International Rolex Regatta

After completing a single distance race today, yesterday's eight class leaders nailed down overall victories at the 35th annual International Rolex Regatta, which began Friday. The trade winds that made the prior two days so exciting delivered once again as sailors on 90 boats completed the Pillsbury Sound course, set between the east end of St. Thomas, where host St. Thomas Yacht Club is located, and its smaller sister island of St. John. The two IRC classes, as well as two of four CSA classes (Spinnaker Racing 1 and Spinnaker Racing/Cruising) and Beach Cats sailed a longer version of the race (13 nm with several windward-leeward laps included) while the remaining two CSA classes (Spinnaker Racing 2 and Non-Spinnaker Racing) stuck to the more straightforward shorter course (13 nm). In all cases, however, the key to victory lay in playing the second windward leg of the course correctly. Three Harkoms won the Non-Spinnaker division last year, so this was quite a step up for them, said Lloyd.

The International Rolex Regatta is part of the US-IRC Gulf Stream Series 2008. There were a total of eight classes: two in IRC division, four in CSA Division (two for spinnaker racing, one for non-spinnaker racing and one for Spinnaker Racing/Cruising), Beach Cats and IC24 One-Designs.

iShares Cup Extreme 40

The 2008 circuit for the iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series has been unveiled with the events continuing to focus on high-octane, competitive close-quarter racing, accessible to the viewing public whilst providing an unforgettable VIP experience. If 2007 got pulses racing in the inaugural iShares Cup, 2008 looks set to create even more of a buzz both on and off the water.

The investments made by the sponsors, organisers, boat owners and sailors in 2007 have paid off - five new boats have been constructed bringing the total fleet size to 14 - and three America's Cup teams now own Extreme 40s. The deadline for entries is midnight on 31st March but it is anticipated that 10 or more of the teams will be signing up for the 2008 iShares Cup. The sailors from the world of the America's Cup, Olympics and offshore racing will certainly raise the bar this season as the iShares Cup tours across five European countries.

America's Cup

The US syndicate Oracle could challenge Swiss champion Alinghi for the America's Cup at a southern hemisphere venue during the next winter season, the Americans said on Saturday.

That, however, would be conditional on the two resolving their long-running wrangle over when their court-ordered, multihull duel for the trophy should be held.

Alinghi has offered to race Oracle in July 2009 for the 33rd America's Cup, but the US team is insisting on October 2008, the Swiss syndicate said Friday.

"However, if for some reason an agreement is reached for January, 2009, Oracle does not exclude racing in the southern hemisphere," he added.

The Deed of Gift that governs America's Cup racing stipulates that any regatta scheduled between November 1 and April 31 be held in southern hemisphere waters.

If that was the case, it would be up to Alinghi to decide on the venue.

If no agreement is reached at their meeting next week, the matter will return to the New York court which made the ruling for the multihull race to go ahead.

Rolex China Sea Race

Last night the land-sea breeze off the Philippine coast made and lost fortunes for the potential handicap winners in this 565-nautical mile offshore Asian classic.

At the Philippines finish of the Rolex China Sea Race, the local enthusiasm and passion for sailing is evident, so it seemed fitting that the overall handicap winner was the Philippines entry, Subic Centennial, co-skippered by Judes Echauz and Vince Perez and their crew of young Filipino sailors.

Echauz and Perez won the China Sea Race in 1998 with the same boat, and ten years later decided it was time to try again. Echauz is President of the Philippines Sailing Association and head of the Philippines sailing team and was involved in the ASEAN Games in Manila. Subic Centennial, a Sydney 46 from the Manila Yacht Club, is mostly composed of young kids who are part of the Philippines Team, with Australian Jamie Wilmot as the senior coach.

Clipper Returns

Durban 2010 and Beyond one of two yachts dismasted during the 4,400-mile Race 7 from Qingdao, China, to Hawaii in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, has arrived in Honolulu. Shortly before the 1600 on Tuesday 18 March (0200 GMT Wednesday 19 March) she entered the Ala Wai harbour next to the famous Waikiki Beach, having been accompanied for the last 12 hours by three other Clipper yachts, Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper, Liverpool 08 and Qingdao.

Earlier today Race 7 winners, Hull & Humber, and second placed New York arrived in the Ala Wai. Until all the skippers hand in their declarations the positions are provisional, but if they stand Hull & Humber will move into the overall lead, just two points ahead of Durban 2010 and Beyond who slip back into second place, level on points with Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper.

westernaustralia2011.com, one of the ten internationally-backed yachts competing in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, is heading back to Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean due to gearbox failure on Tuesday. The team representing Western Australia reported to the Race Office that at approximately 2300 GMT on Tuesday the gearbox on the 68-foot yacht had sheared after one of their lines became caught around the propeller.

The crew of twelve, including professional skipper Martin Silk, constructed a jury rig after losing half of their 81-foot mast two weeks ago. The team has made good progress towards Hawaii approximately 970 miles to the east of their position at 0600 GMT on Wednesday but will now turn back towards Midway.

"A line around the propeller today whilst re-engaging the drive has turned our race around once again. The line marking 1,000 miles to Hawaii will now need to be crossed two more times as we return to Midway refuge," Martin Silk said following the gearbox failure.

The Race Team is currently assessing the options for getting a replacement gearbox to Midway so that the Western Australian team can proceed to Hawaii as soon as possible.

westernaustralia2011.com, the winning boat in Clipper 05-06, is expected to arrive in Midway on Thursday.

America's Cup

Justice Herman Cahn of the New York State Supreme Court today issued an order confirming the validity of Golden Gate Yacht Club's challenge for the 33rd America's Cup and rejected a late-stage bid by the defender to re-argue the court's earlier ruling in GGYC's favor.

"We are very pleased with this decision. The Court has ruled that our challenge complied fully with the Cup's Deed of Gift, and we are now keen to keep moving forward towards the next regatta," Tom Ehman, the club's spokesman said.

In its order today the Court reconfirmed its November 27 decision that GGYC was the valid challenger for the Cup.

The defender, Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG), had filed a motion to re- argue that decision based on a new claim that the American club's challenge was invalid under the Deed, but this was rejected by the court.

A Deed of Gift match is being held as the defender made it clear it did not wish to take up GGYC's offers made before and after the court's ruling in November of a conventional regatta with rules agreed by mutual consent and involving all teams.

Durban 2010 and Beyond Dismasted Too

Durban 2010 and Beyond, one of the ten yachts competing in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race has been dismasted during the race from Qingdao, China, to Hawaii.

At 0610 GMT on the 19th day of the 4,400-nautical mile Pacific Ocean leg, the team representing Durban, South Africa, contacted the Race Office to report that they had been dismasted at deck level, whilst sailing in approximately 20 knots of wind.

There are no injuries onboard and the crew of 16, including the professional skipper, is in the process of clearing the decks, cutting away the trailing rigging to prevent damage to the 68-foot yacht's hull from the 81-foot (24.5 metre) mast, which weighs approximately one tonne.

Durbanite skipper, Ricky Chalmers says, "The conditions were bouncy, but we weren't slamming. Just before the mast broke, the helm said he bore away from a wave. I think there was a slam, but not major, then a double crack and then lots of shouts of "Ricky" from on deck.

Volvo Ocean Race

The Russian entry has finally revealed its true colours with the unveiling of a new identity and a new look for the 2008-09 race.

Originally launched by team principal Oleg Zherebtsov as Russian Challenge, the team will now be known as Team Russia.

Explaining the thinking behind the change of name and visual identity, at a press conference during the Austrian Boat Show in Boot Tulln, skipper Andreas Hanakamp, said: "Our new name Team Russia is visually represented using letters from the Russian Cyrillic alphabet. It is hoped that the true essence of Russia on the international sailing stage is represented carefully using the power of this identity.

"As our entry into the Volvo Ocean Race continues to build momentum, it is important to Oleg that the boat represents new Russia and its expression of freedom through the sport of sailing."

Hanakamp recently paid a visit to the Green Marine boat yard in Lymington, England, to check on the progress of Team Russia's challenger for the 2008-09 event.

The second generation Volvo Open 70, designed by Rob Humphreys, is out of its mould, the deck has been fixed to the hull and fitting out and fairing has begun.

It is on schedule for launch in May. A full programme of testing and racing is then planned for the summer in preparation for the October race start in Alicante.

Acura Miami Grand Prix

Colm Barrington and his crew aboard Flash Glove counted all first and second place finishes and did not need to sail the final race en route to winning IRC 1 class in convincing fashion.

Andy Fisher skippered Bandit to a hard-earned victory in IRC 2, which had four different leaders over the course of the four-day regatta.

Michael Illbruck and the Pinta team led at the end of each day in Melges 32, an amazing feat considering it was the German skipper's second regatta in the highly-competitive class.

Ultimately, the three-part criteria that officials with Premiere Racing use to select the Acura Trophy winner favored the Farr 40 Barking Mad, owned by Jim Richardson of Newport, R.I. won three of 10 races and overcame some double-digit results to capture what proved to be the closest, most competitive class at Acura Miami Grand Prix.

Richardson and company are hot, having won all three winter regattas in Farr 40 class. The part-time Boston resident got a gorilla off his back by winning both Key West and Miami for the first time in 11 trips to capture the Acura Grand Prix Championship in Farr 40. That trophy goes to the boat with the best combined score at the two international events organized by Premiere Racing.

Illbruck is a newcomer to the up-and-coming Melges 32 class, taking delivery of his boat just prior to Acura Key West 2008. The German skipper did not steer as Pinta placed seventh in that regatta. He made his debut as helmsman in Miami and performed admirably, winning four races and second or third in five others in totaling 16 points - 10 better than runner-up New Wave.

John Kostecki, who skippered Illbruck's victorious entry in the 2001-2002 Volvo Ocean Race and is now with the BMW Oracle America's Cup syndicate, called tactics aboard Pinta. Ross Halcrow of BMW Oracle and Dan Cowie of Emirates Team New Zealand served as trimmers.

Volvo Ocean Race veteran Rob Greenhalgh helped optimize Flash Glove to IRC and served as tactician onboard while boat captain James Hynes oversaw the alterations.

IRC 2 class wasn't decided until the final leg of the last race when the Aerodyne 38 Thin Ice played spoiler by winning on corrected time. That assured the Swan 42 Bandit of the overall victory by the narrowest of margins. Skipper Andy Fisher steered Bandit to six finishes of third or better in totaling 25 points, a mere half point ahead of the J/122 Teamwork.

Farr 40 (28 entries) - no discard
1. Barking Mad, Jim Richardson, USA, 62
2. Mascalzone Latino, Vincenzo Onorato, ITA, 66
3. Warpath, Fred & Steve Howe, USA, 67

Melges 32 (20 entries)
1. Pinta, Michael Illbruck, GER, 16
2. New Wave, Mike Carroll/Marty Kullman, USA, 26
3. Star, Jeff Ecklund, USA, 37

IRC 1 (6 entries)
1. Flash Glove, J/V 52, Colm Barrington, IRL, 14
2. Windquest, TP52, Doug DeVos, USA, 23
3. Rusal Synergy, Sergey Pichugin, RUS, 5

IRC 2 (6 entries)
1. Bandit, Swan 42, Andy Fisher, USA, 25
2. Teamwork, J/122, Robin Team, USA, 25.5
3. Gold Digger, J/44, James Bishop, USA, 26.5

Barcelona World Race prizegiving

At 19:00 Saturday, 8th March, the 18 skippers of the first edition of the Barcelona World Race will gather in Barcelona once again for the official prizegiving ceremony. The gala event will be hosted by Catalan TV3 presenter Tomàs Molina in the presence of the Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, and other city officials at the Auditorium of the Barcelona Forum. 2,500 guests are expected to attend and enjoy a unique show put together by Cuqui Pons. A giant 28-metre wide and 9-metre high video screen placed on stage will be a key element of the evening which will focus on two principal visual symbols - an image of the Colombus monument which, at the bottom of the famous Ramblas, emphasises Barcelona's maritime history, and the constant references to the notion of 'duo' throughout the show, that will pay tribute to the nine teams of two who entered the first edition of the double-handed Barcelona World Race. Music, acrobatics and other surprises will be enjoyed by the audience, who will also see the duos receive their prizes secured during the race.

America's Cup - What's New?

The America's Cup, currently, is little better than a war zone and Emirates Team New Zealand fired two missiles into the battlefield yesterday. The Kiwis entered two actions into the New York State Supreme Court in an effort to bring the defenders of the 157-years old trophy into line.

The Societe Nautique de Geneve, Team Alinghi and its owner Ernesto Bertarelli, together with the organising America's Cup Management, are jointly and severally charged with breach of contract in not organising an event in 2009, as contracted with the New Zealand team, and perhaps more pertinently, of a breach of trust in endeavouring to organise a one-sided competition under the rules and regulations it announced with the connivance of the Spanish yacht club that was subsequently disqualified as a challenger. The event is already in court following American Judge Herman Cahn's decision to disqualify the Spanish club because the Swiss submitted further papers that have delayed the settlement order. The Kiwis had a contract with AC Management for an event in 2009, but already ACM had declared that this will not occur. Emirates Team New Zealand seeks damages as per its contract, in excess of $12 million.

The other action has been brought by the Kiwis following a refusal by Bertarelli to renegotiate the protocol that ACM established when it colluded with the now-disqualified Spanish yacht club. American Team BMW Oracle should be the new Challenger of Record when the American Judge delivers his settlement order. The two New Zealand court actions claim that will not further delay the event. Dalton was at pains to point out that this expensive process would be funded independently from its revenue sources from sponsors and the NZ Government but said that Alinghi is abusing the powers granted to the defender under the Deed of Gift, and has harmed the event and challenging syndicates.

westernAustralia Dismasted

westernaustralia2011.com, one of the ten yachts competing in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, has been dismasted during the race from Qingdao to Hawaii.

At 0600 GMT on the eleventh day of the 4,400-nautical mile Pacific leg, the team representing Western Australia reported that their 81-foot (24.5 metres) mast had snapped approximately halfway down whilst sailing in approximately 10-15 knots of wind under spinnaker.

There are no injuries onboard and the crew of 12, including the professional skipper, has cut away the trailing rigging using hydraulic cutters to prevent damage to the 68-foot yacht's hull. The yacht remains seaworthy and a full assessment of the damage is underway.

The yacht is currently located approximately 700 nautical miles east of Yokohama, Japan in the Pacific Ocean. Due to strong winds from the west, the yacht will continue towards Hawaii under jury rig. The Clipper Race Team is looking at options for refuelling en route and it is likely that westernaustralia2011.com will head for the island of Midway approximately 1,400 miles from their current position.

Clipper Ventures is in the process of sourcing a new mast section and rigging for the yacht so that westernaustralia2011.com can resume racing as soon as is practicably possible.

The reigning champions from Clipper 05-06 are currently lying in sixth place overall after six of the 14 races in the ten-month round the world series. When the dismasting occurred the team was in ninth place with 2,648 miles to run to Hawaii.

RC44

Despite local advice, Race Director Peter "Luigi" Regio sent the six strong RC 44 fleet out on the water for the second Round Robin of the Dubai RC 44 Cup. A wise choice as the teams could sail six matches, allowing the Committee to establish a final ranking based on 21 matches. "You won't get anything if you don't try", he commented with a smile at the end of the day.

The winner of the event is Igor Lah's Team Ceeref, with James Spithill at the helm. "It's a great start to our season", he commented. "Yesterday, we were not happy with our sailing. We made a lot of little mistakes and lost matches that we could have won. We all wanted to do better today and that's what we did."

Equally happy with his performance was Team Hiroshi - Citta di Milano's pro helmsman Sebastien Col: "It all goes down to a couple of meters at the right moment", he explained. Yesterday, we could have won all our matches but we lost two of them because of tiny mistakes. We had a thorough de-brief in the evening and the difference was clear today. All the guys on board realised how important every single meter is. They were hiking better, our tacks were better, we focused well on what we were doing and the result is there: we had two excellent matches."

Russell Coutts' Team ES Bankers completes the podium with victories against Cro-A-Sail and Team Sea Dubai this afternoon.

Four teams were sharing the lead after the first round robin. Team Sea Dubai, leader of the provisional ranking after day one, lost its advantage today, regressing to the fourth place. As for Team Aqua (Cameron Appleton), penalised by a collision yesterday and sailing below its usual level, it finishes fifth, ahead of Cro-A-Sail who only won one match.

The team owners will be back at the helm tomorrow for the fleet racing event. The weather forecast is good, with North-Westerly winds of up to 20 knots expected.

Dubai RC44 Cup

The day couldn't have started better for the local team Sea Dubai, representing the organising club Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC). Sea Dubai dominated its match against Team Ceeref - with James Spithill at the helm - to take a first victory that was going to be followed by two more and result in victory in the first round robin.

A former Flying Dutchman and Dragon sailor (amongst others), Marcus Wiser, the team's helmsman, was obviously satisfied with his debuts in the RC 44 Class. "We were helped by the light winds", he explains modestly. "But we are obviously very happy. A lot of credit goes to our tactician Michael Hestbek, who was strategist on board the German entry during the last America's Cup."

The light (6 to 8 kts of wind) but fairly stable conditions allowed for fifteen matches to be sailed today, under a nice sunshine and on flat water. Most races were very close, and the overall results confirm that the teams are becoming closer from each other by the day.