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Star Worlds Day Four
Malcesine, Italy: The fourth day at the 2014 International Star Class World Championship will be remembered as the longer, until now, of this 92nd edition. Two races were in schedule due to the yesterday's cancellation of the race number 3 in order to catch up with the program.

The first flight initially planned at 8.00 AM was delayed for two hours waiting a reduction of Garda's famous southbound Peler wind. Around 10 o'clock race 3 had a great and clear start in good breeze. Race 3 was characterized by a thermal wind switch of 180 degrees from northerly to southerly and ended with the second consecutive win for Brazilians Lars Grael & Sam Goncalves just 20 minutes prior to the time limit.

After a quick lunch break, race 4 start was very aggressive and required four tries. It was the beginning of the second half of this championship, so the the pressure was on. Recalls, postponements and black flags saw a total of 17 boats out of race 4, including BRA 8474 Lars Grael; that penalty may have put him off the challenge for the podium.

2014 International Star Class World Championship include 2 more races.

1. Augie Diaz / Arnis Baltins, USA, 32 points
2. Diego Negri / Sergio Lambertenghi, ITA, 35
3. Eivind Melleby / Bruno Prada, NOR, 36
4. Johannes Polgar / Markus Koy, GER, 40
5. Marcelo Fuchs / Ronald Seifert, BRA, 45
6. Robert Stanjek / Frithjof Kleenn, GER, 52
7. Xavier Rohart / Serge Pulfer, FRA, 56
8. Torben Grael / Guilherme de Almeida, ARG, 58
9. Emilios Papathanasiou / Antonis Tsotras, Olympiacos, GRE, 61
10. Mate Arapov / Ante Sitic, JK Mornar Split, 64

www.starworld2014.com
Live streaming: live.starsailors.com

Wet and Wild Start to ORC European Championship
Photo by Max Ranchi, www.maxranchi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Valencia, Spain: With stormy weather featuring rain squalls over 25 knots, huge waves, and even a waterspout in the course area, the 51 entries from 11 nations had a wet and wild start today at the 2014 ORC European Championship being held with the Trofeo SM La Reina at the Real Club Nautico Valencia (RCNV). Today's race counts 1.2 points towards the overall championship series scores, and inshore racing will start tomorrow and be held daily through Sunday, 6 July.

The strong northeasterly wind and waves took their toll on the fleet, with 8 boats dropping out for various problems, such as broken sails, gear, and some minor injuries.

Escaping major damage today and the first boat around the entire 63-mile course was Giuseppe Parodi's TP 52 Hurakan, helmed by Marco Serafini with tactics called by Tommaso Chieffi. This Italian team is the reigning ORC Class A World Champion, having won in last year's Adria Ferries ORC Worlds held in Ancona, Italy, but at the midpoint of today's race they were laying in only 10th place in corrected time in Class A, due to the strange weather here in Valencia today.

Further proof of this inversion of the corrected times was the fact that the slowest boat in the fleet - Jose Cabelleros's Dehler 29 Cabelleros - was leading Class B at the course midpoint. Cabelleros is one of eight all-amateur teams who are in contention for the Corinthian Trophy to be awarded in each class, and coincidently is also based in Gandia near the mid-course mark.

Heading back to Valencia the wind picked up again as the fleet came back into the rough weather near the port, but not quite enough to keep the fast boats from saving their time. Provisional results indicate Bernd Kammerlander's British XP-44 Koyama, skippered by Inaki Castener, is the winner of Class A, and in second was the midcourse leader, Natalia Brailoiu's Romanian Swan 42 Natalia, and in third Carlos Reboll's Spanish First 45DK Flyer 2.

And in Class B Milan Hajek's Czech Beneteau 40.7 Three Sisters was first to cross the finish line at RCNV, with more finishers on the horizon.

Giving the exhausted crews a break, racing resumes later tomorrow with the start of the first inshore race at 15:30 local time.

www.trofeoreina.es
www.orc.org

Kru Sport Pro and R10: The Ultimate Combination
Ocean Safety has integrated a couple of vital safety products, which when combined increase the chances of survival at sea for a person overboard. The Kru Sport Pro lifejacket is the choice of racing sailors and when it is fitted with the Kannad R10 AIS Survivor Recovery System (SRS) it provides a crew member in the water with the best chance of being located.

The Sport Pro's waistcoat design makes it very comfortable and barely noticeable to wear and that's why it's more likely to be worn for longer periods by sailors at sea on tough ocean races or long distance cruises.

The complete Kru range can be fitted with the innovative and compact R10, creating a completely integrated personal safety system. The R10's size means it can be also carried in a pocket. The R10 alerts AIS receivers on vessels within a four -six mile radius with precision position information, so if a crew member falls overboard, the alert will transmit both onboard the yacht, and also on other vessels in the area.

The Kru Sport Pro and R10 is a winning combination, providing the best possible safety back up for crews.

www.oceansafety.com

Gale Force Marstrand Conditions
Marstrand, Sweden: Stena Match Cup Sweden is known for being one of the few events where, thanks to the boats and venue topography, sailors can race in anger inshore in gale force conditions with spinnakers.

Today's racing was a classic example with the winds blowing a solid 25 knots, gusting to gale force. It was a day of shredded, wrapped and trawled spinnakers, collisions, a broach of the normally unbroachable DS37 as well as some at-the-limit match racing.

Qualifying concluded today with Ian Williams' GAC Pindar winning on an impressive 12 points, but tied with Francesco Bruni's Luna Rossa. Both teams dropped just one match: Williams to the 20-year-old Dane Joachim Aschenbrenner, Bruni falling to Williams. They finished four points ahead of third placed Mathieu Richard's Lunajets and Keith Swinton's Team Alpari FX.

Fighting for their survival at Stena Match Cup Sweden today were the mid-fielders, Bjorn Hansen, David Gilmour, Phil Robertson, Nicolai Sehested. Robertson in particular had a disappointing day losing his last four matches.

Slipping through to the Quarter Finals was David Gilmour, the newbie Tour Card holder causing upset by beating Tour defending champion Taylor Canfield in the final match of the last flight. Tomorrow the Quarter Finals set sail at 09:30.

Final Results of Qualifying

Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 12-1
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Luna Rossa 12-1
Mathieu Richard (FRA) LunaJets 8-5
Keith Swinton (AUS) Team Alpari FX 8-5
Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Team Trifork 7.5-5
Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone 7-6
Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Sailing Team 6-7
David Gilmour (ASU) Team Gilmour 6-7
Phil Robertson (NZL) Waka Racing 6-7
Nicolai Sehested (DEN) Trefor Match Racing 6-7
Ed Baird (USA) Quantum Racing 4-9
Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Team Magnus Holmberg 3-10
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team 2.5-10
Viktor Ogeman (SWE) Team Accure 2-11

Stage 2 Stena Match Cup Sweden, Alpari World Match Racing Tour - Quarter-Finals
Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar vs Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Team Trifork
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Luna Rossa v David Gilmour (ASU) Team Gilmour
Mathieu Richard (FRA) LunaJets v Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone
Keith Swinton (AUS) Team Alpari FX v Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Sailing Team

www.wmrt.com
www.stenamatchcupsweden.com

Invitational Team Racing Challenge
Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy: The first edition of the Invitational Team Racing Challenge, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo, got off to a superb start with perfect sailing conditions and well over half of the matches in the round robin completed on day one.

The British team representing Royal Thames Yacht Club had an outstanding day and, having completed their full quota of seven matches in the Round Robin, sit comfortably on six wins out of seven races run. Only the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda team, captained by Filippo Molinari, managed to beat the RTYC today, one of the YCCS' three victories out of five races run. Fellow Italians of the Circolo Canottieri Aniene also had a positive day, as did the German team representing the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, both of whom also notched up three victories over five matches.

The next appointment for the competing crews on the race course is scheduled for tomorrow at 11.30 a.m. to complete the remaining four flights of the Round Robin. Racing will then continue to define the fifth to eighth placed crews.

Tomorrow's forecast is for 12-14 knots of east-south easterly wind.

www.yccs.com
facebook.com/pages/Invitational-Team-Racing-Challenge/

New Trophies for RORC Transatlantic Race
RORC Commodore, Mike Greville & Chief Executive, Eddie Warden Owen with the  1928 RORC Transatlantic Race Trophy for the Overall Winner in IRC. Photo by RORC/onEdition. Click on image to enlarge.

Two magnificent perpetual trophies will be awarded to winners of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's inaugural Transatlantic Race this November.

Departing from Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, the first yacht to complete the course and cross the finish line, 2,800 miles later in Grenada, will be presented with a sterling silver trophy by the International Maxi Association (IMA).

An equally impressive trophy has been sought for the Overall Winner in IRC by the RORC and John Bowles, a specialist in sporting trophies, certainly came up trumps.

Standing a mighty 26 inches on its new, solid mahogany, plinth and measuring 17 inches from handle to handle, this December the silver records band will be engraved with the name of the first ever winner of the RORC Transatlantic Race under RORC's IRC rating system.

As is the 'norm' for antique trophies of this quality, any previous engraving has been removed so its original purpose or background is unknown.

Both trophies will be awarded at the Prizegiving ceremony, to be held at Camper & Nicholsons Marina Port Louis, on the Spice Island of Grenada with Grenada Tourism Authority on Saturday 20th December 2014.

rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

Tour Voile: Ready, Set...
It's the day before the Prologue. The docks of Dunkerque are buzzing with activity. Crew members and shore teams are working hand in hand in a race against time. And for those who are better prepared, it's a day on the water... Will they be the first to cross the finish line tomorrow?

According to an old superstition, the winner of the Prologue won't be the winner of the race. Last year's champion Groupama 34 is back on the Tour de France à la Voile, with a very similar crew, but skipper Franck Cammas will only be onboard for the Mediterranean legs, as he is also competing in the Nacra 17 European Championship.orried about it, and he relies on Fabien Henry to take on his role.

Groupama 34 will compete against another race favourite and a veteran of the circuit, Courrier Dunkerque 3. The local team, skippered by the tried out skipper Daniel Souben (10 Tours under his belt !), will be motivated to win in its home port. And they are only one step from the top of the podium.

Oman Sail will also be one team to keep an eye on. The Omani M34 crew, this time led by Sidney Gavignet, is growing stronger and their goal is clearly to climb on the podium.

On the Corinthian ranking, the young crew of Toulon Provence Mediterranee - COYCH is looking at taking the 1st place of Normandy - Acerel, the 2013 winner. Delphine Wolters will lead the new belgian-swiss coalition of Be. Brussels-Bienne Voile.

www.tourvoile.fr

The Volvo Ocean 65
As Geoff Stock explains, if you're going to drive a boat to its limits - you'll need to know where its limits are...

Custom racing boatbuilders such as Green Marine succeed and prosper according to the quality and rigour of their R&D programmes. Mostly, our efforts have targeted the development of reliable process methods and the application of the latest materials and techniques to the boats we build. But increasingly over the past seven or eight years we have taken on the responsibility for structural engineering, and our efforts have been directed at the more general goal of building more reliable racing yachts.

So, in June 2012, when presented with the task of leading the construction of the new Volvo Ocean 65 fleet, our first priority was to define the structural imperatives of the project. In the spirit of the Volvo Ocean Race itself, we put in place a programme that we hope will make a lasting contribution to the safety of ocean racing.

There is an inherent conflict between the performance and the strength of a yacht. The line between a racing boat being light enough and strong enough is not as sharp as we'd like; so with every project a decision must be made regarding how 'close to the sun' the structural engineers should fly. Twentyfive years ago race organisers decided that as far as boat structures were concerned they would make the ABS scantling guidelines the lower limit. This simplified the work of engineers considerably; their objective became a matter of getting the lightest boat possible throughout ABS plan approval. The ABS guidelines have long been replaced by ISO and GL, but the principle is the same: engineers work to a set level.

www.seahorsemagazine.com

Industry News
Hudson Wight Performance Sailwear has been appointed the Official Clothing Sponsor for this year's Charles Stanley Cowes Classics Week from 21-25 July, organised and hosted by the Royal London Yacht Club, Cowes. Cowes Classics Week is one of the highlights of the Classic sailing circuit and this year will see over 150 yachts with some 700 crew competing in the Solent. Hudson Wight is producing Event-branded Day Jackets for the team of seven Race Officers as well as Polo Shirts for the Club staff and all the Event volunteers. The company is also providing a range of fantastic prizes for the competitors. A Hudson Wight Performance Jacket is being presented to the winner in each of the 12 classes racing and the Overall winner receives a complete Hudson Wight Bundle including a full set of HW1 offshore-spec foul weather gear.

www.rlyc.org.uk
www.hudsonwight.com

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Blue Box Sailing, the Hampshire based sailing experience company has announced a far reaching partnership with UK sailing charity Sail 4 Cancer. In addition to providing free sailing experiences for Sail 4 Cancer beneficiaries, Blue Box Sailing will also carry large Sail 4 Cancer logos on the bows of its two Clipper 60 'Round the World' yachts.

On selected days between June and September 2014, Blue Box will provide unique sailing experiences for sixty people living with cancer and their families. In an act of immense kindness, the costs of laying on these special respite days will be borne by Blue Box Sailing and will include crew, lunch on-board and the use of wet weather clothing.

Set up in 2001 by a group of keen sailors who had all lost a close friend or relative to cancer, Sail 4 Cancer is primarily a provider of water based respite days and holidays for families affected by cancer. The charity also makes grants to cancer care centres and funds research into the positive effects of exercise.

www.sail4cancer.org
www.blueboxsailing.com

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The Beneteau Group announced it bought Rec Boat Holdings, a group of U.S. brands owned by Platinum Equity Group, which includes Michigan-based Four Winns, Glastron, Wellcraft and Scarab.

Beneteau says the acquisition is in line with the group's development strategy for the North American market. The private equity group retains ownership of Flippin, Ark.-based Fishing Boat Holdings, maker of the Ranger, Triton and Stratos boat brands that were also acquired at that time.

Based in Cadillac, Mich., the company has revenue of about $150 million and employs 475 people. It has a network of more than 200 dealers across North America and its entry into the Beneteau Group will "enable it to expand its access to the European and global markets," the company said.

Featured Brokerage
2008 King 40. GBP 240, 000. Located in Hamble, United Kingdom.

Any sensible offers will be considered. Tokoloshe has been campaigned by the same owner since new and has had no expense spared in order to keep her competitive and looking good.

All sails by North. 3dl, 3di and panelled delivery sails.
34 sails in total including 2012 and 2013 sails.
Re faired and re painted 2010.
New deck paint 2013

Spare rudder, spinnaker pole and much more.

This yacht is very well equipped and prepared and is ready to sail.

Brokerage by Blue Marine Yachting: bluemarineyachting.com

Contact:
David Bartholomew
0778 086 0134

Complete details

See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
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