SailRaceWin: 22/05/2011

Friday, 27 May 2011

VELUX5OCEANS: Ainhoa Sanchez Video

Ainhoa Sanchez
VELUX5OCEANS

Thursday, 26 May 2011

Delta Lloyd Regatta: Images from a Breezy Day One

Image copyright Sander van der Borch/www.sandervanderborch.com

Image copyright Margje Tempelaars.

Image copyright Sander van der Borch/www.sandervanderborch.com

Image copyright Margje Tempelaars.

Image copyright Sander van der Borch/www.sandervanderborch.com

Image copyright Sander van der Borch/www.sandervanderborch.com

Delta Lloyd Regatta

Delta Lloyd Regatta: Aussies start strongly at Sailing World Cup in Holland

Belcher and Page take off on day one. Image copyright Sander van der Borch/www.sandervanderborch.com

by Craig Heydon

Australian sailors have made a positive start to the fifth round of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Holland, with strong first day performances in all classes.

Competitors were challenged all day by the strong breeze, which spent most of the day above 20 knots, with gusts up towards 30 knots at times.

A number of Australian Sailing Team crews reveled in the heavy breeze, with Laser sailor Tom Slingsby the best positioned, in second overall after the opening two races.

Tom Slingsby on day one at Delta Lloyd Regatta. Image copyright Sander van der Borch/www.sandervanderborch.com

The reigning Laser World Champion and ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year finished the day with a third and a race win to be just two points off the lead.

“I made a good start to my regatta with a third and a first, it was definitely my conditions today,” said Slingsby. “In the first race I was doing well with a nice big lead and I capsized, I was still leading around the bottom mark but couldn’t quite get into phase on the second beat and lost a few positions.

“In the second race I led to the top mark and had learnt from my mistakes from race one and went on to win it from there,” he said. “After capsizing in race one my boat handling isn’t quite there, so I need to improve that each day, tomorrow it’s going to be a bit lighter which will mix up the points a bit and hopefully I can get through there and build.”

Fellow Australian Sailing Team member Tom Burton also had a strong start in the Laser fleet with a second and a fourth leaving him fourth overall.

“It was surprisingly shifty for how strong the breeze was,” said Burton. “It was pretty tricky and the heavy breeze always mixes things up in the top bunch, there were a few swims thrown in there as well today.”
2010 470 World Champions and current world number ones Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page are currently in fifth position after opening their regatta with a race win and a seventh.

“It wasn’t too bad of a first day for Mal and I,” said Belcher. “We had a good first race and won it by a little bit, our speed was quite good in the up and down conditions. In the second race we thought we were over the line early so went back and then managed to fight our way up to seventh, we felt we lost a few opportunities in that one but managed to finish the day with an ok score.”

The pair are currently second placed in the 470 class in the overall ISAF Sailing World Cup standings, following a first, a second, a sixth and a seventh in the opening four rounds.

“It’s good to be back racing after a couple of weeks break,” said Page. “We felt that we had good speed, it was good to tick that box after trying a few things, developing, playing with things over the last few months.”

Australian Sailing Team Day 1 Highlights

In the Women’s Match Racing competition Australian’s Katie Spithill, Jessica Eastwell and Lucinda Whitty ended day one with two wins and one loss in the opening round robin.

“It was a busy day for us today with two wins and one loss,” said skipper Spithill. “Boat handling was the issue in our loss which was a bit frustrating but we’ve recognised the mistake and are moving on for tomorrow. Every win today was hard work, it was almost survival conditions at times but definitely fine for racing.”

Fellow Australians Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Rayshele Martin had a mixed day in their first ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta together, with one win and three losses.

Both Australian crews will hit the water again on Wednesday morning to complete the opening round robin.

Brendan Casey is currently third overall in the Finn fleet after a sixth and a fourth on day one.

“Today was a positive start to the regatta, overall a pretty consistent day,” said Casey. “I’m aiming to go out and do the same again tomorrow, the breeze will be lighter which is good, as we want to get an all-round range of conditions by the time we get to Weymouth in a couple of weeks.”

In the 49er fleet Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen are the best placed Australians after the opening three races, sitting 12th overall.

The 2009 World Champions were unlucky to not be leading the regatta after being disqualified from the opening race of the day this evening, having been adjudged to have sailed the incorrect course. Outteridge and Jensen went on to finish third and first in the day’s final two races.

Australian Sailing Squad members also had a good start to the regatta, with Paralympic sailor Matt Bugg the best placed, third overall in the 2.4mR. Bugg, from Tasmania, finished third in both of Tuesday’s races to be four points off the lead.

In the RS:X women’s class Squad member Jessica Crisp is fifth overall following a pair of fourths, with fellow Australian’s Allison Shreeve and Joanna Sterling fourth and 21st respectively.

470 sailors and Squad members Sam Kivell and Will Ryan ended the day ninth after a third and a ninth and Alexander and Patrick Conway are 26th.

Ashley Stoddart is 11th and Gabrielle King is 14th in Laser Radial fleet while in the Laser class Ashley Brunning is 10th, one place ahead of Ryan Palk, with Jared West 28th, including a third in race two, Mark Whittington is 30th, James Burman 31st and Ki-Raphael Sulkowski 32nd.

In the 49er class Squad members Will and Sam Phillips are 16th, ahead of Tom Johnson and Rhys Mara in 24th and Steven Thomas and Nick Brownie are 28th, all suffering the same fate as Outteridge & Jensen in race 1.

Rob McMillan is 17th in the Finn fleet, with Tim Castles 19th, Oliver Tweddell 31st and Shaun Wells 38th. In the RS:X men’s class Jimmy Levy is the best placed Aussie in 26th, with Luke Baillie 29th, Tim Gourlay 39th and Patrick Vos is 55th.

Racing continues in Holland on Wednesday with the regatta finishing on Sunday.

Australian Sailing Team
Delta Lloyd Regatta

Delta Lloyd Regatta: Windy start to the Delta Lloyd regatta

Lasers on Day One. Image copyright Sander van der Borch/www.sandervanderborch.com

by Corinne Rolland-McKenzie

The Delta Lloyd regatta, fifth event on the ISAF Sailing World Cup circuit is following the trend of the previous European events, with a windy opening day.

The strong North-Easterly provided for excellent racing and thrill in all classes.

The Croatian teams have mastered the gruelling conditions taking top spot in the 470 men, the Laser and the Finn.

Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic (CRO) opened the score in the 470 races with a victory and a third and take the lead in the 470 fleet. “ We are happy, we had a great day of sailing. With such a strong wind it was important to sail conservatively and not capsize. We did two tactical mistakes on the second race and placed third. A great way to start the regatta!”

Sven and Calle Coster (NED) are on equal points in second place. Greek teams of Mantis Panagiotis/ Pavlos Kagialis and Kampouridis/Papadopoulos have collected similar results in their respective group with a fifth and a bullet in the second race to share the third position. World #1 Mat Belcher and Malcolm Page (AUS) won the first race in their group and place seventh in the second.

The breeze lovers claimed the day in the Laser. Milan Vujasinovic (CRO) took both bullets in his group and the lead over the 120 Lasers : “I know I have a good speed in the breeze but I have started well both times. It was also a matter to be patient and wait for the right shift. The rest was not an issue.” 2010 ISAF Sailor of the Year and World Champion, Tom Slingsby (AUS) is in second place, two points from Dutch Roelof Bouwmeester and team mate Tom Burton (AUS). “There were tough conditions” admitted Bouwmeester (NED), “I had good results but didn't sail as well as I hoped. Tomorrow I need to focus more and I know I can improve.”

World #1, Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) and World Champion Ed Wright (GBR) are sharing top places in the Finn fleet. They are on equal points at the front of the rankings, with third place going to 20 years old from Canada, Greg Douglas.

Materials are having a hard time on day one at Delta Lloyd Regatta:

The competition is fierce in the Laser Radial, with most of the top ten racing in the Delta Lloyd Regatta. Defending champion Marit Bouwmeester (NED) is taking the lead after a first and a second places, in front of Annalise Murphy (IRL) and Evi van Acker (BEL), second in Palma. In fourth and fifth places are Beijing Silver and Bronze medallists Gintare Scheidt (LTU) and Xu Lijia (CHN). “With both start under black flag, it was tricky but I am fast in the breeze and have chosen to take it easy on the start and sailed safe.” explained Bouwmeester (NED).

In the absence of most class favourites, 36 women are participating in the RS:X. From the nine Chinese windsurfers on the starting line, five entered the top ten after the first two races, claimed by Li Ling. Yuki Sunaga (JAP) is in second position overall and Mayaan Davidovich (ISR) third.

The men division is also missing most of the top actors, training in Weymouth before Sail For Gold, however, there are 14 different countries in the top 15. JP Tobin (NZL) and Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) shared the victories in first and second position overall.

In the women 470, Beijing Bronze medallists from Brazil are duelling at the top of the rankings. Isabel Swan now crewing with Martine Grael and the new pair of Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan, are first and second in the 27 boats fleet. Class favourites, Ai Kondo and Wakako Tabata, or Spanish duo of Tara Pacheco and Berta Betanzos, winner in Hyères, have been penalised for a premature start in the second race and start the event in 13th and 19th position.

Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) are making a great comeback to the competition after winning two out of three races sailed in the 49er. The defending champions are starting the event with a 13 points lead over compatriots Will and Sam Phillips (AUS). 2007 World champions, Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes are placing third overall.

The Women's match racing has completed half of the qualification stages. In Group A, team Echegoyen (ESP) is undefeated with four wins. In the group B, team Skudina (RUS) wins their four matches.

Thierry Schmitter (NED) has enjoyed the challenging conditions in the breeze with two bullets. Megan Pascoe (GBR) second in Hyères continues with top two placing, while Australian Matt Bugg settles for top 3.

With over 30 knots registered on their racing area, the Star were postponed until 5PM to allow for the wind to settle. It was still around 20 knots when the Star fleet started their first race after 6PM!

Delta Lloyd Regatta

Match Race Germany: Match Race Germany-Morgen fällt der Startschuß

Nach dem letzten freien Training: Skipper „happy“ über die neuen Bavaria-Yachten

Training auf dem Bodensee. Image copyright Felix Kästle / MRG.

von Eberhard Magg

Die neue Bootsflotte für das 14. Match Race Germany hat ihre Generalprobe vor Langenargen auf dem Bodensee mit Bravour bestanden. Nach dem letzten freien Training vor dem ersten Startschuss am Mittwoch waren sich die zwölf Teams aus neun Ländern einig: Die 12,35 Meter langen Yachten vom Typ Bavaria 40S werten den einzigen deutschen WM-Lauf der World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) deutlich auf.

„Mit Booten dieser Größe sind wir in der Tour führend. Die Investition in die neue Flotte hat sich schon jetzt gelohnt. Wir sind schon ein wenig stolz darauf“, sagt Veranstalter Eberhard Magg, „die Segler sind happy und die Zuschauer und unsere Partner werden es auch sein, denn die größeren Boote sind von Land aus noch viel besser zu sehen.“

Bei traumhaften Segelbedingungen, Sonnenschein und Winden um zwei bis drei Beaufort lieferten sich die Crews am Dienstag spannende Trainingsduelle. Vor allem die beiden französischen Mannschaften um die Steuermänner Mathieu Richard (Saba Sailing Team) und Damien Iehl (Team Wind2Win), die gemeinsam mit dem französischen Startrainer Marc Bouet an ihrem Timing und optimalen Starts feilten, schenkten sich in einer Serie Teststarts keinen Millimeter. Beide zählen zum engeren Favoritenkreis beim Großen Preis von Deutschland. Damien Iehl hat das Match Race Germany 2008 bereits einmal gewonnen, Vize-Weltmeister Mathieu Richard will endlich seine ersten Sieg im deutschen Revier sichern.

Der schwedische Skipper Björn Hansen (Mekonomen Sailing Team) sagte: „Es macht Spaß, diese neuen Boote zu segeln. Sie bringen aufgrund ihrer Größe ganz neue Herausforderungen mit sich. Bei engen Manövern um Wendemarken herum kann es ab morgen sehr spannend werden.“

Einer der Stars und Favoriten im Match Race Germany ist der viermalige Match Race Weltmeister und America’s Cup-Sieger Peter Gilmour aus Australien mit seinem Team YANMAR Racing. Der australische Altmeister konnte den deutschen Match-Race-Klassiker zwischen 2004 und 2006 dreimal gewinnen. Vor Langenargen startet Gilmour, der Anfang der 1990er Jahre als Coach der Nippon Challenge den America’s Cup in Japan populär machte und dort viele Freunde hat, mit einer weißen Armbinde und der roten Aufschrift „Power for Japan“. Damit erinnert Gilmour an die Opfer der japanischen Erdbeben-Katastrophe und ruft zu Spenden an das Rote Kreuz auf. Nach zweieinhalbstündigem Training war der Mann aus Down Under sehr angetan von den neuen Booten und sagte: „Ihre Größe ist beeindruckend. Besonders begeistert bin ich von den Segeln. Die sind hervorragend!“ Dieses Lob gebührt der Segelmacherei Elvström, die die neuen Bavarias mit ihrer neuen Epex-Technologie schnell machen.

14. Match Race Germany:
1. Startschuss am Mittwoch um 9 Uhr

Training auf dem Bodensee. Image copyright Felix Kästle / MRG.

Der Deutsche Match Race Meister Stefan Meister geht am Mittwoch auf den Bavaria 40 S als einziger Amateur mit Außenseiterchancen an den Start. “Natürlich möchten wir gerne den einen oder anderen Prof schlagen”, sagt der Berliner, „wir werden um jeden Punkt kämpfen.“ Überraschenden Rückenwind erhielt Meister vom schwedischen Routinier Björn Hansen: “Seine Chancen stehen gar nicht schlecht. Stefan ist sehr gut, kann durchaus einige Rennen gewinnen und es vielleicht sogar bis ins Halbfinale schaffen.”

Das Match Race Germany beginnt am Mittwoch um 9 Uhr mit der ersten Qualifikationsrunde. Die fünftägige Profiserie endet am 29. Mai mit den Finalduellen um den Großen Preis von Deutschland und 50.000 US-Dollar Preisgeld. Die Veranstalter erwarten rund 35.000 Zuschauer.

Match Race Germany

Wednesday, 25 May 2011

Rolex Capri Sailing Week/Rolex Volcano Race - Playing with Fire

DSK Pioneer Investments, practices off Gaeta. Image copyright Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi.

by Anna-Maria Gregorini

On Tuesday, the first ever Rolex Volcano Race, part of Rolex Capri Sailing Week, will start just outside the picturesque medieval town of Gaeta. The fleet, composed entirely of Maxi and Mini Maxi yachts, will start a 400-mile odyssey and witness some of the most stunning scenery in the hauntingly beautiful Tyrrhenian Sea.

Crews will race past the Pontine Islands, before turning east to round Capri, for the first time, on this new offshore race. The yachts will then head south, to the Aeolian Islands, a volcanic archipelago just north of Sicily, before heading north to finish the race in Capri, the small and unique island that overlooks the blue water of the Mediterranean, with Naples and Vesuvius looming in the distance.

This dramatic new race is called The Rolex Volcano Race for good reason. Stromboli and Vulcano are both marks of the course and are both active volcanoes; their mesmeric beauty is honoured by UNESCO, who has listed both of these awe-inspiring islands as World Heritage sites. Stromboli in particular, is well known to participants of the Rolex Middle Sea Race and many have witnessed its explosive power, as flames of blazing orange shoot skyward.

Today, a skipper’s briefing was held at the Yacht Club Gaeta. Claus-Peter Offen, President of the International Maxi Association was delighted to welcome the competing yachts to the first ever Rolex Volcano Race. “It is a spectacular race course and a route that I have taken myself, whilst cruising, sadly I am not able to join the race but I am deeply envious of the boats that are competing. The association decided to put forward this race because it is a wonderful place to sail with superb scenery and we are delighted that so many powerful and prestigious yachts are taking part in the first race.”

A weather briefing by Colonel Filippo Petrucci followed the Skipper’s Briefing. Petrucci is an expert meteorologist who knows the Tyrrhenian Sea extremely well. He predicted a light airs start to the race. “It is likely that the fleet will experience a light thermal wind at the start from the west, as the yachts go offshore, there should be a gradient breeze developing from the north, which should be around 8-10 knots. Depending on the course the yachts take, they may well experience this gradient wind offshore for the best part of the following day but if they choose to go inshore there may be more thermal effect from the west.

America’s Cup stalwart, Chris Main will be sailing on Andres Soriano’s Mills 68, Alegre. “It looks like a light airs race but our weather homework suggests that we should have enough breeze to keep up a relatively good speed. Probably offshore at night and inshore during the day could be our overall strategy. There are plenty of potential parking spots and we will have to be very careful to avoid them.”

Tonight all of the owners and crew participating in the Rolex Volcano Race are invited to a welcome party, hosted by Rolex and the International Maxi Association. Aeneas’ Landing is located in a beautiful cove on the Tyrrhenian Sea and surrounded by a golden sand beach, it is an exclusive, luxurious resort village, which is an ideal location to host the participants in the first ever Rolex Volcano Race.

The Rolex Volcano Race opening ceremony will take place tomorrow in the historic Lungomare Caboto in the medieval quarter of old Gaeta. The warning signal for the inaugural Rolex Volcano Race will sound at 3 p.m.

The Rolex Capri Sailing Week is organised by the Yacht Club Capri in conjunction with the International Maxi Association and the Yacht Club Gaeta for the Rolex Volcano Race. 

Rolex Volcano Race

Tuesday, 24 May 2011

Vestas Sailrocket 2 Goes over 40 knots

Vestas Sailrocket 2

Delta Lloyd Regatta : Australian sailors ready for action at World Cup in Holland

Iain Jensen, Tom Slingsby and Nathan Outteridge after winning Sailing World Cup medals in 2010. Image copyright Craig Heydon.

by Craig Heydon

Australian sailors are preparing for the fifth round of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Medemblik, Holland, with the regatta being the first time that the entire team has competed together this year.

Racing is set to get underway on Tuesday with Australian crews represented in nine of the classes competing.

The Australian Sailing Team had a successful Delta Lloyd Holland Regatta in 2010 with the team bringing home two Golds and a Silver medal, with Tom Slingsby and Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen standing on the top step of the Laser and 49er classes respectively while Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page were second in the 470s.

Reigning Laser World Champion and ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Tom Slingsby heads into the event with an impressive run of seven straight medal finishes in ISAF Sailing World Cup events.

“I’ve been out of the boat for the last month sailing in other classes and am looking forward to getting back in to racing here,” said Slingsby. “For me the next event in Weymouth is a peak event so this week is about continuing to improve and spend time in the boat.

“We’re missing a few of the top guys in our fleet and some people have been saying that it will be easier to win but that’s never the case in the Laser class, anybody can win on their day and the competition will still be tough no matter who is racing,” he said.

49er sailors Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen will be aiming for their third straight victory in Holland, with this regatta being their first since Sail Melbourne last December.

“While we didn’t travel to the last three World Cup events, we’ve been doing a lot of training at home and are feeling pretty good heading into the regatta,” said Outteridge. “We’ve done a lot of preparation over the last few months with a new boat, new mast and new sails and are keen to tune up against an international fleet before we head to Weymouth.”

In the 470 men’s class 2010 World Champions Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page have had a mixed start to this year’s World Cup with a Gold and Silver medal in the first two rounds and then a seventh and a sixth in rounds three and four.

“After our first two regattas in Europe this year we found that we weren’t at the same level as the other top guys after taking time off in February and March,” said Page. “After some more time in the boat we feel we’re getting back up there now.

“We’re using these regattas to develop in other areas, taking a long-term approach, but it’s sometimes hard to take when you’re not winning all the time,” he said. “In the last two regattas we found that we started well but weren’t delivering when it mattered so here we’ll be working on our final series approach.”

In the Women’s Match Racing competition Australia has two entries with Olivia Price making her World Cup debut as a skipper, alongside Nina Curtis and Rayshele Martin, while Katie Spithill, Jessica Eastwell and Lucinda Whitty will sail together.

Price is enjoying the opportunity to steer the Elliott 6 in the World Cup after making a great start to skippering in Match Racing at a high level with a win in the ISAF Nations Cup Oceania Qualifier in Sydney earlier this month.

“I’m really excited about this opportunity and we should be able to take a lot of what we learnt in the Nations Cup a couple of weeks back and put it into practice,” said Price. “We feel that we’re ticking the boxes everyday in training and are looking forward to seeing what we can do once racing begins.

“First off we want to achieve all of our goals in executing what we want on the water,” she said. “It’s about winning races as well but this is our first regatta in these boats and we’re a new team so we’ll be learning in every race.”

Spithill, Eastwell and Whitty are also continuing to develop as a crew and head into this regatta on the back of a good win at the European Championship qualifiers in Finland last week.

“The win in Finland was good but we can’t look at the past heading into this event, we’re focused on the week ahead,” said Spithill. “Our results are continuing in the right direction, we’re getting Lucinda settled into the bow and are working well as a combination, every regatta is a great chance to learn.”

Brendan Casey heads into racing in the Finn class after spending time training in Weymouth after the last round on the World Cup in France.

“It was good to spend time training in Weymouth, racing against all of the top guys between regattas,” said Casey. “At this stage it’s a benefit to sail there a lot, it’s what we’re all training for and focused on.

“This week I’m aiming to build on the last few events, as I look for a top performance at Sail for Gold next month,” he said.

The Laser class includes Australian Sailing Team member Tom Burton and Australian Sailing Squad members Ashley Brunning, James Burman, Ryan Palk, Jared West and Mark Whittington.

Jessica Crisp will compete in her first European regatta for the year in the RS:X women’s class while Ashley Stoddart and Gabrielle King will compete in the Laser Radials.

The 470 men’s fleet will feature Squad crew Sam Kivell and Will Ryan and in the 49ers the Squad will be represented by Will and Sam Phillips, Steven Thomas and Nick Brownie, and Tom Johnson and Rhys Mara.

Matthew Bugg will compete in the 2.4mR class, beginning a busy few months where he will contest this regatta, Skandia Sail for Gold, Kiel Week and then the IFDS World Championships.

Other Australians competing in Holland include Alexander and Patrick Conway in the 470s, RS:X women’s sailor Allison Shreeve and RS:X men’s competitors Tim Gourlay, Jimmy Levy and Patrick Vos. Ki-Raphael Sulkowski will race in the Laser fleet and Tim Castles, Oliver Tweddell, Rob McMillan and Shaun Wells in the Finn.

For more information on the Australian Sailing Team visit www.australiansailingteam.com.au and follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AusSailingTeam. Video highlights will be available throughout the week.

Australian Sailing Team
Delta Lloyd Regatta

Delta Lloyd Regatta : Koru Match in Medemblik, The Netherlands

Rough weather match racing in Finland! Image copyright Ville Väresmaa.

by Koru Match media

Koru Match has been busy training in Helsinki, Finland. The video shows the team "taking on" the cold and windy conditions:

Along with the hard training, the team celebrated Susannah's 21st birthday, fixed Jenna's broken nose and brought Stephanie's computer back from the dead.

Breeze on! Image copyright Ville Väresmaa.The girls are currently in Medemblik, (Netherlands), preparing to compete at the Delta Lloyd Regatta (ISAF Sailing World Cup). Koru Match is excited that they are accompanied by their coach Laurie Jury.

The Kiwis are in Pool B, along with (SWE, NED x2, CHN, BRA, FRA, RUS, FIN and CAN)
Racing commences Tuesday morning, European time.

KoruMatch in Finland. Image copyright Ville Väresmaa.

To follow the race results, follow the regatta website: http://www.deltalloydregatta.org/
For all team updates and photos, follow the team: http://www.facebook.com/#!/korumatch

KoruMatch is Stephanie Hazard (Helm), Susannah Pyatt (Bow) & Jenna Hansen (Trim).

Delta Lloyd Regatta: Dutch Sailing World Cup event ready to start

Preparations for racing in Medemblik. Image copyright Delta Lloyd Regatta.

by Corinne Rolland-McKenzie

The Delta Lloyd regatta, 5th event on the ISAf Sailing World Cup circuit is set to start on Tuesday May 24th in Medemblik, Holland.

Some 600 boats in the ten Olympic classes and the paralympic 2.4 representing 61 countries are set to hit the water and compete for Sailing World Cup points and the title.

Five teams are back in Medemblik to defend their title. The Delta Lloyd regatta is the first international event in Europe for 2010 SWC winners Eivind Melleby and Peter Morland Pedersen (NOR) in the Star class. In the 49er, Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) after placing 4th in Sail Melbourne are back on the circuit to defend their title in Holland.

Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) in the Finn, Tom Slingsby (AUS) in the Laser and Marit Bouwmeester (NED) in the Laser Radial will be eager to retain their title on the IJsselmeer lake.

Racing will start on Tuesday at 11 am and can be followed on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.

The Medal races are scheduled over two days, with the 470 Men and Women, and Star on Saturday from 6PM and the remaining classes on Sunday. They will be broadcast live with videos integrating 3D tracking and be followed on the event website: www.deltalloydregatta.org

Virbac Paprec 3 - Un Bateau Bien Né

Jean-Pierre Dick is looking for even more speed from Virbac Paprec 3 for the Vendée Globe! He is looking to the sails and a thorough performance analysis to effect this

Virbac Paprec 3. Image copyright Yvan Zedda/www.zedda.com/Sea&Co.

par Anne-Charlotte Meyer

Avec 83 000 km à son compteur en un an, soit deux tours du monde, VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 est entre les mains expertes de huit techniciens dans la nouvelle base du Team de Jean-Pierre Dick. Nicolas Abiven, le directeur technique nous parle du chantier en cours sur le monocoque bleu.

Quels sont les résultats des tests de structure ?
« Les résultats obtenus sont très bons. Nous avons entièrement démonté le bateau pour contrôler très précisément les éléments vitaux du bateau (la coque, le mât et la quille) en utilisant entre autres la radiologie et la thermographie. C'est positif, cela montre que le bateau est bien né ! »

Quels sont les travaux en cours ?
« Nous opérons actuellement des changements de pièces liés au cycle de vie du bateau. VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 est « à mi-vie » par rapport l'objectif Vendée Globe 2012. 15% des pièces d'accastillage, de mécanique, d'électronique et du gréement sont changées. »

Prévoyez-vous des évolutions ?
« La seule évolution est l'abandon du bi-roof pour mettre en place un « roof unique » afin de manœuvrer « au sec » dans le cockpit. Pour le reste, nous travaillons dans la continuité. La Barcelona World Race a montré que le bateau était rapide. L'objectif est d'être encore plus véloce en poussant la recherche sur les voiles et l'analyse de la performance, car c'est un atout majeur.»

A vos écrans !
La semaine prochaine, découvrez sur SPORT PLUS une série de six documentaires de 26min consacrés à la Barcelona World Race. Les programmes seront diffusés du lundi 23 mai au vendredi 27 mai à 16h15 et à 13h15 samedi 28 mai. Une rediffusion de chaque documentaire est prévue mardi et jeudi à 8h et à 7h30 mercredi, vendredi, samedi et dimanche.

Virbac Paprec 3

Mixed Multihull Sailor Dona Bertarelli Gives Her View on the main 2016 Olympic Sailing Changes

The D35 Ladycat's Dona Bertarelli. Image copyright Chris Schmid/eyemage.ch

by Anne Hinton (with quotations in translation by Anne Hinton)

Dona Bertarelli, sister of America's Cup winner Ernesto Bertarelli, launched her own D35 catamaran, Ladycat, in 2007, and, in 2010, helmed her boat to victory in the Société Nautique de Genève's classic Bol d'Or Mirabaud race to the other end of Lake Geneva and back, finishing first from about 600 competitors.

Ladycat's crew is predominantly female, but mixed. In view of this, we asked Dona Bertarelli her opinion on the main changes to the 2016 Olympic sailing classes, as agreed by ISAF in St Petersburg recently.

D35 Ladycat wins the Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2010. Image copyright Loris von Siebenthal/www.myimage.ch

"The multihull should never have been "ousted", even more so since the last America's Cup. I always found it an aberration that the multihull was taken out of the Olympic Games. Now the multihull has been put back under an obligatory mixed category which doesn't make much sense in my opinion.

"The multihull should have one series for men (that is "open", so is possible to be mixed) and a series for the women, above all due to the fad (taste) for such from the public and media.

"The objective of the Olympic Games is to have participants from many countries, and the women's match racing was hardly practicable. I believe that it is sensible that the keelboat has been replaced by a women's skiff."

The Bol d'Or winning mixed D35 catamaran crew, skippered by Dona Bertarelli. Image copyright Loris von Siebenthal/www.myimage.ch

"Le multicoque n'a jamais été aussi "tendance" et d'autant plus depuis la dernière Coupe de l'America. J'avais déjà trouvé une aberration que le multicoque soit enlevé des JO. Maintenant, il a été remis une série multicoque mixte obligatoire qui n'a non plus pas beaucoup de sens à mon avis.

"Le multicoque devarit avoir une série masculine (qui est "open", donc possibilité d'être mixte) et une série féminine, surtout au vu de l'engouement du public et des médias pour ce support.

"L'objectif des JO est qu'il y ait beaucoup de pays participants et, le match race féminin étant peu pratiqué, je trouve cela juste qu'il remplace le "keelboat" par un "skiff" féminin."

So, mixed multihull sailor Dona Bertarelli believes that there should be two multihull medals at the Olympics; one open and one for women. She is in favour of the introduction of the women's skiff for reasons of its wide acessibility around the world.

Ladycat

Match Race Germany: Who Will Win the Big Prize in Germany?

Match Race Germany startet mit freiem Training-Wer gewinnte den großen Preis von Deutschland?

Close racing at Match Race Germany. Image copyright Rosaly Magg/www.matchrace.de

by Eberhard Magg in translation by SailRaceWin

The favourites list as long as seldom seen before. Five helmsman from the Top Ten in the Match Race World rankings are at the start, the boats are new, the internet TV live: On Tuesday the 14th edition of Match Race Germany begins off Langenargen on Lake Constance (Bodensee) with training from 9.30am.

Twelve professional teams from nine countries will train in two sessions and test the new Bavaria 40S boats a day before the beginning of the German Grand Prix. On Wednesday, at 9am, the first racing will commence for the approx. US$50,000 prize money and valuable points for the world championship of the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT).

The finale of the only German part of the World Championship will be staged, after more than 100 duels between the best match racers in the world, early in the afternoon of 29th May. The organizers and the host, Yacht Club Langenargen, with race officer Rudi Magg, again expect approximately 35,000 spectators at the sailing festival on Lake Constance with its sportingly attractive onshore and evening programme, many cultural highpoints and concerts (with free entry!).

In German:

Gusty conditions for Ian Williams at Match Race Germany. Image copyright Rosaly Magg/www.matchrace.de

Die Favoritenkreis ist groß wie selten zuvor, fünf Steuerleute der Top Ten der Match Race Weltrangliste sind am Start, die Boote neu, das Internet-Fernsehen live dabei: Am Dienstag beginnt das 14. Match Race Germany vor Langenargen am Bodensee mit dem Freien Training ab 9.30 Uhr.

Zwölf Profimannschaften aus neun Ländern werden einen Tag vor Beginn des Grand Prix von Deutschland in zwei Trainingseinheiten erstmals die neuen Boote vom Typ Bavaria 40S testen, bevor am Mittwoch um 9 Uhr der erste Startschuss im Kampf um rund 50.000 US-Dollar Preisgeld und wertvolle Punkte für die Weltmeisterschaftswertung der World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) fällt.

Das Finale des einzigen deutschen WM-Laufes steigt nach mehr als 100 Duellen der besten Matchracer der Welt am frühen Nachmittag des 29. Mai. Die Veranstalter und der gastgebende Yacht-Club Langenargen mit Wettfahrtleiter Rudi Magg erwarten wieder rund 35.000 Zuschauer zum Segelfest am Bodensee mit seinem sportlich-attraktiven Land- und Abendprogramm, vielen kulturellen Höhepunkten und Konzerten (freier Eintritt!).

Training Groups

Morning Group (0930 – 1300)
Francesco Bruni (ITA, Mascalzone Latino Team)
Peter Gilmour (AUS, YANMAR Racing)
Stefan Meister (Berlin, Deutscher Match Race Meister)
Eric Monnin (SUI, Ocalys Corum Match Race Team)
Phil Robertson (NZL, WAKA Racing Team)
Will Tiller (NZL, Full Metal Jacket Racing)

Afternoon Group (1400 – 1730)
Johnnie Berntsson (SWE, Berntsson Sailing Team)
Björn Hansen (SWE, Mekonomen Sailing Team)
Damien Iehl (FRA, French Match Racing Team)
Mathieu Richard (FRA, French Match Racing Team)
Jesper Radich (DEN, Adrian Lee & Partners Racing Team)
Evgeniy Neugodnikov (RUS, Synergy)

Match Race Germany