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Robertson Sets Up Reunion With Canfield In Congressional Cup
Phil Robertson remembers the last time he competed in the Congressional Cup.
"Three years ago," the New Zealander said Tuesday after winning Stage One of the 50th event with nine wins and one loss. "I tied for ninth with Taylor Canfield, but I had him on tiebreakers and kept him in last place. He won the book."
"The book" is "Race Your Boat Right," by the late racing legend Arthur Knapp Jr. traditional awarded to the last-place finisher.
Robertson, 26 and rated No. 4 in the world, and Canfield, 25, of the U.S. Virgin Islands and now rated No. 1---he must have read the book---will meet again over the next few days in Stage Two of the Congressional Cup Wednesday through Sunday.
Robertson and the next three of six competitors in Stage One will join Canfield along with five former Congressional Cup winners: Ian Williams of the UK (currently No. 2), defending champion Simone Ferrarese (No. 16) of Italy, Mathieu Richard of France (No. 5), Johnie Berntsson of Sweden (No. 14) and 2010 winner Francesco Bruni (No. 102) of Italy.
Robertson made the most of a moderate southwest breeze of 8 knots sweeping the Long Beach outer harbor by winning all five of his races, including a win over first-day leader Dave Perry, who had 6 wins and 4 losses in the double round-robin, by a close but comfortable 14 seconds. Perry followed at 6-4, followed by local veteran Scott Dickson, 5-5, edging Australia's Keith Swinton also 5-5, on a tiebreaker. Dustin Durant of Long Beach finished out of the money at 3-7, while Christopher Poole of Oyster Bay, N.Y, was 2-8.
Stage Two racing is scheduled to start daily at 11:30 a.m., conditions permitting. -- Rich Roberts
Final Stage One results
1. Robertson, 9-1
2. Perry, 6-4
3. Dickson, 4.5-5*
4. Swinton, 4-5*
5. Durant, 3-7
* Half-point deductions for causing excessive damage
Ainslie Offered &Pound;8m To Set Up In Portsmouth
City leaders are hoping an £8m sweetener will convince Olympic sailor Sir Ben Ainslie to set up a permanent race base in Portsmouth.
Leader of Portsmouth City Council Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson has put in a multi-million pound bid to pay for facilities and infrastructure if Sir Ben chooses to set up a base at the Camber dock in Old Portsmouth.
He said: 'What I have done now is talked to the Department for Business for a bid of £8m to support the team.
'We have put the bid in as a council and it's to cover the costs of putting in the infrastructure and facilities needed.
'We talked to the department about getting it in as an exceptional Regional Growth Fund bid.'
It's hoped if the £8m bid is successful it will convince the Ainslie team to pick Portsmouth.
As revealed in The News on Saturday, inset, the four-time Olympic gold medallist is looking to base his racing team here.
Up to 100 jobs could be created, with the most successful sailor in Olympic history also drawing huge attention to the area.
And Cllr Vernon-Jackson said BAE Systems told him it would support Sir Ben's team.
He added: 'BAE Systems have said it will support the team - but only if they [the team] are in Portsmouth - by letting them use its facilities if needed and things like that.'
Sir Ben's racing team have not confirmed if Portsmouth has been chosen but workers have been seen surveying the Camber.
Hudson Wight HW1s Are Put Through Their Paces
"In summary, I would now without hesitation consider the Hudson Wight Jacket & Salopettes (HW1s) as my first choice; indeed I feel strongly enough about the significant increase in effectiveness that I find myself regularly evangelising about this new brand and its future in the sailing marketplace." -- Norrie Forster (Delivery Skipper and RYA Yachtmaster Instructor)
Weather range: F1 - F7/Sea states: Slight - Rough/Sailing for over 80% of 850nm passage.
Suit performance: Ease of donning/removal - The suit is remarkably straightforward to fit, even with multiple layers. The finish on the inside enabled it to slip on even over fairly bulky layers with ease.
Waterproof effectiveness: I used the suit in extremes of sailing weather from flat calm to gusts nearing 40knots at one juncture. Having been drenched in 'green water' from waves to an incredibly heavy conventional downpour/thunderstorm on approaches to Falmouth for an hour, I can without any hesitation say the Hudson Wight suit performed faultlessly.
Perspiration retention: Most impressively, I have had no occasion where I have noted ANY dampness on my inner layers or the suit as a result of perspiration. This is significant since I have always noted and come to expect some amounts of perspiration, especially after a passage where there has been a lot of beating to wind or, sail/sheet management throughout rough weather sailing.
Read Norrie's no-holes-barred report here: www.hudsonwight.com/news/
For details of products, OceanVent technical fabric and pricing details, visit: www.hudsonwight.com
Chill Out
Photo by David Branigan, http://www.oceansport.ie. Click on image to enlarge.
So how relaxed can you get? This man is seen taking a Volvo 70 straight into the Atlantic at Galway, following which he will sail and succeed in one of the toughest legs of the Volvo World Race. When Ken Read says we should all relax a bit more, clearly he means it - and in Galway he showed how.
As the sailing community ponders the global fall-off in casual sailing numbers, leading sailor Ken Read reckons that one of the reasons is because our sport is getting too serious. He says it's time for most sailors to take a chill-pill. W M Nixon muses on how this suggestion is reflected in Ireland.
Ken Read, former Volvo World Race skipper of notable success, and holder of heaven only knows how many major championships and sailing records, is these days the President of North Sails.
So when the President of North Sails advocates a change of sailing attitude at a recent convention of J Boat dealers in America, the sailing world is well advised to take notice.
Ken Read got his main point made immediately at the J Boat gathering. He wants recreational racing to take a chill pill. He argues that the message is simple: the harder we play, and the more we invest in our recreation, the fewer people will want to take part in the game.
You'd guess the key phrase is "recreational racing". In other words, he's talking of what you and I do in club racing, at local, regional and class championships, and in offshore races on the nearest bit of open water.
Obviously we're not talking Olympic aspirations, or indeed sailing towards one of the 143 world titles which sailing offers to dedicated participants. But if we did want a scapegoat for people being turned off sailing, I'd be minded to blame the dominance of the Olympics in the public's thinking about minority sports.
The Olympic circus is the sow that eats others' farrow...
Much more to read and consider in Afloat:
afloat.ie/blogs/
Celebrating 50 Years
Since 1826 Cowes Week has played a key part in the British sporting summer calendar and is one of the UK's longest running and most successful sporting events. It now stages up to 40 daily races for between 800 and 1,000 boats and is the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world.
Although the regatta is almost 190 years old, it is only in more recent times that the Week has become an integrated series of races organised by a single body. During the post-war era, each day of racing was run by a different Cowes or Solent mainland club with every club printing their own sailing instructions and running their own programme of racing for the day. It was not until 1964 that, on the suggestion of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (a regular competitor and Admiral of the Royal Yacht Squadron), Cowes Combined Clubs was formed to run and organise the regatta, with the Royal Yacht Squadron line becoming the universal start line and with one set of sailing instructions and racing marks for the Week.
In 2014, Cowes Combined Clubs is proud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of coordinated race management at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week and to mark the occasion, the CCC Anniversary Trophy is being introduced. Peter Dickson, Chairman of Cowes Combined Clubs and Cowes Week Limited explains: "It seems fitting to introduce a new team trophy in celebration of the team efforts of our ten member clubs in successfully running the Cowes Week racing programme for the last 50 years. The event has evolved enormously in that time and we look forward to continuing to serve competitors in the best possible way into the next 50 years and beyond. The CCC Anniversary Trophy is a painting that has been commissioned on behalf of CCC from local yachtsman and artist, Mike Till, which depicts HMY Britannia off Cowes with HRH The Duke of Edinburgh's yachts Coweslip, Bluebottle and Bloodhound under sail in the foreground. This perpetual trophy will be awarded in 2014 as an interclub team trophy with the original painting held on the premises of the winning club".
The introduction of the Trophy is reflected in a recently published amendment to the Notice of Regatta. Teams of three boats can be nominated by any sailing or yacht club to represent them, and can be from across any class or combination of classes (although boats may only race for one team). Team nominations are welcomed by 1700 on Friday 1 August and must be made in writing to the Regatta Office.
ISAF World Sailing Rankings
The ISAF World Sailing Rankings for 7 April 2014 have been released.
Class leaders:
Nacra 17 - Ben Saxton / Hannah Diamond, GBR
Men's 470 - Mathew Belcher / William Ryan, AUS
Women's 470 - Camille Lecointre / Mathilde Geron / Helene Defrance, FRA
Finn - Oliver Tweddell, AUS
Laser - Tonci Stipanovic, CRO
Laser Radial - Marit Bouwmeester, NED
49er - Julien D'ortoli / Noe Delpech, FRA
49erFX - Martine Soffiatti Grael / Kahena Kunze, BRA
Women's RS:X - Bryony Shaw, GBR
Men's RS:X - Ho Tsun Leung, HKG
The full ISAF World Sailing Ranking lists, results from all ISAF Graded events, lists of Graded events throughout the year, Ranking release dates and the method of calculation for the Rankings can be found on the ISAF website at www.sailing.org/rankings
Seahorse May 2014
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine
World news
Corrosion is blamed for Bernard Stamm's near-sinking, Charles Caudrelier gets the Dongfeng call, two-handed round New Zealand, why Chris Nicholson can't wait for the 2014 Volvo to begin and Ken Read is voting 'two-hull'. Dobbs Davis, Blue Robinson, Carlos Pich, Ivor Wilkins, Patrice Carpentier
A new twist...
Southern Spars' new headsail furling system is lighter and it also furls faster. Scott Vogel
Paul Cayard
And it's great to be sailboat racing once again
The genesis of a mad idea - Part 1
Jocelyn Bleriot celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Trophee Jules Verne
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Melges 32 Winter Series
Miami, Florida, USA: Congratulations are in full order for Bermuda's Alec Cutler and his Hedgehog team as they proudly claimed the 2014 Winter Series Championship title on Sunday afternoon at the third and final event of the three-part regatta series. Tactician Richard Clarke and crew members Mike Wolfs, Max Skelley, Eric Dorman, Sarah Callahan, Alan 'Budda' Nakanishi and Victor Diaz de Leon sailed to success with Cutler.
Winning the third and final event of the Series, the Miami Spring Challenge, is former Class World Champion John Kilroy's Samba Pa Ti with tactician Paul Goodison, Harry Melges, Jeff Reynolds, Eric Aakhus, Matt McDonough, Martino Tortarolo and Justin Smart.
Sailing solid all week, young gun Dalton DeVos on Delta won a tiebreaker for second against current World Champion Jason Carroll on Argo who grabbed third overall.
The next Melges 32 heat for the fleet is the start of the 2014 Audi Tron Sailing Series in Naples, Italy.
Up next in North America is the class sanctioned New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta on June 13-15.
The Miami Spring Challenge was hosted at Miami Beach Marina in Miami, Florida, supported by Coconut Grove Sailing Club and Melges USA.
Top Five Results (Final - After Seven Races)
1. John Kilroy/Paul Goodison, Samba Pa Ti, 22 points
2. Dalton DeVos/Jonathan McKee, Delta, 30
3. Jason Carroll/Cameron Appleton, Argo, 30
4. Alec Cutler/Richard Clark, hedgehog, 31
5. Richard Goransson/Morgan Larson, H/H/ Inga From Sweden, 33
Top Five 2014 Miami Winter Series Results (Final - After Three Events)
1. Alec Cutler, Hedgehog = 292 pts
2. Richard Gorranson, H/H Inga From Sweden = 285 pts
3. Deneen Demourkas, Groovederci = 281 pts
4. Dieter Schoen, Momo = 278 pts
5. Chris Wientjes, Stormvogel = 269 pts
New Board Named For ETNZ
Retiring chairman of Emirates Team New Zealand Gary Paykel has announced the formation of a new five-member board of directors to govern Emirates Team New Zealand.
He said he had consulted widely to assemble a board made up of passionate New Zealanders with a range of skills and in-depth experience in many areas of New Zealand business and technology as well as past experience with the team and the America's Cup.
Mr Paykel said Dr Keith Turner would chair the board.
The board's immediate tasks are to review the Protocol (the document which governs the conduct of the America's Cup), assess the possibility of mounting a credible challenge from New Zealand and prepare a business case for the Government. Oracle, the defender of the America's Cup, is expected to make the Protocol public within the next few days.
While details of the management structure and the operating model will be worked through as part of preparing the business case for any challenge, Grant Dalton will assume the position of CEO, reporting to the Board.
Chair, Dr Keith Turner
Dr Turner is an experienced professional director. He is currently the chairman of Fisher & Paykel Appliances Limited, deputy chairman of Auckland International Airport, and a director of Chorus.
Director, Sir Stephen Tindall
Businessman, philanthropist and investor Sir Stephen Tindall, founder and director of the Warehouse Group, has had a long association with Emirates Team New Zealand.
Director, Greg Horton
Greg Horton is one of the founding directors of Harmos Horton Lusk, an Auckland-based specialist corporate legal advisory firm.
Director, Tina Symmans
Tina Symmans has more than 25 years' experience in advising companiesmost particularly in the fields of strategic communications and corporate and government relations.
Director, Bob Field
Bob Field recently retired from a successful career in the international motor industry, including 30 years as managing director and chair of Toyota New Zealand.
etnzblog.com/#!2014/04/new-board-named-for-etnz
Message In Bottle Arrives After 101 Years
A message in a bottle tossed in the sea in Germany 101 years ago and believed to be the world's oldest has been presented to the sender's granddaughter, a museum said on Monday.
A fisherman pulled the beer bottle with the scribbled message out of the Baltic off the northern city of Kiel last month, said Holger von Neuhoff of the International Maritime Museum in the northern port city of Hamburg.
"This is certainly the first time such an old message in a bottle was found, particularly with the bottle intact," he said.
Researchers then set to work identifying the author and managed to track down his 62-year-old granddaughter Angela Erdmann, who lives in Berlin. "It was almost unbelievable," Erdmann told the German news agency DPA.
She was first able to hold the brown bottle last week at the Hamburg museum. Inside was a message on a postcard requesting the finder return it to the writer's home address in Berlin.
Von Neuhoff said researchers were able to determine based on the address that it was 20-year-old baker's son Richard Platz who threw the bottle in the Baltic while on a hike with a nature appreciation group in 1913.
A Berlin-based genealogical researcher then located Erdmann, who never knew Platz, her mother's father who died in 1946 at the age of 54.
Von Neuhoff said a handwriting comparison with letters penned by Platz later in life confirmed that he was "without a doubt" the author.
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1990 Racing Trimaran ORMA LAKTOA. 280000 Euros. Located in Grenada.
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Originally built as PIERRE 1er for the legendary French sailor Florence Arthaud , she won the Route du Rhum in 1990, making her the first woman ever to win a major offshore sailing event.
She became LAKOTA in 1993 with her new owner and skipper, US tycoon Steve Fossett, who was 5th over the line in Route du Rhum 1994 despite a limited experience in multihull sailing. He then sailed her in the Transpac 1995 (1st over the line), San Francisco Yokohama 1995, Los Angeles Honolulu 1997 (2nd over the line), 1999 Pineapple Cup 1999 (1st). In total, he broke 12 ocean records with her between 1993 and 2000.
In 2000, she was sold to the Swedish team "Atlant Group". They broke many records. She became successively SONY (2001), PINDAR (2001 - skipper Emma Richards), SONY (2002), NICATOR (Le Cap Rio Race in 2003 : 1st over the line), TIETO ENATOR L'OREAL (2004), LAKOTA (2007) and SJOVILLAN (2008).
In 2011, she was sold to her current owner who enjoyed using her for cruising and fast ocean passages since. Current condition - ready to sail.
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The Last Word
Simplicity is the touchstone in finding new physical laws. ... If it's elegant, then it's a rough rule of thumb: you're on the right track. -- Kip Thorne
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