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.

Volvo Ocean Race

The Green Team has confirmed it will be the seventh entry into the Volvo Ocean Race 2008 -09, and British sailor Ian Walker is named as skipper.

Ian Walker's achievements in the last 12 years include two Olympic medals, four World Championships and being skipper and tactician for two America's Cup campaigns (GBR Challenge and +39). His most recent success has been as skipper of the TP52 Patches where he worked alongside owner Eamon Conneely to secure the global championship in 2006.

As skipper of the Green Team entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, Walker will oversee both the design and build programme along with crew selection.

Ian will get his first taste of sailing on a Volvo Open 70 in this year's Sydney Hobart Race.

The build of the Green Team Volvo Open 70 is underway at McConaghy Boats in China. The moulds are completed and the hull lamination has begun. Reichel Pugh and the structural engineers at Applied Structural Analysis Ltd (ASTA) are working on all the drawings to a strict timescale. The deck plan is well advanced as is the sail plan. The rig is under design and the team have completed their first sail wind tunnel testing in Auckland New Zealand. The aim is to have the boat commissioned in June 2008.

The team has secured initial funding for the team from a combination of private investment (led by a project board which includes John Kileen, Enda O'Coineen, Eamon Conneely and Jamie Boag as Team CEO), commercial sponsorship and government backing.