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Argo Group Gold Cup Schedule Unchanged In Wake Of Hurricane
Hamilton, Bermuda: Organizers for the Argo Group Gold Cup firmly stated today that racing for the 67th annual match racing regatta, an event of the World Match Racing Tour, will begin on Wednesday as scheduled.
Hurricane Joaquin passed to the northwest of the island in the Atlantic Ocean yesterday, bringing strong winds and heavy rains. The eye of the hurricane was some 70 miles offshore Sunday evening when it made its closest approach, bringing with it wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph and heavy rainfall that caused widespread power outages.
Like much of Bermuda, the host Royal Bermuda Yacht Club came through the storm without major damage. The fleet of International One-Design (IOD) sloops rode out the storm on their moorings and one boat will have to be recovered after sinking. Still, registration opened today and will continue tomorrow, when two practice sessions are also scheduled.
"Hurricanes in Bermuda at this time of year are nothing new," said Gold Cup chairman Andy Cox. "Some of the crews have had to change their travel plans and won't arrive until Tuesday night, but we're still planning to start racing on Wednesday and we'll adjust the schedule to accommodate any late arrivals."
Team Nika Crowned RC44 World Champion
A worthy and popular winner was crowned today at the RC44 Cascais World Championship in Vladimir Prosikhin's Team Nika, following two final big wind, big wave races that made for a thrilling, albeit damp, conclusion to the regatta.
Leading into the final day, the World Championship was a three horse race between Team Nika, Bronenosec Sailing Team of Vladimir Liubomirov and Igor Lah's Team CEEREF.
Ultimately all three scored five points today, leaving the finish order the same as yesterday with Nika six points clear of Bronenosec and Team CEEREF a further point behind.
This week Vladimir Liubomirov's Bronenosec never found the consistency that won them the 2014 World Championship, their sky blue RC44 scoring its first regatta win in today's opening race.
While the World Championship has been decided, competition in the 2015 RC44 Championship continues with the RC44 Virgin Gorda Cup over 25-29th November. This will be another mega-battle, particularly between friends and arch-rivals, Team Nika and Bronenosec Sailing Team, at present separated by just one point.
RC44 Cascais World Championship Results
1. Team Nika, RUS, 35
2. Bronenosec Sailing Team, RUS, 41
3. TEAM CEEREF, SLO, 42
4. Team Aqua, GBR, 60
5. Charisma, MON 69, 60
6. Aleph Racing, FRA, 63
7. Artemis Racing, SWE, 64
8. Peninsula Petroleum Sailing Team, GBR, 64
9. Katusha, RUS, 71
10. RUS7 - Anywayanyday, RUS, 85
11. MAG Racing, POL, 96
12. Artemis Racing Youth, SWE, 102
It's Time To Service Your Safety Equipment With Ocean Safety
If you are not taking part in your local winter series - or even if you are - it's a good time now to put a date in your diary to get to Ocean Safety to have your onboard safety equipment checked over and any worn or out-of-date parts replaced.
It was a wet summer in the UK and that means damp conditions can take their toll on equipment causing mould and rust, so it's time to take everything out of their containers and have a closer look, whether it be liferafts, lifejackets, Jonbuoys, fire extinguishers or other equipment.
You can either drop you kit off, or, if you make an appointment, you can see your liferaft being unpacked and inflated and find out what's in it, in case you have never seen it before!
"We advise customers to get their equipment in to us as soon as they have laid up their boat for the season," comments Ocean Safety's Service team. "It's important to check that equipment is all in date and in working order ready for next season."
Equipment can be delivered back to one of Ocean Safety's approved service stations in Southampton, Glasgow, or Plymouth.
Visit www.oceansafety.com for location details.
Garmin Hamble Winter Series
Photo by Hamo Thornycroft, yacht-photos.co.uk. Click on image for photo gallery.
For the first time in as many years as the race team could remember, the weather gods allowed the full programme of two races to be sailed on the first weekend of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series.
All classes got underway on time helped by a sluicing flood tide, which resulted in a few individual recalls for some slightly over-keen competitors. The race team set a series of windward-leeward courses for the competing boats, which ranged in length from Swan 65 Deperado of Cowes in IRC0 to International H-Boat Bert in IRC4.
In IRC 0, Cornel Riklin's J/111 Jitterbug won both races to top the results table.
James Wilkie's Fast-Tack Puma won both races in IRC 1, ahead of Ian Mcmellin's Playing Around
Things are tight at the top of IRC 2, where Mike Moxley's HOD35 Malice and David and Jackie Riley's No Retreat are tied on 5 points each. Mike Bridges' Elaine is close behind after scoring a 5th and a 2nd to place them 3rd overall.
In IRC3, it was Blackjack, the J/97 of Annie Kelly who dominated, scoring two firsts.
The Sigma 38s, racing in IRC 3, were won by Persephone, with Light in 2nd and With Alacrity in 3rd.
Toby Gorman's Sigma 33, Stan the Boat, tops IRC4 after winning both races.
The Impala 28 class, which, racing in IRC4, makes up the biggest One-Design fleet, sponsored the day's racing. Polly was 1st, with Olly Bewes and George Beevor's Magic in 2nd and Peter Dessent's Vlad the Impala in 3rd overall.
This week was sponsored by the Impala 28 class www.impala28.co.uk
Five Minutes With A Speed Freak
Tony Lawson's MOD 70, Concise 10, will be screeching south next month. Skipper Ned Collier Wakefield will be on the charge for the 1500-mile delivery to Marina Lanzarote to compete in this November's RORC Transatlantic Race, then onwards to the Caribbean base - Barbados.
Branded Ms Barbados, the 70-foot trimaran will be attempting to set a new absolute Mount Gay Round Barbados Race Record and play a pivotal role in Bajan celebrations for the island nation's 50th birthday.
Before leaving Hamble, Concise crew member Paul Larsen runs us through the control systems and hi-tech gear on Concise 10. Paul is a self-confessed speed-freak, setting the outright world speed sailing record in Sailrocket, clocking up an astonishing 65.37 knots.
For more details about Team Concise: www.teamconcise.com
A Transatlantic Race From St Barts To Port-La-Foret
Once they have completed the Transat Jacques Vabre, the IMOCA skippers will set off in early December for a second transatlantic race, but this time the skipper will be alone aboard for a crossing between St-Barts and Port la Foret. This winter race from the Caribbean to Brittany, which counts as a qualifier for the Vendee Globe, will start on 6th December 2015 with twelve competitors lining up.
Peter Bayer, General Director of OSM (Open Sports Management) tells us more. "It's fantastic to go back to the roots of this transatlantic race, better known as the B To B. It will be the first solo race for the new foiling IMOCA 60s. It's very exciting, as it will give us a real taste of what is to come in the Vendee Globe, and it will be happening during the Paris Boat Show."
- Prologue on 4th December: race around St. Barts
- Start on 6th December
- Expected finish in Brittany around 18th December
Finnteam - A New Concept In Sailing
FINNTEAM is an Olympic sailing team like you have never seen before.
FINNTEAM is something completely new in sailing: a multi-national sailing team promoting synergy, collaboration, fair play, tolerance and cultural diversity.
ONE TEAM, ONE DREAM. The concept is simple: create a team of sailors from around the world who are in need of coaching and funding to develop skills and train together, and then source the funding that allows each of them to succeed and achieve their goals - and reach the Olympic podium.
A crowdfunding campaign has been started on GoFundMe.com to launch the FINNTEAM on their route to the Olympic podium. Naming sponsors and other supporters are also being sought.
FINNTEAM has been launched with five sailors who are members of the most elite, focused, dedicated and diverse team of sailing athletes the world has ever seen. They are Alejandro Foglia (URU), Facundo Olezza (ARG), Luke Miller (USA), Oisin Mcclelland (IRL) and Santiago Falasca (ARG). Sailors from other nations are expected to be joining the FINNTEAM in the near future.
For these sailors to achieve their goals as part of the FINNTEAM we need your support. To find out how please go to www.gofundme.com/finnteam or finnclass.org/team
ONE TEAM, ONE DREAM - Join us for the journey of a lifetime.
Oriole Grabs 5th Gstaad Yacht Club's Centenary Trophy
Photo by Juerg Kaufmann / GYC. Click on image to enlarge.
The NYYC 30 "Oriole" has won the 5th edition of the of the Gstaad Yacht Club Centenary Trophy. Second on the finishing line, reigning champion Olympian, skippered by France's Bruno Trouble whilst 7MI Mignon got the bronze.
For the fifth consecutive year the Centenary Trophy gathered one hundred years and more old yachts that went go head-to-head in a pursuit race based on a special handicap system, a format that has proved extremely attractive for the sailors and the public alike, with the first boat to cross the line off the St Tropez breakwater to be declared the winner. This year's edition was raced in particularly tough conditions, with a strong easterly of over 20 knots and high waves that put crews, boats and equipment to the test.
Oriole is a stunning gaff sloop, launched in 1905 as the 11th of the 18 New York Yacht Club 30 one design built on a Nat Herreshoff's design, with 30 indicating the waterline length. Oriole has an interesting story, being left totally original until the 30s when she was converted into a Marconi yawl.
At the beginning of the 21st century she was re-discovered by French classic yachting expert Francis Van de Velde and after being acquired and restored by a group of North American owners, took part to several regattas in the Newport's area. Oriole was later delivered to the Mediterranean where she has been collecting successes in various events.
Zennstrom's Ran Wins J/70s At Aveva Regatta
Hamble, England: Over the course of the September 18th to 20th weekend, the Royal Southern YC hosted the AVEVA September Regatta for a host of classes, both IRC handicap as well as J/70 one-designs.
The fleets were split into the Black Group handicap racing teams and the White Group one-design class fleets. Winning their first regatta in the J/70 class was Niklas Zennstrom's J/70 RAN, sailing with his wife and friends. In the IRC 3 Class, the J/92 J'RONIMO sailed by David & Libby Greenhalgh sailed home with the silverware.
"What's great with these small J/70s is that they are so easy to sail," said Zennstrom. "You just launch the boat, hoist the sails and off you go, so compared to the TP52s and the Maxis it's a very different thing - quite nice actually to just go out sailing from the Royal Southern. It is our third regatta with the boat and I think we have now figured out how to sail them, so we had a pretty good weekend with a 3-1-1-1-2," he added.
RAN finished ahead of Patrick Liardet's COSMIC, who won the last race, and Simon Carvey's merry crew of bandits aboard JUST4PLAY that finished third.
For more AVEVA September Regatta sailing information:
www.royal-southern.co.uk
IODA Seeks Secretary General
The International Optimist Class Association (IODA), the leading class in world sailing for young people, is seeking to recruit a full time Secretary General
We seek:
- a good honours graduate or an individual who has received relevant training to an equivalent level, and or
- a person with experience of managing a small or medium sized business within a team structure
- someone who would like to dedicate his/her talents and experience to the development of young people through sport, and
- has the ability to work successfully with dedicated volunteers and executives in a truly global business
The individual shall be able to:
- write and speak perfect English
- understand the sport of sailing at competitive level
- have enthusiasm for the development of young people through sport
- demonstrate exceptional organisational skills
- have a high level of numeracy
- be flexible regarding working hours. This is NOT a 9-5 position.
We offer:
- an exciting and important role in a truly exceptional organization.
- flexible working hours and location, if preferred from home
- competitive remuneration
To apply
- The full job description is available on our website: www.optiworld.org
Please email your CV and tell us why you are applying for this post to:
Application deadline 31st October 2015
Cherry Achieves Best Result Yet For British Sailor In Generali Solo
Solo sailor Nick Cherry has achieved the best result for a British competitor in one of the most prestigious French single-handed championships – the three-week long Generali Solo Mediterranee.
At the helm of his Figaro Beneteau, Redshift, Cherry took fifth place after a gruelling test against 23 other skippers that included 11 inshore races and two offshore legs staged between Sete and Barcelona.
Cherry held a podium position for most of the Generali, only falling to fifth after the final offshore leg to Barcelona, in which he finished 15th.
His British counterparts, Sam Matson on Chatham and Alan Roberts on Magma Structures, also achieved impressive results. Roberts finished in 13th place, and Matson in 11th – one better than Sam Davies' 12th place finish in 2004.
The sailors are now recuperating after the month-long Mediterranean marathon. Next on the agenda, Cherry and Roberts will take on the Tour de Corse a la Voile, a crewed race around Corsica, that starts on October 13th.
2015 Generali Solo Mediterranee final top five:
1. Alexis Loison, Groupe Fiva, 89 points
2. Xavier Macaire, Skipper Herault, 110
3. Yoann Richomme, Skipper Macif 2014, 149
4. Sebastien Simon, Bretagne - Credit Mutuel Espoir, 145
5. Nick Cherry, Redshift, 145
Royal Cork's O'leary Retains All Ireland Title In Style
The defending All Ireland Sailing Champions Anthony O'Leary with crew Dan O'Grady and Cian Guilfoyle were winners again but this year by a clear margin of five points after two days of competition on Dublin Bay.
Counting two wins and two second places in the supplied J/80 sportsboat fleet, the Commodore's Cup champion from Royal Cork beat fellow Cork Harbour sailor Alex Barry of Monkstown Bay and Royal Cork who was runner up on 11 points.
Not only does today's give Royal Cork a one-two in the senior competition but the Munster club also won the Junior Helmsmans title a fortnight ago too.
Third today was Howth's ICRA representative Cillian Dickson on 12 points. The ISA event was hosted by the National Yacht Club.
Anthony O'Leary's sons Peter and Nicholas have also won the ISA championship a number of times (in both the 1720 and J/80 sportsboat classes) bringing the O'Leary family total to seven of the last ten championships.
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