Photo: Ivor Wilkins/RNZY
American Liz Baylis took silver, and Silja Lehtinen of Finland bronze in a frustrating day that was mostly spent waiting for the wind to arrive, meaning that final placings for the split at 1st and 3rd place were determined on countback.
Claire Leroy, at 28 years of age and representing Sport Nautique de Saint Quay Portrieux, is current Rolex World Yachtswoman of the Year. She has been virtually untouchable in her recent match racing career, hanging on tight to the Number One spot in the Women¹s ISAF World Match Race Rankings since May 2005.
"We are feeling very good, very emotional," she says. ³It's a great moment. We had a cry." Of Leroy's crew of Marie Riou, Elodie Bertrand and Claire Pruvot, both Riou and Pruvot are newcomers to the team this year, and in true Leroy style they have pulled together to achieve a distinctive edge in boatspeed that enables them to win time and time again.
While Leroy was disappointed not to meet up with Baylis in the finals, she was glad to have the confidence of knowing she had great Round Robin results to fall back on if needed. "We are very happy with all of the results. It¹s nice to come back with a trophy."
In the other Semi Final, Lehtinen beat American Liz Baylis by six seconds in the third flight, bringing the score up to 2-1 in Lehtinen's favour. Then, after a lengthy wait for wind, Baylis took both the final matches to get the best of three, and qualify for the Finals with Leroy.
Baylis comments: "We had a great day today. The first race was an unforced error, but we had really good boat speed and closed up so much, then we used that boatspeed to our advantage in the following two races."
She says that her crew of Suzy Leech, Lee Lcyda and Karina Shelton made some great tactical calls. "Suzy and Lee knew where they wanted us to go, and we made sure we sailed there as fast as we could."
She also admits to a psychological edge. "We felt like there was nowhere to go but up, and that gives you an edge. You just want to keep racing, and maybe take a little more risk."
Of missing out on meeting Leroy in the finals she says, "It would have been nice but the conditions were what they were. It pays to win early, then you're in position if races are cancelled." Baylis is one of the sport's most important patrons. A former Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, and 2002 world champion, she has been instrumental in seeing women's match racing become an Olympic sport. Now her attention is turned to the remainder of her 2008 campaign, and plans to be at the 2012 Olympics.
Conditions were light for the day's racing, with a range often less than five knots and racing stalled for some time due to 180 degree wind shifts that Auckland is as famous for as its gusty sou-westers.
Earlier in the day Leroy secured her third back to back win over 11th-ranked Josie Gibson of Great Britain, beating Gibson by 39 seconds in the last race of the semi final.
Bronze medallist Lehtinen, aged 22, is the youngest competitor in the fleet, a former world champion skiff sailor, and a second year student at medical school. She entered the regatta ranked 13th in the world and with a team that includes her stepmother Vivi Fleming-Lehtinen, Maria Klemetz and Livia Varesmaa, she is not only a skilled match racer: she will also represent Finland in the Yngling class at the Beijing Olympics later this year.
Fourth placegetter Josie Gibson, a former 470 sailor, represents Island Sailing Club and also won through to the semi-finals in the 2007 edition of the ISAF Women's World Match Racing Championships.
Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Commodore John Crawford is hearty in both his congratulations of the winners, and his gratitude to the team who organised the event.
"In particular I would like to congratulate this week's podium finishers. The spirit of competition from all concerned has been very rewarding to see," he says.
"We were disappointed with the conditions on the final day of racing, but the first four days of racing provided excellent sailing."
The BSPORT ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championships were hosted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and sponsored by BSPORT, Giltrap City Toyota and Auckland City Council. The 2009 event will take place in Lysekil, Sweden.
Overall standings 1st Claire Leroy (FRA) 2nd Liz Baylis (USA) 3rd Silja Lehtinen (FIN) 4th Josie Gibson (GBR) 5th Katie Spithill (AUS) 6th Silke Hahlbrok (GBR) 7th Nicky Souter (AUS) 8th Jess Smyth (NZL) 9th Christelle Philippe (FRA) 10th Lotte Medldgaard (DEN) 11th Camilla Ulrikkeholm (DEN) 12th Sabrina Gurioli (ITA) 13th Jan Dawson (NZL) 14th Gemma Farrell (GBR)
With eleven wins and two losses over three days of sailing, the 24-year old from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club in Sydney, and her crew of Kylie McKillop, Lilly Taylor and Rayshele Martin only had two races today, and good clean starts ensured they emerged victorious from both.
"Our pre-start against Lehtinen was pretty good. She stalled out on the startline, and we sailed through to leeward," says Souter. "Then we sailed away from Josie Gibson off the start." Souter won by a margin of nine seconds over Lehtinen, and 14 over Gibson.
Souter is joined in the Quarter Finals by reigning champion and world number one, Claire Leroy of France, whose single loss today against Josie Gibson didn't affect her overall standing in the regatta.
Leroy shares her overall tally of ten wins and three losses with Silja Lehtinen of Finland.
The other three sailors to qualify in the Round Robin for the quarter finals are Silke Halbrook of Germany, Josie Gibson of Great Britain, and Jess Smyth of New Zealand, each on eight wins and five losses.
Conditions in Auckland today were very similar to those of yesterday - a 12-18 knot north-north easterly which eased slightly during the course of the afternoon. Souter confesses that she is feeling good about the quarter finals, but will be more confident when she knows who will be joining them from the repecharge; amongst the eight still competing are world number two Lotte Meldgaard Pederson from Denmark, number three Katie Spithill from Australia, and number four Christelle Philippe of France.
Souter confesses that she is feeling good about the quarter finals, but will be more confident when she knows who will be joining them from the repecharge; amongst the eight still competing are world number two Lotte Meldgaard Pederson from Denmark, number three Katie Spithill from Australia, and number four Christelle Philippe of France. Repecharge rounds are currently being sailed and will be completed later tonight or on Saturday morning, the fourth day of racing. After five wins from five races Australian Katie Spithill has already emerged as the seventh confirmed starter for tomorrow's Quarter Final and the eighth position will be occupied by either Christelle Philippe of France or American Liz Baylis, who each have four wins and one loss.
Racing starts at approximately 10am each day on the inner Waitemata Harbour, concluding on Sunday 6 April.
Round Robin Results (top six skippers qualify for quarter finals)
wins / losses
1. Nicky Souter AUS - 11 / 2
2. Claire Leroy FRA - 10 / 3
3. Silja Lehtinen FIN - 10 / 3
4. Silke Hahlbrock GER - 8 / 5
5. Josie Gibson GBR - 8 / 5
6. Jess Smyth NZL - 8 / 5
7. Liz Baylis USA - 7 / 6
8. Katie Spithill AUS - 6 / 7
9. Lotte Meldgaard DEN - 6 / 7
10. Gemma Farrell GBR - 5 / 8
11. Jan Dawson NZL - 4 / 9
12. Christelle Philippe FRA - 4 / 9
13. Camilla Ulrikkeholm DEN - 2 / 11
14. Sabrina Gurioli ITA - 2 / 11
Ongoing reports will be available on the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's website: www.rnzys.org.nzApril 3, BSPORT ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championships. With 14 out of 19 Flights raced on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour the team from Finland skippered by Silja Lehtinen is tied with Australian Nicky Souter for top place after Day Two.
Lehtinen and Souter both have nine wins and only two losses to their credit and are closely tailed by defending champion and world number one Claire Leroy of France. Boat speed is the main reason for her early success, says Lehtinen, who is greatly enjoying having a keen edge over her rivals. "Tactics are easier when you have boat speed," she says.
Lehtinen is also enjoying her mastery of the fresh and gusty conditions. Like her home ground in Finland, the geography is confined and the breeze is shifty. But unlike her home ground, the tide and currents are strong, and so was the breeze today: after a long delay due to lack of wind this morning, racing started at lunchtime in a 16-22 knot northerly that made for great spectator viewing and very close finishes, such as her last race against Katie Spithill.
"We were both very close upwind and we both had bad bottom roundings but we managed to go a little faster downwind and finish a few boat lengths ahead of her," she recounts. If that victory was a highlight of the day's racing, a disappointment was losing to American Liz Baylis after sailing around the wrong mark a mistake Lehtinen is philosophical about. "It was our own fault," she says.
Souter's day was also a steady stream of five wins, punctuated by one loss against Lotte Meldgaard-Pederson of Denmark after misjudging a layline to hit a mark. She judges that time spent on the boats and experience racing in Auckland are both valuable assets to have in this regatta, benefiting the New Zealand and Australian entrants in particular. "We've done a lot more sailing in these boats than some of the other girls," she says.
Flights 15 to 19 in the Round Robin will be sailed tomorrow, with the top six teams qualifying for the Quarter Finals, and the remaining eight skippers sailing a Repecharge round, of which the best two will go through.
The points tally remains very close amongst the top skippers and while there are three days of racing still to go, this Round Robin is not without its surprises. Currently sitting out of contention for automatic qualification to the Quarter Finals are three of the top four ranked sailors: world number two Lotte Meldgaard of Denmark is in seventh place, world number three Katie Spithill holds eighth, and world number four Christelle Philippe of France sits in twelfth. The three top skippers will be looking for big improvements in the final Flights, or the Repecharge will be their last hope.
The BSPORT ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championships are hosted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and sponsored by BSPORT, Giltrap City Toyota and Auckland City Council. Racing starts at approximately 10am each day on the inner Waitemata Harbour, concluding on Sunday 6 April. Ongoing reports will be available on the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's website, www.rnzys.org.nz
Total Points (after flight 14)
Win Loss Races
Silja Lehtinen FIN - 9 / 2 / 11
Nicky Souter AUS - 9 / 2 / 11
Claire Leroy FRA - 7 / 2 / 9
Silka Hahlbrock GER - 7 / 4 / 11
Liz Baylis USA - 6 / 4 / 10
Jessica Smyth NZL - 5 / 4 / 9
Lotte Meldgaard DEN - 6 / 5 / 11
Katie Spithill AUS - 6 / 6 / 12
Josie Gibson GBR - 4 / 4 / 8
Gemma Farrell GBR - 3 / 6 / 9
Sabrina Gurioli ITA - 2 / 7 / 9
Christelle Philippe FRA - 3 / 7 / 10
Jan Dawson NZL - 2 / 7 / 9
Camilla Ulrikkeholm DEN - 1 /10 / 11
Full results are at www.rnzys.org.nzStill in Legal Limbo. The date and venue of the next America's Cup remained in limbo yesterday after Judge Herman Cahn of the New York Supreme Court said he would take further time to consider his ruling. He was responding to a renewed claim by Ernesto Bertarelli's Swiss defender Alinghi that it would not be ready to race this year.
The judge appeared to have ruled out a July defence against Larry Ellison's San Francisco-based BMW Oracle, which is now the sole challenger. But he could order a match in October, 10 months after the court cases at the end of November last year. Or he could start the 10-month notice clock on the date of either his judgment, expected in about 10 to 14 days or his last judgment last month.
This could mean January next year but that would imply an event in the Southern Hemisphere. A Northern Hemisphere match, under the terms of the 1887 Deed of Gift, which the judge must apply, can only be held from 1 May to 31 October.
Judge Cahn added that it was not the business of the court to rule on matters of fairness. The Alinghi lawyers are considering "all options" which could mean recourse to the Appellate Division even before Judge Cahn hands down any new ruling. The Independent, U.K. full story: click here for full story by Stuart Alexander in the Independent
April 2, New York Supreme Court hearing, Justice Herman Cahn heard arguments from both the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) and the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) regarding dates for the 33rd America's Cup. SNG requested that he set a date allowing for the 10-month notice period as stipulated in the Deed of Gift that starts when the court order was entered. Justice Cahn indicated that he would issue a new court order that sets the dates for a Deed of Gift Match.
The Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) said today that it was pleased that the New York State Supreme Court will soon fix the timing for the next America's Cup match, allowing the whole event to move forward.
'It was apparent that Justice Cahn understands that the Deed only provides for the defender to have ten-months notice to prepare for the match,' said Tom Ehman, the San Francisco club's spokesman. 'We were very pleased with the hearing. We continue to look forward to a match in October 2008.'
In July 2007 the American club challenged for a match in July 2008, giving the defender, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), more than the prescribed ten month notice. GGYC has since said that it would race in October 2008, which is ten months from Justice Herman Cahn's decision last November declaring GGYC the valid challenger.
Recent claims by Ernesto Bertarelli, head of SNG's Team Alinghi, to have been surprised by a 2008 date were at odds with statements he made to the media late last year that Alinghi was getting ready for a match in 2008, Ehman said.
Vincenzo Onorato, President of the Italian syndicate Mascalzone Latino, said last week: 'The best solution now would be to hold the multihull challenge between Oracle and Alinghi, even if, yet again, the latter try to delay the event using every possible tactic.'
'The sooner we race the Deed of Gift match the sooner we can get back to a conventional, multiple challenger America's Cup,' Ehman said. Jane Eagleson, Golden Gate YC Media
During the hearing, the court asked SNG's lawyer to disclose the location of the match. He declined to do so.
Spin from Lucien Masmejan SNG lead counsel: "We believe Justice Cahn was receptive to our arguments that there is a tolling period during the legal process that suspends preparations towards an America's Cup Match until a court order is issued. The Deed of Gift stipulates a 10-month notice period which should be suspended during the legal procedure, therefore the only feasible date for this competition is after 1 May 2009 due to the restrictions for racing in the Northern Hemisphere imposed by the Deed. It is unfortunate that we do not yet have a date for the 33rd America's Cup as this means we are still not in a position to properly prepare our defence. Justice Cahn agreed that the fight for the America's Cup must be on the water in a proper sporting competition and not in court. We hope for a favorable outcome shortly."
April 1, From ScuttlebuttEurope part of their traditional April Fools day reporting: Alinghi Forfeits America's Cup. Legal representatives for America's Cup defender Alinghi today announced that they will forfeit the America's Cup, throwing yet more turmoil into the 33rd and 34th America's Cup competitions. Just one day before the scheduled legal hearing about the date for the multihull match that was to have taken place between Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing, Ernesto Bertarelli made the following statement at a hastily arranged press conference at FIA headquarters in Paris:
"It is now clear to me that the sailing world is not interested in change, in progress for the America's Cup. My vision has come at the wrong time... some may say too soon, perhaps it's too late to save the Cup from the shackles of history. What I wanted to do was to become the Bernie Ecclestone of sailing... to run the America's Cup and related events like the Formula 1 circuit. That no longer seems possible... so I've decided that instead of emulating Mr. Ecclestone, I'd buy him out. We have successfully concluded our negotiations and while I am saddened to be leaving the world of the America's Cup and sailing, I'm very excited to announce that I am the new Formula 1 Supremo!
"And I have some exciting ideas for changing Formula 1. National teams with citizenship requirements would be a great start. And color schemes based on national flags. And I'll have to have a lot more control over television rights, photographers, journalists and sponsor logos. We're headed into a fantastic future."
A spokesman for BMW Oracle was nearly at a loss for words. "We don't know where to start... there is simply no precedent for a forfeiture. Nothing in the Deed of Gift gives any indication on who should now be the Defender or the Challenger of Record. What on earth are we supposed to tell Judge Cahn tomorrow? We'd be better off just flipping a coin..."
Former F1 World Champion Jackie Stewart said simply "You have got to be f'ing kidding me. Since when does building a business empire on selling a derivative of nuns' urine qualify this guy to run Formula 1 ?!?!?!?"
If you only read ScuttlebuttEurope one day in the year - let it be today - go to: http://scuttlebutteurope.com/
Sailtexas comment is to quote Mark Twain: This is the day [April 1] upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.
March 31, America's Cup. In response to letters from both Societe Nautique de Geneve
(SNG) and Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), Justice Cahn [March 30, 2008] has set a 9:30 am
hearing on April 2, 2008, presumably to consider setting a date for AC 33,
the Deed of Gift (DOG) Challenge. GGYC has set October 1, 3 and 5, 2008 as
the dates and SNG is insisting on nothing earlier than May 1, 2009. SNG
should be sitting pretty going into this hearing. Indeed, SNG should be in a
position to push the Match out for years. Instead, thanks to a spectacular
blunder, almost as bad as not going around a mark, SNG is going into the
hearing with its pants around its ankles begging for mercy from Justice
Cahn, whose decision on SNG's last motions practically had "we are not
amused," as the refrain.
March 29, Alinghi Tri Foncia capsizes off Lorient AT 11:30 this morning [Saturday], in 20 plus knots and a lumpy Atlantic swell, the 60ft trimaran Foncia capsized off Lorient with Alinghi sailors onboard. Of the 10 crew onboard, Piet van Niekerk and Francesco Rapetti were airlifted to hospital, both are safe and with no serious injuries. The rest of the crew along with consultant Alain Gautier were involved in securing the boat and towing it ashore, the sailors are shaken but unhurt.
Ed Baird, who was onboard, provides some insight into what happened: "As we were bearing away, always the highest risk situation on a multi-hull, both the leeward and the central hull dug into the water and the rudders came out. From then it was out of our hands and we capsized forwards. As the mast hit the water, it broke, followed by the rear beam." He continues: "The crew reacted very quickly in getting everyone back on board, doing a head count and checking injuries before calling for help and beginning to secure the boat."
Foncia is currently being towed into the harbour upside down to be craned out and assessed for damage. "We have all been through crashes and capsizes before, this is all part of the sport," says Ed Baird, adding "however this is a temporary situation with Foncia and is not our equipment, so it is even more disappointing to us that we are involved in damaging someone else's gear. We have learned a valuable lesson here and now must get to work to fix things up for Alain [Gautier]."
March 28, 1877 ELISSA - Official Tall Ship of Texas, will visit the Port of Houston on the occasion of Houston Yacht Club's 22nd annual ELISSA Regatta. The sailing ship will have completed her annual series of daysails, March 21 to 27, and will be open to the public for guided tours at the Port of Houston Authority's Bayport Cruise Terminal on Saturday, March 29, 9:00a.m.-5:00p.m.
The ship will be open for tours Saturday, March 29 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students 18 and under. Children 6 and under are free. Tours include a short video about the ship's restoration. A gift shop will be available.
The Bayport Cruise Terminal is located at 4700 Cruise Road in Pasadena, at the end of Port Road off Highway 146. All adult visitors will need a photo identification to enter the terminal gate.
Note - Previously published tour times have been changed to those above.
March 27, How to save the America's Cup, by Vincenzo Onorato [Mascalzone Latino].
I have received numerous requests to intervene, also in the light of the ruling passed by New York Supreme Court. Over the past few years I believe I have been quite restrained in commenting on the difficulties facing the Cup. You'll have noticed that I wrote Cup with a capital "C", and this is indicative of my respect and my passion for sailing and for the America's Cup in particular. We undoubtedly now find ourselves in extremely choppy waters, and it is therefore important to chart our position before plotting our course.
The whole problem stems from the protocol drawn up by Alinghi for the 33rd America's Cup which was presented at the end of the regattas in Valencia. This affirmation might appear a trite observation but, as time has passed, I have become increasingly convinced that very few people, including journalists have taken the trouble of reading this document. Whoever has done so with a minimum of attention, but with a sense of humour, will not have been able to hold back a smile, because this is a document designed to regulate a competition which totally lacks any sense of fair play: Alinghi claims the right to choose, at its sole discretion, the regatta judges, the committee, the umpires and themeasurers, even going so far as to state that they must be its employees; in short, it unilaterally lays down the rules of the game. Alinghi, again at its sole discretion, claims the right to accept a challenge or to penalise a rival.
There were some who realised this immediately: it was immediately challenged by the seven teams who, a few days after the protocol had been published, signed a letter of objection (Oracle, Mascalzone Latino, Team New Zealand, Germany, Victory, K-Challenge, Luna Rossa); it was challenged by the historic sponsor of the challenger selection series, Louis Vuitton, who announced, in a press release dated 13 July 2007, its withdrawal on the grounds that it did not agree with the rules for the 33rd Cup.
To underline Alinghi's complete lack of respect for the role of "trustee", as sanctioned by the "Deed of Gift", the central document on which the regulatory framework of the event is based, it elected as "Challenger of Record" the Spanish Nautical Yacht Club, a non-existent club with no history or members, essentially a sleeping partner that would have given it complete and unconditional control of the event. Alinghi's team worked hard in the aftermath of Oracle's legal action brought before the Supreme Court of New York to cry scandal and present itself to the whole world as the poor victims attacked by the American bear which had in effect blocked the event by bringing it before the courts. It is worth dispelling any misconceptions on this point: the Cup was effectively brought before the Court by Alinghi, with its ignominously unsporting protocol. Oracle's legal challenge was a courageous salvage operation of the oldest sports trophy in known history. This explains why, here at Mascalzone Latino, we supported Oracle at the Supreme Court of New York with our "amicus brief".
Alinghi's media-oriented defence was to state that the other challengers, including Team New Zealand, had been ready to accept the protocol. Today, after the action filed by Team New Zealand, what we already knew has come to light: Alinghi took advantage of the extremely weak economic position in which most of the teams found themselves to impose its own will. It promised cash to Team New Zealand in the form of waiving registration fees and even going so far as to offer an option on Oracle's base!
To sum up, Alinghi's plan was to control the Cup and its challengers in order to guarantee its subsidiary, ACM total economic control of the event. In this context, Alinghi's terse comments seem completely superfluous when it recalled how, in the past, it was the Americans who created the culture of the defender's privilege. The actions taken by the American defenders were childish attempts compared to the complex plot woven above all by Alinghi. The Americans from New York Yacht Club were motivated solely by a deep sense of pride and privilege in keeping the Cup in the States, not for base economic motifs!
This brings us to the second aspect of this affair, the economic and commercial side. It is my opinion that the money offered by sponsors should be used to fund the event. I keep my work, which brings in my bread and butter, separate from sailing and I believe that the other businessmen leading the syndicates should do the same. Therefore, I do not agree with Alinghi's avidity, which unfortunately is not even backed by an intelligent commercial strategy. One particular detail has escaped most people: Louis Vuitton decided to back out of the Cup before and not after the legal action brought by Oracle before the Supreme Court of New York. When I think of the America's Cup, I automatically think of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The two are inseparable, not only blending tradition but also class and culture. They backed out and walked away, on tiptoe, with the good breeding characteristic of those who work for the French company. Given that I had the pleasure of meeting them, I know how much it cost them to abandon the event, the selection of the official challenger, to which only their brand and no other had succeeded in giving such a profound sense of identity. Incompatibility with Mr Bertarelli's vision. This was the gist of the brief comments they made. Losing Louis Vuitton is further proof of the total lack of culture and respect for tradition shown by the top management of Alinghi in handling this event. Above all and paradoxically, it is an intellectual shortfall without precedent in the Cup's history. As if that were not enough, it is also an irreparable error of marketing: the Cup today is an enormous industry funded by major sponsors and a few tycoons. It is an enormous engine driven - in media terms - by glamour, status and tradition. Losing Vuitton has created a culture of suspicion among the sponsors and Alinghi's decision to take the Cup to court has effectively brought this enormous engine to a halt.
Let's come back to the story and to the work I have done in the past few months, since the end of the Cup. I spent the entire summer of 2007 in a vain attempt to broker a settlement between Oracle and Alinghi. I knew that a sure-fire way of losing all the sponsors was to take the Cup to court and I wanted to avoid this.I established contacts with Oracle in order to discuss our points of view. Contrary to Alinghi's declarations, I found Russell Coutts very willing to talk. Oracle's primary motivation was the same as Mascalzone Latino's: to achieve an honest and reliable competition. So I drafted a protocol that broadly speaking included the same rules that governed the 32nd Cup, specifying that, in order to cut costs, the same yachts would be used as in the last event and the use of the new 90ft A.C. class would be postponed until the 34th Cup. In the meantime, the challengers would jointly draw up the new class rules, which would not give such unfair advantages to the defender. I obtained - I have to confess, to my great personal satisfaction - an informal guarantee from Oracle that if my draft protocol was accepted by Alinghi, they would immediately withdraw their legal action pending before the New York Supreme Court. The Cup would be saved, and also the date of the event and the economic interests of the city of Valencia. Then I presented the protocol to Alinghi, who did not even have the good manners to reply with a "no thanks, we're not interested."
In the autumn, Oracle proved all too ready to negotiate with Alinghi, to the point of accepting almost all the points imposed in the much discussed protocol, only to be turned down again with a scornful refusal.
At Mascalzone Latino, although we had not been summoned to appear before the Supreme Court, we joined the proceedings and presented a document summing up our position: in short, this stated that Alinghi's protocol had completely distorted the key principles of the Deed of Gift and the universal principles of fair play. During those hot autumn days, I also had a feeling that an Italian challenge was being prepared simply to exclude us from the Cup, once and forever. Alinghi had declared that it would probably accept only one national challenger. So we launched our challenge, following the dictates laid down by the protocol. We also had to demonstrate the existence of the Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia, at its third challenge in the America's Cup and with a one hundred year-old history to its name! Alinghi was a little less precise with its Challenger of Records, the "Club Nautico Espano de Vela" which could only claim to have been in existence for a few hours...
Since the start of this letter, I have given Alinghi credit for the fact that the affair has an underlying sense of comedy, although this is probably unintentional. Following the launch of the challenge, ACM sent us an invoice for fifty thousand euros which we paid immediately. Are we perhaps the only ones to have done so to date? They replied in writing that they would accept our challenge only if we withdrew our declaration filed with the Supreme Court of New York. This is not required by the protocol, but it is clear that Alinghi writes and rewrites the rules to suit its needs. I answered by reminding them that a citizen accepts the laws even if he doesn't agree with them and that in a democracy there is freedom of speech and criticism. The simple metaphor was not understood. ACM/Alinghi replied by claiming a public abjuration. It would have been pointless to remind them that the last Italian forced to make such a strong retraction was Giordano Bruno, in medieval times under the Holy Inquisition...
It's a harsh precedent that will weigh on the future of the Cup and those who love sailing, but leaving irony aside, we must seriously consider that this event has been profoundly damaged by Alinghi. The sponsors have disappeared and people are tired of all these controversies.
The best solution now would be to hold the multi-hull challenge between Oracle and Alinghi, even if, yet again, the latter try to delay the event using every possible tactic. For the survival of the America's Cup, we must hope that Oracle wins, and after that we'll have to roll up our sleeves and work hard. In my humble opinion, the first step must be to reinstate Louis Vuitton. The French company is not only a sponsor, the Sponsor, but is also and above all the leitmotif of a long history that has survived to the present day and must continue into the future. The event can be saved, and it could be held in 2009, or in 2010 at the latest, but to achieve this it is important to acknowledge the weak situation of the event. It would be best to use the yachts from the last Cup for three good reasons:
- To curb costs at a time when all the teams are struggling to survive. Permission should only be given to build one latest generation hull.
- By using the existing fleet, the event could be held within a few months, without requiring enormous economic and organisational efforts, and this would also leave enough time to study the new 90ft A.C. class for the 35th Cup.
- Last but not least, from a sporting point of view: anyone who is a yachtsman knows that regattas are great when they are "close". The yachts in the last Cup had very similar speeds and the best thing about the last Cup was that we watched some very hard fought and spectacular races. We don't want to do without those, do we?
Personally, I am making enormous economic sacrifices to keep an organisation going that will allow us to race in the next America's Cup with dignity and sportsmanship.
I am profoundly saddened about what has happened to this event, but I am a sailor and my experience as a yachtsman is based above all on Farr 40, M30, RC 44 and now also on Melges 32
Many have lost that spirit of enthusiasm for sailing or perhaps they never had it, but it is from this that we must start afresh...
Good sailing to you all,
Vincenzo Onorato
For more information, please visit: www.mascalzonelatino.it
America's Cup Defender goes back to court to break deadlock with GGYC on event date. In a bid to accelerate the process of returning the 33rd America's Cup to the water and having been stonewalled by the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) has decided to request Justice Cahn determine the dates for the event, as contemplated in his Order of 19 March 2008.
This decision comes following an unsuccessful meeting on Wednesday between representatives from the SNG and the GGYC. Having exhausted every available effort for a settlement and reached a deadlock in discussions with GGYC, on Wednesday evening (New York time), SNG filed a letter with the New York Supreme Court requesting a hearing to determine the date for the 33rd America's Cup Match that honours the 10-month notice period stipulated in the Deed of Gift and takes into account the GGYC's prior agreement that this notice period would be tolled pending Court proceedings.
Eric Sharp in the Detroit Free Press reports: A court most likely will decide
whether they race an America's Cup in 90-foot multihulls in October, as
Oracle insists, or in May 2009, as Alinghi wants. The failed
negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, prompted Team New Zealand, one of
four countries that have held the most prestigious trophy in sailing, to
call for Alinghi owner Ernesto Bertarelli to forfeit the cup immediately
and let Oracle hold a conventional event with multiple challengers in
2010.
New Zealand leader Grant Dalton said, "Alinghi has had as much time to
design and build a multihull as BMW Oracle. It is apparent that Alinghi
was so certain of a victory in the New York Supreme Court that it had
not developed a viable contingency should the judge rule in BMW Oracle's
favour," as happened earlier this year. Having admitted that they cannot
be ready by October, we believe that Alinghi should forfeit right now,
allowing BMW Oracle and the other challengers to get the America's Cup
back on track and minimizing challengers' continuing financial hardship
that (Alinghi) created," said Dalton, whose syndicate has sued Alinghi
for monetary damages allegedly caused when Alinghi unilaterally
cancelled the America's Cup planned for 2009.
Tom Ehman, who is Oracle's negotiator, said, "Alinghi told us they can't
build a boat by next October. But back in December Ernesto told a
newspaper that they were already working on one. It could be that they
are using the Br'er rabbit strategy - please don't throw me in the briar
patch. The Swiss are great sailors with a lot of experience in
multihulls, more than we have," Ehman said. "They say that they need
more time, but back in 1988 Dennis Conner built two catamarans in six
months, and the technology has certainly improved a lot since then. I
think that they now understand that we pick the date, they pick the
place. It's time to stop stalling and get on the water and race," Ehman
said. -- Detroit Free Press, full story: click here for full story by Eric Sharp in Detroit Free Press
March 26, How Long Does It Take To Build A Multihull?. Old American maxim: Lack of foresight on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine (see also Alinghi Statement made Wednesday below).
With all his resources, billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli swears he just can't get a multihull built in time to meet the 10-month deadline for billionaire Larry Ellison's America's Cup challenge. Yes, times are tough all over.
Another defender had a similar problem 20 years ago when New Zealand's Sir Michael Fay challenged Dennis Conner's San Diego Yacht Club with a 120-foot winged monohull designed by Bruce Farr to the maximum dimension of 90 feet on the waterline. Realizing they probably couldn't out-do or even match that in such limited time, the defenders, with divine inspiration, seized upon a loophole in the hallowed Deed of Gift: a 60-foot catamaran!
Let us now return to those gloried days of yesteryear to hear from two of the key players in that wild and crazy scheme that set the tone for later tours of the New York State Supreme Court. Gino Morrelli of Morrelli and Melvin was a lead designer. Bob DeLong of RD Boatworks was the builder.
Morrelli said this week, "It's been funny watching all the posturing and BS flying around. We've been contacted by all the usual suspects but we are only peripherally involved to date in this go-around."
DeLong said, "For me, this all brings up a fun time from the past. I am amazed that this is happening all over again. I thought that was the main benefit coming out of 1988, that rules were created that would prevent all of this. Well, I guess history does repeat itself."
What may have been forgotten is that two catamarans were built, a "hard sail" and a "soft sail." The former would be faster but the latter would be less of a risk for breaking down. DC and his Stars & Stripes crew would sail the soft sail, sometimes without even hoisting a jib. Didn't need it.
Morrelli said, "I seem to remember it taking two-odd months arguing and designing prior to starting to build."
"It was a very rushed affair," DeLong said, "6-8 weeks of talking with DC---he flew in on a helicopter one day!---before they finally pulled the trigger and turned us loose. The only actual blueprints I received on the project were on the hull lines. All of the rest of the plans arrived via the fax machine (generation 1 model with continuous thermal paper).
"With six designers there were a lot of delays and changes. Sometimes, due to these changes, we would have to tear things out and start over. At about the eight-week mark there was finally a summit meeting that froze all design work so the boat could be finished without any further delays."
Morrelli called DeLong to refresh his memory over two decades. "He reminded me it took three months and a week to build both platforms, painted and delivered to San Diego. It took Bob just 10 days to build the 60-foot hull plug and mold with 30 guys going. Then we had three-odd months training prior to the event.
"So, all told . . . nine months. we were sailing after about six months."
DeLong: "With organization, desire, a lot of manpower, two shifts, seven days a week, it all got done---and could be done again."
Hear that, Ernesto?
Oh, yeah, we heard you just started to practice sailing a multihull. Lesson No. 1: make sure both hulls go past the same side of the mark. --Rich Roberts in Scuttlebutt Europe
America's Cup - Old American maxim: Lack of foresight on your part does not constitute
an emergency on mine. Wednesday 26 March, following the meeting that was held at the Société Nautique de Genève in Switzerland with representatives from both SNG and Golden Gate Yacht Club, Lucien Masmejan, lead counsel for the defending yacht club, expresses:
"Despite having had great hopes for today's meeting with GGYC, we were very disappointed with the outcome. GGYC adopted the same approach that it took last year coming to the meeting with a fixed position rather than to discuss and find a resolution in accordance with Justice Cahn's Order.
We are particularly frustrated by the GGYC's assertion that the agreement made in front of Justice Cahn to 'toll the case' so that the Defender would have 10 months notice as per the Deed of Gift no longer applies and that racing should take place in October 2008.
GGYC confirmed that it has already started building its boat for the America's Cup Match and stated that SNG has time to build a boat by October 2008 but should this not be possible that SNG should compete in an existing boat. This clearly is an extension of the GGYC's strategy to win the America's Cup at all costs as it would guarantee an absurdly miss-matched race - precisely the opposite of the racing that we have come to expect from the America's Cup.
We remain committed to trying to move the fight from the court room back to the water but the actions of GGYC are making this extremely difficult to achieve. GGYC has successfully guaranteed itself entry via the Courts to the America's Cup Match for the first time, despite its strong statements that its legal action was for the benefit of all Challengers. We will use all avenues open to us to ensure that they are forced to compete in a competitive race in the spirit and tradition of the America's Cup."
March 25, Alinghi begins multi-hull training on an ORMA 60'. The Alinghi sailing team travelled to Lorient in France on Tuesday to begin multi-hull training with well-known French sailor Alain Gautier on the ORMA 60', Foncia, in view of a Deed of Gift match against BMW Oracle Racing.
"Alinghi is very pleased to have reached an agreement with Alain Gautier. He is a hugely experienced multi-hull sailor and as we are largely focusing on designing and racing a multi-hull for a Deed of Gift Match against BMW Oracle, Alain's expertise and experience will be hugely valuable to the team," Grant Simmer, Alinghi design team coordinator, said, adding: "Most of us are keel yacht sailors and have limited experience on multi-hulls, particularly large multi-hulls, so this is an important step in our learning process, to understand and to race a multi-hull yacht."
The Swiss Defender's primary objective this week is to learn more about sailing multi-hulls, however the mix of sailors and designers will also be aiming to develop a basic understanding of how big trimarans work; this would include a look at the sails, spars, hardware and general layout as well as the sequence of responsibilities during manoeuvres.
Alain Gautier, who won the Solitaire du Figaro in 1989 and the Vendée Globe in 1992, among many other multi-hull grand prix titles, comments on his role as consultant to Alinghi: "I am very happy to join the Alinghi team as a multihull consultant and coach for the training sessions onboard the trimaran Foncia. The mutual respect that has developed between Alinghi and I over the last two seasons of the Julius Baer Challenge is 'not irrelevant' to this decision. I believe I can bring both sailing know how and technical knowledge although I have no doubt of the team's ability to design a fearsome machine."
Training begins on Wednesday 26 March - weather permitting! And further training sessions are planned in the coming weeks.
Sailing team members present:
Rodney Ardern, Ed Baird, Dean Phipps, Jan Dekker, Lorenzo Mazza, Nicolas Texier, Peter van Niekerk, Pieter van Nieuwenhuyzen, Matt Welling, Murray Jones and Francesco Rapetti.
Design team members present:
Rolf Vrolijk, Dirk Kramers, Kurt Jordan, Mike Schreiber, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Kirst Feddersen, plus Alain Gautier as consultant.
"Elissa is nearly unique among historic ships in that she sails" said John Moran, who has served as interim director of the Texas Seaport Museum. "She is not only fully restored to sailing condition, but she has a large crew of volunteers who are trained and eager to sail her. She represents the maritime history of Texas. That's why it's important to take her to other seaports more often, to show the flag and gain wider support than just Galveston." ELISSA's last port visit was to Corpus Christi in October of last year.
The ship will be open for tours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students 18 and under. Children 6 and under are free. The Bayport Cruise Terminal is located at 4700 Cruise Road in Pasadena, at the end of Port Road off Highway 146. All adult visitors will need a photo identification to enter the terminal gate.
Built in Scotland in 1877, ELISSA served as a British, then Norwegian sailing cargo ship until early in the 20th century. She called at Galveston twice while under the British flag, in 1883 and 1885, leaving with cotton in her hold. An engine was installed and her rig gradually reduced under a series of owners. ELISSSA was at the end of a remarkably long career when maritime archeologists found her rusting in a Greek scrap yard in 1974. She was purchased by Galveston Historical Foundation which set out to restore her as the first phase in the development of the Texas Seaport Museum.
March 24, Alinghi and BMW Oracle now Prepare America's Cup Summit. A roadmap summit to try and settle the next steps in the war-torn America's Cup is to be held in Europe, probably Valencia or Geneva, next week.
Representatives of the Swiss holder, Ernesto Bertarelli's Alinghi, and the now challenger of record, San Francisco-based Larry Ellison's BMW Oracle, will try to hammer out a deal on the timing of their one-on-one battle.
Speaking to a legal analyst in the United States, Bertarelli said that if Oracle were to insist on October this year he would default, which would see the 157-year old trophy automatically fall into the hands of the Americans.
Later he said he did not mean he would walk away from the competition and that he was speaking in the heat of the moment.
Time has already run out on the choice of venue for this year, especially if a boat is to be designed specifically to suit the conditions of an autumn series that could be in Europe but could also be in a Middle East venue like Dubai. The insider joke is that Bertarelli should play a US anti-Castro card and choose Cuba.
It is not expected that Bertarelli, Ellison or even Oracle Racing CEO Russell Coutts would be at the talks next week. If Oracle wants to play hard ball then it could even insist on a series in early July this year. click here for full story by Stuart Alexander in The Independent, U.K.
"It is simply impossible" said Ernesto Bertarelli said Friday, the billionaire owner of the Swiss Alinghi team that holds the America's Cup, told the American Oracle team "for us to construct a boat to defend the cup in a
seven month time frame" as the Americans say the Swiss must do. The
Oracle team, which represents San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club,
already is building a 90-foot multihull, believed to be a trimaran, for
a match next October. And from the tone of Oracle's reply Friday, it
appeared that the Swiss pharmaceutical heir may learn the truth of an
old American maxim: Lack of foresight on your part does not constitute
an emergency on mine.
The latest squabble started a new round of rumors about a possible
forfeit by Alinghi, which would be the first in the 157 year history of
the event. Bertarelli's team sent a letter to the Americans on Wednesday
asking that the race to be postponed until July of 2009. That request
came after a New York State Supreme Court justice ruled on Mar. 17 (and
for the second time) that Bertarelli must meet a one-on-one challenge
from American billionaire Larry Ellison, the owner of the Oracle team.
The Americans replied Thursday with a letter from Oracle skipper and CEO
Russell Coutts, denying that request and saying that the Swiss must be
ready by next October. -- click here for full story by Eric Sharp, Detroit Free Press.
Farrah Hall's Olympic dream might have caught its second wind. The
Annapolis windsurfer finished second at the RS:X team-selection trials
in October after a jury's controversial decision to grant another
competitor's appeal. After Hall won the regatta on the water, a jury
ruled that Nancy Rios' race was affected by a tear in her sail and
awarded the Cocoa Beach, Fla., windsurfer the trials' win. Only the
first-place finisher is slated to represent the United States at the
Summer Olympics. The jury initially declined to hear Hall's request for
redress because it was filed too late. But confronted with new
photographic evidence, US Sailing has decided to reopen the case and
hold a special hearing next month.
"From the beginning, we have been completely confident in the process
and the decision that the original jury made," Dean Brenner, chairman of
US Sailing's Olympics Sailing Committee, said today. "The right thing to
do when new evidence is presented is to take a look, consider it and
decide whether it merits a reopening." Hall's case will be heard in
Providence, R.I., on April 9 and 10 by the same jury that initially
ruled against her. Two additional jury members have been added, Brenner
said, and the five members will hear testimony from Hall, Rios and
witnesses.
The trials, held in Long Beach, Calif., consisted of 16 races in eight
days. While Hall led for the early portion of the competition, Rios won
six races in a row and carried a slight lead into the final day's two
races. Hall won the first race, but the second was marred by a collision
shortly after the start. In her complaint, Rios said her sail was torn
during the collision. Two of the three initial jurors witnessed the
crash but did not see the tear in the sail until after the race. Hall
crossed the finish line first and was under the impression that her
ticket to the Beijing Olympics had been stamped. As she celebrated,
though, Rios was formally protesting the decisive race. -- click here for full story by Rick Maese,
Baltimore Sun.
March 22, Confusion reigned yesterday as to when the 33rd America's Cup would take place. Alinghi said immediately that they would not appeal and looked forward to their enforced showdown with BMW Oracle in July 2009. But BMW Oracle said that the competition would be held in October 2008.
"You have to ask Alinghi how they came up with July 2009," Tom Ehman, the BMW Oracle spokesman, said. "The Deed of Gift says that the Challenger chooses the date and must give ten months' Notice of Challenge. So we challenged last July. We gave them not ten months, we gave them 12 months' notice and chose dates in July 2008.
"In December, after Justice Cahn's ruling, we agreed with their attorneys then - they have since been excused by Alinghi - that we would race in October [2008]. So we gave them another 11 months' notice from Justice Cahn's decision and a total of 16 months' notice, and now they want two years' notice. As far as we are concerned it is in October, we won't go back now. Even though Justice Cahn makes it quite clear that the match could be in July [2008], we stand by our agreement."
Alinghi, despite the billions of Ernesto Bertarelli, their owner, are already worried about the timeline, which puts huge pressure on the teams to build competitive multi-hulls for the race, as opposed to the normal monohull America's Cup designs. Alinghi, who must soon name the venue, feel that BMW Oracle, owned by Larry Ellison, have made a head start on the design last year. A full America's Cup, with other teams such as Great Britain's Team Origin, is now unlikely to be! held before 2011. -- Matthew Pryor in The Times Online, www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/sailing/article3586870.ece
See March 20 for details of BMW Oracle Racing Core Sailing Team
March 21, U.S. Olympic Team member Zach Railey ,(Clearwater, FL) earned a spot on today's podium in the Finn class at the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Going into the last race of this International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade 2 event, Railey was in danger of losing his third place position. Railey has previously said he likes pressure situations, and he proved himself in the last race. The necessity was to keep tabs on his closest competitor, Sweden's Daniel Birgmark, and Railey controlled the results by keeping the Swede directly behind him for the whole race. By finishing that race in eighth with Birgmark in ninth, Railey clinched the bronze medal at this season's kickoff regatta.
The Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta represents the beginning of the European sailing circuit and hosted over 900 sailors in eleven classes, including 46 Finns from 25 countries. By placing in the top three, Railey strengthened his brand as a competitor to watch in the countdown to the Olympic Games in Qingdao. Having clinched the berth to China before the final race of last fall's U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Sailing, Railey didn't even have to sail the last race at that regatta. But, with medals on the line at the Princess Sofia Trophy, he showed he can perform under pressure-- just like he said.
Great Britain's Ben Ainslie, three-time Olympic medalist, handily won the regatta before the last race and was followed by Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic of Croatia. By finishing in third place, Railey posted a significant accomplishment of beating top-ranked Finn sailor Jonas Høgh-Christensen of Denmark, who finished seventh and also happens to be Railey's training partner.
The United States had notable finishes in three other classes at the Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta. In the Yngling class, Team Seven of Sally Barkow, Deb Capozzi and Carrie Howe came in fifth place out of 16 boats, only one point out of fourth place. Andrew Campbell finished ninth in the 107-boat Laser fleet, and the 49er team of Tim Wadlow and Chris Rast finished 12th of 52 boats, again just one point out of 11th place. Most of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics members will be headed to Hyères, France for French Olympic Sailing week in mid-April.
Alinghi Wants a Race in May 2009. Letter from Société Nautique de Genève's Fred Meyer, Vice-Commodore and Head of America's Cup Committee to Golden Gate Yacht Club on Thursday:
In accordance with Justice Cahn's memorandum decision of yesterday, we are writing to try to reach mutual agreement on the race dates for the 33rd America's Cup and move the activity away from the court room and back onto the water as soon as practicable.
In order to allow both the Defender and the Challenger time to prepare for the match, the Deed of Gift specifies a 10-month notice period. Societe Nautique de Geneve is happy to meet GGYC on the water on any race date that GGYC wishes to specify in compliance with the Deed of Gift.
We believe that the earliest date that GGYC could propose for us to meet on the water is 1 May 2009 as described below:
- GGYC issued its challenge on 11 July 2007
In the Northern Hemisphere the sailing conditions are generally preferable in July compared with May; we would therefore propose that GGYC select dates for racing in July 2009 in order to guarantee a successful and compelling event.
We are hopeful that a race date can be set without continued litigation. However, if we are unable to agree upon a date for racing we would suggest that we return to Justice Cahn as soon as possible as instructed in his recent order.
As reflected in our public statements of yesterday, it is in the best interests of the America's Cup to resolve any remaining issues without prolonged litigation in court.
We look forward to your prompt response.
Sailtexas comment: Louis Vuitton last year withdrew their sponsorship [after many years] of the America's Cup Challenger Series, saying in effect that they didn't want their name associated with such an event (very understandable as their name is associated with absolute top quality products).
Like most sailors, at [sailtexas] Southwest by South Sailing, we are fed up with all the posturing from Europe, however, we have to give both sides their opportunity to state their viewpoint:
From: Alinghi within hours of receiving the above, alleging GGYC denies reasonable and fair proposal from Defender for a resolution of the 33rd America's Cup on the water 2008-03-21.
(Valencia, 21 March 2008) Following the letter sent by the GGYC representatives in response to the proposal made by the Société Nautique de Genève's (SNG) for a fair resolution of the 33rd America's Cup on the water, Lucien Masmejan, lead counsel for the defending yacht club, expresses:
"We regret the tone and the content of the response from BMW Oracle Racing to our proposal. It looks as if they plan to stick to their destructive strategy that has been successful so far, eliminating all Challengers and qualifying in court directly to the America's Cup Match, thus putting hundreds of people in the sailing community out of business. Now they want to use the same plan to beat the Defender without fighting a fair duel on the water. We communicated to them that to have a fair and high-quality race the event must take place in 2009. It is simply impossible for us to construct a boat to defend the Cup in a seven-month time frame as GGYC currently proposes.
Moreover, 2009 is the right date after the 10-month notice period demanded by the Deed of Gift to allow the Defender time to prepare their defence, which resumes only after Justice Cahn's final order was entered on March 19 2008. The parties agreed months ago that the 10-month notice period would be tolled during the pendency of this litigation up through entry of a final order or judgment and expiration of the time for appeal. But as they did previously, GGYC keeps changing the frame of the discussion to try to obtain the Cup by any means and at any price. Are they afraid of meeting Alinghi on the water?
Both SNG and GGYC have repeatedly stated in public that, should they win the 33rd America's Cup, the 34th edition will be sailed in 2011. Thus, it makes no difference to GGYC and, more important, has no impact in the America's Cup community whether the race is held in October 2008 or July 2009, unless GGYC does not believe that it can win if SNG is given adequate opportunity to prepare for the match.
However, the SNG and Alinghi remain committed to trying to find a compromise with BMW Oracle Racing and therefore we proposed a meeting next week to try to find a solution that moves the America's Cup fight back on the water and not in court."
A letter proposing the meeting on March 27th to further discuss the matter has been sent today to the GGYC representatives by the SNG.
For more information, see the letter:
SNG letter to GGYC:
21 March 2008
Dear Russell, It is GGYC who has thus put hundreds of people in the sailing community out of business indefinitely. It is GGYC who, having never been able to earn the right on the water to compete against the Cup holder for the America's Cup, has sought to -and succeeded in- foisting its way into a match for the Cup through litigation in New York state court, to the exclusion of a dozen other competitors. Regretfully, GGYC is now seeking to launch a new legal front, maneuvering within the legal system to prevent the 33 rd Cup from being a competitive event by depriving SNG of a reasonable opportunity to prepare its defence. The fairness of the competition requires that this race be held in 2009.
As you know, it is simply impossible for us to construct a boat to defend the Cup in a seven-month time frame as GGYC currently proposes. Both SNG and GGYC have repeatedly stated in public that, should they win the 33 rd America's Cup, the 34th edition will be sailed in 2011. Thus, it makes no difference to GGYC whether the race is held in October 2008 or July 2009 -unless, that is, GGYC does not believe that it can win if SNG is given adequate opportunity to prepare for the match.
The parties agreed months ago before Justice Cahn that the 10-month notice period would be tolled during the pendency of this litigation up through entry of a final order or judgment and expiration of the time for appeal. Justice Cahn¹s final order was entered just two days ago, so the ten-month time period does not expire until 2009. We are disappointed that GGYC is backtracking on this agreement and launching a new legal campaign seeking to undo what GGYC previously agreed to. Why not simply meet us on the water and settle this there? Yours sincerely, Fred Meyer
Sailtexas comment - we print it, you don't have to read it - have a good day...!
March 20, Acura Key West Race Week on ESPN2, Sunday, March 23 at 2:30pm eastern
Gary Jobson and the ESPN sailing team take you aboard a series of Grand Prix racing yachts at the 21st annual regatta in Key West. Exclusive onboard footage features among others Race Week winner Terry Hutchinson aboard Barking Mad, the new 65 foot speedster, Numbers, as well as J-80s, Melges 24s and 32s in some very powerful winds.
On April 13 at 12:30pm eastern the Acura Miami Grand Prix will also be featured on ESPN2
These programs are sailing at its best.
Internet video currently playing: http://www.jobsonsailing.com
BMW Oracle Racing Announces Core Sailing Team
Valencia, Spain: BMW ORACLE Racing today announced its core sailing team for the 33rd America's Cup. The team also confirmed the start of a comprehensive 2008 training and racing program that includes both monohulls and multihulls.
Joining skipper Russell Coutts in the accomplished afterguard are American John Kostecki and Australian James Spithill. Among the crew roster are nine sailors returning from BMW ORACLE Racing and 11 from Luna Rossa's 2007 Italian challenge.
Spithill will share helming duties with Coutts, and Kostecki has been named tactician. In addition to Spithill, there are 10 other recruits from the 2007 Luna Rossa challenge. Jonathan Macbeth joins from 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup winner Emirates Team New Zealand. Among the crew are Hamish Pepper, strategist, and Carl Williams, grinder, the 2006 Star World champions representing New Zealand in the 2008 Olympics in the Star class.
The team's on-the-water training program began last week in Valencia with sailing in two Extreme 40 catamarans. This summer the team will compete in the Extreme 40 European tour. Team members will also be competing in the TP 52 Med Cup Series, a European grand prix sailing tour in monohulls, Additional details about the 2008 program will be announced soon. The BMW ORACLE Racing core sailing team for the 33rd America's Cup includes (in alphabetical order name, country and position):
2008 Women's Laser Radial World Championship. Sarah Steyaert of France won after a sensational finish to the regatta when Lijia Xu of China was disqualified from the final race ultimately costing her the world title. The six day regatta concluded off Takapuna, North Shore City, Auckland today.
March 19, Women's Laser Radial World Championships, Lijia Xu of China continues to lead the going into the final day of the regatta tomorrow [Thursday N.Z.]. Xu is four points clear of Evi Van Acker of Belgium in second with Sarah Steyaert holding on to third place a further nine points behind Van Acker.
After regular postponements over the initial four days, conditions on the Hauraki Gulf today were conducive to an on time 10am start to racing on what was the penultimate day. Three races were sailed today with a total of eight races now on the board, and just one day of competition remains.
Racing now in gold and silver fleets, sailors today encountered a predominantly overcast sky and a north easterly breeze which ranged between 6 and 10 knots. Sailors had challenging chop to contend with which made things interesting.
"Race one we had 8-10 knots, less in the second race, like 6-8 knots, and then a little more again, but it was really hard with the waves," said Evi Van Acker after racing. "It was kind of like China, so that was good practice."
"You couldn't really see where the wind was coming from because the waves were so big. It was really difficult and everyone had mixed results, and I think that's why I'm still in second place."
Sarah Steyaert of France retains third place overall despite a mixed day on the water. She recorded a 24th, a 20th and a 3rd today and now has a points total of 58, nine points back from Van Acker. Behind her, Penny Clark GBR is her closed rival who would need to close an eleven point gap to Steyaert to make it onto the podium.
March 18, America's Cup - Ernesto Bertarelli loses, New York . In response to New York Supreme Court Justice Herman Cahn's order today [18 March 2008] designating Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) as America's Cup Challenger of Record replacing Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV), lead counsel for the defending yacht club, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), Lucien Masmejan, issued the following statement:
"Following today's court order, Larry Ellison has eliminated the competition and gained access to the America's Cup Match, a feat BMW Oracle Racing has never been able to achieve on the water. While we are disappointed with the outcome of this court order and believe that the matter of GGYC's certificate of challenge wasn't properly addressed, we have decided not to appeal the decision and we look forward to getting the fight back on the water and meeting BMW Oracle Racing on the start line of a Deed of Gift Match in July 2009," Masmejan said.
Should Alinghi win the Deed of Gift Match, the Defender is committed to getting the America's Cup back on track for a world class multi-challenge event in 2011 in Valencia, Spain. "The challengers can be assured that the 34th America's Cup will be run with the same vision and commitment for a premiere multi-challenge sailing event that they supported in Valencia in 2007," Masmejan concluded.
Alinghi boss Ernesto Bertarelli said he would not appeal and plans to face BMW Oracle Racing in a best of three showdown for the oldest trophy in international sports. The races could be later this year, although Alinghi said it is pushing for July 2009. Alinghi will chose the venue, it could be Valencia, Spain, or some other European port, while BMW Oracle Racing will decide whether it will be sailed in catamarans or trimarans.
Women's 2008 Laser Radial World Championship. It was a mixed day for most on the water today [Tuesday] with some serious shuffling on the leader board as the day unfolded. Five races have now been completed with two days of the regatta remaining.
Light winds continued to frustrate race management and made for an eventful day on the water for the in Takapuna, North Shore City, Auckland. The intention to start early today was thwarted by lack of breeze due to the large high sitting over New Zealand's upper North Island.
Race four did get underway at around 11am with the yellow fleet up first, sailing in a south westerly wind of 6-8 knots, followed by the blue fleet. The breeze eased and shifted and sailors had an on water delay of around an hour before race five got started, again the yellow fleet went first, sailing in 5-7 knots of wind which had shifted through to the south east.
Blue fleet were well into race five, with Jo Aleh NZL out to a four minute lead, just around the final mark and heading for the finish line when the race was abandoned with the dying breeze stalling the sailors towards the back of the fleet. Both fleets were back ashore by 4pm and while yellow fleet packed up for the day, blue were put on standby in the hope that race five could be re-raced and added to the leader board for all.
A light wind filled in an hour later from the north east and the blue fleet headed back out onto the course, finally getting a start away just before 6pm. Jo Aleh came out firing after the earlier disappointment and put a second on the scoreboard finishing behind Susanna Romero Steensma of Spain.
Lijia Xu CHN was also on hot form winning race four and then placing third in race five taking the overall lead now that she is able to discard her DSQ from race two. Two wins and two thirds give her 8 points in total as the regatta heads into the finals.
Sarah Steyaert FRA drops back to second overall with a 2nd and then a 36th in racing today while Evi Van Acker BEL is still looking strong just one point behind. Van Acker was 2nd and 14th in today's races.
Paige Railey USA and Jo Aleh NZL share 4th place overall both on 20 points. Railey was consistent today with a 7th and an 8th while Aleh's day was mixed with a 43rd followed by a 2nd.
Romero Steensma was the stand-out performer of the day languishing back in 60th overall at the start of the day the Spaniard clearly mastered the tricky light winds coming home with two bullets today. She improved her standing by 39 places to now lie 21st overall.
Racing continues tomorrow with the fleet now splitting into gold and silver for finals with a start scheduled for 10am.
Olympic Qualification:
With just six Olympic berths still available and 23 nations here in Auckland who have not yet qualified the battle for national Olympic qualification is on.
Currently Russia, Paraguay, Greece, Spain, Croatia and Ireland are the top six of the nations not yet Olympic qualified with Czechoslovakia remaining in touch.
March 17, 2008 Women's Laser Radial World Championship, being sailed off Takapuna Beach, North Shore City, Auckland. Sarah Steyaert of France has taken the overall lead after just one race was sailed today [Monday] with three races in total now on the board.
A postponement due to lack of wind delayed the scheduled start of racing off Takapuna Beach for the 116 boat Women's Laser Radial fleet competing for the world title. However a light north easterly sea breeze gradually filled in and the fleet left the beach at around 1 o'clock for a 2 o'clock start to racing.
The day belonged however to Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) [6-ocs-1] and Lijia Xu (CHN) [3-dsq-1] who both brought home a race win with a solid leading margin in their respective fleets in today's race. Despite this neither Tunnicliffe of Xu are featuring in the top ten as the American is carrying an OCS and lies 36th overall while Xu has a DSQ on her scorecard and lies 30th at this stage in the regatta. Both will likely rocket up the leader board once the first discard comes into play.
Steyaert leapt into the lead today after placing 2nd in today's race after starting the day lying 5th overall. She has a total of nine points which means her leading margin is slight with Evi Van Acker (BEL) hot on her heals just one point adrift on ten points. Van Acker, who had a share of the lead overnight, was 7th on the water today.
Australian Sarah Blanck retains third overall after race three with an 8th placing in today's race and is three points back from Van Acker.
Local girl and current ISAF # 1, Jo Aleh was a big mover in the standings today shooting from 11th overall up to 4th place on the leader board. Fighting her way back from 10th at the first mark Aleh managed to cross the line in 5th which gives her a points total of 18 putting her eight points clear of Nathalie Brugger (SUI) who has 5th place in the current standings.
Sari Multala of Finland will be disappointed after a poor race today saw her drop out of the lead and back to 12th place overall. A 37th in race three was the cause of her slide down the standings, and this race will likely become her discard once in play.
The intention for tomorrow, Tuesday 19th March is for an early start to racing in order to try and catch up for lost races on Saturday and today. Organisers hope to start racing at 10am in order to squeeze three races.
March 16, 2008 Women's Laser Radial World Championships, on Auckland's Hauraki Gulf. Sari Multala (FIN) and Evi Van Acker (BEL) have the early lead with a win and a second place apiece, which got underway today [Sunday] on Auckland's Hauraki Gulf.
It was a warm sunny day on Auckland's North Shore and a 20 knot south westerly greeted sailors for race one of the regatta which kicked off on time at 11am this morning. Easing slightly for race two the fleet enjoyed excellent sailing conditions all day, after the wind failed to show yesterday.
Van Acker enjoyed being back on the water for some top level competition having spent recent months laying low with a virus. However the Belgian demonstrated today that she's back in top form with a stunning start to the regatta. Despite traditionally being more of a light air specialist Van Acker's recent training paid off and she won the first race in the blue fleet.
Sari Multala of Finland had an equally good start to the regatta placing 2nd in race one in the yellow fleet and then following that up with a win in race two.
Both Sarah Blanck of Australia and Paige Railey of the USA also started strongly and have a share of third place both just two points adrift of the leaders. Blanck had a win and a 4th in racing today while Railey was 3rd and 2nd giving them both five points in total and well placed in this world class fleet going into the second day of the five day series.
Behind them is Frances Sarah Stayaert with a 6th and a win on the water today she has 7 points in total and lays 5th overall on the leaderboard.
Jo Aleh is the best placed of the New Zealand contingent and sits in 11th place overall with two 7th's on the water today. The light air specialist suffered with a capsize on the water today still managing a respectable result and is on equal points with Vickers (GBR) in 10th.
Women's Laser Radial World Championship 2008
March 15, 2008 Women's Laser Radial World Championship, New Zealand. The strong south easterly winds forecast for day one [Saturday] of the 2008 Women's Laser Radial World Championship didn't show and the 116 boat fleet were today becalmed off Takapuna Beach, North Shore City, Auckland.
From the USA:
Competitors spent the day bunched and drifting on the course in the hope that breeze would come from somewhere and allow organisers to get race one underway. A decision was made at 5pm to abandon racing for the day and the fleet made their way ashore.
The forecast for the Waitemata Harbour and Hauraki Gulf for Sunday is for southwest 20 knots, rising to 25 knots gusting 35 knots early morning. Then easing to southerly 15 knots late afternoon or early evening and becoming southeast 20 knots at night. However this prediction is similar to what was expected today, so for competitors and organisers it will be a matter of seeing what the morning brings.
New financial aid program for teenagers. US Sailing the national governing body for the sport, has created a new financial aid program - named Sailorships - aimed at providing financial assistance to junior sailors between the ages of 13 and 19 who are interested in competing in US SAILING Championships and/or clinics. The goal of the program is to assist young sailors with the development of their sailing careers regardless of their financial resources. The program, made possible by a generous donation from two US SAILING members, offers travel funds to youth sailors traveling to US SAILING Championships and/or clinics. Depending on the amounts granted, US SAILING could help up to 100 youth sailors before the program's conclusion at the end of 2009.
The amounts awarded through the Sailorships program will vary from $100-$500 per person per year based on need. Awards may be requested prior to or after a 2008 or 2009 event, but only one award per year may be granted per sailor. Interested sailors and parents can complete on online application and are asked to submit a letter of recommendation from an officer of their sailing organization. Sailing organizations are encouraged to nominate deserving junior sailors. All parties must be US SAILING members to be eligible.
An additional service of the Sailorship program will be travel grants to the U.S. sailors competing at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship scheduled for July in Denmark. A total of $10,000 will be awarded to help with travel expenses.
For more information about the US SAILING Sailorship program, please visit www.ussailing.org/championships/youth/sailorships.asp
March 14, ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship. This weekend in Sydney the battle begins for the final qualification place at the 2008 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship.
Less than three weeks now remain until the 2008 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship launch into action at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland, with racing scheduled from 1-6 April. To date, 13 of the 14-strong line up set to contest the 2008 World title has been decided, with the final skipper to qualify at the ISAF Grade 2 Harken Women's International Match Racing Regatta, taking place in Sydney, Australia from 16-19 March.
Heading the World Championship line-up is the 2007 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year and world #1 skipper Claire Leroy (FRA). As defending champion, Leroy received an automatic invitation to this year's Worlds, along with the top ten skippers in the ISAF World Match Race Rankings released six months prior to the Worlds (in this case 24 October 2007). Two further places representing the host nation New Zealand were secured by Jan Dawson, the President of Yachting New Zealand, and Jessica Smyth at the recent ISAF Grade 2 New Zealand Women's Match Race.
The Harken Match Race begins on Sunday 16 March and continues through to Wednesday 19 March, with racing on Rushcutters Bay with a crew of four in Elliott 6 sports boats - the same crew/boat combination to be used at the Worlds. Consequently, the event should provide a fascinating form guide ahead of next month's Worlds, especially for European competitors, many of whom will be dealing with unfamiliar equipment and conditions (Leroy had never before sailed the Elliott 6s before she competed in the New Zealand nationals).
March 11, Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship Returns to Houston Yacht Club in 2009. Houston Yacht Club (HYC) in La Porte, Texas will once again host the regatta, scheduled for October 14-17, 2009. As part of US SAILING's Championship calendar, the event's mission is to provide women sailors of all ability levels with high-quality racing and an opportunity to compete against top national and international sailors, while providing skills development through nationwide Road to Rolex clinics and mentoring to young women through the Next Step to Rolex program and the Junior Road to Rolex clinic.
Taking the helm of the local organizing committee is Marie Wise (Houston), while Taran Teague (Annapolis, Md.) will step into the role as chair of US SAILING's International Women's Keelboat Committee, which oversees the Rolex IWKC. Founded in 1985 by US SAILING and considered one of the world's pinnacle events for women sailors, the Rolex IWKC utilizes the International J/22 class keelboat, suitable for four-person teams.
"There are so many ways in which this regatta brings out the best in our sailing community, both locally and internationally," said Wise, who competed in the 2007 running. "There is such camaraderie between teams - such friendliness - and at the same time some of the fiercest competition to be had on the water. That is exactly why Houston Yacht Club is proud to be host again in 2009. Our club brings a spirit of southern hospitality to the top-level competition that this regatta is known for, and we are planning for even more teams, more guests, more fun, and, of course, some awesome racing. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone to Houston for another extraordinary regatta."
As local chair for the 2005 Rolex IWKC, Taran Teague brings a unique perspective to her role as the national committee chair. A certified national race officer, she served as the co-principal race officer at the 2007 event in Houston. Teague echoed Wise's thoughts on the special qualities evident at each running of the regatta.
"We all learned that when you are in Texas everything is big. As Ginny Garrett, the 2007 HYC regatta chair, passes the helm to Marie for the 2009 regatta, we are confident that Houston YC will come through with Texas hospitality, and do another horizon job in regatta and on-the-course race management," she said. "Already we have received inquiries from competitors, both here and abroad, looking to add the Rolex IWKC to their sailing resumes. It is an unforgettable experience for women sailors. I really encourage anyone who has not taken part to explore the idea of forming a team and competing in 2009."
Competition and Camaraderie: There is perhaps no other regatta like the Rolex IWKC in the world. Known for its tough one-design competition, the regatta is equally loved by competitors for its shore side hospitality.
The specifics: A popular "11-races in four days" format. Racing is preceded by two days for registration, measurement and a practice race - a great way for teams that are new to J/22s to get some extra time against the fleet.
The regatta typically attracts between 40 and 50 teams representing four to 12 countries - does not require qualification for entry, only that each team becomes a member of its country's national governing authority for sailing.
Previous competitors have included Olympic medalists, America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race veterans, world champions and US SAILING's Rolex Yachtswomen of the Year, in addition to women of all ages with varying levels of racing experience.
Every day after racing, HYC will host a casual dockside happy hour where competitors can debrief, rehydrate and relax. Each evening, Texas inspired parties will take place with the eagerly anticipated Crew Party and the traditional Rolex gala and awards presentation where a Rolex timepiece will be awarded to the winning boat's skipper.
Leading the Race Committee will be Jim Tichenor (Houston), a US SAILING-certified national senior race officer from Houston Yacht Club who will serve as Principal Race Officer. Additional details will be confirmed at the US SAILING Spring Meeting, March 14-16, 2008, and announced soon after. Bids are now being accepted to host the 2011 regatta and interested yacht clubs are encouraged to attend US SAILING's IWKC committee meeting at the US SAILING Spring Meeting.
A Preliminary Notice of Race will be posted online in early 2009 at www.ussailing.org/riwkc and at the event website www.riwkc.com.
Adult and Youth Development - Furthering the event's 22-year mission to provide opportunities for improvement to women sailors of all ages, organizers will offer:
A series of Road to Rolex skills clinics to be held around the country, supported by a grant from Rolex. On-shore workshops combined with on-the-water drills prepare sailors for the intense competition of one-design sailing. Where there are enough boats to hold short, windward/leeward races, the winner receives a credit toward her Rolex IWKC registration fees.
There are two opportunities for youth sailors:
1. Next Step to Rolex Program - An intensive two-day introduction to keelboat racing taught by leading sailing coaches that takes place during the Rolex IWKC.
2. Junior Road to Rolex Clinic - An optional weekend keelboat clinic offered to participants of the U.S. Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship, held July 7-13, 2008, in Sausalito, Calif.
For more information on any of these developmental programs or to subscribe to the Rolex IWKC newsfeed, visit www.ussailing.org/riwkc. For more information about the 2009 Rolex IWKC, contact Marie Wise by email at riwkc2009@gmail.com or at (713) 419-5329.
March 10, 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix, Miami Beach, Sunday. There was no slam dunk choice for the
Boat of the Week honoree at the 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix. That's because
all four classes were hotly contested throughout the regatta. Colm
Barrington and his crew aboard Flash Glove counted all first and second
place finishes and did not need to sail the final race en route to winning
IRC 1 class in convincing fashion. Andy Fisher skippered Bandit to a
hard-earned victory in IRC 2, which had four different leaders over the
course of the four-day regatta. Michael Illbruck and the Pinta team led at
the end of each day in Melges 32, an amazing feat considering it was the
German skipper's second regatta in the highly competitive class. Ultimately,
the three-part criteria that officials with Premiere Racing use to select
the Acura Trophy winner favored the Farr 40 Barking Mad, owned by Jim
Richardson of Newport, R.I. won three of 10 races and overcame some
double-digit results to capture what proved to be the closest, most
competitive class at Acura Miami Grand Prix.
In the 20-boat Melges 32 class, Pinta, the German entry skippered by Michael Illbruck of Munich, tightened its grip on first place. America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race veteran John Kostecki is calling tactics on Pinta, which posted a superb score line of 1-1-2 on Saturday and increased its advantage over New Wave to 10 points.
"Pinta is sailing at a very high level right now. They just don't make any mistakes," said Marty Kullman, co-owner of New Wave. "We did not have a good day and now we have some work to do in order to catch up with Pinta. We have to go out tomorrow and put up a good result in the first race and hope Pinta has a bad one. We need to close the gap enough to put pressure on them in the last race."
Acura Miami Grand Prix Results - provisional after 8 races
More to Team Nz Court Foray Than Cold Cash. Team New Zealand's foray into the US court system seems sure to spark some unfavourable comment about more money being spent on lawyers in the world's most litigious sport.
The America's Cup has tacked and gybed its way into the courts before - notably Sir Michael Fay's 'Big Boat' challenge of the 1980s. At first glance, Emirates Team NZ's efforts to recoup what is thought to be $50m will look to many like just another line lashing the Cup to a legal pontoon, helping to keep this event tied to the dock.
It runs a wee bit deeper than that this time. The legal stoush currently delaying the 2009 regatta (which could be called, in newspaper headline terms 'Billionaires Butt Heads', with its double meaning...) sees Ernesto Bertarelli of Alinghi and Larry Ellison of Oracle locked together in a legal battle for power.
But New Zealand is a small country. We produce many of the best sailors in the world but don't have the Bertarellis and the Ellisons to bankroll our syndicates. 'Rich man's plaything' is not a factor when it comes to Team NZ, in spite of the background benefactor presence of another billionaire, Matteo de Nora.
No, our team has public money invested in it and a huge dollop of public interest and investment of an emotional nature - even if Team NZ are at pains to point out that neither taxpayers' nor sponsors' money is being used for the court action.
Pound for pound, the public interest in Team New Zealand here outweighs that by the public of Switzerland or the US in their America's Cup teams.
So, 'the mouse that roared' has to rear up on its hind legs when it thinks it is being disadvantaged otherwise we become simply that mouse that got floored.
Much more in this must-read by Paul Lewis in the New Zealand Herald (one can make a solid argument that the Kiwis also produce many of the best journos in the world as well...), for article go to: www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=106&objectid=10496972&ref=rss
March 8, Bacardi Cup, Incroyable, Incrível, Incredible - Bacardi Cup Final - Speed, Black Flags, High Winds and Protests add up to Excitement during the Final Day of Bacardi Cup.
No sooner had 30-year veteran French coach, Daniel Dahon, finished saying that he had never seen such a commanding lead in a Star race as Robert Scheidt's and Bruno Prada's (BRA) performance in the first race of the final day of the 81st Annual Bacardi Cup than he sounded an "Incroyable". The 2007 World Champions finished the heavy air race over two minutes ahead of the second place boat. Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau (FRA) had pulled from fifth place at the first weather mark to second down the final run of the triangle, windward, leeward course in which the breeze peaked at about 20 knots from the SSE. Rohart/Rambeau did not cross the finish line, but rather, went to the left hand side of the line by mistake. By the time they recovered, Hans Spitzhauer and Christian Nehammer (AUT), Afonso Domingos and Bernardo Santos (POR), Mark Reynolds and Jamie Gael (USA), John Dane and Austin Sperry (USA) and Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson (GBR) had screeched across the finish line.
The fleet set out for a 10:00 am start in a brisk sea breeze. Even before they went into the starting sequence, a rig was toppled; many more came down throughout the day. Determined to run two races, the committee hoisted the black flag for the first start of both races. Scheidt/Prada were just inside Italy's leading Olympic candidates, Francesco Bruni and Gilberto Nobili at the weather mark with Spitzhauer/Nehammer trailing by a couple of boat lengths, but Bruni/Nobili's cover disappeared as they sailed off the course because they were black flagged. Scheidt/ Prada extended their lead on every leg while their followers tried to pass one another. Scheidt/Prada's straight line speed upwind, boat handling, including their gybes, were masterful.
After a rain cloud went by and the boats that had been lapped by the leaders finished, the fifth and final race was started. Competitors could throw out some deep scores once the fifth race was sailed. The leaderboard looked like many of the past season's Grade 1 regattas, this time with Percy/Simpson at the top with only 10 points. Scheidt/Prada had pulled into second with their victory in the first race of the day. Domingos/Santos and Spitzhauer/Nehammer had 18 points apiece.
With Percy/Simpson rounding the weather mark just barely in the top ten, it looked as if it was up to them to pass some boats in order to win the regatta. However, it was Scheidt/Prada's turn to peel away from the fleet before they got to the offset mark, because they black flagged the final race of the series. Robert Stanjek and Markus Koy claimed the lead and extended it to over 20 seconds by the time that the gun sounded for them. Former world champion, Alan Adler and Ronald Seifert (BRA) were second and Afonso Domingos and Bernardo Santos were third with Rohart/Rambeau, Pepper/Williams, Dane/Sperry, Bruni/Nobili, Kusnierewicz/Zycki and Negri/Viale beating out Percy/Simpson -- By Lynn Fitzpatrick
Top ten final results at the 81st Annual Bacardi Cup It was a mild day with the wind maxing out at 12 knots about 1500. Saturday is expected to be a different day with winds in the teens and low 20's. For results go to: premiere-racing.com
For Friday's video - go to: http://www.jobsonsailing.com/
March 7, Radio NZ, 7-minute report about ETNZ's lawsuits against Alinghi,
which includes an interview with syndicate head Grant Dalton go to:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/__data/assets/audio_item/0003/1379280/mnr-20080307-0729-Team_NZ_Sues_Alinghi-wmbr.asx
March 6, Emirates Team New Zealand is seeking financial compensation for the delay in holding the next America's Cup -
Statement from Lucien Masmejan, Alinghi legal counsel today [Valencia 6 March 2008]:
"We are disappointed to learn of this legal action by Emirates Team New Zealand, given their previous public acceptance and commitment to the competition.
These actions are totally without merit, wildly miss the target and will be defended rigorously. We share the sailing community's frustration in the delays affecting the America's Cup but Alinghi, as trustee, is duty bound to defend its position in the current legal action and to preserve the integrity of the America's Cup.
We have repeatedly made it clear that Alinghi welcomes a swift court resolution and wants to get the action back on the water as soon as possible."
Bacardi Cup Day 5 - No Racing
2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix, Miami Beach, Florida. A spectacular location and superb sailing conditions are two reasons why 61 boats from 14 countries have entered the 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix, starting today [Thursday] through Sunday off South Beach.
The fast growing Melges 32 class was hotly contested in Key West and another battle royale shapes up at Miami. Among the 20 boats entered are two from Texas.
Competition will also be keen in the Farr 40 class, which is priming for its world championship - being held off Miami in early April. Ten of the top 12 finishers at Acura Key West 2008 are part of a strong 29-boat fleet that will test sails and become familiar with the venue.
"This is a great opportunity for all the teams to check out the conditions and get a feel for the course one month in advance of the worlds," Barking Mad owner Jim Richardson [Newport. RI] said. "It will be a great tuning ground and everyone will come away knowing what they need to improve upon."
Dave Brennan, a lifelong Miami resident, returns for his fifth year as principal race officer. Brennan hopes to complete 10 windward-leeward races set off Hawk Channel just south of Government Cut.
"The breeze tends to be very steady off Miami this time of year," said Brennan, who is coming off a successful stint as PRO for the Etchells Jaguar Series. "Sea conditions inside the reef are terrific when the wind is under 15 knots. If it kicks up to 18 or 20, the waves tend to corner up and it can get a bit bumpy."
March 5, Bacardi Cup, Miami, FL [Tuesday] The second day of a moderate sea breeze left
Biscayne Bay awash with handfuls of seaweed and partly sunny skies for the
fleet to contend with during the third race of the series. After the third
attempt at a start, most of the 118 entrants headed toward Key Biscayne and
a cloud bank to the northeast on their first tack to a mark that was set at
165 degrees, 2.4 nautical miles away. For the second time in three races,
past Star World Champion Alan Adler and Ricardo Ermel (BRA) put together a
great start and a spectacular first beat to round the weather mark in first,
but it was the young Irish team of Guns O'Leary and Stephen Milne that would
soon parlay their sixth place position at the first mark with a bullet by
the finish. With their third place finish, Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson
(GBR) pulled into the regatta lead. Said Percy, "I've won a lot of races in
the Bacardi over the years, but I haven't won the Bacardi Cup yet." -- Full
story: http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_317.shtml
However, Lars Grael and Marcelo Jordao (BRA) made a slow
and steady climb through the fleet, rounding the first mark in 34th place,
and after two windward-leeward legs, had moved up to 5th place with one more
weather leg to go. The Brazilians, who just finished second in the Brazilian
Olympic Trials, continued their climb to win the lone race of the day, and
are currently the overall leader. Full story:
http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_317.shtml
March 1, 2008 International Tornado World Championship, Hauraki Gulf, N.Z. Jonny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree report: Stormy conditions forced the abandonment of racing on the final day of the 2008 International Tornado World Championship and our Team Advanced Equities finished eighth overall and just one place out of seventh.
The Australians Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby won the event, marking was Bundock's sixth world title in the Tornado catamaran. Canada's Oskar Johansson & Kevin Stittle were second and qualified their country to race Tornados in Qingdao. The French crew of Yann Guichard & Alexandre Guyader tied on points with the Canadians but were scored third when the tie was broken.
While we didn't make it to the podium, we're coming away from this event very encouraged about our prospects for Qingdao next August. We sailed very well and the biggest positive was that we were quick in a breeze and quick in light air and able to score well in all conditions. Our big disappointment was breaking down on Day Two when we were second overall. Looking back at the scores it's easy to see just how much that day hurt us.
We want our supporters to remember that for three years out of every quadrennium, we are part time professional sailors. Full-time careers make it difficult to stay at the top of your game. However, from now until the Olympics we're back to full-time professional status. We'll be putting jobs on hold and seeing very little of our families as we ramp up our training and preparation; looking to peak in top form and condition for the Olympics.
It's good to know we could do well here. The Hauraki Gulf, off the Takapuna Boating Club is very challenging. It is one of the trickiest we've ever sailed in. It has current, it is surrounded by land masses, there is breeze from a lot of different directions and thermals from various land influences. All those things factor in to keep sailors on their toes.
Crews representing nine countries were contesting the final four places on the Qingdao starting line. Canada, Austria, New Zealand and the Ukraine made the cut, beating out Russia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Poland and Venezuela.
With their second overall, Canada's Johansson and Stittlle qualified comfortably. They have been improving steadily and have sailed more than any other team over the last six months. Austria's Roman Hagara & Hans Peter Steinacher, who won Gold in Sydney and Athens were the second team to qualify with their 11th overall. They are light air specialists and arguably the favourites for Qingdao. This was more of a heavy air event and they were only just able to qualify. Aaron McIntosh & Mark Kennedy from New Zealand finished 12th and qualified their country. They are relative newcomers to the Tornado but Aaron represented New Zealand in the Mistral sailboard and is an Olympic veteran. Pavlo Kalynchev and Andrey Shaufranyuk from the Ukraine are another team that has been improving, and their 16th overall was enough to qualify them. They dealt a crushing blow as they locked out the Russians Andrey Kirilyuk and Valery Ushkov who represented their country in the last Olympics but finished here in 17th
As we leave New Zealand, we'd especially like to thank Mark Kenna, our Australian physiotherapist. Before racing started Charlie strained his back moving boats and without Mark's help it would have been a much tougher regatta for us. Andy Hagara came from Austria to coach us. He's agreed to coach us through the Olympics and we couldn°Øt be more pleased. He's a Tornado World Champion, two-time Olympian and European champion. He brings a lot to our program. Finally, we want to thank John Bertrand in Annapolis, Md., and Keith Taylor here in Auckland, for their marketing and communications efforts on our behalf. It was great to have Keith onsite to assist with our reports.
You can download full results at Takapuna Tornado Worlds: http://www.takapunaworlds.org/index.cfm?eid=1041 Be sure to visit our T-Squared Racing website: http://www.t-squaredracing.com/
Sail fast,
Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree - Team Advanced Equities I
Photo: Thierry MartinezFoncia details: Trimaran: ORMA 60' design by VPLP in 2001 and launched in 2002
Length: 60ft
Beam: 57ft
Mast: 28.5m
Mainsail: 188m2
Solent: 125m2
Staysail: 84m2
Gennaker: 248m2
1877 Tall Ship ELISSA to Visit Port of Houston's, Bayport Cruise Terminal, and will be open to the Public, Friday March 28 and Saturday 29 for guided tours. 
- The 10-month notice period was then interrupted by GGYC's filing of this lawsuit nine days later, on 20 July 2007
- The notice period then resumed with Justice Cahn's issuance of a final order dated 17 March 2008
- The notice period is now running again and will expire on or about 7 January 2009
- GGYC's challenge specifies a race in the Northern Hemisphere
- The Deed of Gift permits races in the Northern Hemisphere only between 1 May and 1 November
- Thus, the earliest possible first race date compliant with the Deed of Gift is 1 May 2009.
Golden Gate Yacht Club
Mr.Russell Coutts
c/o Commodore Marcus Young c/o Mr.Thomas Ehman, Jr.
#1 Yacht Road
San Francisco,
California 94123
We are pleased that you have accepted our invitation to work together to try to resolve the current dispute without prolonged court litigation and welcome you to meet with us next Thursday, 27 March, at 11:00am, at the SNG in Geneva, Switzerland. We are, however, extremely disappointed that GGYC at the same time persists in its habitual tactic of advancing legal argumentation rather than settling this matter on the water as SNG clearly has explained we would like to do. It is GGYC who started this legal battle in which GGYC sought to -and has succeeded in- preventing the multi-challenger regatta that had been arranged for July 2009 from going forward.
Vice-commodore
Head of America's Cup Committee
Société Nautique de Genève's
Photo by Gilles Martin-Raget / BMW ORACLE RacingAlberto Barovier, Italy, foredeck
Russell Coutts, New Zealand, skipper
Simone de Mari, Italy, pit
Dirk de Ridder, Netherlands, mainsail trimmer
Noel Drennan, Ireland; mainsail trimmer
Larry Ellison, USA, afterguard
Shannon Falcone, United Kingdom, mast
Daniel Fong, New Zealand, trimmer
Ross Halcrow, New Zealand, trimmer
Jared Henderson, New Zealand, pit
John Kostecki, USA, tactician
Michele Ivaldi, Italy, navigator
Jonathan Macbeth, New Zealand, grinder
Brian MacInnes, Canada, grinder
Gilberto Nobili, Italy, grinder
Joe Newton, Australia, trimmer
Hamish Pepper, New Zealand, strategist
Matteo Plazzi, Italy, navigator
Max Sirena, Italy, foredeck
Alan Smith, New Zealand, foredeck
James Spithill, Australia, helmsman
Joe Spooner, New Zealand, grinder
Andrew Taylor, New Zealand, grinder
Simeon Tienpont, Netherlands, grinder
Brad Webb, New Zealand, foredeck
Carl Williams, New Zealand, grinder
Julien di Biase, Switzerland, sailing team coordinator.
Sailing team biographies are online at www.bmworacleracing.comWomen's Laser Radial World Championship 2008. FINAL:
1st Sarah Steyaert FRA - 6-1-2-2-(36)-(24)-20-3-1-5 40 points
2nd Liji Xu CHN - 3-(DSQ)-1-1-3-30-6-4-(DNF) 49 points
3rd Andrea Brewster GBR - 9-12-(28)-(17)-10-4-15-9-6-4 69 points
Best USA:
6th Anna Tunnicliffe USA - 6-(OCS)-1-33-13-(34)-1-18-7 84 points
13th Paige Railey USA - 3-2-(DNF)-7-8-34-4-(45)-DNE-1 118 points
For full results more information: www.takapunaworlds.org PROVISIONAL Top ten overall standings:
1. Lijia Xu CHN 3-(dsq)-1-1-1-3-1-30-6 45 points
2. Evi Van Acker BEL 1-2-7-2-14-(dnf)-19-4 49 points
3. Sarah Steyaert FRA 6-1-2-2-(36)-24-20-3 58 points
4. Penny Clark GBR 10-7-18-13-(39)-17-2-2 69 points
5. Andrea Brewster GBR 9-12-(28)-17-10-4-15-9 76 points
6. Sarah Blanck AUS 1-4-8-(42)-11-8-28-18 78 points
7. Marit Bouwmeester NED 4-8-16-22-13-16-6-(35) 84 points
8. Katarzyna Szotzynska POL 10-6-13-4-20-7-29-(36) 88 points
9. Gintare Volungeviciute LTU 5-(nf)-23-28-4-3-9-20 92 points
10. Anna Tunnicliffe USA 6-(ocs)-1-33-13-5-34-1 93 points
Next USA:
13. Paige Railey USA 3-2-(dnf)-7-8-34-4-45 103
For full results more information: www.takapunaworlds.orgPROVISIONAL Top twelve overall standings after five races:
1. Lijia Xu CHN 8 points (3, (DSQ), 1, 1, 3)
2. Sarah Steyaert FRA 6-1-2-2-(36) 11 points
3. Evi Van Acker BEL 1-2-7-2-(14) 12
4. Paige Railey USA 3-2-(dnf)-7-8 20
5. Jo Aleh NZL 7-7-5-(43)-2 20
6. Sarah Blanck AUS 1-4-8-(42)-11 24
7. Nathalie Brugger SUI 7-5-14-(50)-5 31
8. Katarzyna Szotzynska POL 10-6-13-4-(20) 32
9. Marit Bouwmeester NED 4-8-16-(22)-13 40
10. Karin Soderstrom SWE 24-10-2-9-(38) 45
11. Lizzie Vickers GBR 8-6-15-16-(31) 45
12. Sophie de Turkheim FRA 4-(ocs)-9-5-28 46
Next USA:
18. Anna Tunnicliffe USA 6-(ocs)-1-33-13 53
Results Radial - Silver:
1. Tatiana Drozdovskaya BLR (dnf)-31-21-29 94
2. Fatima Reyes ESP 20-18-21-39-(44) 98
3. Sarah Tootill NZL 45-40-10-(46)-6 101
Best USA:
9. Emily Billing USA 29-(39)-21-38-24 112
For full results more information:
Regatta Website: www.takapunaworlds.org PROVISIONAL Top twelve overall standings after three races:
1. Sarah Stayaert FRA 6-1-2 9 points
2. Evi Van Acker BEL 1-2-7 10
3. Sarah Blanck AUS 1-4-8 13
4. Jo Aleh NZL 7-7-5 18
5. Nathalie Brugger SUI 7-5-14 26
6. Marit Bouwmeester NED 4-8-16 27
7. Katarzyna Szotzynska POL 10-6-13 28
8. Lizzie Vickers GBR 8-6-15 29
9. Penny Clark GBR 10-7-18 35
10. Karin Soderstrom SWE 24-10-2 36
11. Eftychia Mantzaraki GRE 11-8-17 36
12. Sari Multala FIN 2-1-37 40
Top US:
32. Paige Railey USA 3-2-dnf 64
36 Anna Tunnicliffe USA 6-ocs-1 66
59. Emily Billing USA 29-39-21 89
For full results more information:
Regatta Website:
#20 Page Railey. Photo: Will Calver PROVISIONAL Top twelve overall standings after two races:
1st Sari Multala FIN 2-1 3 points
2nd Evi Van Acker BEL 1-2 3
3rd Sarah Blanck AUS 1-4 5
4th Paige Railey USA 3-2 5
5th Sarah Stayaert FRA 6-1 7
6th Charlotte Dobson GBR 5-3 8
7th Lijia Xu CHN 3-5 8
8th Marit Bouwmeester NED 4-8 12
9th Nathalie Brugger SUI 7-5 12
10th Lizzie Vickers GBR 8-6 14
11th Jo Aleh NZL 7-7 14
12th Katarzyna Szotzynska POL 10-6 16
Other US:
63rd Anna Tunnicliffe USA 6-ocs 65
66th Emily Billing USA 29-39 65
For full results more information:
Regatta Website: www.takapunaworlds.org Sail Bow
193002 O2 USA Anna Tunnicliffe
193020 20 USA Paige Railey
193118 B8 USA Emily Billing
193119 B9 USA Sarah Lihan
It was a long day of waiting on the water for competitors who left the beach around 10-10:30am for a planned start time of 11am. A light south easterly that appeared to be building showed promise and a course was laid, however the breeze dropped away forcing race organisers to shift the fleet and hunt for breeze which just never came.ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship Line Up
1. Claire Leroy (FRA) defending champion.
2. Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (DEN)
3. Katie Spithill (AUS)
4. Christelle Philippe (FRA)
5. Silke Hahlbrock (GER)
6. Elizabeth Baylis (USA)
7. Josephine Gibson (GBR)
8. Gemma Farrell (GBR)
9. Silja Lehtinen (FIN)
10. Sabrina Gurioli (ITA)
11. Camilla Ulrikkeholm (DEN)
12. Jan Dawson (NZL)
13. Jessica Smyth (NZL)
14. Nicky Souter or Samatha Boyd (AUS)
Event site: www.cyca.com.au/editorial.asp?key=1550Farr 40 (28 entries)
1. Barking Mad, James Richardson (Newport, RI), 2-2-11-18-1-1-1-6-3-17, 62 pts
2. Mascalzone Latino, Vincenzo Onorato (ITA), 1-1-14-9-6-3-9-12-9-2, 66
3. Warpath, Fred & Steve Howe (San Diego, CA), 5-6-6-3-14-18-5-5-1-4, 67
Melges 32 (20 entries)
1. Pinta, Michael Illbruck (GER), 2-3-1-3-2-1-1-2-1-(5), 16
2. New Wave, M Carroll/M Kullman (Clearwater, FL), 6-1-3-1-1-7-3-(9)-2-2, 26
3. Star, Jeff Ecklund (Fort Lauderdale, FL), 5-2-4-2-4-(8)-6-4-7-3, 37
Houston Boats:
10. Black River, Doug Strebel (Houston, TX) 8-5-5-13-10-11-4-12-12-(14) 80
12. Mojo, Steve Rhyme (Houston, TX) 12-4-10-15-11-14-12-5-17-(18) 100
IRC 1 (6 entries)
1. Flash Glove, Colm Barrington (IRL), JV 52, 1-2-2-1-1-2-1-2-2-(7/DNC) 14
2. Windquest, Doug DeVos (Holland, MI), TP52, 2-(5)-3-3-2-3-2-1-4-3, 23
3. Rusal Synergy, Sergey Pichugin (RUS), TP52, (5)-3-1-2-3-4-3-4-3-2, 25
IRC 2 (6 entries)
1. Bandit, Andy Fisher (RI), Swan 42, 4-2-2-3-1-3-2-4-4-(5), 25
2. Teamwork, Robin Team (NC), J/122, 1-1-4-4-4-(6)-3.5-1-5-2 25.5
3. Gold Digger, James Bishop (RI), J/44, 3-(6)-1-2-3-1-3.5-3-6-4 26.5
Event website:
http://www.premiere-racing.com/miami08/pages/AMGP08_entry_information.htm
March 9, 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix. Mother Nature is indeed smiling on 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix. Nasty thunderstorms that were predicted for Saturday came during the wee hours of the morning. By the time racing began around 11 a.m., the sun was shining brightly and a stiff wind was blowing from the west-northwest. Because the wind direction changed dramatically, the steep waves that made racing so challenging on Friday had dissipated.
Farr 40 (28 entries)
1, Barking Mad, Jim Richardson, Newport, R.I., 2-2-11-18-1-1-1-6 42 pts
2, Opus One, Wolfgang Stolz, Munich, Germany, 8-8-1-1-5-11-16-1 51
3, Mascalzone Latino, Vincenzo Onorato, Napoli, Italy, 1-1-14-9-6-3-9-12 55
Melges 32 (20 entries)
1, Pinta, Michael Illbruck, Munich, Germany, 2-3-1-(3)-2-1-1-2 12
2, New Wave, Mike Carroll/Marty Kullman Clearwater, FL 6-1-3-1-1-7-3-(9) 22
3, Star, Jeff Ecklund, Ft.Lauderdale FL 5-2-4-2-4-(8)-6-4 27
Houston boats:
Black River, Doug Strebel Houston, TX. 8-5(13)5-10-11-4-12 55
Mojo, Steve Rhyme Houston, TX. 12-4-10(15)11-14-12-5 68
IRC 1 (6 entries)
1, Flash Glove, J/V 52, Colm Barrington Dublin, Ireland, 1-(2)-2-1-1-2-1-2 10
2, Windquest, TP52, Doug DeVos, Holland, Mich., 2-(5)-3-3-2-3-2-1 16
3, Rusal Synergy, Sergey Pichugin, Russia, (5)-3-1-2-3-4-3-4 20
IRC 2 (6 entries)
1, Gold Digger, J/44, James Bishop, Jamestown, R.I., 3-(6)-1-2-3-1-3.5-3 16.5
2, Bandit, Swan 42, Andy Fisher, Newport, R.I., (4)-2-2-3-1-3-2-4 17
3, Tiburon, Swan 42, Mark Watson, Newport, R.I., (6)-3-3-1-2-2-5-2 18
Event results, reports and photos are available at: www.Premiere-Racing.com 1. Domingos/Santos (POR) (12), 9, 7, 2, 2 20 pts
2. Percy/Williams (GBR) 3, (14), 3, 5, 9 20.0001
3. Dane/Sperry (USA) 20, (39), 2, 3, 5 30
4. Kusnierewicz/Zycki (POL) (45), 6, 7,32, 4 32
5. Spitzhauer/Nehammer (AUT) 5, (55),10, 4,15 33
6. Scheidt/Prada (BRA) 4, 12, 21, 1(BFD) 38
7. Barovier/Colaninno (ITA) (23) 4, 9, 18,10 41
8. Negri/Viale (ITA) (16), 7, 12,14, 8 42
9. O'Leary/Milne 14, 15, 1,(39)12 42.001
10. Diaz/Trinter (USA) 9, 3,(29),10,20 47
2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix. The committee sent the fleet out at 1030 and finally race 1 underway around 1300 after a one hour wait on the water. The wind direction for Race 1 was 170 at 10 knots. Boat Name Entrant Homeport Skipper Helm Tactician
Black River Racing Doug Strebel Lakewood YC, TX. Doug Strebel Alejandro Sole Jay Lutz
Mojo Steve Rhyne Seabrook TX. Steve Rhyne Steve Rhyne Watt Duffy
"This regatta is going to be the same as Key West, any one of six boats is capable of winning," said Ecklund, a Fort Lauderdale resident who will have boat builder Harry Melges calling tactics again. "We were fortunate to have consistent boat speed in all conditions in Key West and hopefully we can carry that over to Miami."
#30 John Dane/Austin Sperry. Photo by Bacardi Cup/Alex GortCurrent results (top 10 of 118)
1. GBR, Iain Percy/ Andrew Simpson, 3-14-3 20 points
2. BRA, Lars Grael/ Marcelo Jordao, 7-1-16 24
3. POR, Afonso Domingos/ Bernardo Santos, 12-9-7 28
4. BRA, Alan Adler/ Ronald Seifert, 2-19-8 29
5. IRL, Peter O'Leary/ Stephen Milne, 14-15-1 30
6. ITA, Diego Negri/ Luigi Viale, 16-7-12 35
7. ITA, Alberto Barovier/ Nando Colaninno, 23-4-9 36
8. BRA, Robert Scheidt / Bruno Prada, 4-12-21 37
9. USA, Augie Diaz/ Phil Trinter, 9-3-29 41
10. SUI, Flavio Marazzi/ Enrico De Maria, 15-21-5 41.0001
Full results: http://www.starclass.org/search.cgi?Action=view&Event_id=1371
March 4, Star Bacardi Cup, Miami, FL [Monday] On another beautiful day on Biscayne Bay, the 118
entrants needed the black flag and three start attempts before beginning the
second race of the series. In the shifty 6-10 knots winds, the early leaders
were Mark Reynolds/ Jamie Gale (USA) and Henry Filter/ Will Wagner (USA),
with Luca Modena and Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA) staying near the top while
others faltered. Current results (top 10 of 118)
1. BRA, Lars Grael/ Marcelo Jordao, 7-1 8 points
2. USA, Augie Diaz/ Phil Trinter, 9-3 12
3. IRL, Maurice O'Connell/ Ben Cooke, 8-6 14
4. BRA, Robert Scheidt / Bruno Prada, 4-12 16
5. GER, Iain Percy/ Andrew Simpson, 3-14 17
6. POL, Mateusz Kusznierewicz/ Dominik Zycki 11-8 19
7. ITA, Luca Modena/ Sergio Lambertenghi, 18-2 20
8. BRA, Alan Adler/ Ronald Seifert, 2-19 21
9. POR, Afonso Domingos/ Bernardo Santos, 12-9 21
10. ITA, Diego Negri/ Luigi Viale, 16-7 23
Full results: http://www.starclass.org/search.cgi?Action=view&Event_id=1371
Looking ahead to Europe and ChinaFinal Results (Top 10 of 51)
1. AUS - Darren Bundock/Glen Ashby, 14-(23)-2-2-8-1-1-6 34 pts
2. CAN - Oskar Johansson/Kevin Stittle, (21)-1-3-1-4-19-7-4 39
3. FRA - Yann Guichard /Alexandre Guyader, 4-9-1-3-13-4-5-(23) 39
4. GER - Roland Gaebler/Gunnar Struckman, 3-3-4-9-(30)-18-2-5 44
5. ITA - Francesco Marcolini/Edoardi Bianchi, 11-7-10-5-1-(52/OCS)-10-2 46
6. NED - Mitch Booth/Pim Nieuwenhuis, 7-2-6-8-(26)-22-4-3 52
7. ESP - Fernando Echavarri/Anton Paz, 1-14-8-11-23-(52/OCS)-6-7 70
8. USA - John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree, 2-5-29-(52/DNF)-3-16-3-13 71
9. FRA - Xavier Revil/Cristophe Espagnon, 18-12-14-6-6-(52/OCS)-8-8 72
10. FRA - Billy Besson/Arnaud Jarlegan, 19-(20)-7-4-5-6-16-16 73
We came here with a clear goal. We wanted to see how the advances we made and the things we tested at the American selection trials stacked up against the rest of the world. We confirmed that the equipment we are using is competitive. When we suffered losses it was through gear failure or poor tactical decisions. We'll be addressing those issues. We're as fast as anybody in any given condition. We can see some little steps in sails and equipment refinement between now and the Olympics but we'll be focussing on our performance mentally and physically in getting the boat around the race course.Click here for February 2008 and earlier SailingNews
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