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Mini 6.50: Giancarlo Pedote Supreme Between Les Sables and the Azores
Giancarlo Pedote did justice to his status as outright favourite of Les Sables - Les Acores - Les Sables race by winning the first leg to Horta hands down. A fellow candidate for the next Vendee Globe, Nicolas Boidevezi, secured third place.

It was with a comfortable lead of nearly 8 hours over second placed Michele Zambelli that Giancarlo Pedote crossed the finish line in Horta in the Azores archipelago on Sunday, with a race time of 6 days 22 hours and 23 minutes. Boasting good speed and clean trajectories aboard Prysmian, a rounded scow bow prototype, Giancarlo Pedote sailed a masterful race, virtually leading the fleet from beginning to end.

Well on his way to securing outright victory in the fifth edition of this return race between Les Sables d'Olonne and the Azores, Giancarlo is keeping any sense of euphoria toned down. "Everything that I've gained so far will come in useful for the return leg, but I haven't forgotten that we're only at the halfway point right now." Nicolas Boidevezi, who is also aiming to participate in the Vendee Globe 2016-17, has bagged third place in the first act. The second leg will set sail on Tuesday 5 August with a probable arrival in Les Sables d'Olonne a week later.

Top Five Series
1. Jonas Gerkens, Netwerk
2. Damien Audrain, EPC-reves De Clown
3. Francois Jambou, Kairos
4. Tanguy Le Turquais, Terreal-Reve d'enfance
5. Damien Cloarec, etf.www.damien-cloarec.fr

Top Five Protos
1. Giancarlo Pedote, Prysmian
2. Michele Zambelli, Fontanot
3. Nicolas Boidevezi, ImaginAlsace
4. Ludovic Mechin, Microvitae
5. Olivier Jehl, Zigoneshi

From the Vendee Globe: www.vendeeglobe.org

Event: lessables-lesacores.com

Canfield Unbeaten On Opening Day
Sopot, Poland: The Alpari World Match Racing Tour's newest event, Sopot Match Race, set sail today. 11 flights of Qualifying were sailed in a light to moderate north-westerly wind. At the close of play Alpari World Match Racing Tour champion Taylor Canfield tops the leaderboard unbeaten on 5-0, ahead of Phil Robertson's WAKA Racing on 5-1 and local Polish legend Karol Jablonski on 4-1.

This is the 11th occasion Sopot Match Cup has been held in the Polish seaside resort, but the first time it has been part of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour. There was some relief that an overcast sky prevented yesterday's scorching 30+C temperatures recurring. Today the offshore breeze proved tricky for the competitors, but was light enough for them to ease into this regatta. 

Part of the challenge for the skippers new to Sopot Match Race is it being raced in a type of boat not used at any other event on the Tour. The 34ft Diamant 3000 is an IOR-style design from the mid 1990s with long overhangs, large overlapping genoa, relatively small cockpit plus running backstays that are requires crews to adapt their roles on board. 

Another match racer renowned for being a live wire on the race course is Polish hero, former America's Cup helmsman and ISAF Match Racing World Champion, Karol Jablonski. His 4-1 scoreline should have been 5-0 today had it not been for an oversight, sailing around the wrong weather mark in one race. 

"Okay, we messed that up, but that was the only race we lost," said a beaming Jablonski. "We feel more comfortable now."

Results after Flight 11
Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone 5-0
Phil Robertson (NZL) Waka Racing 5-1
Karol Jabłoński (POL) Jablonski Sailing Team 4-1
Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 3-2
Mathieu Richard (FRA) LunaJets 3-2
Keith Swinton (AUS) Team Alpari FX 3-3
Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Sailing Team 3-3
David Gilmour (ASU) Team Gilmour 2-3
Przemysław Tarnacki (POL) Tarnacki Yacht Racing 2-4
Nicolai Sehested (DEN) Trefor Match Racing 2-4
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team 1-5
Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team 0-5

www.sopotmatchrace.com
wmrt.com

#Gillmostwanted

Gill is pleased to announce a social media campaign and competition to support Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week 2014. During the week, our Gill man, dressed in full sailing gear including a distinctive sailing hood that disguises his face, will be amongst the crew and spectators in and around the Yacht Haven.

We're giving the public a chance to win the Ocean Racer jacket and trousers he is wearing, worth up to £800. To take part in the competition, they have to spot the Gill man and take a selfie with him. Then post that selfie on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #gillmostwanted to be entered into the draw to win. Posters, leaflets and a trailer on the Gill Marine Facebook page will show spectators what he looks like and help them begin their search.

Facebook followers who are not at the event also have the opportunity to get involved by spotting our Gill man in event photos that are posted on our Facebook page each day. To enter the draw, they just have to identify where he is in the comments box of the photo.

Watch the campaign film here or check it out on the Gill Marine Facebook page

Gillmarine.com

World Class Line Up for the Eighth Edition of the Artemis Challenge
A fleet of world class monohull racing machines, including IMOCA 60's and Volvo Ocean 65's were today confirmed for the eighth edition of the Artemis Challenge to take place on August 7th. This year the event will once again be part of Ladies Day at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, the world's largest sailing regatta and one of the UK's biggest sporting events, and will again see some of the largest and fastest boats in the world race around the Isle of Wight to claim a £10,000 prize fund to be donated to the charity of their choice.

For the Volvo Ocean 65's it will be the first time they have lined-up against each other, making the 50 mile sprint around the Island a great racing showcase ahead of the Volvo Ocean Race, and featuring high profile British skippers Ian Walker (Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing) and Sam Davies (Team SCA). They will be joined by two IMOCA 60's who have been the backbone of the event since 2006.

Confirmed entries so far include:

Team SCA/Volvo Ocean 65/Sam Davies (GBR)
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing /Volvo Ocean 65/Ian Walker (GBR)
Dongfeng Race Team/Volvo Ocean 65/Charles Caudrelier (FRA)
Artemis Ocean Racing/IMOCA 60/Brian Thompson (GBR)
Rosalba/IMOCA 60/Andy Greenwood (GBR)

The race follows the classic America's Cup route around the Isle of Wight (weather permitting), starting at 10am on the Royal Yacht Squadron Line. The boats will be divided into teams, and the winning team at the end of the 50 mile sprint will win the £10,000 charity prize.

www.artemischallenge.com

Etchells Invitational Cup - Overall Result Decided In Last Race
Cowes, UK: The event's final day delivered more stunning, high adrenaline and incredibly close racing, with the three leading boats all in contention for the 140-year-old Gertrude Cup at the start of the final race.

Jeremy Thorp of Antigua YC led the fleet on 26 points, with Shannon Bush of New York YC on 34, and Jeanne-Claude Strong of Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron on 36. However, Thorp's commanding lead quickly evaporated in the deciding race - he was sixth round the first windward mark, then dropped the overall leader's red spinnaker in the water at the spreader mark, dragging it behind the boat.

By this time Strong was well ahead in second place, just behind race leader Marvin Beckmann of Houston YC. Thorp never recovered beyond eighth place, but with Bush and Strong finishing fourth and fifth respectively, the Antiguan team's overall victory was sealed.

"It was my first time racing an Etchells," said Thorp, "...and they absolutely live up to everything my really successful sailing friends have told me. They are pure and beautiful boats to sail, with excellent competition in the fleet."

The UK Etchells class has an enviable reputation for enabling youth teams to compete at the highest level, with 90 of the UK's best young sailors having sailed in the fleet over the past three seasons. Much of the credit for this goes to Ted Fort OBE, a member of the Cowes fleet for 30 years, who has funded two of the class's four boats for young sailors.

Of the four youth teams competing, the Spinnaker Lake Sailing Club team of Matt Reid, Ashley Goddard, Martin Evans, and Emily Wiltshire had the best result, finishing eighth overall, including two podium positions, one of which was an impressive second place in the final race.

The 2015 Etchells Invitational Cup for the Gertrude Cup will be held from Friday July 31 to Wednesday August 5 - again the week before Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week. -- Rupert Holmes

Top five:
1. Antigua Yacht Club
2. New York Yacht Club
3. Houston Yacht Club
4. Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
5. Societe Nautique de Geneve

Overall results are at: regattaguru.com

Rio: Sailing In A Sewer?
If anyone thought that sailing in the Olympics in Rio would mean honed, toned bodies and minimal clothing, think again. From input received to date, they are more likely to be sailing in full biohazard suits with an optional bleach mouthwash after each session on the water.

Back in May, there was an estimated 8,000 tonnes of untreated effluent arriving in Guanabara Bay every day. Earlier this month Australian 49erFX sailor Alex Maloney, wrote 'We have our fingers crossed that all our team makes it out of Rio without getting sick.'

The Brazilian government response so far has been to throw a few more rubbish-collecting barges at the problem, and then to declare (admit?) that nothing effective is going to happen before the Games in 2016.

Well, hello? Can you imagine what it would happen if there was the prospect of a stadium full of rubbish and tin cans, and dog turds all over the track? With Usain Bolt stopping after 50m to pick the litter off his running spikes, and Mo Farah squelching his way over the finish line followed by a pack of Rio strays? -- Guy Nowell

www.sail-world.com/asia/

Premier Composite Technologies
The Premier Composite Technologies team has been at the forefront marine composites since 1986, when it developed the very first carbon fibre rudders for racing yachts, a market which it dominated for many years to come. The teams' diverse and pioneering approach to finding new applications for composite structures, led it next to Malaysia in support of some major architectural projects, and eventually to Dubai where PCT was established in 2006.

Throughout this period, and despite the steady growth in new markets, the PCT team has remained true to its passion of building racing yachts and powerboats, continuing to deliver high quality, performance products for many of the world's leading designers, including: Farr, Judel/Vrolik, Kerr, Mills, Fisher, Botin and of course Carkeek.

The sheer scale of the operations and the facilities and resources available are more than any company could justify if the sole business was building semi custom boats. PCT's marine team is therefore in the fortunate position of having access to possibly the best, purpose-built, facility of its kind, in the World.

PCT are currently building: the GC32 flying catamaran, high performance monohull Carkeek 40 MKII's & Carkeek 47's, the Premier 45 performance cruiser and the Farr 280 one design sportsboats.

If you have a project or would like to discuss a particular boat, please get in touch

Ben Ainslie Racing Strengthen Their British America's Cup Challenge
Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) today announced six additions to their British America's Cup Challenge. The new team members will significantly strengthen BAR's bid to bring the Cup back home to British waters. 

Britain's Paul Campbell-James has joined the sailing team and brings a great deal of technical knowledge, combined with a solid record as both a mono and multi-hull racer. He represented Italian entry, Luna Rossa Challenge, filling the role of helmsman onboard 'Swordfish' during the 2012/13 America's Cup World Series, moving into a reserve Helmsman and Performance Analyst role for the team's 34th America's Cup campaign. 

The design team, headed up by Technical Director and two-time America's Cup winner, Andy Claughton, has recruited New Zealand's Mark Bishop, who will bring additional composite engineering skills to the design team line up.

Yves Mignard (FRA) also joins to focus on 3D design and modeling.  Yves was part of the hugely successful Groupama Sailing Team during their winning Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 campaign, and joined Oracle Team USA for the end of their successful 2013 defence. 

BAR shore team signings include Michel Marie (FRA) who takes on the position of Composites Manager. Michel's wealth of America's Cup experience includes a succession of senior management positions, with Alinghi (2000 - 2007) and BMW Oracle Racing (2007 - 2010), and has been part of three winning America's Cup teams. Mark Cartwright (GBR), a specialist in designing and installing electronic systems, has been brought into the shore team to set up the electronics department. 

Portsmouth's Ben Williams completes the new line up, joining as team Strength and Conditioning Coach.

benainslieracing.com

Final Preparations for the 33 Copa Del Rey MAPFRE
Real Club Nautico de Palma , Mallorca, Spain: Next Monday the first starting gun of the 33rd Copa del Rey MAPFRE will sound. The fleet has already exceeded 120 pre-registered entries,.

One of the peculiarities of the Copa del Rey MAPFRE is its racing program. There are six intense days of racing where up to 11 races will be sailed for all classes except for the one-designs, which may race a maximum of 12. Competition will begin on Monday, August 4th - the first starting signal is scheduled for 13h00-, and it won't stop until Saturday the 9th, with the final prize giving ceremony.

The organization has decided to distribute the entries into eight classes: Four will sail in real time -Barclays 52 Super Series, Gazprom Swan 60, Nespresso X-35 and Herbalife J80 - and four on corrected time -Gaastra IRC 0, Gaastra IRC 1, BMW ORC 1 and BMW ORC 2.

www.regatacopadelrey.com

Weymouth and Portland Named European ISAF Sailing World Cup Venue
The RYA is delighted to announce that the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy has today (31 July) been named by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) as one of two European venues for the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup series, which will form part of UK Sport's Gold Event Series.

Returning to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic waters, ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth and Portland will be the fourth stage of the six-leg revamped elite series, and will take place between 8-19 June 2015 with the racing conducted over five days.

Weymouth and Portland will join Hyeres, France, as the other European venue and will add to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup line-up which kicks off in Melbourne, Australia in December 2014 before visiting Miami, USA in January 2015.  With the best Olympic classes sailors competing for a place at the Final in Abu Dhabi in November 2015, the stage is set for intense racing.

sailing.org

MUSTO and Dongfeng Race Team #rulethewaves
MUSTO, the world's leading offshore sailing brand, and Dongfeng Race Team, the Chinese entry into this year's Volvo Ocean Race are proud to announce their partnership. MUSTO will be supplying Dongfeng Race Team with technical clothing and lifestyle apparel. The Team fan wear range will be available in September from www.MUSTO.com and at the Volvo Ocean Race Stopover Villages.

MUSTO, who is also the official supplier of sailing apparel and footwear for the next two editions of the Volvo Ocean Race, is now the official supplier of technical clothing and lifestyle apparel for over 50% of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet - with Team Alvimedica and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing also choosing to wear MUSTO as they compete across 38,739 nautical miles in the world's toughest ocean race.

To celebrate these partnerships, MUSTO is inviting fans to share images of themselves encapsulating the sailing spirit in and around water or, simply, just messing about in boats whilst wearing their favourite MUSTO gear. Fans are invited to post their images between 1st and 10th August on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #rulethewaves.

The best 13 images per day will be featured on www.MUSTO.com, with an overall daily winner receiving a Volvo Ocean Race Large Crew Bag (RRP £85).

Crewsaver Abersoch Dinghy Week 2014 Celebrates Largest Fleet Since 2007
It promised to be bigger and better and, with 273 entries across 51 fleets, the largest entry seen since 2007, the Crewsaver Abersoch Dinghy Week 2014 was certainly an event not to be missed.

The extremely warm weather enabled the competitors to top up their sun tans! This did however result in light winds all week. This did not dampen the sailors' spirits with hot sun, sea & sand there was still plenty of fun to be had.

This year saw the successful introduction of a smaller course with committee boat starts for the Topper, Tera and Optimist fleets, resulting in the spectacular sight of 50 youth boats enjoying the competitive side to sailing.

Crewsaver Abersoch Dinghy Week Organiser Andy Teague says 'I am amazed at the number of entries with competitors coming from as near as Pwllheli and as far as Dubai. I would like to thank everyone for making it such a great event.'

Hannah Burywood, Marketing Coordinator for Crewsaver comments 'Crewsaver Abersoch Dinghy Week is an extremely well organised, enjoyable event that every dinghy sailor should have noted in their calendar.'

With this in mind jot the 2015 date in your calendar: Registration, 25th July 2015 Sailing, 26th - 31st July 2015.

Complete results at www.scyc.co.uk

Not Sailing But Very Cool....
The Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (LOIRP) has since 2007 brought some 2,000 pictures back from 1,500 analog data tapes. They contain the first high-resolution photographs ever taken from behind the lunar horizon, including the first photo of an earthrise. Thanks to the technical savvy and DIY engineering of the team at LOIRP, it's being seen at a higher resolution than was ever previously possible.

"We're the first people out of a generation or more to see this," says Keith Cowing, co-lead and founding member at LOIRP.. "No human eye had ever seen this. All they saw was something that had already been through one generation of copying. We're seeing something one order of magnitude more precise right on the screen."

Since the '60s, a series of Earth and moon imaging satellites have launched, including the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2009. Despite the advances in computing power and optics, Cowing says the terabytes of images recovered at LOIRP are often even more detailed than those taken by LRO, capable of being blown up to billboard size without losing resolution.

edition.cnn.com

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The Last Word
Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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