2008 Audi MedCup

The 2008 Audi MedCup Circuit consists of six events in four countries and could see as many as 60 races sailed by the end of the season. In a no discard race circuit, meaning that for the first time every race counts, extra emphasis is being placed by teams on their ability to finish consistently well and the reliability of their boats. Equipment failure and retirement will prove costly on points – as will tactical risk taking on the race course. Never before has a 60-race series been organised for a fleet of this calibre featuring the very best sailors in the world, be they Olympic medallists, America’s Cup winners, owner-drivers or One Design champions.

20 teams from 12 nations are now in the final three-week countdown to the opening event of the 2008 Audi MedCup Circuit to be run in Alicante, Spain (12 - 17 May). In Alicante, as at all subsequent events, teams will race a five-day regatta featuring as many as nine inshore races and one coastal race.

The 20-boat fleet is split between eight brand new yachts, yachts that are currently in the process of being commissioned and made race ready, and 12 teams and their yachts that represent the best from previous years of the MedCup Circuit. Many of this latter group have extensively modified their yachts over the winter, with new bow sections, rigs, appendages and deck layouts. But significantly many of this latter group have also been training hard and involved in race and speed practice sessions in the pre-season so as to take maximum advantage of their competitive situation whilst the new and potentially quicker yachts are brought fully up to speed.

The profile of the crews across the fleet, although essentially the same as in previous years, sees a further refinement in professionalism as training for this year’s circuit appears to have been much more widespread than before, with some teams even sailing in other classes in the build up to the Audi MedCup Circuit such as the Melges 24, RC44 and Farr 40 classes.

Volvo Ocean Race

What began at 4am under the darkness of night and a full moon, ended more than two hours later in the morning dawn. Following a 20 mile trip, PUMA Ocean Racing's new boat for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 made its way from Goetz Custom Boats in Bristol, Rhode Island to the Newport Shipyard in Newport, where it will receive final preparations before going in the water.

PUMA's new racing yacht left Goetz Custom Boats at 4:07am Eastern time under the power of a 16-liter VT800 Volvo Truck. What normally takes 25 minutes for passenger cars took more than 2 hours as the wide load and 70-foot boat had to navigate over a closed 2-lane bridge, around streets signs, through narrow turns and over curbs. A dense layer of fog on the historic Mt. Hope Bridge, made for an especially tricky but photo-worthy drive. At 6:25 with the sun slowly rising, PUMA's new boat arrived at the Newport Shipyard.

World ARC: Entry List Opens for 2010

Building on the success of the 2008 Rally, World Cruising Club has announced that the entry list is now open for a second edition of the Rally, World ARC 2010. Billed as an adventure of a lifetime, World ARC 2010 will leave the Caribbean in January 2010, cruising across the World's great oceans on a circumnavigation of the globe, returning to the Caribbean 15 months later.

The response to the announcement has been enthusiastic with three entries received within 24 hours of the list opening. Places are limited to a maximum of 45 boats. To register your interest, contact WCC in Cowes or visit the website.

Yachts in the 2008 rally are currently cruising through French Polynesia visiting remote islands in the Tuamotos and Society groups.

Artemis Transat

Winner of the solo Vendée Globe in 2004 and race favourite in the two-handed Barcelona World Race in 2007, before suffering mast failure, Vincent Riou has done more than enough ocean miles to qualify for The Artemis Transat, but it was a requirement for Riou to qualify the boat and mast in its new configuration. So Riou took PRB offshore for 36 hours off the south of Brittany and completed a 300-mile passage that has now qualified PRB ! for The Artemis Transat. Riou was more than happy with the boat's performance: "In 20 knots of breeze, we had boat speeds of no less than 17 to 18 knots!"

Mike Golding, skipper of the IMOCA 60 ECOVER 3, has been forced to abandon his hopes of defending his IMOCA 60 title in The Artemis Transat, and has officially withdrawn from the list of entries. ECOVER 3's replacement carbon keel blade will not be ready sufficiently early to safely allow the team to compete in this tough transatlantic event without compromising the campaign's goals.

Farr40 Worlds

Vincenzo Onorato and his Mascalzone Latino are the 2008 Rolex Farr 40 World Champions, achieving a first in the sailing world - three back-to-back victories in this ultra-competitive one design class. This evening in addition to the World Cup, Onorato was presented with a commemorative Rolex timepiece at the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship Awards party. The day initially lined up as an all-Italian battle pitting defending champion Mascalzone Latino (ITA), the leader of the series since the first race, against Joe Fly (ITA), the second-place, well-sailed boat. In reality Barking Mad (USA) became part of the winner's fate when it was fouled by Joe Fly during the first mark rounding of race nine (Saturday's first race). Mascalzone rounded in the same group and filed a protest against Joe Fly. Next year, the Class will travel to Europe to Porto Cervo, Sardinia for the 2009 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship.

1. Mascalzone (ITA), Vincenzo Onorato
2. Joe Fly (ITA), Giovanni Maspero
3. Mean Machine (MON), Peter de Ridder
4. Nanoq (DEN), HRH Crown Prince Frederik
5. Calvi Network (ITA), Carlo Alberni
6. Alinghi (SUI), Ernesto Bertarelli
7. Ramrod (USA), ), Rodrick Jabin
8. Barking Mad (USA), Jim Richardson
9. Opus One (GER), Wolfgang Stolz
10. Nerone (ITA), Massimo Mezzaroma/ Antonio Sodo Migliori

Farr 40 Worlds

In a stark contrast to yesterday's 18-knot winds and lumpy seas, today's light-air conditions gave the international fleet competing in the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship a new challenge. With a total of six races completed so far in the 10-race series, Italian teams hold the top two spots -- Mascalzone Latino in first, with a three point lead, over Joe Fly in second. Two-time world champion Barking Mad (USA) climbed up from seventh place into third overall. America's Cup champion Ernesto Bertarelli and his Alinghi slipped from third and finished the day in fifth overall. The Greek team Atalanti also managed to climb from 8th to 6th overall.

Farr40 Worlds Start

Current World Champion Mascalzone Latino charged to the head of the 33-boat fleet on the first day of racing during the 2008 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship. With three races completed in the 10-race series, there are at least a dozen boats that can win the overall title, however today belongs to the Italians. "It's a long time left to sail and we just have to enjoy ourselves on the water," said Onorato moments after returning to the dock. "The others feel the pressure; we are two-time world champions and we are here to enjoy ourselves."

Despite a last minute change of tactician with American Morgan Larson arriving this morning on the red eye from the West Coast to fill in for Adrian Stead who returned home for the birth of his first child, Onorato had nothing but praise for Larson's ability to jump in and assist with a 3-12-1 scoreline. "Of course he (Larson) did a very nice job and we dedicate this victory to the new Lucas Stead, born yesterday. If you look, we are sailing with a blue stripe on the back of the boat for him."

Tall Ships Regatta

The ports of Falmouth in the UK and Funchal in Portugal have now reached their maximum capacity for the large Class A ships for this year's Funchal 500 Tall Ships Regatta. Smaller vessels are still able to enter but these two ports are unable to berth any more Class A ships.

Falmouth now has ten Class A ships registered to take part in the first race to Ilhavo in Portugal, together with another nine vessels of the smaller classes. The second race, which ends in Funchal, has 11 Class A vessels registered with seven smaller vessels also taking part.

The Class A ships taking part include two of the biggest in the world, Mir and Sedov from Russia as well as Cuahtemoc from Mexico, Shabab Oman from Oman and Capitan Miranda from Uruguay which will make for a colourful and multi-cultural event. The latest Class A ship to join is Pelican from the UK, racing for the first time this year.

The Funchal 500 Tall Ships Regatta starts in Falmouth from 10-13 September where the first race will commence. The fleet will race down to Ilhavo in Portugal where they will enjoy four days of festivities, 20-23 September, before racing to Funchal where the fleet will form a centrepiece of the city's 500th anniversary and Maritime Festival for four days, 2-5 October.

Rolex Farr 40 Worlds

Sometimes the days can seem endless when you're spending time in a tropical paradise such as Miami Beach, Florida, but not so for the 33 international teams making last-minute preparations for the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship. The regatta - scheduled for April 16-19 and the 11th in the Class's history - has brought together the top names in professional sailing that will be found alongside some of the best amateur sailors in one design racing.

After sailing in the Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds, April 11-12, followed by two days of further sail measurement, crew weigh-in and boat tuning, no one can be accused of slacking off before the big event. Most teams put in full days of training and tuning, and today many can be seen out on the Atlantic Ocean lining up in practice starts and mark rounding maneuvers as boat-handling consistency is one main ingredient for obtaining the top-10 scores needed in each race to assure a victory in this cut-throat fleet.

Commodores' Cup

Organisers, the Royal Ocean Racing Club, expect 14 or 15 three-boat teams to take to the water for this increasingly fiercely contested international competition and challenges are anticipated from Hong Kong, Ireland, France (winners in 2002 and 2006), The Netherlands, Spain and Great Britain (winners in 1996 and 2004), which includes a team representing Scotland. Other teams known to be close to forming are Germany (winners in 1998) and Russia (debutants in 2006).

As has been the norm in recent events, the French, Irish and British will enter multiple team challenges. Elsewhere, the nation challenges will comprise single teams. But the work for these groups is no less intense and demanding. One such challenge is currently being finalized and will be formed out of Hong Kong, where Gerry Daughton a member of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club is marshalling the preparations. Hong Kong's only other appearance at the Rolex Commodores' Cup was in 1992.

Daughton is looking forward to bringing a team to The Solent, "Hong Kong is a vibrant sailing centre and has just hosted the Rolex China Sea Race, one of the major events of the season. Entering the Rolex Commodores' Cup is seen as very important for Hong Kong, helping to put it back at the forefront of international yachting, especially in this year of the Beijing Olympics."

Two of the three boats required are already confirmed. The small boat will be a J-109; the former Jeronimo that used to belong to Jonathan and Lisa Goring and which did well for the GBR Red team in 2004. This will be skippered by Jamie McWilliam whose brother Tom is also part of the team. The middle boat is a new X41, owned by Rick and Inge Strompf, and which will be helmed by Mark Thornburrow. The big boat is close to confirmation, but at this point the name could not be divulged.

For the RORC, the overall signs are wholly encouraging. The interest and activity is on a par with two years ago when 13 teams lined up and the event was not decided until the end of the final race of the weeklong series.

The Rolex Commodores' Cup will be held off Cowes, Isle of Wight, from 29th June to 6th July 2008. Entries, which must be made by Member National Authorities, close on Monday 26th May.

Antigua Sailing Week

An impressive fleet of Swans is once again poised to impart a significant presence on Stanford Antigua Sailing Week, the 41st edition of which is set for April 27-May 3. With just over two weeks to go before the action commences in the blue seas of the Caribbean, a solid roster of 16 Swans are among the 122 entrants registered thus far.

The collective Swan fleet is both interesting and eclectic. Representing five different nations, it ranges in size from British sailor Barry Sampson's brand new Club Swan 42, Long Echo, to his countryman's well-campaigned Swan 70, Stuart Robinson's Stay Calm. Robinson, an extremely active competitor known for his success on the racecourse with a TP 52 of the same name, is currently on a roll. With his 70-foot Swan and a veritable platoon of crewmen, Robinson's fresh from a well-earned victory in his Performance Cruising class at the recent, windy BVI Spring Regatta.

However, Stay Calm is just one of many Swans with the wherewithal to wreak havoc on its competition. The wildcard of them all may be U.S. sailor Frank Savage's Swan 56, Lolita, which won the Lord Nelson Trophy as the overall winner of Antigua Sailing Week in 2003. Savage, who named his boat after his wife, not the novel, has reunited his crew for a return to Antigua after a brief hiatus from ocean racing. It will be interesting to see if Savage and his team will manage to quickly ramp up to speed and recapture the magic of the 2003 event.

One boat very well aware of Lolita's potential is Clay Deutsch's Swan 68, Chippewa (pictured at right); the two stateside entries have enjoyed many a memorable duel. Deutsch, a Pittsburgh native who races out of the British Virgin Islands, returned to yacht racing after a 20-year absence, and did so with a vengeance. Chippewa's many recent victories include class triumphs at the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, the Swan Caribbean Cup, and Key West Race Week. Chippewa is also a defending champion at Stanford Antigua Sailing Week, having won its class in 2007. Like Lolita, Chippewa's tight, cohesive crew - none of whom are professional sailors - will be hoping to revisit past glories in 2008.

Team Russia

Today at a press conference held at Moscow International Boat Show, skipper Andreas Hanakamp and syndicate president Oleg Zherebtstov announced five key crew members that will join Team Russia to sail in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09.

In a line up that unites experienced Whitbread and Volvo Ocean Race veterans with Olympic and leading internationals sailors, Team Russia's crew now comprises:

Two former Volvo veterans Guillermo Altadill and Stig Westergaard named as watch captains. Guillermo sailed on Ericsson during the VOR 2005/06 and Assa Abloy in 2001/02. He skipped Estrella Damm in the recent Barcelona World Race and has over 300,000 miles of round the world racing under his belt.

Experienced Volvo Ocean Race and America's Cup sailor Stig Westergaard combines the role of watch captain with performance manager. He is a triple world champion in the Finn and Soling class and is a leading match racing coach, having worked with America's Cup and Olympic sailors.

Olympic silver medallist Rodion Luka takes the job of helmsman. Rodion is currently preparing to sail in the Olympic 49er class in Qingdao, China this August. He has extensive skiff and dinghy racing experience, which is essential for handling high performance Volvo 70's.

Wouter Verbraak is the team navigator. Wouter has competed in the Volvo Ocean Race onboard djuice dragons in 2001/02. He sailed in the America's Cup, Tour de France a la Voile, Admiral's Cup, Sydney to Hobart, Volvo Baltic Race and advised sailors on strategy and weather in the Volvo Ocean Race, the Vendee Globe, Route du Rhum and the Olympics.

Finally, Vladimir 'Kuli' Kulinichenko who sailed on the first Soviet Whitbread boat Fasizi in 1989/90 and later Odessa and Hetman Sahaidachny, joins the team as sail maker. Kuli has an engineering background and world-class sailing and sail making experience. He has been involved in projects ranging from Whitbread campaigns to schooners, tall ships and IMS racing projects, over the span of thirty years and over 100,000 ocean miles.

Two Russian media team members were also announced today, Leonid Dubeykovskiy and Sergey Bogdanov, who will fill the media berth on some of the legs.

Zherebtsov also took the opportunity to unveil Team Russia's dynamic graphics ahead of the boat leaving Green Marine's yard in Lymington (UK) next month. The distinctive boat identity uses influences from Russian architecture.

Hong Kong - Qingdao

The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) and the Chinese Yachting Association (CYA) have unveiled their plans for a major international yacht race of historical significance. To commemorate the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, the RHKYC and the CYA are organizing an offshore yacht race from Hong Kong via Xiamen to Qingdao, PRC - the site for the 2008 Olympic Sailing Event. The race is organised by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and the Chinese Yachting Association, and will start at 1100 hours on Friday 18th July 2008.

The race will start from Hong Kong on Friday 18th July with the fleet anticipated to arrive in Xiamen by that Sunday. Those crews who have work commitments could then fly to a nearby destination for a few days whereas the other crews can visit the city and its surrounding areas.

In view of the possible effects of typhoons in the region, this stopover will allow a buffer zone with the safe anchorage of Xiamen port to serve to maintain the safety of the fleet and the integrity of the event. Consequently, start times may be affected. Other safe haven ports will be advised to the participants should the need for a disabled yacht to put in for repairs or shelter.

The second leg from Xiamen to Qingdao will start on the following Saturday (26th July) leaving Taiwan to starboard and arriving about 1 week before the Sailing Event Opening Ceremony in Qingdao which is scheduled for 9th August, 2008.

The event will be open to local Asian based and international yachts and multi-hulls in the cruising, racing, maxi/super yacht and/or other divisional fleets depending upon the entry list. Careful attention has been paid to the prevailing weather conditions for July and August which should give mild to hot weather, following winds and a favourable current for the majority of the Race.

There is a possibility that entrants may be sent off on staggered starts for the legs with a view to achieving a mass finish of the entire fleet in Qingdao. The boats are welcome to stay in the Qingdao marina and watch the Olympic sailing from their yachts albeit from a respectable distance. Those boats then returning south should be in time for the northeast monsoon to make an easy passage home.

Rolex Farr 40 World Championship

Among the 33 entered teams, 10 countries are represented, with the bulk of the fleet (18) consisting of American and Italian entries. At the top of the list for favorites is Mascalzone Latino, Onorato's entry. He will have his work cut out for him as there are three past world champions among the fleet - Barking Mad (USA), Jim Richardson's two-time winner (2004/1998); Nerone (ITA, 2003), co-owned by Antonio Sodo Migliori and Massimo Mezzaroma; and Alinghi (SUI, 2001), owned by Ernesto Bertarelli and the 2007 runner-up - and about a dozen other teams capable of winning the coveted title. The sentimental favorite of the group may be Richardson, who won the Class's first world championship, also held in Miami in 1998. Barking Mad has retained a core group of professional and amateur crew since the 2004 world championship win, with tactician Terry Hutchinson alongside Richardson. Earlier this year they collected back-to-back first place finishes at Key West Race Week and Acura Miami Grand Prix, which many see as an early predictor to the Worlds.

As always, the fleet is home to notable professional sailors from America's Cup, Volvo Ocean Race and one-design fame. In addition to Barking Mad, some of the stellar names are Adrian Stead on Mascalzone Latino; Paul Cayard on Steve & Fred Howe's Warpath (USA); Gavin Brady on Rod Jabin's Ramrod (USA); Brad Butterworth on Alinghi; Ian Walker on Doug Douglass's Goombay Smash (USA); Ray Davies onboard Peter de Ridder's Mean Machine (MON); Vasco Vascotto on Nerone (ITA); and Bouwe Bekking serving as tactician aboard HRH Crown Prince Frederik's Nanoq (DEN).

Powerboaters need licence

You need a license to drive a car or fly a plane, but in Sweden just about anyone can take the helm of a 200 horsepower speedboat.

That could change if a plan to make boaters apply for licenses becomes law. The result, sailors say, could be a more bureaucratic, rule-bound sea around Sweden's rugged coasts -- but also a safer one.

"Something like around 35-40 people get killed in pleasure boat accidents or disappear every year," said Lars Hogdahl of Sweden's Ministry of Enterprise. "Some just never get found."

He is the man behind a proposal on licenses that could be in place by next summer. The idea has been mooted for more than a decade, but always met opposition among Swedes who think of boats as a 'last freedom'.

Now, even though many boaters resent restrictions, support for his plan is building in a community fed up with fellow sailors who are ignorant, reckless or drunk.

"It's a very good idea," said Oscar Lagerberg, 26, a sailing enthusiast from Sweden's west coast. "Just today we had to give way and even honk at a person who didn't keep to starboard in the fairway."

The proposal, which will apply to boats of seven meters or more or those that can exceed 10 knots, will be circulated in October to maritime groups and the coast guard.

Goran Andersson, chairman of the Swedish Boating Union, said his 160,000-strong club backs the plan. "We have something we call the Boat Parliament, where we decided to fight for this."

Mindful of a possible backlash from seasoned sea-hands, the ministry is ready to exempt those who can document a large amount of experience on the sea.

Clipper Under Way

Ala Wai Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii " Race 8 in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race series is underway after a keenly-contested start in 15 knots of breeze off Honolulu on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

Nova Scotia was the first of eight internationally-backed yachts to cross the start line at the western end of the world-famous Waikiki Beach, before racing along the shore towards Diamond Head and out into the Pacific Ocean at the beginning of the 2,080-mile race to Santa Cruz, California. Durban 2010 and Beyond and westernaustralia2011.com did not make the start line as work continues on their new masts.

The start was postponed 30 minutes from the advertised time due to a final rig inspection and a new gas sensor being fitted on Hull & Humber.

The crews have had a longer than expected stopover in Honolulu after race organiser, Clipper Ventures, took the decision to replace some rigging fittings across the rest of the fleet following the dismasting of two yachts, westernaustralia2011.com and Durban 2010 and Beyond, during the Pacific Ocean race from Qingdao, China. The work was completed yesterday and all eight teams headed out of the Ala Wai Harbor for short test sails to check their rigs and to get back into an ocean racing frame of mind.

Durban 2010 and Beyond followed the eight yachts out of the Ala Wai to wave farewell to the teams who set off on Race 8 this morning. Watching from the quayside was westernaustralia2011.com's skipper Martin Silk along with several of his crew. Round the worlder, John Kimber said, "This is weird, watching them go and being left behind."

Progress on the masts has been excellent and the shipment containing the spreaders arrived yesterday. The team will work through the weekend to ensure the task of getting westernaustralia2011.com and Durban 2010 and Beyond on their way to Santa Cruz is completed as quickly as possible.

Pirates Hit

The French three-masted sailing ship Le Ponant was hijacked on Friday morning in the Gulf of Aden.

A group of pirates have taken over the 88 metre, 850-tonne, three-masted French luxury yacht with 30 crew on board off the coast of Somalia. French cruise operator CMA-CGM confirmed Le Ponant had been seized on its way from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean. The luxurious yacht was scheduled to take on board passangers in Malta between April 21 and April 22.

The 32-cabin Le Ponant, is a fully equipped with lounges, bar and restaurant, is one of three operated by the Marseille-based firm, which describes itself as France's leading cruise provider. With a capacity for 64 passengers, it offers cruises in the Gulf region, including between Egypt and Aqaba in Jordan, and off the coast of Oman.

Le Ponant, 'was the victim of an act of piracy as it was sailing between Somalia and Yemen,' CMA-CGM spokesman Christophe Prazuck said.

A spokesman for the boat's owner, the Compagnie des Iles du Ponant, said there were no holidaymakers on board, and that most of the crew are from France and Ukraine.

The lastest news is that Le Commandant Rouen, warship, has been diverted from NATO's Afghanistan operation to join the Yemeni coast guard in the hunt for and rescue of the captured craft.

Desafio Espanol

From Valencia Sailing blog:

Wednesday morning finally saw some America's Cup activity in Valencia, not related to the infamous legal case in New York, even if one could argue about its relation to the world's oldest sports event.

Desafio Espanol, the now-invalidated Challenge of Record of the 33rd America's Cup, summoned the press in its base in order to present the team's TP52 and GP42 campaigns for the summer as well as give the current state of affairs in the challenger. Present where Agustin Zulueta, general manager, John Cutler, technical director and in charge of the TP52 campaign, and Laureano Wizner, helsman and skipper of the GP42 campaign.

The most important announcement was that finally, Desafio Espanol had chosen to represent a new yacht club, bringing the relation with the CNEV to an end. More precisely, from now on the Spanish team will represent the Real Club Maritimo del Abra, located in Bilbao, in northern Spain.

One obvious question was why didn't Desafio Espanol choose to represent Valencia's yacht club, given the physical proximity and of course the fact both Alinghi and BMW Oracle have stated that the 34th America's Cup will also take place in Valencia, regardless of the outcome of the 33rd edition. Zulueta's answer was odd and even if it sounded credible it caused lots of smiles from the journalists in the conference room.

Desafio Espanol's general manager declared that the decision was very simple and purely "alphabetical"!!! He had received a letter, dated 11 December 2007, from the association of Spanish yacht clubs where they stated that given the CNEV fiasco, each and every yacht club in the country was offering itself to let Desafio Espanol race its colors.

What was Zulueta's solution to the problem? In order to avoid the acrimonious Spanish regional disputes by choosing Valencia over Barcelona or vice versa, he took the list of all clubs ranked alphabetically and chose the first one, "Abra", or more precisely "Real Club Maritimo del Abra". It's credible but is it a coincidence the yacht club is located a few kilometers down the road from Iberdrola's headquarters?

Whatever the reasons, at least they learned their lesson and chose a serious, well-established club, more than a century old, having organized and organizing dozens of truly annual regattas. Yet, journalists jokingly asked whether the club had telephone and fax numbers or a functioning website. -- Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing.

Rolex Farr 40 World Championship

With European boats making up over half of the fleet - 18 out of 33 boats - currently registered for the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship due to be held in Miami Florida from 16^th April and close to forty members now registered, the Farr 40 European Fleet is gearing up for an exciting 2008 season. A series of regattas are scheduled to be held throughout the Mediterranean and Northern Europe using a new formula introduced this year which will allow owners to choose between two separate circuits: Circuit Med, with four events to be held in Italy and France; and Circuit North, with four events to be held in Denmark, Germany and Norway. The European Championship will be held as part of the Rolex Baltic Week 2008 in Travemeunde, Germany from 26^th to 31^st August.

The fleet includes two-time Farr 40 World Champion Vincenzo Onorato with his Mascalzone Latino (ITA) and current European Champion Massimo Mezzaroma with his Nerone (ITA). With thirteen nations competing in the European fleet this year however, (Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Ukraine) the recent Italian domination of the class could be under threat.

The first event of the calendar, the Rolex Capri Sailing Week from 21^st to 24^th May, is part of the European Circuit Med and will be followed by the Audi Farr 40 Cup in Porto Cervo from 12^th to 14^th June. The action then moves to France for the French Farr 40 Challenge in Le Lavandou from 3^rd to 6^th July before returning to Italy for the fourth and final series of the circuit in the Settimana Velica dell’Argentario in Cala Galera from 19^th to 21^st September.

Meanwhile, the European Circuit North sets off from Larvik in Norway with the Larvik Race Weekend from 24^th to 25^th May. The second leg of the circuit will be held during Kiel Week in Kiel, Germany from 26^th to 29^th June and the third will be the Farr 40 Cup in Copenhagen, Denmark from 24^th to 27^th July. The fourth and final series of the circuit North will take place together with the European Championships in Travemeunde.

The decision to create two separate circuits was taken following consultation with European Farr 40 owners at a meeting held at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda during last year’s European Championship and is intended to allow maximum flexibility for the entire fleet. Each competing craft must enrol in their chosen circuit at the beginning of the season and may compete in up to two events of the other circuit. Final scoring will be based on 4 regattas so that should a competitor participate in six regattas, which is theoretically possible, he would have two discards. The overall winner of each circuit will be awarded an identical European Circuit Trophy.

Extreme 40

With the Extreme 40 catamaran fleet now numbering 14 boats, there is potential that even more will make the start line of the five iShares Cup events, which begin in Lugano, Switzerland, on May 30. The entry list reads like a Who's Who of sailing, bursting with the very best skippers and crews in the sport. America's Cup sailors will be lining up against Olympic medallists, ocean racers, and world champions, all coming together on the unique iShares Cup sailing circuit. With the next America's Cup looking set to take place in multi-hulls, the Swiss ! Defender Alinghi will be putting their cat-sailing skills to the test in this year's iShares Cup. America's Cup-winning helmsman Ed Baird has been putting in plenty of training in the Extreme 40 with the Alinghi crew in Valencia. Even this multiple world champion admitted that the powerful catamarans can be pretty challenging. The 2008 iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series takes in five European venues, each chosen for their fantastic sailing and viewing opportunities - from the spectacular Swiss lake of Lugano, to the bustling centre of UK sailing at Skandia Cowes Week, before bringing high speed sailing action right into the heart of the city at the event finale in Amsterdam.

America's Cup

With the agrement of Groupama, Franck Cammas, the skipper of Groupama 2, has been enlisted by the BMW ORACLE Racing team as consultant for the bulk of the America's Cup campaign in multihulls. Among the pit members enlisted this week in Lorient are Russell Coutts (NZL), John Kostecki (USA) and James Spithill (AUS). Moreover, some familiar members of Franck Cammas' crew will complete the crew, such as Thierry Fouchier (FRA) and Bruno Laurent (FRA). During the second week of training, the team will race against another 60 foot multihull and thus amass experience on these high performance multihulls.