The first three races of the fleet racing part of the RC44 World Championship were held today in very light winds here in Lanzarote.
BMW Oracle led the results with a 2, 5, 2 and USA 17, the winner of the Match Racing, is in second place. Artemis had a good day and is in 4th place and we on Katusha had a tough day and are in 12th. Ironically, the only boat behind us is the other Russian team, Synergy.
Racing continues tomorrow and the forecast isn't much better. Normally, the Canary Islands are blessed with steady trade winds but the Azores high has been displaced this week by a series of low pressure systems and associated fronts. Basically, we are in the wake of all that which is just a mess of turbulance.
Jose Juan Calero guides BMW ORACLE Racing into first place after three races
A good start by No Way Back, (right), ahead of Peninsula Petroleum, who had an excellent day, Ceeref and 17 (left). Image copyright Nico Martinez/RC44 World Championships.
by RC44 media
Sailors have a superstition that winning the practice race prior to a world championship is bad luck. Superstition be damned.
Yesterday, Jose Juan Calero guided BMW ORACLE Racing to first place in the practice race for the RC 44 Fleet Race World Championship for the Islas Canarias Puerto Calero Cup.
Today, after the first three races, the team leads the standings with the low score of 9 points on finishes of 2-5-2.
“I feel like I’m in heaven,” said Calero. “I’m learning quite a lot with these guys. It’s a life experience. I’m so happy.”
The crew that includes four-time America’s ‘Cup winner Russell Coutts as tactician showed great speed in the light winds, even coming back from a penalty turn in Race 2.
Peninsula Petroleum. Image copyright Nico Martinez/RC44 World Championship.
Calero, 34, hails from Lanzarote, and has raced previous RC 44 events aboard the family’s boat, Islas Canarias Puerto Calero. But the conditions are so abnormal this week that any local knowledge he may have brought to the crew is nullified.
“These winds are not very common,” Calero said. “Normally we have northeasterly winds, so these light winds from south and west are very weird. We’re all learning together.”
Although Jose Juan isn’t racing on the family boat, it wasn’t far from his mind today. In fact, it was prominent in his sight line.
After rounding the windward mark in the second race, BMW ORACLE Racing began to roll over to windward of Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, helmed by younger brother Danny Calero.
BMW ORACLE Racing. Image copyright Nico Martinez/RC44 World Championship.
But Jose Juan Calero was too close to windward and the BMW ORACLE Racing spinnaker grazed the rigging of Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, forcing the on-water umpires to issue a penalty to BMW ORACLE Racing.
“We’ll have to talk about that at the family table,” said the Jose Juan Calero. “I have to tell [Danny] that doesn’t happen from the younger brother. He needs to respect seniority. But he was in the right and that’s it.”
Danny Calero, 30, laughed when told his older brother was going to change the locks on the family house.
“It was a funny situation,” said the younger Calero. “At the start of the first downwind leg we started going up a bit to gain some speed and their spinnaker hit us, so we protested them. It was good for us, but they recovered a lot. They did very good out of that.”
Jose Juan Calero’s recovery was impressive given the light, patchy wind that blew no more than 7 knots on the day. The conditions frustrated Vincenzo Onorato, leaving him drained.
The Italian who is president of the Mascalzone Latino Sailing Team is a six-time world champion, including three times in the competitive Farr 40 Class.
RC44 fleet. Image copyright Nico Martinez/RC44 World Championship.
He blazed off the start line of today’s first race for a wire-to-wire win, but then fell back in the pack afterwards with a pair of ninths, a result he blamed on the light winds.
“The first race was good but the other two were less than average,” said Onorato. “This is part of the game and that makes the class so fascinating. These are the kind of conditions I don’t like. I enjoy strong winds when you can surf and play. In light winds your concentration is a big problem.”
Video highlights from Day One of the RC44 Lanzarote 2010 fleet racing:
Racing resumes tomorrow with the first warning signal scheduled for 1130 local.
Sea Dubai. Image copyright Nico Martinez/RC44 World Championship.
RC 44 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ISLAS CANARIAS PUERTO CALERO CUP
Fleet Racing (after 3 races) 1. BMW ORACLE Racing (USA) Juan Jose Calero/Russell Coutts – 2-5-2 – 9 points 2. 17 (USA) Anders Myralf/Jimmy Spithill – 3-11-1 – 15 3. Team Sea Dubai (UAE) Harm Müeller-Spreer/Markus Weiser – 4-1-12 -- 17 4. Artemis (SWE) Torbjorn Tornqvist/Terry Hutchinson – 10-3-5 – 18 5. Mascalzone Latino (ITA) Vincenzo Onorato/Francesco Bruni – 1-9-9 – 19 6. No Way Back (NED) Pieter Heerema/Ray Davies – 5-6-8 – 19 7. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) Daniel Calero/Jose Maria Ponce – 7-2-13 – 22 8. Peninsula Petroleum (ESP) John Bassadone/Inaki Castaner – 12-4-6 – 22 9. Ceeref (SLO) Igor Lah/Rod Davis – 11-8-3 – 22 10. Team Aqua (UAE) Chris Bake/Cameron Appleton – 6-10-7 – 23 11. AEZ RC 44 Sailing Team (AUT) René Mangold/Christian Binder – 8-13-4 – 25 12. Katusha (RUS) Guennadi Timtchenko/Paul Cayard – 13-7-10 – 30 13. Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS) Maxim Logutenko/Evgeniy Neugodnikov – 9-12-11 – 32
Artemis Development Squad. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Artemis Ocean Racing.
by Camilla Green
Nine solo offshore sailing hopefuls, from across the British Isles, have today been selected as the first Development Squad of the Artemis Offshore Academy. The Academy, sponsored by the investment management company Artemis, was set up earlier this year to nurture British offshore sailing talent. The long-term aspiration of the Academy is to put a British sailor in a position to win the solo Vendée Globe in 2016 or 2020.
From an original list of over 50 applicants, those who made it to the shortlist were put through a grueling mental and physical selection process. They were pushed well beyond their comfort zones with nine ultimately chosen to be part of the Development Squad: * Oliver Bond (30, Southampton) * Nick Cherry (25, Birmingham/Southampton) * Sam Goodchild (20, Southampton) * Simon Hiscocks (37, Surrey/Portland) * Nick Houchin (26, Tadley, Hampshire) * Nigel King (41, Lymington) * Becky Scott (24, Scotland/Fleet) * Phil Sharp (29, Jersey) * Oliver Young (22, Saltash)
Nick Cherry (25) has been a noted match and team racer. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Artemis Ocean Racing.
As part of the Squad, they will begin a winter-long programme where they will develop the skills needed to perform as a world class offshore sailor. The Academy will be based from the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy until the end of November when they will relocate to La Grande Motte Figaro School (CEM). From here CEM Director Franck Citeau will manage a full programme for the sailors through to the end of March. At that point one of the Squad will be selected for the scholarship which will enable them to race in the 2011 French Figaro circuit in one of the Artemis Figaro boats. The remaining Squad will continue to train and take part in a series of races throughout 2011, including Royal Ocean Racing Club’s most famous race the Rolex Fastnet Race, and the Tour du Bretagne at the end of September.
Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Artemis Ocean Racing.
The group will be bolstered by two associate members, 36 year old Pip Hare (Felixstowe) and 37 year old Conrad Humphreys (Plymouth) who, instead of being provided with equipment and costs, will bring their own campaign to train with the Academy. As the project develops, the aim is that more people will move on from the Development Squad to become associate members and keep training with the Academy.
Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Artemis Ocean Racing.
Sailors will remain in the Development Squad for as long as they are attaining pre-agreed training goals. The aim is to allow sailors the time in the Figaro boats to develop their skills before moving into other classes or finding their own funding for a campaign. Further selections to top up the squad will be held in April and September 2011.
Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Artemis Ocean Racing.
Conrad Humphreys commented: “When the Artemis Offshore Academy was announced earlier this year, I immediately thought it was not only a great idea but also the missing link for UK aspiring and seasoned solo sailors. No one would argue that when compared to our French counterparts, we simply do not do enough collaborative training or development in between the major events. The Figaro championship is one of the best programmes for short-handed development and there is no secret to the fact that every Vendée Globe winner maintains close links with the class. I hope the Artemis Offshore Academy will become a place to nurture new talent and provide Associate sailors like myself with support to compete at the top level. I will be looking for a sponsor to do the Solitaire du Figaro in 2011 and the Transat in 2012 and I look forward to working with the rest of the squad over the coming 12 months.”
Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Artemis Ocean Racing.
Simon Hiscocks commented: “The British success in the Olympics is a direct result of a very long programme that the RYA has run right from the grass roots getting people learning to sail up to winning Olympic gold medals. And that whole thing has a massive structure behind it - you name it they are on it. Hopefully we can transfer that success into this field through this programme. The Artemis Offshore Academy opens up a whole new world of opportunities, not least of which is potentially being able to do the Vendée Globe, and I am really excited to be part of it.”
Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Artemis Ocean Racing.
John Thorn, Artemis Offshore Academy Performance Director commented: “From their application and CVs, we knew we had the sailors. It was then more a question of trying to identify some of the other traits that we felt were an important part of success in short sailing and offshore sailing. There were lots of elements that we were looking for.
Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Artemis Ocean Racing.
The nine development squad members that we have chosen have got tremendous potential – and we looked at that potential over short, medium and long term. But they are experienced sailors, they are technical competent sailors and they have the desire to win.
Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Artemis Ocean Racing.
We will identify what the sailors need and we will deliver that, using the best coaches, the best venues, the best resources we can. We’ll give them everything they need in order to be successful.
I am tremendously optimistic and truly believe, because we are building a foundation for long term success, that we will see an Artemis Offshore Academy sailor on the podium for the Vendée Globe. It is an incredibly exciting time and this is just the beginning.”
* With this new team, the We Are Water Foundation and the Fundació Navegació Oceànica Barcelona are affirming their support for international solidarity projects
* Two new skippers join the Spanish ranks in this second edition of the regatta
Barcelona's Jaume Mumbrú and Cali Sanmartí will race in the Barcelona World Race as the team We Are Water. The two skippers made their début in the Sailing Tour of Spain 2010, which they completed in a show of sporting spirit and strength in the face of adversity, having overcome various obstacles to finish.
Jaume Mumbrú is a lawyer with long career as a solo sailor and is one of the most active Spanish sailors in the Mini 650 Class, without having renounced racing on larger yachts, such as in the Round Europe 1999 onboard the IMOCA Open 60 Optral. Cali Sanmartí is an engineer and since 2003 he has been a professional yachtsman, specialising in large racing yachts. He has combined his entries in the Mini 650 regattas with races on larger yachts such as in the Voiles de St. Tropez and the Sydney-Horbart, as well as a double-handed ARC regatta with 63 footer Grand Filou.
The yacht chosen for the project is We Are Water, which will be unveiled for the Barcelona World Race at the end of the month, as the ambassador for solidarity projects from different organisations. The We Are Water Foundation is supported and driven by the Roca company. The foundation works towards raising awareness of a new attitude towards water and to carry out activities designed to ease the negative impact of a lack of water resources. The areas of activity include the intervention of infrastructures, education, health and research.
The We Are Water organisation will employ the framework of the Barcelona World Race to take the We Are Water Foundation name and objectives around the world. Also the boat will display the logos of other NGOs (Vicente Ferrer Foundation, Intermon Oxfam and Unicef) as well as other organisations and institutions with which the We Are Water Foundation and the FNOB collaborate, such as Educación Sin Fronteras and Zero Limits.
The FNOB collaborated with the Educación sin Fronteras foundation in the Barcelona World Race, an NGO whose activities are focussed on taking education to some of the most disadvantaged areas of the planet. The experience raised the visibility of the NGO and boosted its links around the world. Zero Limits is an organisation with the aim of setting up projects without limitations, focussing on the ability of people with a disability.
Andor Serra, Director General of the FNOB, on the participation of the We Are Water team in the Barcelona World Race: “Having new teams join this competition is crucial for the Barcelona World Race. For the future of an event like ours it's as important to have the world's experts onboard, as well as sailors starting off in the elite ranks of sailing competition. Also the presence of solidarity projects in the Barcelona World Race framework means that this regatta transcends the realms of sport”.
This week's Volvo Sailing Podcast looks at the World Match Racing Tour and TEAMORIGIN with Iain Percy; Pippa, Lady Blake, discusses becoming a Volvo Legends Regatta Ambassador, Chris Stanmore Major looks ahead to the Velux 5 Oceans, and Matt Sheahan talks about everything else!
Skippers Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier Benac (Sylvain Mondon, meteo, is just uot of shot to the right). Image copyright JM Liot/DPPI/Safran.
by Soazig Guého
Unlike the Ultimate multihull category, routing is not allowed for the IMOCA monohulls during this year’s Route du Rhum – La Banque Postale. How is Marc Guillemot preparing to deal with the weather in this race? By working with Sylvain Mondon, a forecaster with Météo France, who has had an amazing series of successes: he guided Lionel Lemonchois, when he shattered the race record in 2006, and Groupama 3, the winner of the last Jules Verne Trophy. We met up with him.
Q° - What is the most likely weather scenario in this Route du Rhum – La Banque Postale?
SM – The two basic patterns are firstly a series of low-pressure areas moving across the North Atlantic, which force the skippers to pass through several fronts in a row, or alternatively we are looking at a high-pressure area stuck over the British Isles. The first scenario imposes a lot of strategy, while the second means we can look forward to a race where speed is important to reach the trade winds. After that, the crossing itself will involve downwind sailing at moderate or high speed. In the final stretch, there is often a lot of uncertainty: will the trade winds be present or not? Will there be thunderstorms? … The goal is to avoid calm zones and the areas where there is too much wind or the seas are too heavy. Sometimes, this means choosing the least bad option.
What are the dangers and the greatest difficulties?
When the major weather patterns are well established, we can deal with them. It becomes more complicated for example with fronts, which can disappear or divide to form a second front. In those cases, we look at the data, which helps us to understand what is going on according to the visible elements and the tools that Marc has at his disposal. But that can only be done at the last moment just before the start… Apart from that we need to analyse thousands of hypotheses, which never does the skipper any harm.
How do you prepare beforehand with Marc Guillemot?
From the start of the season, we get to grips with the weather tools on board (Navimail and Synboat, two Météo France software programmes). But most of the work was done four years ago, and today, we’re really updating that knowledge. On top of that, we’re studying the commonest situations, like the ones people experienced in the last race. For example, on the day of the press conference for the Route du Rhum - La Banque Postale, we studied the 2006 race for the IMOCA boats. We have a debriefing after each major race: that is part of the long term training. When preparing for a race, we always rely on previous races. It’s work that lasts throughout the season.
What about during the week leading up to the start of the race?
We focus exclusively on the next race. From Thursday (28th October, the race starts on Sunday 31st October), we start to look at the conditions for the first few days of racing and as time goes by, we look further and further ahead. Day after day we look at the weather elements, where the forecasts are the most stable. According to each element, we deduce the way to tackle the weather and find the right trajectory and identify the moments, when there will be choices to make. If the forecasts are not stable, we try to identify the tricky areas where there is a lot at stake.
Do you show Marc certain points that he needs to pass?
No, not at all! I don’t give him a detailed route with waypoints. That’s not my role. Instead, we talk through the way systems are evolving. It’s a real discussion, over and over again to ensure that Marc remembers the moments and the important systems. For example, he must avoid going for a rest at a moment that is strategically important for the four or five days ahead in the race. From the outset of our work together, Marc and I have always worked that way. We talk things through and discuss everything in front of the screens looking at the various models.
Double Bonus Prize Pool, New Host City Bidding Process and New Boat Design Specification
Adam Minoprio (NZL), Lucy Macgregor (GBR) and Torvar Mirsky (AUS). Image copyright Chris Davies, WMRT.
by Audrey Lakai
The ISAF Match Racing World Championship, which is in its 22nd year and is now known as the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT), today committed its future to monohull match racing and unveiled its future strategy which has been designed to ensure the growth and sustainability of the discipline.
The strategy will focus on ensuring the tour continues to provide close combative head-to-head racing. Today’s press conference, which can be viewed again at www.wmrt.com, revealed that WMRT will be doubling the tour’s bonus prize pool to USD 500,000 meaning sailors will compete for a total prize fund in excess of USD 1,750,000 in 2011.
It was also announced that WMRT will be launching a new host city bidding process in the next 14 days which will add six new venues by 2013. To complement the addition of new cities and to ensure the Tour embraces developing technology, submissions will be invited from international designers and boat builders to create boats for the new events joining the tour.
Peter Gilmour presenting the Tour's plans. Image copyright Chris Davies, WMRT.
With the America’s Cup holders having clearly stated that they are starting with a clean sheet of paper by moving to catamaran racing for the foreseeable future, a void has been left in the historic framework of match racing. In order to address the void and create an effective strategy WMRT has undergone a thorough review process with its promoters, teams and sponsors as well as taking into account recent media reaction and public feedback.
The findings are echoed by data from a recent survey conducted by Sail-World, which shows clearly that the majority of sailing fans surveyed want to see match racing conducted in monohull boats.
WMRT CEO Jim O’Toole said that, “As rights’ holders we have a duty to act in the interests of match racing. The majority of people feel that the true essence of match racing is about intense, highly manoeuvrable, closely fought, head-to-head battles and we have developed our strategy to take into account these views.
“While we are committed to preserving the integrity of what the public sees as match racing we also have a responsibility to drive the sport forward and ensure that it constantly seeks to innovate and expand. The doubling of the prize fund and addition of six new venues by 2013 with new boat designs shows our commitment to attracting great sailors and providing the best platform for match racing.”
WMRT Press Conference. Image copyright Chris Davies, WMRT.
Feedback received by WMRT as a result of the shift in the historic match racing framework indicates that there is still a desire for a sailor and team design-based match racing series.
WMRT President Peter Gilmour commented, “The decision by the America’s Cup holders to embrace catamarans means that it has moved out of the space which it had previously held as the pinnacle event in match racing and feedback that we are receiving indicates the interest remains."
“As the conduit for match racers around the world to realise their ambitions we will facilitate a collaborative process and provide a platform for interested parties to voice their thoughts.”
Any parties wishing to explore this opportunity should register their interest via www.wmrt.com or contact WMRT Tour Director Craig Mitchell by Friday 26 November. Should there be strong enough interest then WMRT will facilitate a forum to develop the concept.
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