Ready for Battle!

The Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup begins on Friday, with Emirates Team New Zealand pitched against Italy's Luna Rossa Challenge. The winner of the 'first to five' Final will win the Louis Vuitton Cup and advance to the America's Cup Match against Alinghi. On Thursday, the teams had a final day of preparation and afterguard members Terry Hutchinson (ETNZ) and Andy Horton (Luna Rossa Challenge) met the media at the opening press conference. Luna Rossa Challenge won the coin toss, and will start Friday's race as the 'yellow' boat with starboard tack entry to the start box. The teams will alternate starboard entry each successive race. Both teams will compete with the same boats they used in the Semi Finals. Luna Rossa Challenge will race ITA 94, and Emirates Team New Zealand will sail NZL 92. The teams are expecting close racing. The weather forecast is calling for sea breeze condition over the next few days, with winds from nine to 14 knots. Racing is scheduled to start at 15:00, with the first warning signal at 14:50.

Match Race Germany

Friday's racing saw a surprising early departure for the current World Tour leader and World Ranked #1 Ian Williams. Williams is always very strong in the starting box but with the conditions being light, this was less of an advantage. Joining Ian Williams in elimination were Bjorn Hansen, Carsten Kemmling and Wearn Haw Tan of China Team.

While the names at the top of the leader board are familiar, it was the 25-year-old Russian who stole the show and kept over 25,000 visitors on the shore side watching in anticipation as he cleaned up and won five races out of seven. Eugeniy Neugodnikov, Russia's rising match-racer, made a splash when he won his first match against America's Cup skipper Paolo Cian of Team Shosholoza.

Neugodnikov, looked like an experienced hand in his first race as it was a forgone conclusion when he crossed the finish line with Cian questioning whether he was actually in the race. He then went on to win a further four races and secured his spot in the semi final along with Mathieu Richard, Paolo Cian and Staffan Lindberg. Unfortunately Neugodnikov was unable to maintain his winning form in the first two races against Cian in the semis. It was a similar story for Mathieu Richard and Staffan Lindberg with Richard securing two wins.

Paolo Cian won his second World Match Racing Tour championship when he defeated Mathieu Richard 2-0 in the final of the 10th annual Match Race Germany. Cian, helmsman of the South African Americas Cup-team Shosholoza, and his crew overcame the French Saba Sailing team of Mathieu Richard. Cian and his Team Shosholoza crew finished with a 13 -5 record.

Shifty conditions with gusty 10 to 15 knot winds challenged the finalists and were significant in the tight races that were displayed. However, it was a tacking duel in both races that allowed Cian to display his skill as an America's Cup helmsman. Despite coming second, Richard has earned enough points to secure the number one spot on the World Match Racing Tour leader board. He currently leads with 70 points. He is closely followed by Cian with 66 points, whilst the World #1, Ian Williams, slips in to third place with 62 points.

The petite final saw Staffan Lindberg of Alandia Sailing Team take on Eugeniy Neugodnikov's team Lord of the Sail. Neugodnikov lost both his races to take the 4th spot.

Spain Picks Farr for VOR

Farr Yacht Design (FYD) has been commissioned to research, design and support two Volvo Open 70's for a Spanish entry in the 2008/2009 Volvo Ocean Race. This is the first time that FYD has elected to work for a single program for the Volvo Ocean Race. This arrangement permits greater involvement of the design team with the project management, builders and crew. FYD will be making a much bigger contribution to strategic planning, construction supervision, boat optimization and tuning assistance during the race than ever before. In the previous Volvo Ocean Race, FYD had designed 4 out of 7 boats. All four had severe problems during the race, even coming close to abandon. The Spanish entry movistar, designed by FYD, finally sank in the Atlantic, fortunately without and casualties.

Research work at FYD commenced in November 2006 and involves a team comprised of FYD designers and outside consultants. Tank testing is currently underway at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. The Spanish entry has acquired an existing Volvo Open 70 and FYD has designed modifications to the boat that will be built and tested over the next few months. Sails, appendages, hull shapes and canting systems are all part of the full-scale testing program. FYD staff members have been sailing on the boat and will be onboard for testing of the modifications to obtain first hand knowledge to use in their research and design work.

Personal Everest

Geoff Holt, the quadriplegic sailor who is attempting to sail around Great Britain, has been weather bound in Brixham, Devon since last Thursday. Geoff left Southampton on Sunday 21st May and sailed to Lymington, Portland and Bridport before arriving in Brixham. He had hoped to get further around the coast by now, but has been waiting for a weather window. Geoff will not set sail for Plymouth before Wednesday 30th May and even then only if the weather is a lot calmer.

XIX North Sporades Race

The North Sporades Race attracts boats from central and northern Greece for two days of racing. This year took place from 26 to 27 of May and had two legs: Skiathos to Steni Vala, 26 n.m. and Steni Vala to Skopelos, 21 n.m. The boats passed by the beautiful coastline of the islands. The weather conditions on the other hand were tricky enough to provide challenging tactics. This year the organizing club, Yacht Club of Volos, had its 25^th anniversary, so the race had a more festive character.

There were 4 classes, one included 10 IMS racing boats and three classes of 11 boats each, for the rest of the fleet. The bad weather of the previous days setback, providing happy sailing for the crews. On Saturday however, the light winds forced 29 boats to DNF. All boats had entered the picturesque port of Steni Vala at 23:00 local time.

The next day was a payback, with a southern breeze of 10 - 16 knots that helped the boats to finish early after just 4 hours of sailing. Sunday night at the prizegiving ceremony everybody had a great time. Winners are OXYGONO, ANTHROPON ERGA and ALPHABANK VORAS.

Heavy rains and prevailing winds returned on Monday, giving a hard time to boats trying to return to their home ports.

Russia in Volvo 2008-09

A Russian entry will compete in the Volvo Ocean Race for the first time in the event’s history. Backed by Oleg Zherebtsov, a St Petersburg businessman, the yacht will be skippered by former Austrian Olympic Star sailor Andreas Hanakamp. Michael Woods, who was Director of Race Operations for the 2001-02 race, will manage the team. Τhere will be a strong Russian element to the campaign.

Commenting on the announcement, Glenn Bourke, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, said: “We are delighted to have another confirmed entry in the race and we our especially pleased to have a Russian boat, which will further broaden the global interest of the race.”

The team plans to launch their new Volvo Open 70 in April next year to allow a full programme of sail testing and crew training in the North Atlantic before the start in Alicante, Spain in October 2008. Prior to April, the team will use a Volvo Ocean 60 (the former Merit Cup), for crew selection and plans to develop new talent in order to create a crew of youth and experience.

The Russian announcement brings the number of confirmed entries in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 to seven. Both Ericsson Racing Team from Sweden, and Pedro Campos’ team from Spain will enter two boats, joined by the US-flagged Puma Racing Team and Mean Machine from The Netherlands.

YCG Sailing Week

Monday 28^th of May, final day of YCG Sailing Week, started with heavy rain and unstable weather conditions. The Race Committee had to wait until noon to cancel the races for the day.

During the three days of the Sailing Week, 5 windward / leeward races took place in the Saronic Gulf, under the spectacular view of the Acropole of Athens, and one offshore race, 33 nautical miles long. The course was designed so to be interesting and provide participants with a chance to apply tactics and gains points. Last boat finished after 5 hours of non-stop sailing. Apart from Monday, the weather conditions were excellent, sunshine and breeze from 8 to 15 knots.

IMS Overall

1. MELITI IV (G. Andreadis) 1 3 1 2 1 2.5 (10.50)

2. GUAPA- FOLLI- FOLLIE (E. Tsohatzi) 3 1 3 1 3 3.75 (14.75)

3. ZANTINO-TIM (P. Strouzas) 2 2 5 3 2 1.25 (15.25)

IRC Overall

1. OKYALOS XV BMW (D. Deligiannis) 1 1 1 3 2 1,25 (9,25)

2. GUAPA FOLLI FOLLIE (E. Tsohatzi) 3 2 4 1 3 3,75 (16,75)

3. ZANTINO - TIM (P. Strouzas) 2 3 5 4 4 2,50 (20,50)

iShares Cup

Extreme 40 Basilica took the lead after day one of racing at the iShares Cup, Munich. Ending the day with a perfect score with four wins, the British team, helmed by Robert Greenhalgh, became the team to beat on Lake Starnberg. The six-boat Extreme 40 fleet got four races out of five away on the first racing day, in only 2-3 knots with a maximum of five. Built super-light, these 40ft catamarans can get up speed in light airs. If luck was indeed the key to success, then Basilica had buckets of it. The team was met with applause from spectators as they completed their final race of the day, securing their Mumm Champagne moment at the prizegiving. Scoring four straight wins gave them 40-points and a seven point lead ahead of second-place Tommy Hilfiger who also found the benefit of being consistent and continually chased down Basilica out on the racetrack. A great start for the team who only took delivery of their new boat last week.

Great Britain's Robert Greenhalgh helmed his Extreme 40 Basilica, crewed by Peter Greenhalgh, Justin Slattery and James Grant, to victory on the second racing day on Lake Starnberg in the first event of the iShares Cup Extreme 40 season. It went to the wire with the final race proving the decider. Greenhalgh kept his cool even after scoring a last place in the penultimate race and kept Jean-Christophe Mourniac's Volvo Ocean Race Extreme 40 at bay. The Brits topped the scoreboard of the three-day competition, that saw the maximum number of 15 races sailed and 25,000 spectators viewing the action. The race committee rescheduled racing on the final day to attempt to fit in nine races to reach the maximum 15 races allowed for each iShares Cup event. The six-boat fleet started at 09:00 local time in a moderate breeze although the wind varied in speed and direction throughout the day from 2 knots to the occasional hull-flying 8 knots. The next iShares Cup Extreme 40 event will be held in Marseille from 7-9 July but before then some of the fleet will head to Lake Geneva to compete in one of Europe's largest endurance races, the 82-mile Bol d'Or Mirabaud.

Paul Cayard Receives a Rolex

In recognition of the launch of their newest timepiece, Rolex presented international yachtsman Paul Cayard with a Rolex watch at a ceremony held on May 23rd at the Real Club Nautico Valencia, Spain.

Paul Cayard is a seven-time sailing world champion (including the Star Worlds in 1988), a five-time America's Cup veteran and two-times Olympian. Cayard surprised some when he switched gears to offshore racing and skippered the Swedish entry, EF Language in the grueling 1997/98 Whitbread Round the World Race. He won three of the nine legs on his way to becoming the first American skipper to win the race. Following that prestigious victory, he was honored the Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Award in 1998. He was elected to the Sailing World Hall of Fame in 2002. Paul skippered the Disney entry, Pirates of the Caribbean in the 2005/6 Volvo Ocean Race, winning the final leg into Gothenburg (Sweden) and placing a commanding second overall.

YCG Sailing Week

The third racing day of YCG Sailing Week started today, Sunday 27 of May, at 11:00 local time. Both IMS and IRC fleets have an offshore race to complete, inside the Saronic Gulf. SW winds of 12 knots and temperatures as high as 27 degrees Celcius, provide an ideal scenery for the race. Yesterday, the Race Committee completed three windward / leeward races. George Andreadis' MELITI IV (GS42R) won two of the races and is now first overall, with GUAPA - FOLLI FOLLIE (X-362) following behind in the IMS. Three points separate the three top boats in the overall, with ZANTINO - TIM (X-362) being the second runner-up.

Personal Everest

Having left on Sunday 20th May, the Personal Everest Challenge is now well under way. Paralysed from the chest down and confined to a wheelchair, ex-professional yachtsman Geoff Holt will sail over 1,600 miles around Great Britain in an inspirational Challenge that will take in excess of 50 days to complete. Already the holder of many disabled sailing endurance records, the Personal Everest Challenge will be exactly that, Geoff’s own Personal Everest. A test of physical and mental endurance beyond most fit and able sailors, the Challenge will also be an extremely complex logistical effort as the shore-based support team and the on-water support team, follow Geoff in his record breaking attempt. Geoff Holt now is on the way to Brixham on the fourth leg of his attempt. Geoff has called in at Lymington, Portland and Bridport, before leaving at dawn Thursday, 24th May for the sail to Brixham, where he hoped to arrive late afternoon. Geoff was forced to delay his start from Portland until 1430 hrs yesterday because of weather conditions. Geoff will stay at Brixham for a rest day on Friday, resuming his voyage at the weekend. Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland, have formally announced their support for the Personal Everest Project as part of their Sailability Collaboration Project.

Busy Weekend in Saronic, Greece

Three races run this weekend in the Saronic Gulf, Greece. The approximate 100 mile offshore race to Andros Island, started yesterday, Friday 25 of May, afternoon, with light and fickle winds, with a record fleet, the largest of the past ten years. There was no wind during the race, even when the boats cross passed the Kafireas Strait, an area renowned for its strong winds and currents. The first boat to finish and take the line honours was N. Lazos'and P. Livas' OPTIMUM3 - SUPERFAST (Farr52), shortly after 9:00 am (Local Time) this morning. Tomorrow, an inshore race is scheduled, for additional points.

YCG Sailing Week also started yesterday afternoon, ending Monday 28 of May, with a maximum number of 9 windward/leeward and coastal races. Light W-SW winds that later on shifted about 60 degrees north, gave a hard time to tacticians and navigators. There were two windward / leeward races for the IMS and IRC fleets, both won by GUAPA - FOLLI FOLLIE (IMS) and OKYALOS XV (IRC). For today, there were three W/L races scheduled to start at 10:00, but due to lack of wind the Race Committee postponed the start for 11:00 local time. The first race finally started at 12:40 with a light W-SW breeze of about 10 knots, giving advantage to the right hand side of the course. Some boats sailed as far as the layline for maximum gains, but the wind shifted at the weathermark.

A third regatta consisting of three short offshore races, Mavri Yitha, started today, at 14:00 local time, for IMS and ORC Club yachts. The start line was nearby the YCG Sailing Week course, enjoying the same weather conditions. The fleet heads to Aigina Island, a beautiful island in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf. Tomorrow the boats will head to Poros Island, and on Monday the third and final leg will start from Poros Isl. finishing at Piraeus.

Next Day in Oracle

CEO and skipper Chris Dickson has resigned from the BMW ORACLE Racing team four days after his team fell to Luna Rossa in the Semi Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The resignation is effective immediately. Team owner Larry Ellison has announced his intention to participate in the 33rd America’s Cup. The question is now who is going to lead Oracle's next campaign: Gavin Brady or Russell Coutts?

The Semi Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup were a study in contrasts. The calm, cool, conservative New Zealanders were stretched in dispatching a stubbornly effective Spanish team. Meanwhile, the fiery Luna Rossa Challenge, on the basis of start-line terror James Spithill’s pre-starts and tactician Torben Grael’s bold calls, easily eliminated BMW ORACLE Racing. Now these two – the Kiwis and the Italians – will meet in the ‘first to five’ Final.

VOR Remains Active with iShares Cup

The opening round of the inaugural iShares Cup, formerly the Volvo Extreme 40 series, started on Lake Starnberg, near Munich, this weekend with some notable names on the entry list. A total of six boats faced the starter for the first race. Jean-Christophe Mourniac, the 37-year-old French skipper of the Volvo Ocean Race Extreme 40, will be among a field of sailors from Volvo, America’s Cup, Olympic Games and solo offshore fame. Robert Greenhalgh and Justin Slattery, winners aboard ABN AMRO ONE in the 2005-06 Volvo, will join forces on Team Basilica along with Robert’s brother Peter. This is Team Basilica’s second year of Extreme 40 competition, having finished second overall in the 2005-06 Volvo Extreme 40 series. Dutch-born Carolijn Brouwer, 34, who completed two legs of the 2001-02 Volvo on the all-woman crew of Amer Sports Too, is skipper of Holmatro. She is joined by Dirk de Ridder, who was part of the Pirates of the Caribbean crew which finished second overall in the 2005-06 race. De Ridder is also Operations Director for the 2008-09 race entry Mean Machine. Fellow Whitbread/Volvo yatchsman Nick Moloney it taking a break from his regular sailing schedule to skipper the Offshore Challenges team. Moloney has circumnavigated the globe three times, the first during the Whitbread Round the World Race 1997-1998, the Jules Verne Record in 2002 and the 2004-2005 Vendée Globe. German Olympian Gunnar Struckman completes the lineup. Conrad Humphreys’ team BLUE will fly the flag for environmental causes throughout the series. Former Vendee sailor Humphreys has pulled together an impressive squad including Beijing 2008 Olympic 49er campaigner Paul Campbell-James who at only 24, is the youngest helmsman on the circuit. Campbell-James, will be accompanied by 49er crew Mark Asquith, Boat Captain Hugh Fletcher, bowman Nick Hutton and double International 14 World Champion Duncan McDonald, brother of Neal who skippered the Ericsson Racing Team in the last Volvo Ocean Race. Skipper and owner Erik Filso Pedersen has purchased the ex-Tommy Hilfiger (winning boat in 2005-06) and will compete as Team SLAM Denmark.

Second Boat for Ericsson

The Ericsson Racing Team has decided to build two boats in its bid to conquer the Volvo Ocean Race in 2008 - 09. After recruiting skipper John Kostecki, designer Juan Kouyoumdjian and boat builder Killian Bushe last year, the team announces today that a second boat bearing its colours will be raced by a Nordic crew and skippered by Swede Anders Lewander.

Alongside Kostecki's international crew, the second boat will be raced by an all Nordic team with a Swedish skipper. Anders Lewander, who will lead this team, is a newcomer in the Volvo Ocean Race and his profile is different from the usual offshore professional sailor. Anders Lewander has a strong background in dinghies sailing, having been a member of the Swedish National Sailing Team. Amongst different and very varied sailing experiences - ranging from 49ers to Archipelago Raid - he has also sailed around the world on board Cheyenne/Playstation in the Oryx Cup 2005. He has been working for North Sails Sweden since 1994, and is a very experienced sail maker. Lewander's crew will benefit from five time Whitbread / Volvo Ocean Race veteran Magnus Olsson's experience. Technical Director for the Ericsson Racing Team in 2005-06, "Mange", has been appointed by Lewander as coach and advisor to the Nordic crew. The two crews will be part of one same team and the two boats will compete on an equal basis. Both of them will be built by Killian Bushe next to Ericsson's headquarters in Kista (Stockholm).

Groupama 3, Miami to New York

Franc Cammas and crew of Groupama 3 are currently in Miami, Florida, USA, ready to pursuit new records. This time the boat and crew are ready to depart for New York, aiming the record of 2 days 5 hours 54 minutes and 42 seconds set back in 2001 by Steve Fossett's PlayStation. It's been a busy and successful month so far for Franc Cammas: on the first of May, Groupama 3 shattered the Discovery Route record also held by PlayStation, by more than 2 days, finishing the route from Cadiz to San Salvador in 7 days 10 hours 58 minutes and 53 seconds. Then on board the smaller Groupama 2, Cammas and team won the AS Lease Challenge in Lorient. Weather conditions are most important for this new record attempt, as explained weather router Jean-Yves Bernot. Miami is located on the edge of the trade winds and thus a flow of North East winds usually blows off the city. When this flow meets the Gulf Stream, it can generate rough seas. Conditions are ideal when a more favorable wind blows from the South West, a wind that occurs quickly and temporarily.

iShares Cup Extreme 40

Starting tomorrow, Friday, 25 May, the first event of the iShares Cup Extreme 40 sailing season will kick-off in Munich on Lake Starnberg for three days of high-octane racing. With just over 24 hours to go until the starting gun of the first of 15 planned races, there are six boats assembled and out on the water tuning and putting in some last minute training sessions. This event will be the only one where teams will start with a clean slate; where there is no leader, there is no follower only the hope of finishing ahead and taking an early lead in the series. Some of the teams will be competing for the first time, whilst other teams are back to prove they are still on the pace and have what it takes to finish at the top. Each team's objective is to win the iShares Cup - the overall prize of the 2007 season - over the four scoring events.

The Extreme 40s excel in all weather conditions and can reach speeds in excess of 35 knots. Lights winds have been predicted for the event, yet this news has done little to dampen the spirits. Six teams will be competing at the iShares Cup, Munich, including three brand new boats. Four teams will be making their return to the Extreme 40 sailing circuit with two additional teams joining the foray for the first time.

Botin & Carkeek and Goetz will Build PUMA

Botin & Carkeek will design PUMA's new Volvo Open 70, which will compete in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 and Goetz Custom Boats will build it.

Botin & Carkeek based in Santander, Spain, has been renowned for designing some of the world's fastest racing yachts. The designers have had resounding success in the highly competitive IMS with the GS42R and winning yachts in the Breitling MedCup TP52 class. Marcelino Botin is also the lead designer for Team New Zealand currently sailing in the semi-finals of the America's Cup Challenge Series. Goetz Custom Boats of Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, has an outstanding reputation for building boats for offshore endurance races. Its boats have won the America's Cup, Admiral's Cup and Maxi Worlds and have also competed successfully in three Volvo Ocean Races. PUMA Racing Team's new Volvo Open 70, which will compete in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09, will be ready to set sail in early 2008. Currently, the PUMA Racing Team is training locally in New England with their home base in Newport, Rhode Island.

First Entries for Vendee Globe 08

As many as 19 top sailors have already officially declared for the single-handed non-stop voyage around the world, Vendee Globe 2008. A total of 27 boats is expected to be lining up on Sunday 9th November for the start of the next Vendee globe. With eighteen moths to go before the start, 19 skippers have already carried out the required paperwork and filled in the forms allowing them to be on the official list. Amongst those returning, there is of course the title holder Vincent Riou, who will be turning up in a new boat from Farr design team. The same moulds were used for Michel Desjoyeaux's monohull, the 2001 winner, who returns as a clear favourite. Jean Le Cam, second in 2005, will be there at the start again, as his fellow Frenchman Roland Jourdain, who was forced to quit the race last time suffering from damage to his keel. Bernard Stamm, winner of Velux 5 Oceans, will be at the helm of the boat previously sailed by Jean-Pierre Dick. Mike Golding is returning in 2008 with the aim of winning. There are six French newcomers, including the Figaro young guns Yann Elies, Jeremie Beyou, Kito de Pavant, Armel Le Cleac'h and Arnaud Boissieres. While the first four have new boats (designed by Finot for Elies and Le Cleac'h, Farr for Beyou and VPLP-Verdier for de Pavant), Boissieres will be at the helm of Sebastien Josse's former VMI, which finished fifth in the last Vendee Globe in 2004. Marc Guillemot has a 60-foot boat designed for him especially by the VPLP team. Samantha Davies, a former Figaro racer is at the helm of the title holder, Vincent Riou's old PRB. The second lady is Dee Caffari, who made herself famous last year sailing around the world single-handed non-stop against the currents. Johny Malbon, Ellen MacArthur's former boat captain, will also be taking part on board Graham Dalton's former Owen-Clarke designed boat, who also designed Caffari and Golding's boats, as well as one for the Canadian, Derek Hatfield. Finally, the United States will be represented by Rich Wilson.

Team New Zealand to the Final

Emirates Team New Zealand has qualified for the Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The Kiwis defeated Desafío Español 2007 on Wednesday afternoon to win their Semi Final series 5-2. The Emirates squad will face Luna Rossa Challenge in the Final beginning on 1 June. Today's race took place in the most testing conditions seen to date at the Louis Vuitton Cup. Winds approaching 20 knots whipped up a swell of just over one metre, and the short, sharp waves tested both man and machine. Emirates Team New Zealand led Desafío Español over the starting line and extended the rest of the way around the race course to claim the win and finish the series. Desafío Español played a typically aggressive game in the pre-start against Emirates Team New Zealand, even in the big waves that were rolling across the course. However, Dean Barker got into a controlling position and forced Karol Jablonski out beyond the right-hand end of the start box. Eventually Barker tacked back towards the Race Committee boat and aimed for the line. NZL 92 crossed 17 seconds late but this didn't matter because ESP 97 crossed more than 10 seconds later, directly in the wake of the Kiwis. There was a moment of worry for New Zealand fans when the foredeck crew failed to get the spinnaker pole attached before bearing away at the top mark, and one crewman was washed back down the boat and sustained an injury to his hand. However, the Kiwis rounded 38 seconds ahead and took out chunks of distance downwind. The New Zealand crew were pumping the mainsail aggressively on the waves, surfing at every possible moment and rounding 50 seconds ahead at the leeward gate. The breeze dropped to 14 knots up the final windward leg but the Kiwis continued to pull away, leading by just over a minute at the top mark and going on to win by 1 minute 18 seconds.

Cutty Sark on Fire

A blazing fire ravaged the Cutty Sark, causing extensive damage to the world's last remaining tea clipper and one of Britain's most important maritime treasures. Residents in Greenwich, south-east London, where the 19th century ship has been in dry dock since the 1950s, described hearing an explosion at around 4:45 am. The vessel, which was undergoing a £25m restoration, is kept in a dry dock at Greenwich in south-east London. The ship was undergoing conservation work because sea salt had accelerated the corrosion of her iron framework.

A fire which swept through the famous 19th Century ship Cutty Sark may have been started deliberately, police say. Police are analysing CCTV images which are thought to show people in the area shortly before the fire started.

The ship had been removed for restoration and the damage could have been worse. Half the planking and the masts had been taken away as part of the project. So, there is not a huge amount of damage to the planking that was left on. What is special about Cutty Sark is the timbers, the iron frames that went to the South China Seas, and to think that that is threatened in any way is unbelievable, it's an unimaginable shock.

Firefighters were called to the scene at 04:45 BST and the flames were put out by 07:00 BST. An area around the 138-year-old tea clipper had to be evacuated during the blaze.

The Cutty Sark left London on her maiden voyage on 16 February 1870, sailing around The Cape of Good Hope to Shanghai in three-and-a-half months. She made eight journeys to China as part of the tea trade until steam ships replaced sail on the high seas. The ship was later used for training naval cadets during World War II, and in 1951 was moored in London for the Festival of Britain. Shortly afterwards, she was acquired by the Cutty Sark Society.

ETNZ-Desafio Match Postponed

Strong Northeasterly winds on the waters off Valencia have forced the Race Committee to postpone racing for the day. The wind has been between 20 and 25 knots all day, and the Race Committee considered the sea state off Port America's Cup (with waves up to two meters) such that it could cause damage to the racing yachts. Racing is scheduled to resume on Wednesday, when Emirates Team New Zealand will try to finish off its Semi Final series against Desafío Español 2007. The score is currently 4-2 in favor of the Kiwis, who need one more win to advance. Desafío Español must win the next three races if the Spanish are to upset the top challenger and advance to the Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The forecast for Wednesday is for more moderate Northeasterly winds, although sea state could remain an issue. Luna Rossa Challenge is waiting to meet the winner. The Italian challenger won its Semi Final series over BMW ORACLE Racing 5-1, earning its fifth and final win on Sunday afternoon. The Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup will begin on 1 June.

Rolex Capri Winners

Day three of the Rolex Capri Sailing Week, organized by the Yacht Club Capri in collaboration with the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, brought unpredictable conditions with the fifty-one strong fleet waiting most of the day for the 5 to 6 knot breeze to pick up, only to see a north easterly wind of approximately 20 knots, with gusts of up to 24 knots, arrive in the late afternoon. Once again the Race Committee set a windward-leeward course of approximately 8 nautical miles for the Farr 40 and Swan 45 divisions while the Mini Maxi and Comet divisions sailed approximately 14 nautical miles around the buoys. Today's strong winds proved challenging for the One-Design fleets in particular and victory is not assured for any of the competitors in the four participating divisions as they head into tomorrow's final day of racing. The Farr 40 fleet saw Helmut Jan's Flash Gordon (USA) take first place after a string of erratic results over the previous five races. Massimo Mezzaroma's Nerone (ITA) added another second place.

The fourth and final day of the Rolex Capri Sailing Week saw the competing fleet set out accompanied by bright sunshine and a 5 to 6 knot breeze from approximately 250°, increasing to 10 knots. The Race Committee set a windward-leeward course of approximately 8 nautical miles for the Farr 40 and Swan 45 divisions, while the Mini Maxi and Comet divisions also sailed approximately 8 nautical miles around the marks positioned in the Gulf of Naples.

In the Farr 40 fleet Jim Richardson's Barking Mad (USA), overall leader since Day Two, won the series by a clear margin over Massimo Stefano Leporati's Kismet (ITA) and Massimo Mezzaroma's Nerone (ITA). The sixteen competing boats completed one windward-leeward race today, bringing them to a total of seven races for the event.

The final outcome of the series for the Swan 45 division was decided in today's race with Carlo Perrone's Atlantica Racing (ITA) building on yesterday's fine lead to take overall victory. Dick Weismann's Vixen (USA) took second place while Paolo Scerni's Kora 3 (ITA) came in third. This division had everything to play for as the top three competitors were separated by just one point going into last day's race.

Overall victory in the Min Maxi division went to Massimo Violati's Ops 5 (ITA) over Carlo Puri Negri's Atalanta II (ITA) and Antonello Morino's Sei Tu 2 respectively. Maurizio Biscardi's Libertine claimed first place in the Comet division over last year's winner Nur, owned by Guido Morisco. Alberto Franchella's Aria TX Active, with a crew composed of members of the Italian Airforce, took third.

At the closing Prize Giving Ceremony, held in Marina Grande, the winners of each division were awarded with Rolex Trophies and a Rolex Submariner Timepiece. The Giorgio Natale Special Trophy for the best classified YCC or YCCS member was awarded to Massimo Violati.

Good Bye to BMW-Oracle

BMW ORACLE Racing and Desafio Espanol faced 'must win' races on Sunday at the Louis Vuitton Cup. The Spanish won and live to race another day. The Americans lost and have been eliminated from the Louis Vuitton Cup.

The American team took to the water with a new skipper in Gavin Brady and new helmsman in Sten Mohr as previous skipper/helmsman Chris Dickson stepped off the boat. But it didn't change the result - Luna Rossa Challenge led around the race track again, sealing the series win.

The Spanish, in contrast, made no crew changes, apart from regular crew rotations. Helmsman Karol Jablonski started the boat to the right of the NZL 92 and eked forward by just a few metres with a tiny right shift. They managed to lead into the top mark by just 12 seconds and protected that tiny margin the rest of the way around the track.

Racing started in a building 10 knot Northeasterly breeze. By the top mark, the wind had increased, topping out near 15 knots. An enormous spectator fleet, numbering in the hundreds took in the action, supporting the home side, Desaf?o Espa?ol, who earned a terrific victory.

Racing will resume at the Louis Vuitton Cup on Tuesday, with Emirates Team New Zealand against Desafio Espanol 2007.

No Surprise

Luna Rossa Challenge has jumped out to a 3-1 series lead over BMW ORACLE Racing at the Louis Vuitton Cup. In these Semi Finals, the first team to win five races advances to the Final, and following today’s victory, the Italian team is one step closer to its goal.

Luna Rossa Challenge led all the way around the race track, after starting to the left of the American team. After one lap of the course ITA 94 was ahead by just 12-seconds, but helmsman James Spithill and his crew extended that lead to nearly half a minute at the second windward mark and held on to win by 24-seconds.

In the other pairing, Emirates Team New Zealand started ahead of Desafío Español 2007 and extended the rest of the way around the race track. The Spanish made up five-seconds on the final run, but it wasn’t enough; the Kiwis won by 42-seconds. The Emirates team has a 3-1 series lead.

An enormous spectator fleet enjoyed a sunny Friday afternoon with good sea breeze conditions for racing.

Two Spanish Boats in VOR

The participation of two Spanish boats brings the number of confirmed entries in the race to five. The others are Mean Machine (The Netherlands), Ericsson (Sweden) and PUMA (United States). Pedro Campos who headed up the movistar entry in the 2005-06 race, has been tasked with managing the Spanish campaign. Sponsors for the two boats will be announced over the coming weeks.

Commenting on the announcement, Glenn Bourke, the CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, said: “It’s great news that we will have a major Spanish presence in 2008-09 with Alicante as the start port and two boats flying the flag for Spain out on the race track. The Spanish have a proud historical link with the Whitbread/Volvo and I am delighted that the tradition is being maintained. I’m sure Pedro Campos and his team will put together a very competitive campaign.

Rolex Capri, Day 2

Day two of the Rolex Capri Sailing Week, sailed in the Gulf of Naples, saw the 51 boat fleet set out with very unstable wind conditions. Erratic southeast winds dominated the first race of the day only to suddenly change into southwesterly winds during the second race, making it incredibly difficult for all the tacticians who had to deal with the shifting wind of 50 degrees.

The race committee decided to sail the same courses as yesterday for each class.A windward-leeward course of approximately 8 nautical miles kept the Farr 40 and Swan 45 fleets busy, while the Comet and Mini Maxi fleets sailed approximately 13.5 nautical miles around the buoys positioned to the north of the island of Capri.

Among the Farr 40s, Gianluigi Serena's Enfant Terrible - with Paolo Cian calling tactics -and Massimo Mezzaroma's Nerone - with tactition Lorenzo Bressani - respectively won the two regattas of the day. The good performance of Nerone, who dominated the second part of today's last regatta, brought her a 3rd place in the provisional ranking.

The overall results for this division after two days of racing and five completed regattas sees Barking Mad (USA), of owner Jim Richardson, dominating overall with a 2nd and a 5th place today, followed by Lang Walker's Kokomo (AUS), who fell behind yesterday's top position after a disappointing 13th place in today's first race and a 9th in the second. Calvi (ITA), owned by former president of the European Farr 40s Association Carlo Alberini, performed well in the two races.

For the Swan 45 division, composed of fifteen boats, two windward-leeward races were completed which both counted in the official scoring for the event after the two warm-up races competed yesterday. Atlantica Racing (ITA), owned by Carlo Perrone, dominates overall and is followed by Leonardo Ferragamo's Cuoridileone (ITA). The all-Italian Comet division saw Maurizio Biscardi's Libertine (ITA) - with Russia's Serghei Chevtsov at the helm - taking the top position overall with two 1st places in corrected time. The Mini Maxi fleet saw Carlo Puri Negri's Atalanta II (ITA) cross the finish-line 1st in both of today's races before moving to 3rd place overall on corrected time behind Massimo Violati's Ops 5 (ITA), who is actually leading the ranking.

Rolex Capri

The Rolex Capri Sailing week debuted in good sailing conditions with a west-southwesterly wind ranging from 8 to 12 knots and reaching up to 18 during the last leg of racing. The cloudy sky intimidated in the first race but left space to a sunny weather in last leg and permitted the Race Committee to complete 5 races in this first day of competition.

All classes raced with the fleet of 51 boats taking to the course prepared by the Race Committee in the waters in front of Capri. A windward-leeward course of 8 nautical miles was prepared for the Farr 40s and Swan 45s, while an initially 13.5 mile course was later reduced to 10 and set the stage for the Comet S and Mini Maxi regatta.

The Farr 40, with 16 entries, provided plenty of action with very close racing in the three windward-leeward races with disputed and close spectacular starts. Australian Lang Walker's Kokomo with Colin Beashel calling tactics led today's racing with two consecutive victories in the first races and a fifth place in the last, giving them an overall first place in the temporary ranking. Jim Richardson, in his Barking Mad (USA) with 2005 Volvo Ocean Race skipper Bouwe Bekking calling tactics, got second overall with a good performance today in two out of the three races. Italian favorite Massimo Mezzaroma's Nerone - who looks to establish a healthy score line in these 4 regatta days which represent the fist leg of the Farr 40 European Circuit - concluded the day with a first place in the third regatta, but fell behind the leaders with a 7th place and 17th place taken in the first two races. For the Swan 45s today's racing acted as warm up racing and did not count for the Swan 45 World Mediterranean Circuit, as the Rolex Capri Sailing week is an official leg of it. Looking forward to the arrival of all the Swans entries for the Rolex Capri Sailing Week, who were also enrolled in a previous event in Portofino, the real racing will start tomorrow even if today's races set as a perfect text for the 15 who had already arrived. Among the Mini Maxis, Italian OPS 5 - a Baltic 60 owned by Violati Massimo, member of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda - led the 7 craft fleet in today's 10 miles course and took first place. Comet 45s Libertine won in it's class in today's regatta followed by Roberto Franchella's Aria Tx Active.

Outsiders?

Desafío Español 2007, thw Spanish local team, beat Emirates Team New Zealand today, Wednesday 16 May, for the first time in 10 tries at the 32nd America’s Cup. The Spanish team needed the victory – the result closes up the score in their best of nine Semi Final match to 2-1 with the Kiwis leading. It was a convincing win, as helmsman Karol Jablonski put a penalty on the Emirates squad in the pre-start, before leading the Kiwi boat around the track, extending away on the second lap of the course for a tremendous win.

In the other match, Luna Rossa Challenge led of the starting line and sailed a tactically conservative match to beat BMW ORACLE Racing. The Italians led for the entire contest. Dickson tried to shorten the gap by sailing by the laylines but it was the Italians that finished first.

Rolex Capri

The Rolex Sailing season in the Mediterranean waters will opens today, Wednesday 16 May, with the third edition of the Rolex Capri Sailing Week. 54 boats have already moored in Capri Marina Grande harbor and are ready to take to the sea for the first race tomorrow after having already set a new record number of entries.

The Rolex Capri Sailing Week will be held from May 15th to the 19th and is organized for a third consecutive edition by the Yacht Club Capri in collaboration with the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.

A record fleet of Farr 40s, Swan 45s, Mini Maxis and Comets represent a total of 11 nations assembled in the Gulf of Naples. Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, USA and even a boat from Japan compose the fifty-four boat racing fleet.

All the previous edition winners are present in Capri to defend their title with the only exception being Vincenzo Onorato with his Farr 40 Mascalzone Latino following a grueling America's Cup campaign. With the 2006 winner out of the running, the 16 competing Farr 40 crafts will be breathing a sigh of relief and the two-time Farr 40 World Champion Jim Richarson (USA) with his Barking Mad will be worth watching, as will Matt Allen's Ichi Ban (AUS), runner up at the 2006 World Championship.

For the 16 one-design Swan 45 fleet the Rolex Capri Sailing Week will constitute an official leg of the Swan 45 World & Mediterranean Circuit and will host 2006 winner Leonardo Ferragamo in his third participation with his Cuordileone (ITA) alongside with Danilo Salsi's DSK (ITA), winner of the 2006 Rolex Sydney-Hobart.

BMW - Oracle Fights Back

BMW ORACLE Racing earned one of the great comebacks in America’s Cup lore, beating Luna Rossa Challenge after trailing by as much as 58 seconds at the first windward mark. The American team was 14 seconds behind at the beginning of the final run, but made a great pass down the left hand side of the race course, streaking past what appeared to be a slower Italian boat.

In the other pairing, Emirates Team New Zealand won the start off Desafío Español 2007 and extended away on the first upwind leg. The Spanish slowly gained the rest of the way, but never threatened the Kiwi lead.

There were ideal sea breeze conditions on the waters off Valencia on Tuesday, with Easterly winds from 10 to 14 knots. A large spectator fleet enjoyed the action on a sunny afternoon.

Jourdain-Nelias in Barcelona World Race

Veolia Environnement skipper, Roland Jourdain, who confirmed his participation in the double-handed Barcelona World Race just under three weeks ago in Paris, has now named his co-skipper for this new race as 44-year-old Frenchman Jean Luc Nelias. Nelias, an experienced monohull and multihull sailor who won the 2005 Calais Round Britain Race with Jourdain, will now face his very first circumnavigation of the globe in the new two-up, non-stop round the world race that starts on 11th November 2007 from the city of Barcelona. Jean Luc Nélias is the fourteenth skipper to be named and he will be the only skipper on the entry list so far not to have competed in a round the world race.

Jourdain, winner of the IMOCA 60 class in the 2006 solo Route du Rhum, selected Nélias as his partner for his race for his weather and navigation skills. Nélias, born in Quimper, France, was skipper of the ORMA 60 mulithull Belgacom from 2000-2004 and finished third overall in the 2001 ORMA Championship. In 2003 Belgacom was the second ORMA to cross the finish line of the double-handed transatlantic Transat Jacques Vabre race with Loick Peyron. In 2004 Nélias turned his attention back to Figaro sailing and finished 7th overall in the main event of the Figaro season, the Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro, as well as earning him the accolade of leading ‘Rookie’. Two years later, he raced with Jourdain in the 2006 Transat AG2R and the finished 4th overall. The format of the double-handed race will enable both sailors to push Veolia Environment – the same IMOCA 60 Jourdain raced in the 2004 Vendée Globe - to the maximum potential. These two skippers will race Veolia Environnement together for the first time in the prologue event for the Barcelona World Race, the Rolex Fastnet starting on 12th August.

43rd Congressional Cup

ISAF Grade 1 match race event, Congressional Cup, will start today in California, while most of the world's famous match racing sailors are busy in Europe. This week several are sailing in the Louis Vuitton semi-finals for the America's Cup in Valencia, Spain.

The Long Beach Yacht Club's 43rd Congressional Cup, presented by Acura, runs Tuesday 15 May through Saturday 19, but biggest stars are currently in Louis Vuitton Cup challenger Semi Finals for the America's Cup.

New favourites are merging like France's Mathieu RICHARD – #2 in the latest release of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings – and Eugeniy NEUGODNIKOV (RUS) and Andrew ARBUZOV (RUS), the event's first Russian competitors since Andrei NIKOLAYEV in 1998. The picture completes France's Damien IEHL (world #10), Sweden's Johnie BERNTSSON (#14), New Zealand's Simon MINOPRIO (#21), Sweden's Martin ANGSELL (#19), the USA's Brian ANGEL (#35) of nearby Redondo Beach and Poland's Przemek TARNACKI (#42).

The total purse will be $41,000, including $10,000 to the winner. The event will be managed by about 300 volunteers from the local Long Beach Yacht Club. The competitors, six to a crew, will sail ten Catalina 37s, rotating boats each day. Each team will race every other team twice. The six that fail to reach Saturday's semi-finals will sail a 10-mile fleet race on the final championship day.

The First Blood

It was a difficult day to be an afterguard member at the Louis Vuitton Cup on Monday. The first races of the Semi Finals saw an offshore breeze that varied from eight to 18 knots in strength and shifted by nearly 180 degrees. In fact, on the final run, the boats started under spinnaker and finished under genoa, tacking for the finishing line.

The crews on Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Challenge figured out the tricky conditions best, drawing first blood in the 'first to five' Semi Final. Luna Rossa tactician Torben Grael, in particular, was a magician in sailing his own race, and not panicking when a big early lead evaporated on the first run.

In the first match, Luna Rossa Challenge beat BMW ORACLE Racing with a time difference of 2:19. In the pre-start it looked as though Luna Rossa might be able to close BMW ORACLE Racing out above the Race Committee boat, but the American boat slotted in nicely next to the boat with Luna Rossa just to the left. After sailing closely together for many minutes, the Italians and Americans broke away to opposite sides of the course. Luna Rossa tactician Torben Grael found the better breeze to the left and the Italians rounded 52 seconds ahead. Around the top mark, USA 98 picked up a beautiful puff of breeze and surged down the right-hand side of the course, and recouped a 400 metre deficit to put Luna Rossa helmsman James Spithill under pressure at the leeward gate. The Italians did a better job of shadowing the Americans down the final run, and even when the breeze shifted nearly 180-degrees just before the finish, Luna Rossa capitalised on the changeable conditions and stretched the winning margin to over two minutes at the finish.

In the second match Emirates Team New Zealand beat Desafío Español 2007. Dean Barker won the right-hand end of the start and it wasn't long before the Kiwis had established a small lead over Desafío Español 2007. After winning the lead from the right, Barker dragged the match to the left-hand layline and led Karol Jablonski to the first mark by 1:03. As new breeze filled in across the course, and the teams were forced to douse spinnakers in favour of jibs for some close reaching to the finish, the Kiwis extended away to win by 43 seconds at the finish.

New Patches in Valencia

The brand new Reichel Pugh designed ‘Patches’ owned by Eamon Conneely, arrived by ship on Saturday 12 May in Valencia from Hong Kong, after 22 days at sea. In what could turn out to be an increasing trend to build race boats in the Far East, this boat was built by McConaghy’s International in their Chinese facility in Don Guan. The six month build program involved 40 local Chinese workers and supervision from boat builders from McConaghy’s yard in Sydney, Australia. Owner Eamon Conneely visited the yard in China in January to monitor progress. Skipper Ian Walker, who’s company High Aspect project managed the build process, is delighted with the results. Of interest to any potential new TP52 teams will be the very competitive 2005 Patches that is still available for sale or charter in time for this season’s circuit.

ISAF Sailing World Cup

The ISAF Sailing World Cup has been in the planning for several years, and in November 2006, ISAF approved the initial six events and the overview event concept, with the ISAF Executive Committee charged to finalize details. The objective of the ISAF Sailing World Cup is to provide a clear competition structure for Olympic sailing and enhance Olympic sailing for the competitors, provide a media and marketing tool to benefit sponsors, event organizers, the sailors and the sport, and to promote and educate people about sailing. In November 2006, ISAF approved that a series of events will combine under the umbrella of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, with the subject to contract the initial events being:

Sail Melbourne

Rolex Miami OCR

Princess Sofia Trophy

Semaine Olympique Française

Holland Regatta

Kiel Week

The ISAF Sailing World Cup will kick off in 2008 and ISAF has been working in partnership with the event organizers to finalize details of the concept and calendar scheduling. A consistent approach will be taken not only on the competition format across the World Cup events, but also on media activities, marketing and the event brand. As part of their commitment to the World Cup, each event organizer will be required to contribute towards TV production, to an amount which will be matched by ISAF and put in entirety towards the television production and distribution. From 2009 onwards, the scheduling of Sail Melbourne and Rolex Miami OCR will be moved to enable competitors to compete in both events, with Sail Melbourne during the second week of January and Rolex Miami OCR during the second week of February.

A sailor’s finishing place at each individual event in the World Cup series will count towards his ISAF Sailing World Cup score, using a high point scoring system and no discard. The intention is to also count results from the individual Olympic Class World Championships within the World Cup scoring. However, as at the moment Kiel Week is the last event in the World Cup series, World Championships will need to have concluded prior to Kiel in order to be included. From 2010 onwards, ISAF plans to introduce a Grand Final which will take place in the months after Kiel Week and see the top sailors from the series in a 'head to head' Grand Final at a venue which will be moved around the world each year. ISAF also intends to add additional non-European events to the World Cup series in the coming years, with an initial focus on an event in Asia. ISAF will publish a separate update on the launch of the ISAF Sailing World Cup.