One Week Until 2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award Winners are Named

ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year awards. Image copyright Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi.

by Giles Pearman

In just one week from today, on Tuesday, 10 November, Busan, Korea will play host to a spectacular ceremony and presentation where the male and female winners of the 2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards will be announced.

The Busan Yacht Club in Haeundae-gu, Busan, Korea, is the venue for the 2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards Dinner and Presentation. It is a night to celebrate sailing, for sailors and by sailors. The evening will be hosted by legendary Danish sailor Jesper Bank, a triple Olympic medallist and winner of the ISAF Match Racing World Championship, himself a past nominee for the World Sailor Award.

HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, an enthusiastic sailor and regular on the Farr 40 circuit, will announce the male and female winners of this year's Awards. The Crown Prince and Lionel Schurch of Rolex SA will present the winners with the unique marble and silver World Sailor Trophy and a personalized Rolex timepiece.

This year four female and six male nominees have been shortlisted for the Award, based on their achievements during the qualifying period of 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2009.

The 2009 nominees are:

FEMALE
Sam Davies (GBR)
Hilary Lister (GBR)
Blanca Manchón (ESP)
Anna Tunnicliffe (USA)

MALE
Pascal Bidégorry (FRA)
Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA)
Paul Goodison (GBR)
Torben Grael (BRA)
Nathan Outteridge (AUS)

The ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award is the highest award a sailor can receive in recognition of his/her outstanding achievements. The Awards are presented annually based on a worldwide selection process that incorporates an open invitation to nominations, followed by a vote amongst the 130 member nations of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

The Awards have been held every year since 1994 and past winners include Peter Blake, Ellen MacArthur, Robert Scheidt and Russell Coutts. In 2008 the Awards were presented to four-time Olympic medal winners Ben Ainslie (GBR) and Alessandra Sensini (ITA).

ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year

Bitter End Yacht Club, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands - Day 2

Bitter End Yacht Club

by Paul Cayard

Monday was the Defiance Day race here in the epicenter of yacht racing. We started at 10:00 with the first race consisting of a 7 mile leeward course and a second race of a 7 mile windward leg. We did not have Gatorade or anything like that onboard. We had water but people were using that to clean their sunglasses. We had a golden beverage that had some bubbles in it. Not quite sure what it was but it seemed to make everything seem ok.

Apparently there has been a lot of angst over some race that is supposed to take place in Multihulls some time in the near future, or maybe not so near.... I am not clear on that. So the idea floated by all the hardcore "amateurs" in attendance here was, why not get that race over with so we can move on.

So Ken Read had his catamaran and I had mine. They were one design Cats and we had our guest crews onboard as usual. Onboard the "Leopard", we had a great run down to the Bath's winning the Catamaran division with Captain Jim at the helm. On the way back, Ken won and we finished third, so we tied. Not sure what we solved there but we finished off the contest in the Pub playing pool at the Mount Gay party. As the sun went down, everyone seemed happy and we agreed to meet again tomorrow for more racing.

There were about 15 yachts in the race, most of the "pro's" were in IC 24's which we will race in the rest of the week. Tom Leweck of Scuttlebutt fame actually won the Multihull division with two 2nds. Keith Musto of the UK won the IC 24 division. I note that the two skippers have a combined age of 150 years which goes to show you that experience counts in this sport.

For those of you who don't know the "Bath's", it is a very cool rock formation at the west end of Virgin Gorda. There are some caves and deep water pools formed by these massive granite boulders that look like someone placed them there. We had a bar-b-q down there in between the two races.

Sunday I had a lot of fun racing Hobie Cats with my daughter Allie. She was on the trapeze and I helmed. We managed to have the best score after three races. That was my first multihull racing experience. Today we obviously did not fair as well but the music was much better on the Moorings 4000.

Tuesday things start to get serious around here.... 3 boat racing. I have done this once before and am trying to remember how it works. I am not going to sweat it too much tonight though. Maybe tomorrow before the start I will have another think about it.

Cayard Sailing
Bitter End Yacht Club

America's Cup: Société Nautique de Genève to appeal decision on Ras Al Khaimah for 33rd America’s Cup

by Alinghi media

The Defender of the 33rd America’s Cup, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), is to appeal New York Supreme Court Justice Kornreich’s decision of 30 October rejecting Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates as the venue for the 33rd America’s Cup. SNG has applied for an expedited appeal to avoid any delay to the February 2010 Deed of Gift Match.

The choice of Ras Al Khaimah was made based on the plain language of Justice Cahn’s (Kornreich’s predecessor) May 2008 Court Order that ruled the location of the 33rd America’s Cup Match to be in ‘Valencia or any other location selected by the SNG’.

The Emirati venue was selected by the Defender for several reasons: the suitability of the weather conditions for a February Deed of Gift Match; the infrastructure offered by the country and the experience the UAE brings in organising world class sporting events.

Alinghi
Société Nautique de Genève

America's Cup: Graham McKenzie nominated as SNG expert witness for NY Supreme Court hearing

by Alinghi media

Société Nautique de Genève has nominated Graham McKenzie (NZL) as an expert witness for the New York Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday 4 November.

McKenzie was a member of the 32nd America’s Cup Jury and has sailed both competitively and for leisure in New Zealand on a wide range of yachts.

He retired as partner from Bell Gully, a New Zealand law firm, in 2006 and is a Notary Public. McKenzie is a Barrister and Solicitor in New Zealand and Queensland, Australia, and is a Director of several public companies. He is also Deputy Chairman of Saint Kentigern Trust Board and a Trustee of the Bruce McLaren Trust.

McKenzie and the Golden Gate Yacht Club’s appointed expert will chose a third to assist Justice Kornreich with the technical issues still pending for the 33rd America’s Cup.

Note from SailRaceWin: It is our understanding that GGYC has nominated Bryan Willis (GBR) as their representative for the court.

Alinghi
Société Nautique de Genève

VOR: Spanish Castle to White Night Book

by Lizzie (Green) Ward

Eighty-eight men set off from beneath the ramparts of Alicante’s Castle of Santa Bárbara, but only 36 would journey the full 37,000 miles to finish in the White Nights of St Petersburg. Japan’s Black Tide, brutal weather, injuries, and even the credit crunch all took their toll.

Published today by dakini Media, London, and voted the Best Sports Illustrated Book at Sportel, Monaco in early October, this is the story of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09, ripping and roaring through the seven seas – from Spain, past Africa and on to Asia, round the Americas and back to Europe. It’s a story of endurance, deprivation and adventure.



This stunning book is written by novelist and navigator Mark Chisnell and is available in English and Spanish.

It charts the tale of some of the world’s best offshore sailors who left Alicante in October 2008 in pursuit of victory in the Volvo Ocean Race. It follows them through the ensuing nine months as they endured every possible emotion, their human story intertwined with the raw elements of nature and the extraordinary technology on which their success, and sometimes even their survival, depended.

It is illustrated with striking photography from a team that both followed and participated in the race, including Rick Tomlinson, whose work has been featured in National Geographic. A team of eight media crew members (MCMs) raced around the world capturing the drama as it unfolded and among them was Rick Deppe, PUMA’s MCM, who was also a cameraman for the Emmy Award nominated Discovery Channel documentary, Deadliest Catch.

Author, Mark Chisnell, said: “The latest Volvo Ocean Race was a fantastic event with so many memorable moments to bring alive in the book. It was quite a challenge to capture all of it in words, but I tried to apply the lessons about story-telling that I’ve learned from writing my novels. The book looks beautiful, the team did a great job on photography, picture selection, design and production and I want to thank everyone involved for their fantastic efforts”.

Also available in addition to Spanish Castle to White Night, is a special Nordic edition – High Seas High Stakes (English language) which includes an Ericsson Racing Team prologue and epilogue written by Sean McNeill, a sailing writer and active racer, and imagery by premier Swedish photographer, Oskar Kihlborg. Each book includes a race highlights DVD of over two hours, making it a must-have at €40 plus postage and packing.

Spanish Castle to White Night (English and Spanish) and High Seas High Stakes (Nordic edition) are available to buy online at http://www.volvooceanrace.org/multimedia/book/ for immediate delivery.

Volvo Ocean Race

TJV: Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson Ready to Race Across the Atlantic in the Transat Jacques Vabres

Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson prepare for the TJV on board Aviva. Image copyright The Press Association.

by Kelly Russell

On Sunday 8 November, British sailing duo Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson will start in the ninth edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre race from France to Costa Rica, onboard the Open 60 racing yacht Aviva. The Transat Jacques Vabre will be the first competitive race since the epic Vendée Globe round the world race which saw Caffari finish sixth out of 30 starters to become the first woman to sail solo, non-stop, both ways around the world.

Joining Caffari, Thompson and Aviva on the start line, will be 13 other Open 60 racing yachts of which 11 competed in the Vendée Globe and three are British. The 4800-mile course, following the historic coffee trade route, will be the first time Caffari and Thompson have sailed two-handed together having been rivals throughout the 2008 / 09 edition of the Vendée Globe.


Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson sailing together on board Aviva. Image copyright The Press Association.

Dee Caffari said:
“I can’t wait to be back out on the water racing Aviva and the opportunity to sail with Brian as co-skipper is fabulous. We were so close to each other during the Vendée Globe it’s as if we’ve already spent a lot of time sailing together. We’re determined to pull off a great performance for the British."

Brian Thompson added:
“We have a quick boat and get on well together so I believe we will be competitive out there. With so many new Open 60s racing it is going to be intense, but very exciting.”

The Transat Jacques Vabre has twenty entries in total assembled from two different sailing classes - the Imoca Open 60 monohulls and the Open 50 multihulls. Previous editions of the race have concluded in either Brazil or Columbia with Costa Rica added for the first time this year. The new route will take the fleet across the Caribbean Sea, requiring both tactics and the ability to adapt to changing weather conditions, with the possibility of a light wind finish in the Western Caribbean Sea or even the tail end of a late season hurricane.

Aviva, the world’s fifth largest insurance group, has supported Caffari since 2005 and announced a new partnership with Caffari last month as the racing team’s founding partner. Dee is now actively searching for a new title sponsor to support her 2012 Vendée Globe campaign.

Aviva Ocean Racing
Transat Jacques Vabre

Olympics: 2010 International Team Access at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy

The WPNSA 2012 Olympic sailing venue slipway in use by sailors. Image copyright Katie Doerr.

by Cailah Leask

The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) has announced new information on international team training access to the venue during 2010. The opportunity for International teams to train at the venue was announced earlier in the season and teams from across Europe including Italy, Spain and Sweden as well as the more distant shores of Japan and Brazil have already been honing their skills on the waters of Weymouth and Portland. With just under 1000 days to go to the start of the Games, mapping training programmes and booking venues is an important element to campaigns.

A range of packages, depending on the size of the team has been developed and these are available either on a 12 monthly basis from July to June in the following year, or on an arrangement for the whole period to the end of June, 2012. The Academy has just announced that to assist teams to establish themselves at the venue prior to major European events next year, a new half year rate will now apply for access from January 1st to June 30th 2010. These packages are available from January to June, 2010 at 50% of the full year rate. Queries on access should be directed to Rachel Sadler at the venue and then interested International teams will be able to make training arrangements via their Member National Authority or other organisations recognised by the International Sailing Federation.

The packages will continue to include standard dinghy boat parking and launching, container storage, rib launching / mooring / storage and cranage for keel boats as well as full access to car parking, changing rooms and canteen.

The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is the first sailing venue in recent history to welcome international sailors to train and compete at the completed venue prior to the Games. This is an important step giving elite level sailors and windsurfers the opportunity to use the actual London 2012 on-shore facilities and race courses for training purposes that will ultimately be used by both the Olympic and Paralympic competitors.

Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy