New Quantum Racing TP52 is Ready to Race

Thursday - May 8 2008 - 1540 PST - The new Botin Carkeek-designed TP 52 Quantum Racing completed its sea trials and initial sail tuning program last week and is ready to race in Alicante in the first regatta of the six-race 2008 Audi Med-Cup Circuit. Racing starts Monday, May 12. The new boat is owned and campaigned by partners Fred Howe and Doug DeVos.

"This new boat represents the distillation of four years MedCup and Breitling Cup experience, including two championship second places, with the Quantum-powered TP52s Warpath, Windquest and Quantum Lexus," said Terry Hutchinson, skipper of the new Quantum Racing. "Quantum has commissioned an all-encompassing design and build program which will be supercharged by sails from the new Quantum QRW2 program."

The Quantum Racing project was started by QSDG nine months ago with the objective of showcasing a new generation of Quantum sails, using the new TP52 as a platform. Botin Carkeek worked with closely with Quantum, the builder Longitude Zero, Hall Spars, and other key suppliers to deliver a boat that reflects the latest advances in America's Cup-level design, analysis, structures, engineering and construction.

Ed Reynolds, President of Quantum Sail Design Group, is the coach and manager of the team. He noted: "The new TP52 Quantum Racing personifies our philosophy at QSDG to trial and develop new sail design and construction concepts on our own boats wherever possible and pass along the benefits to all our customers."

Story and image courtesy of Quantum Sails.

'Le Black' Is Back

Thursday - May 8 2008 - 1445 PST - Alinghi launches "Le Black" in Valencia - The 41 footer has been reassembled in Valencia and set off for a shakedown sail today with Ernesto Bertarelli at the helm.

Yves Detrey, boat captain and regular sailor onboard gives some insight on the fast lake sailor: "This boat was built for Ernesto Bertarelli in 2000 for the famous Bol d'Or. It sailed for three years and since 2003 has been in a shed. In its time it was probably one of the world's most powerful multi-hulls on a power to weight ratio."

Today Le Black will complete the Alinghi training platform. "We are happy to have the boat back on the water and to be sailing it again. It is a very impressive boat and continues to be very competitive. Up until now, apart from the 60ft multi-hull, we have not had a very powerful platform to practice on. We still have a lot to learn and this boat will teach us a lot," said Yves Detrey.

The original objective of this high performance light air speedster was to compete against trimarans in strong wind and against catamarans in light air. The 41footer soon built up a winning pedigree claiming the Bol d'Or four times consecutively from 2000 to 2003.

'Le Black' 41ft Alinghi catamaran - technical specifications - Designer Jo Richards and Sébastien Schmidt - Builder Décision SA Length Overall LOA 64ft (19.6m) - Hull Length 41ft (12.5m) - Dry weight 1850kg - Beam 28ft (8.5m)- Mast Height (above water) 80ft (24.5m) Crew 6. Story by Alinghi and photo by DrAlinghi

Ready To Rock And Roll

Thursday - May 8 2008 - 1415 PST - The final pieces of the jigsaw are now in place for the 2008 iShares Cup Sailing Series. The venue for the German leg of the European tour has been confirmed as Kiel, on the Baltic Sea, and Tommy Hilfiger has been announced as the ninth entry in the series.

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

The bustling city has a strong maritime history, and lies on the busiest artificial waterway in the world, the Kiel Canal. Every June the city holds Kiel Week, the largest sailing event in Europe, which combines dinghy and yacht racing with a festival of ships, music and fireworks.

The event welcomes about three million visitors annually, who perch on the sea walls and rocky coastal defences to watch around 2,000 boats ranging from massive tall ships to racing yachts and Olympic dinghy classes. The iShares Cup racecourses will be held in the same fantastic sailing amphitheatre.

"Both the area's exceptional natural sailing stadium, and the enthusiasm of the city of Kiel to host the German venue of the 2008 iShares Cup, easily convinced us when it came to making the final call," explained Event Director Gilles Chiorri, of OC Events...

"The racecourse will be so close to the spectators that it will be an amazing spectacle to watch the Extreme 40 fleet rounding the marks just a couple of metres from the shore!"

Title sponsors iShares welcomed the addition of Kiel to the event circuit. "Germany is a key market for iShares and Kiel is an ideal location to host this stage of the 2008 iShares Cup. The style of sailing you will witness in the iShares Cup is revolutionary and we are delighted to be supporting such an exciting sport whereby its core characteristics reflect our brand values and business approach," said Dan Kiddle, Head of iShares Sponsorship, Europe.

Another new entry has also been confirmed, bringing the 2008 iShares Cup fleet to nine boats so far. The latest team to line up for this year's contest are Tommy Hilfiger, who will be returning to the circuit after finishing fourth in last year's iShares Cup.

Tommy Hilfiger reunites three of last year's crew with skipper Randy Smyth. The American helmsman took part in the Amsterdam leg of the 2007 iShares Cup as well as racing at the front of the fleet the previous year. Randy counts an astonishing 58 national and world championship wins in one-design multihulls, as well as taking a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics and winning the America's Cup in '88.

He will be joined by fellow Americans Jonathan Farrar, Tommy Hilfiger's tactician, and trimmer Stan Schreyer. Dutch bowman Mark van Gelderen brings a European touch to this trans-Atlantic team - he is an experienced Extreme 40 crew, having sailed in the class since its launch three years ago.

"Having Tommy Hilfiger back in the 2008 iShares Cup is already an important milestone for the circuit, and moreover having such a cat legend Randy Smyth as skipper on board gives an extra level of interest - certainly a lot is expected from this crew," said Chiorri.

The 2008 iShares Cup kicks off in just 21 days time. The first event is in the mountain city of Lugano, racing on the beautiful lake on the Swiss-Italian border over 30 May-1 June, before moving on to the French leg of the circuit at Hyères.

It heads to Britain on 2-4 August to race during Skandia Cowes Week, then Kiel, Germany from 29-31 August. The iShares Cup concludes in Amsterdam as the Extreme 40s return to the scene of last year's dramatic finale, racing right in the centre of the Dutch city over 19-21 September.

Follow all the action and find out more about the teams at the event website iShares Cup. Photo courtesy of Tommy Hilfiger, Munich 2007 © Jean-Marie Liot/DPPI/OC Events

Court Rejects Alinghi's Motion

Thursday - May 8 2008 - 1399 PST - GGYC welcomes decision of Appellate Court to reject Alinghi bid for more delay - The Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) said today it is pleased the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court has today rejected a further effort by the defender to stay proceedings pending its upcoming appeal.

Last month, the defender unsuccessfully sought an interim stay, when it lodged an appeal against Justice Cahn's order declaring GGYC the Challenger of Record. A full panel of four justices of the Appellate court today again rejected this bid and confirmed the earlier court decision of Justice Andrias on April 15.

"We are very pleased with this outcome. Two courts have now both firmly rejected new SNG (Société Nautique de Genève)/Alinghi efforts to create more delay. We continue to expect to race in October 2008," Tom Ehman GGYC's spokesman said.

"We have renewed confidence that this match will not be delayed by SNG/Alinghi's appellate litigation and look forward to going racing." The appellate court also ordered that GGYC's arguments to dismiss the appeal can be addressed by GGYC in its main appellate brief. That means the merits of GGYC's motion to dismiss will be heard by the court on June 5th.

Stay tuned for more...to view the legal document go to Legal Doc.

Protests Put The French In The Lead

Thursday - May 8 2008 - 8-5-2008 - The tables turn at the European Finn Championship. The result of the protest between the leader of the provisional scoreboard Ben Ainslie and Canadian Christopher Cook saw both sailors disqualified.

The protest concerned two incidents in the pre-start phase of race 7. Ben Ainslie was disqualified when he established an overlap too close to allow Cook to respond. In a second incident the Canadian failed to keep clear of Ainslie who was to leeward.

In a separate protest between SLO Gasper Vincec and USA Zach Railey, the Slovenian was disqualified for an incident at the first mark.

After 7 races French Guillaume Florent leads with 20 points followed by Ainslie at 32 and Cook at 34.

Race 8 will get underway tomorrow and the Medal Race is scheduled for Saturday (double points). For more results and photos go to Euro Finn 2008. Photo Emilio Bianchi

Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes is Back!

Thursday - May 8 2008 - 0835 PST - The second Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes to be held in association with Skandia Cowes Week 2008.

LaserPerformance (Europe) Ltd and Volkswagen are delighted to announce that 2008 will see the return of the Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes at Skandia Cowes Week. With the question being, who will be crowned King this year?

On Friday 1st August the class winners from Skandia Cowes Week 2007 will race in identical Laser SB3s off Cowes in a one-day, three race regatta. Following on from the hard-fought inaugural event held last year, some 32 leading national and international helms will have the opportunity to pitch their skills on the water against each other, to compete for the coveted 'Volkswagen Touareg King of Cowes' title.

Competition is expected to again be fierce, with prizes of a Volkswagen Touareg, Laser XD and Laser BUG up for grabs. Plus a fantastic holiday to Mark Warner for the owner of the winning boat.

A Diverse Entry List - With winning helms from classes as diverse as the historic XOD day boats and the high tech IRC Class Zero maxis this event draws together the very best sailors from Skandia Cowes Week 2007 to promise a truly exceptional competition.

As in 2007, the winning helms will be drawn at random through an independent draw to ascertain which SB3 owner they will be paired with. The class winners must helm their boat with the SB3 owner as principle crew member. The SB3 class winner will not be permitted to sail his own boat but will also be allocated to an SB3 through the independent draw to prevent any unfair advantage.

With so much at stake, Principle Race Officer Tony Lovell and his team from Total Race Control, will ensure a series of challenging races are set to test the skills and tactics of the invited helms and an International Jury will be on hand to ensure fair play.

Three races are scheduled with no discard ensuring that the teams are given the most rigorous test. For 2008 the course format is revised slightly to include a Skandia Cowes Week style "round the cans" course in addition to the "windward leeward" format which was used exclusively at the inaugural event.

The "round the cans" format gives a greater test of navigational skills and was introduced in response to the competitor's request for a competition that offered the broadest possible test of skills.

For more on the race go to King of Cowes.

Steve White Becomes 13th Man in IMOCA Class

Thursday - May 8 2008 - 0815 PST - Steve White and Spirit of Weymouth officially entered in The Artemis Transat. The big news certainly is the official entry of Steve White aboard Spirit of Weymouth in the IMOCA Class taking the number of IMOCA skippers to thirteen.

Having completed his qualifying passage, the young Brit takes his place amongst a very impressive lineup of all the greatest names in singlehanded sailing with only four days remaining until the start on Sunday, 11th May at 1400 BST. On the other hand, Patrice Carpentier will finally not be at the start in Plymouth on Sunday in the Class40 category which leaves the Class40 with 11 skippers on the start line...

"90% of the fleet is ready at 95%", says Emmanuel Guedon, responsible for the safety checks. It has been another busy day under glorious sunshine here in Plymouth, where the boats are safely docked in Sutton Harbour. A stark contrast to what the skippers will face on the other side of the Atlantic where they will encounter extreme cold, fog and the threat of ice (see Michel Desjoyeaux's comments below and more on that subject tomorrow).

There is definitely a very summery atmosphere in The Barbican, where the crowd enjoys 25 degrees C of temperature and the various acts of the Blues and Jazz Festival. This first week of May has certainly benefitted from unusually warm conditions, encouraging a huge number of visitors to come and discover the high-tech racing machines moored in Sutton Harbour.

The Class40 boats definitely raise the public's interest as well, proving how open and accessible ocean racing has remained since the beginnings - the adventurous and pioneering spirit is clearly still alive, embodied by this class of boats which mixes seasoned professionals and enlightened amateurs, some taking on their first solo crossing.

And even if a few drops of rain can be expected on Friday, these exceptional conditions are here to stay, and it looks like the start of the race on Sunday will be spectacular: more than 25 degrees C, and a gentle easterly breeze to exit Plymouth harbour under gennaker!

It will then be vital to escape the English Channel's local effects as soon as possible, and to catch the expected northerlies - what lies ahead of that first phase is still somewhat hard to foresee, but it looks like this 13th edition of the original of all transats will require a lot of concentration in its early stages.

The Professor's opinion...

Having won the Vendée Globe, the Route du Rhum and The Transat in 2004, Michel Desjoyeaux boasts an unrivaled singlehander's track record. Today in Plymouth, the 'Professor' shared his views:

"The Artemis Transat is tougher than the Route du Rhum! It's an important event in terms of sporting results, and a difficult one since the course takes us against the prevailing winds - it's cold, and the risk of drifting ice is important. The waters around the Labrador current are only 2 to 5 degrees, almost the same conditions as in the Southern Ocean."

"This edition's lineup is again an impressive one, and we won't have any time to waste while crossing the Atlantic! I'll have to watch out for Sébastien Josse, whose boat is very close to Gitana Eighty in her concept, but of course people like Loick Peyron, Marc Guillemot, Yann Elies, Vincent Riou and Armel Le Cléac'h are very serious rivals. Samatha Davies has also optimized her boat with more ballast capacity, new daggerboards, new winches… and that boat, my ex-PRB, was already quite at ease upwind."

For more on the race go to The Artemis Transat.

BMW ORACLE Racing Staying Busy

Wednesday - May 7 2008 - 0830 PST - Following the season-opening regatta in RC 44s in Italy, the sailing team gears up this month for a very full program competing in RC 44s, TP 52s and Extreme 40 catamarans in Spain, Austria and France.

"We are racing across a range of classes and against some great competitors this season," said BMW ORACLE Racing helmsman James Spithill. "Right now we are placing more priority on multihulls and match racing in preparation for the 33rd America's Cup."

This includes an in-house match racing series in Extreme 40s in Valencia later this month and a 60-foot multihull training session in France in June.

Next week, nine BMW ORACLE Racing team members will join Torbjorn Tornqvist on board Artemis in the season opener of the TP 52 Med Cup circuit in Alicante, Spain May 13-17. John Kostecki will call tactics and will be joined by eight other BMW ORACLE team members.

BMW ORACLE Racing will enter a new TP 52, USA 17, later in the season with an afterguard that will include Spithill as well as team owner Larry Ellison and skipper Russell Coutts.

In Valencia, an in-house regatta May 20-22 will pit two Extreme 40s head-to-head for team bragging rights in the high-performance catamarans. Many of the core sailing team will compete including Coutts, Spithill and Kostecki and multihull consultant Franck Cammas.

The team also plans to return to France next month for its second training session with Cammas on the 60-foot multihull Groupama 2. In other multihull sailing, Kostecki and Cammas teamed up last weekend in Geneva at the Grand Prix Chopard D35, placing sixth overall.

The team will return to the RC 44 circuit with a BMW ORACLE Racing entry for the Austria Cup on Lake Traunsee May 28-June 1. As in Cagliari, Italy last month,12 BMW ORACLE Racing crew will compete across three entries. After winning the match racing event at Cagliari and placing second in the fleet racing, Larry Ellison is planning to be at the helm again for the BMW ORACLE Racing entry in Austria.

"Racing in the RC 44s is a great chance to get out and compete against some of the top guys, and we can" Spithill said. "We are enjoying the match racing so this circuit will continue to be a priority for us. In both the RC 44 and the TP 52 classes, we have our crew across different teams so we compete against each other as well. With all of this racing, we are learning from each other and our competitors."

The team's Valencia base is also serving as the Med training camp for Olympic Star class contenders Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams who will represent New Zealand at the Games in China in August.

Story and photo by BMW/Oracle.

Follow The Finns

Wednesday - May 7 2008 - 0755 PST - 2008 European Finn Championships - Slovenian Gasper Vincec and Dutch Pieter-Jan Postma win race 3 and race 4 on the second day of racing at La Marina di Scarlino.

The first race of the day went to Gasper Vincec (SLO 5), followed by French Guillame Florent (FRA 73) and by Canadian Christopher Cook (CAN 41) in third position. The second race was won by Dutch Pieter-Jan Postma,(NED 842), followed by Christopher Cook (CAN 41) and by Slovenian Gasper Vincec (SLO 5).

The first race kicked off around 4 p.m. after three general recalls, one abandoned race and a long postponement due to the strong rotation and instability of the wind. The Race Committee presided by Carlo Tosi therefore decided to wait for the thermal breeze to kick in and stabilize before firing the gun.

Over 80 athletes from 30 nations cut the starting line under sunny skies, calm seas and a 6 to 8 knot westerly wind. The Island of Elba, Montecristo and Corsica served as a spectacular backdrop. first upwind leg with many shifts and pressure changes on the race course.

Brazilian Eduardo Couto rounded the first windward mark in the lead, followed by Slovenian Vincec and Croatian Ivan Gaspic. Couto extended his lead on the downwind leg as the breeze increased but lost his advantage on the second beat to Chris Cook (CAN) and Gasper Vincec (SLO).

On the final run the most favoured part of the course was the middle: Canadian Cook and Brazilian Couto went to the left while Vincec (SLO) and Guillaume Florent (FRA) went to the right. The right paid and Vincec took the win followed by Florent and Cook. Couto was yellow flagged on the final approach but only lost a place to Cook.

The second race began at 5.23 p.m. The breeze had built up to 11-12 knots gusting to 17, remaining steady in direction. The fleet evenly split on first beat and at mark 1 Dutch Pieter-Jan Postma was in the lead, followed by Zach Railey (USA) and Timothy Goodbody (IRL).

Ben Ainslie (GBR) chose the left side of the course on the first downwind leg, picking up four positions and finishing the first downwind leg in fourth place. The Oscar flag was raised for unlimited pumping on the second downwind leg and, the positions remained almost unchanged. Postma extended his lead, winning by 50 seconds, followed by Christopher Cook (CAN 41) and by Slovenian Gasper Vincec (SLO 5) who overtook Ben Ainslie by five boatlengths.

Two races are scheduled for today. To follow all the action go to Finn Europeans.

Home At Last...

Wednesday - May 7 2008 - 0730 PST - Russian solo circumnavigator Fedor Konyukhov returned to Albany, Western Australia, a hero today, throwing down the gauntlet to yachtsmen around the world to break his 102 day record around the Antarctica Cup Racetrack.

For the bearded 56 year old sailor, this was his 4th solo circumnavigation. 'Will it be his last?', Fedor was asked "Having just spent 95 days in the Roaring Forty and Furious Fifty latitudes, I'm not planning to go back in the near future. But the Southern Ocean provides the most spectacular sailing conditions in the world. If I go again, it will be with a crew to make the most of the wild surfing rides you get down there." He answered.

Setting out from Albany with his Open 85ft monohull Trading Network Alye Parusa at 18:21:40 UTC (10:21:40 WST) on Australia Day - 26th January to take on yachting's last great frontier. He braved a succession of storms, freezing temperatures, the ever present threat of icebergs and collisions with wales. Konyukhov came through it all unscathed, returning to King George Sound at 02: 56:50 UTC (10:56:50 WST) today to record a time of 102 days 00 hours 56 minutes 50secs for this 16,400 mile circuit of Antarctica.

He had set out from Falmouth England on 12th October 2007, and discounting a 5 day stop in Cape Town and 2 weeks in Albany prior to the start, his 85ft yacht has been home for the past 6 months. "We have done 30,000 miles together and now have the greatest respect for her. But I am looking forward now to a nice thick steak, a shower, clean sheets, and 12 hours of sleep. It sounds basic, but that is exactly what I need." He told reporters gathered on Albany Dock to greet him back.

To commemorate this inaugural voyage, Bob Williams, Chairman of the Antarctica Cup Race Management announced that they will name Gate 12 (0º W - 0º E) within the Racetrack as the Konyukhov Gate.

Fedor's achievements:

First solo sailor to complete the Antarctica Cup Racetrack.

First solo sailor to traverse the South Atlantic Ocean - Cape Horn to Cape Agulhas - below 45° South.

First solo sailor to sail non stop from 121°E - 110°E, 15,700 NM, below 40° south taking 95 days - 40 days of which were below 50°S.

First solo sailor to sail a maxi yacht solo around Antarctica.

For more on Fedor and the record go to Antarctica Cup.

Third Victory For Hull & Humber

Wednesday - May 7 2008 - 0030 PST - Hull & Humber has won Race 9 of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, crossing the revised finish line at 2022 GMT on Tuesday 6 May. It is the team's third individual stage victory of the 35,000-mile race which is being contested by ten internationally-backed 68-foot yachts.

Skipper Danny Watson says, "It was incredibly close racing from start to finish. Gybing under spinnaker at night with Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper a quarter of a mile away on our beam was pretty exciting stuff! Routing repositioning meant you dropped from first to mid-fleet within a sched. We needed to have belief in our navigation which ultimately paid off."

"Keeping Hull & Humber moving in the lightest of airs required a tremendous team effort from all but everyone brought something to the table. We have belief and pride in abundance!"

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

Crew member Natalie Booker, 28, from Beverley, East Yorkshire, joined the crew in Santa Cruz for the last two legs of the race back to Liverpool. She says, "It was very frustrating trying to keep the boat going in light airs but it turns quickly into perseverance to keep going forward. It gets increasingly exciting when another Clipper boat is in view. It gives you that extra energy and adrenaline to put in more and more effort to be able to push harder!"

New York was second across the finish line at 2223 GMT. Skipper Duggie Gillespie commented, "It was very good sailing for most of the race until we came across this light winds - that was frustrating, very frustrating and a lottery at times. I said to the guys that there would be winners and losers given this race finish amendment and the time scale. Still, we are always pleased to be on the podium in this competitive fleet. The team work on board reached new heights with the continual spinnaker work. They did really well."

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

Clipper Race Director Joff Bailey says, "As much as this has been a thrilling race for us to watch unfold at home, with the variety of tactics being played out and the really close racing, this has been a difficult one ace for the crews taking part. There is great skill involved in keeping a yacht moving in the kind of light airs they’ve been experiencing and Danny, Duggie and their teams have done very well."

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

For more photos and results go to Clipper Race.

Less Than A Week To Go

Wednesday - May 7 2008 - 0020 PST - This is a critical period for boats preparing for the first regatta of the 2008 AUDI MedCup Circuit. With just one week to go to the first race of the season for the AUDI MedCup Circuit, activity amongst all teams in preparation for racing is at an all time high.

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

And with just one week to go a little further up the Spanish coast in Valencia a flurry of new boat commissioning is still going on. Whereas plenty of boats from last year's season are revelling in the ability to be ready on time, practicing and testing new equipment and sails, many other teams are fighting the clock to be, not only ready but, competitive from the first race.

In previous years the MedCup Circuit featured the ability to drop several races across the season. The net result was that it wasn't a disaster if a team was late or not fully competitive at the beginning of the season because discarding the worst results would help the overall score.

This year, for the first time, the AUDI MedCup Circuit does not allow any discards at all. Every race – and there could be as many as 60 - will count. Starting the season slowly will not be a possibility for any team with the overall AUDI MedCup Circuit trophy as an objective.

For more on the race go to Audi Med Cup. Photo by Carlo Borlenghi

GGYC Says "We Are Compliant"

Wednesday - May 7 2008 - 0100 PST - GGYC Statement on 'Custom-House Registry' - We are in full compliance with the requirements of the Deed of Gift, including with regard to the 'custom-house registry.' We are following the customary process for obtaining the tonnage certificate and then the Certificate of Documentation from the U.S. Coast Guard which we will provide as soon as possible. This has no bearing on Alinghi's ability to get ready to race.

Course Shortened Due to Light Winds

Tuesday - May 6 2008 - 1410 PST - Clipper Race Update - Race 9 course shortened due to forecast light winds 06 May 2008 - The movers and shakers overnight appear to be Hull & Humber, Nova Scotia and Qingdao. All three have posted better than average 12-hour runs and it makes the top half of the table extremely open for any of the top five or six teams to challenge for the podium places.

With the generally light winds across the area these three benefited from a very narrow band of slightly stronger wind that only lasted a short period of time but gave them another ten miles towards the finish.

Qingdao's skipper, Marcus Cholerton-Brown says, "The race is set for the next sprint to the gate, and we are in hot battle with Nova Scotia. All day we have been at each other in very light and variable winds, but by nightfall we had gained the upper hand. Hull & Humber seems to be the next target, but we can rest assured Nova Scotia will keep coming at us."

The team on Hull & Humber know they are in the other crews' sights and skipper Danny Watson says, "We're doing all we can to keep Hull & Humber moving in light winds to the revised finish line at the second gate."

It just shows how fickle the winds are becoming as Jamaica, who have taken the middle road, and were less than 100 nautical miles away from the lead group have not benefitted from this additional pressure and have had a terrible 12 hours, making only 17 miles towards the finish.

Many of the skippers are reporting massive wind holes that appear to grab hold of the boat and trap them for hours with no boat speed before a slight increase in wind allows the very smallest of boat speed to be generated.

Durban 2010 and Beyond appears to have benefitted slightly overnight from their inshore route but this is probably too little too late and they will struggle to make any impact on the top half of the table. Meanwhile Liverpool 08, although still in last place, continues with her offshore route and is always threatening the back of the fleet.

Skipper Ben Galloway says, "Only a couple of hundred miles to the finish and although the scheds show us in tenth we know we are closer to the gate than at least one other boat and it's not impossible to catch another or two and get some points. So, as usual we are at the mercy of the wind gods and remain optimistic."

It would only take a few hours of steady wind for Ben and his team to leapfrog several of the yachts ahead of them.

The course for Race 9 has been shortened due to the lighter than expected winds en route to Panama City, threatening the fleet's scheduled transit through the Panama Canal.

With the fleet currently logging 12-hour runs of between just 17 and 48 nautical miles and the winds forecast to remain light before building as headwinds, the Race Committee has decided to utilise the pre-determined Gate Angel, approximately 140 nautical miles ahead of the lead boats, to finish the race that started 13 days ago in Santa Cruz.

Gate Angel is one of several intermediate gates contained within the Sailing Instructions for Race 9 that allow the Race Committee to shorten the course and finish the race early in case of abnormal weather conditions that seriously affect the safety of the fleet or the overall programme for the race. Most of the fleet crossed the first gate yesterday off the coast of Acapulco.

Race Director Joff Bailey said, "The Race Committee has been studying the forecasted winds for the next seven days and monitoring the fleet's slower than expected progress towards Panama City due to the lighter than expected winds since the start in Santa Cruz. In order to ensure a smooth transit through the Panama Canal, the fleet has been informed that the Race Committee has opted to shorten the course and finish the race at Gate Angel."

It is expected that the first teams will finish during Wednesday with the remaining teams finishing over the following 24 - 36 hour period. After finishing, each of the teams will motor sail to Panama with the first boats expected to arrive in Panama City on 13 May.

For more photos and postition reports go to Clipper Race.

The Fleet Is In

Tuesday - May 6 2008 - 1055 PST - The Artemis Transat fleet hit Plymouth and so do the crowds!The Artemis Transat race fleet of 13 IMOCA Open 60 boats and 11 Class40 boats have arrived at Sutton Harbour, Plymouth and so have the crowds - an estimated 25,000 of them over the opening weekend.

Plenty of attractions bring thousands of visitors to the Race Village and the Ocean Racing Exhibition that forms part of the education programme. The inaugural Barbican Jazz & Blues Festival sits at the heart of the cultural programme with top-line acts performing throughout the start week.

ECOVER 3 skipper, Mike Golding, will officially start the 13th edition of the race from onboard the Royal Navy's HMS Argyll on Sunday 11th May at 1400 BST.

LIVESKIPPER has opened its registration - your chance to race the boats yourself, live, during the race from the dry and warm cockpit of your computer desk! Check it out at www.liveskipper.com.

The 13 IMOCA 60s and 11 Class40 boats competing in The Artemis Transat 2008 are now all berthed at Sutton Harbour, Plymouth having arrived over the weekend. The Race Village came alive with the arrival of the fleet and thousands of visitors over the Bank Holiday weekend have already been through the village taking in the spectacle of these high-tech ocean racers and all the exhibits within the village, as well as enjoying the bars and restaurants in the Barbican.

Alongside Nigel Godefroy, Chief Executive, Sutton Harbour Group who shared the duty of cutting the ribbon to declare the race village open. Since then the public have arrived en masse to view the 24-strong race fleet, the Tall Ship 'Earl of Pembroke', the legendary Gipsy Moth IV and the Ocean Racing Exhibition that forms part of the education programme. The entertainments package is extensive with street entertainers plus the inaugural Barbican International Jazz and Blues Festival.

The Race Village is open daily from 1000 through to next Sunday, 11th May. For full information on the Race Village and programme of events, visit the website Artiemis Transat. Photo by On Edition/OC Events.

J/122 Class Debuts at AYC Spring Regatta

Tuesday - May 6 2008 - 1015 PST - From our friends at J Boats - This J-122 is having fun at 14.5 Knots!It was "spring" in name only at the American Yacht Club Spring Regatta as blustery, wet conditions forced sailors to keep out the winter frostbite gear for at least two more weekends. 100 boats competed in 12 one-design, IRC and PHRF classes in the annual event that kicks off the big boat racing season in the Northeast. 51% of the entries were J's, including one-design starts for the J/105, J/109, J/120, J/122 and J/44 classes.

In the first J/122 one-design event held in the USA, American Yacht Club Commodore Michael Bruno and co-owner Tom Boyle skippered their new J/122 WINGS (pictured above doing 14.5 kts) to an impressive victory.

Action was tight in the 7 boat class and is expected to ratchet up even further as more boats are slated to attend upcoming New England events including the East Coast Championship at NYYC Race Week in Newport in mid July.

"Having never sailed a sprit boat in the past, or competed in one design racing, it was particularly rewarding to do well in our Spring Series," said Commodore Bruno. "The 122 is a superb boat with excellent build quality, awesome performance in all the conditions we have experienced to date, and great looks.

The boat was totally in control on the days we saw 30kt gusts with steep seas, and was also very fast on the two light days. We already have three 122s at American and I suspect our fleet will grow quickly."

Jeff Willis and his team on CHALLENGE IV were equally as impressive in winning the competitive J/44 class, as owners prepare for what will be a record J/44 fleet (14+ boats) in the Newport Bermuda Race. In J/120 action, Steve Levy on EAGLE won on a tie-break over PEREGRINE steered by Brian Giorgio.

Al Minella skippered RELENTLESS to victory in the J/109 class, and in the largest, most competitive class in the fleet, Damian Emery on ECLIPSE edged out Joerg Esdorn on KINSCEM by one point to win the 17 boat, J/105 division.

In the handicap classes, J/133s swept the top 3 positions in IRC 3 with Tom Carroll on SIRENSONG winning 5 of 6 races. The Esposito family on the J/29 HUSTLER won the PHRF 5 division.

For full results go to Yacht Scoring. For more info on J-Boats please go to J-Boats.

Words From The Alinghi Team

Tuesday - May 6 2008 - 0955 PST - From Alinghi - The Alinghi design team has been facing and continues to face some extraordinary challenges in the months ahead, responsibility towards the safety of their team mates, the sailors, weighs heavily on them and while all are excited by the design complexities of the 'off the scale' multi-hull, the team is also realistic about going into unchartered design territory.

Grant Simmer: "It's quite exciting for us. From a naval architecture point of view this is an extremely fast and exciting boat."

"Obviously we are looking at building a big beast of a boat and the loads are off the scale compared to most of the boats we have been involved in in the past."

Rolf Vrolijk: "The challenge is a challenge for the whole design team. Each area is a challenge, it is new ground, so we have to come up with new ideas and new solutions. Particularly, of course, for Dirk who is responsible for the structural part of the whole concept and the engineering. It is a big responsibility because of the loads and because we are working in an unknown area. We need a lot of safety otherwise they will be very dangerous machines."

"I think it will be very different to any machine that people have seen up until now, mainly because it is designed for one particular purpose - just two or three races and whatever conditions we expect in the venue we choose, so it will be a unique machine. We want to predict speeds that don't exist yet. We want a machine or a sailing boat in conditions and complexities which don't exist yet. I think it's a big challenge."

"We are working on a machine and a multihull concept which is unique and very different to anything that is on the water, so we really have to do a very thorough study. That is why it takes a really long time."

Dirk Kramers: "It's enormous, the stability of this boat is probably four or five times more than what we are used to with Version 5 boats, so the loads go up correspondingly. In our drawings, we make a habit of constantly drawing the size of a human in them, to make sure we don't lose perspective of the scale of things. These boats will be enormous, the loads will be great and they will be quite dangerous actually, which is something that is worrying."

"It's just the sheer size of this project. We don't have much time to do this and we are going into areas that we have never been before. This can be a very dangerous thing and the last thing we want to do is have some of our friends and colleagues get hurt, so that weighs heavy on us."

Story by Alinghi. Photo by Carlo Borlenghi / Alinghi

The Irish Are In!

Monday - May 5 2008 - 1300 PST - New Green Team Volvo Open 70 comes out of McConaghy Boats - Ireland's New Volvo Open 70 - The Green Team's Volvo Open 70 has emerged from McConaghy Boats in Zhuhai, China and is being prepared for shipping to the UK.

To mark the occasion, the team held a "Thank You China Event" near the build site located 60 miles north of Hong Kong. Construction started in October and has been completed on schedule, with the boat due to depart on 8th May.

The mainly Australian-led team at McConaghy's has been working alongside American designers Reichel/Pugh and a 90-strong Chinese build team. 40,000 man hours have gone into the build.

Green Team CEO Jamie Boag said: "It is fantastic to see the boat completed. As we were late in the production of this boat it was crucial that it would be completed on time, something we were confident McConaghy Boats could deliver."

"China is an amazing place. If you want something manufactured or sourced, it can be done really quickly to a very high standard."

With the build now complete the team will prepare the boat to be shipped back to Europe, with an anticipated arrival in the UK of early June. Once in the UK the boat will be assembled and tested for two weeks before heading to the team’s homeport of Galway in Ireland, which will be the team's base before leaving for Alicante in September.

Ian Walker, Green Team skipper, said: "This boat has been seven months in the making and we've had a fantastic team working on this project. I would like to thank everybody in the project, but especially those involved in the hard graft here in China."

"I am confident that we have a great boat and will have a competitive entry into the race. I cannot wait to get her back to Europe and out on the water to start preparing for the adventure ahead of us all." Story and image by www.volvooceanrace.org.

Team Aqua Gives Back

Monday - May 5 2008 - 1010 PST - Team Aqua launches its 2008 campaign and introduces an innovative charitable concept.

Already involved in the RC 44 Class, Team Aqua announces today that it will also compete in the iShares Cup on board Extreme 40 catamarans. The two sailing platforms will be used to raise funds for the World Land Trust, an organisation that promotes ecological sustainability around the world.

After a successful first season in the RC 44 Class, Team Aqua announces today that it is moving up to a new level. Indeed, the winner of the first RC 44 Championship Tour will also compete in the iShares Cup on board Extreme 40 catamarans.

Team Aqua's objective is to provide a great platform to its international sponsors whilst sailing under the umbrella of the World Land Trust (WLT - http://www.worldlandtrust.org/). The World Land Trust is an international conservation organisation that takes direct action to save rainforest and other biologically important lands.

"Our goal is to have a professional sailing team that competes internationally on some of the worlds most competitive sailing leagues", says Team Aqua owner Chris Bake. "This structure will give a good visibility to our partners whilst associating them with our values. We are passionate about sailing and we want to obtain good results; but our goal is also to promote ecological sustainability around the world and raise funds for the World Land Trust.

We will also be sailing flying the Carbon Balanced Logo (http://www.carbonbalanced.org)as we plan to offset the carbon footprint of our sailing campaign through the Carbon Balanced program run by the World Land Trust.

For more on Team Aqua go to Team Aqua.

BMW ORACLE Racing Partners with VPLP

Monday - May 5 2008 - 0955 PST - The leading French multihull design firm of Van Peteghem / Lauriot Prévost (VPLP) are working with BMW ORACLE Racing's design team in developing its new mulithull boat for the America's Cup Deed of Gift match.

Firm principals Vincent Lauriot Prévost and Marc Van Peteghem are integrated with the BMW ORACLE Racing core design team for the project. VPLP are the lead designers in conjunction with the BMW ORACLE Racing team, led by design coordinator Mike Drummond. BMW ORACLE Racing's Michel Kermarec heads up the performance prediction and appendage design.

"We are enjoying working with and learning from the vast experience of VPLP in multihulls," Drummond said. "The French multihull community, in general, are leaders in these yachts and we are benefiting greatly.

When we first looked at a multihull in the event of a Deed of Gift challenge, we were impressed with the record of the Groupama series of racing multihulls. Franck Cammas and VPLP designed yachts have been breaking speed records and leading this field, so VPLP was the natural choice.

Vincent Lauriot Prévost affirmed, "We are delighted to have been chosen by BMW ORACLE Racing to design the new multihull for the 33rd America's Cup. To be able to integrate our expertise in high performance multihull design with the experienced BMW ORACLE Racing design team, as well as with the construction team in the United States, is exciting and inspiring for VPLP.

"We have always believed that innovation is the key to success, and working in synergy with BMW ORACLE, Franck Cammas, and the Groupama Team is exactly the type of challenge we thrive on. To see a match between these racing giants should be pure adrenalin."

VPLP at a glance - Vincent Lauriot Prévost and Marc Van Peteghem created the VPLP office in 1983. 25 years on, VPLP is the world's leading multihull design agency and the the only naval architects who specialize and design multihulls for all three sectors of the market: racing trimarans, luxury sailing catamarans and production catamarans in both power and sail.

VPLP's list of achievement is simply huge, with victories in almost all offshore multihull regattas including the Route du Rhum, Transat Jacques Vabre, OSTAR, and Jules Verne Trophy as well as speed records.

For more history on VPLP go to VPLP.