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Seidenberg Clinches Ninth Championship Win
The 2013 Laser Masters World Championships in Oman produced a brand new set of champions today bringing the curtain down on one of the most successful regattas in recent history.

Peter Seidenberg, the 76 year old American who has been attending Laser Master Championships since they were launched in 1980 put a significant ghost to rest when he beat his old rival Keith Wilkins of Britain for the first time ever to take the coveted 2013 Radial Great Grand Masters title.

As the sun set on a sixth day of light airs racing, Seidenberg sealed his win by coming second in Race 10 but decided to carry on because conditions at Mussanah were so good with late afternoon winds reaching around 10 knots.

"This is my ninth championship win but it is particularly sweet because I have never been able to beat Keith Wilkins," he said.

"We sailed against each other in the Grand Masters division and he always beat me. Then I won a few championships when I moved up to the Great Grand Masters but when he joined too, the game was over for me so today I was able to take revenge," said Seidenberg who completed a special fitness programme to get into shape for Masters."

Mark Bethwaite from Australia took honours in the Standard Great Grand Masters fleet with a stunning scoreline of nine outright wins in ten races, to head up a fleet of ten.

Greg Adams from Australia was crowned 2013 Standard Grand Master after dominating the fleet all week. He finished the final race in second place behind Terry Scutcher of Britain but his overall lead by the close over Scutcher was a resounding nine points.

Absent from racing on the final day was Britain's Ian Jones who won the Radial Apprentice class on Friday with a day to spare. He was relaxing by the pool when the final races were completed and feeling elated.

Winners:

Laser Radial Apprentice : GBR -Jon Emmett
Laser Radial Master GBR Ian Jones
Laser Radial Grand Master AUS Vanessa Dudley
Laser Radial Great Grand Master USA Peter Seidenberg
Laser Standard Apprentice NZL Scott Leith
Laser Standard Master CAN Al Clark
Laser Standard Grand Master AUS Greg Adams
Laser Standard Great Grand Master AUS Mark Bethwaite

omanlaserworlds2013.com

Scheidt, Kusznierewicz and Mendelblatt on the Podium
Photo by Carlo Borlenghi, carloborlenghi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

A relentless Robert Scheidt with Bruno Prada were the undisputed leaders of the first Star Sailors League Finals.

Even if Scheidt and Prada had literally dominated the three days of qualifying races, they had to restart from scratch as in the final day the racing schedule included three knockout races. Each race started with a clean score sheet and points were not carried over to the next one. For the first time ever in the sport of sailing, the winner of the third and final race of the day was also the winner of the event.

In the quarter final, the first race of the day, France's Xavier Rohart took the lead at the second leg and crossed the finish line ahead of the two Germans, Johannes Polgar and Robert Stanjek.

In the semi final, Mateusz Kusznierewicz from Poland took the early lead but Scheidt showed again his extraordinary downwind skills, got the upper hand at the bottom gate and went on to claim the race. Italian Diego Negri had a fantastic last run and climbed to second place. Mark Mendelblatt closed the podium places.

In the grand final, in order to make the race fairer, the race committee decided to stretch the race course to five legs, finishing upwind.

Star Sailors League Finals - Top Five Final Results after 9 qualifying races (1 discard), Quarters, Semis and Finals

1. Robert Scheidt (BRA) / Bruno Prada (BRA) - 2,(4),1,3,1,2,2,1,1 - 13 / QF 4 / SF 1 / F 1
2. Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) / Dominik Zycki (POL) - 4,(14),4,6,12,11,3,8,9 - 57 / QF 6 / SF 4 / F 2
3. Mark Mendelblatt (USA) / Brian Fatih (USA) - 6,2,3,5,3,7,(9),3,3 - 32 / QF 5 / SF 3 / F 3
4. Diego Negri (ITA) / Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA) - 1,1,6,9,2,13,6,(15),11 - 49 / QF 7 / SF 2 / F 4
5. Johannes Polgar (GER) / Markus Koy (GER) - 11,15,(17),15,5,5,1,11,4 - 67 / QF 2 / SF 5

www.starsailors.com

Eileen Ramsay - The Queen Of Yachting Photography
Eileen Ramsay was at the centre of a unique period in yachting history, and this wonderful book, featuring her classic photography, celebrates an extraordinary woman and her extraordinary subjects. Eileen's heyday was between 1950 and 1970 - a time when eccentrics ruled, records were there for the setting, and women weren't often to be found behind the lens.

But Eileen established herself as one of the greatest yachting photographers of her time, taking famous portraits of sailing icons like Francis Chichester and Eric Tabarly, Olympians, including Rodney Pattisson and Keith Musto, and historic pictures from the first Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic (OSTAR) Races.

Her unique archive records the explosive growth in dinghy and offshore sailing during post-war years, and includes pictures of the first Enterprises, Mirrors, Ospreys, Optimists and the first America's Cup 12 metres Sceptre and Evaine.

Eileen, now into her 90s can remember just about every photograph she has taken and relate an anecdote or story about each one. Many of these memories are also recorded in the book.

Eileen Ramsay - the Queen of Yachting Photography, is a spectacular celebration of a pioneering photographer and a fascinating time in yachting history.

160 pages, 123 classic pictures. £25 + postage & packing

southatlanticpublishing.com/er_intro.htm

You can also view the Eileen Ramsay archive

The work of Eileen Ramsay, 'the Queen of yachting photography' from 1950 to 1970, has been saved for posterity. 

The pictures are available for reproduction and as display prints. View the library online and search by  boat name, sail no, class, event or negative no.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne
Melbourne, Australia: Five Medal Races wrapped up the action at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne with two nations dominating proceedings.

Australia dominated the multihull and skiff fleets whilst China locked out the opposition to take all six podium places in the RS:X.

A strong northerly breeze met athletes at Sandringham Yacht Club for the final day of ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne. With gusts over 20 knots there were thrills and spills aplenty on the Stadium course as fans gathered on the Yacht Club balcony to enjoy the spectacle.

Top three by class:

2.4 Metre
1. Paul Francis, NZL
2. Michael Leydon, AUS
3. Matthew Bugg, AUS

470 Men
1.Mathew Belcher / William Ryan
2. Sime Fantela / Igor Marenic, CRO
3. Angus Galloway / Tim Hannah, AUS

470 Women
1. Shasha Chen / Yang Gao, CHN
2. Sasha Ryan / Jaime Ryan, AUS
3. Nan Zhang / Xiao Lv, CHN

49er
1. Nathan Outteridge / Iain Jensen, AUS
2. David Gilmour / Sam Phillips, AUS
3. William Phillips / Rhys Mara, AUS

49erFX
1.Olivia Price / Eliza Solly, AUS
2. Haylee Outteridge / Ella Clark, AUS
3. Ragna Agerup / Maia Agerup, NOR

Finn
1. Bjorn Allansson, SWE
2. Oliver Tweddell, AUS
3. Jake Lilley, AUS

Kiteboarding Men
1. Florian Gruber, GER
2. Riccardo Andrea Leccese, ITA
3. Alejandro Climent Hernandez, ESP

Kiteboarding Women
1. Nuria Goma, ESP
2. Lisa Hickman, AUS
3. Natalie Clarke, AUS

Laser
1. Tom Burton, AUS
2. Thomas Saunders, NZL
3. Matthew Wearn, AUS

Laser Radial
1. Tatiana Drozdovskaya, BLR
2. Dongshuang Zhang, CHN
3. Krystal Weir, AUS

Nacra 17
1.Darren Bundock / Nina Curtis, AUS
2.Euan McNicol / Lucinda Whitty, AUS
3.Jason Waterhouse / Lisa Darmanin, AUS

RS:X Men
1.Chuankun Shi, CHN
2. Chunzhuang Liu, CHN
3. Zhennan Fang, CHN

RS:X Women
1.Manjia Zheng, CHN
2. Qiaoshan Weng, CHN
3. Peina Chen, CHN

SKUD 18
1. Jovin Tan / Desiree Lim, SIN
2. Duncan MacGregor / Liesl Tesch, AUS
3. Amethyst Barnbrook / Brett Pearce

www.sailing.org/worldcup

Figaro Comes To Plymouth In 2014
More than 30,000 visitors are expected to be lured to Plymouth next summer when the city hosts one of sailing's grand prix events.

La Solitaire du Figaro will visit Plymouth for the first time in June.

The 2,014-mile race is one of the main training grounds for the Vendee Globe race, and this will be the first time it has included a British leg.

Sutton Harbour will host some 45 of the world's top sailors, including local sailor Sam Goodchild. The 24-year-old achieved the best British result since 1975, finishing in 11th place this year.

Around 45 sailors, all on identical 33ft boats will arrive in Sutton Harbour at the end of Leg 1 on Wednesday, June 11.

Spectators will see close-fought inshore racing in Plymouth Sound before the fleets departs on its second leg on Saturday, June 14.

The stopovers were announced at the official Solitaire launch in Paris on Thursday. -- Keith Rossiter, Plymouth Herald

www.plymouthherald.co.uk

* La Solitaire has a UK stopover next year thanks to the increased British presence in its fleet, largely thanks to efforts of the Artemis Offshore Academy. Plymouth is also appropriate as it is home to Henry Bomby's sponsor Rockfish, Bomby himself lives nearby in Kingswear, while Sam Goodchild, the first Artemis Offshore Academy scholarship winner, also has West Country roots in Falmouth.

In Plymouth, the fleet will be based in Sutton Harbour, in the the Barbican within the heart of the city centre.

From Plymouth the Solitaire fleet heads for Roscoff, where La Solitaire visited last year. Although directly across the Channel from Plymouth, the course will be set so that this will be the longest leg at 535 miles.

From Roscoff, the fleet heads around Ushant and down France's Atlantic coast to a stopover port (still to be finalised) in the Vendee, with the final 490 mile leg returning to the Channel with a finish in Cherbourg-Octeville. -- James Boyd, TheDailySail.com

www.thedailysail.com

G.L. Watson - The Art And Science Of Yacht Design
The genius of yacht designer G.L. Watson shines through Martin Black's profusely illustrated biography. Watson was born in 1851, the year the schooner America led the cream of British racing yachts round the Isle of Wight. By age 22, he opened the world's first yacht design office in Glasgow.

Designing four challengers to bring the America's Cup home might be a lifetime's work for mere mortals, but during the Golden Age of yachting G.L. Watson became widely recognised as the greatest all-round designer.

From racing cutters and schooners heavy with clouds of canvas, via pro-bono pioneering work on lifeboats, to sumptuous steam yachts - the super yachts of their day - and America's Cup challengers, Watson's adage: straight is the line of duty, curved is the line of beauty... was consistently evident.

Perhaps uniquely, the book also describes the emergence of the modern independent designer, of any discipline. Watson's career spanned a seminal period of transition from instinctive and evolutionary craft work to the application of disciplined technological innovation, using new materials and tank testing.

It's a passionate combination of knowledgeable sleuthing, high production values, sheer good looks and a rattling good yarn.

496 pages, over 300 images, €89 including worldwide shipping.

Delux Nappa leather-bound limited edition, €300 including worldwide shipping.

www.peggybawnpress.com

IMOCA Ocean Masters World Championship Announced
The 3rd edition of the Barcelona World Race will close the first season of the newly defined programme for the IMOCA Ocean Masters World Championship which was launched at the Paris Boat Show. The next Barcelona World Race will be preceded by a double-handed transatlantic race between New York and Barcelona starting on 1st June 2014.

Andor Serra CEO of FNOB (Barcelona Foundation for Ocean Sailing), outlined the plans for the 3rd edition of the regatta, which will depart from the capital city on the 31st December 2014. The Barcelona World Race is heading into its third edition as a fully consolidated event. This is sailing's biggest double-handed round the world challenge, with no stops and no external assistance. It is an ISAF Major Event, and will round off the IMOCA Ocean Masters World Championship with a score coefficient of 8.

The route will go around the south of New Zealand, and as for the rules only three stopovers on land will be allowed (eight days in total) and shall each incur a 24-hour penalty.

Sir Keith Mills, Founder and Chairman of OSM (Open Sports Management), presented the new brand :The Ocean Masters World Championship will recognize and celebrate the skippers of the IMOCA 60 race boats by deciding a new World Champion every two years. The Ocean Masters brand brings together all of the existing IMOCA races under one banner with plans to add new events over time.

The programme is organised around two round the world races which include the Barcelona World Race (double handed in 2014/15) and the Vendee Globe (solo in 2016/17).

This first cycle will commence with a new double-handed transatlantic race, between New York and Barcelona, to be known as the IMOCA Ocean Masters New York To Barcelona Race. After one week of racing in front of the Manhattan skyline, the start will take place at the foot of the Statue of Liberty on the 1st June 2014.

www.imoca.org

18ft Skiffs 3-Buoys Challenge, Race 8
Click on image for photo gallery.

Sydney Harbour: Chris Nicholson, Mike McKensey and Ricky Bridge won the Australian 18 Footers League's 3-Buoys Challenge in Mojo Wine after finishing second in today's final race of the series on Sydney Harbour.

It was a great effort by the trio who were consistent, from the back mark, throughout the entire series.

With the best racing conditions this season, the fleet gave a magnificent spectacle for the ferry patrons in the 15-20 knot North-Easterly wind.

Gotta Love It 7 (Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and John Winning Jr.) finally took line honours by 1m45s from Mojo Wine, with last week's winner Coopers 62-Rag & Famish Hotel (Jack Macartney, Mark Kennedy and Peter Harris) another 31s back in third place.

Pure Blonde (Nick Daly) was fourth, followed by Smeg (Nick Press) and Fisher & Paykel (Grant Rollerson).

Final points in the series were: Mojo Wine 25, Yandoo (John Winning 31, Rabbitohs-Kenwood (Brett Van Munster) 33, Smeg 34, Fisher & Paykel 36 and Thurlow Fisher Lawyers (Michael Coxon) 45.

Conditions took a toll on the fleet with only 10 of the 18 starters completing the course.

Next Sunday's Race 2 of the NSW Championship will be the club's final race before the break over Christmas and the New Year.

Racing will resume with Race 1 of the Australian Championship on Sunday 12 January. -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League

www.18footers.com.au

Seahorse January 2014
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Revisiting the classics... while building on innovation
Jocelyn Bleriot takes us on a lap of the new course for the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race

Getting over it - Part 1
Two-time Little America's Cup winner Magnus Clarke reports on the staggeringly rapid pace of development in today's C-Class cat fleet

Seahorse build table - Slightly stretched
Dobbs Davis looks at a Shaun Carkeek 45 that ended up a 47...

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"Like Sailing In A Sewer"
Sailors have expressed disgust at the filthy state of the Brazilian waters in which they will race at the 2016 Olympics, with a former British star describing it as a "sewer".

They spoke out after visiting the Rio de Janeiro venue yesterday.

Ian Barker, who won a silver medal for Britain in the Sydney 2000 Olympics' 49er class and now coaches Ireland, said it was the worst he had seen after sailing in 35 countries.

He said sailors in training ad to stop to disentangle their rudders from rubbish.

"It's a sewer," he said. "It's absolutely disgusting. Something has to be done about it. But you need the political will for these things to happen and at the moment it's not there."

"I've been sailing all over the world for 20 years now, and this is the most polluted place I've ever been," said Allan Norregaard, a Danish bronze medalist in the 2012 London Olympics.

"It's really a shame because it's a beautiful area and city, but the water is so polluted, so dirty and full of garbage."

Rio's Olympic organising committee has promised the pollution will be cleaned up when the Olympics open and the government has pledged to reduce 80% of the pollution flowing into the bay.

But the sailors doubt the problem can be fixed after festering for decades, and many worry about their health. Environmentalists say measures being taken are a "stopgap" likely to mask the problem, not cure it.

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Letters To The Editor -
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.

* From Norm Havercroft: Tonight, Anacortes Yacht Club is having the cup on display for both club members and invited guests. The festivities also include a book signing of "The Billionaire and the Mechanic". In order to deal with the thundering hoard of onlookers, a viewing procession has been set up; much like a wake. It is in fact a wake. Contained in the cup are the ashes of American sailing and American boat building. It should be, by all that is right and holy, named the Kiwi Cup.

This year our Kiwis beat the Kiwi Kiwis. The only thing truly American about the effort was the megalomaniac behind the checkbook. There have always been convenient changes of nationality prior to the race but never on such a wholesale basis. And we wonder why sailing in America is becoming a dying sport.

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