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North Americans Overwhelm On Day One Of The Gill Melges 24 Worlds
Melges 24 Chris Larson and his Canadian team on Cavallino/McLube are leading the Gill Melges 24 World Championship 2014 after a crackalackin' opening day on Geelong's Corio Bay.

There's little comfort in their early lead however, with Harry Melges' Star tied on seven points and second on a countback.

North American crews overwhelmed the 26 boat field on day one of the five day, 12 race regatta, filling the top three places.

Larson swept to victory in the first two races, aggressively covering Star as the pair aimed at the finish line in race one, then dropped to fifth in race three.

Harry Melges and tactician Andy Burdick scored two seconds and a third, the same consistency that furnished Star with a win in last week's Melges 24 Open Australian Nationals on the bay.

Bruce Ayers' Monsoon (USA) completed the top three thanks to a bullet in the final race of the day.

Top Corinthian boat was Robin Deussen's Red Mist from Adelaide Sailing Club. A fifth and a sixth had them best-placed Australian boat overall after race two.

Tomorrow's forecast is for afternoon sea breezes up to 20 knots. Racing is scheduled to start with a 1330 hours warning signal. -- Lisa Ratcliff

Series Results (Open) after three races:

1. Cavillino / Mclube Chris Larson, USA
2. Star Harry Melges, USA
3. Monsoon Bruce Ayres, USA
4. Blu Moon Flavio Favini, SUI
5. Altea Andrea Rachelli, ITA

Series Results (Corinthian) Up To Race 3

1. Redmist Robin Deussen, AUS
2. Roger That Cameron Miles, AUS
3. Amigos Geoff Fogarty, AUS

https://www.facebook.com/Melges24Worlds2014 

24-Hour Pit-Stop In The Hague
The Hague, The Netherlands - A 24-hour pit-stop has been introduced for the final leg in the Dutch port of The Hague.

The news will delight fans in The Netherlands who were already celebrating last month the entrance of Team Brunel for the 12th edition starting on October 4 this year and the follow-up revelation that the professional training company Schouten Global are planning their own Dutch campaign in 2017-18.

The boats are due to arrive on Friday, June 19, 2015 after sailing from the French port of Lorient and then continue racing the following day with a resumption with the same time gaps between them as when they arrived.

The public can get close to the boats and the sailors as they watch the clock tick and get ready to hoist the sails again and complete the final leg of the nine-month marathon in Gothenburg, Sweden.

"In 2008-09, the fleet did a loop close to The Hague for the Dutch fans and it was a success. This time it will be even bigger because the boats will actually come to shore" said Race COO Tom Touber.

The Hague and the Race are planning major public events including music concerts, festivals and many other attractions, some of which will feature the Team Brunel crew and their i

http://volvooceanrace.com

Race The RORC Caribbean 600 On A Volvo 70!
RORC Caribbean 600 Monster Project Do you dream of sailing a Volvo 70? The keel fully canted. Flying a huge spinnaker with six of your crewmates grinding on the pedestals in tropical sunshine. Feeling the power as the boat accelerates down a wave at 25+ knots in warm Caribbean winds...

This could be you!

Monster Project, Team Russia's boat (Kosatka) in the 2008 Volvo Ocean Race, is the only Volvo Open 70 available for charter - a unique opportunity for amateur sailors to experience these amazing racing machines!

The RORC Caribbean 600 is the headline offshore racing event in the Caribbean. With a 600 mile course around 10 islands, it's an epic race to rival the Fastnet - but much warmer!

Join us on Monster Project for our RORC Caribbean 600 program:

- Tuesday 18 through Saturday 22 February: pre-race training at Falmouth Harbour in beautiful Antigua
- Saturday 22 February: Welcome Party, Antigua Yacht Club
- Sunday 23 February: final boat preparations / rest day
- Monday 24 February: RORC Caribbean 600 starts at 1050h
- Friday 28 February: Prize-giving Ceremony, Antigua Yacht Club

Monster Project's RORC Caribbean 600 package includes:

- Race entry
- Berthing fees
- Pre-race training
- Professional Racing Skipper and Crew
- Food and bottled water during sailing
- Monster Project race clothing
- Safety equipment (loan)
- Wet-weather clothing (loan)

Can't make it to the RORC? Monster Project also operates Caribbean, UK, European and Trans-Atlantic Racing and Adventure Sailing charters for groups, corporates and individuals.

See the Calendar on our website:
www.volvo70charter.co.uk
email:

A Design From Dorchester Has Been Chosen For The Bart's Bash
Bart Bash The event on Sunday September 21 at 11am will be in memory of Dorset's Olympic gold and silver winning sailor Andrew 'Bart' Simpson, who sadly died while training with his team for the America's Cup last year.

So far 233 clubs have signed up to take part.

Ten logos were shortlisted and after much deliberation the trustees of the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation chose the design by Polly Durrant from Dorchester.

Judges felt it was 'simple, instantly recognisable, had international reach and included elements from the Star and Finn class logos' - both areas that Andrew was closely linked to.

The logo features the star for Star class and the wavy lines of the Finn class.

Get involved in the world record attempt by visiting Bart's Bash: http://bartsbash.co.uk

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk

Italian 2k Team Racing Moves Up A Gear
Just 2 days to go to the biggest Keelboat Team Racing event ever in Italy.

No less than 9 Italian and 1 Turkish Club will be gathering at Santa Marinella near Rome for a weekend of two boat team racing.

The event organised by the Italian 2K Association will be running training sessions at two levels on the first day followed by a full out "Gladiator" series on Sunday.

Guest stars for the weekend are the UK's top 2K sailors Sam Littlejohn and Tom Hebbert from Spinnaker Club who will be running the on the water sessions then joining in the racing.

http://2Kteamracing.com

A Tiger At The Tail Of A Windy Winter Series
The GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series reaches its climax this weekend with the eighth and final event, the John Merricks Tiger Trophy at Rutland Water. Saturday is looking stormy for the three scheduled handicap races, with a moderate to breezy outlook for Sunday's finale, the Pursuit Race.

Of the 761 boats that have competed across the seven handicap events thus far in the Series, virtually tied at the top are Michael Sims' Solo from Carsington on 43.4 points, with Ben Schooling's Musto Skiff from Datchet Water on 45 points. Not far behind are the SailJuice Winter Series winners from two years ago, Peter Gray and Rachael Rhodes in a Scorpion, and Craig Williamson's Laser.

Online entry for the Tiger Trophy closes at midnight on Thursday 30 January, and with more than 120 entries already registered

Although Schooling won the Asymmetric Fleet at last weekend's Steve Nicholson Trophy at Northampton, he is hoping to avoid another 40-knot battering. Having reflected on the bruising experience of last Saturday's biblical weather, Schooling shares his thoughts in this '40-knot Survival Guide' on SailJuice.com: http://www.sailjuice.com

Former 49er partnership, World Champions and Olympic medallists Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks, will be doing battle against each other in their foiling Moths. If that hasn't worn him out enough on Saturday, Chris is the guest speaker at the evening fundraising dinner where he will share his experiences of steering Luna Rossa's foiling AC72 catamaran in San Francisco last summer.

To secure your entry for the Tiger Trophy, enter by midnight Thursday 30 January, by going to the GJW Direct SailJuice Winter Series website: http://www.SailJuiceSeries.com

Inspirational Speaker - Jim Saltonstall - Olympic Coach and Youth Guru
Jim Saltonstall If one man deserves recognition for Britain's remarkable success within the Olympic sailing arena, it is Jim Saltonstall - the coach who has cajoled, encouraged, and inspired so many youngsters towards world stardom over the past 3 decades.

Among those to have passed through his hands are 4-time Olympic medallist  Sir Ben Ainslie, double gold medallist Sarah Webb,  together with fellow Olympic champions Iain Percy (gold medals in the Finn class in 2000, and Star class in 2008) Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield (two-time Silver medal winners in the 470 class) and a host of world champions. The roll of honour  includes double Etchells world champion Stuart  Childerley, and fellow youth world champions Jason Belben, Andy Hemmings, Lawrence Crisp, Andy Beadsworth, Chris Draper, and Sally Cuthbert - the only person to win four ISAF  World Youth championships in succession.

Honoured by the International Sailing Federation with a lifetime achievement award in 2007, Jim was also awarded an MBE in 1997 and voted Yachtsman of the Year in 1984. 

Following his retirement from international coaching, Jim now imparts his considerable knowledge to motivating business managers to reach the highest levels of performance at management training and speaking engagements. He also runs coaching clinics at sailing clubs to lift aspiring talent from club to national level. 

Other PPL speakers include round the world sailors Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Sir Chay Blyth, Dee Caffari MBE, Tony Bullimore and Mike Perham, America's Cup skipper Harold Cudmore,, Atlantic adventurers Tom McClean and Geoff Holt MBE, Captain Williams Wells, powerboat record breaker Dag Pike, and sailing journalists Bob Fisher, Barry Pickthall and Rob Salvidge.

See http://www.pplmedia.com/speakers/

Industry News
One of Sweden's best known rope producers, Carlmarks, is to make a return to the market a decade after the Gothenburg-based company closed its doors.

Products with the Carlmark brand, designed primarily for the aftermarket, will now be manufactured by LIROS at the company's state-of-the-art facility in Germany.

"We're both proud and full of expectations for when Carlmarks re-enters the Swedish market. Genuine Swedish handyfcraft will be combined with German arts of engineering", says Johnny Kallman at LIROS Scandinavia.

Product development, sales, marketing, store and logistics will all be handled from the company's new head office in Billdal, south of Gothenburg.

Before it closed its door 10 years ago, Carlmarks had clocked up a venerable 200 years of trading history.

IBI News: https://plus.ibinews.com

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Leonardo Ferragamo, Chairman of Nautor's Swan, is pleased to announce the appointment of Paolo Casani as Managing Director of Nautor Holding.

Mr Casani will oversee and reinforce the core and strategic activities of Nautor's Swan, with a focus on integrating the activities of the companies within the Nautor group, with special emphasis in the development of international markets and global efficiencies.

2014 marks the 18th edition of the Rolex Swan Cup, the jewel in the crown of the ClubSwan calendar, which will include the Swan 45 World Championship, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo.

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Navico Holding AS, parent company of the Lowrance, Simrad and B&G brands, announced today that it has acquired Contour Innovations.

Contour Innovations is a mapping and geospatial software company that created the LakeTrax platform, which powers Navico's Insight Genesis global map-making tool.

Navico has worked closely with the Contour Innovations team for the last two years to bring Insight Genesis to market. To date, Insight Genesis has provided innovative map-making tools to 146 countries - a number that continues to grow.

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The 2014 Dusseldorf International Boat Show (boot Dusseldorf) closed with visitor numbers up 9.9% to 248,600 people. Show organiser Messe Dusseldorf says that a large amount of business was conducted during the nine-day event, with 1,661 exhibitors from 60 countries present in 17 exhibition halls.

Germany passed new legislation in late 2012 that allows boats of up to 15hp to be piloted without a license on the country's inland waterways. Speaking to IBI on the first Monday of the show, Tracht said that the new regulation led to a 150 per cent increase in sales of 15hp engines last year. "Sales of smaller boats also increased," he said. "I spoke to some of the exhibitors on the first weekend of the show and they were very satisfied with sales. They really have benefited from the regulation."

Business was also good for large motoryachts from 12m (26ft) upwards, while demand for mid-sized yachts from 8m-12m (26ft-39ft) met the expectations of exhibitors.

According to Tracht, companies selling sailing boats and yachts were generally pleased with the outcome of the show. "This was true for all size categories, even though business in this segment was - as expected - a bit more quiet," he says.

IBI News: https://plus.ibinews.com

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Dominion Marine Media portal Boats.com, the global online resource for boating enthusiasts, announced the launch of redesigned web portals in the United States, Canada and Australia.

After several months of development, the portals were revitalized with an improved look and feel, easier navigation and increased functionality, Dominion Marine Media said in a statement.

Dominion said the redesign underlines Boats.com's commitment to remaining the best in its category.

http://boats.com

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With the increasing popularity of the 29er skiff around the World, the Int. 29er Class is happy to announce increased distribution and dealer networks in the North American region. The availability of 29er hulls, spars and masts is now more accessible with the addition of 4 main partners with an additional Northeast distributor to be named shortly.

The 29er Class is proud to team up with the following distributors and dealers in North America:

West Coast Sailing: Portland, Oregon, USA KO Sailing: Seabrook, Texas, USA Zim Sailing: Rhode Island, USA Pitch Pole Skiff Products: Dorval, Quebec, Canada

These four Distributors join the prestigious group of 17 current distributors and dealers spread across 15 countries covering the globe. Currently there are 7 licensed builders in the 29er world based on every continent.

http://29er.org

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Beneteau celebrates its 130th birthday with new headquarters.

In 1884, Benjamin Beneteau, a fully qualified shipbuilder, founded the Beneteau boatyard in the village of Croix-de-Vie to build trawlers for fishermen. Little did he know that 130 years later, his business would turn into the world leader in the manufacture of sailboats and a major player in the powerboat industry.

The new building is located in Vendee on the French Atlantic Coast, where it all started. Consisting of two low-lying buildings, linked by a gallery, the contemporary structure was designed by the Beneteau Group's in-house engineers, Beri 21, together with French architects P.A.D. The main facade is made of glass and a perforated resin screen that uses light effects to create a seahorse, Beneteau's emblematic logo. The headquarters' staff along with design and engineering, sales, after sales and marketing teams have all moved to this site.

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 Butch Dalrymple-Smith: Critics of the ISAF might remember Abraham Lincoln's words "You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time." However when it comes to selecting Olympic classes, it is unlikely that the ISAF will ever be able to please any people any of the time while it remains a political body. Each delegate feels that his job is to maximise the chances of success of the country he represents without any consideration for the interests of the majority of yachtsmen or the future benefit of the sport.

It is a pity that every current Olympic class requires physical fitness and agility. While I appreciate the traditions of the Star class, they too are physically demanding, especially for the crew. I hanker after the days when metre boats were part of the mix as these emphasise the intellectual challenge of racing sailing yachts. I cheered when 59 year-old Bill Northam won an Olympic gold medal in the 5.5 metre class 1964, a feat that is unlikely to be repeated now.

* From Robert Wilkes: It is not the ISAF which is guilty of imposing GBR on U.K. sailors. GBR is used in all Olympic sports and is determined by the IOC.

To quote my history of the Optimist Class:

"The use of national letters appears to have started around 1968, certainly before the Optimist became an IYRU International Class. At that time the IYRU used national letters which had originated around 1925 and reflected their British origin. 'K' was used for Great Britain, and most British Commonwealth countries had sail letters starting with a 'K', for example 'KC' for Canada. 'H' was used for what the British called Holland but some of the other letters are difficult to understand: why 'Z' for Switzerland? Not until 1993 did the IYRU change to the three-letter Olympic abbreviations though it still lists these as if issued by it."

Featured Brokerage
Featured Brokerage Boat 2009 Beneteau First 35. 115,000 GBP. Located In Gosport, Hampshire, United Kingdom.

Beneteau First 35 built in 2009. Superb example of this pocket-rocket which has been looked after to a high standard, and has an impressive cupboard of silverware to her name. Well known in the Solent as a formidable opponent, she comes with an extensive suit of sails and a high level of specification overall.

Brokerage through Why Boats: www.yachtworld.com/whyboats/

Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com

The Last Word
It is not possible to step twice into the same river. -- Heraclitus

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