mascalzone Latino. 23 year old Wibroe, from Denmark, is the current European Match Race Champion and an established name on the World Match Race Tour.
Finally, Morgan Larson replaces James Spithill on board Ceeref for this regatta.
With only two more events to complete before the end of the season, the RC 44 Championship Tour 2008 is well on its way and some early leaders have emerged.
The Slovenian team Ceeref is the leader of the match race ranking, ahead of Larry Ellison’s BMW ORACLE Racing – who didn’t take part in the first regatta of the season and sits therefore seven points behind the leader. The dual is very intense: Larry Ellison has obtained the same number of points as James Spithill since he joined the Class in Cagliari, with two victories and a third for the American against two second and a first for the Australian.
In the fleet regatta, Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano enjoys a comfortable lead over Igor Lah’s Ceeref. Patrick de Barros’ Banco Espirito Santo is only two points behind Ceeref: no doubt that the race within the race will be tough between these two teams.
Finally, Patrick de Barros and his Team Banco Espirito Santo are the clear leaders on long distance courses, with three victories and a fifth place in the DHL Trophy.
The Friuli Venezia Giulia RC44 Cup will start on Tuesday October 7 with the match racing event. After a full round robin, the team owners will take (or keep) the helm for three days of fleet racing. A long distance race - the DHL Trophy - will take the fleet around the Gulf of Trieste. The winner of this race will be awarded with the DHL Trophy, whilst the points of the regatta will be incorporated in the fleet race ranking.
On Sunday, October 12, most RC 44’s will participate in the Barcolana regatta, one of the world’s biggest regattas with over 1500 boats on the starting line.
Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back
As Torbjorn Tornqvist joins the RC 44 Championship Tour in Trieste
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
20 Single handed Shadow cats gathered in Brightlingsea, for a combined multihull event
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
Terry Hutchinson talks to thedailysail about winning this year’s Audi MedCup circuit
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
Alex Thomson’s brother steps in to co-skipper Team Mowgli in the Portimão Global Ocean Race
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
[Source: Golden Gate Yacht Club]
GOLDENGATE YACHT CLUB FILES APPEAL BRIEF
SETTLEMENT OFFER STILL ON TABLE
GGYC spokesperson Tom Ehman said, “At their meeting this weekend, Larry Ellison and Ernesto Bertarelli agreed to continue discussions that could bring an end to this legal battle. However, no dates for further meetings have been set, and we do not expect an immediate resolution. Today, we filed our appeal brief with the New York State Court of Appeals to meet the Court’s deadline.
“Our offer still stands: we will withdraw our appeal to the New York Court of Appeals if Mr. Bertarelli agrees to return to a multi-challenger event for the 33rd America’s Cup with fair and competitive rules similar to those used for AC32.”
Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back
C’était difficile de prendre le départ aujourd’hui dans le petit temps avec 41 bateaux (IRC groupe A) sur la ligne…
Original post by Alinghi News and software by Elliott Back
C’était difficile de prendre le départ aujourd’hui dans le petit temps avec 41 bateaux (IRC groupe A) sur la ligne…
Original post by Alinghi News and software by Elliott Back
Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi crew edge ahead on day one of the Voile de St Tropez
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
Action continues in the New York courts despite Bertarelli and Ellison meet
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
Former double World Champion on top at UK Etchells Nationals
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
The RYA Zone and Home Country Championships saw very little wind at most events
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
So everything finally came together on Saturday and I hit the water in the “new” boat. It took a little while in the morning to get the new gantry all on. Changing to a tube gantry has cut 1.2KG from the boat, so that was a nice little gain right there.
Saturday was good conditions to get back into things with a nice gentle breeze. I had a few first day issues though, which included sailing the NE instead of the E course, loose hiking straps, and essentially bolt on and sail set-up, which is also known as no set-up at all.
My main foil, whilst it does get the boat up, is completely rooted. After being broken and repaired three times, it has high drag and poor lift, and puts me in a situation where I try and foil upwind, and can only do it reaching, at some 60 degrees off the breeze, with no VMG whatsoever. For the next race I will give it few degrees more AOA, to try and make things a bit better.
Despite the problems, at least I can still sail, and put all my off the water efforts into building a new main foil. This will be a very different construction to the last ones, it will be made in 4 pieces and then joined, the flaps will be cut into them later, and they will be foam cored with vacuum bagged skins, and a solid carbon spar, thanks to the magic of CST pultrusion..
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
Showdown between Sunfish North American champion and Thistle National Champion
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Second win on the 2008 World Tour, earned 2-0 against runner-up Magnus Holmbe
After a long day that started with having to defeat one of his own team mates from the French Match Racing Team, Sebastian Col (FRA) and his crew of Gilles Favennec, Christophe Andre, Philippe Mourniac, and Olivier Douliard have won the Troia Portugal Match Cup. Getting past Magnus Holmberg (SWE) and his Victory Challenge team 2-0 in an exciting Final series, Col and crew have taken the top prize of US$30,000 of the $125,000 purse and earned 25 points on the 2008 World Tour leaderboard.
“We started the day with a lot of pressure on us,†said the mild-mannered Col, “since we felt that any of us could win, so we didn’t sail very well. But after beating Damien Iehl, we relaxed and started to really focus, and I think we sailed much better against Magnus in the Finals.â€
Col and his French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge crew had to get better, as the conditions became increasingly challenging throughout the day for the remaining teams in the competition. Besides the fresh 15-22 knot easterly blowing straight down the Rio Sada in front of the Troia Resort Marina, the other huge factor today was the strong tidal current, which reached a staggering 4 knots at its peak. This made pre-start and mark rounding tactics interesting and at times unconventional: for example, against the strong ebb current which lie nearly parallel to the wind, it was almost always better to tack than gybe in the pre-starts, and the mark roundings became tricky maneuvers at best. Windward legs were long, drawn out affairs, while runs were over in a flash.
But the day didn’t start with this strong ebb – in fact, it started with a weak flood and a cloud of uncertainty, as three teams in the morning’s final flight of the Round Robin had a shot for the last remaining spot in the Semi-Finals. With Paolo Cian (ITA) from Team Shosholoza defeating Torvar Mirsky (AUS) and the Mirsky Racing Team in the second match, all eyes were on the final run of the third match, where Bjorn Hansen (SWE) and his Alandia Sailing Team were fully entangled in a furious, spinnaker-flogging luffing match with Damien Iehl (FRA) and his quartet of crew from the French Match Racing Team on the final run to the finish. Just metres short of the line, Iehl’s one last luff managed to get his SM40 across by what PRO Miguel Allen said was “20 centimetres,†thus earning him the win and the tie-break to the Semis.
Since yet another member of the French Match Racing Team, Mathieu Richard, was on top from the Round Robin, he was free to choose Holmberg to play, the only non-French team in the stage. It didn’t start well for the mostly-Swedish team (which includes US-based trimmer Charlie McKee): down 2-0 in the first-to-three point series, and with an all-French final looking imminent, Holmberg rallied in the third match to lead Richard around the track and even draw a penalty on his French rival at their bottom mark turn. In a close fourth match, Richard got managed to get past Holmberg on the run towards the bottom mark, but the building ebb tide and an aggressive and clever defense of the inside position took the pair past the mark and had them both sailing back upwind to it in the face of wind and tide. A disastrous kite drop by the French allowed Holmberg to waltz through into a convincing win to bring the series even.
In the last match, Holmberg chose the right side of the beat, Richard the left, and while right was initially favored, it soon caved in, so when Holmberg tacked to cover the closing French, he did so a little too close, earning him a penalty. He still kept the lead by tacking back left, getting to the top and bottom marks first, and extending enough on the beat to do his penalty turn before Richard closed to within only 2 lengths at the finish downwind.
And while Col and Iehl tangled horns in all their matches, Col emerged from the series with his required three points in only four matches, with a collision to Iehl’s stern in a misjudged cross and resultant penalty being the only blemish to his record.
With a major wind shift requiring course realignment and a new boat to rig, the decision was made to shorten the Finals and Petit-Finals to first-to-two points. So, under increasing clouds, breeze, tide, and approaching rain, the stage seemed to have more fireworks among the two French teams in the Petit-Final, with Iehl and Richard taking one each under the watchful eyes of match umpires Manuel Santos Silva (POR) and Pedro Rodrigues (POR) before Richard finally prevailed in a relatively benign third match.
And in the Finals, Holmberg and Col initially split off to different sides of the first beat, with a shoal area on the left side providing a little more relief from the gushing tide than the beach side on the right. Since Col got there and controlled that side better, he led throughout the first match and even managed to extend enough to wipe off a pre-start penalty levied by match umpires Bill Edgerton (GBR) and Alfredo Ricci (ITA) in the second to take the overall win.
The Troia Portugal Match Cup was the seventh of nine stages on the World Match Racing Tour. “This was a great regatta for us,†said event Director Justino Machado, “and we look forward to having the construction completed here at Troia Resort for an even better event next year.â€
OVERALL RESULTS
1. Sebastian Col (FRA), French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge
2. Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Victory Challenge
3. Mathieu Richard (FRA), French Match Racing Team/Team French Spirit
4. Damien Iehl (FRA), French Match Racing Team
5. Paolo Cian (ITA), Team Shosholoza
6. Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Mirsky Racing Team
7. Ian Williams (GBR), Team Pindar
8. Alvaro Marinho (POR), Seth Sailing Team
9. Adam Minoprio (NZL), Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch Racing
10. Bjorn Hansen (SWE), Alandia Sailing Team
11. Manuel Weiller (ESP)
12. Nick Cherry (GBR), Cherry Racing Team
Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back
[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Second win on the 2008 World Tour, earned 2-0 against runner-up Magnus Holmbe
After a long day that started with having to defeat one of his own team mates from the French Match Racing Team, Sebastian Col (FRA) and his crew of Gilles Favennec, Christophe Andre, Philippe Mourniac, and Olivier Douliard have won the Troia Portugal Match Cup. Getting past Magnus Holmberg (SWE) and his Victory Challenge team 2-0 in an exciting Final series, Col and crew have taken the top prize of US$30,000 of the $125,000 purse and earned 25 points on the 2008 World Tour leaderboard.
“We started the day with a lot of pressure on us,” said the mild-mannered Col, “since we felt that any of us could win, so we didn’t sail very well. But after beating Damien Iehl, we relaxed and started to really focus, and I think we sailed much better against Magnus in the Finals.”
Col and his French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge crew had to get better, as the conditions became increasingly challenging throughout the day for the remaining teams in the competition. Besides the fresh 15-22 knot easterly blowing straight down the Rio Sada in front of the Troia Resort Marina, the other huge factor today was the strong tidal current, which reached a staggering 4 knots at its peak. This made pre-start and mark rounding tactics interesting and at times unconventional: for example, against the strong ebb current which lie nearly parallel to the wind, it was almost always better to tack than gybe in the pre-starts, and the mark roundings became tricky maneuvers at best. Windward legs were long, drawn out affairs, while runs were over in a flash.
But the day didn’t start with this strong ebb – in fact, it started with a weak flood and a cloud of uncertainty, as three teams in the morning’s final flight of the Round Robin had a shot for the last remaining spot in the Semi-Finals. With Paolo Cian (ITA) from Team Shosholoza defeating Torvar Mirsky (AUS) and the Mirsky Racing Team in the second match, all eyes were on the final run of the third match, where Bjorn Hansen (SWE) and his Alandia Sailing Team were fully entangled in a furious, spinnaker-flogging luffing match with Damien Iehl (FRA) and his quartet of crew from the French Match Racing Team on the final run to the finish. Just metres short of the line, Iehl’s one last luff managed to get his SM40 across by what PRO Miguel Allen said was “20 centimetres,” thus earning him the win and the tie-break to the Semis.
Since yet another member of the French Match Racing Team, Mathieu Richard, was on top from the Round Robin, he was free to choose Holmberg to play, the only non-French team in the stage. It didn’t start well for the mostly-Swedish team (which includes US-based trimmer Charlie McKee): down 2-0 in the first-to-three point series, and with an all-French final looking imminent, Holmberg rallied in the third match to lead Richard around the track and even draw a penalty on his French rival at their bottom mark turn. In a close fourth match, Richard got managed to get past Holmberg on the run towards the bottom mark, but the building ebb tide and an aggressive and clever defense of the inside position took the pair past the mark and had them both sailing back upwind to it in the face of wind and tide. A disastrous kite drop by the French allowed Holmberg to waltz through into a convincing win to bring the series even.
In the last match, Holmberg chose the right side of the beat, Richard the left, and while right was initially favored, it soon caved in, so when Holmberg tacked to cover the closing French, he did so a little too close, earning him a penalty. He still kept the lead by tacking back left, getting to the top and bottom marks first, and extending enough on the beat to do his penalty turn before Richard closed to within only 2 lengths at the finish downwind.
And while Col and Iehl tangled horns in all their matches, Col emerged from the series with his required three points in only four matches, with a collision to Iehl’s stern in a misjudged cross and resultant penalty being the only blemish to his record.
With a major wind shift requiring course realignment and a new boat to rig, the decision was made to shorten the Finals and Petit-Finals to first-to-two points. So, under increasing clouds, breeze, tide, and approaching rain, the stage seemed to have more fireworks among the two French teams in the Petit-Final, with Iehl and Richard taking one each under the watchful eyes of match umpires Manuel Santos Silva (POR) and Pedro Rodrigues (POR) before Richard finally prevailed in a relatively benign third match.
And in the Finals, Holmberg and Col initially split off to different sides of the first beat, with a shoal area on the left side providing a little more relief from the gushing tide than the beach side on the right. Since Col got there and controlled that side better, he led throughout the first match and even managed to extend enough to wipe off a pre-start penalty levied by match umpires Bill Edgerton (GBR) and Alfredo Ricci (ITA) in the second to take the overall win.
The Troia Portugal Match Cup was the seventh of nine stages on the World Match Racing Tour. “This was a great regatta for us,” said event Director Justino Machado, “and we look forward to having the construction completed here at Troia Resort for an even better event next year.”
OVERALL RESULTS
1. Sebastian Col (FRA), French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge
2. Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Victory Challenge
3. Mathieu Richard (FRA), French Match Racing Team/Team French Spirit
4. Damien Iehl (FRA), French Match Racing Team
5. Paolo Cian (ITA), Team Shosholoza
6. Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Mirsky Racing Team
7. Ian Williams (GBR), Team Pindar
8. Alvaro Marinho (POR), Seth Sailing Team
9. Adam Minoprio (NZL), Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch Racing
10. Bjorn Hansen (SWE), Alandia Sailing Team
11. Manuel Weiller (ESP)
12. Nick Cherry (GBR), Cherry Racing Team
Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back
French skipper goes 2-0 up against Magnus Holmberg in Troia Portugal Match Cup final
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
[Source: BMW Oracle] Ellison Reiterates Offer for Conventional Multi-Challenger Regatta
Larry Ellison and Ernesto Bertarelli held a cordial meeting on Saturday, Sept. 27 in San Francisco to discuss the issues surrounding the 33rd America’s Cup.
GGYC spokesman Tom Ehman said, “Larry Ellison reiterated the GGYC offer – if we return to a multi-challenger event for AC33 with fair and competitive rules similar to those used for AC32, GGYC will withdraw its appeal to the New York Court of Appeals.”
Messrs. Ellison and Bertarelli have agreed to further meetings to continue those discussions, but no dates have been set. In the meantime, GGYC will file its appellate brief with the New York State Court of Appeals as planned on Monday, Sept. 29 in order to meet the Court’s deadline.
Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back
Top crop of boats prepares for battle on the Cote d’Azur
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
[Source: Alinghi] Ernesto Bertarelli and Larry Ellison had a positive meeting yesterday in California, discussing possible solutions to the current situation of the America’s Cup. They share the same passion for the sport of sailing and for the America’s Cup and they both want to get it back on the water and see an evolution of the event. Whilst no definitive decision was taken after this discussion, further meetings will be held in the immediate future between Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing. Alinghi will also continue to hold meetings with other Challengers to discuss about how to move ahead the America’s Cup.
Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back
Ernesto Bertarelli et Larry Ellison ont eu un entretien positif hier en Californie, pour trouver des solutions au contexte actuel de l’America’s Cup…
Original post by Alinghi News and software by Elliott Back
Bertarelli and Ellison hook up for face to face meeting to try and resolve Cup issues
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
Challenging conditions for the final round robin flights at Troia Portugal Match Cup
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
As X-35 World Championship concludes
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
A report from the Grade One match racing on Lake Constance
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
Udo Schütz’s STP65 to race at Voile de St Tropez next week
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
Farr Yacht Design unveil their latest offering
Original post by Bruce and software by Elliott Back
[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Light fluky breeze and strong tides delayed the start of racing today in Day Three of Troia Portugal Match Cup, with the resumption of the Round Robin not commencing until mid-afternoon and extending right up to sunset. But once the late seabreeze did finally fill, it provided the opportunity for great match race action in all flights, with multiple lead changes, penalties, and early starts keeping the assembled shore side spectators on edge.
Since new teams rotate through the three pairs of SM40’s in every flight, it took an accurate score sheet to track who was rising and who was falling through the ranks of the 12 teams entered for the event. But once the dust settled, it became clear the French Match Racing teams led by Mathieu Richard on Team French Spirit and Sebastian Col on K-Challenge were continuing their dominance of the event, with Richard on a nearly undefeated record of 9 wins in 10 matches sailed, and Col on 7 wins in 9 matches sailed.
In fact, in the dying light of the last flight, these two engaged in a battle royale which may have been one of the most exciting of the series, and maybe pivotal in the inevitable tie-breaks that lie ahead on the path to the Semi-Finals. It all started on the start, where Richard earned a penalty, but Col was over the start early in the strong current and had to return to the start. Normally this margin might be enough for the leader to extend the margin and do their penalty turn before finishing, but Col kept it close, gaining back ground on the long runs downwind against the current and constantly challenging Richard for the lead.
Seb Col and his French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge power on to another victory. Troia, 26 September 2008. Photo copyright Wander Roberto
The two repeatedly locked horns in multiple luffing matches, with Col getting the lead but not without getting his own penalty to even the score. And when Richard closed the gap enough to have a go at Col once more, Col failed to keep clear, and earned yet another penalty, but never with enough time nor space to prevent Richard from getting to the finish line first.
According to their coach Marc Bouet, these two are very tough competitors despite their mild demeanors on shore, so it didn’t surprise him that neither would give in throughout their close-fought match. “This was a very exciting match, and maybe we will see them again,” referring of course to the likelihood that these two will advance forward to the next stage.
Other teams that excelled today included Magnus Holmberg (SWE) and his Victory Challenge team, winning 4 of their 5 matches including a successful re-sail match from Flight 9 against Paolo Cian (ITA) and his Team Shosholoza. Holmberg’s now gone from being deep in a tie-break for 7th to tied in points with Torvar Mirsky (AUS) and his Mirsky Racing Team on six wins in 10 matches sailed.
With the long delay today and only two days remaining in the program, PRO Miguel Allen has asked teams to return to racing tomorrow morning at 0800hrs in order to complete the remaining 5 flights of the Round Robin.
Results:
1. Mathieu Richard (FRA),French Match Racing Team/Team French Spirit 9 – 1
2. Sebastian Col (FRA), French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge 7 – 2
3. Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Victory Challenge 6 – 4
4. Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Mirsky Racing Team 6 – 4
5. Damien Iehl (FRA), French Match Racing Team 5 - 5
6. Paolo Cian (ITA), Team Shosholoza 4 – 3
7. Ian Williams (GBR), Team Pindar 4 – 4
8. Adam Minoprio (NZL), Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch Racing 3 – 4
9. Alvaro Marinho (POR), 2 – 5
10. Manuel Weiller (ESP), 2 – 5
11. Bjorn Hansen (SWE), Alandia Sailing Team Team 2 – 6
12. Nick Cherry (GBR), 1 – 8
Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back