Rolex Commodores' Cup

Close of Challenges for the 2008 Rolex Commodores' Cup was on Monday 26th May. The result: 6 nations and 15 teams, two up from 2006. With the weeklong competition commencing on 29th June, team managers are putting final touches to some of the combinations and continuing the process of honing skills.

Event Organisers, the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), are understandably delighted with the increase in interest. The participation of Spain and Hong Kong is extremely positive and, along side the strong, multiple challenges from Ireland, France, The Netherlands and the UK, bodes well for some intense action on the water.

Following a review of the 2006 event, RORC has instituted some changes to the racing format, introducing a round the Isle of Wight course as part of the offshore component and making a double-points inshore course the last race of the series. RORC Commodore David Aisher was quick to express the club's deep satisfaction with the level of Challenges and anticipates a tight contest that will be decided on the last race, "with Challenges received from 6 countries for a total of 45 boats we are delighted that the Rolex Commodores' Cup has once again proved itself attractive to top level amateur sailors. The number of entries is a solid endorsement of the revised format event. With the last race being inshore and carrying double points it should take the competition right to the wire!"

Puma Base Boston

The Volvo Ocean Race has confirmed Fan Pier in Boston as the sole North American stopover when the race visits the US East Coast port city in April-May 2009.

Agreement between race organisers to bring the race to Fan Pier has been backed by the city of Boston and has been made possible by the efforts of the local developer Joe Fallon, who is working closely with city officials to ensure a successful, world-class event at the coveted waterfront location - Fan Pier.

The entire stopover facility including berthing for the seven-boat fleet, race village, entertainment complex and haul-out area will be accommodated on a five-acre Volvo Ocean Race zone within the development site.

Two weeks of festivals and local events are planned for the beginning of May 2009, to celebrate the arrival and departure of the Volvo Ocean Race, Boston's maritime history and the sport of sailing.

During the stopover, race organizers will stage a point-scoring In-Port Race in Boston's Outer Harbour, while the Pro-Am Race will be held just off Fan Pier.

Boston is the only North American port stopover for the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race. PUMA, which headquarters its North American operations in the greater Boston area, has entered the race with their boat il mostro representing the U.S. The boat is skippered by Ken Read who has strong ties to the greater Boston area.

At the completion of its stopover at Fan Pier, the re-start of the race continues onto its next port stopover, Galway, Ireland.

Last of Class40

Thierry Bochard and Mistral Loisirs Pole Sante ELIOR completed The Artemis Transat Class40 podium taking third place behind Boris Herrmann and Beluga racer at 10:42:57 GMT this morning (Thursday 29th May). Organised by OC Events, the 13th edition of The Transat, now known as The Artemis Transat, started on the 11th May, 2008 from Sutton Harbour, Plymouth (UK), and will finish in Boston, USA. Created in 1960 by Sir Francis Chichester and Blondie Hasler, and often known until 2004 as the OSTAR, the oldest solo race in history has created many legends over the last four decades. The 2008 edition will be a monohull only race for the first time since multihulls were introduced in 1964. Two monohull classes are confirmed as IMOCA 60 and Class 40 - a mix of pre-eminent ocean racing IMOCA skippers with a class that contains aspiring ocean racing professionals and accomplished amateurs.

Artemis

With 13 IMOCA Open 60 and 11 Class40 monohulls entered, The Artemis Transat 2008 boasts an impressive lineup - a closer look at the names and associated CVs reveals quite a few significant figures, proving once again that this mythical event created in 1960 remained the ultimate ocean racing test throughout the decades.

Artemis

Thirty-three year old Samantha Davies has become the first Briton to finish The Artemis Transat 2008 solo race in Boston, USA. Samantha sailed her 60-foot monohull Roxy across the finish line at 23:00:51 GMT (19:00 local time) yesterday (26 May) in a time 15 days, 10 hours, 00 minutes and 51 seconds. For the last 24 hours, Sam battled a biting and gusty 25 to 35 knot headwind, but crossed the line with a huge smile.

Rolex Capri

Today was a good day. A good day to be sailing and an extremely good day to be sailing at Rolex Capri Sailing Week. Added to the mix of blue skies, sun and wind was a scenic backdrop that has the potential to defy imagination. For the competing crews there was little time, except between races, to truly enjoy the sight of Capri bathed in sunshine with Ischia and Vesuvius looming in the distance, but frankly they were probably having too much fun to care. For those with more time on their hands, watching yacht racing in these conditions, in this location is a privilege.

Back to the action. All classes took on two windward/leeward courses set into a freshening breeze from the south-east. The big boys raced over 8.1 miles and then 9.3 miles, whilst the two smaller boat classes raced twice over a 6.6 mile course. Wind was generally in the 8-12 knot range, but occasionally hit fifteen. The courses were laid with the windward mark in the Bocca Piccolo,! the narrow channel between Capri and the mainland. This gave rise to the odd shift, and plenty of lifts and headers, helping to ensure the tacticians justified their positions in deciding which side of the course was favoured.

iShares Cup

Nine Extreme 40s will line up on the stunning Lake Lugano, on the Swiss-Italian border, over May 30-June 1, and preparations are nearly complete. Expectations are that the action will be intense from the very first start gun as the competition steps up a gear for this season with some big-hitting teams joining the line-up.

The nine boats competing at the first event of the iShares Cup are: America's Cup winners Alinghi; the British and New Zealand crew onboard Team Aqua; BT, skippered by offshore solo star Nick Moloney; the Dutch Holmatro crew; title sponsors iShares and their promising team; JPMorgan Asset Management, skippered by double Olympic gold medallist Shirley Roberston; British America's Cup Challengers TEAMORIGIN; the Volvo Ocean Race crew from the Netherlands; and o! ne more new entry soon to be announced.

Peyron Finished

Loick Peyron on board Gitana Eighty crossed the finish line of The Artemis Transat at 03:15:35 GMT on Saturday, 24th May (00:15:35 local time). His arrival in Boston, USA, marks an historic achievement for this legendary French sailor. He is now the only sailor in history to have won this race three times (1992/1996/2008), exceeding the two-time record he shared with another French sailing legend, Eric Tabarly.

Gitana Eighty finished the 2,982-mile course of The Artemis Transat in a time of 12 days, 11 hours, 45 minutes, 35 seconds (based on corrected time including the deduction of the 2.5 hour time allowance awarded by the jury for his rescue of Vincent Riou). In doing so, he has beaten the existing monohull record of 12 days, 15 hours, 18 mins and 8 secs set by Mike Golding onboard Ecover in 2004, by 3 hours, 32 mins and 33 secs.

Artemis

Gitana Eighty skipper Loick Peyron stays in control at the front with Brit Air skipper Armel having his final chance for attack. Sam Davies onboard Roxy drops back to 7th place but only 12 miles in distance to finish separates her from Cervin ENR in 5th, this race is far from over for the chasing group of Open 60s in The Artemis Transat.

For the Class 40 fleet, as the north-south spread decreases to under 80 miles in the approach to the ice gate, Groupe Partouche (7th), Custo Pol (8th), Prevoir Vie (9th) and Groupe Royer (10th) are separated by 16 miles. After reporting a broken headsail furler this afternoon, Alex Bennett in 6th is matching speed at 8 knots with Miranda Merron on 40 Degrees in 5th. Just 11 miles separate the two boats.

The race leader, Telecom Italia, has taken over the southern position in the fleet as the overnight position blackout descends. So far, Beluga Racer in 2nd and Mistral Loisirs - Pole Sante ELIOR in 3rd are keeping pace, trailing Giovanni Soldini by 54 miles. Boris Herrmann and Thierry Bouchard are still under 1 mile apart.

Rolex Capri Sailing Week

Rolex Capri Sailing Week returned to some sense of normality today with blue skies, warm breeze and sunshine. On the racecourse the scene was a little different as the heat of the day seemingly affected one or two judgments. The breeze was 10 -13 knots for the early racing, but dropped during the day to sub-10 knots and, with plenty of shifts, gains and losses were there for the witting and unwitting.

At the end of racing the Maxi Class added two 9.5 mile windward/leewards to its scoreline and the Swan 601 Spirit of Jethou heads the standings following an unfortunate error on Alfa Romeo that has dropped her to third. In the Comets, racing twice over seven miles, Agorà Patrimoni Immobiliare put in two solid seconds to maintain her one point advantage over Libertine. The Swan 45s, meantime, had three good races that were not as straightforward as they could have been.

In the first race of the day the blue touch paper was lit on Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo, as expected, and she smoked away from the start unchallenged. Hardly surprising given her crew features a number of the Alinghi America's Cup team, including Grant Simmer. To put a bit of perspective on her impeccable performance, Alfa was on her second top mark rounding before the Comet fleet had made its first and then went on to finish the race before any of the others in her division had reached the second upwind mark.

Clipper Race

Hull & Humber achieved their fourth consecutive victory of the series overnight, finishing just 57 seconds ahead of New York into Port Antonio, Jamaica. As the fleet of 68-foot yachts are about to embark on their final leg, ahead of the race finish in Liverpool on July 5, plans are now well underway for the next edition of this highly-successful event.

In the build up to the start of Clipper 09-10, the fleet will be based in Hull, which forms the UK's largest port complex with its Humber counterparts in Goole, Grimsby and Immingham. High-profile events for international delegations visiting the region around the start and finish of Clipper 09-10 are already being explored by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency taking the Clipper Race to the Humber.

Clipper Chairman and legendary yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston said he had been impressed with Hull & Humber's campaign in Clipper 07-08 and the events that Yorkshire Forward hosted for the fleet in the region ahead of the race start last year. Hull & Humber, skippered by Danny Watson, is currently leading overall after nine of the 14 races that make up the ten-month series.

Sir Robin said: 'Hull & Humber hosted the Clipper fleet last summer for a warm-up race from Rotterdam to Hull for the Wilberforce Challenge Cup. It was a marvellous weekend and the combination of facilities and hospitality was first-class.'

³During the current race Yorkshire Forward has really shown the world how to make their entry [Hull & Humber] work to their advantage. They¹ve organised trade missions, conferences and a wide range of events in ports of call to promote the region and their businesses. They have achieved significant media exposure, getting their message in front of hundreds of millions of people.²

Artemis Transat

The leaders of The Artemis Transat are sailing fast in reaching conditions, but kept busy preparing their boats for what will be the fiercest gale of the race. Calmly and very professionally, both Loick Peyron (Gitana Eighty) and Armel Le Cleac'h (Brit Air) have planned their sail reductions, carried out an overall check-up and are already witnessing a serious wind increase. The contrast could not be stronger with the second pack, desperately waiting for some breeze in order to cross the ice gate. "0 knots of wind and 0 knots of boat speed", reported Sam Davies (Roxy) this morning. Vincent Riou's shore team has reacted quickly to his abandonment of the Open 60 PRB after a collision on the North Atlantic. Pierre-Louis Pillot, Eric Carret et Antoine Le Bras are now in Halifax Nova Scotia and have chartered a tugboat and pilot to take them to the abandoned boat. Two tracking beacons were activated before Vincent left the boat. The difficulties in the salvage attempt is that there is a strong depression moving into the area where the boat is located, and that the boat sustained damage to its keel and may sustain more before the salvage... or during it. It will take the tug at least 2 days to reach the boat.

Rolex Capri Sailing Week

Rolex Capri Sailing Week 2008 opened with a 33.4 mile coastal course that took all classes on a short beat to windward, followed by a fetch across the Golfo di Napoli from Capri to a mark off the equally glamorous island of Ischia and back again in a fresh south-south westerly, that at times was gusting upwards of twenty knots. The initial beat and subsequent fetch were fairly straightforward. For the tightly bunched Swan 45s and the Comets, though, the trip back offered more options as witnessed by the variety of headsails used on different yachts. To change or not to change that was undoubtedly the question. For the yachts out front the risk was clear, make the wrong choice and risk being overtaken. For those at the back, take a look at what was going on up front and guess accordingly.

Vincent Riou off the Race

The duel between Loick Peyron and Vincent Riou was cut short late this afternoon when the latter alerted race management that he was requesting assistance following a keel problem with his monohull.

In fact, last night the skipper of the 60' Vendee boat seemingly hit a basking shark, the impact damaging the appendage. The damage was such that Vincent Riou wished to abandon ship, no longer feeling safe with an impending storm forecast across the Imoca fleet tomorrow. Being the closest to PRB, the second he was contacted the skipper of Gitana Eighty immediately diverted following a request from Sylvie Viant, race director. It was 1500 hours when Loick Peyron altered his course. In order to simplify the transfer, Vincent Riou got into his liferaft, which he had securely fastened to PRB. The rescue operation was carried out efficiently and simplified by the particularly mild weather conditions at the time. At 1725 UT, Vincent Riou was aboard Gitana Eighty. The monohull in the colours of the LCF Rothschild Group was then able to make towards Boston again, and is now leading the fleet.

Clipper Round The World Yacht Race

The ten internationally-backed yachts of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race fleet have started Race 10 from Panama to Jamaica.

The last four yachts to transit the Panama Canal sailed out into the Caribbean on Sunday night to join the six who had completed their passage during Friday and Saturday for the Le Mans start at a prearranged rendezvous point. In a Le Mans start the yachts line up with only their mainsails hoisted. On the starting signal they must raise their headsails as quickly as they can to gain as much advantage as possible over their competition.

The 590-mile race is one of the shortest of the 14 individual races in Clipper 07-08 and will be an upwind sprint to the Caribbean island and the finish line before the fleet arrives in Port Antonio, Jamaica.

Current leaders Hull & Humber are confident they can maintain their current form and make another appearance on the podium. Round the world crew member Nigel Rose says, 'The race is going to be manic because it's a sprint so there's not going to be any weather routing issues or anything. It's just going to be side by side for four days so it's going to be tough and demanding. We seem to be able to push the boat harder than most. It's challenging but we¹re very good at it.'

James Douglas is a member of the ONE HULL Tag Team, a group of young people from Hull who are sailing a leg each in the 35,000-mile race around the world. He says, 'I reckon this race is going to be a lot more difficult than the last one, definitely. It's another different experience, beating all the way. We're confident of getting another first place. We've got a good crew on here, so I reckon we can do it again.'

Skipper Danny Watson agrees. 'We've got very good crew morale at the moment,' he says. 'We've had two firsts out of the last three races and we all enjoy each other's company. Everyone's up for giving it a real good blast for four days up to Jamaica.'

The Panama Canal transit was completed in just four days from the arrival of the first yachts on Wednesday 14 May. Clipper 07-08 Race Director, Joff Bailey, says, 'Our sincere thanks go to the Panama Canal Authority who ensured we transited with the minimum delay. It means we have managed to make up more of the time we lost in Hawaii last month and are on schedule to start Race 11 from Jamaica as planned next Saturday.'

Hull & Humber was in the second group of Clipper yachts to transit the Panama Canal. Brendan Decordova, another of the ONE HULL Tag Team, says, 'Going through the canal was impressive ­ the locks are huge. When you see the gates close behind you, you get quite emotional about leaving the Pacific behind. When you get to the Atlantic you do feel like you¹ve travelled across a continent.'

With approximately 8,000 miles left of their 35,000-mile circumnavigation and just five races to go, the Hull & Humber crew know they will have to maintain their momentum if they want to stay ahead of New York, Durban 2010 and Beyond and Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper who are all nipping at their heels.

The yachts are expected to arrive in Errol Flynn Marina, Port Antonio, late on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

iShares Cup Training Regatta

Despite threats of thunderstorms, the final day of training in Valencia for the five Extreme 40s went off with a bang as the teams were put through their paces in preparation for the first iShares Cup in Lugano on 30 May. The day began with a Parade of Sail down the canal that links the Darsena to the open water, and then out to sea to move straight into the first of five start sequences planned for the afternoon. Four windward/leeward courses were set in addition to a triangular course to take the boats close in to shore. Initi! al winds of 5 knots steadily increased throughout the day into perfect hull-flying conditions for the final two races giving the spectators on the beach an impressive display. The racing was tight, particularly around the windward marks, with the boats jostling for space, resulting in a few missed mark roundings, close shaves and penalty turns.

Alinghi White proved their dominance over the fleet taking three firsts with Alinghi Black beating them to the top spot twice. Skipper Ed Baird was rightly pleased with his team's progress, "This weekend has been great and it has been really exciting to race against these other boats. Today was tricky because we started in very light conditions and right off the bat our team mate Murray Jones on Alinghi Black came after us, so it went from racing all five boats in the fleet to just racing one other. In the second race we got the point back on them and then again in the third, so we were starting to feel better on board! Later in the day the breeze came up and there was a bit more excitement on t he race course. Lugano is next in the series and it was good to get some light air practice in this morning because we don't expect a lot of wind in Lugano."

Artemis

The big news Sunday morning was the retirement of Sebastien Josse, plagued by a broken mainsail headcar, and unable to climb up the mast given the sea state - the race certainly loses one of its great animators, yet the BT skipper managed to remain positive about the incident: "Of course pulling out at that stage is a big disappointment, but you know these things can happen. We' ve seen the boat was capable of being ahead of the best of the IMOCA fleet, that means our optimisation process was based on the right choices. I'm going back towards Brittany under sails, and those miles will count for my Vendee qualifier.

Sunday morning was also a busy time for everyone who tried to analyze what had been happening in the dark during the 36-hours positions blackout. The most obvious move was Loick Peyron's tack, favoured by a wind shift to the west at about 22:00 GMT on Friday. "I had planned to tack, but of course I waited for the blackout", said Gitana Eighty's skipper this morning, "I think it was a good move in terms of saving some manoeuvres and efforts in the long run." Now repositioned further south, Peyron is second only 26 miles behind Riou, and has a 30-mile advantage over Armel Le Cleac'h's Brit Air, who moved into third position aver the blackout.

Sardinia Rolex Cup 2008

The Sardinia Rolex Cup 2008, valid as the ISAF Offshore Team World Championship, will take place in Porto Cervo from 14^th to 21^st June. Organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS), the regatta has taken place biennially since its inauguration in 1972 and this year reaches it 16^th edition.

With racing due to start in just over four weeks the first official entries to have been accepted include national teams from Germany, Italy, Spain and Russia while a further two team entries are currently being finalized. As always, each team will be comprised of three yachts: a Farr 40, a Swan 45 and a Transpac 52. After four days of windward-leeward racing, with the possibility of an islands race midweek, each boat’s score will be combined to make up the team total. Victory, along with the Sardinia Cup Challenge Trophy and the Rolex Offshore Team World Championship Trophy, will go to the team with the lowest series points score.

The Sardinia Rolex Cup consistently attracts top international owners and crews and this year will be no exception: Vincenzo Onorato, who claimed the Sardinia Rolex Cup as part of Team Sardegna in 2006, has already signed up for Team Italy aboard his Farr 40. He will be joined by Riccardo Simoneschi aboard the TP52 Audi Q8 and Danilo Salsi on his Swan 45 DSK making for an all - YCCS team.

Team Italy is certainly one to watch with Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino recently having achieved the unique feat of winning three Farr 40 World Championships back-to- back. Germany and Spain, however, are also past winners of the Sardinia Rolex Cup. Team Russia, on the other hand, is a newcomer to the event and with everything boiling down to skill, tactics and teamwork, may just provide some surprises.

Myanmar Sailors Fund Raising

The Singapore Sailing Federation is holding a fund-raising event this weekend to help the sailing community of Myanmar, recently devastated by Cyclone Nargis. The ‘Sailors’ Appeal: Fund Raising for Our Myanmar Friends’, will take place at the National Sailing Centre on Saturday 17 May from 10:00-13:00.

Andrew SANDERS, Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Sailing Federation, explains, “Ongoing recent tragedies spurred our sailing community to act swiftly to help the Myanmar sailing community, some of whom lost their homes in the cyclone. The recently built yacht club was also destroyed. Strong ties exist in the sailing community between Myanmar and Singapore, and the young National Sailors from each country have grown up together training, competing and undertaking exchange programmes.

“Under SingaporeSailing’s guidance, the fund-raiser is being driven by Singapore’s top Olympic sailors who are currently in Singapore for a short training stint before returning to Europe for competition. SingaporeSailing is proud of the compassion, energy and initiative shown by Singapore’s Olympic sailors in organising and promoting this event.”

Alicante Trophy

A long day on the water for the 16 TP52’s at the City of Alicante Trophy, the first regatta of the 2008 Audi MedCup Circuit as they took part in the 30 mile long coastal race around Tabarca Island. The ultimate reward was for 2006 MedCup Champion Peter de Ridder (NED) and his Mean Machine crew who collected the best points, after leading through the mid race scoring gate and taking the winning gun by a comfortable margin.

Mean Machine tactical duo Ray Davies (NZL) and Tom Dodson (NZL) called the crucial first beat perfectly and the black hulled new Judel/Vrolijk design, launched only three weeks ago, was able to fend off any advances through a smart combination of good speed, through optimum sail selection across the very differing wind speeds, good trimming and the right tactical calls when the breeze went light and unsettled over the final few miles.

Mean Machine, who won twice yesterday, now leads the Audi MedCup Circuit and the City of Alicante Trophy regatta by a single point from the American boat Quantum Racing owned by Doug de Vos (USA) and Fred Howe (USA). Just one point behind them are Tau Ceramica Andalucia (ESP) who lead on Day 1, and who continue to sail smartly with the former Artemis, which won the Med Cup Circuit overall last year.

Second through the scoring gate, which was set off the north west corner of the picturesque island, and second across the finish proved a better day for the reigning MedCup Champion Torbjorn Tornqvist and the new Artemis. They move up to sixth place overall.

Artemis Transat

Sebastien Josse's escape, revealed this morning by the first positions update, makes for the biggest gap seen within the leading pack since the start of The Artemis Transat, and it would certainly be very worrying for his rivals if... there wasn't another ridge to cross tonight! Confident with his southerly option yesterday, BT's skipper undoubtedly took an advantage - if only psychological - but remains very careful today. "Let's not celebrate yet, I pulled out of this one, but there's a second ridge to cross." The tactical battle remains as intense as ever, and the first skipper to catch some breeze behind the windless zone will have a massive advantage. Meanwhile, at the back of the fleet, Dee Caffari aboard Aviva has finally solved her power issue. At 14h45 GMT, Thursday May 15 2008, Michel Desjoyeaux contacted The Artemis Transat Race Direction to inform the team he had hit a whale and had to withdraw from the race.

Training Regatta for iShares Teams

Five Extreme 40s are currently lined up on the dock in Valencia, ready for a special training regatta to be held this weekend - a great warm-up before the iShares Cup series kicks off at the end of the month.

The five boats taking part in the training event are Alinghi White, Holmatro, iShares and Volvo Ocean Race - which will all be competing in the iShares Cup - as well as the America's Cup winners' second boat, Alinghi Black.

From tomorrow (Friday 16 May) to Sunday (18 May) the teams will be put through their paces with three informal races a day. These races will be around 30 minutes in duration - slightly longer than the normal iShares Cup events to give the chance for the Extreme 40s to stretch their legs and the teams an opportunity to really work on their boatspeed. The windward-leeward courses will also test their crew work and boat-handling, racing to an upwind leg, then hoisting the huge gennaker for a downwind blast to a leeward gate, then back up the finish.

Valencia is the perfect venue for training. Home to the America's Cup regatta last year, the purpose-built marina basin has a huge amount of room for teams to work on their Ex treme 40s, as well as ample pontoons and space for support boats. Meanwhile out on the water there is a fantastic sailing area on the open sea just a few minutes away from the team bases, although this weekend's weather forecast is for light, shifty winds of no more than 10 knots, which will keep the crews on their toes. There might even be a spot of rain coming through on Saturday, but the Extreme 40 teams won't mind that - these boats are a wet ride even on the sunniest day!

Puma in the Water

Two days after PUMA Ocean Racing christened its ferocious black boat il mostro - Italian for The Monster - in Boston Harbor, Ken Read and his crew headed out to sea to complete its 2000-mile qualifier for entry into the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009. Il Mostro and PUMA Ocean Racing's other boat, Avanti, left Boston, on a bright sunny day around 10am and will be out on the waters of the Atlantic for the next several days.

The 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain on 4 October 2008, it will for the first time, take in ports in Asia. Spanning some 39,000 nautical miles, stopping at around 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier yacht race for professional racing crews.

Archipelago Raid

In one month’s time the most extreme orienteering sailing race in the world will be hosting some of the biggest names in sailing, who will be competing against less unknown but talented and persistent teams in the 8th edition of the Archipelago Raid.

In Formula 18 catamarans the Raid pushes the teams of two to the edge, both mentally and physically, as they navigate round the 100,000 islands that make up the Swedish, Aland and Finnish Archipelagos. For six days the teams will battle through some of the most challenging and beautiful landscapes in the world, with uncharted rocks and changing weather conditions, stopping only for a brief ‘overnight’ rest.

This year’s edition takes place just before midsummer, when the almost non existent Scandinavian summer nights demands even more of the competitors as one can more or less sail throughout the night.

Almost 20 teams from nine nationalities have already signed up. Impressive personalities like Dame Ellen McArthur belong to the line up. Ellen McArthur competed in the Archipelago Raid already in 2003 but had to withdraw early in the race after an unfortunate leg injury. After sailing around the world solo non stop in monohull and multihull, (Vendee Globe, Solo Round the World and Jules Verne records) McArthur stopped sailing for two years. Now she is back with a new project and has chosen the challenging Archipelago Raid as a part of her comeback. She will team up with Greg Homann from Australia.

Clipper Round The World

The first of the ten internationally-backed Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race teams has arrived in Flamenco Marina, Panama. New York arrived alongside at shortly after 0500 this morning (1100 GMT) at the end of Race 9 from Santa Cruz, California in which the US team finished in third place.

The race was dominated by light winds virtually from the outset and New York was one of a leading group that enjoyed some close quarter racing, matching their opponents move for move, all of them refusing to give any quarter to the competition.

As the yachts' speed dropped off in the dying winds, the Race Committee took the decision to shorten the course to the second of four predetermined gates in order to allow the fleet to motor sail to Panama and claw back some of the time lost following the two dismastings during Race 7 across the Pacific.

Artemis Transat

Race direction announced today - with 48 hours notice as stated in the Sailing Instructions - that the 36-hour positions blackout will start Friday at 18:00 GMT. The positions will be available again on Sunday May 18 at 6:00 GMT. Ocean racing is not a matter of sheer speed and the choice of trajectory is crucial, so by imposing a 36 hour blackout, the organisers of The Artemis Transat have certainly added some spice to the race. Obviously, the race organisation will continue to receive each yacht's position data to monitor the fleet's safety and communications with the skippers will continue, but the gambles and tactical manoeuvres of individual teams will remain secret until the information blockade is lifted.

Alicante Trophy

The second day of the 2008 Audi MedCup Circuit in Alicante belonged to Peter de Ridder’s new Mean Machine, scoring back to back wins in Race 4 and Race 5 of the regatta. But it is the current holders of the City of Alicante Trophy, Bribón, whose consistency across three good quality races today earns them an overall lead of eight points. Although not a new boat, Bribón underwent surgery during the winter to reconfigure the aft sections to improve their speeds in fresher conditions, such as prevailed in the third race of the day.

José Cusi’s Bribón, with double Olympic medallist Ross Macdonald (CAN) calling tactics for helm Dean Barker (NZL), won the first race and then posted a pair of fourth places to lead Doug De Vos (USA) and Fred Howe’s (USA) Quantum Racing, while the 2005 MedCup Champions, Mutua Madrileña skippered by Vasco Vascotto (ITA) sit third overall.

Alicante Trophy

For a crew which have only two full-time paid professionals on board and a budget which committed mainly to buying the 2007 MedCup champion boat Artemis to which they only added two new sails and practised only three days prior to coming to Alicante, today was a fairytale start to the season for Jose Maria Torcida and the crew of Tau Ceramica Andalucia. Winning both races leaves the Andalucian boat four points clear of Vasco Vascotto and the crew of Mutua Madrilena who share the same points tally as Jose Cusi’s Bribon.

Racing got under way after a 40 minutes postponement waiting for the sea breeze to settle. Through the day it blew no more than nine knots and by late afternoon had faded at times to just four knots making for a gentle, but mentally challenging start to the Audi MedCup Circuit.

While Tau Andalucia, steered by Torcida, who won the 2007 J80 World Championship, made good starts to both races and was second round the first turn in the first race and lead the second race from start to finish, some of the newer, fancied boats in the fleet proved that they have some work to do to get up to speed in the light conditions.

Volvo Ocean Race

A 25-tonne crane was bought into McConaghy's yard in lift the boat, but it did not have enough reach, so a larger 95-tonne crane was bought in to lift her onto the lorry. Unfortunately the lorry driver then decided he did not want to be in charge of such a big load in case he attracted unwelcome attention from the police. He was eventually persuaded otherwise and the Green Team's Volvo Open 70 started her first journey.

Getting past the low-level telephone wires at the yard entrance the was the most eventful, but the remainder of the journey to Doumen Port, dodging minibuses and motorcycles, was uneventful. The Green Machine was then moved across the Pearl River delta to the Kwai Chung Container Terminal in Hong Kong before being loaded onto a ship bound for Southampton, UK.

Ian Walker Green Team Skipper said, ³Making the decision to build a Volvo Volvo Open 70 late in the day meant it was crucial we had the right design and build team in place. It¹s amazing to think that in seven months they have managed to meet the timeline and get her shipped back to the UK. We now can¹t wait to fit the keel and mast and get her out on the water to start preparing for the world¹s greatest sailing race².

The 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain on 4 October 2008, it will for the first time, take in ports in Asia. Spanning some 39,000 nautical miles, stopping at around 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier yacht race for professional racing crews.

Artemis

At around 23h30 last night, as the Safran monohull was sailing under full mainsail, solent and with the automatic pilot in 22 knots of wind, a squall surprised Marc Guillemot causing the boat to accelerate away: «I was inside. The boat was on pilot and suddenly broached. The boat went over on her side with the mast in the water. I hung on to the pedestal. I very quickly shifted the keel and the boat came back up. I think I may have cracked or broken a rib,» explained Marc to his shore team on a radio link-up. Marc added: «I have informed the race directors. On medical advice, I have taken a painkiller and put on some ointment. It feels better. It would really annoy me if I had to stop. I’m going to have a rest and then see if I can hoist some canvas. I’m currently sailing with one reef in the mainsail and under solent. I’m going to keep a close eye on my state of health and if I’m suffering too much and can no longer keep up, in conjunction with the team, we will take the necessary decision. Meanwhile, I’m staying in the race.»

Artemis Transat

Light winds requiring constant attention on deck, thick fog and heavy traffic making for a stressful ride on top of the nervous tension generated by the tricky tactical situation... Welcome to the sleep-deprived world of The Artemis Transat! As the front of the fleet has now crossed the longitude of the Fastnet rock, the skippers - led by Sébastien Josse's BT - are facing a new challenge, expecting a shift. If Armel Le Cléac'h's Brit Air made a very good move last night, taking over the leadership from a tactically inspired Loick Peyron aboard Gitana Eighty (first at Eddystone and at the Lizard), the fleet was this morning spread across 30 miles on a North - South axis, and the breeze slowly turned in favour of the southernmost boats. Vincent Riou's PRB moved into the lead, but only to be overtaken shortly afterwards by Sébastien Josse's BT displaying slightly better speed.

Leaderboard - 14:00 GMT update

1- BT Distance to finish 2669 nm
2- Foncia Distance to leader 3,7 nm
3- PRB DTL 7,2 nm
4- Generali DTL 9,9 nm
5- Brit Air Eighty DTL 14,2 nm
6- Gitana Eighty DTL 14,7 nm
7- Safran DTL 22,1 nm
8- Roxy DTL 43 nm
9- Akena Verandas DTL 46,4 nm
10- Cervin EnR DTL 55,6 nm
11- Aviva DTL 57,1 nm
12- Pakea Bizkaia 2009 DTL 66 nm
13- Spirit of Weymouth DTL 108 nm

Artemis Transat

During the first night at sea for the Class40 fleet, the 11 boats raced in a compressed pack: Boris Herrmann's Beluga Racer leading the field with Benoit Parnaudeau's Prevoir Vie the backmarker with just a handful of miles separating the fleet as the light began to fade on Sunday evening.

At 0430 BST this morning, Beluga Racer and Giovanni Soldini's Telecom Italia were fighting for first place around the The Artemis Transat Champagne Mumm race gate at the Lizard and by dawn, Soldini had taken the lead holding a slim two mile advantage over Thierry Bouchard and Mistral Loisirs - Pole Santé ELIOR as the fleet slipped south of the Scilly Isles with Christophe Coatnoan on Groupe Partouche and the Class40 Prevoir Vie of Benoit Parnaudeau keeping closest to the islands and trailing in 10th and 11th place over 30 miles from the Italian boat. Trailing Soldini in second place by two miles this afternoon, Thierry Bouchard, skipper of Mistral Loisirs - Pole Santé ELIOR.

The first night at sea is always a tremendous drain on solo skippers, especially the smaller Class40 teams with limited funds and personnel: the pressure to prepare the boat on time and the emotional departure combine lethally with little sleep due to the close proximity of the fleet and the busy shipping lanes along the English South Coast.

Artemis Transat Start

Following a Parade of Sail along the western shore of Plymo uth Sound watched by an estimated 1,000 spectator craft, the 11 yachts competing in The Artemis Transat waited for the 14:00 BST start gun in the area south of the breakwater, milling around the one mile long startline, mixing with the 13 IMOCA Open 60s. As each Class40 yacht raised a yellow pennant, Jacques Fournier, the class president, boarded each Class40 yacht, leaping on board from a RIB with great agility to check the vital, yellow plastic seal immobilising the propeller shaft: an operation that was completed 15 minutes before the gun.

With a southerly breeze of 5-7 knots, all the teams prepared for a very light, windward start. By four minutes to 1400 BST, the team shore crews were picked off the yachts and the skippers were finally alone for the 2,800 mile voyage across the North Atlantic.

Given by Mike Golding, winner of the 2004 edition, aboard the Royal Navy ship HMS Argyll, the start of The Artemis Transat. Heading off towards Eddystone - first race gate of the course - at 9 knots of boats speed, the skippers fought a close battle as soon as the gun went off... Loick Peyron (Gitana Eighty) was the first skipper at the Eddystone Omega race gate, and will be presented with an Omega Seamaster timepiece. But for now, there is an ocean to cross, and the first night at sea might prove tricky.

Spanish Entries in VOR

At a press conference in Madrid today, it was confirmed that Spain's two-boat assault on the Volvo Ocean Race will be backed by Telefonica, the Spanish telecommunications giant and parent company of movistar. The campaign is also supported by a raft of additional sponsors and is backed by the Valencian government and the Spanish Sailing Federation.

The campaign will again be spearheaded by Pedro Campos as CEO, while Bouwe Bekking, skipper of the Spanish entry movistar in the previous race, returns as Sports and Technical Director. Spanish Olympians, Iker MartÌnez and Fernando Ech·varri among the principal members of the sailing team, which will be based in the start port of Alicante.

Both boats, designed under an exclusive deal with Farr Yacht Design, will be differentiated by hull colour and named TelefÛnica Blue and TelefÛnica Black.

The 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain on 4 October 2008, it will for the first time, take in ports in Asia. Spanning some 39,000 nautical miles, stopping at around 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier yacht race for professional racing crews.

Puma in Volvo Ocean Race

Read has racked up nearly 50 World, National and North American championships, helmed two Americaís Cup campaigns (2000 & 2003) and been named twice the Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. Now he is preparing for the ultimate challenge as Skipper of PUMA Ocean Racing. After a full test program completed last summer on both Avanti, the PUMA Ocean Racing training boat, as well as the 90-foot Rambler, where he smashed records race after race, Read and his Newport-based crew are gearing up to be the fastest team to make it around the globe.

The 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain on 4 October 2008, it will for the first time, take in ports in Asia. Spanning some 39,000 nautical miles, stopping at around 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier yacht race for professional racing crews.

iShares Cup 2008

The final pieces of the jigsaw are now in place for the 2008 iShares Cup Sailing Series. The venue for the German leg of the European tour has been confirmed as Kiel, on the Baltic Sea, and Tommy Hilfiger has been announced as the ninth entry in the series.

Kiel, in northern Germany, is the third new venue for the 2008 iShares Cup and home to the fourth event on the circuit - the Extreme 40 fleet will race there from 29-31 August, offering guests and spectators a chance to get a great close-up view of the fast-paced iShares Cup racing.

The bustling city has a strong maritime history, and lies on the busiest artificial waterway in the world, the Kiel Canal. Every June the city holds Kiel Week, the largest sailing event in Europe, which combines dinghy and yacht racing with a festival of ships, music and fireworks. The event welcomes about three million visitors annually, who perch on the sea walls and rocky coastal defences to watch around ! 2,000 boats ranging from massive tall ships to racing yachts and Olympic dinghy classes. The iShares Cup racecourses will be held in the same fantastic sailing amphitheatre.

Artemis Transat

The big news today certainly is the official entry of Steve White aboard Spirit of Weymouth in the IMOCA Class taking the number of IMOCA skippers to thirteen. Having completed his qualifying passage, the young Brit takes his place amongst a very impressive lineup of all the greatest names in singlehanded sailing with only four days remaining until the start on Sunday, 11th May at 1400 BST. On the other hand, Patrice Carpentier will finally not be at the start in Plymouth on Sunday in the Class40 category which leaves the Class40 with 11 skippers on the start line.

Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race

Hull & Humber has won Race 9 of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, crossing the revised finish line at 2022 GMT on Tuesday 6 May. It is the team¹s third individual stage victory of the 35,000-mile race which is being contested by ten internationally-backed 68-foot yachts.

Hull & Humber was one of a group of boats which also included New York, Qingdao, Nova Scotia and Uniquely Singapore who have been matching each other move for move in the bid for a podium position and the all-important points to add to their overall tally and for much of the race from Santa Cruz several of them have been within sight of each other.

Qingdao was second across the finish line at 2313 GMT, followed nine minutes later by New York in third place at 2322 GMT.

The results are provisional until all the skippers have submitted their race declarations for scrutiny by the race committee. If the results remain as they are Hull & Humber¹s victory will take them into overall first position, one and a half points ahead of second placed New York.

Because of the lighter than expected winds that the fleet has been experiencing since leaving the Californian port, and the forecast for the coming days, yesterday the Race Committee made the decision to shorten the course for Race 9, in accordance with the Sailing Instructions. The finish line is now off the coast of Mexico at ŒGate Angel¹, one of several pre-determined gates included in the Race 9 course. The rest of the fleet is expected to cross the finish line over the next 36-48 hours and will then motor sail towards Panama, with the arrival of the first yachts anticipated on 13 May.

The Green Team

The Green Team celebrated the completion of their new Volvo Open 70 with a "Thank You China Event" at McConaghy Boats in Zhuhai China. Construction started in October and has been completed on schedule, with the boat due to leave on a ship bound for the UK on 8th May.

The boat has been constructed in a facility located approximately 60 miles north of Hong Kong. The mainly Australian led team at McConaghyÌs has been working alongside American designers Reichel Pugh and structural engineers Applied Structural Analysis Ltd (ASTA) from the UK, as well as a 90 strong Chinese build team. A total of 40,000 man hours have gone into the completion of this boat.

The 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain on 4 October 2008, it will for the first time, take in ports in Asia. Spanning some 39,000 nautical miles, stopping at around 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier yacht race for professional racing crews.

Audi MedCup

With just one week to go to the first race of the season for the AUDI MedCup Circuit, activity amongst all teams in preparation for racing is at an all time high.

The 2008 racing season is opening up all over Europe. Amongst the world’s racing fleets next in line to start competition is the AUDI MedCup Fleet of TP52s, who will stretch their legs in earnest in just one week’s time on the waters of Alicante, Spain.

And with just one week to go a little further up the Spanish coast in Valencia a flurry of new boat commissioning is still going on. Whereas plenty of boats from last year’s season are revelling in the ability to be ready on time, practicing and testing new equipment and sails, many other teams are fighting the clock to be, not only ready but, competitive from the first race.
In previous years the MedCup Circuit featured the ability to drop several races across the season. The net result was that it wasn’t a disaster if a team was late or not fully competitive at the beginning of the season because discarding the worst results would help the overall score.
This year, for the first time, the AUDI MedCup Circuit does not allow any discards at all. Every race – and there could be as many as 60 - will count. Starting the season slowly will not be a possibility for any team with the overall AUDI MedCup Circuit trophy as an objective.
Of last season’s teams that are ready on time and ready to race both Caixa Galicia and Bribón are amongst the favourites to be fast on Day One in Alicante. Both boats have been extensively modified over the winter, Caixa Galicia with a new bow and new mast and Bribón with a new stern and mast.

Artemis Transat

The Artemis Transat race fleet of 13 IMOCA Open 60 boats and 11 Class40 boats have arrived at Sutton Harbour, Plymouth and so have the crowds - an estimated 25,000 of them over the opening weekend. Plenty of attractions bring thousands of visitors to the Race Village and the Ocean Racing ! Exhibition that forms part of the education programme. The inaugural B arbican Jazz & Blues Festival sits at the heart of the cultural programme with top-line acts performing throughout the start week. ECOVER 3 skipper, Mike Golding, will officially start the 13th edition of the race from onboard the Royal Navy's HMS Argyll on Sunday 11th May at 1400 BST.

Congressional Cup

After winning 15 of his 18 round robin contests, Brady drove through the sailoffs with a steady and steely determination in sweeping local pride Scott Dickson and Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson--who was coming off seven consecutive wins—in two straight races each in the semifinals and finals, respectively.

Berntsson had swept France’s Philippe Presti, 2-0, in the other semifinal, and Presti took the measure of Dickson in the consolation final.

Brady, a New Zealand native who has lived in Annapolis, Md., since the mid-90s, won his first two Congressional Cups in 1996 and ‘97 when he was only 22 and 23, then his third in 2006 after building a professional sailing career of America’s Cups and various ocean races.

Brady collected $10,000 of the $41,000 prize pot. Simon Minoprio won $1,000 for winning the fleet race for those who didn’t reach the sailoffs.

The 10 six-man crews are sailing Catalina 37s owned by the Long Beach Yacht Club Sailing Foundation, rotating boats daily.

Final standings

1. Gavin Brady, New Zealand, 15-3 (14.5 points)
2. Johnie Berntsson, Sweden, 13-5.
3. Scott Dickson, U.S., 12-6
4. Philippe Presti, France, 10-8
5. Simon Minoprio, New Zealand, 10-8
6. Damien Iehl, France, 8-10
7. Dave Perry, U.S., 8-10
8. Andrew Arbuzov, Russia, 6-12
9. Pierre-Antoine Morvan, France, 6-12
10. Chris VanTol, U.S., 2-16 (.75 points)
*—-Deduction for causing excess damage.

Clipper 07-08

With the Californian sun shining and ten knots of breeze from the north west, Race 9 of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race series began at 1300 local (2000 GMT). Uniquely Singapore was the first of the ten-internationally sponsored yachts across the line, closely followed by their Asian rivals, Qingdao.

With a start line positioned just half a mile due south of Santa Cruz Harbour, where the Clipper fleet has been berthed for the duration of the nine-day stopover, the beginning of the 3,116 nautical mile race to Panama provided a great spectacle for the crowds gathered along West Cliff Drive, Lighthouse Point and Santa Cruz Wharf. A small flotilla of yachts from the Santa Cruz Yacht Club, the host for the crews during their stay, was also in Monteray Bay to wave off the teams as they headed south.

As they jostled for position at the start, the majority of the teams chose to fly their Yankee One headsail, the largest of their compliment of headsails, with Liverpool 08, westernaustralia2011.com and Jamaica opting for their smaller Yankee Two as they crossed the line in third, fourth and fifth place respectively. Choosing an inshore course Hull & Humber were next across the line followed by Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper, New York, Nova Scotia and Durban 2010 and Beyond. As the fleet rounded the windward mark and headed out of Monteray Bay, Qingdao had managed to move ahead of Uniquely Singapore and with the winds remaining constant Liverpool 08 and westernaustralia2011.com were preparing to change up to their larger headsails.

"It's great to see all ten boats racing again," says Joff Bailey, Race Director. ³The teams have a wild downwind ride for the first half of this race which will see them achieving some great speeds and they will make rapid progress south. They will all try to make as direct a route possible, parallel to the coast, but at the same time trying not to get too close as the effect of the land my reduce wind strength. The trick along this initial part of the race is to try not to damage too many of the downwind sails. Several boats have recently been penalised for damaging sails and once the Race Committee considers the repairs and replacements in Santa Cruz further penalty points may be awarded. Joff continues, "As the fleet approaches the southern tip of Baja, California, the winds will start to reduce and become much less stable in direction. At this point the direct route along the coast is heavily favoured in terms of the least miles. However, fickle and inconsistent winds closer in may see some teams opting to sail further offshore in order to benefit from better wind speeds and direction." During the Californian stopover the crews of the ten teams, representing 26 different nationalities, were able to take some time out to enjoy what the region has to offer. Those who stayed in the local area took in local attractions such as the Santa Cruz Boardwalk amusement park where they swapped the roller coaster ride of the Pacific Ocean for one of the oldest wooden roller coasters in the US, The Big Dipper. Others headed to the city of San Francisco to take in the historic sites of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and Fisherman¹s Wharf.

The first of the Clipper teams, Uniquely Singapore, arrived in Santa Cruz on 16 April, achieving their first win of the Clipper 07-08 series in Race 8 from Hawaii. The final two yachts, Durban 2010 and Beyond and westernaustralia2011.com, arrived a week later following a delayed departure from Honolulu due to essential work on their new rigs, after both yachts were dismasted in the previous race from Qingdao, China. The fleet's arrival in Santa Cruz marked the first time the biennial Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has stopped on the west coast of the US in its 12-year history.

Commodore of the Santa Cruz Yacht Club Brett Grippenstraw said, "We've really enjoyed having you guys here, the Clipper crews and the Race Team, and we¹ve had a great time and made a lot of new friends. Hopefully we can find a sponsor for the next race and get you back here in two years time, we¹d love to see you again."

The Californian stopover of Clipper 07-08 coincided with the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show, in Oakland, California, where Crew Recruitment Manager David Cusworth gave several presentations to Californians interested in taking part in the next edition of the Clipper Race.

44th Congressional Cup

For a day that opened with what his opponent called "a big crash," Gavin Brady's Wednesday turned out fine in the Long Beach Yacht Club's 44th Congressional Cup presented by Acura.

In fact, the three New Zealand sailors in the fleet have no complaints after the first of two round-robins leading to Saturday's championship sailoffs. Brady, rolling with eight consecutive wins after an opening loss, leads the Kiwi clan at 8-1, followed by local resident Scott Dickson (6-3) alone in second place and Simon Minoprio in a three-way tie for third at 5-4.

But Brady's win against Antoine-Pierre Morvan wasn't pretty. In the pre-start sequence he rammed the Frenchman's transom and his spinnaker pole hooked onto the rival's luff line, leaving the boats temporarily inseparable. Brady drew a penalty, but built enough of a lead to erase it with a turn at the end of the race.

It was a lively day with unusually strong southeast winds of 15 knots that shifted 60 degrees right and faded to 6 in mid-afternoon---the opposite pattern of normal Long Beach sea breezes.

Dickson, the leader coming in at 5-0, lost three of his four races, although he was in position to win two of them. Dickson saved a lead when Morvan carried him a couple of hundred yards past the windward mark, but then lost it, and the race, when he momentarily lost control while leading Morvan downwind.