Clipper Round The World

New York has scored the fifth victory of their Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race campaign to consolidate their overall lead in the competition. The yacht crossed the finish line at Crosshaven, County Cork, Ireland at 1159 local time (1059 GMT) today at the end of the 2,080-mile race across the North Atlantic from Nova Scotia, Canada.

New York was locked in a three-way battle with Qingdao and Hull & Humber for the majority of the race across the North Atlantic.

Following the 12-day race from Nova Scotia, during which the yachts faced a variety of conditions including fog, light winds and gales, the crews will enjoy some time to relax in Crosshaven and the wider environs of County Cork ahead of the final sprint to Liverpool, where the arrival on Saturday 5 July will form part of the city's European Capital of Culture 2008 celebrations.

Valencia Released

As a consequence of the continued uncertainty around the 33rd America's Cup caused by the Golden Gate Yacht Club's legal manoeuvres, AC Management and the Spanish institutions (Central State, Valencia Region and Valencia Municipality) have been left with no option but to revise the terms of their relationship, ending the contract signed in July 2007 that named Valencia the Host City for a multi-challenge 33rd America's Cup in 2009.

The two parties have entered into a new agreement that concludes months of discussions trying to adapt the contract signed after the success of the 32nd America's Cup to the current legal context. Under the new agreement, the organisation and exploitation of the Port America's Cup facilities will be managed by the Spanish institutions from 1 July; the 33rd America's Cup teams retain the opportunity to continue using their bases and the majority of administrative benefits for teams and personnel remain in force until the end of 2008.

ORCi Worlds

The warm and shiny day started with a wind less than 5 knots from western directions. At about 11:00 local time, the race committee was at sea, examining every possibility to run at least one race. It was 14:27 that the first race started. Everybody was eager to start, so eager that there was a general recall. Race restarted at 14:38 and this time it was 4 or 5 boats early, over the sail course (OCS). The majority of the rest of the fleet preffered the pin end, a decision that proved horribly wrong. The wind shifted about 10 degrees after a while, favouring the right hand side of the course. The leeward boats had never a chance to tack and head for the wind. First boat at the weather mark was PITHECUSA. In the downwind leg, the faster boats managed to sail faster, so they crossed the downwind gates in this order: DIESEL, OLA, PITHECUSA. The course had already changed according to the shift, but still, most boats followed the starboard tack. First crossing the finish line and taking line honours was OLA from Croatia.

ORCi Worlds 2008

Todays races cancelled, after 5 and a half hours of waiting, just to be sure for the Race Committee that there is no chance of a wind blow.

Although the northern winds have fallen to a force of 4 or 5, the local see breeze is so strong this time of the year, in the oposite direction, that leaves no wind in the Saronic Gulf.

So now, leader in the overall is the Greek MELITI IV of George Andreadis, followed by Italian LIBERTINE, having Francesco De Angelis from Prada Luna Rossa in its force.

The two boats are separated by 7 points, but third overall SUPERFAST RACING is less than a point behind!

ORCi Worlds

The first race of the day started normally on time at 12:13 local time. The Meltemi was blowing at around 20 knots. The heat was on during the starting procedure. Although the wind was strong, there were shifts and careful tactics were required. At the weathermark, first was OLA, then SUPERFAST RACING and then DIESEL, that was forced to retire due to a damaged mainsail. In this order they finished the race. The second windward/leeward race started right after the last boat finished, at 14:03 local time. In the downwind leg, it was DIESEL that came first, followed by SUPERFAST RACING and then OLA. At that point, GOLF lost her mast but fortunately without anyone hurt. Some strong gusts forced many boats to broach, while sailing downwind.

Greek Sails on their Way to Victory

The ORCi World Championship organized by HORC, begun with excellent prospects for the Greek sails. Two Greek yachts are placed in the first 5 places so far after the completion of 2 races proving that they have the ability to make an impressive finish and win a distinctive place at the end of the regatta hosted in the Saronic Gulf.

George Andreadis MELITI IV won the 1st place in the 2nd race and is so far 2nd overall and Nick Lazos and Pericles Livas SUPERFAST RACING won 2nd place in the 1st race and is 4th overall so far. After the completion of the two inshore races the Italian yacht SAGOLA skippered by F. Pierobon is placed 1st overall.

The first day of the Chamionship was very exciting and trying for boats and crew due to the strong winds of the Saronic Gulf (6 - 7 Bft). The sailing conditions were difficult for windward - leeward racing and that was the cause of the 2 hours postponement of the races.

Newport - Bermuda Race

On the basis of provisional results posted late Tuesday, Puma's Ken Read and crew appear to be the winners on corrected time of the Newport to Bermuda Race. This was the first race of the Puma branded Volvo 70 yacht Il Mostro, which set an elapsed time of 69 hours, 33 minutes and 24 seconds and a corrected time of 61 hours, two minutes and 51 seconds to top the Open Division's leaderboard on corrected time. Il Mostro's corrected time was over an hour ahead of Ian Henderson's Privateer, a Cookson 50.

Speedboat, the Juan K 99 footer built by Cookson, was the first to the dock, taking line honours, but corrected out with a time of 64 hours, 42 minutes and 56 seconds to take third place in the Open Division. Joe Harris, a veteran of nine Newport Bermuda races, came fourth in Gryphon Solo, an Open 50 preparing for the Portimao Global Ocean Race in October.

Clayton Deutsch and his New England tribe on Chippewa look set to come out on top once again. After winning the IRC-2 Division of the New York YC Annual Regatta and leading the Onion Patch Series going into the Newport Bermuda Race, Chippewa, a Swan 68, topped the other 12 boats in Class 9 of the St David's Lighthouse Division. Her corrected time was 69hrs, 45mins, 24secs. Jim Madden's new J65, Brand New Day has been at the RBYC dock for the afternoon and sits in 2nd place with a corrected time of 73hrs, 22mins 23secs.

ORCi Worlds, Offshore Race

The offshore race of the 150 nautical miles started on time, at 11:00 local time. The meltemi, the local wind, was blowing to over 25 knots, gusting up to 30 knots. The boats started without collisions, although one could feel the heat from miles away. From the starting line outside Mikrolimano, the boats were sailing by the shore, providing a spectacular view. First to the weathermark was the Greek SUPERFAST RACING, then the Croatian OLA and then the Greek DIESEL. Right behind them, many boats around 40 feet, came together to the mark, resulting to a total mess. Many boats did not have room to pass, so they had to bear away, others touched the mark and had to make a complete turn and the rest were just seeking their way through the other boats of the fleet. From that point, the boats headed for mark 2 with the spinnakers on. OLA had a spectacular broach, all the boats over 50 feet were just flying over the waves. The rest of the fleet is following making incredible speeds in the flat sea. The fleet is expected to finish the race in the first hours of Wednesday.

ORCi Worlds Day 1

After yesterday's skippers meeting and the welcome party for the crews, everybody was anxious to start racing, although the wind was gusting up to 30 knots again this morning (Monday 23 June). At about 3 o'' clock the race committee boat took down the postponement flag and the boat left the marina in Mikrolimano. First windward/leeward race started at 15:45 with north winds of about 20 knots. There was a general recall as everybody was eager to have a good start. In the first weathermark the first boat to cross was OLA from Croatia, a GS46R. Seconds behind it, it was the Greek SUPERFAST RACING (Farr52, ex chessie-racing), and then the other Farr52, BRAVE. In that order they finished at about 17:00. The wind then settled down to 15 knots and the second race started at 18:00 with too many boats having an early start and some crashing to each other, with no significant damage.

Newport Bermuda Race

Puma Racing skipper Ken Read and his Volvo 70 Il Mostro, a rocketship that sails with almost any breeze, were leading the Bermuda Race. Even the fastest boats in the world need some wind to keep moving at a rational pace. Read reported the course to Bermuda as 175 magnetic, and the wind direction as 175 when it registered. This is a deadly combination when the windspeed is in single digits, and shrinking. Alex Jackson's Speedboat was faring little better, and the two fastest boats in the fleet went from looking extraordinary to looking like just another couple of sailboats struggling hard to get from point A to point B. At 1600 EDT on Sunday, Speedboat was making 10 knots, with 143 miles to go. Il Mostro lurked only 34 miles behind, and had a 25 mile lead over Rambler. The new 69-foot Bella Mente was only four miles astern of the 90-foot Rambler, and she seems to excel in the light going. Just behind, Numbers, Blue Yankee, Rosebud, and Moneypenny were all less than 30 miles behind Rambler, which seems a little underpowered in the light stuff with her relatively small headsails. All these big boats average eight to nine knots over the last two-hour reporting period. For boats further back in the fleet - and that means almost everybody - Bermuda seems little more than a distant dream. When you see more than 350 miles to go - and all of them dead upwind - that first dark n' stormy is a long, long time in the future.

ORC Worlds Prepared

With the start of the ORC International World Championship this Sunday, June 22, organised by HORC, Hellenic Offshore Racing Club, a fleet of 55 boats and crews has begun assembling in and around Mikrolimano area, in the Saronic Gulf. With the wind gusting to over 25 knots, the practise race scheduled for today is going to be spectacular as well as challenging.
Racing starts tommorow with 2 windward/leeward races in the Saronic Gulf.

Sardinia Rolex Cup

The Sardinia Rolex Cup, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, came to a close today after a long wait for a breeze which did not materialize. The Race Committee waited until the final time limit of 3 p.m. before admitting defeat while Team Spain breathed a sigh of relief as the overall results after eight races became definitive and Spain claimed the title of ISAF Offshore Team World Champion for the third time (2000, 2004).

Pedro Campos, helmsman of the Spanish TP52 Bribon Telefonica was understandably pleased on his return to port: "We are delighted with this victory: it was hard-fought with the Italian Team but in the end we did it. Yesterday we sealed things with three straight victories on the TP52. What a fantastic job from the whole team. This is my third victory in the Sardinia and my twelfth World Championship."

Each of Spain's boats - Massimo Mezzaroma's Farr 40 San Miguel telefonica Nerone helmed by Antonio Sodo Milgliori with Vasco Vascotto on tactics; Marco Salvi's Swan 45 Telefonica Vertigo with Francesco Bruni on tactics; and Jose Cusi's Bribon Telefonica with Campos at the helm and tactician Ray Davies - took four victories over eight races. Aside from Team Germany's brief spell at the top of the classification on day one prior to the results of protests, Spain led for the duration of the event.

"It has been a challenging week in which teamwork has been fundamental. We spent a lot of fun evenings together and created a team 24 hours a day and the results speak for themselves!" commented Vascotto of Nerone.

Team Italy placed second, eleven points behind Spain. All three of the Italian owners are YCCS members and both Riccardo Simoneschi's TP52 Audi powered by Q8 and Danilo Salsi's Swan 45 DSK placed well but it was Vincenzo Onorato's Mascalzone Latino that really shone collecting two victories, five seconds and one third place leaving her top of the Farr 40s.

Team Germany finished in third place despite the best efforts of the United Internet Team Germany sailors on board the TP52 Platoon who tied down three victories in the first three days of sailing. Teams Southern Europe and Russia took fourth and fifth place respectively.

The Sardinia Cup Challenge Trophy was awarded to Team Spain by Princess Zahra Aga Khan, President of the Board of Directors of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, during the prize giving held on the Club's Piazza Azzurra.

ORCi World Championship

Just a few days remain for the start of the ORCi World Championship to be held in Athens Greece, races run from 23 – 28 June 2008. The race is organized by the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club (HORC) and sponsored by Amita Motion and Wind Hellas.

55 boats from 9 countries are expected to take their place at the start line to compete in what is expected to be a thrilling event. The Saronic Gulf, which hosted the Olympic Games of 2004, is renowned for its excellent weather conditions with steady winds and clear blue waters, just a short distance from Athens’ city center and its numerous sights and highlights. The base of the yachts, the lively and picturesque Mikrolimano port, caters for all needs and tastes ranging from traditional fish taverns to hip bars and clubs as well as shops, grocery stores and yachting gear. The first race is scheduled for Monday 23rd June 2008.

Sardinia Rolex Cup

The duel between teams Spain and Italy is heating up as Spain sits in first place just one point ahead of home-team Italy after today’s distance race in the Sardinia Rolex Cup organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. The Race Committee set an Island Race today which took the 15-strong fleet (each team is composed of a Farr 40, a Swan 45 and a TP52) north up the stunning Sardinian coastline using the islands of the La Maddalena Archipelago as natural buoys and rounding the Barretinelli islands before a final long downwind run for a total of approximately 30 nautical miles. Conditions were impeccable once again with west north-westerly winds of 15 to 20 knots and blazing sunshine providing picture-perfect racing. Team Spain’s best result came from Massimo Mezzaroma’s San Miguel Telefonica Nerone which took first place among the Farr 40s ahead of Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino.

46th Newport to Bermuda Race

Final entries in the Newport to Bermuda Race have narrowed down from 218 to 198. One boat sank on delivery, another was t-boned on its mooring, one had an electrical fire and other crews have dropped out for business or personal reasons. Yet this is still the second largest fleet in the 102 year history of the race. The special, centennial race in 2006 had 263 starters and the previous record was 182. Organizers from the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club are positive about the final turnout. Weather forecasters are predicting winds of about 10 knots from the south-southwest for the start. The bigger, faster boats may experience some light airs in the middle of their race and end hard on the wind. The breeze is then expected to fill on Monday and Tuesday, putting the smaller boats on a reach to give them a fast passage. The way the Gulf Stream is running, there are no significant reasons this year to sail away from the rhumb line (the direct route from Newport to Bermuda) in search of a southward push toward Bermuda.

Sardinia Rolex Cup 2008

This coveted team trophy, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, is competed for every two years. Each nation team participating at the Sardinia Rolex Cup 2008 will comprise three yachts: a Farr 40, a Swan 45, and TP52. ISAF has designated the Sardinia Rolex Cup the Offshore Team World Championship, and teams will also be racing for the Rolex Offshore Team World Championship Trophy. 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. Day one of the Sardinia Rolex Cup 2008, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, saw the five competing teams complete a windward-leeward race of approximately 7.5 miles despite light and shifty wind conditions. Following today’s race Team Germany leads the overall classification with both the TP52 Platoon, owned by Harm Mueller-Speer, and Wolfgang Schaefer’s Farr 40 Struntje Light having taken first place. Combined with the Swan 45 Earlybird’s third place the Germans now sit on five points ahead of Team Spain and Team Southern Europe. More or less perfect conditions off Porto Cervo allowed the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s Race Committee to hold three windward-leeward races on day two of the Sardinia Rolex Cup. Sunshine, blue skies and 18 knots of west north-westerly winds accompanied the 15 boats that make up the five competing teams as they lined up for today’s first start at midday. With a total of four races now completed Team Spain leads the overall classification on 25 points ahead of Team Italy on 34 points and third-placed Team Germany on 35.

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2008

The penultimate race of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race series is underway with the fleet of ten internationally-backed yachts setting off on their final ocean crossing from Sydney, Nova Scotia. The 2080-mile race will take them across the North Atlantic to Cork, Ireland.

It was an anxious start to the morning for the Race Team as the Clipper crews woke to a light breeze but, as the morning progressed, the wind filled in and by the time the yachts slipped their moorings at the Sydney Marine Terminal at midday it had strengthened to ten knots to allow a spectacular start in beautiful conditions in the harbour.

For some of the crew who joined the team for the last leg in Jamaica, this will be their first ocean crossing, for the round the worlders it will be their last on their ten-month adventure.

Half an hour into the race Qingdao were pulling out a healthy lead over the rest of the fleet. Durban 2010 and Beyond were second, westernaustralia2011.com third and New York in fourth place.

Korea Match Cup

In front of thousands spectators lining the shoreline, Sebastian Col (FRA) and his K Challenge/French Match Racing Team and Ian Williams (GBR) and his Team Pindar each defeated their Quarter and Semi-Final opponents on 14 June to qualify to battle each other in next day's Final round of the Korea Match Cup. The warm dry offshore breeze remained brisk enough for PRO David Tallis to set short multiple-lap courses across the harbor, with the windward mark placed just metres away from the spectator pontoon, giving everyone a front row seat to the mark-rounding action. But later this stability waned, and the shifts and puffs trended right into a light seabreeze by mid-afternoon, before caving in and blowing again offshore. Few leads were safe in these conditions, and even with courses’ short legs and multiple laps there were plenty of passing lanes available for the observant…and lucky. In the Semi-Finals, Col met Jesper Radich (DEN) of the Rudy Project Sailing Team, a tough opponent and former Tour champion, where the Dane took the first win from him after he was given the double indignity of being called over early and given a penalty for not keeping clear. But in the next three matches Col mastered the starts and never allowed Radich to pass, which was a remarkable feat given the shifty conditions on the course. In a fabulous display of match race talent played in front of tens of thousands of spectators at the Korea International Boat Show and live TV beamed to 90 countries, Sebastian Col (FRA). In a first-to-three point Final sailed in shifty, puffy conditions, Col defeated Ian Williams (GBR) and Team Pindar in four tough matches filled at times with collisions, penalties, and numerous lead changes from pre-start to finish.

iShares Cup

BT, skippered by Nick Moloney, and Oman Sail duelled at the front for most of Race 1, with BT keeping in front to take the first win, and followed up with another win in the second race. Flying downwind on the first leg of race TEAMORIGIN dove between Oman and Alinghi on the approach to the gate mark, but buried one bow and quickly capsized. With the Mistral sending gusts of over 30 knots through the Bay of Hyères the race committee opted to send the fleet ashore, with no more races held. Day two of the iShares Cup at Hyères (France) was the day of the comeback kids, racing on the edge of control which resulted in some 'extreme' moments including Tommy Hilfiger's vertical gymnastics America's Cup teams Alinghi and TEAMORIGIN both put their earlier capsizes behind them to storm up the leaderboard. Volvo Ocean Race have also turned around their form from Lugano, when they finished in last place overall, to take two race wins and climb to third overall in the penultimate day. The race committee warned the teams to expect a big day on the water, and they certainly delivered - with nine rapid-fire races - in testing and gusty conditions. America's Cup defenders Alinghi opened the day with a win, and went on to score two more firsts, taking them to the top of the overall points. After three days of spectacular racing held in some of the biggest breezes ever seen in the iShares Cup it was all to play for going into the final double-point race. On the last day of racing in Hyères, France, it was the two America's Cup contenders, Alinghi and TEAMORIGIN, who dominated the fleet, each winning three races - at one stage just three points separated the two. The British TEAMORIGIN started the day best with two wins in gusty 20-knot conditions that saw several boats narrowly avoiding a capsize. TEAMORIGIN, skippered by reigning iShares Cup champi! on Rob Greenhalgh, demonstrated their Extreme 40 experience to control the first two races - Alinghi constantly looking for a route through to regain the lead in race two, but Ed Baird and his crew just couldn't get past. But as the wind eased over the afternoon it was America's Cup winner Ed Baird on Alinghi who came to the fore, taking three wins in a row. In the fourth race of the day TEAMORIGIN fell to seventh overall, and it looked like their chance might be over, but they recovered well to score finish second behind Alinghi in the penultimate race of the series. The 18th and last race of the event set the scene for a spectacular finale - the finish line placed just yards in front of crowds of spectators gathered on the breakwater. With just a dozen points separating the two leaders and the final scores counting for double TEAMORIGIN were still in the hunt, and flew off the line to take the lead. Alinghi were buried in the pack - if they dropped to eighth, then the Brits would triumph.

Giraglia Rolex Cup

Marco Paolucci's Comet 45S, Tartaruga, has taken overall honours in the Giraglia Race 2008, concluding this year's week-long Giraglia Rolex Cup. The 45-footer completed the 243-mile course in 31 hours, 43 minutes, 27 seconds. Tartaruga won a very close three-way battle on ORC corrected time, beating a Canard 41, Aurora, by just 57 seconds, and third-placed First 44.7 Argo by 2 minutes 13 seconds. Tartaruga wins the title of overall honour due to the fact that more boats were entered in the 88-strong ORC division than the 82 registered in IRC. In the IRC fleet Fissa, an A-40 RC entered by Ettore Yachting, took first place by more than 50 minutes on corrected time ahead of Vinicio Petracchi's Cookson 12M, High Five. Good wind on the final approaches to Genoa benefited the medium-sized boats this year, relegating the Maxis to the minor placings on handicap.

Korea Match Cup

After a day spent trouncing many of their elder rivals, it appears that some relative newcomers to the World Match Racing Tour are now well on their way to securing berths in the next Quarter Final stage of the Korea Match Cup. Adam Minoprio (NZL) and his Emirates Team New Zealand/Black Match Racing has amassed eight points thus far in the Round Robin, second only on a tie-break to Jesper Radich (DEN) and his Rudy Project Sailing Team, while Torvar Mirsky (AUS) and his Mirsky Racing Team currently lie in third. Radich secures his spot in the next round on his impressive 8-3 record. The match race action started slowly, as a weak westerly seabreeze gave PRO David Tallis and his race management team fits until after lunch when the shift went right and the breeze built to a perfect 12 knots. Besides seeing some of the younger talent achieve some upsets on the race course, these spectators were also treated to seeing some of the world’s most seasoned match racers display their skills in close, hard-fought battles against one another.

Giraglia Record Smashed!

Neville Crichton has smashed his own course record in the Giraglia Race, after steering Alfa Romeo across the finish line at Genoa at 0803 hours this morning. This means the 100-footer completed the 243-mile course in just over 18 hours, a massive improvement on the record set by Crichton's previous Alfa Romeo, a 90-footer which set a time of just over 22 hours back in 2003.

The New Zealand skipper said they had a good run all the way up to Giraglia Rock, off the northern tip of Corsica, before 'parking up' for three hours. Then the wind filled in again close to the Italian coast and the supremely efficient Alfa Romeo finished off the job.

This is the 56th edition of the Giraglia Race, a 243-mile marathon starting from St Tropez via the Giraglia Rock at the northern tip of Corsica to the finish in the Italian port of Genoa.

Image: New Zealand 2008 Giraglia Rolex Cup © ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo.

Giraglia Offshore

Alfa Romeo led a fleet of 170 boats out of the Gulf of St Tropez this afternoon as the fleet set out on the 243-mile Giraglia Race. After winning two of the three inshore races of the Giraglia Rolex Cup, Alfa Romeo's skipper Neville Crichton has high hopes of notching up a handicap victory in the offshore race to Genoa. The other big target is a shot at the course record, a time of 22 hours, 13 minutes, 48 seconds which Crichton and his team set in 2003 with the previous Alfa Romeo, a fixed-keel 90-footer. The current Alfa Romeo is a 100-footer with canting keel and powered winches, an altogether more potent beast. And yet the Giraglia record has eluded the newer boat.

The fleet bobbed around on a windless Gulf of St Tropez for two hours until the race committee was satisfied the wind had settled down enough for a fair start. The big boats came off the line at 2pm in 5 knots of wind, although as they made their way to the first Rolex mark about 1.5 miles from the start, the breeze dropped away again to almost zero.

Giraglia Rolex Cup

Alfa Romeo dominated the final heat of the inshore series in the Giraglia Rolex Cup today, but it wasn't good enough to win the series. In IRC Group A, a 5th place was good enough for Paolo Scerni's Swan 42 Kora 4 to secure overall victory comfortably from the 40-footer Fissa.

The wind was a long time coming to the Gulf of St Tropez. The fleet of 167 boats waited until almost 3 o'clock before the race committee was satisfied there was sufficient wind, at which they point they sent the fleet on a short course which took line honours winner Alfa Romeo just an hour and a quarter.

In addition to line honours - which is to be expected for a boat as sleek and well-sailed as Alfa - Neville Crichton was pleased to win today's race by more than five minutes on handicap from Farr 52 Nikimar, especially as the wind increased slightly as the race progressed. "We thought we'd sailed well yesterday," said the New Zealand skipper, "and we ended up 31st." So in a similar scenario today he somehow managed to secure the win, even if he still only finished 4th overall in class.

Giraglia Rolex Cup

It was champagne sailing for day 2 of the Giraglia Rolex Cup, with beautiful sunshine and up to 13 knots of wind in the Gulf of St Tropez. But the thing that really determines a sailor's mood, regardless of the blue skies or azure seas, is the scoreboard. Today the sailors with the sunniest dispositions came from the smaller boats, because the best wind didn't arrive until later in the afternoon when the 167-boat fleet was already more than half way through its meandering 30.7 mile race around the Gulf. That late-coming wind propelled the smaller boats back to the finish line in good time, and there was nothing the larger boats could do about it. Neville Crichton could only manage 34th on corrected time in IRC Group A. Winner of the big boat division was one of the smallest, the 40-foot Fissa, which now lies 2nd overall on the IRC Group A leaderboard. It was a similar story in ORC Group A where a French IMX-40, Laurent Lavaysse's Magic Simca won the race. There were three IMX-40s in the top four. Sandro Montefusco's Airis had the best set of scores from day 2 of the GP42 Quebramar Cup, the Italian team racking up scores of 2,1,3.

Clipper in Halifax

The 68-foot racing yacht Nova Scotia led the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race fleet into Halifax today at the start of an eight-day stopover in the province. They were welcomed by crowds lining Halifax Waterfront and the iconic Canadian figure of a Mountie ­ a member of Canada's Royal Mounted Police Force. The fleet sailed in formation, past George's Island and Dartmouth before arriving at Cable Wharf at Halifax Waterfront, where they will be berthed for the next four days.

Among the welcoming party was Nova Scotia's Minister of Immigration, the Honourable Len Goucher, who was instrumental in bringing the fleet to the Province.

Overnight the fleet arrived at Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, where they were welcomed with cold beers and hot food at the end of Race 12 from New York. Nova Scotia finished fifth in the race where dense fog and light winds tested the crews' skills and resolve. westernaustralia2011.com¹s tactical decision to turn towards Halifax earlier than the rest of the fleet paid off as they found more favourable winds to propel them into the lead and claim their first victory of the Clipper 07-08 series. Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper's consistent performance earned them another second place, while Qingdao emerged as victor of their dogfight with Hull & Humber to finish third, just a fifth of a nautical mile separating the two teams when the race finished at 1200 GMT on Saturday 8 June.

Archipelago Raid

22 teams from 10 nationalities will compete in this year’s edition of the Archipelago Raid, starting in the heart of Stockholm on Friday 13 June. For six days and five nights the teams will challenge the force of man and Nature in the beautiful but difficult landscape of the Stockholm, Aland and Finnish archipelago in small and very fast formula 18 catamarans.

The teams of two origin from the UK, France, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Australia and the independent island of Aland. Half of the teams have never competed in the Archipelago Raid before but are experienced sailors, endurance racers or very familiar with the archipelago. Three teams have already reached the podium in previous editions: English William Sunnucks on X-Leisure won the Raid in 2004, the French Hobie Cat pro Eric Proust, on Team Kalix, has already reached the podium three times, all but the top step, and the Swedish match racer and America’s Cup sailor Martin Strandberg, Team Thule, took an impressive third place last year on his first Archipelago Raid.

Among the 22 teams there is one all female team. There is one more female competitor in this tough endurance race, the world re-known solo sailor Ellen MacArthur, teaming up with Australian Greg Homann on BT.

Course:

Friday 13 June: start 11 am Junibacken/Djurgarden to Lido.
Saturday 14 June: restart from Lido at 3 am to cross the Baltic Sea to Lappo in the archipelago of Aland.
Sunday 15 June: from Lappo to Nagu in the Finnish archipelago.
Monday 16 June: back to Aland archipelago, to Rödhamn, annexe of the ÅSS, Åland Island Yacht Club.
Tuesday 17 June: cross the Baltic Sea again back to the Stockholm archipelago and Sandhamn, passing Fejan.
Wednesday 18 June: from Sandhamn to the finish line in Stockholm City/Djurgården at around 2-3 pm.

Action Photo

This photo is taken in Marseille, for the Audi MedCup Circuit 2008, Trophy City of Marseille. (c) Ian Roman/Audi MedCup.

Giraglia Rolex Cup

Day one of the Giraglia Rolex Cup was a day for keeping a cool head in a day of ever-changing breeze in St Tropez. With big holes in the 10-knot breeze, along with windshifts of up to 70 degrees, today was what sailors like to call a 'heads-out-of-the-boat-day'. Boatspeed was less important than picking your way through the virtual minefield in the Gulf of St Tropez. Tomorrow sees the 167 boats in the IRC and IMS divisions contest the second heat of their four-day inshore series, while the GP42s will race another three of their shorter courses. On Thursday, a fleet of more than 200 yachts will start the Giraglia Race, a 243-mile marathon starting from St Tropez via the Giraglia Rock at the northern tip of Corsica to the finish in the Italian port of Genoa.

MedCup

Coutts, who won the 2007 title as tactician with Artemis, proved his excellence in the very shifty and gusty conditions as USA-17 finished fourth in the first race of Friday, they lost their lead on the final downwind, and won the second race which was the windiest the MedCup Circuit has seen for a long time. while USA-17’s crew work was strong, their hand strengthened by astute tactics in the big wind shifts, their prudence on the ‘corners’, especially approaching the leeward mark at speeds in excess of 22 knots at times, paid an equally valuable dividend. Early, safe gennaker drops ensured that they were well settled for the 2.2 miles beat back upwind. In the second race USA-17 lead at the first turning mark of the longer course of three windward-legs and two downwind legs, but it was only on the blustery final beat that USA-17 managed to slip through Quantum to take their third winning gun of the week.

Audi MedCup

The City of Marseille Trophy Regatta came to a premature end on Saturday afternoon with the famous Mistral wind still blowing strong. At more than 28 knots on the Rade Sud race area, racing was abandoned without anyone even leaving the Vieux Port of Marseille, and USA-17, the overnight leaders, ended their one and only regatta Audi MedCup Circuit with a win. Just behind them was the Swedish boat Artemis with BMW Oracle Racing team-mates on the identical Reichel/Pugh-designed hull. Artemis was six points adrift of the lead after eight races including one 40-miles coastal race. Marseille has offered fabulous race conditions to the 14 TP52’s that participated. Strong winds, bright sunshine and an unique setting are but a few of the components of the regatta’s success. The race course area is peppered with an array of challenging shifts and is always able to produce great tactical racing, while the coastal race to the south east to picturesque Cassis, was set against one of the most stunning, rocky backdrops in the Mediterranean. Marseille is a great venue for the Audi MedCup and it is the intention of the Audi MedCup organisers to return here next year.

MedCup Marseille

Only swift avoiding action by the helm, who saw at the last minute what was happening, saved Platoon from becoming involved in a nasty series of crashes and near-collisions when the leading pack converged at speed at the first windward mark.

A big wind shift accelerated the arrival and suddenly favored a pack coming from the left at the buoy, while those with right of way on starboard tack slowed and struggled momentarily. Lightning quick reactions and bold decisions were required from the line up of port tack boats. Sadly Matador (ARG), CxG Caixa Galicia (ESP) and Mutua Madrileña (CHI) all sustained damage and had to retire.

There were six protests from the incidents, all three boats are seeking redress, but CxG Caixa Galicia’s owner Vicente Tirado confirmed this evening that the damage to the bow of their boat is such that he is presently looking for a suitable replacement boat to continue the Audi MedCup season with.

The 39-miles course offered a good selection of points of sail to contest, with a short two miles beat up to the Islands of Ratoneau and Grand Salaman before a long, exciting sleigh ride, peppered with an array of wind shifts to make gains and losses on, down to the scoring gate, 26 miles into the race.

From the turning mark off the entrance to the beautiful bay of Cassis, there was a tough beat back up along the coast, the TP52’s dwarfed at times by the 200 metre high cliffs, which accelerated the Mistral winds to over 22 knots.

Clipper Race 12 Start

Following New York’s historic achievement of a home port win and a short but action-packed stopover in the city that never sleeps, the ten-internationally sponsored boats slipped their moorings at Lower Manhattan’s North Cove Marina and headed out into the Hudson River on Wednesday morning. The low cloud and light drizzle failed to dampen spirits as the crews prepared their boats for the race and waved farewell to supporters on the dockside ahead of the 570-mile sprint to Halifax. With only three of the 14 individual races that make up the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race remaining, the pressure on to secure an overall podium position when the race finishes in Liverpool on 05 July.

With main sails raised and flags flying high, the teams performed a formation sail past the iconic Statue of Liberty before heading up the Hudson to a rendezvous point next to Ambrose Light for the start of Race 12 to Halifax.

Audi MedCup in Mistral

If the opening day of the regatta offered a modest introduction to ‘Mistral-lite’ conditions, 15-19 knots, today’s two windward-leeward contests met with conditions much closer to the upper racing limit for the Audi MedCup Fleet of TP52’s.

After an initial postponement, waiting for the wind to drop enough, there were still 22 knots blowing from the Mistral’s hallmark North West direction when Race 4 started. With the windward mark set under the cliffs of the Isle du Frioul the breeze may have been strong, but it was erratic at times on the approach to the top turn.

The day’s second race proved a resounding victory for Terry Hutchinson (USA) and the crew on the new Botin & Carkeek-designed Quantum Racing, their first win this season for a team which won the 2005 circuit. Vicente Torado’s CXG Caixa Galicia (ESP) also raised team morale with a hard won second, their navy blue bow and iconic ’watching-eye’ gennaker breaking the line ahead of a four-way scramble across the finish line, pipping Artemis which has their 2007 season tactician Kostecki on board.

MedCup in Marseille

The MedCup in France carries memories the international crew of the Argentine TP52 Matador will be happy to bury today. In Hyeres last year they broke their mast during the final regatta of the season and had to consign to the deep their hopes of a top three finish overall. But today the international crew mastered the Mistral and used the awkward swell to best effect and emerged from the three excellent races leading the regattas by just one point.

With multiple Star world champion Vince Brun (USA) calling tactics Matador earned two second places and a seventh place to hold off the advances of the new USA 17.
With owner Larry Ellison sharing the steering with James Spithill (AUS), and Russell Coutts (NZL) on tactics, USA 17 improved as the crew learned their new boat in the testing conditions, rising from sixth in the first race, to fifth in the second before winning the third, just getting the better of their sister-ship Artemis on the finish line.

In the shadow of Marseilles’ Pointe Rouge there was no more than the swish of a fighter’s cape between Matador and Mean Machine on the finish line of the first race. Peter de Ridder’s Mean Machine had lead from the first turn, but Matador closed on the final run, earning with downwind speed and some excellent surfing, using every wave to best effect, but were denied by just one second.

Artemis, sailed by the reigning MedCup Circuit crew and steered by owner Torbjorn Tornqvist (SWE) won their first race with their new 2008 boat, extending to win my more than one minute. But this second race proved a punishing one for the Mean Machine team who had to do penalty turns on the first run and finished last.

The third race saw another close finish with USA 17 just scraping home ahead of Artemis, with Mean Machine challenging with a final gybe on the line and all three boats finishing within a boat length of each other. Matador would have been better than their seventh place finish but for a misunderstanding as they tried to cross Desafio on the first beat.

Audi MedCup Part 2

After winning the opening regatta of the Audi MedCup Circuit two weeks ago in Alicante today’s warm-up contest, raced in 8-10 knots of Southerly breeze amidst a spectacular Mediterranean amphitheatre bound to the east by L’Ile Maire and the Montagne de Marseille Veire, signaled a clear warning that De Ridder’s team will be the crew to beat here.

Platoon powered by Team Germany, skippered by three times Olympic gold medallist Jochen Schuemann proved that their hard work in Valencia, tuning their new Rolf Vroijk designed boat and a hard week of crew training, may reveal a dividend this week. They were quickest off the start line and made the best tactical call to lead the race all the way until the last 400 metres, but showed very good speed, especially downwind.

The maiden race outing for USA-17 saw Larry Ellison enjoy his first sail on the TP52. With Russell Coutts (NZL) and James Spit hill (AUS) orchestrating the tactical decisions at the back of the boat, USA-17 was seventh at the first windward mark, four seconds behind sister-ship Artemis, and finished ninth.

While it was a gentle introduction for Ellison, Coutts and co to their new boat and the rest of the 14 boat fleet, local forecasters and team navigators are predicting at least 20 knots of Mistral breeze for tomorrow’s opening races.

Clipper 07-08

Breaking what has been referred to as the ‘home port curse’, skipper Duggie Gillespie and his team have achieved an historic victory by winning into New York at the end of the 1,420-mile race from Jamaica of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race.

This elusive accolade of a home port win has only been achieved once before in the history of the biennial round the world race, by Canadian entry Victoria Clipper, in Clipper 05-06.

In what has been one of the closest races of the ten-month series, the New York team was able to hold its nerve and clinch victory in a nail biting finish that saw the top six teams finishing within eight nautical miles each other.

Skipper of New York, Duggie Gillespie, said, “I am extremely pleased with our win. The team worked really hard under busy light wind conditions and I am very proud of them all. It is a new experience for me to go to New York and what better way than to lead the fleet into our home port.”

iShares Cup

Glorious sunshine, torrential rain, hair-raising gusts and mirror-like calm - the first event of the iShares Cup at Lake Lugano in Switzerland had it all, but it was the sole female sailor of the fleet, Shirley Robertson, who came out on top to win by 10 points.

After winning five races over the first two days, double Olympic gold medallist Shirley and her crew of Chris Main, Nick Hutton and Fraser Brown on JPMorgan Asset Management went into the final day of racing with a 15-point lead over British America's Cup challengers TEAMORIGIN, but things got off to a surprising start in the first race of day three when JPMorgan Asset Manageent followed the fleet home in last place and were disqualified after failing to complete the course within the time limit in the zephyr-light breezes. TEAMORIGIN, helmed by 2007 iShares Cup champion Rob Greenhalgh, came home in fourth to pile the pressure on for the overall title, while BT took the race win.

After a postponement which saw several crews cooling off from the scorching sunshine with a swim in Lake Lugano, it was America's Cup defenders Alinghi who rediscovered their fighting form in Race 9, pulling off a tactical stunt that saw them come within inches of the shoreline to steal a winning angle to the second mark and then lead convincingly all the way home.

But all eyes were on the battle between JPMorgan Asset Management and TEAMORIGIN - Shirley Roberston's crew had to take a penalty turn at the second mark, slowing the boat right down, while TEAMORIGIN were back in seventh place. JPMorgan Asset Management recovered to finish in fifth place as TEAMORIGIN followed them home in sixth. After an anxious wait to see if the wind would refill for a 10th race, the race committee signalled three hoots to end all racing - followed by cheers from the crew on JPMorgan Asset Management who had won the first event of the 2008 iShares Cup Sailing Series.

Volvo Melges 24 Pre-World Championship

The second and final day of the Volvo Melges 24 Pre-World Championship Regatta at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo brought respite from yesterday’s storms. In sparkling Costa Smeralda sunshine with a breeze that built steadily from 12 to around 20 knots, racing concluded with two outstanding races.

Fifty three of the 117 teams due to compete in the main championship elected to race in the Pre-Worlds Regatta, and Italy’s Alberto Bolzan, sailing ITA727 Pilot Italia for Gianni Catalogna, put in a bravura performance to win all three races and take the regatta.

Speaking after racing, Bolzan commented: "These Pre-Worlds results are relevant to understand how this World Championship will evolve. We won all the three races; in the first day it was pretty shifty, and Pietro D'Alì (tactician) has been really good taking the proper side of the course. Today, having a stronger wind, the crew was decisive, keeping a high pace. Affinity with Pietro is tight, and his choices convey a strong sense of security to the rest of the crew".

Switzerland’s Matthias Keller, helming SUI530 Acqua for Gianluca Tribo, took second overall and also wins the Corinthian Pre-Worlds Regatta for all amateur crews.

Britain’s John Pollard, sailing GBR690 A-Team Westaway, came in third overall, while the joint US/British entry GBR592 Sevenstar Slam (www.sevenstarslamracing.com) took fourth. Aboard Sevenstar Slam are brothers Simon Strauss (New York, N.Y.) and Quentin Strauss (GBR) as well as double and reigning Melges 24 World Champion (1999, 2007) tactician Bill Hardesty (San Diego, Calif.) and another accomplished Melges 24 racer James Hill (GBR).

A New-York based Englishman, Simon Strauss has been a stalwart in the Melges 24 class for years, but has really upped the stakes for this event with his expert crew. He is looking to fight his way to a top-ten finish at Worlds for the first time.

iShares Cup

As Alinghi was climbing into second place on race one of the Lugano iShares Cup, the fleet was hit by a violent gust during a stormy squall and the Swiss team capsized. Alinghi relaunched the X40 Saturday 31/5 morning at 0730 in Lugano having worked late to rig the replacement mast and get the boat ready to race. The Swiss team will be on the start line at 1030 for the first of up to nine races. The wind continued to play hide and seek with the fleet on the final day of the Lugano iShares Cup, but the committee managed to squeeze two races in between lulls. Alinghi took a 6th in the first race of the day and came back in the afternoon to win race 9, the last of the series, counting for double points. Ashore fans clapped and cheered the Swiss team around the course and they were rewarded when the team gybed along the beach to take the lead and win the race! This result put Alinghi at 5th overall.