IDEC Back Up To Speed

Wednesday - January 9 2008 - 0930 PST - Francis Joyon is only 600 miles away from the symbolic line of separation of the two hemispheres...the Equator. The large red trimaran has regained her speed with the speedometer returning to the magical number of 20 knots and more that allows Francis to cover 500 miles daily.

With 3600 miles to go and sailing at 23 knots Francis is enjoying a 2600 mile lead ahead of Ellens record. Only two obstacles can stop IDEC, the light winds of the Equator or a breakdown. XS Racing will continue to follow Francis Joyan and IDEC on this fantastic voyage.

This report brought to you by www.R33.com, builders of the new 2008 Reynolds 33 catamaran.

Sailors Ready For RS:X Worlds

Wednesday - January 9 2008 - 0855 PST - 200 windsurfers from around the world are in Takapuna for the RS:X 2008 World Championships to start tomorrow on January 10th 2008, a crucial event in the build-up to the Olympic Games.

Olympic country qualification, national selection and life-long Olympic dreams are on the line for many competitors in what promises to be an on-water spectacle not seen before in New Zealand.

Top Kiwi and International sailors competing at the RS:X Windsurfing World Championships 2008 set to start this weekend are current Men's World Champion Ricardo Santos of Brazil, and New Zealand's Barbara Kendall and Tom Ashley will be there and available for interviews.

For more info on the race go to R:SX Worlds.

PV-2 Streaking Towards The Horn

Wednesday - January 9 2008 - 0835 PST - With Paprec-Virbac 2 sailing towards Cape Horn, today should mark their final one in the Southern Ocean. Damian Foxall is projecting an early afternoon rounding of the Horn as the race leader looks to leave the cold and stress of the South in its wake.

"We're nearing the end of a major part of the 'round the world'," Damian said today. "It's the Southern Ocean and this is the last day we're going to be down here, so we're making the most of it. It's nice and sunny outside and we're sailing straight at the mark so life is good."

Behind, Hugo Boss has stabilised its position, remaining just a shade over 1000 miles in arrears. The second place team has better wind now and is moving at good speed following a stretch yesterday when skipper Alex Thomson and Andrew Cape had to drop their mainsail to make a repair. Now back up at full speed, the chase is on for Hugo Boss.

"At this stage, we're probably going to need some help with the weather to catch up," Alex Thomson told special guest Jonathan McKee (Estrella Damm co-skipper) on the video conference today. Jonathan agreed, saying it was important for Hugo to stay as close as possible to keep the pressure on and be in a position 'to pounce'!

For Temenos II, the last 24 hours have been very good. Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret have been the fastest boat over that period, chalking up nearly 350 miles over that period and adding to their slim lead over Mutua Madrileña.

Educación sin Fronteras is moving well in nice conditions, but Servane Escoffier isn't happy with the speed. "We're doing 12-14 knots under spinnaker, but it seems slow, we're not sure what's wrong. We've been checking for seaweed and kelp on the rudders and keel, but so far, nothing."

For more images and positions go to BWR. Photo courtesy of www.barcelonaworldrace.com

Monster Versus Multihull

Wednesday - January 9 2008 - 0805 PST - Here is a New Zealand viewpoint response from XS reader Gary Baigent in regards to our story mentioning the 1988 America's Cup challenge and the thought process of both the American's and New Zealanders to win the Cup. Another excellent story and history lesson from those that were there. Enjoy...

When New Zealand challenged in 1988 for the Americas Cup with a giant version of a Farr designed Lake Garda racer, it caught Americans unprepared and when the New York State Supreme Court declared the challenge valid, Sail America rushed into a program.

Although maritime America was annoyed by the unconventional challenge, it really came at an opportune time - for racing pedestrian 12 metre yachts in the light winds of Southern California would have been a plodding and disastrous spectacle. Michael Fay's bid changed all that but also backfired because the Deed of Gift allowed for a more performance oriented craft than even the 90 foot waterline New Zealand monohull.

Antipodean sailors convinced themselves the race would be biased towards New Zealand because development of lightweight, big dinghy types belonged to this country and few, if any, US designers were as advanced as Farr along these lines. Confidence was such that when word came America was replying to the giant monohull with a catamaran, even that was considered a disadvantage when compared to the big Farr's high performance.

Dimensions of New Zealand KZ1 were intimidating: 90 foot waterline, 133 feet overall, 21 foot draft keel, 150 foot carbon mast and 6000 odd square feet of sail carried to windward with 16000 downwind. This was a design definitely pushing into new territory - and was supposed to reach maximum speed in only 8 knots of true wind speed. In 4.5 knots of wind the monster achieved 11 knots and once during trials sailed at 22 knots in 20 knots wind speed - but this was on the limit of the big boat's ability to handle the forces.

The after guard comprising of top New Zealand sailors including Barnes, Ross and others were convinced that the extraordinary yacht would live up to computer prediction figures of maintaining 16 to 18 knots reaching in 12 knots of true wind while carrying its enormous genneker (it actually exceeded these printout figures in reality) and thought that this performance was something the multihull incapable of doing.

Also Stars & Stripes would not carry a spinnaker and would therefore be easily beaten downwind - while the catamaran would be weak to windward plus being slow to tack. Cautionary words revealing 25 foot C Class catamaran performance that reached the after guard ears were quickly discounted, although Farr initially had advised the challenge team that a multihull would be faster.

Builder Steve Martin somewhat naturally did not want to know about anything multihull and sports broadcaster Peter Montgomery thought the "telemetry of the big boat sounded pretty impressive" and that it was hard to imagine anything sailing faster. Fay and Johns convinced themselves that a multihull would be ineligible to compete - while cynics here commented that when it comes to winning the US was renowned for putting roller skates on the goal posts.

Dennis Conner at first wanted an enormous soft sail on Stars & Stripes. To him hard wing rigs were something that did not belong on proper yachts - but in trials the two sister catamarans with their two differing rigs revealed the difference and the superiority of the hard wing over the more conventional, but considerably taller soft sail setup, was such that Connor could not ignore the Bert Rutan masterpiece - and so he changed his mind.

NZ multihull designer Malcolm Tennant, visiting San Diego, saw both cats competing and ran down to the end of the wharf to get a closer view: "I knew it was a mismatch, not only for KZ1's sake but for the soft sail cat too. From 300 metres astern and also to leeward, the hard rigged cat sailed through the lee of the other and one kilometer up the bay was 200 metres in front - and the same distance to windward - goodbye New Zealand I thought."

Thanks again Gary for the story. Photo by Gilles Martin-Raget courtesy of americascup.com

Time To Go Sailing

Wednesday - January 9 2008 - 0745 PST - Here is a demo day announcement from XS supporter Sailing Sportboats. Check it out. If you have not sailed on the Open 5.7 your missing the boat!

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year from the Open 5.70 fleet. The racing season is kicking in! Saturday, we are racing out of Marina Del Rey with 7 boats on the line!! The race is the Champagne Series, organized by SBYRC. Last year, for the same race, we only had one boat!

Come check at the boat. Most of us will launch from SCCYC or the public ramp in Marina Del Rey, on the corner of Fiji and Admiralty Way.

Also, the following weekend, four Open 5.70 are participating in a Match Race Clinic organized by the Woman Sailing Association. Click Flyer to view the announcement. You are welcome to attend the seminar.

On the 19th and 20th, we will have a demo day in San Francisco...stay tuned for more info. Go to www.sailingsportboats.com for more info and great photos of this hot sailing little boat.

Can't Make The Show? Check It Out On The Webcam

Wednesday - January 9 2008 - 0715 PST - 2008 will be the 54th Collins Stewart London Boat Show in association with the Daily Mail. Being the London's largest annual event, it hosts over 500 exhibitors and hopes to welcome over 140,000 visitors. The Show will see over 45 media briefings with World product launches, UK launches and a Worldwide debut being announced on Press & Preview Day. The Collins Stewart London Boat Show takes place from 11th - 20th January 2008 at ExCeL London.

Well known faces from the sailing community including round the world sailors Alex Thomson and Mike Golding OBE, Geoff Holt and current Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year Katie Miller will all make an appearance at the Show. HRH Princess Royal will be at the Show on Wednesday 16 January 2008.

As always, the Show offers activities for everyone from thrill seekers to historians. One of the Show's new attractions is a Kite Surf simulator on the Watersports Zone. The oldest working UK boat at the Show is the 200 year old oyster fishing smack Boadicea on the Classic Boat feature stand. The biggest vessel on display is HMS Exeter, a Royal Navy Destroyer stretching 125m in length, while the smallest is the 1.5m Reid Marine's Starfish dinghy.

If you can't make it to London then check out the show NOW on their webcam...four camara's to choose from. Check it out now at Web Cam.

Shortened Course For Clipper Race?

Wednesday - January 9 2008 - 0655 PST - The light winds in the Clipper Around The World Race are causing problems for Race Director, Joff Bailey, as he starts to consider his options to ensure the fleet reaches Batam on schedule to muster for the coordinated arrival at the new Marina at Keppel Bay in Singapore on Saturday 19 January.

The boats will be passing through a series of gates as they sail through the Sunda Straits and on to Batam. Any of these gates can be used to finish the race early if necessary. However Joff is keen to see the boats race into Batam. "It is all getting very close at the front. I just have to decide if we shorten the course but I would like this to be the first Clipper Race to actually race through this area," he says.

Liverpool 08 is hot on the heels of the current leader, Nova Scotia, with designs on relieving the Canadians of their pole position. "We could read the writing on the side of New York at a quarter of a mile this morning and Durban 2010 and Beyond are just behind with Nova Scotia on the horizon ahead. 47 miles to the Sunda Straight and Nova Scotia are getting bigger and New York is now almost two miles behind and getting smaller. The crew are finding it hard to sleep with anxiousness and excitement of taking the lead again before we get to the first gate. It's going to be close," says skipper Ben Galloway.

With the first boats now approaching the Sunda Straits and just 13 miles separating the leading four yachts, the frustrating conditions are set to continue. All the boats are reporting very light and, at times, no wind at all which is proving very trying for all the crews.

The very light southeasterly winds of 5 knots or less are set to continue for the next few days making it very difficult for the fleet to make any significant progress towards Singapore. As a result all of the boats are on the look out for any rain or squall clouds passing over head as these bring with them localised winds to push the boats along as well as rain which, in the intense heat, is very refreshing.

Jamaica and Qingdao are making particularly slow progress and, having chosen a more westerly course, they are now positioned on the edge of a large wind hole, an area with even less wind. This will pass over them later today leaving them with no wind at all for a time.

Current positions:

1. Nova Scotia: Distance to Finish (DTF) 848 2. Liverpool 08: DTF 854 (Distance to Leader [DTL]: +6) 3. New York: DTF 857 (+9) 4. Durban 2010 and Beyond: DTF 861 (+13) 5. westernaustralia2011.com: DTF 894 (+46) 6. Hull & Humber: DTF 901 (+53) 7. Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper: DTF 902 (+54) 8. Uniquely Singapore: DTF 995 (+147) 9. Jamaica: DTF 1111 (+263) 10. Qingdao: DTF 1143 (+295)

Where Has American Ingenuity Gone In The Sport Of Sailing?

Tuesday - January 8 2007 - 1255 PST - O.K...for all you racing fans out there here is a little racing history from one of our most persistent XS readers who simply goes by the name Ricardo Beletando, Gentleman Yachtsman. The photo is old and unclear but the story is an excellent read for all of us old guys who thought the USA could do anything in the sport of sailing. It also addresses the challenges that may arise in the upcoming America's Cup that both the Swiss and Americans will face. Enjoy...

Here is a picture of Aquarius V racing Miss Nylex. I've got to think there are many other pictures available from Kozloff or Riise or from Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club but this is the only one I could find on this historic event.

It's funny how history now treats the 1976 Aquarius 5's victory over miss Nylex in the now unmentionable 'Little America's Cup' as merely a lucky break by a budget team with a low-tech, soft sail, from the west coast, that defeated a more sophisticated solid wing technology, which has never been duplicated again.

Well I say that Aquarius 5 was simply the right boat at the right place at the right time. Aquarius was a very clever, efficient concept that got acknowledged only for its lightness and light air sailing ability.

Maybe good old XS Racing can bring back a little of the old PMA days. It's too bad the some of these guys like Kozloff, Riise and Tony Di Mauro have been largely forgotten for their contributions to the sport.

And don't forget the giant slotted wing rig on 'Stars and Stripes' that was the most spectacular, rapid development by Scaled Composites that has never been equaled by this country or the Euros.

In fact, all of the retrospective sailing shows that I've watched or articles that I've read lately of that whole Monohull vs. Multihull 88 America's Cup Defense seem to apologize for that one-sided event and not regard it as truly a breakthrough for sailing, that was a west coast / east coast inspired undertaking.

Even with my limited involvement with that project I saw first hand, the unprecedented design talent and incredibly rapid development that this country can muster to achieve a short term goal. The goal here was again to build a light efficient sailboat on a budget to beat a much larger, heavier, well-financed surprise competitor.

And the really great thing was that this time the project required talent from both coasts to pull it off. Again, nothing in US yachting has ever happened like that again to make a sailboat so radical, so successful, so quickly.

However, I think that one can draw parallels in multihull engineering ingenuity between these two west coast catamaran projects that sailing history fails to adequately acknowledge. Your humble XS Racing supporter, Ricardo Beletando, Gentleman Yachtsman.

What do you think? Think the USA can compete with the rest of the world in sailing or are the good old days the best the USA can muster up? Let us know at info@xsracing.org

Another Cool Boat Design - The Orana 44

Tuesday - January 8 2008 - 1135 PST - Hot off the presses from XS Racing supporters, Aeroyacht Ltd., announce that CRUISING WORLD MAGAZINE recently announced the nominees for the annual 'Boat of the Year Awards' - Fountaine Pajot's Orana 44 was the best Cruising Multihull under 44'.

The ORANA 44 is Fountaine Pajot's newest offshore cruiser, and the first ever to feature the innovative semi-flybridge (with a fully enclosed optional bimini). Every Orana is constructed using the latest infusion technology and you can cross oceans with supreme safety and comfort. High bridgedecks, top quality fittings and drag reducing hulls make this a true sea boat.

The all composite construction, ergonomic- yet smartly styled interior and overhanging coachroof are all trademarks of the beautiful range of Fountaine Pajot catamarans which can be found in every corner of the globe. An unsurpassed 25 years of experience by her French builders and an unbeatable safety record make this a great value for sailors looking for a new and proven liveaboard cruiser.

Call Fountaine Pajot's most prolific dealer Aeroyacht Ltd. to schedule a factory tour and demo ride. Check them out at www.aeroyacht.com.

Sodeb'O Battling 60 Knots Of Wind

Tuesday - January 8 2008 - 1055 PST - Thomas Coville is en route to Cape Town to repair the damage on the bow of the starboard ama on his maxi trimaran Sodeb'O that was torn off up to the water tight bulkhead by a submerged object. But he is battling tough conditions to get there. In heavy seas and winds of 50 knots and gusting to 60, the skipper's morale is still good despite the harsh conditions. Currently, Thomas is sailing at about 12 knots toward Cape Town. Stay tuned as we follow Thomas Coville's progress back to a safety. Photo courtesy of Sodeb'O

Cool Boat Designs - The MD 35

Tuesday - January 8 2008 - 0930 PST - Cool Boat Designs - Launched last summer, the MD 35 is a dynamic 35 ft. one design that is a great performer and is able to be shipped in a standard 40 ft. container. Designed by Doug Mills, this boat comes from great blood lines.

With an all up weight of 2,500 kg (5,500 lbs.) and Bmax of 2.2m (7.25 ft.) she will be legal to trailer anywhere in the U.S.A. behind a reasonable size vehicle and most local yacht club hoists will be able to launch her.

The Standard features include a Carbon Fibre 2 spreader mast - 2 part for containerization, Carbon Fibre retractable bow-sprit for asymmetrical spinnaker fitted with outhaul, retractor, and tack line.

Inboard diesel engine with sail drive is also standard. Also, the interior has 4 berths, one each port and starboard quarter berths and settee berths in the main saloon.

The New Summit Yachts MD 35 will be in Key West for everyone to go sailing on. To take a demo ride go to www.summit-yachts.com or www.md35class.com.

To check out the designer go to www.mills-design.com.

Key West Race Week In Only 2 Weeks!

Tuesday - January 8 2008 - 0905 PST - Key West Race Week is almost here. Just in case you are thinking about heading to Key West, you might want to look at the entry list so far.

You can still enter, but better hurry. As of Monday, January 07, 2008, Key West Race Week has 261 Race Entries. Great Job for Premier Racing, the event organization.

This year, there are 76 handicap entries (56 PHRF and 20 IRC), representing approximately 30% of the 2008 fleet. PHRF entrants will be competing for the 2008 PHRF National Championship with 3 beautiful Chelsea Clocks to be awarded to the top performers.

Just looking at the water makes you want to give your boss a two week notice and pack your seabag! For more info on this classic and fun event go to Key Race Week. Photo by Tim Wilkes.

To The Horn!

Tuesday - January 8 2008 - 0840 PST - Paprec-Virbac 2 and Hugo Boss are closing in on Cape Horn, as the leading boats in the Barcelona World Race has just over 500 and 1500 more miles to run before reaching the great southern Cape. Cape Horn has great significance to any round-the-world sailor, and it's no different in the Barcelona World Race. In fact, in this race, it also marks the next scoring gate in the race as well.

"It's the gateway to the Atlantic and the exit from the Southern Ocean. The thing about the Southern Ocean is that it's constant and it feels like it is just never-ending," says Damian Foxall, from on board Paprec-Virbac 2. "It's relentless, it's always blowing, or about to blow or it's just been blowing and there's always a big sea - and this in the summer! It's an amazing place, but Cape Horn marks the door to leave and we'll be happy to leave because it means we're heading north for the final section of the race."

As they predicted yesterday, the guys on Hugo Boss have dropped nearly 200 miles to Paprec-Virbac 2 over the last 24 hours. The speed differential has shrunk now, but for much of the last day, Alex Thomson and Andrew Cape were a full 10 knots slower than the leader. Things have improved over the last few hours though.

"We now have 17-20 knots of wind and we are sailing pretty much hard on the wind," Thomson said. "Hopefully in the next day the breeze will go left a little bit, which should free us up and we will go faster. We are not suddenly going to do eighteen knots but slowly our speeds should increase."

The battle for third place is currently being won by Temenos II, who have gained 15 miles over the past 24 hours on Mutua Madrileña, with both boats making good speed and averaging near 15 knots.

That leaves Educación sin Fronteras trying to keep up. But they don't have the conditions to make that easy and have dropped nearly 80 miles to the two boats in front.

Day 59 - January 8, 14:00 GMT - Position report with distance to leader"

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

2. HUGO BOSS - Alex THOMSON / Andrew CAPE - 1022

3. TEMENOS II - Dominique Wavre / Michele PARET- 2903

4. MUTUA MADRILENA - Javier SANSO / Pachi RIVERO - 3025

5. EDUCACION SIN FRONTERAS - Servane ESCOFFIER / Albert BARGUES - 3466

In Quotes - Damian Foxall, Paprec-Virbac 2: "We've had a difficult Southerly breeze for the last 36 hours, really squally conditions. We've been reaching, so the autopilot has been able to do a lot of the work, but it's squally enough that you're on deck all the time, ordering the autopilot up or down depending upon how the waves are and what the wind is doing and trimming the sails all the time. It's been very cold and that takes a lot out of you. On the upside, we're going straight down the route, very quickly, and we have a 1000 mile lead on Hugo Boss and it's nice to have that buffer going into the Horn."

For more images and up to date position reports go to BWR. Photo by onEdition

IDEC Loses A 1000 Miles To Ellen's Record

Tuesday - January 8 2008 - 0815 PST - Francis Joyon and IDEC are sailing slowly but surely since yesterday afternoon on their way to the North Northwest. Sailing at 18 knots, is considered 'slowly' for the giant maxi Tri IDEC.

This is not the direct route to Brest, but after this week, squeezing out each mile, Francis does not regret his current starboard tack position and playing the shifts.

His position is expected to take him more east and in better wind conditions. Joyon hopes he will again see IDEC's speed really start to shine again, exceeding 25 knots.

As of this morning Joyan's lead on the record has plummeted since rounding the Horn. He has lost more than a thousand nautical miles to Ellen's record.

Francis will tonight slip below 4000 miles to go to the finish. A passage to the Equator is possible after tomorrow. Kept to negotiate the Doldrums and depression west of the North Atlantic, Joyan hopes to escape the equator and head home at a fast clip.

East Coast XS Racers Are Hardcore

Monday - January 7 2007 - 1445 PST - At what length will an East Coast XS Racer go too to get back out on the water? With his boat on the hard, Tim Layne from Annapolis Maryland, and his loyal crew, Ali Soylu, drives and flies to California to sail a one-day 22 mile race in Marina del Rey, California in the Berger #1 held by Del Rey Yacht Club.

Tim and Ali were on overdrive as they left work late Thursday to catch a red eye flight to Los Angeles Ca. Arriving Friday morning Tim and Ali drive to Huntington Harbor to check out Cat 17, a Reynolds 33 owned by Tom Berndt, and to sail her to Marina Del Rey in forcasted Gale conditions.

With the double red flags flying Cat 17, along with sistership Cat 18, the crew of Cat 17 sailed 40 miles to the Del Rey Yacht Club. The 40 mile trip only took 3 hours with the two boats in 'cruise mode' with shorthanded 2-man crews on both boats. Surfing 8 foot swells in winds gusting to 20 knots the ride was sweet and fast.

After arriving at the yacht club Tim and Ali stayed aboard the 'roomy 5-star accomidationed' R33 that Friday night as a storm hit the harbor with 40 knot winds and hard rain. They slept like babies...

Saturday morning, with the storm having passed, leaving an overcast calm, Tim and crew got to the starting line of the Berger #1 Race and raced the 22 mile race in light winds and finished 2nd in the XS class. The race finished at 4 pm for the fast boats and Tim and Ali finally could relax...for a little bit.

Sunday morning Tim, Ali and California hot shot sailor, Scott Klodowski, got up early and sailed Cat 17, along with Cat 18, back to Huntington Harbor in 15 knots of wind and large waves, making the trip back in 3.5 hours.

Once back in Huntington Harbor and with Cat 17 cleaned up and put away, Tim and Ali were off to the airport again to catch their plane back to Annapolis later that night.

Tim arrived early Monday morning and without going home, Tim drove straight to work 'on time' and ready to work! What does Tim have to say about his extra-ordinary efforts to go sailing and his experience sailing on the West coast?

"First of all I would like to thank Tom Berndt for the weekend chartering the R33 "Bailando Con Carmen" CAT 17. The boat was ready to race and sail in potentially hazardous conditions. I flew out from ice cold Maryland with my number one crew member Ali Soylu prepared for a southern California storm expecting to see winds of up to forty-five knots and on the day of the race all we had was five knots during the race."

"Not having sailed in Southern California for over 15 years reminded me of when I moved to Southern California from San Francisco. It is easy to maintain speed when there is plenty of wind but when you lighten up the wind and combine it with the swell we had for the Berger #1, it showed that I was a little rusty with that skill set."

"I have been very successful sailing my R33 on the Chesapeake (Tim and his R33 'Wild Card' are the record holder's for the challenging Governors Cup) due to my experiences with sailing both in the rapidly changing conditions that San Francisco offers and the light air concentration required to get through some slow Southern California races, such as the many Ensenada races that I have been in."

"What I really miss the most are those long period Pacific swells. Fortunately we were able to see 18 knots of hull speed on both the delivery in southerly winds sailing to Marina Del Rey on Friday and then the delivery in westerly winds we had on the return trip back to Huntington Beach. Scott Klodowski, a Nacra Cat National Champ, worked with Ali and I in fine tuning the 'wild thing' so that we can look more professional doing it on my R33 "Wild Card" CAT 9 this next year."

"Everyone we met along our journey was extremely hospitable and and I would love to come back again."

For race results of the Berger #1 out of the Del Rey YC go to www.dryc.org and click on Berger Race Results. Photo by Pat Reynolds

Liverpool 08 Still Leads In Hot Conditions

Monday - January 7 2008 - 1415 PST - In soaring temperatures the crew of Liverpool 08 have kept their cool and are clinging onto their lead at the head of the Clipper 07-08 fleet as they race towards Singapore, the next port of call on this 35,000-mile challenge.

Skipper Ben Galloway reported this morning, "Six days with the kite up has come to a refreshing end with 17 knots blowing over the deck to cool us down. Around midnight we dropped the kite surrounded by black squally clouds. It looks like Durban 2010 and Beyond and Nova Scotia are gaining on us. Looks like we are going to have to decide which side to leave Christmas Island as it's right between us and the gate."

The Clipper yachts are now fewer than 200 miles from the island which lies directly between them and the Sunda Straits where the fleet will round the first waypoint of Race 5. Christmas Island is only eleven miles in diameter however its peak stands at 348 metres. This will form a major obstacle and no doubt all of the skippers and tacticians will, like Ben, be wondering how to deal with it.

With the boats so close together and the weather pattern stabilising for the time being, all ten of the 68-foot ocean racing yachts will be experiencing identical conditions. The wind has now settled in the southeast and decreased to 10 knots.

The obvious answer for the tacticians is to pass on the westerly side of the island. However, with the fleet so tightly packed and the light airs this will not be as easy for the more easterly yachts as they will have to sail closer to the wind than those to the west.

For the time being the most westerly of the yachts is Qingdao, 190 nautical miles behind Liverpool 08 in terms of distance to finish. Skipper Marcus Cholerton-Brown reported this morning, "We're having a great sail, just frustratingly slow."

With such difficult conditions facing all of the yachts it is even more important for the crews to remain focused on the task in hand - not easy with temperatures still rising and the crews finding ever-more ingenious ways to keep cool. It will be very difficult for any of the teams to make significant gains in the current conditions and this can be very frustrating for the crews.

The fleet is due to arrive in Singapore on 19 January, when they will arrive as part of the opening ceremony for the brand new Marina at Keppel Bay, the centre-piece of Keppel Bay's premier waterfront precinct - the only residential development in Singapore to have its own world-class marina on its own private five-hectare island.

For more pics and info go to Clipper Race.

Cool Boat Designs

Monday - January 7 2008 - 0930 PST - Cool Boat Designs: The Rogers 46 makes no excuses for being a turbo charged race boat. She has been designed to be light, agile and very quick through the water, giving an exhilarating ride and ensuring lots of bang for the buck! She is probably best described as a small TP52 and there are a lot of owners and sailors alike who would love to get there hands on one…..only one small problem, they are expensive to buy and a King’s ransom to campaign!

The carbon Rogers 46, which at significantly less than half the price of a TP52, is a much more affordable option for most and will give an equally exhilarating experience….. couple this with a good IRC rating and one has a great boat to campaign in the IRC arena.

There is little doubt that the TP 52's really have shown the way forward in IRC as light race boats and Rogers Yacht Design is delighted to have responded with this new more affordable design.

The Rogers 46s are being built by Composite Marine International (CMI) in Thailand. CMI is a joint venture between Cobra (the Worlds largest manufacturer of windsurfers and boards) and Pom Green and Green Marine from the UK. The quality of the work underway is superb and these carbon/foam/epoxy structures are second to none. The hull is moulded from a female mould ensuring a beautiful hull finish every time and the deck is male moulded giving an excellent internal finish, also ensuring minimum weight is achieved. There is no question these boats are more like a one off build but offered with a production boat price tag.

The price tag for this Rogers 46 is extremely competitive with a very high specification which includes: a full carbon structure, an excellent B&G Hercules system with 4x 20/20s, a mast wand, performance boxes, Harken deck gear throughout and a deck layout that is ready to race; suffice to say, the Extras List is short….as most items are already included.

For more info on the Rogers 46 and other Roger designs go to Rogers Yacht Design. Photo by Joe McCarthy

Joyan Worried About Boat And Planet

Monday - January 7 2008 - 0910 PST - As Francis Joyan continues his quest to be the fastest solo sailor to sail around the world, Joyon's observations of the sea has him worried for both the safety of his vessel and the planet.

"The presence of ice at this latitude is unusual and an alarming signal, a threat that goes well beyond the safety of sailboats that sail in this part of the world. To see so many chunks of ice adrift in this latitude reveals the extent of the damage already done to our planet" worried Joyon.

Joyan is less than 5000 miles to the finish and still well ahead of Ellens record. Stay tuned for more reports.

This report brought to you by www.R33.com, builders of the new 2008 Reynolds 33 catamaran.

Competition Tough In 29er Class

Monday - January 7 2008 - 0855 PST - Sail Melbourne Asia Pacific Regatta Update - 29er Class - The 29er World Championship took a turn today as the 102-strong international fleet was divided into Gold, Silver, Bronze and Emerald groups for the Final series and a new overall leader emerged.

The eventual winner will be decided from the top 25 sailing in the Gold group. Annemiek Bekkering/Jeske Kisters from The Netherlands took the lead of the Championship today after four races.

The Dutch pair showed superb skill on the hugely shifty and fluky course to come into their own to day with 2-1-11-2 results in Races 1 to 4. Their six point lead over nearest rivals, James Peters/Ed Fitzgerald (GBR) is well deserved.

The British boys 12-4-5-10 results reflect the conditions on the course, where breezes ranged anywhere from 3-12 knots, with many holes on the course, it was a case of paying attention and experience.

Steven Thomas/Jasper Warren (AUS) who have twice been at the top of the leaderboard now, dropped to third place today following 16-12-4-3 results. They are one point behind the British duo.

Alexandra Maloney/Blair Tuke (NZL) have lifted today and are now fourth overall, counting a win in Race 4 of the Final series.

Racing continues at the Sail Melbourne event tomorrow. Hosted by Sorrento Couta Sailing Boat Club, racing concludes on Wednesday afternoon when the Championship winner will be announced.

Results (elsewhere on this site) are provisional pending protests. The Sail Melbourne ISAF Grade 1 event continues tomorrow. Go to Sail Melbourne Asia Pacific Regatta for more pics and results. Photo by Jeff Crow

Bundock And Ashby Sailing Fast In Asia Pacific Regatta

Monday - January 7 2008 - 0835 PST - Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby (AUS) continue to lead the Tornado Asia Pacific Regatta being hosted by Somers Yacht Club on the Mornington Peninsula at Sail Melbourne today.

Although Bundock and Ashby did not win either Races 5 or 6 today, finishing with third and fifth places, they remain in the lead on nine points after dropping their worst place. Today's racing was conducted in extremely shifty winds of up to 15 knots.

World champions Fernando Echavarri/Anton Paz scored their first win of the series in Race 5, with Germany's Tino and Niko Mittlemeier finished second.

Top Russian pair, Andrey Kirilyuk/Valeriy Ushkov won Race 6 and are now third overall. Oscar Johansson/Kevin Stittle (CAN) were second in this race, with Leigh McMillan/Will Howden third.

Currently Mitch Booth/Pim Nieuwenhuis are second placed in the series overall on 17 points, the Russians one point behind, leaving Bundock and Ashby a clear eight points in the lead with four races remaining.

Carolijn Brouwer, the lone female skipper in the fleet, did not have the top three day she was hoping for. Sitting 23rd in the ISAF World Rankings, she is very impressed by the quality of the sailors competing.

"There are a lot of top class sailors here. It's an awesome regatta with really high level competition. But Bundy and Glenn are in a different league; they are good in any kind of conditions. We are up with the rest of the pack, but we can push harder and do better. We have a lot more in there," said Brouwer, who with her crew Sebastien Godefroid is looking for a top five finish.

Looking forward to the Beijing Olympics Brouwer/Godefroid find themselves in an enviable position, they have qualified Belgium and themselves for the Games. "This regatta is good for us."

"We are in a comfortable position at the moment we have the opportunity to play around with our boat and sails and try things out before the Games. This is important for us as we don't have as much experience as the other guys in the class so it takes us a bit longer," Brouwer said.

The Championship concludes on Wednesday 9th and results are provisional pending protests. The Sail Melbourne ISAF Grade 1 event continues tomorrow. Go to Sail Melbourne Asia Pacific Regatta for more pics and results.