Ragtime Signs Up for LA to Tahiti

Monday - December 17 2007 - 0830 PST - Ragtime is restless, and maybe a little homesick. With a record 14th Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii fresh under its wooden hull, the 65-foot ocean racing icon will return to the South Pacific waters of its birth in the 13th Tahiti Race starting next June from San Pedro.

Owner/skipper Chris Welsh of Newport Beach, Calif. said the resurrection of the race after a 14-year hiatus was too tempting to pass up.

"For a West Coast sailor, Tahiti is Everest," Welsh said after filing his entry. "I felt it was compelling, like - here's the race, you've got the right tool to do it, and who knows how many times in your life you'll have that all at once?"

Other early entries are Doug Baker's Andrews 80, Magnitude 80, from Long Beach, and Allen Hughes' Open 60, Dogbark, Seattle. Another high-end Long Beach boat, Bob Lane's Andrews 63, Medicine Man, is verbally committed.

The Notice of Race and online entry form are posted at www.transpacificyc.org.

The 3,571-nautical mile race will start Sunday, June 22, at 1 p.m. off Point Fermin in San Pedro, cross the equator and finish at the historic Pointe Venus lighthouse on the north end of the island of Tahiti, six miles east of Papeete. Photo Pat Reynolds.

Keel Problems for Temenos II

Monday - December 17 2007 - 0818 PST - From the Temenos II team in the Barcelona World Race:

Around ten days ago, Michele and Dominique noticed the appearance of a spot of rust on the keel during a routine check-over of their monohull. Apparent just above the keel axis, a zone where the mechanical constraints are maximized, the severity of this discovery was immediately taken into account by the duo. Given the aggravation of this corrosion phenomenon observed over recent days, the two co-skippers have resolved to make a stopover, no repairs able to be envisaged without getting the boat out of the water.

Contacted this morning Dominique explained: "We waited to see how this spot of rust evolved before making the decision but it's getting worse and worse each day and hasn't left us any other choice. The area that is being undermined is situated below the waterline and therefore rules out any repairs at sea. The engineer who designed the keel of the boat has prompted us to be very careful, the increasing size of the hole weakening the structure of the keel and therefore slowly reducing its resistance to breakage. We have been sailing prudently for the past few days already, in order to reduce overly violent stresses on the keel and avoid putting too much pressure on it, but we are unfortunately compelled to envisage a stopover in New Zealand in order to be able to make repairs. We can't predict how this will develop; we still have two weeks at sea during which time we will keep a very close eye on its evolution. The aggravation of this corrosion phenomenon could lead to the breakage of the upper part of the keel and a loss of control of the boat's stability."

Right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, far from any land that can play host to them, it's hard to envisage a stopover and a short term repair would seem even more difficult. Keen to remain racing, a stopover in Wellington, the next course mark, lies along duo's course. They still have a long way to go before reaching the Cook Straits so between now and then the two co-skippers will have to sail with this sword of Damocles over their heads, adapting the way they drive the boat. By climbing North, the duo hopes to be spared of the worst of the stronger gales forecast in 2 to 3 days time.

"We mustn't hang around here for too long as we're expecting a front in 2 days time, the wind's likely to be a little less violent in the North, it will then be followed by a big depression coming in from the South. By keeping a Northerly course, we should avoid the strongest winds, but won't be completely protected, the front sweeping across the Indian Ocean virtually from North to South, so there's not really any way we can escape it. We will have to make the boat unballasted and avoid it developing its full power. In real terms we are going to reduce the sail, take reefs quicker than normal, but it's also important to keep up speed in order to be able to pass through the waves."

The disappointment was evident in the skipper's voice. The repair, though it can be envisaged nevertheless, will require important technical and human means and should penalize the monohull beyond the 48 hour time limit set by the notice of race. For the time being however, Michèle and Dominique's sole priority is on preservation and getting Temenos II safely into port.

Maximus Out of Rolex Sydney Hobart

Monday - December 17 2007 - 0800 PST - Keel failure has forced the New Zealand maxi Maximus out of the Rolex Sydney Hobart. Owner Bill Buckley's worst fears were realized this afternoon as his 30 ton boat was lifted out of the water at Woolwich Dock.

Peering in under the huge hull at the 20cm crack just back from leading edge at the top of the fin, Buckley, an engineer, and his boat captain Ross Field made the call that the boat is not fit to contest the Rolex Sydney Hobart.

"We've had a catastrophic failure and we won't be doing the Hobart," an obviously shaken Buckley told awaiting media. "We'll go back to the drawing board and work out where the failure is.

"We'll try again next year. We thought we were prepared this year, obviously this has let us down".

It's a huge blow to Buckley and his crew. Last year they were forced out of the race after being dismasted in the early hours of the first morning at sea. They have spent the past year preparing for a re-match, replacing their troublesome wing mast with a new fixed mast, amongst other modifications.

Just before the maxi was hauled from the water the weary Kiwi owner was still optimistic he'd be on the start line on Boxing Day. Now he has to wait another 12 months.

"We came here to run the race and win it," Buckley had said prior to seeing close up the extent of the damage.

The 11 man crew heard a loud bang yesterday morning and Field dived the boat to discover the crack, which is when they put out a PAN PAN distress signal.

As the boat motored to Sydney, escorted over the final 78 nautical miles by the Sydney Water Police vessel Launch Alert, there was a real danger of the keel falling off and the boat turning upside down.

"It was very close, we could have lost the boat quite easily," said the gutted skipper. A keel will have to be built in Australia in order to get the boat back to Auckland.

"It's an absolute tragedy," said Wild Oats XI's skipper Mark Richards this afternoon. "The more competitors the merrier for us. Knowing the time and effort that goes into preparing for this race, we are feeling very sad for the crew, many of who are mates of ours." With the dark horse Maximus out of the running, all attention is now focused on the anticipated line honours battle between Wild Oats XI and City Index Leopard.

Once Maximus officially withdraws its entry, the Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet will stand at 82 following another withdrawal today, Bill Ratcliff's Wistarie. Bill will instead join the crew of Andrew Dally's Bear Necessity for his 40th Rolex Sydney Hobart. Story Lisa Ratcliff. Photo Daniel Forster / Rolex.

Open Bic Win

Monday - December 17 2007 - 0736 PST - We got this one from the Open Bic camp. It's a cool little boat for the gremlins:

We are pleased to confirm that at the Paris Boat Show, the O'pen BIC has been awarded the 2007 "Blue Boat" Prize for its ecological design and production.

The Blue Boat prize is awarded on an annual basis by the "Fédération des Industries Nautiques" (Federation of Nautical Industry), for either boats or equipment that show a strong commitment to the environment and sustainable development. With this prize, the FIN is looking to help reduce the impact that the nautical industry has on the environment, and to keep our seas "blue".

The O'pen BIC won the prize as a result of :

1.The very low amount of energy that is used to produce the boat.

2.The absence of waste material or harmful emissions.

3.The fact that the boat can potentially be recycled at the end of its lifetime.

This prize validates the unique production process of the O'pen BIC, and confirms the advantage of the BIC Sport production process over more traditional production methods (eg. rotomoulding), which at least use substantially more energy. For more on the Open Bic click here.

The Reconnaissance Has Begun

Monday - December 17 2007 - 0720 PST - Charles Caudrelier, skipper of Bostik, the first Veolia Oceans® one-design built with the SolOceans 2009 in mind, Liz Wardley, Erwan Tabarly and Erwan Lebec crossed today the start line of the round-the-world Reconnaissance Tour of the SolOceans at 2.00pm, at the exit of the port of Caen-Ouistreham. After having rounded the regatta buoy, Bostik aimed at the tip of the Cotentin Peninsula on its way towards Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, where her arrival is planned in about fifty days, around the 7th February 2008.

The start, looking just as a regatta, was a fifteen-knot reach in a slightly faster breeze, then a perfectly set spinnaker set the tone with four single-handed sailor on board the same boat. Charles Caudrelier joked before leaving Caen this morning:

"I am really happy to be sailing with Erwan Tabarly. Usually, I keep looking for him behind me or in front of me, as we often race in the same competitions. For a change, he won't be too far, neither in the front nor at the back by the way", he added laughing, realizing the reflexiveness of his declaration.

The SolOceans is the first single-handed oceanic round-the-world race sailed on equal footing on totally identical sixteen-metre (52.5feet) high-tech one-design monohulls: the Veolia Oceans®. This class has been named Veolia Oceans® after the main sponsor of the SolOceans race, Veolia Environmental Services. The first SolOceans race will start on 25th of October 2009, from the town of Caen-la-mer and will stopover in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. It will then return to Lower Normandy, to Cherbourg-Octeville where the final ranking of this round-the-world, via the three Capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin, Horn) will be made. Each leg will take between 50 to 55 days of sailing for a total voyage of 26 000 miles (48 000 kilometres) around the planet.

What Do You Want For Christmas?

Sunday - December 16 2007 - 1245 PST - How about a real Nav station like this one. Now just because this 'Nav Shack' is on one of the most expensive boats racing today, does not mean you can't dream...no wonder Leopard 3 knows which way to go! Leopard 3 'City Index' could be the first boat to ever win both the Rolex Fastnet and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. Could this be why? This Nav station has as much instrumentation than the space shuttle. What do you want for Christmas? Let us know and email us at info@xsracing.org. Photo by Andrea Francolini

Another Record For Joyan And IDEC

Sunday - December 16 2007 - 1115 PST - "I hold the absolute record between Good Hope and Leeuwin? I'm gob smacked ... that's classy, no?" The quiet Francis Joyon couldn't conceal his pleasure. Francis Joyon has sailed between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin faster than Orange II. He has sailed it in three days less than Ellen MacArthur did during her record run. The 3 days gives Joyan and IDEC a total of 7 days ahead of Ellen's record.

Approaching the midway point of the course, the skipper of IDEC is in good shape. Especially since the next few days should be in the same direction affording good speed: "I intend to remain on the 53rd South course. It is a relatively short route to reach the Horn and will stay at 60 miles north of the iceberg limit. This seems like a good compromise" say Joyan.

One thing is for sure, the boat is doing well. The few days of lighter winds have allowed Francis Joyon to do some work and tinkering on the boat. He has also caught up on his sleep. Despite the cold which is becoming increasingly apparent, IDEC continues to carve her way at good speed due to Joyans choice of sails which is critical. "In fact, I work with three gennakers for bearing and speed. It's a bit demanding because it requires several sail changes, but in the end it's paying off" says Joyan.

IDEC is expected to cross the Tasman Sea and in only four to six days will start to sail in bigger seas and waves. Currently IDEC is in the company of four storms that are following the large red trimaran on her way to the Horn. Photo by Jean-Marie Liot / DPPI / Idec

Jamaica Joins The Party

Sunday - December 16 2007 - 1055 PST - Jamaica crossed the finish line in Race 4 of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race in 8th place on Sunday after making torturously slow progress to the line.

"We're very happy to be here in Fremantle and we're all looking forward to a cold beer," said Skipper Simon Bradley, as he made his way to the customs dock.

The Jamaica crew has been hindered by the lack of a mainsail this afternoon after damaging the top of it. Sailing with a trisail, Yankee 1 and staysail, the team ghosted over the line three weeks after they left Durban on the Southern Ocean Leg of Clipper 07-08.

A gathering of die-hard Jamaica supporters were waiting outside Fremantle's Maritime Museum to cheer their team across the finish line with flags, balloons and Rasta' hats.

Jamaica is expected at Fremantle Sailing Club at 1115 local (1415 GMT) where they will be welcomed with the ubiquitous Aussie barbeque and much-awaited cold beers.

Simon and his crew are now looking forward to spending Christmas and New Year in the Western Australian sunshine. The Western Australian Tourism Minister Sheila McHale welcomed the skippers and crews to Western Australia for the two-week festive season stopover. "I know all Western Australians will join me in extending a warm welcome to the 200 international crew members, their families and friends," Ms McHale said. "I can only be in awe at the skills and tenacity required to take part in such an amazing ten month adventure."

Liverpool 08, currently lying in 9th place, is expected to arrive between 0500 - 0700 local (2000-2200 GMT). New York is expected to arrive on Wednesday. For more photos and position reports click here.

Rosebud Defeats Yendys For Win

Sunday - December 16 2007 - 1030 PST - Roger Sturgeon and his American TP65 Rosebud hammered the final nail in Yendys' coffin this afternoon with a second in the last race of the Rolex Trophy giving them a two point cushion when the final pointscore was tallied.

Heading into the deciding race of the Rolex Trophy late this afternoon, Rosebud and Geoff Ross' Reichel/Pugh 55 Yendys were tied on equal points and on a countback, Ross would have claimed victory.

The Sydney crew was dealt a somewhat cruel hand when the race committee called for a second race start just 10 minutes before the 4pm time limit. Last year Ross lost the Rolex Trophy by 0.1 of a point in what was the boat's first outing. Today he again conceded defeat to a worthy winner after finishing a costly fifth in race eight.

"We prayed...it is Sunday...it might have helped," said a delighted Sturgeon this evening. He says he and his crew leant a lot from this regatta and that their team spirit for the upcoming Rolex Sydney Hobart is high.

"This regatta taught us how to build on our weaknesses," agreed mainsail trimmer and 'number cruncher' Malcolm Park.

Rosebud has the perfect scorecard in Australia waters with an IRC win in the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge and now the Rolex Trophy. Sturgeon and his crew are calling Sydney "the friendliest place in the world. "It's far better than we thought it would be," Sturgeon said tonight.

For more on the race click here. Picture by Andrea Francolini.

Veolia Environnement Back In The Race!

Sunday - December 16 2007 - 1015 PST - In the wee hours this morning, Veolia Environnement departed from the Kerguelen Islands to rejoin the Barcelona World Race. It was 00:50 GMT when skipper Roland Jourdain slipped his mooring in Port aux Français, to sail out again into the Southern Ocean.

It was a slow beginning as for several hours the boat was sheltered in the lee of the island. But by mid-morning, Veolia Environnement was back up to pace and trying to cut into the advantage held by the leaders. By the 14:00 GMT position report, Veolia Environnement was the fastest boat in the fleet.

The stop was necessary to repair their engine, a critical component in keeping batteries charged and electronics functioning. Helped by a team of mechanics and technicians, Roland Jourdain and Jean-Luc Nélias worked hard to find the source of the problem: "Even after working from Friday night, through to Saturday, it still took us seven or eight hours to get the engine started and to recharge its batteries," co-skipper Nélias explained. "We then decided to sleep for three hours before setting out again early.we were absolutely exhausted as we'd only been able to sleep for eight hours in total over the past three days."

They have a monumental task ahead of them as race leader Paprec-Virbac 2 has consolidated its position after a difficult beginning to the weekend. Skipper Jean-Pierre Dick has recovered 30 miles from yesterday to lead Hugo Boss by 150 miles. Veolia is nearly 700 miles further behind.

"Yesterday we were mad, but today we feel a bit better," acknowledged Jean-Pierre Dick. "We're using the pilot a little now to try and preserve our energy - there's a long way to go. We just eat, sleep and spend time on deck, only this."

"We found a good lane, but I expect they'll take some miles back now," acknowledged Alex Thomson from Hugo Boss this afternoon. And indeed, on the 16:00 position report, Hugo Boss was nearly a full five knots slower than the race leader.

Further back in the fleet, Educación sin Fronteras and Mutua Madrileña are preparing for a powerful low pressure system that is due to hit them in the next two or three days. For today however, they're enjoying good conditions and making some of their best speeds of the race.

Day 36 - Position report with distance to leader:

1. PAPREC-VIRBAC 2 - Jean Pierre DICK / Damian FOXALL - 0

2. HUGO BOSS - Alex THOMSON / Andrew CAPE - 150

3. VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT - Roland JOURDAIN / Jean Luc NELIAS - 846

4. TEMENOS 2 - Dominique Wavre / Michele PARET- 1160

5. MUTUA MADRILENA - Javier SANSO / Pachi RIVERO - 1994

6. EDUCACION SIN FRONTERAS - Servane ESCOFFIER / Albert BARGUES - 2688

For more photos and positon reports click here. Photo by onEdition

Laser Wins 'Boat Of The Year' Award

Sunday - December 16 2007 - 0955 PST - Sailing World Magazine Awards the Laser SB3 'Boat of the Year" award:

Since its introduction in Europe in 2004, the SB3 has experienced tremendous growth, with more than 400 boats built. Two reasons for its popularity are that the boat has been designed to be sailed legs-in and all the controls are at the crew's fingertips.

Another key feature is that it can be rigged and launched in 45 minutes. The mast is light enough to make raising it a two-man job, allowing the third, and possibly fourth crewmember to rig the rest of the boat. The T-bulb keel, which is raised and lowered by an included, removable gantry, makes launching and hauling painless. As the boat only weighs 1,309 pounds, a mid-sized car can tow it.

For more on the Sailing Worlds Laser SB3 review go to Sailing World. For more on the Laser SB3 go to the Laser site at Laser SB3. Photo courtesy of Sailing World Magazine.

Team Aqua Wins RC44 Championships

Sunday - December 16 2007 - 0945 PST - Russell Coutts Team Omega conquers the Dubai Gold Cup, whilst Chris Bake and Team Aqua are crowned RC 44 champions 2007.

The Dubai Gold Cup ended up in style today, with two superb fleet races and an interesting coastal race through the surprising Dubai Palm. Held in fairly light wind, today's first fleet race saw Patrick de Barros' first victory on board Team ES Bankers Dubai, ahead of Team Omega and Team Aqua. De Barros started the race at the pin end of the line, at full speed, and dominated the entire regatta: the left side of the course was clearly the place to be.

Already a clear dominator in the fleet event since day one of the Gold Cup, Team Omega, with Vittorio Codecasa at the helm, got a fourth bullet in the eighth and last fleet regatta, giving his team a comfortable lead over its competitors before the concluding coastal race.

Behind Omega, the situation was particularly interesting with four teams fighting for the second place: Team Aqua, Ceeref, Hiroshi and ES Bankers, just separated by a handful of points.

The coastal race took the eight RC 44's in the inner waters of the Dubai Palm - a surprising real estate development shaped as a palm. There has probably never in history been a sailing regatta surrounded by so many cranes! One team wanted to win this coastal race more than anybody else: Chris Bake's Team Aqua. Based in Dubai, Bake had his family and many friends on the water to look at his passion. No doubt they got the show they were expecting!

Indeed, Igor Lah's Team Ceeref took a better start and dominated the first part of the race. As he reached the second windward mark, Bake opted for a jibe set and managed to gain a few meters over Ceeref; just enough to gain the interior at the next leeward mark. Despite Igor Lah and James Spithill's numerous attacks, the Aqua boys remained in the lead throughout, jumping in the second place of the fleet ranking thanks to this victory; a result that also allows them to grab the second place overall ahead of Team Ceeref.

As for Russell Coutts and his Team Omega, he wins the Dubai Gold Cup after having won the fleet race and finished second of the match race. The Dubai Gold Cup was the last regatta of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2007. After dominating the entire reason, with five event victories, Chris Bake, Cameron Appleton and all the boys from Team Aqua are crowned 2007 RC 44 Champions. Sailing superbly since the beginning of the season, Bake and Appleton (respectively owner and pro skipper) have managed to put together a strong crew and keep the same team throughout the year, which is with no doubt one of the recipes to their success.

Team Aqua's crewmembers are: Jeff Brock, Matt Cassidy, Andrew Estcourt, Ben Graham, Kevin Kelble and Scott Kennedy. For full results and more photos go to www.RC44.com.

De Longe Wins By Only 4 Seconds

Sunday - December 16 2007 - 0915 PST - De Longhi, skippered by Simon Nearn, has won the Syd Barnett Jr. Memorial Trophy by just 4secs from Keith Piggin Estate Agents (Peter Morrison), with Simon Nelson's Appliancesonline.com.au only one more sec back in third place on a day which produced more lows than the high of a great finish on Sydney Harbour today.

For a while spectators were wondering whether we would get a start at all. There were three general recalls when half the fleet seemed incapable of judging their start properly, then a further delay was necessary when the starter had to reset the course to accommodate a change in the direction of the wind. One more general recall then the race finally got under way - one hour after the scheduled start time.

More drama was to follow as four of the top competitors (Fiat, Asko Appliances, Rag & Famish Hotel and Gotta Love It 7) were disqualified for breaching the black flag recall rule.

The race finally began in a light breeze with a strong southerly wind predicted for later in the afternoon. Active Air-2UE (Matthew Searle) led to the windward mark with Keith Piggin Estate Agents and Fisher & Paykel (Andrew Cuddihy) close behind. Piggin and Active Air-2UE shared the lead at the bottom mark but Appliancesonline took advantage of the red buoy rounding to lead at the second windward mark.

Along with Fisher & Paykel, these skiffs led the procession over the next lap of the course but De Longhi began to make her move on the third beat to windward. Applianceonline's lead over De Longhi with one lap to sail was just 15secs. At the final windward mark Appliancesonline just led De Longhi but superior spinnaker work by the De Longhi crew grabbed what proved to be a race-winning lead. Keith Piggin Estate Agents made a final lunge only metres from the finish but Nearn and his team were equal to the task and got home as narrow winners.

Racing will recommence on Sunday 6 January 2008 with Race 1 of the Australian Championship. Until then the committee, officials and staff of the Australian 18 Footers League wish our sponsors and supporters a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Full results and photographs will be published later today on their website at www.18footers.com.au. Photo courtesy of www.18footers.com.au

Three Boats...Who Will Win Sydney Hobart?

Sunday - December 16 2007 - 0850 PST - Who will be first to finish the Sydney Hobart 2007 - 3 boats have a chance. Who are you betting on?

Leopard, designed by Farr and built by McConaghy Boats in Sydney, showed her ability to handle rough conditions in smashing the Rolex Fastnet Race record in August by eight hours and 50 minutes. At 36.5 tonnes displacement, she is more than 10 tonnes heavier than Wild Oats XI. Her hull is wide and powerful, has a distinct chine running aft for about two-thirds of her length to improve water flow off the hull and is especially suited for high-speed downwind sailing offshore.

Maximus, designed by Greg Elliott, has had a thorough refit since her broke her rotating wing mast in the 2006 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. She now has a fixed mast that is five metres taller and a deeper forward canard. Structural changes inside the boat have given her a greater power-to-weight ratio as well as making her stronger. Her project manager Ross Field says the boat is carrying a lot more sail area and has a lot more stability. However, given the recent report since her delivery keel failure, will she be ready to race?

Wild Oats XI's sailing master Mark Richards says: "Leopard will be hard to beat -- she is much bigger, carries more sail area. Maximus has a deeper keel and a taller mast; she is going to be an absolute weapon." He says the four maxis are very different boats: "It will come down to who gets their favoured conditions."

For more on the Sydney Hobart Race click here. Photo by Andrea Francolini

Maximus Cracks Keel And Sends Out Pan Pan

Sunday - December 16 2007 - 0830 PST - Bill Buckley's 30m New Zealand maxi Maximus, one of the Rolex Sydney Hobart line honours prospects, this morning radioed a PAN PAN emergency radio call after discovering a 20cm crack in their canting keel.

Maximus left Auckland on Wednesday and was in the final stages of the delivery trip to Sydney when the crew heard a loud bang. Early this morning they sent a diver overboard to investigate, which is when they discovered the cracked keel.

No one is injured and the boat is not taking water. It is believed the crew, which includes owner Buckley and helmsman Ross Field, advised AusSAR, the national search and rescue organisation based in Canberra, of their situation and they in turn advised Sydney Water Police which is sending a vessel to accompany them into Sydney and render assistance if required.

At 11.30am AEST, Maximus reported they were 115 nautical miles east of Sydney and were motoring at 8 knots in a 20 knot nor’easterly which means, based on current speed, they are due into Sydney early tomorrow morning. A southerly change is due tonight.

Maximus, touted as the dark horse in the looming line honours contest, was dismasted early in the first morning of last year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart and was returning to Sydney to settle unfinished business.

At this stage is it is not known whether the crack is repairable. It is presumed Maximus will go straight to Woolwich Dock to have the damage assessed. Story and photo courtesy of www.cyca.com.au

Groupama 3 Foils Delay Record Attempt

Saturday - December 15 2007 - 1240 PST - On Wednesday 12th December, Groupama 3 left its home port of Lorient, NW France for a 24 hour training session. The crew was complete for the first time, the boat laden... and this last 'full scale' rehearsal was set to enable Franck Cammas and his nine men to validate their steed for the umpteenth time prior to departing on the Jules Verne Trophy.

Returning alongside the next day, the crew proceeded with the inspection of the foils* - curved, adjustable appendages situated in the centre of the float and enabling, at high speed, to take the pressure off the leeward hull and thus increase the performance of the maxi trimaran. Unfortunately some of outer lamininate had become detached, which affects Groupama 3's standby, the latter in operation since 6th December.

The skipper of the Groupama trimarans, looks at the foil issues that Groupama 3 is currently experiencing: "On Thursday morning, on returning from our training session, we observed some detachment of the outer laminate of the starboard foil. After a close inspection of the port foil, we were forced to admit that this problem with the materials was also valid for the second foil. In this event, the way it was put together is not in question, as what we are faced with a fault in the adhesion of the materials used" specified Franck before adding: "Since our return from sailing on Thursday, the teams have been working flat out to refabricate the outer skin of both foils, but this work will require a week in the workshop."

This technical hitch changes the plans of Groupama 3's weather cell, composed of Franck Cammas, Franck Proffit, Yves Parlier and Sylvain Mondon. Indeed, for several days the four men have been working on a gap in the weather, which would have enabled the 31.50 m giant to set off on the assault of the Jules Verne Trophy on Tuesday.

"These technical problems are preventing us from taking a good weather window, which is shaping up off Brittany next Tuesday. We have two solutions: carry out makeshift repairs and take this window or, refabricate the foils as they should be for a Round the World in less than 50 days and forget this particular gap in the weather.

We've gone for the second scenario as the foils are really crucial parts of Groupama 3 and we have to be at 100% to stand any chance of beating Orange 2's record" concluded Franck Cammas. Photo by Yvan Zedda

Showdown Between USA And Australia In Rolex Trophy

Saturday - December 15 2007 - 1145 PST - Just one point separates Roger Sturgeon's US Farr STP65 Rosebud and Geoff Ross' Yendys heading into tomorrow's final day of racing in the Rolex Trophy.

Rosebud's back to back wins today have put them a whisker in front of Yendys but as Ross reminded everyone this afternoon..." it's not over til the fat lady sings".

Rosebud's principal helmsman Jack Halterman from Santa Cruz Yacht Club is thoroughly enjoying the tussle with local boat Yendys.

"It makes great sailing, it wouldn't be fun if we weren't being pushed. Essentially we are still tied after three days of racing," said Halterman.

"I'm a competition addict, I love getting out and facing up with the boys," Halterman added after the crew had debriefed by sitting on the marina using a rubber thong to represent the boat and a beer bottle to represent a course mark.

Halterman is also excited about his debut Rolex Sydney Hobart in 11 days time. "When you get to my age, you have to do the Rolex Sydney Hobart while you can," laughed the 56 year old.

Rosebud is leading the IRC division 0/1 pointscore on 7 points, Yendys is on 8 points with a large gap back to Steve David's Wild Joe in third on 17 points.

For more results of other classes on this great event click here. Photo by Pat Reynolds

Yeeee-Ha!

Saturday - December 15 2007 - 1115 PST - Yeeee Ha! Francis Joyon has resumed his speedy route due east after a small gap in the south to better position himself and IDEC in front of a small depression. The depression should push him through the rest of the Indian Ocean before attacking the South Pacific and her long slide towards Cape Horn.

In an e-mail to his staff Joyan reported that everything was fine onboard. Currently, the skipper of IDEC is competing for the record that Orange II holds from the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Leeuwin. One man alone sailing against the record of a crew of fourteen experienced sailors on a larger multihull.

Joyan and IDEC are over 2000 miles ahead of the current solo record. Only a break down could stop him in his quest to be the fastest solo sailor to circle the planet. Stay tuned for XS Racing for daily reports. Photo by JM Liot/DPPI/Idec

Seven Solo Sailors Still At Sea

Saturday - December 15 2007 - 1055 PST - Transat Ecover BtoB Report: After the arrival last night of Marc Guillemot and Bernard Stamm, the seven solo sailors still racing are sufficiently far away that there aren't likely to be any more arrivals this weekend. Samantha Davies and Yannick Bestaven are the next competitors expected in Port la Forêt, but more likely early Monday morning.

It was a very cold final night for Marc Guillemot (Safran) who laboured to complete this 4,120 mile course between Salvador de Bahia and Port la Forêt, the wind having shifted round to the East during Friday, forcing him onto a beat from nearby Penmarc'h. The local sailor finally made the finish on Friday at 22 h 25' 44''UTC after 15 days 08 hours 25 minutes 44 seconds at sea. The skipper of Safran was visibly fatigued due to a very shifty wind, which opted to drop off gradually as he made towards the Beg Meil signal station. Handicapped by the failure of his hydraulic actuator rod serving to cant the keel, the solo sailor had to attempt to make headway in a much less powerful boat and less at ease in what are still big seas, which are reigning off Brittany.

For Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat), the beat was even more onerous since the Swiss sailor had to begin his tacking frenzy off Raz de Sein considerably further down the French coast. In addition, the onshore breeze in the middle of the night with little moonlight, was even more shifty and it wasn't until 06h 24' UTC that the skipper made it into the sparkly new basin dedicated to deep draft boats. Bernard Stamm thus completed a great race in a time of 15 days 16 hours 24 minutes 34 seconds, on his 2003 Farr yacht design boat, formerly Jean-Pierre Dick’s Virbac-Paprec. With a few ballast and computer problems, Cheminées Poujoulat nevertheless demonstrated that the skipper-boat duo were well in phase on this South-North transatlantic course, which was raced predominantly in close-hauled conditions or with eased sheets, two points of sail where the potential of the new prototypes is considerable. Indeed, this is the first of the older generation boats to make it home, albeit in less favourable weather conditions at the tail end of the race in particular and consequently 1 day 07 hours 09 minutes 09 seconds after winner Loïck Peyron.

For the seven other competitors still racing, the weather situation has finally stabilized and the fear of a nasty depression arriving from Newfoundland and settling off Spain looks less ominous now.

And for Canadian Derek Hatfield (Spirit of Canada), the pace has finally changed with the return of the breeze from the South. "I’m finally going a bit faster today: 15 knots of wind, sun and I'm hand steering. The nights are superb with very clear skies full of shooting stars! As regards the chill at the finish: well I guess I'm kind of used to that in Canada so I'm really looking forward to arriving in Brittany...

" The whole fleet has stepped up the pace a bit then, with more pleasant speeds and Dee Caffari (Aviva) and Rich Wilson (Great American III) have really been focussing on pushing their boats as hard as they can and are now likely to escape the Azores depression. The American skipper has just this minute informed us that he was "glass becalmed yet again" however, but hopefully this is only temporary!! Life onboard is going to very cold however, with a lively E'ly wind accompanying them to Brittany and Christmas!

For more position reports and images click here. Photo courtesy of www.transatbtob.com

Even New Hiking Style Can't Beat Team Aqua

Saturday - December 15 2007 - 1030 PST - Even the unique hiking style of Team Organika could not shake up the consistant sailing of Team Aqua.

With two fleet race bullets and an epic match against Russell Coutts' Team Omega, Chris Bake and Team Aquaand his boys are clearly back at the top after a difficult start in the Dubai Gold Cup.

The third day of the Dubai Gold Cup proved to be another intense day, with the last three fleets of the match race event followed by three fleet regattas.

All started well for Chris Bake's Team Aqua and pro helmsman Cameron Appleton, with an easy victory over Cro-A-Sail. The second match proved to be harder, although it was "definitely the team's best match this season", as explains Team Aqua bowman Matt Cassidy.

The match started with a fierce circling between the two teams, who ended up crossing the starting line together. They then slowly worked their way towards the windward mark, tack after tack. But that's when things really got interesting, with an endless dial up that took both teams way above the mark. "We got a penalty and fought back all the way down to try to get it back to Omega. We didn’t succeed, but it was just great", comments Cassidy. Aqua finally got a second penalty soon before the arrival line and lost the race. But what a match this was!

Having won against all the teams, James Spithill and Team Ceeref are the winners of the match racing event, ahead of Russell Coutts' Team Omega and Team Aqua.

Tomorrow, the RC 44's will sail a coastal race through the famous Palm, and a few fleet races to conclude the Dubai Gold Cup. For more pics and results click www.RC44.com. Photo by Jacques Vapillon