SailRaceWin: 15/05/2011

Saturday, 21 May 2011

Zhik Moth Worlds 2011 with the Wing

Zhik Moth Worlds 2011

Friday, 20 May 2011

C Class Patient Lady VI: Awesome In-the-shed Images by Christophe Launay

C Class catamaran Patient Lady VI in the shed. Image copyright Christophe Launay/www.sealaunay.com Twitter @sealaunay

C Class catamaran Patient Lady VI in the shed. Image copyright Christophe Launay/www.sealaunay.com Twitter @sealaunay

by Christophe Launay

Restoration of the 26 year old C Class Catamaran Patient Lady VI under the auspices of Benjamin Muyl, Herve Penformis, Axel de Beaufort and Sam Thomas at the Ecole Nationale de Voile, Saint Pierre Quiberon, Brittany, France.

Patient Lady VI was "given" to Benjamin Muy by Fred Eaton for 1 dollar. It is actually the only C Class in continental Europe (Invictus is in the UK).

More images may be found by clicking here

Image copyright Christophe Launay/www.sealaunay.com Twitter @sealaunay

Image copyright Christophe Launay/www.sealaunay.com Twitter @sealaunay

SeaLaunay

New Zealand A-cat Nationals: Luc Dubois Wins on DNA boat

Luc Dubois (NZL 8) in action on the race course. Image copyright Brent Harsant.

by Brent Harsant

The 2011 New Zealand A-Class Nationals were held by the Kerikeri Cruising Club in the sunny Bay Of Islands.

This year was the biggest fleet we have had for some time, with 19 boats (16 A Grade & 3 C Grade) and sailors with a range of experience from those new to the class up to some with Americas Cup experience. We also had the pleasure of viewing and racing against some of the newly designed DNAs and ASG3s for the first time, including those sailed by Luc Du Bois (NZL 8) and Murray Philpott, with their radical curved boards, infused beams and flat bottom hulls. The rest of the A-Class guys were very keen to go out there and mingle with them on the race course.

Day 1

We awoke to a nice sunny autumn’s day with a nice north easterly sea breeze blowing straight into the bay. The guys were rearing to get out onto the race course and enjoy the perfect sailing conditions that the Bay Of Islands offered.

A cats just before a race start. Image copyright Brent Harsant.

Race 1 - Started at 1100 and consisted of sailing two laps around the course. The first beat Luc, Murray and Blair Tuke (sailing an ASG3) revelled in the conditions and respectively came 1st, 2nd & 3rd on the finish line. As the day progressed the wind and waves started to build gusting up to 15 knots. Alexis Reeves seemed to enjoy the windier conditions, reaching a personal best 7th place against stiff competition.

Race 2 – With the wind opposing the tide some of the fleet decided to head out to the right hand side of the course to get into the flat water. It paid off with all these boats reaching the top mark ahead of the rest of the fleet. Luc showed how fast the DNA was down wind by doing the wild thing off the trapeze. It was very impressive to watch and he went on to win the 2nd race.

Dave Aarons (NZL 233). Image copyright Brent Harsant.

Race 3 - The wind started to become quite shifty and gusty at this stage with the fleet trying to find the quickest way up to the top mark. Steve Ashley was one of the last boats up to the top mark but with his downwind expertise he finished with an impressive 4th. The hard luck story was watching Bruce Curson sailing down to the finish line in hot pursuit of the leaders and then capsizing. He managed to hold his head high for the rest of the regatta and came out with some good results.

Race 4 - The breeze was starting to moderate but was still very shifty. With the wind and tide coming from the same direction the fleet headed out to the left hand side of the course. On the second rounding of the top mark Tom Block was in the top 10. He decided to stick to the left of the course while the rest of the fleet stayed in the middle. With the finish line looming the decision paid off, managing a very respectable 2nd placing.

NZ A-cats on the race track. Image copyright Brent Harsant.

Race 5 (final race of day 1) - The fleet were starting to get into the rhythm of things and the start line was getting more competitive. Luc was the first boat to the top mark. While rounding the mark he managed to stay in front of a small rain squall carrying his own private breeze all the way down to the bottom mark, opening up a huge lead and finishing 5 minutes ahead of the second boat.
Daryl Senn, Michael Hooper and Peter Hooper retired with boat damage.

Day 2

The weather forecast was predicting 20 knots and rain. Neither eventuated, with north easterlies of 6 – 12 knots being the order of the day.

Race 6 - With an eager bunch of guys, a perfect breeze 6-12 knots and the course all set the racing got underway on time. The young guns started to shine with new comer Blair Tuke giving Luc a good run for his money, only to be passed within metres from the finish line, while Geoff Wolley placed an excellent 3rd. It was interesting to observe the older plywood boats with their larger centreboards holding their position on the start line much better than the lighter carbon boats.

Murray Philpott (NZL 1). Image copyright Brent Harsant.

Race 7 - Presti Phillippe managed to keep the two DNA’s at bay on his Flyer MK 2 to be the first boat to the top mark. The three of them reached along the port lay line with Murray gibing first, followed closely by Luc and Presti. It came down to a close tactical race with Luc rounding the bottom mark first. Once he was in that position no one could catch him and again another gun. Dave Aarons posted a 6th placing on his Flyer MK1, while Leroi Ford capsized which resulted in him putting his knee through the hull almost to the point of sinking. Luckily a rescue boat was close by and came to his aid.

Race 8 - The breeze was holding well. Pat Ashby was starting the get the hang of his new ASG3, and moved up the placing with a 5th, 7th and 9th – not too bad for his first regatta on it. Daniel Philpott (also sailing an ASG3) managed to get one over his dad to record a 5th placing. Blair Tuke took a sudden fall due to his harness breaking, but was back in time for race 9. The hard man of the regatta Kevin Wichman (sailing with an infected finger) did well to keep up with the rest of the fleet to post some good results. Luc was unstoppable by now to record his 8th first placing.

Race 9 (final race of day 2) - After two unfortunate OCS Ken Urquhart (sailing a Tool) stayed in touch with the leaders to record his best placing (5th) for the regatta. The grade C boats were starting to make their presence known on the race course, reaching the top mark ahead of many of the carbon boats only to be passed down wind due to losing out on hull weight. It was great fun watching the 3-way battle between the C Grade boats. The boats are almost identical, although Peter Hooper decided to cant his hulls at 10 degrees, which worked well in the windy conditions.

Luc Dubois sailed Dean Barker's DNA A-cat to victory. Image copyright Brent Harsant.

By the end of day 2 Luc had an unassailable lead and didn’t race on the final day.

Day 3

The weather started to turn for the worse. The wind had swung around to the north with big threatening rain clouds looming. Despite only having two races the day was important though, particularly for three of the competitors who started the day all within a point of each other.

The guys were enjoying the regatta so much they decided to do 3 laps instead of 2. With the absence of Luc on the race course they were all keen to post a 1st place onto their result sheets.

A cats waiting for racing. Image copyright Brent Harsant.

Race 10 - Daryl Senn (skippering his own designed and built boat) got a bit too eager on the start line to post a OCS but came back fighting in the last race with a 10th placing. With a quick patch up job using polyester car filler and plywood backing pads Leroi was keen to get back into the action. Bruce Curson showed them how to sail a Fossil design to record a 2nd place, while the race was won by Blair Tuke on his ASG3.

Race 11 - Steve Ashley managed to pull some tricks out of his bag to get a 2nd on line just behind Murray Philpott. Kevin Wichman posted his best result of the regatta 3rd (those antibiotics must had been kicking in). Trevor Simpkin decided to let his hair down and show them what skills a North Island dairy farmer is made of to post his best result, and Leroi Ford managed to keep the Hoopers at bay to win the grade c division and receive the gold medal.

Luc Dubois receives the winner's trophy at Kerikeri Cruising Club. Image copyright Brent Harsant.

Overall the regatta was a very well run and enjoyable event. It provided an opportunity to meet and compete against a number of new sailors to the division, and was a good indicator of the future strength of the class. On behalf of the New Zealand A – Class Association I would like to thank the Kerikeri Cruising Club for a very well run regatta, and to all of the volunteers who helped with making the regatta such a great success.

Final Placings

A Grade
1st Luc Du Bois
2nd Blair Tuke
3rd Murray Philpott

C Grade
1st Leroi Ford
2nd Michael Hooper
3rd Peter Hooper

Note from SailRaceWin: Luc Dubois was sailing Dean Barker's DNA A-cat at the New Zealand Nationals. Dean Barker was otherwise engaged, sailing the ETNZ AC45 in Auckland.

NZ A-cat Association

Extreme 40: Excitement builds ahead of Act 3, Istanbul

The third Act of the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series™ is rapidly approaching with less than one week to go until the start in Istanbul, Turkey from the 25th to 29th May, with the event opening to the public from the 27th May

Extreme 40 racing in Qingdao. Image copyright Massimo Procopio/NiceForYou.

by Carolyn Lashmar

Istanbul is a new venue on the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series global circuit and provides a unique setting in this iconic city where East meets West. Istanbul is home to 13 million people (more than London or Paris) and is located on the Bosphorus Strait that connects the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea, dividing the city into a European side and an Asian, Anatolian side. The city is further divided by the Golden Horn, a natural harbour, with the Extreme 40 fleet racing on the Halic estuary separated from the harbour by the Galata Bridge, at the mouth of the Golden Horn.

Istanbul skyline from the water. Image copyright Eurasia Sports.

Act 3 of the Extreme Sailing Series is being heavily promoted with a national TV and radio advertising campaign and billboards around the city of Istanbul, and EuroAsia Sports (representing the host venue) has estimated crowds in excess of 15,000 on the public days and, potentially, up to 40,000 for the final day. The city recently hosted the F1 Grand Prix and has been nominated the European Capital of Sport in 2012. Turkey’s national terrestrial broadcaster, TRT, will be providing live race coverage on both Saturday and Sunday making Act 3 the third event in a row this year to attract live race coverage from the venue’s terrestrial broadcaster, reflecting the growing appeal of the Extreme Sailing Series to a mainstream audience.

Extreme 40 racing in Oman. Image copyright Carlo Borlenghi/www.carloborlenghi.net

The 11 international Extreme 40 teams dispersed after the action-packed Act 2 in Qingdao, China to race onboard both mono and multihulls across the world. Some went to race the new AC45’s in New Zealand, the Nespresso Cup in Portofino, Italy and to the World Match Racing Tour in Marseille, France. The 44 elite sailors will now reconvene in Istanbul to vie for victory at Act 3: “In Istanbul, we expect a really tough battle,” said Pierre Pennec, skipper Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, who lead overall. “Not only because of the high level of the competition within the fleet, which has gone up a notch as we saw in Qingdao but also because the race course in Istanbul seems complex and very particular. It’s an inner race course with some effects from the buildings on shore so the winds will be shifty. It will be necessary to take advantage of the opportunities and to accept to give away some places to be able to stay at the top of the ranking. I have sailed through the Bosphorus during a boat delivery from Lorient to Istanbul and I’m very excited to go back to this beautiful city.”

The Golden Horn, Istanbul; where the Extreme 40 racing will be held. Image copyright Eurasia Sports.

Groupe Edmond de Rothschild is leading on 20 points overall, followed by Luna Rossa in second and Emirates Team New Zealand in third, both tied on 18 points with Red Bull Extreme Sailing and Artemis Racing hot on the heels of the current top three boats with 17 and 16 points retrospectively. Artemis Racing skipper, Terry Hutchinson, returns as resident skipper after Santiago Lange’s efforts on the helm in Qingdao.

In the second half of the leaderboard the Swiss team Alinghi is in 6th place on 13 points after stepping up their game in Chinia with five race wins, now three points clear of The Wave, Muscat on 10 points. Torvar Mirsky’s team suffered what was undoubtedly the most dramatic capsize in the history of the Extreme Sailing Series in Qingdao, view video footage:

Roland Gaebler’s Team Extreme and Sidney Gavignet’s Oman Air are tied on 7 points, whilst the Italian team NiceForYou led by Alberto Barovier (10th place, 4 points) and Team GAC Pindar skippered by Britain’s match racing champion Ian Williams (11th place, 2 points) continue to find their Extreme 40 form after two events: “We learnt a lot during the China event, we had some ups and downs but everybody was making mistakes and so were we but that is racing. We can’t wait to go back on the water and Istanbul is an amazing venue. We’ve never sailed over there, so it could be tricky but we are determined to reduce the gap and climb the ranking!” said Alberto Barovier. With the top 5 teams going to Istanbul on such close points the racing is going to be electric: “We are looking forward to the race in Istanbul,” said Red Bull Extreme Sailing skipper, Roman Hagara. “We were on the podium in Muscat, close to victory in Qindao, but after the capsize we did not find back to our system quick enough. We are prepared for Istanbul and want to finish on the podium again.”

Watch programme 1 of the 2011 TV series that saw the all-French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild clinch victory at Act 1, Muscat:

Extreme Sailing Series

America's Cup: ACtion 45... from the New Zealand Trials

America's Cup

The Brothers Peyron: Bruno et Loick on CNN's MainSail with Shirley Robertson

Energy Team's Loick and Bruno Peyron: two brothers from La Baule, France, who turned their passion into their profession, excelled at sailing, whilst having great fun at the same time, and have now focussed their joint energy and attention on winning the America's Cup...

Bruno and Loick Peyron's achievements

Taking on the America's Cup series

Preparing for the America's Cup series

CNN MainSail

Wednesday, 18 May 2011

America's Cup: Mascalzone Latino says goodbye to the 34th America's Cup

Vincenzo Onorato. Supplied image.

Milano, 12th May 2011

Dear Friends and Supporters,

with deep sorrow I have to announce my decision to withdraw my team from the 34th America’s Cup.

Since the very beginning of our role as Challenger of Record, I have been working on this project focused to bring the Cup in our Country.

Larry deeply loves Italy and he was excited about this idea. The Cup in Italy would have been the greatest worldwide promotion for our beautiful coasts. There have been some very high level and important meetings that made us believing in this dream, but the things went in a different way.

As Challenger of Record, we have worked with humility next to Oracle and I am satisfied of the result we have reached: a new Cup, spectacular, with new boats, the catamarans, that will launch on the international scene a new generation of sailors.

With Russell we have discussed for long time on the most difficult challenge that the next Cup must face: an international situation with big economic crisis and therefore huge difficulties to find sponsor. This is the only, true, real enemy of the next Cup. We have then thought of the idea to create the class AC45, a concrete way to make lot of teams get involved in the event reducing costs, at least in the delicate period of the start-up.

On our side, I must thank the two Italian sponsors that believed and confirmed us their trust. We are not able, however, to reach a budget that allows us to be a competitive team.

In our sport, men in blazer have overcome by now those in oilskins, I'm a man in oilskin and when I go in the sea, I want to win. I’m not interested in a hopeless challenge, I would lie to the sponsors, to our fans and last but not least also to myself.

I would like to thank our friends from Club Nautico di Roma. I am sure that we will have new exciting adventures together.

The sailing adventure of Mascalzone Latino doesn’t end anyway with the Cup, but it continues with the sailing school in Naples, free of charge, for those children coming from the most difficult areas of this town. A daily challenge, and, who knows, maybe someday we will see a new America’s Cup champion coming out from one of them.

Fair wind to all of you.

Vincenzo Onorato

In Italian:

Mascalzone Latino saluta la 34° America's Cup

Milano, 12 maggio 2011

Cari Amici e Tifosi,

è con profonda tristezza che devo annunciare il ritiro di Mascalzone Latino dalla Coppa America.

Sin dal principio della nostra investitura a Challenger of Record ho lavorato al progetto di ospitare la Coppa nel nostro Paese.

Larry ama profondamente l'Italia ed era entusiasta dell'idea. La Coppa in Italia sarebbe stata la più grande promozione mondiale per le nostre bellissime coste. Ci sono stati degli incontri ad altissimo livello che sembravano far credere al sogno, poi le cose sono andate diversamente.

Come Challenger of Record abbiamo lavorato con umiltà a fianco ad Oracle Racing e sono soddisfatto del risultato raggiunto: una Coppa nuova, spettacolare, con barche, i catamarani, che lanceranno sulla scena internazionale una nuova generazione di velisti.

Con Russell abbiamo discusso a lungo sulla più difficile delle sfide che la prossima Coppa dovrà affrontare: uno scenario internazionale dall'economia depressa e quindi grandi difficoltà a trovare sponsor. Questo è il vero, unico, autentico nemico della prossima Coppa. È nata così l'idea della classe AC45, un modo concreto per far avvicinare molti team all'evento a costi contenuti almeno nella delicata fase dello start-up.

Per quanto riguarda noi, devo ringraziare i due sponsor italiani che ci hanno accordato la loro fiducia. Non riusciamo comunque a raggiungere un budget che ci consenta di essere competitivi.

Nel nostro sport gli uomini in blazer hanno ormai superato quelli in cerata, io resto un uomo in cerata e quando scendo in mare voglio vincere. Una sfida persa in partenza non mi interessa, mentirei agli sponsor, ai nostri tifosi ed anche a me stesso.

Ringrazio gli amici del Club Nautico di Roma. Sono certo che avremo insieme nuove entusiasmanti avventure.

La vela di Mascalzone Latino non finisce comunque con la Coppa, ma prosegue con la scuola per i bambini dei quartieri disagiati di Napoli, una sfida quotidiana, chissà che un giorno non esca da loro un nuovo campione di Coppa.

Buon vento a tutti.

Vincenzo Onorato

Mascalzone Latino
America's Cup