SailRaceWin

Friday, 26 February 2010

RC44: Paul Cayard reports on Day One of the Fleet Racing in Dubai

by Paul Cayard

The fleet racing portion of the Maktoum Trophy started today with four very competitive races in great sailing conditions. The wind strength was between 20 and 12 knots from the south all day. It was shifty with the wind coming off the land so that made things tricky and it did get a bit softer toward the end of the day but the boats were powered up and planing downwind all day.

There was so much dust and sand flying in the air that you could not see more than a mile. We were only 2 miles offshore and we could not see land in the first two races.

Team Aqua had a "blinder" as the Kiwis would say. They sailed very well in three of the races and got really lucky in the last one to come out with a 2,1,2,1. On Katusha we had an ok day with a 5,5,2,8 and we are in 5th. The fleet stays very close together in these conditions and small mistakes can cost 3-4 boats. We were over the start line early in the first race and battled back to 5th. Even in the race we were second, we were back in the pack at the first mark. So, there is plenty of mixing and you just have to hang tough all the way to the end.

There is no "coastal" race here this time, so just more of the windward leeward racing tomorrow.

The forecast for tomorrow and Saturday is for more of the southerly winds, even going southeasterly, and a bit stronger. Four races in this breeze is a good work out for everyone.

Cayard Sailing

Aussie 18 Foot Skiffs: Awesome Images of the J.J. Giltinan Championships 2010

Image copyright Frank Quealey.

Image copyright Frank Quealey.

Gotta Love It 7 avoids the Manly Ferry and capsizes

1... Image copyright Frank Quealey.

2... Image copyright Frank Quealey.

3... Image copyright Frank Quealey.

Gone. Image copyright Frank Quealey.

More racing images

Image copyright Frank Quealey.

Gotta Love It 7 wins the last race and the series. Image copyright Frank Quealey.

The winners: Gotta Love It 7. Image copyright Frank Quealey.

Flying 18s

JVT: The antipodal point for Groupama 3

Jacques Caraës on board Groupama 3. Image copyright Team Groupama.

by Vincent Borde and Caroline Muller

At 52° S and 172° E, Groupama 3 is positioned at a point which is practically antipodal to the finish point off Ushant! With a 360 mile lead over the reference time this Thursday lunchtime, which is the equivalent of a good half a day, Franck Cammas and his men are carving out a course in almost ideal conditions to the South of New Zealand.

In fact it isn't quite the Créac'h lighthouse which corresponds with the point on the globe which is diametrically opposite to where Franck Cammas and his men were located this Thursday noon, but rather Dublin... Indeed the 25 to 30 knot SW to W'ly wind blowing offshore of Campbell Island, 350 miles to the South of New Zealand, has enabled the giant trimaran to make good headway to the SE, which is particularly positive in terms of the gains made in relation to the goal. Indeed the further South the boat sails, the shorter the distance she will have to cover to make Cape Horn. This is the principle behind the "La mer est ronde" (The Sea is Round - Deniau): not only has Groupama 3 been stretching out her lead over Orange 2 since the Crozet Islands, but she also has less distance to cover to get to the third cape in the Jules Verne Trophy!

"The moon has been visible again over the past two nights: there's a wonderful light which is facilitating control at the helm and any manoeuvres that have to be made. Furthermore, we've passed behind a front so we can see some beautiful breaks in the cloud, which are filled with stars. Earlier on we passed within three miles of Auckland Island, which is the first land we've seen since setting out from Ushant... It was nice: a very wild island, without human life, with waterfalls running into the sea! It's the end of the world, lost in the Pacific Ocean..." said Franck Cammas at the 1130 UTC video conference with Groupama's Race HQ in Paris, in the presence of French TV presenter, Maïtena Biraben.

Tomorrow the International Date Line

Still behind a depression circulating at 60° S, Groupama 3 is making headway in a slightly irregular breeze, both in terms of strength and direction, though the sea is undulating in an increasingly harmonious manner. As such making thirty knots of boat speed isn't a hard pace to maintain and the boat and crew alike are not suffering. Their excellent VMG (velocity made good) is also scheduled to continue over the next few days too. Indeed a front is in the process of catching up with the giant trimaran, which will cause the breeze to shift round to the NW; an extremely favourable rotation for slipping along towards Cape Horn. In fact current routing is announcing a rounding of this bare rock at the end of next week; a moment which will be synonymous with liberation, the way out, the end, the boundary stone, which marks the far edge of the Southern Ocean on a circumnavigation of the globe.

"By Thursday we won't be far off Cape Horn and it'll be a real deliverance because we'll be back in milder, warmer lands again. Right now though, it's becoming increasingly cold! Yet this type of sailing is also a part of what we came here for... The `No Exit' life we've been leading over the past 25 days isn't a problem: mood changes are always negative, so we restrain ourselves and come to terms with it... we're getting to know each other well though!"

The same day twice!

"When things are monotonous it's a good sign! It means that the trajectory is straight and we're making fast headway... and that the wind is stable and steady. It's down to the fact that it was monotonous that we were able to go so fast in the Indian Ocean! Right now things have changed a bit in the sense that we're further South and on port tack. The sea is different too and the sky is clearer. We're still using UTC time but it's dark: it's midnight local time here."

The next virtual line to mark this round the world is the International Date Line, along the longitude of 180°. It lies around 600 miles to the East of New Zealand and is diametrically opposite to the Greenwich meridian! As Jules Verne explained in his novel "Around the World in Eighty Days", Franck Cammas and his men will earn the right to experience 26th March twice over...

Groupama 3's log (departure on 31st January at 13h 55' 53'' UTC)
Day 1 (1st February 1400 UTC): 500 miles (deficit = 94 miles)
Day 2 (2nd February 1400 UTC): 560 miles (lead = 3.5 miles)
Day 3 (3rd February 1400 UTC): 535 miles (lead = 170 miles)
Day 4 (4th February 1400 UTC): 565 miles (lead = 245 miles)
Day 5 (5th February 1400 UTC): 656 miles (lead = 562 miles)
Day 6 (6th February 1400 UTC): 456 miles (lead = 620 miles)
Day 7 (7th February 1400 UTC): 430 miles (lead = 539 miles)
Day 8 (8th February 1400 UTC): 305 miles (lead = 456 miles)
Day 9 (9th February 1400 UTC): 436 miles (lead = 393 miles)
Day 10 (10th February 1400 UTC): 355 miles (lead = 272 miles)
Day 11 (11th February 1400 UTC): 267 miles (deficit = 30 miles)
Day 12 (12th February 1400 UTC): 247 miles (deficit = 385 miles)
Day 13 (13th February 1400 UTC): 719 miles (deficit = 347 miles)
Day 14 (14th February 1400 UTC): 680 miles (deficit = 288 miles)
Day 15 (15th February 1400 UTC): 651 miles (deficit = 203 miles)
Day 16 (16th February 1400 UTC): 322 miles (deficit = 376 miles)
Day 17 (17th February 1400 UTC): 425 miles (deficit = 338 miles)
Day 18 (18th February 1400 UTC): 362 miles (deficit = 433 miles)
Day 19 (19th February 1400 UTC): 726 miles (deficit = 234 miles)
Day 20 (20th February 1400 UTC): 672 miles (deficit = 211 miles)
Day 21 (21th February 1400 UTC): 584 miles (deficit = 124 miles)
Day 22 (22nd February 1400 UTC): 607 miles (deficit = 137 miles)
Day 23 (23rd February 1400 UTC): 702 miles (lead = 60 miles)
Day 24 (24th February 1400 UTC): 638 miles (lead = 208 miles)
Day 25 (25th February 1400 UTC): 712 miles (lead = 371 miles)

WSSRC record for the Pacific Ocean crossing (from the South of Tasmania to Cape Horn)
Orange 2 (2005): 8d 18h 08'

Cammas - Groupama

RC44: Team Aqua is back on top in the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy

Chris Bake and his Team Aqua dominated the first day of the fleet regatta with two victories and two second places. The team from the UAE sits seven points ahead of Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis and Igor Lah’s Ceeref after four races

A great start at the pin end for Team Aqua during one of Thursday's fleet races. Image copyright Nico Martinez/RC44.

by Bernard Schopfer

The conditions were absolutely fantastic today for the first day of the fleet regatta, with 15-18 knots breeze and a very warm sunshine.

Coming back to the top in style after a difficult match race, Chris Bake’s Team Aqua dominated the day and currently leads the overall ranking ahead of Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis. "It’s a relief", said Bake at the end of the day. “We had a tough time last year in the Gold Cup and earlier in the week in the match race, so it is great to be back on top. In fact we all know how to sail well. Our main issue was to understand the mistakes we did and not to repeat them. Today our boat speed was great and we sailed well; I am very happy."

Team Aqua started the day with a bullet, sailing conservatively in the middle of the course and extending its lead at every shift. Igor Lah’s Ceeref finished second whilst Paul Cayard’s Katusha, with Bob Little at the helm, managed to climb back up to fifth after a premature start.

Team Sea Dubai was first to reach the second race’s top mark. They immediately jibed whereas all the other teams carried on sailing on starboard tack. The punishment was immediate, and Sea Dubai rounded the bottom mark in seventh. Team No Way Back benefited from this to take the lead and win the race ahead of Team Aqua and an excellent Team Austria. It was a nice revenge for the Dutch team, unfortunate in the first race when they got a knot in their spinnaker, finishing fourth instead of fighting for victory.

The wind started to drop a little bit during the third race, becoming shiftier as the sun was going down. Katusha and Puerto Calero started at the Committee boat and immediately tacked to port whilst Team Aqua went to the left. Paul Cayard’s strategy initially seemed to pay, until a massive left shift gave the lead to Aqua. Bake then controlled his opponents, winning for the second time ahead of Katusha and a very consistent Ceeref. We improved a lot”, said the Slovenian owner and helmsman Igor Lah. “Especially in the pre-starts: our tactician Rod Davis made me work hard and it really paid off. However what I love most is the spinnaker rides, when we are surfing at full speed. It was very exciting."

The last race could have cost a lot to Chris Bake and his team. Recalled for a premature start, Team Aqua rounded the top mark a long way behind the leader Artemis, and jibed immediately instead of following the pack. Seven minutes later, Team Aqua rounded the bottom mark in third, before overtaking Team Sea Dubai and finishing second behind Artemis. A great come-back! "Team Aqua did a fantastic job and I congratulate them”, said the Swedish team’s helmsman Torbjorn Tornqvist. "I am very pleased with our day", he added. “Our team is entirely new; there’s not one guy left from last year. So we are learning to sail together, and the guys need to discover the boat. Our results so far are very good."

Indeed, Artemis is currently second overall, seven points behind Team Aqua and two points ahead of Ceeref. The fleet regatta carries on until Saturday, with eight more races on the schedule. There is still a long way to go.

They said:

Chris Bake, helmsman, Team Aqua: "We are a strong team because we can overcome bad results and stay focused as a group. Our main strength is our team spirit, our hard work and Cameron’s leadership. Our goal this year is to remain competitive."

Torbjorn Tornqvist, helmsman, Artemis: "I haven’t sailed for five months and our team is entirely new, so I am very pleased with our day. I know Terry Hutchinson from the TP 52s, but we have never sailed together. Today was a great day. We had everything: a good wind, interesting strategic choices, a competitive fleet. It was very difficult and absolutely great."

Adam Minoprio and Mike Perris resp. tactician and helmsman, BMW ORACLE Racing: "It’s the first time we have sailed together, the first time Mike has steered this boat, the first time we have sailed with a jib, the first time... We feel that we are getting better at every race, so it is positive. But we know there is still a long way to go. The level is very good and there are only good people around; we need to practice a lot."

Igor Lah, helmsman, Ceeref: "The core of our crew is always the same, so we have a good routine on board. When it is as shifty as today, Rod Davis and Michele Ivaldi talk a lot about the stragegy. And at the end, Rod makes the decisions. It works well."

René Mangold, helmsman, Team Austria: "I am very happy and surprised by our results. We are pure amateurs, so it is difficult to find people available and our team changes from one race to the next. But we are improving a lot, our starts were good and I am happy with our speed. In the past, when we were reaching the top mark in a good position, it was total panic on board: "What shall we do now..." But now we are very relaxed about it, we just do the best we can."

Fleet race, provisional results after four races:

(Ranking, name of team, helmsman, results, points)

1) Team Aqua (Chris Bake), 1, 2, 1, 2 – 6 points
2) Artemis (Torbjorn Tornqvist), 3, 4, 5, 1 - 13 points
3) CEEREF (Igor Lah), 2, 7, 3, 3 - 15 points
4) Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema), 4, 1, 7, 7 - 19 points
5) Katusha (Bob Little), 5, 5, 2, 8 - 20 points
6) Team Sea Dubai (Raimondo Tonelli), 6, 6, 8, 4 - 24 points
7) Team Austria (René Mangold), 8, 3, 9, 5 - 25 points
8) Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (Daniel Calero), 7, 8, 4, 9 - 28 points
9) BMW ORACLE Racing (Mike Perris), 9, 9, 6, 6 - 30 points

RC44

IRC Classes join the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy

Image from the last Maktoum Sailing Trophy in 2008, copyright Jacques Vapillon.

by Sharon Allison

Two distinct elements form Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy this year; the first has already begun with the RC 44 Match Race, and the second, the IRC classes race will start in conjunction with the RC 44 fleet racing Thursday on a separate course in Mina Seyahi. Both organized by Dubai International Marine Club with the assistance of a full international Race Committee another eighteen boats will join the nine RC 44 teams.

There are three IRC class divisions split according to the size and weight of the boat with the largest boat at sixty feet in length and the smallest twenty-four feet. The wind tomorrow is expected blow up to eighteen knots and build towards the weekend with an early morning forecast on Friday of twenty two knots calming to nine knots in the middle of the day with predictions of twenty plus on Saturday. It all makes for interesting racing and for one of the teams, Go North, it will be quite an experience. All on board are below eighteen years old and skipper, Frederic Jacobs will be entering the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy for the second time with a rookie crew as far as the Trophy is concerned. Taher Adil Ismail Mohd. Taher and Ahmed Ismail Mohd. Taher both from the UAE have been racing on Go North for two seasons with Frederic and have had many successes. They recently came first in the Jumeirah Regatta and were proud of the fact that they were the youngest competitors.

The IRC class boats had a practice race today in very light winds and racing will start at 10:00 on the 25th February with three days of fleet racing finishing with prize giving on the 27th February.

Entrants:
No. Yacht Name IRC No Skipper Name Owner Div
1 Drilling System 1.103 Francis Carr Francis Carr 1
2 Carrera Sun Glasses 1.156 Kristian Tzanov Kristian Tzanov 1
3 Yo! 1.238 Toby O' Connell Toby O' Connell 1
4 Team Premier TP 52 1.362 Hannes Waimer Hannes Waimer 1
5 Mattafix 1.049 David Rostant Gowen / Rostant / Thomson 2
6 TWISTER 1.020 Karen Rowlands Glywn Rowlands 2
7 Privateer 0.978 Matt & Bekky Britton Ed Bowen Matt , Bekky and Ed Bowen 2
8 Boracic 1.039 Calum Mckie Calum Mckie 2
9 MACE 1.010 Mike Jelfs Mike Jelfs 2
10 UNWIND 1.023 Dominique Leroux Emiliano Boccaletti 2
11 The Office 1.037 Michael Lawton Michael Lawton 2
12 Rush Knot 0.992 Phil Hosking Lee Turn Bull & Phil Hosking 2
13 VICTORIA (AMC TEAM) 0.868 Maxim Taranov Mikhail Rassudov 3
14 Go North 0.918 Frederic Jacobs Sh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nehayan 3
15 DIMC 1 1.022 Peter Eldreige DIMC 3
16 DIMC 2 1.022 Conrad Schwindt DIMC 3
17 Kernowek 0.872 David Stuckey David Stuckey 3
18 Tosser 0.886 Bill Coutts / Tom Coldcott Tom Coldcott 3

Dubai International Marine Club

CentrePort Wellington International Youth Match Racing Championship - Day Two

by Matt Chan

Racing resumed this morning outside the club and Round Robin 1 was was completed just before lunch today.

Royal Sydney Yacht Squardron skipper Jordan Reece topped Round Robin 1 followed by fellow Australian Will Mackenzie, Matt Steven finished in 3rd and rounding out the top four was Tim Coltman.

Day 2 of the CentrePort International Youth Match Racing Regatta was just one of those days. Earlier in the day a side stay jumped out of the spreader and in the afternoon a traveller cleat was replaced. In the flight 7 re-match Mackenzie beat Reece by a 3 minute 33 second margin who had a temporary mainsheet failure.

RPNYC skipper Matt Steven got off to a great start in Round Robin 2 with 3 consecutive wins, matched only by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia skipper Will Mckenzie. Round Robin 1 winner Jordan Reece was unable to sustain the momentum and has dropped his first three matches in round robin 2.

At 4.30pm Thursday afternoon the halfway mark of Round Robin 2 was reached but the winds had risen too high to continue. All sailors retired to the Wardroom to enjoy the social side of the regatta and Round 2 will resume Friday.

Results to date

Round Robin 1

1) Reece RSYS 6 wins - 1 loss
2) Mackenzie CYCA 5-2
3) Steven RPNYC 5-2
4) Coltman RPNYC 5-2
5) Porebski RPNYC 3-4
6) Pooley RNZYS 2-5
7) Waterhouse RPAYC 1-6
8) Dawson RNZYS 1-6

Round Robin 2 - part results

Mackenzie CYCA 4-2
Steven RPNYC 4-0
Waterhouse RPAYC 2-1
Porebski RPNYC 2-2
Pooley RNZYS 2-3
Coltman RPNYC 1-2
Reece RSYS 1-3
Dawson RNZYS 0-3

Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club