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XS Racing is a Racing Organization and a Daily Online News Source for the High Performance Sailor
Visit Several Times Each Day for Your Daily Sailing News as it Breaks!
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Thursday, December 11 - 2008 - Lanzarote delivered on its promises of strong wind today, with the six RC44 teams battling to master the gusty conditions while also trying to win their five flights of intense match racing. The only boat to keep a clean sheet was Igor Lah's Team Ceeref, helmed by James Spithill.
When the wind is gusting up to 25 knots, with some big shifts thrown in for good measure, sometimes winning in the RC44 fleet is a matter of keeping the wheels on the wagon. So it didn't look too good for Team Ceeref when, on the first beat of the first race, the hydraulic ram on their forestay broke. This immediately led to the jib being shredded to within a few yarns of its life. They were lucky it didn't disintegrate altogether. At this point James Spithill was still leading the match from his colleagues on board BMW ORACLE Racing, but with Larry Ellison rapidly closing in on the wounded Croatian boat.
Thanks to some "creative trimming", as Spithill put it, they managed to get to the top mark just ahead of the American boat without the jib breaking completely. It was neck and neck on the fast downwind leg but Igor Lah's team rounded the leeward mark first. They extended to win quite comfortably when the American boat broached a few hundred meters before the finish line.
Having survived that early scare, Team Ceeref sailed a near faultless day, looking solid in the pre-start and going on to win all five matches in some challenging conditions, with the north-easterly wind shifting hither and thither off the mountainous coast of Lanzarote. Not a bad outing for Spithill who, after many weeks of high-speed training on BMW ORACLE's giant multihull, admitted to being "a little rusty".
Team Aqua lost their last match of the day against Ceeref, but apart from that it was an excellent set of races for Chris Bake's team from United Arab Emirates. Kiwi helmsman Cameron Appleton sailed some aggressive pre-starts and made them work well for the team. He also took maximum advantage of his rivals' errors. In the match against Banco Espirito Santo from Portugal, Team Aqua was leading round the final turning mark but had problems setting their spinnaker. Mark Mendelblatt looked set to surf the Portuguese boat into the lead when they suffered their own spinnaker problems through a messy gybe. Appleton was off the hook, and regained the advantage to seal victory.
Larry Ellison was steering a brand new boat, and so was suffering the inevitable teething problems. However, the Americans looked stronger as the day went on and in the final match against Artemis they managed to beat Dean Barker, moving BMW ORACLE Racing into third overall with a 3:2 scoreline, and relegating the Swedish team to fourth overall with 2:3. Photo Gilles Martin-Raget.
"The battle with Larry [Ellison] was a high point," said Spithill of the boss-employee rivalry. "The in-house battles always seem to be the closest. We had a problem when the hydraulic ram on the forestay blew out on the first beat. The jib was shredded, just held together by a few yarns for the rest of the race, so we had to be creative with our trimming. It was a good effort by the crew to be able to stay ahead."
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Thursday, December 11 - 2008 - Monaco - The economic situation and the need to better manage our sport, including the America's Cup, were at the heart of yesterday's debates at the World Yacht Racing Forum. The Cup debate was definitely one of the highlights of the day, with Tom Ehman and Brad Butterworth trying hard to convince the audience that their point of view is the right one.
After months of preparation and weeks of anticipation, the first World Yacht Racing Forum is finally underway. It allowed today 300 privileged delegates and sixty media to listen to some great debates and network with each other between the events.
The world economic situation was at the heart of most debates, the key actors of the yacht racing scene agreeing on the need to reduce costs and manage our sport better. Talking about the Volvo Ocean Race, Knut Frostad, the event's CEO insisted on the need to grow the sport collectively.
"This Forum is great; it is the first time we are sitting together. We have so much to discuss and learn from each other! Sailing is only in the top 10 sports in three countries: Australia, New-Zealand and Sweden. We have a lot to achieve. Our goal with the Volvo Ocean Race is to reduce the costs drastically in the future; this will be our most immediate and effective action."
Led by "the voice" of the America's Cup Peter Montgomery, and featuring Brad Butterworth, Tom Ehman, Paul Cayard, Sir Keith Mills, Stéphane Kandler and Alessandra Pandarese, the America's Cup debate didn't bring any immediate solutions but some interesting proposals were made for the future of the event. After Brad Butterworth and Tom Ehman explained their well known positions, Paul Cayard - the most popular speaker according to the level of applause - summarized the situation best and said that the America's Cup should be run by an independent body.
"This is not about Alinghi and BMW ORACLE Racing; it is about the future of the America's Cup. We can not let this sport do what it wants to us. We need a better administration, with fair rules. I am convinced that we can modify the Protocol and yet perpetuate the spirit of the event. The mechanism set by America's Cup Management is great; however this body should not belong to one of the competitors."
K-Challenge's CEO Stéphane Kandler went in the same direction, stating that, "the America's Cup has a huge value; this is why these two teams are fighting about it. What we need is a sustainable model."
Whilst the America's Cup debate was undoubtedly the highlight of the day, other topics of interest for the future of the yacht racing scene got discussed by the key actors of the industry. The event started with a keynote address by Sir Keith Mills, who said that "sailing has now become a major business. The recession makes our life difficult but there are also great opportunities in a recession. We just need to manage our teams and events in a more cost-effective way."
How do we drive the global growth of our sport? What are the keys to its development? These were some of the key issues debated by ISAF President Göran Petersson, who was on many occasions challenged by some of the speakers and the public. Everyone's goals are different; ISAF has to please the IOC and work towards the development of sailing, including in developing countries, whilst most participants in the Forum represent commercial organizations, hence the differences in opinions.
Mr Petersson and most panelists agreed on the fact that "the key element to the growth of our sport is exposition and media coverage." A fact confirmed by Knut Frostad, who believes that the sailors are still often a long way behind understanding the importance of media for the development of their sport.
"The teams should organize media training sessions," explained Marcus Hutchinson, Director of Communication for the Volvo Ocean Race. "And there are only very few new sailing journalists," added Peter Montgomery. "This is worrying for the future."
Also talking about the impact of the current economic situation on our sport, Paul Strzelecki, joint CEO of Henri Lloyd, said that "the industry is asleep. The current situation will force them to wake up, that's the good thing about it."
Wake up and be smarter; a feeling shared by OC Group CEO Mark Turner: "Sponsorship is the main source of revenue for an event organizer. There is no money in TV - in fact we have to pay for what other sports get paid for - as for merchandising, it doesn't bring any money unless you are already a huge corporation or organization. The only reliable source of revenue is sponsorship. But the competition is tough and we need to be smarter."
Race calendar management is probably one of the easiest targets to achieve between the different sailing Classes. Head of communication for the Vendée Globe, Christophe Baudry agrees that: "Having the Vendée Globe and the Volvo Ocean Race taking place at the same time is nonsense. We should talk together." But what is the independent body that can achieve this? Nobody knows.
"ISAF is far too disconnected to play this role at this stage," believes Mark Turner. "Hopefully they will grow into a real controlling body for our sport. It could be good."
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Wednesday, December 10 - 2008 - 0954 PST - At around 13h00 (UTC) this afternoon, Loïck Peyron's IMOCA Open 60 racing in the Vendée Globe solo round the world dismasted while sailing 180 miles south of the Crozet Island and 650 miles from the Kerguelen Islands.
Peyron, the only skipper competing in this race to have competed in the first edition, was in third place, around fifteen miles from new leader, Sébastien Josse (BT).
Early this afternoon Peyron informed Race Directors that Gitana 80 had been dismasted. He was sailing under Solent with one reef in the main in thirty-knot winds. At the time of the incident he was inside his boat. The skipper was therefore not injured and is in perfect health.
The cause of the damage is not yet known, but the French sailor confirmed he still had his boom and was thinking about where to sail under jury rig.
Peyron had proven to be one of the leading contenders during the first third of the 24,275 mile solo ocean race, For sixteen days he had been in the lead (in the 11h rankings), at the top of the 26 boat fleet on the way down the Atlantic before Sébastien Josse and then Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2) took over this role.
It goes without saying that this dismasting is a salutary reminder of the of what can happen in the Southern Ocean in this grueling solo ocean race and perhaps will influence some of the other competitors, who have been pushing hard over the past few days. Peyron had experienced halyard problems on his gennaker before entering the Indian Ocean and climbed the mast yesterday to deal with this.
In a short report, Peyron spoke about the circumstances of this dismasting:
"There were thirty knots of wind and Gitana Eighty had one reef in the main and was under Solent. There were no particular reasons for the damage and everything was fine on board, when the mast suddenly came down without forewarning. I was inside when I heard a loud noise. When I went outside on the deck, I could see the mast had gone. I still have the boom and we're currently considering our plans."
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Wednesday, December 10 - 2008 - Avoid crowded shopping malls and shop online this year. Buy one of our featured Henri Lloyd products and receive a free gift from Henri Lloyd. Don't delay! Outfit your favorite sailor this holiday season with high performance product from the leading manufacturer of premier foul weather gear. Photo onEdition.
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Wednesday, December 10 - 2008 - With a third of the race completed the Vendee Globe is still full of lead changes after 30 days of racing. The stronger wind is arriving from behind, hence continued closing of the gaps between the leaders. Seb Josse (BT) is slightly quicker in his position, about 70 miles further north than race leader Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2). He now just 8.8 miles ahead of Josse who is furthest east.
Mike Golding, GBR, (Ecover 3) moving for a more southerly position, has been quick through the early part of the night.
The top ten remain very much in formation as Sebastien Josse's position in the north of the leading pack has given him an advance of about 8.8 miles overnight to present a serious challenge to leader Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac 2). Josse is the furthest east and was about 47 miles to the north of Dick's position in the small hours of the morning. Josse - along with Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia), Loïck Peyron (Gitana Eighty) and Jean Le Cam (VM Matériaux) - have all been quick at different points through the night.
In general now the chasing group - Le Cam, Riou - who are some 90-100 miles behind the leaders, are seeing another five knots of breeze than the leaders.
The equation to be challenged for the leaders is that of better breeze for the moment in the north, as against a better angle in the south later. Josse has been making more than three knots faster than Dick.
Mike Golding, GBR, (Ecover 3) is heading south again, looking set to cross the trail of third placed Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) who is 21.9 miles behind the fleet leader Paprec-Virbac. Golding remains in fifth, but has drawn up to 50.1 miles off the lead, while the ever present threat of Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) in seventh sees the 2001 winner just seven miles behind, still with time enough to wax lyrical in his nocturnal reports.
Tenth placed Yann Eliès' special sanglier (wild boar stew with corn and red wine) may have been the perfect mental pick-me-up yesterday, but more likely he is placed in the north and west he is finally reaping a reward again for his position as the new system moves with him. Eliès was quickest this morning making 18.4 knots.
Arnaud Boissières quipped overnight about having two British girls on his hands as they are the next challenges on the leaderboard, but Dee Caffari (AVIVA) has been resolutely repelling the French skipper's advances and holds an 18.7 miles advantage while Sam Davies (Roxy) is more than 185 miles ahead. Photo Yvan Zedda.
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Wednesday, December 10 - 2008 - The RC 44 Gold Cup takes place in Puerto Calero (Canary Islands, Spain), on December 10-14. This event is the last regatta in the RC 44 2008 Championship Tour. The season's match, fleet race and long distance champions will be crowned. The pressure is rising and there is a lot at stake.
The Puerto Calero RC44 Gold Cup starts today, with some strong Atlantic breezes expected for the first day of match racing.
The six teams got a taste of the sort of conditions they can expect in the 300m-deep Atlantic waters off the coast of Lanzarote today. With the sun shining, the air temperature nudging just over 20 degrees Celsius, and the north-easterly breeze gusting just over 20 knots, today's practice fleet race offered a taste of the spectacular racing in store for the next five days.
Dean Barker was at the helm of Artemis II, Torbjorn Tornqvist's Swedish entry, and the New Zealand skipper sailed deep into the left-hand corner of the course, close to the tuna fish nets beneath the spectacular volcanic cliffs of Lanzarote.
"We felt we were in a pretty strong right phase off the start line, so we figured it would go back to the left at some point. It did and we were able to capitalize on it."
They certainly did, as Artemis sailed to a commanding lead at the first windward mark, which the Swedish team extended to an even bigger victory two laps later.
Larry Ellison also opted for a left-hand strategy up the first windward leg, often having to live in bad air from Artemis to get over there, so BMW ORACLE Racing was some way behind at the first mark, but still led the chasing pack around the first mark in second place. However down the first run the American boat was overhauled by Igor Lah's Team Cereef and Chris Bake's Team Aqua.
Team Cereef pulled out early from the practice race, while lying in second place, but tactician James Spithill was happy with their outing.
"We had good wind, really shifty, but I think it's going to be pretty fun. The forecast for the next few days is quite windy and we are looking forward to some great sailing."
Photo Nico Martinez.
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Wednesday, December 10 - 2008 - Chicago Yacht Club has announced that it will offer a Double Handed Division in the 2009 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac. 2009 marks the 101st running of 'the Mac,' the world's longest annual freshwater sailing distance race. The 101st Mac will start off Chicago's lakefront on Friday, July 17, 2009 and Saturday, July 18, 2009.
"We are committed to finding new and innovative ways to deliver great sailing events to as many people as possible," Greg Miarecki, chair of the 101st Mac, commented. "Our Double Handed Division will give sailors who enjoy shorthanded events the opportunity to experience the thrill of the Mac," Miarecki added.
Skippers and crews experienced in shorthanded sailing will be eligible to compete in the Double Handed Division, which will be limited to monohulls. Double Handed Division sailors will race under the Offshore Racing Rule ("ORR") and compete for the prestigious Harold L. Ashton Memorial Trophy, which is on display at Chicago Yacht Club's Monroe Street Station. Boats competing in the 101st Mac's Double Handed Division will start on Saturday, July 18, 2009 along with boats in the Chicago-Mackinac Trophy Division, Mackinac Cup Division, and Multihull Division. Cruising Division entrants will start on the afternoon of Friday, July 17.
Participation in the 333 statute mile race from Chicago Yacht Club to Mackinac Island, Michigan is by invitation only. Generally, if a sailor has competed in one of the last four Macs as a 'person in charge,' he or she will automatically receive an invitation to compete in the 101st Race. Sailors who are not eligible for an automatic invitation may request an invitation through the official Race website at www.chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac. Photo Pat Reynolds.
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Tuesday, December 9 - 2008 - Here is a letter by the commodore of the Golden Gate yacht club to the Alinghi camp announcing their intention to hash it out in court.
Dear Commodore Firmenich,
This is to officially inform you that the Golden Gate Yacht Club and the BMW ORACLE Racing team will not submit an entry by December 15 for the regatta that SNG is organizing, which we do not consider a legitimate America's Cup.
Rather, we will now focus our efforts and attention on winning our appeal before the New York State Court of Appeals - clearly the only avenue left open to create a fair and competitive challenge that preserves the integrity, prestige and tradition of yacht racing's pinnacle event in keeping with terms of the America's Cup Deed of Gift.
As you know, the Court has set a date of February 10 for oral arguments and is expected to rule on our appeal by the end of March. Given the stakes involved for the future of the America's Cup, we do not believe a few more months represent an unreasonable delay.
In fact, we find it quite odd that SNG has set an arbitrary registration deadline of December 15 in light of the fact that a Court decision is so close. Indeed, the timing of your whole revived- preparations for the regatta - initiated immediately after GGYC filed its opening brief in this Court - is only a transparently blatant attempt to influence the Court. Even so, we were willing to consider entering the event if SNG had given us an opportunity to review the Protocol and compare it against the Ten Point Plan we had proposed to achieve fair rules. Regrettably, SNG did not accede to this reasonable request.
Over the past 17 months, we have made a number of constructive suggestions to resolve the dispute outside of court and get the America's Cup back on track. Yet SNG and your defense apparatus have consistently refused to negotiate with us in good faith. Instead:
* SNG created a sham yacht club to self deal and write your own rules for AC33, which were immediately condemned by seven yacht clubs as - the worst text in the history of the America's Cup.
* SNG submitted a secret application to your hand picked arbitrators to rubber stamp your sham challenger of record and eliminate GGYC - a serious, independent competitor with the experience and capability to mount a worthy challenge.
* Before the trial court decision in November 2007, SNG unilaterally cancelled the 2009 America's Cup and Team New Zealand sued you for it.
* When we won the November 2007 decision in the trial court, SNG refused to negotiate a mutual consent, multi-challenger America's Cup in monohulls that would have put the Cup back on track for a 2009 event.
SNG's defense apparatus has a track record of excluding top competitors from sailing events when they pose a real threat. Moreover, your recently revived - preparations process has not been conducive to attracting a strong field of competitors. We have been excluded from the recent meetings, as has any challenger that declined to sign your non-negotiable nondisclosure agreement, thus creating a conspiracy of silence around a rules meeting of America's Cup competitors unprecedented in Cup history. This is not the inclusive, open, transparent and democratic process required to develop a Protocol that will ensure the full participation of major teams in a fair and competitive America's Cup.
SNG's defense apparatus has tried to convey the false impression that you have relented on some of the more outrageous aspects of the current Protocol. But as far as we know, you continue to insist on such patently unfair privileges as the right to change any of the rules at any time, and to compete against the challengers in most of the challenger selection series races with no scoring consequences to SNG.
Why should we blindly enter the event when SNG and your America's Cup team have proven so untrustworthy and fearful of fair competition?
As we've said before, if we prevail in court as we expect, as Challenger of Record we will once again seek to reach agreement with you on a traditional multi-challenger regatta with fair rules like those that made AC 32 one of the best, most exciting in history.
As our latest Court papers state, - The America's Cup is special - indeed, it is unique in the sporting world - precisely because it is...a Challenge Cup, begun anew each cycle when an independent and experienced yacht club claims the right to put the Cup's current holder to the test on whatever terms can be negotiated between relative equals - or under the Deed's default match race terms if negotiations fail. A qualified, strong, and independent Challenger of Record is essential to the basic structure of the competition that the Deed envisions.
SNG and CNEV are entitled to hold a different kind of sailing regatta if you choose. But without several top competitors and major sponsors, without fair rules, without any regard for 157 years of America's Cup tradition, and, most importantly, with your Club's continuing reckless disregard for the Deed of Gift, it won't be an America's Cup. It will simply be an Alinghi Cup, and we see no good reason to participate.
Sincerely,
GOLDEN GATE YACHT CLUB
Marcus Young Commodore
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Tuesday, December 9 - 2008 - "We have been informed by the International Sailing Federation - ISAF - that they will support a decision by the WSSRC [World Sailing Speed Record Council] to ratify a claim for the Outright World Sailing Speed Record by a Kite-board," said John Reed, Secretary to the WSSR Council in a recent press release.
In accordance with this, the WSSRC announces the ratification of a new World Record:
Record: Outright World Sailing Speed Record.
Board: Fone Prototype Speed. Fone Bandit Dos Speed 7sq m kite.
Name: Alexandre Caizergues. FRA
Dates: 4th October 2008.
Start time: 15:35:00.84
Finish time: 15:35:20.06
Elapsed time: 19.22
Distance: 501m
Current: 0.1kts
Average speed: 50.57kts
Venue: Luderitz, Namibia.
Previous record: 2008. Sebastien Cattelan. 50.26 kts.. Photo Roger Hilsop
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Tuesday, December 9 - 2008 - Check out Sailrocket's crash and skipper/designer Paul Larson talking moments later.
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Tuesday, December 9 - 2008 - "Hello from a chilly Roxy!
Yes, it's getting cold down here now. So much so that I couldn't work out if the drizzly rain last night was frozen or not. I had a slightly annoying night - just not managing to find the right sails or angle to the waves.
The night started under gennaker, with a building breeze. I was soon past my wind limit for the big guy, and the waves were such that Roxy would take off, accelerate and risk face planting the next wave. This was too much of a risk to take in 30 knots with the big gennaker up, as it puts a lot of load on the top of my mast.
So, I went to roll the sail away, which, as I explained before, means a LOT of winching! When nearly rolled, I paused to check the roll had worked properly with a torch. Unfortunately, I must have paused when the thin bit of furler line was on the drum, and all of a sudden there was a gust, and the WHOLE thing unfurled itself! I'm starting to wonder if my gennaker has a warped sense of humour. Anyway, it seemed to smile at me in a cheeky kind of way, almost saying "that's not entirely my fault", so I couldn't be cross. So I got my head down and began winching again, as Roxy, newly fuelled up with a big gennaker, took off again at high speed down the waves. I eventually got the sail down, and thankfully this time the gennaker gave in gracefully and folded itself willingly through the fore hatch into a neat coil.
I never cease to be overawed by these midnight manoeuvres, in a lot of wind, pitch black, up on the bow as Roxy hoons along. You get the feeling of immense solitude, coupled with the power of the boat and the wild waves. Everything is monochrome and the black silhouette of the mast and sails tower over me. Sometimes, when I am on the bow, and Roxy takes off on a surf, the bow is way out of the water and I almost feel like I'm flying. The down-side is that, quite frequently the surf ends with a nice wave over the deck, and that is cold! But before you say it, don't worry, when I am on deck I am always clipped on with my super Spinlock deck harness, so I don't take any risks.
The rest of the night seemed to have gone very quickly, as I took reefs, shook out reefs, changed headsails... all in search of the right sail combination. Pretty frustrating really, as I never was totally happy with my choice. The wind is quite unstable and the waves are quite tricky too. At least with all those manoeuvres I wasn't cold!
On the non-technical side, as life is getting colder, I have been adapting. Yesterday I broke out two of my secret weapons: my Roxy Moon Boots (strictly to be kept dry) and my super thick sleeping bag. The sleeping bag is huge, and the very little time I got in it last night was luxury. I slept so well and even managed to dream a bit! The boots are a success too - warm feet all the time - and I am almost sure that soon I will even be sleeping in them (yes, inside my sleeping bag!)
S x"
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Tuesday, December 9 - 2008 - The Green Dragon Team has announced two crew changes for Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Cochin to Singapore, which starts on Saturday 13th December 2008.
Navigator Ian Moore and Pitman Tom Braidwood will stand down for the short 10 day leg to Singapore. The duo will re-join the crew in Singapore for the remainder of the race. These changes have been planned since the start of the race and will not be the last of the rotations onboard. Taking their place onboard the Dragon will be a veteran of four previous Whitbread / Volvo Ocean Races, navigator Steve Hayles and Volvo Ocean Race first timer James Carroll who is transferring from his role on shore as Green Dragon's boat captain to pitman.
"It has always been part of our agreement with some crew members that they will miss certain legs. It is a long race and it can pay to allow some crew members to have a break. Having Steve and James onboard will be a new experience for everyone and I am sure they will fit in really well. Steve has a huge amount of experience of this race and James knows the boat inside and out so I am sure that will be invaluable to the guys onboard," said Skipper Ian Walker of his new crew-members.
Steve Hayles (GBR)
Steve has over 15 years of professional yacht racing experience in grand prix inshore and offshore events, which includes competing in four previous Whitbread / Volvo Ocean Races, as well as being one of the navigators for BMW Oracle America's Cup Team during the last edition of the Cup. He was just 20 when he took on his first Whitbread race in 1993, and he still holds the record as the youngest navigator to ever complete the race. Steve was also involved as a consultant for the navigation systems during the build of Green Dragon in China.
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Monday, December 8 2008 - After many lead changes in a very exciting Vendee Globe Jean-Pierre Dick leads the fleet, but gains do not come easily for the skipper of Paprec-Virbac in the south. The Nicois skipper said in a report today of a difficult day yesterday when he spent four hours battling with a snarled furler on the Open 60 in 40-45 knots of wind.
That difficult afternoon may have seen the leading skipper moderate his attack a little, for Paprec-Virbac has lost a small matter of five or so miles to second placed Roland ‘Bilou’ Jourdain but he still has cushion of 38.2 miles as the leaders split either side of the Prince Edward islands.
Veolia Environnement is at the front of a trio of tightly grouped boats including Loïck Peyron on Gitana Eighty in fourth and Mike Golding on Ecover 3 in fifth. Jourdain has been fastest this morning and is 15.8 miles ahead of Josse, who explained this morning that he is being ‘resaonable’ all the time and staying within his limits. Photo DPPI.
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Monday, December 8 2008 - Unai Basurko has stated hat he will retire from the Vendee Globe. After 4 days of big winds and big seas, this morning Basurko has been unable to check his boat properly. The startboard rudder box (cassete) is out of his natural place because the carbon pieces that join the rudderbox to the transom are broken. Unai does not want to go further south in these conditions because of potential danger to both himself and his boat.
The option for repair is not possible as it would involve taking the boat out of
the water to do it properly.
Basurko is now trying to cross Santa Helena High and take the SE winds directly towards the equator with just with one rudder. He will be heading back to Spain.Photo Jaques Vapillon/DPPI
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Monday, December 8 2008 - After initially beating his own record yesterday at 1815 UT after covering 620.80 miles - compared with 619 on 6th January 2008 - Thomas Coville in his maxi trimaran Sodeb'O was able to continue lengthening his stride in a building wind. As a result he improved on his new record, reaching 628.5 miles at an average speed of 26.19 knots as he chaces down Francis Joyon's record for the fastest solo circumnavigation.
"These speeds are completely insane!" said Coville of the record, "To maintain an average of 26.19 knots, you have to regularly make over 30 knots of boat speed, which effectively means you have to be extremely quick the whole time! Sodeb'O is going fast. She loves these conditions as do I! I am very happy with this record for all the people who are accompanying me in this effort. Ellen (MacArthur, patron to the Maxi Trimaran Sodeb'O, who completed this same round the world circuit in 2005) had warned me that despite the very best preparation for this round the world record, you would never be ready, either physically or mentally, for such a testing exercise."
This record is awaiting official approval from the body that governs round the world sailing records: the WSSRC.
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Monday, December 8 2008 - Challenged on every part of the race course through four very tough races, Peter Gilmour and his team of Yasuhiro Yaji, Rod Dawson, Thierry Douillard and Kazuhiko Sofuku, are deserved winners of the 2008 Monsoon Cup.
After several months of leading the Monsoon Cup event management team, Gilmour then had to turn around and focus his energies on the competition. It is a testament to the skills of this sailor that he was able to make the seamless move from Race Advisor to successful skipper.
"I feel very elated. It has been a long few months for us to pull the event together and then the deck was pretty well stacked against me for doing well here. I have tremendous crew here, which kept me concentrating, kept me sailing. They are not too hard on me when I make basic mistakes like running into committee boats and just keep me rolling along.
"Clearly we were very lucky to be in the final. We probably did not deserve to be on the race course, but here we are and we won the final.
"The result is great for 2009. We look forward to going on the tour and being a part of all that. It is very exciting," a clearly delighted Gilmour said.
Gilmour had a tough trip to the top, finishing tied on five wins with Sebastien Col, Magnus Holmberg and Ben Ainslie at the end of the round robin series. On a count-back Gilmour went through to the quarter finals where he raced Col, winning his semi final place after five hard and at times, controversial matches. The semi final for Gilmour was an extraordinary situation where his opponent was 22-year-old Torvar Mirsky, a one-time match racing student of Gilmour's. It was a battle of wits, skill and experience which saw Gilmour dominate the matches to win 3-0.
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Monday, December 8 2008 - Mark McRae, Australian skipper of the Russian maxi Trading Network / Alye Parusa, admits he's shell shocked after learning that a new keel will take 14 days to build, putting the Open 85 out of contention for this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart.
"At a meeting with the keel manufacturers in Auckland yesterday I was advised that the build time is 14 days. Effectively Trading Network is out of this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart," said McRae today.
"Obviously we are all a little shell-shocked and very, very disappointed, particularly when we had such high hopes that we could get over the line.
"I am working with the CYCA [Cruising Yacht Club of Australia] at this very moment trying to find other options, which could mean using another yacht," he added.
Two weeks ago the 85 footer was lifted out of the water at an Auckland boat yard and during the routine check water was found seeping from a number of cracks in the keel. Because the keel was built from a particular type of steel it couldn’t be repaired and was cut from the hull.
McRae and his team tried to fast-track a replacement keel and prior to yesterday's devastating news they were still hopeful about their chances of meeting the tight deadline with an anticipated arrival in Sydney a week out from the start of the Boxing Day blue water classic.
"We still haven't given up here in Auckland. Of all the places in the world we would consider Auckland as the Mecca of committed workers, dedicated contractors and incredibly enthusiastic support from well-wishers. Nowhere else in the world have we seen this complete enthusiasm to get us up to the line," McRae commented last Wednesday, the day of the official launch of the Rolex Sydney Hobart in Sydney. Photo courtesy of Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.
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Monday, December 8 2008 - For this 9th edition, the Transat Jacques Vabre 2009 is heading for Costa Rica in Central America. The double-handed transatlantic race, is heading towards a brand new Coffee destination starting on November 8 and 9 - the Caribbean Sea as the final home straight with the goal of Costa Rica
After four editions bound for Columbia, then four more ending in Brazil, the Transat Jacques Vabre fleet will now be making for Puerto Limon, the gateway to Costa Rica on the Caribbean coast.
Two starts, two courses
There will be two boat categories taking the start: monohulls and multihulls. As per usual, there will be two starts and two courses. The monohulls (60 foot Imoca and the Class 40) will leave the port of Le Havre on 7th November with the start given at 1400 hours. As for the multihulls (Orma 60 footers and Open 50 Class), they will take the startline the following day, on Sunday 8th November, and will also set off at 1400 hours.
The battle will commence the minute they leave Le Havre. Once they're out of the English Channel, an express Atlantic crossing will await them, at the end of which the two fleets will both have a different compulsory passage point: the monohulls will leave the Dominican Republic to starboard, whilst the multihulls will leave Barbados to starboard. This amounts to a 4,730 mile course for the monohulls and a 5,005 mile course for the multihulls.
As such, the sailors will no longer cross the equator, which means they won't have to negotiate the Doldrums. On the other hand, they will face a dilemma: choosing between the northern route and the ‘southern expressway', or that of the longer but more comfortable tradewind route.
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Friday, December 5 - 2008 - Alinghi's design team coordinator, Grant Simmer, gave an update on the current status of the America's Cup, at the ninth edition of the International Sailing Summit in Paris, just two days before the official opening of the Paris Boat Show.
Simmer went over the recent history of the America's Cup, its evolution and recent innovations, reminded the audience of the achievements during the 32nd America's Cup and explained the ongoing democratic process at the Competitor Meetings where the entered challengers and the Defender are discussing the rules and regulations and designing the new class rule.
"Obviously it is a very different economic environment now than when we started planning for this edition in the second half of 2007. It has been a hugely significant economic slowdown and this has changed the way we are planning the Cup," said Simmer after the conference in which he explained Alinghi's vision for a multi-challenger event in 2009 and 2010 with a shorter cycle and a more sustainable competition in a new class of boat.
"We need to adapt the Cup to the current circumstances: that's our goal and that of the challengers and I think this is very much supported by the people in the sailing industry," he added.
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Friday, December 5 - 2008 - Green Dragon may have lost the battle on the water in the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, but off it they are making good speed.
The team, whose boom broke en route to finishing seventh in the second leg, are scheduled to become the first to return to water when they are lowered in on Sunday.
A replacement boom, already in India after being flown over from Amsterdam, is likely to be fitted after the mast is stepped on Sunday or Monday, while repairs are ongoing to the steering blocks damaged in a Chinese gybe.
"Thankfully we have no other majors like a keel problem," said Johnny Smullen, their shore boss. "We are pretty happy. We are working long days but I think we might get back on the water by Sunday."
The broken boom will now be shipped and repaired at a later stopover, most likely Singapore.
Back in the water on Monday
Ericsson Racing Team, meanwhile, plan to return both their boats to the water on Monday. Ericsson 3 reported that they twice tore a jib, dislodged their radar, and bent a winch handle on the trip on the trip north, but shore manager Herve Le Quillec explained that the majority of their undisclosed work, and the entirety of Ericsson 4's, was maintenance.
"We only planned for light maintenance in India," he said. "We had a group meeting in Cape Town and planned more work in Singapore."
Team Delta Lloyd will go back in the same day after declaring only minor issues - a damaged water maker and a broken Code Zero tack - on the second leg. "We have a lot of small things that we need to work on, and there were some things in Cape Town that we didn't get to," said shore manager Jeff Condell. "We have less major jobs on so we will be going through a hit-list of small things, deck gear and things."
Telefonica are currently unsure whether their two boats will be floated on Monday or Tuesday. Much of their focus has been on replacing the port daggerboards, which broke on both boats - as Campbell Field discussed here yesterday - while two extra boat builders have been flown in to reduce a job list that includes repairs to a crack in the Black boat's bow and work on torn sails.
Field said: "It's going to be busy because it's a short stopover and the boys have done a long leg. We are just going to use all the time available to do as much as we can.
"It is checking systems and making sure everything is working. We don't live in a world of fixing things, we live in a world of preventative maintenance because you cannot afford to have breakdowns.
"There are some repairs to sails (Blue blew out two spinnakers and tore the mainsail, while Black reported damage to their A3) and a few bits and pieces but it is quite straightforward." Story by Riath Al-Samarrai. Photo courtesy of VOR.
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