Winners Recap Race Of A Lifetime

Tuesday - February 12 2008 - 1015 PST - XS Racing posted the victory of PV 2 yesterday. And now, the day after winning the Barcelona World Race, the Paprec-Virbac 2 team sent in this story to BWR - a resume of the race - as a reminder of the 93 days as lived by Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall. It's a long read but pretty short considering they were at sea for 93 days. Enjoy...

Barcelona - Gibraltar: from 11 to 15 November. JP: " The Strait of Gibraltar was rough with lots of tacking and veering. We tacked five times in a row in one night and it was exhausting. It's very satisfying to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar in the lead. One of our goals was not to find ourselves in a pocket of flat calm in the Mediterranean and to try to leave it in the lead."

The leads began to be established, but Paprec-Virbac 2 and PRB were still very close. As Jean-Pierre Dick said with enthusiasm, "After the battle of Malaga, the Atlantic will now begin!"

Gibraltar - Cape Verde: from 15 to 23 November. Jean-Pierre and Damian set the pace. In the lead for a week, Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall entered the Cape Verde Archipelago, no doubt singing songs by Césaria Evoria! Behind her, PRB is 95 miles away and Veolia 100. The passage through the Doldrums was in sight, but in the meantime, they had to watch out for the island calms of Cape Verde.

Damian: "We are also looking for possible wind acceleration between the islands, so were glued to the helm. It's very tiring. Our watches are becoming increasingly shorter (editor's note: normally 3 hours each), since we are both very tired."

Out of the Doldrums: 26 November - Passage through the Doldrums: the clock back to zero Paprec-Virbac 2 came out of the Doldrums in second position behind PRB. JP put the loss of their first place into perspective and launched his monohull on a speed race to Brazil.

"We will rebuild and sail as fast as possible. Personally, it's an area of the world that I don't like very much, because there are too many uncertainties. The start of the race has shown that the boats are similar. PRB and Paprec-Virbac 2 have made good speed, one after the other."

"Our boats are quite sophisticated and require a lot of physical presence to get the most from their potential. However, this race is not just a question of going fast, strategy is also important. The slightest faux pas can have severe consequences." The skippers have passed the equator.

7 December 2007 - Taking control - Jean-Pierre and Damian take the lead of the Barcelona World Race and do not let go until they reach Barcelona. The Indian Ocean, where it's best to cover up! In this area, Jean-Pierre and Damian came across their first icebergs. They had to dress warm since the temperature inside Paprec-Virbac 2 was 0°C.

Passing the Cook Strait: 25 December - Happy Christmas in New Zealand! With the time difference, Jean-Pierre and Damian celebrated Christmas 12 hours before France! They organized a small party on board around the satellite, which acted as a Christmas tree for the occasion.

Jean-Pierre: "The celebrations are very warm here in the Indian Ocean: there's wind and waves! We disguised ourselves as Santa Claus. It does one good to stop thinking about the race for a while! We opened the presents our families and friends had given us: a case with lots of things inside: drawings from our nephews and nieces, quick notes, sweets, etc."

"On the menu for this French-Irish Christmas: fillet of duck, Christmas pudding, red wine for me, whiskey for Damian our Irishman." Last year, Paprec-Virbac 2 was being painted in the New-Zealand yard (in Tauranga). As we passed through the Cook Strait, the bow of the blue monohull had just completed its first tour of the world.

Repair on the high sea before the year 2008! On 27 December, just when Hugo Boss made a technical stop in Wellington, they had to repair a large gash on the starboard rudder (right), following a collision with a UFO (unidentified floating object). Harnessed above the Pacific Ocean, Damian Foxall carried out this acrobatic precision work needed to strengthen the rudder with sheets of carbon.

JP: "Damian covered the hole with carbon textile and then coated the rudder. The idea was to create a protective coat to avoid the carbon in its raw state being in direct contact with the sea. At great speed, there was a risk that the rudder would delaminate (editor's note: the layers of carbon would come away).

Rounding Cape Horn: 10 January - the relief After 59 days at sea, in a very strong wind and a wild sea, Paprec-Virbac 2 rounds Cape Horn during the night at 7.20 a.m. French Time (GMT+1). She is sailing in the Atlantic now. For JP and Damian, it means the end of the South Seas, and the storms, albatrosses and icebergs. It also signifies a swing left towards the finishing line and 'home'.

Jean-Pierre Dick could not hide his delight in rounding Cape Horn for the second time (1st time in 2005 during the Vendée Globe). "Today, as we sailed close to Cape Horn, it meant a great deal to Damian and I. It is a turning point, a relief, a sailor's dream and a step closer to victory. It's really great".

17 January: Broken forestay - Huge fright on board Paprec-Virbac 2. Jean-Pierre: "We had a major problem around Cabo Frio off the Brazilian coast. This went unnoticed since we managed to handle it. Our solent forestay (the main cable holding the mast in place) broke. It was the furling drum which had suddenly broke in its lower section. Luckily the mast did not fall. We were lucky because the staysail forestay was in place."

Passage through the Strait of Gibraltar: 9 February - Back to the Mediterranean After heading back up the Atlantic close hauled, Jean-Pierre and Damian were back in the Big Blue. The passage through the Strait of Gibraltar was particularly turbulent: A 45 knot wind speed close hauled.

Jean-Pierre Dick: "All through the night, we experienced winds of up to 45 knots. Paprec-Virbac 2 was bashing through the sea and that upset our stomachs. The waves were very short. We were close to the coast and the view was magnificent."

Victory for Paprec-Virbac: 11 February Having left Barcelona on 11 November, Paprec-Virbac 2 crossed has just crossed the finishing line of the Barcelona World Race. Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian cut the line at 21:49:49 (French time GMT+1) after 92 days 8 hours 49 minutes and 49 seconds at an average speed of 11.13 knots. During these three months of racing, Jean-Pierre and Damian sailed 28,329 miles (52,465 km).

Jean-Pierre: "It's wonderful to sail round the earth, to cross all the oceans and to see all the marine creatures. It's magnificent! It's a really happy feeling. Today is the best day of my life! This victory is the reward for a year's work for this Barcelona World Race."

Story and photo courtesy of www.barcelonaworldrace.com

Bumper Boats At Laser Worlds

Tuesday - February 12 2008 - 0955 PST - Day 6 Laser Worlds - Slingsby hits back in crash and burn day. World champion Tom Slingsby stayed cool under pressure at the Laser World Championship grabbing two wins to snatch the lead back from Julio Alsogaray from Argentina this afternoon.

Alsogaray finished sixth and ninth in the Toro sponsored Finals Races 9 and 10 off Terrigal in what in turning into a real pot boiler. Slingsby, on 27 points, leads the Championship by a mere two points. He commented after racing: "It was a good day. I did things the simple way. I got good starts and had good speed. I hit the shifts right - I couldn't have asked for any better."

"The first race was really close," Slingsby continued, "but in the second I got a good lead after the first mark and kept going. I just tried to hold everyone off." It was an understatement. Slingsby was awesome in Race 10. Rounding the first mark, there was no way anyone would catch him past that point as he extended his lead.

"It was beautiful out there. A nice 15 knot north-easterly in the first race and 18-20 knots in the second. We had big waves, but the shifts were small today - 5-10 degrees," the 23 year old said. However the Central Coast resident, did concede: "Julio still hasn't had a bad race, so I need to get a bigger gap on him tomorrow if I'm going to win. I have to forget about my bad day yesterday and do tomorrow what I did today."

Racing continues tomorrow with the final two races of the Finals Races in all groups. Stay tuned. For full results and more photos go to Laser Worlds. Photo by C&C Images.

"Bigger Seas Than The Bass Strait!"

Tuesday - February 12 2008 - 0930 PST - Following a few days of relative rest with only moderate winds the yachts of the Clipper 07-08 fleet are once again being tested by headwinds of more than 30 knots. Now, however, the sea temperature and air temperature have dropped significantly and this will test the crews to their limits.

The stronger winds are set to persist for the next 36 to 48 hours before the centre of the high pressure pushes out over the Yellow Sea which will bring very light winds across the fleet as they approach Qingdao.

Race Director Joff Bailey says, "I spoke to Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper skipper, Hannah Jenner, by satellite phone this morning and she told me every inch below decks is wet either from condensation, wet sails, waves down hatches or crew coming below decks with wet oilskins. Several of the other skippers and crew have been telling us how rough the conditions are."

Bruce Macky, a round the world crew member on westernaustralia2011.com said, "These are bigger seas than I have seen in the Bass Strait."

Experienced circumnavigator Duggie Gillespie, skipper of New York, says, "This is the Southern Ocean weather we did not have. Working hard and having roughty-tufty sailing stories forming as we make New York go as fast as we can to Qingdao. Wet cloths, wet boat inside and out and water everywhere. And don't forget the cold - it's chilly," says the typically understated Scotsman.

Hull & Humber and New York continue to battle for the top spot with only one nautical mile separating their distances to finish. However, Glasgow: Scotland and Durban 2010 and Beyond are close behind and it's starting to look as though it will be these four teams that will be contesting the podium positions over the next few days.

At the other end of the fleet Liverpool 08 and Nova Scotia are both starting to come back closer to the rhumb line after they both made bold moves in different directions; Liverpool 08 towards the Chinese coast and Nova Scotia to the east. These tactical moves do not appear to have paid off, but neither has either team lost any ground.

The Qingdao crew, sailing into their own port, have been dogged by the home port curse for the whole of this race after almost diverting to Manila for a sick crew member.

It is expected that all of the yachts will be safely tied up in the new Olympic Marina in Qingdao by Sunday.

For more reports and photos go to Clipper Race.

Carrie Howe - An Invite that Turned into an Olympic Campaign

Tuesday - February 12 2008 - 0855 PST - As team captain and an All American from Boston College, Carrie Howe was a formidable competitor at the helm and in the bow of two person dinghies. Among her biggest competitors were the women from ODU, including Sally Barkow, Debbie Capozzi and Anna Tunnicliffe.

When Sally Barkow called Carrie and asked if she could be the third person on an Yngling for a couple of regattas, she didn't think anything about it. She just thought that Sally and Debbie knew that she had a lot of experience sailing three person boats and that she was the right size to sail with them. As a matter of fact, it wasn't set whether she would do the bow or the middle and she had no idea that it was going to turn into an Olympic campaign.

"We won the OCR and the next thing I knew, Gary Bodie (head US Olympic sailing coach) was asking what my plan was for the summer. I was just thinking about going back to school because I had to take a finance exam. The win had qualified us for the US Sailing Team and Sally kept pushing on the schedule," said Howe, recounting the story of how the US Olympic Women's Keelboat crew came together. 'We did some campaigning for 2004, but 2008 was always our plan,' said Howe.

Howe and Barkow went to Athens to train with the Danish Yngling team and won the Greek Nationals just prior to the 2004 Olympics and visited she Beijing after last August's Olympic Test Event. She is glad that she has already seen a number of sailing and other Olympic events take place. "The experience will make it seem more like I am going to another regatta." Howe checks herself, "Obviously, I know that it’s not just any regatta."

While the US Yngling team has been together as a threesome longer than any other of the women's teams that they will be competing against at the 2008 Yngling World Championships or at the Olympics, the three women are not tied at the hip. Carrie loves sailing catamarans, and she and her boyfriend, Mischa Heemsherk, are two-time F18 North American champions.

Howe was noticeably missing from Barkow's crew at the 2007 Rolex International Keelboat Championship and the Vitoria Brasil Cup. Part of the explanation is that while she would be a valued member of a big boat match racing crew, her small frame does not lend itself to having her "head down and battling a heavy boat". Additionally, since October, Carrie has been recovering from mononucleosis. Missing out on the Rolex was a big disappointment for Howe.

For all intense and purposes, the team of Barkow, Capozzi and Howe had not competed together for months prior to US Sailing's Rolex Miami OCR in January. They had trained in Miami during December and then got back together after the holidays. Howe has regained her health and her strength and credits the team's level of professionalism and their structure to their success.

"Every regatta is about learning. We learn more from our mistakes than our successes." Howe explained the team's uncharacteristic performance at US Sailing's Rolex Miami OCR last week. "When you have your structure set, you can move on. If I make a mistake, I say it out loud, write it down and I try never to do it again. When a coach says that I have done something wrong, then I make sure that I never do it a gain."

Howe, who will be the middle person during the 2008 Yngling World Championships and during the Olympics, is very appreciative of the support that she and the team have received during the campaign. She speaks very highly of her team mates, their training partners and their coaches - James Lyne, Mark Ivey and Gary Bodie. Following the World Championships, the team will continue their rhythm of training and they will compete on the European circuit during the spring and into the summer.

For more information on Howe, her team mates, their sailing and fund raising efforts, visit www.Team7sailing.com. Photo and story by Lynn Fitzpatrick

Uphill Finish For The Boss

Tuesday - February 12 2008 - 0815 PST - Day 94: Paprec-Virbac 2 finished yesterday and is home while four remain at sea racing hard in the Barcelona World Race.

Skippers Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall steered their boat across the finishing line at 20:49 GMT last night, after 93 days at sea, exactly three months after the start. Both men were elated with the victory, celebrating with family, friends and team mates into the wee hours of the morning.

"It is an immense pleasure and a really deep feeling today," said Jean-Pierre. "Crossing the finish line, this victory represents more than a year of work. Damian and I are very happy to be here and to leave our mark on the first edition of the Barcelona World Race."

With Paprec-Virbac 2 home and cooled, four boats remain at sea, with Hugo Boss the next team scheduled to finish. But conditions remain uncomfortable for Alex Thomson and Andrew Cape as strong headwinds of up to 30 knots are forecast between their position and Barcelona. Their last days of the race are proving to be among the hardest they've faced.

Temenos II is on track to reach the Strait of Gibraltar on Thursday morning. Michèle Paret sounded fatigued on the video conference today following a busy night at sea.

"It's more humid and certainly getting colder and we had rain last night, due to the low pressure system," she told us. "We had to manoeuvre a lot over night, so yes, we're a little bit tired now. With the guys ahead finishing, we're starting to think about arrival a little bit more and the end of this great adventure."

Behind them, Mutua Madrileña continues to fight to close the gap, which is now 266 miles. The Spanish duo are trying to wind their way through the Canary Islands - this morning they were southeast of Gran Canaria, but making slow progress.

Further back, Educación sin Fronteras is making good progress directly north at 10 knots. Servane Escoffier had a chance to speak with Jean-Pierre and Damian and congratulate them on the win.

"Both Albert and I are really, very happy for JP and Damian," she said after both skippers encouraged her to join them in Barcelona! "They are the perfect winners of this race with a good boat and a good team. It's the best thing that could have happened."

The latest ETA for Hugo Boss to finish is overnight Wednesday night. Temenos II is projected to finish overnight on the 16th of February, and Mutua Madrileña on the 18th.

Day 94 - February 12 14:00 GMT - Position report with distance to leader

1. PAPREC-VIRBAC 2 - Jean Pierre DICK / Damian FOXALL - winner

2. HUGO BOSS - Alex THOMSON / Andrew CAPE - 331 to finish

3. TEMENOS 2 - Dominique Wavre / Michele PARET- 942

4. MUTUA MADRILENA - Javier SANSO / Pachi RIVERO - 1208

5. EDUCACION SIN FRONTERAS - Servane ESCOFFIER / Albert BARGUES - 2674

For more reports, photos and videos go to BWR.

Groupama 3 Has That Sinking Feeling But Still 500 Miles Ahead of Record

Tuesday - February 12 2008 - 0755 PST - At the edge of a front, Franck Cammas and his crew are not benefiting from the stable conditions, which would enable them to lengthen their stride: they must wait another day yet before the situation sorts itself out and allows Groupama 3 to regain its thirty knot average speed...

In sailing, you have to come to a compromise between the sea and the wind and play with the weather phenomena on the medium term. However, sometimes it is hard to interpret, as is the case at the moment to the E of the Kerguelen Islands, where Groupama 3 is just under a front.

Indeed, there are thirty to thirty-five knots of N'ly, behind them there are twenty-five to thirty knots of SW'ly and below, the breeze is oscillating between fifteen and twenty knots as it shifts round to the W. And as this front is moving at almost the same speed as the giant trimaran, it's not easy to find a way out.

In fact, Franck Cammas and his nine crew will have to wait for the front to crumble as it hits a big front positioned under Australia. From Wednesday, the speedos will begin to spin again as Groupama 3 benefits from a good thirty knot NW'ly breeze on manageable seas.

The same day will also bear witness to their passage of the meridian of Cape Leeuwin, and most likely the crossing of Orange II's course back in 2005: it will be extremely easy to give a precise figure to the distance between the giant trimaran and the maxi catamaran. In addition, Franck Cammas and his men won't be very far (1,500 miles) from the midway point in the course. Stay tuned to XS...

This report brought to you by XS Racing supporters Morrelli and Melvin Design and Engineering, designers of Award Winning boats since 1988. M and M Design also provides engineering services for projects large and small. Check out their website today! Photo by Y. Zedda

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Winners!

Monday - February 11 2008 - 1430 PST - Day 93: Paprec-Virbac 2 wins the Barcelona World Race - At 20h 49.49 GMT Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall steered Paprec-Virbac 2 across the finishing line to win the Barcelona World Race. Their 25 000 mile journey, non-stop around the planet, has taken exactly three months, and been an impressive display of speed and seamanship.

"This was our whole life, and all our energy and we are obviously very emotional," said skipper Jean-Pierre Dick, leaning over the lifelines and addressing the media as his boat pulled up to the pontoon in Barcelona.

Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall onboard Paprec-Virbac 2 on approach to the finish line © Th.Martinez/Sea and Co/Barcelona World Race The victory has been hard earned and impressive. The dynamic French-Irish duo has held the lead for the majority of the race, fending off early challenges from PRB and Veolia Environnement to grab the lead for good on December 7th. More recently, it's been Hugo Boss clipping at the heels of Jean-Pierre and Damian as they made their way back up the Atlantic Ocean.

Real obstacles came in the form of icebergs and equipment breakage. Deep in the southern latitudes, Paprec-Virbac 2 played 'Russian Roulette' with icebergs on several oc casions, escaping unscathed, except for the toll the added stress and fatigue had taken on the two skippers.

Shortly after passing through Cook Strait, they hit an object in the water, seriously damaging their rudder system. But the were able to fix this without stopping. Then, after rounding Cape Horn, their forestay broke, and dismasting was a likely outcome. But again, quick thinking and on-board acumen allowed them to fashion a repair that would hold to the finish.

Finally, the ascent up the Atlantic turned into a marathon. First, lighter than normal headwinds slowed their progress. Then, fierce headwinds and terrifying seas made their passage through the Strait of Gibraltar terrifying. Now on the home stretch in the Mediterranean Sea, their food supplies started to run thin, making for a pair of hungry and happy sailors as they crossed the finish line tonight for victory.

"I have done this for years, but today I have done it all. I'm still in shock so I'm not sure what my baby must be feeling," said an emotional Damian Foxall, moments after being handed his seven-month old son. "If I were to stop sailing now, and I'm not saying I will, I have done everything! We lost the forestay in the Atlantic and there were times when we didn't think we would make it but here we are! This is incredible!"

Jean-Pierre and Damian were to be welcomed at the pontoon in Barcelona by family and friends along with their entire team. The Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, was on hand to offer his congratulations. And offshore sailing legend Dame Ellen MacArthur, whose OC Events is a co-organiser of th! e event, paid tribute as well:

"Racing together on a boat for three months, non-stop, under extreme pressure is an amazing test of any partnership. There are very few circumstances in sport like it and it is obvious that Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall on Paprec-Virbac 2 have formed an incredibly strong team and have been able to fight hard right to the end of this long race.

Every boat competing in the Barcelona World Race has experienced difficult conditions - icebergs, the torture of no wind to storm-force conditions. Paprec-Virbac 2 has held the lead since South Africa and fully deserves to take the finish line in first place. It's a credit to the shore team who have prepared the boat so well and the skippers who then dealt with any breakages on board themselves - including a inner forestay failure off the Brazilian coast a few weeks ago that could have ended their race."

Second placed Hugo Boss crossed into the Mediterranean last night and is due to finish on Wednesday. For full coverage of the finish go to BWR.

Tough Conditions For Clipper Sailors

Monday - February 11 2008 - 1005 PST - Clipper Race - This race from Singapore to Qingdao, China, is proving to be the hardest so far of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race. It can be seen from the tracks on the race viewer that the teams are still sailing upwind towards the finish line and the northerly winds are due to continue for the near future. However it does appear that the fleet has managed to break away from the very strong winds down the Taiwan coast that battered the yachts over the weekend.

"The wind is now very patchy, going from 16 to 25 knots and the back again," says Durban 2010 and Beyond skipper, Ricky Chalmers. "The direction is changing also. All this is making progress very frustrating."

Hull & Humber skipper, Danny Watson reports a, "Long black night with oscillating wind making it quite unnerving on the helm. Temperatures are down and mid-layers and thermals dug out. Morale is very good on board."

Hull & Humber and New York appear to have come through the weekend's heavy weather sailing most successfully, at the cost of Jamaica and Uniquely Singapore who have dropped down the leader board.

Jamaica skipper Simon Bradley says, "Having lost the lead that we held for about 12 days we are now fighting to get it back. No doubt like the rest of the fleet we are licking our wounds after a couple of tough days, the weather took its toll on both crew and yacht, but we never give up on Jamaica - One Love!"

Two years ago during the Clipper 05-06 Race the area the fleet sailed through during this stage was a mass of Chinese fishing boats. This year the Race Committee has included some waypoints further offshore to try to keep the fleet clear of this hazard.

Even Dame Ellen MacArthur, who was making a record breaking attempt around the Asian coast onboard B&Q, commented that it was the largest number of fishing boats she had ever seen. So far, based on the reports coming back from the fleet, the additional waypoints have helped reduce this hazard.

The Race Office is now established in Qingdao and the team is preparing for the fleet to finish later this week and over the weekend in time for the formal prize giving for Race 6 on Sunday night. The media office, maintenance team and the rest of the shore team will be on location at the Olympic Sailing Harbour by Thursday.

For more photos and onboard eports go to Clipper Race.

Pic of the Day - 3 Men in a Tub

Monday - February 11 2008 - 0930 PST - Our 'Pic of the Day' comes from those crazy sailors racing 18 foot skiffs with rigs that most 40 footers would have...3 guys in great trim sailing on the edge...Thanks to Frank Quealey of the Australian 18 Footers League for the great shot.

Happy Days Are Here Again!

Monday - February 11 2008 - 0855 PST - Groupama 3 is continuing to add to her lead on Orange II's record pace. In less than 24 hours, over 170 miles have been gained...a speed bonus of more than seven knots over Orange II! With a 500 mile lead and a position along 46° South, Franck Cammas has something to smile about again.

This Monday morning the giant trimaran is slipping along nicely to the SE and racking up averages grazing thirty knots! What's more, after a weekend marked by the change of swell, this start to the week is forecast to be good. The seas have finally calmed and most notably have shifted from abeam of the boat to aft, while the breeze has filled in to over thirty knots this morning.

The upshot of this for Groupama 3 is less sail area but more speed as the boat is able to go very fast without being compelled to carry a lot of sail aloft.

630 miles have been devoured in 24 hours and above all there has been a fine southward descent since the trimaran has passed from 42° to 46° South in just half a day... And four degrees latitude in the Southern Ocean radically alters the tone: even shorter nights, an even more intense cold, even bigger seas, even cloudier skies, even more marked wind shifts, even heavier air and an even more oppressive atmosphere.

The world of the Deep South is like nowhere else on earth. In any case, in terms of pure performance, Groupama 3 is beginning the week with a clear desire to get back her 700 mile lead, which looks set to build over the long term: 520 miles today, 700 miles tomorrow? Photo by Y. Zedda

This report brought to you by XS Racing supporters Morrelli and Melvin Design and Engineering, designers of Award Winning boats since 1988. M and M Design also provides engineering services for projects large and small. Check out their website today!

Tom Slingsby (AUS) Looses Lead To Julio Alsogaray (Argentina)

Monday - February 11 2008 - 0815 PST - Day 5 Laser Worlds - Argentina reclaims lead - A beautiful summer day in Terrigal on the first day of the 2008 Laser World's Finals Races sponsored by Ross Fehlberg Austorient; sunny skies and a pleasant 10-15 knot north easterly breeze - ideal sailing conditions - for some.

In the 54 boat Gold fleet, World champion Tom Slingsby (AUS) lost his Championship lead to Julio Alsogaray from Argentina. Alsogaray continues to sail smartly and has moved back into the lead he had until yesterday.

"It was shifty and I went the wrong way every time; I had a really bad day," an understandably unhappy Slingsby said after his worst results so far - a 14th and an 18th to move down into second place, seven points behind Alsogaray who is on 23 points following fourth places in Race 7 and 8.

"It was good racing. I had a good performance with fast speed. There were lots of shifts and I picked them," the Argentinean said, revealing: "Music from Argentina inspires me."

Not one of the hot favourites going in to the Championship, Alsogaray says: "I expected to do well. I am very confident with my speed. I will do everything in my power I can to win the World's - that is why I came to Australia."

The ever-positive American Brad Funk had a better day and moved up from 27th to 19th overall. "I had a really great day; I got the nerves out of my system and just went sailing. It was beautiful conditions. I saw a 6ft shark out there. He told me his name was Willy!"

Too many sailors came ashore early; most were Black Flagged following General Recalls. In fact four from the Silver fleet and a staggering 11 from the Bronze fleet were sent home from the last race of the day.

Irish sailor Anthony Craig, one of many trying to qualify his nation for the Beijing Games, was one of the first to go in the Silver fleet. "I had a disaster in the first race and then I got done. It was great breeze out there though. It was around 10 knots in the earlier race and increased to around 15 knots from north-east," Craig said.

While this Championship is drawing to a close on Wednesday, a few of the keener competitors entered for the Laser Masters World Championship have been arriving over the last few days to get in some early practice before their racing starts on February 17. The Opening Ceremony will be held the previous evening.

For all information, including mark roundings, photos and more on the Laser World Championship go to: Laser Worlds. Photo by C&C Images.

50 Miiles To Go!

Monday - February 11 2008 - 0755 PST - Day 93: Paprec-Virbac is just hours away from the finishing line - Paprec-Virbac 2 is counting down the miles as they close in on the finishing line and an historic victory in the first edition of the Barcelona World Race. The final hours aren't without tension - in a mechanical sport, a win can't be assured until the finishing line is crossed. But at this point, it would take a terrible calamity to deny skippers Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall the glory they have earned.

"This is going to be a real happy moment and it will be a great relief to cross the line," Jean-Pierre admitted. "The finish represents all the work done by the entire team. I am lucky to live this last great moment in my home waters, that's a fantastic feeling and with Damian we are really happy to be on track to win this first edition of the Barcelona World Race..."

The Paprec-Virbac 2 team is one of just two to reach the final stages of the race without having stopped, adding another layer of achievement to their success. Jean-Pierre and Damian have had to work incredibly hard to manage their equipment through 25 000 hard miles of offshore ocean sailing.

"We're certainly looking forward to getting ashore now. We've been pushing aside thoughts of the finish but it's always in the back of your mind. You try and force yourself not to think about it, but now it's so close we can feel the coast getting nearer and we're really looking forward to getting there," Damian said.

This morning, Hugo Boss joined the race leader in the Mediterranean Sea after a horrible night in the Strait of Gibraltar. Storm force winds, a frightful sea state, broken gear and plenty of commercial shipping traffic made the passage a nightmare.

"We have had a very rough 24 hours and last night we had the worst conditions we've seen in the entire race," Andrew Cape reported over a very poor connection this morning. "We had 50 knots winds, and were short tacking up the Gibraltar Strait. We broke a bit of gear during a big puff and had to reach off to repair it.but we got through it."

Conditions are forecast to moderate now for Hugo Boss, giving Alex Thomson and Andrew Cape a chance to recuperate. But today, Capey was quick to pay tribute to the race leader: "Both Alex and I want to congratulate the guys on Paprec-Virbac 2. They've sailed a great and they thoroughly deserve to win."

In the battle for third place, Mutua Madrileña has elected to gamble on an Easterly routing, in hope of closing up the gap with Temenos II.

"Now we are 250 miles behind, but we have 15 knots of wind and 12 knots speed as we head to the African coast," said Pachi Rivero today. "We hope that we will get a chance to come back between the Canary Islands and the Strait of Gibraltar, we are still pushing hard and have our options."

At the tail end of the fleet, Educación sin Fronteras is out of the doldrums and making 10 knots, while heading North. The finish is 2800 miles away:

"We are into the trade winds since this morning," said Albert Bargués today. "We have been in a belt of squalls but right now we are heading north at a good ten knots. We are both okay, not eating very much, all the sweet stuff has gone but we still have plenty of food, we calculated for 105 days. Our ETA for Barcelona is for the 25th or 26th February."

Day 93 - February 11 16:00 GMT - Position report with distance to leader

1. PAPREC-VIRBAC 2 - Jean Pierre DICK / Damian FOXALL - 53 to finish

2. HUGO BOSS - Alex THOMSON / Andrew CAPE - 390

3. TEMENOS 2 - Dominique Wavre / Michele PARET- 1100

4. MUTUA MADRILENA - Javier SANSO / Pachi RIVERO - 1354

5. EDUCACION SIN FRONTERAS - Servane ESCOFFIER / Albert BARGUES - 2761

Stay tuned later today as we bring you the finish of PV 2

Almost Home

Sunday - February 10 2008 - 1830 PST - After 92 days at sea, the end is near for Paprec-Virbac 2 who are less than 250 miles from the finishing line off Barcelona. The leaders are averaging about 10 knots, giving them 25 hours or so until their ETA of 20:00 GMT tomorrow evening. If they realise that ETA and finish tomorrow, they'll have been at sea exactly three months since the race start on November 11th.

Meanwhile, Hugo Boss is still pounding towards Gibraltar, on course to enter the Strait overnight tonight. As they tack into the Easterly headwinds, their VMG is suffering as they make good less than 5 knots towards their goal. Conditions should improve for them in the Mediterranean, with slightly more moderate seas and the winds are forecast to ease somewhat.

Temenos II continues to build its lead over Mutua Madrilena, adding 42 miles over the past 24 hours. Both boats are anticipating a much easier course to Gibraltar than that experienced by the leading pair of boats.

And at the back, Educacion sin Fronteras continues to suffer in the doldrums. But the forecast isn't too bad - they should pick up the tradewinds over the next 24 hours or so...

Stay tuned to XS as we near the finish of the Barcelona World Race.

Laser Worlds Go Hi Tech

Sunday - February 10 2008 - 1755 PST - A digital pen, mobile phone with Bluetooth and normal paper with mathematical dots is new technology that is set to revolutionize results systems at major sailing events including the Laser World Championship at which it is providing a quick mark round and results service that can be viewed at the Laser World's site as racing is happening.

The system was first tested worldwide at the November Laser Masters Championships hosted by Georges River Sailing Club in Sydney and William Crendal, the system's integrator, has brought the technology to the Laser Worlds here at Terrigal on the NSW Central Coast.

The dots on the paper form a unique pattern which the digital pen recognises. Race officials pen the top 20 or so competitors sail numbers mark rounding and pen the finish time of each boat as it crosses the finish line. Sailing enthusiasts will be able to log on to the Laser Worlds official site to view the roundings once racing is underway.

Once the last boat has crossed the line, the official ticks a box with the digital pen which immediately activates and sends the results through the phone and on to Crendal's server, which converts the dots back to the written results that are then transferred to the official website within minutes.

The dots tell where the results are written, says Crendal continuing: "There is room on the dot paper to makes notes such as OCS, DNF etc. and if you make a mistake, there is room to cross out and change."

Demonstrated this morning and easy to use, when the lid is on, the pen immediately switches off, when you remove the lid, the pen automatically turns on!

"Originally the pen was used in Europe for emails and as a sticky notes system. It is already used in hospitals and in services companies such as electrical and air conditioning outlets. When I heard about it, I decided to apply it to business world. You need to be mobile and you need to use paper - for legal requirements, signatures etc," he says.

Once the championship is over, Crendal, who comes from a technical and sailing background, plans to launch a special sailing package for events such as this Championship. The kit will include a hardboard sailing folder, dot paper, Bluetooth capable mobile phone, digital pen, and course map - that simple.

The Destiny Digital Pen system is expected to make life a lot easier for race management and event media managers like me, who sometimes don't leave a job till late in the evening due fleet size and the sometimes cumbersome systems we usually use.

Photos by Andrea Francolini

Paprec-Virbac 2 Almost Loses Mast!

Sunday - February 10 2008 - 1055 PST - Barcelona World Race - With less than 300 miles to go to the finish and after sailing around the world, Paprec-Virbac 2 almost lost her mast.

It was revelation time today aboard Paprec-Virbac 2, as skipper Jean-Pierre Dick said during the video conference that disaster almost struck off the Brazilian coast: "At the latitude of Cabo Frio, we broke our Solent forestay, we almost lost the mast!"

Fortunately, the staysail stay was in place, but the furling drum of the Solent was flying around on the foredeck and that was very dangerous. We managed to bear away, and Damian took risks going on the foredeck.

"We ended up using the genoa furling drum and working on a lashing to secure the forestay, but it has been really worrying. At some point, I began thinking it was over for us."

Close Racing At 18ft Skiff Club Championships

Sunday - February 10 2008 - 1030 PST - 18ft Skiffs Club Championship Race 13 - Rag & Famish Hotel took out Race 13 of the Australian 18 Footers League Club Championship after a thrilling battle with Asko Appliances on Sydney Harbour today.

Skippered by the 2001 Giltinan champion John Harris and crewed by his brother Peter and Scott Babbage, Rag & Famish Hotel defeated Asko Appliances (Hugh Stodart) by just 4secs after the pair had swapped the lead several times throughout the race.

Fiat (Michael Coxon) finished 1min 43secs further back in third place, followed by Omega Smeg (Trevor Barnabas), Macquarie Real Estate (Micah Lane) and Active Air-2UE (Matthew Searle).

Provisional pointscore, with two more races to be sailed in the series, sees Gotta Love It 7 (Seve Jarvin) leading on 48 points, followed by Fiat and Rag & Famish Hotel together on 62, Ssangyong Yandoo (John Winning) 82, Club Marine (Adam Beashel) 87 and Macquarie Real Estate on 91.

Today's race began sensationally in a southerly wind with championship leader Gotta Love It 7 tangling with Thurlow Fisher (Sean Langman) forcing both skiffs out of the contest. Omega Smeg broke the start and was recalled while Club Marine capsized before the start and was still in the water when the race began. The Rag won the work to the windward buoy ahead of Active Air-2UE and Asko.

This trio exchanged places on the long tight run to Obelisk Bay where Asko led from Active Air-2UE and Rag & Famish. Fiat moved into fourth place closely followed by Macquarie Real Estate, Ssangyong Yandoo and the young American team on SX Projects, who are here for the Giltinan Championship. The lead changed again on the work back to Shark Island where Rag & Famish led by 5secs from Asko, Active Air-2UE, Fiat, Macquarie Real Estate and Omega Smeg, which had recovered from the earlier recall at the start.

The Rag and Asko raced side-by-side under spinnaker back to the start mark where Rag & Famish had retained her 5secs lead. Fiat had closed to within 20secs of the lead at this point. Asko won the work back to the Clarke Island mark where she led Rag & Famish by 10sesc as they reached downwind for the second time to Obelisk Bay.

Active Air-2UE had regained her third place ahead of Omega Smeg while Fiat lost touch with the leaders to drop back into fifth position. Supporters were kept in suspense over the remainder of the course as Rag & Famish Hotel and Asko Appliances exchanged the lead three more times. The Rag was just one boat length ahead at the final mark as the pair settled for a tacking duel to the finish.

Asko put in many tacks but the Rag crew were equal to the challenge and crossed the finish line narrow winners of a great race. Today's full result sheet is attached and photos will be published on the clubs website at 18 Footers.

Crew Of 'Hull and Humber' Take The Lead

Sunday - February 10 2008 - 0955 PST - Clipper Race - Jamaica has finally been pushed off the top spot after 15 days in the lead, though she is far from out of contention, reporting just 3 nautical miles to the finish behind the new race leaders Hull & Humber.

In fact there is everything to play for amongst the top five boats, who after 1800 nautical miles of racing have just 16 nautical miles between them in terms of distance to finish. As the leading pack break free from the coast of Taiwan, Jamaica has chosen a more easterly course paralleling with the top four competitors.

This may be an after effect of a quest for smoother waters, found just a few miles away from the Taiwanese coastline and the wind over current there. Durban 2010 and Beyond skipper Ricky Chalmers spoke about choosing this tactic a few days ago:

"I am glad we moved east, out of the Japanese current - forgoing the 1 or 1.5 knots it was giving us, but dramatically flattening the seas. The wind over that current was quite bad."

Jamaica may also be looking to get a better angle on the headwinds to come. The fleet is currently reporting winds of approximately 20 knots from the north north-east which have noticeably abated over the last 6 hours.

Lizzie Nicholas, Race Secretary: "This respite in the wind conditions is giving the whole fleet a chance to rest, to clean up and dry out, and to make any necessary repairs before the next band of stronger wind comes through on Monday afternoon (GMT) which is forecasted to stay with them for approximately 18 hours."

POSITIONS AT 0600 GMT 10 FEBRUARY 2008

Hull & Humber: Distance To Finish (DTF) 693. Jamaica: DTF 696, (Distance To Leader +3). New York: DTF 697 (+4) Durban 2010 & Beyond: DTF 701 (+8). Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper: DTF 709 (+16). westernaustralia2011.com: DTF 744 (+51). Liverpool 08: DTF 746 (+53). Uniquely Singapore: DTF 761 (+68). Nova Scotia: DTF 780 (+87). Qingdao: DTF 881 (+188).

For more photos, videos and reports go to Clipper Race.

Back On Track And 400 Miles Ahead of Record

Sunday - February 10 2008 - 0945 PST - Reduced to 175 miles at 0600 UT yesterday, Groupama 3's lead has now more than doubled this Sunday: the weather conditions have become more favourable and above all the sea state is enabling Franck Cammas and his men to slip along progressively towards the Kerguelen Islands.

The course has gradually been curving inwards since Saturday morning and Groupama 3 is currently sailing at 42° South in a W'ly wind, which is set to fill in as the hours go by. From around fifteen knots, the breeze will increase again to over twenty five knots of NW'ly in the afternoon and to in excess of thirty five knots of SW'ly tonight.

The passage of a front will therefore provide the ten men with their first depression system of the Deep South, with a rapid wind shift resulting in rough seas.

In short, a line of disturbances is shaping up and Groupama 3 will finally be able to get a favorable grip on the situation thanks to its latitude closer to the fifties, as well as a more effective wind angle. It is still the sea state however, which is setting the tone and clearly the strong rotations in the wind aren't the most pleasant conditions to slip along in over the swell.

The combination of a more S'ly course for Groupama 3 and a moderate pace for Orange II, Franck Cammas and his crew have made the most of the conditions to snatch back 175 miles in 24 hours and is now over 400 miles ahead of Orange II's record. Photo by Y. Zedda

This report brought to you by XS Racing supporters Morrelli and Melvin Design and Engineering, designers of Award Winning boats since 1988. M and M Design also provides engineering services for projects large and small. Check out their website today!

High Winds Require Maximum Hiking Skills At Laser Worlds

Sunday - February 10 2008 - 0855 PST - The Laser World Championship got tough when winds reached 25 knots, and up to 28 in the gusts, on big seas and swells off Terrigal in Australia, but Race Officials breathed a sigh of relief as they managed to put three races to bed, starting the first group shortly after 9.30am. They did an excellent job.

World champion Tom Slingsby grabbed a marginal lead at the Laser World Championship, revelling on his home waters off Terrigal on the Boral sponsored Day 4 of racing, on the eve of groups being split into Gold, Silver and Bronze for the Finals starting tomorrow.

The 23 year-old Aussie scored a bullet, a fourth and second places today to lead the series on 11 points from yesterday's leader Julio Alsogaray (ARG) just four points behind.

Slingsby is staying consistent, using a fifth place as his race drop, while the Argentinean continues to sail brilliantly, but uncharacteristic eighth and seventh places let him down a bit today. David Weaver (NZL) had another good day with 4-1-4 results to sit nicely in third place overall, six points behind the leader.

"I'm tired," Slingsby said clambering up the ramp this afternoon; "tired but happy. Andrew (Murdoch) was a bit too quick today. He sailed smart and everywhere he went turned to gold. But I'm happy with how I'm going; I'm sailing consistent. I just have to make sure I don't have any bad races now. Good starts will be crucial," Slingsby said.

In the Blue group, Brad Funk (USA), who had been having a fabulous regatta, dropped down the board. Funk, who finished runner-up in the USA selections for the Beijing Games, scored a third in Race 4 to be second placed behind Slingsby, but then all came undone. "I got Black Flagged in Race 5 and then I went round a wrong mark in Race 6.

"I could have won all three races if I'd got it right. I'm hoping we get two throw-outs (race drops). I'm just happy to be in Australia. It's great," said Funk, one of the most popular sailors in park said after spiralling down the board into 24th overall.

The 'player of the day' award goes to Gustavo Lima from Portugal. On the last reach in Race 6, sailing in the Blue group, Lima was on the receiving end of a rocking penalty. "That's it," we all thought, but no, Lima took his 720 degree penalty turn in style, and came back to win the race in the final stages. Brilliant sailing!

Some sailors, however, did not enjoy conditions; exhaustion bringing them back to the Terrigal Trojan Rugby Club base. Andrey Quintero, trying to qualify Columbia for the Games was amongst the casualties. "The winds, the waves and the swell got so big; I just am not used to that. I am back because I am very tired," the normally smiling Quintero said.

Adil Mohammed from the United Arab Emirates told a similar story. "Too much wind, so difficult, big waves, too much gusts," said Mohammed who went on to say: "I am a bit light - around 68 kilos - for these big winds. I kept capsizing."

For all information, photos and more go to: Laser Worlds.Photos by Andrea Francolini