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Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup
Photo by Ingrid Abery, www.ingridabery.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup Porto Cervo, Italy: The curtain closes on a superlative 25th edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship with the victory of Magic Carpet 3 (Wally), Firefly (Supermaxi), Highland Fling (Maxi), Lupa of London (Mini Maxi Racing Cruising) and Lionheart (J-Class) in their respective divisions. Andres Soriano's Alegre claims the title of Mini Maxi Rolex World Champion 2014 in the event organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with the International Maxi Association.

The final day of racing brought near-perfect conditions once again with a brisk 15-20 knots of northerly wind on the race course. While the Mini Maxi, Wally and J-Class boats competed in two windward-leewards, bringing the Minis to the full quota of 8 races run, the remainder of the fleet faced a coastal course bringing them through the infamous "Bomb Alley", around La Maddalena island and back home through the strait of Capo Ferro for a total of approximately 30 nautical miles.

As the Maxis prepare to haul anchor, a fleet of no less than 90 yachts is ready and waiting to occupy the quays of Porto Cervo Marina for next week's Rolex Swan Cup and Swan 45 World Championship (8-14 September).

Final results

MIni Maxi Racing
1. Alegre, 18
2. Robertissima III, 22
3. Ran5, 22.5

Wally
1. Magic Carpet 3, 13
2. J One, 14
3. Y3K, 15

Supermaxi
1. Firefly, 4
2. Inoui, 7
3. Viriella, 12

Maxi
1. Highland Fling, 4
2. Odin, 8
3. Bristolian, 13

Mini Maxi Racing/Cruising
1. Lupa of London, 5
2. Bronenosec, 8
3. Arobas, 12

J Class
1. Lionheart, 12
2. Ranger, 13
3. Rainbow, 14

* Lionheart emerged from a spectacular pair of closely fought windward leeward races to win the J Class title after race winner Rainbow was disqualified from the final race as a result of a port-starboard protest.

Lionheart's regatta victory is their third in a row, remaining unbeaten now in Menorca, Palma and Sardinia, counting two first places, three second places and a fourth.

Ranger finished in second place for the second time, only one point behind Lionheart with Rainbow's DSQ dropping them from regatta winners to third overall.

"Two boats have a different perspective on an incident and the jury decides. If we had finished second in that race - behind Velsheda - we would have won the regatta and so there was no need for us to infringe Velsheda and that is not good. I think we sailed well enough to win, but we did have few problems on board as you will have seen, but it is only our second regatta together. This was our first day of windward leewards in bigger breezes, it is all a learning curve for the team. It would have been nice to have finished winning the regatta." Said Francesco de Angelis, tactician on Rainbow.

jclassyachts.com
www.regattanews.com
www.yccs.com

Lorient Horta Solo: Gwenole Gahinet Onboard Safran-Guy Cotten, Azores Bound
The 20 sailors competing in the Solo offshore race Lorient Horta, the last event that counts towards the French Offshore Elite Championship, crossed the start line at 17:15 French time this Saturday. The event is a two leg race between Lorient and the Azores - a 2260-mile racecourse with a 5-day stopover on the Island of Horta. The first leg is 1150 miles long, which should take about seven days.

Amongst the 20 competitors participating in the Lorient Horta Solo race, the cream of the Figaro circuit has come together for the last event of the season. Those include Xavier Macaire, Gildas Morvan, Paul Meilhat, Thierry Chabagny, Fabien Delahaye and Yoann Richomme.

At the start signal, in 5 small knots of wind, the fog disappeared to let the sun shine in and after rounding Groix Island, the solo sailors headed for the Azores on an open racecourse, which allows a lot of freedom for strategy.

After this 1150-mile marathon on the Atlantic Ocean, the fleet will be in Horta in the Azores for a 5-day stopover. The race will be won on cumulative time, the winners of the overall race and of the French Offshore Elite Championship will only be announced at the end of leg 2, which is expected to finish on the 27th September, in Lorient, France.

www.lorienthortasolo.com/fr/

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

Seahorse Magazine

And the best man won
Andy Rice talks to 2014 Moth champion Nathan Outteridge and designers Kevin Ellway and Andrew Mcdougall about the status quo and also the pros and cons of a little bit of possibly fortuitous tightening of the rules...

Staying dry - Part 1
Designer Christian Stimson interviews former Oracle Team USA software specialist Andrew Mason about the strides being taken in the field of America's Cup class simulation

EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour 2015
And a growing event has now truly come of age.

A (polite) plea for simplicity
TP52 class manager Rob Weiland cautions against the ever growing complexities in the sport

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Anthony O'Leary is the 2014 ISA All Ireland Sailing Champion
Anthony O'Leary has been crowned 2014 ISA All Ireland Sailing Champion. He has beaten fellow Corkonian Stefan Hyde on count-back following a two day, 12 race battle against 15 other national class champions. The Royal Cork sailor has competed in the Championship numerous times but to date had never been able to bring home the coveted Helmsman Trophy. He and his sons Peter and Nicholas have now won the championship a record breaking combined six times.

Beautiful sunshine and a breeze of 10-12 knots again awaited the sailors for the finale of the ISA All Ireland Sailing Championship hosted by Howth Yacht Club.

The wind dropped off to about 7 knots for the final deciding race. Again, it was so close that the positions changed frequently. At the first mark, Anthony O'Leary was at the back of the fleet but he then led around the second mark. Alex Barry, who had been 3rd around the first mark, dropped to the back of the fleet rounding the final mark. But O'Leary and his crew Dylan Gannon and Dan O'Grady could feel the win. They maintained their lead, crossed the line two places ahead of Stefan Hyde, tied them on points, and won on count-back in what was undoubtedly the closet fought All Irelands in many years. Hyde and his crew Jerry and Jimmy Dowling who were OCS in the final race ultimately took Silver and Alex Barry, Sandy Rimmington, Lisa Neary and Patrick Good claimed Bronze. -- Rachel Solon

Final Results
1. Anthony O'Leary, RCYC, 13 points
2. Stefan Hyde, RCYC, 13
3. Alex Barry, MBSC, 15
4. Ian Nagle, RCYC, 15.5
5. Pat O'Neill, CY&BC, 20
6. Chris Helme, RSGYC, 23
7. Ben Duncan, 26
8. Flor O'Driscoll, RSGYC, 28

www.sailing.ie

Maxi 72 Class Announced
Porto Cervo, Sardinia: The International Maxi Association (IMA) and the owners of the Mini Maxi Racers announce the founding of the Maxi 72 Class, the appointment of Rob Weiland as Class Manager and the programme of races for 2015.

The new class, a former subdivision of the IMA Mini Maxi Fleet, continues to be affiliated with IMA, which is underlined by the unanimous wish of its members to require dual membership for both entities. The term Mini Maxi, is sometimes confusing to those admiring the sheer size of the boats and the old description is traded in for Maxi 72, referring to both its heritage as well as the maximum length.

Founding the class underlines the wish to create a platform that matches the quality of the boats and crews in organisation, class rules, measurement, measurement checks and rule enforcement, as well as more specifically to cater for the needs of the owners and teams for event scheduling, logistics and rule maintenance.

The IMA future schedule for the Maxi 72 Class will be worldwide, at existing events, as well as new events. The full 2015 programme is: Key West Race Week, RORC Caribbean 600, Voile de St Barth, Palma Vela, Menorca Maxi Regatta, Rolex Giraglia, RYS Bi-Centennial, Copa del Rey, AAM Cowes Week, Rolex Fastnet, the Maxi 72 World Championship, Rolex Middle Sea Race and RORC Transatlantic Race.

www.internationalmaxiregatta.com

*|VIMEO:[$vid=105452751]|*

2014 Ronstan Bridge To Bridge Regatta
Highlights of the 2014 Ronstan Bridge to Bridge race from the Golden Gate Bridge to the SF/Oakland Bay Bridge. With insights on the 18's participation by Copper Dressler. This years winner Johnny Heineken sailing once again on his Foil Kite Board through the massive ebb chop and and 25 to 30 knots winds with higher gusts, was off his record pace of 2013, but still a major undertaking in unforgiving conditions!

RYA Eric Twiname Youth and Junior Team Racing 2014 Entries Open
Entries are now open online for the RYA Eric Twiname Youth and Junior Team Racing Championship 2014, which are set to descend on Oxford Sailing Club, Farmoor Reservoir, on the weekend of the 18 - 19 October 2014.

The annual two day event will welcome teams from the Junior and Youth class associations, zones, clubs, schools and individual teams who will commence battle in the two separate events. The Junior fleet will contest in RS Feva's and the Youth fleet Firefly's for teams of three boats (all boats are supplied).

Last year's event was full-to-capacity with a staggering 288 sailors contesting for the prestige of picking up the RYA Eric Twiname Team Racing Trophy. A maximum of 24 teams consisting of six sailors in both the Junior (under 16) and Youth (under 19) fleets is the maximum entry number.

The entry deadline for the RYA Eric Twiname Youth and Junior Team Racing 2014 is 26 September 2013 - no entries will be accepted after this date. Entries will be accepted on a first come, first served basis and will only be confirmed once payment has been received.

www.ryaracingevents.org.uk

For information on the Eric Twiname Trust: erictwinametrust.org

Melges 24 Italian Championship
Sanremo, Italy: After three days of full stamina, today the Melges 24 Italian Championship had to face a complete lack of wind, forcing the Race Committee to a close the series with a "no race" statement.

Thanks to yesterday's results, Blu Moon becomes the 2014 Italian Champion, helmed by Flavio Favini the crew has successfully taken also this Italian titel after the World and the European ones.

On the podium, second place for Matteo Ivaldi's Wadadli, continental titel winner in Balaton replacing the temporary absent Favini, at third stands Andrea Racchelli's Altea.

Audi tron places at fifth, the Audi Italia Sailing Team never seemed to find the right pace under such very light wind conditions.

The Championship has seen the participation of around 20 Italian and foreign teams.

In Sanremo Audi tron was sailed by Riccardo Simoneschi (helmsman), Enrico Fonda (tactician), Stefano Orlandi (trimmer), Federico Buscaglia (pitman) and Lucia Giorgetti (bowman).

The Audi Italia Sailing Team 2014 season is supported by main sponsor Audi, logistic partners Kuehne+Nagel and Torqeedo electric outboards, technical sponsor Olicor.

Full rankings

Morvan Dominates Usa Match Racing Grand Slam
Oyster Bay, New York, USA: In the dying afternoon breeze Pierre-Antoine Morvan crossed the finish line for the third time ahead of Chris Steele to take the event.

As a result Steele and 36 Below Racing clinched second in the event and second overall in the Series.

The U.S. Grand Slam Series saw Morvan on the podium at every stop and 2 event victories along the way.

Petit finals had Christopher Poole (Riptide Racing) and Eric Monnin go head to head battling for third place. Ultimately it was Monnin who was able to capitalize on the shifty conditions and take the victory securing third in the event and the U.S. Grand Slam Series.

2014 Oakcliff International Results:
1. Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA)
2. Chris Steele (NZL)
3. Eric Monnin (SUI)
4. Christopher Poole (USA)
5. Dave Perry (USA)
6. Sam Gilmour (AUS)
7. Charlie Lalumiere (USA)
8. David Storres (USA)
9. Maxi Soh (SIN)
10. Mark Lees (GBR)
11. David Niemann (USA)
12. Dustin Durant (USA)

Results

2014 U.S. Grand Slam Series Results
1. Pierre-Antoine Morvan
2. Chris Steele
3. Eric Monnin
4. Christopher Poole
5. Sam Gilmour
6. Maximilian Soh
7. David Storrs
8. Taylor Canfield
9. Johnie Berntsson
10. Matt Graham
11. Wataru Sakamoto
12. Dustin Durant
13. Dave Perry
14. Ian Hollerbach
15. Nathan Hollerbach
16. Mark Lees
17. Charlie Lalumiere
18. Donald Wilson
19. Chris VanTol
20. David Niemann
21. Peter Holz
22. Steven Lowery
23. Shane Diviney

Results

Foiling GC32 Cats Return To The Race Course
GC32. Photo by Sander van der Borch / www.sandervanderborch.com. Click on image to enlarge.

Great Cup GC32 Racing for the GC32 one design foiling catamarans of The Great Cup continues next week in the south of France. Four GC32s will compete in their own class at Marseille One Design, a brand new event backed by the Ville de Marseille in the build-up to it being European Capital of Sport for 2017. In this, the GC32s will race alongside the new Diam 24 one design trimarans, plus the J/80, SB20 and Longtze monohulls.

Marseille One Design is only the second regatta the GC32 catamarans have competed in en masse, since they became 'fully foiling' earlier this year. With the fitting of T-configuration rudders and J-profile principle lifting foils, the GC32s now sail air-borne in all but the lightest conditions and are effectively smaller versions of the AC72/AC62 catamarans used in the America's Cup. However in comparison with their AC big brothers, the GC32s have relatively larger foils making then more straightforward to sail for crews of average ability and with soft sails, they have none of the logistical hassles of the AC72/AC62's solid wing rig.

Despite the large size of its foils, the airborne GC32 has proved blisteringly fast, achieving an incredible top speed of 37.9 knots on Lake Garda in July.

On board GDF Suez will be Gurvan Bontemps and Benjamin Amiot, two of the leading sailors on the GC32's little brother, the 18ft Foiling Phantom. According to Col, in Marseille they will be racing with five on board for the first time as in 10-14 knots it is hard to handle both the foils and to gybe the genniker with just four. Prior to the event, the crew has spent five days training in La Baule.

From Monday, 8th until Wednesday, 10th September, the GC32s will be undertaking speed trials. These will be followed over Thursday, 11th until Sunday 14th September, by fleet racing on the Roucas Blanc Rade Sud to the south of Marseille's main city centre.

thegreatcup.com

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