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Eight Metre World Cup
Photo by Christophe Favreau, www.christophefavreau.com. Click on image to enlarge.

The prologue of the 2014 World Cup was sailed in the Bay of Quiberon with flat seas and a light nor'wester.

These beautiful boats sailed Saturday 6 and Sunday, September 7 off Trinidad and were organized by the Societe Nautique de Geneve for a particular purpose. The Swiss club supports the event to "validate" its membership in clubs wishing to participate in the America's Cup .

The "Deed of Gift" requires the participants in this event clubs the following clause : they must have their head on the sea " water salt ". Societe Nautique de Geneve agreed with the Australians to introduce a special clause in the deed in 1987... The club that has its main business on a lake, can be part of contenders for the America if it organizes a regatta on the sea. SNG will also be responsible for the next World Cup in July 2015 in Geneva.

The trials of the World Cup itself started on Monday 8 under the leadership of the Societe Nautique de la Trinite. They will sail until Friday, September 12 .

8mr-worldcup2014.e-monsite.com

Artemis Racing To Sail In Argo Group Gold Cup
Event Chairman Past Commodore of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Brian Billings is pleased to confirm that Artemis Racing will come to Bermuda in October for the 2014 Argo Group Gold Cup match races. The team will enter with its crew composed of Artemis Racing's helmsman Nathan Outteridge, team manager Iain Percy, and crewmembers Iain Jensen and Christian Kamp. They will join the 20-team fleet in the next battle for the King Edward VII Gold Cup.

"Artemis Racing will be an exciting addition to the 2014 Argo Group Gold Cup," said Past Commodore Billings. "With the addition of Artemis Racing, we will have two promising America's Cup challengers represented in Bermuda. Francesco Bruni, Team Luna Rossa helmsman, will return to defend his 2013 Argo Group Gold Cup title. We hope to see some exciting matches between these two teams."

argogroupgoldcup.com

SB20 Worlds
The SB20 (aka Laser SB3) World Championship 2014 in St. Petersburg, Russia with 48 teams from seven nations entered starts Monday. The former 49er champion Rodion Luka UKR won the tune-up racing, the Russian Open Championship, with 5 race wins from 7 races. Event website indicates no racing Monday, day 1 of the championship. Four races are scheduled for Tuesday -- Gerald New in Sailweb.co.uk

SB20 - Russian Open Championship (43 entries)

1. Rodion Luka, UKR, 8 points
2. Eugene Neugodnikov, RUS, 18
3. Hugo Rocha, ESP, 21
4. Aleksei Murashkin, RUS, 29
5. Vladimir Prosihin, RUS, 30

www.sailweb.co.uk/Keelboat/
sb20worlds2014.ru/en/

The 2015 Quantum Key West Race Week Entry List Is Growing!
From Mini Maxis to Melges 24s and J/70s, entries from Europe, Bermuda, Canada and across the US are on the early entry list. Handicap racing includes IRC, HPR, and PHRF fleets. Strong one-design classes will be there in number. Plan your ideal winter escape to Key West for world-class competition, exceptional racing conditions and unique shoreside fun at Quantum Key West Race Week 2015.

Key West Race Week has the international and national competition you won't find anywhere else in January. Things will be heating up in Key West in January; don't be left in the cold! January 18 - 23 2015. The NOR is posted and registration is open.

Entries and more: www.premiere-racing.com

Rolex Swan Cup Under Starter's Orders
Porto Cervo, Italy: Ninety-three yachts from Finland's Nautor's Swan shipyard are finalizing registration papers, making last-minute adjustments and practising on the regatta course off Porto Cervo in preparation for the start of racing in the 21st Rolex Swan Cup. The event marks the 30th anniversary of the enduring partnership between Rolex, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Nautor and racing - taking place over five days for the six competing divisions - is scheduled to begin Tuesday, 9th September.

The fleet represents over forty years of Nautor's Swan history and includes models ranging from classic Sparkman and Stephens designs to sleek Swan 60s and from luxurious cruising yachts to the competitive Swan 42 and Swan 45 one-design fleets.

Racing is expected to be particularly exciting in the 8-boat Swan 45 division, who will be competing for the coveted World Championship title.

The fleet will be divided into six divisions with the 42 and 45 one-designs racing on a mixture of windward-leeward and coastal courses and the remaining divisions - Swan Maxi (over 60 feet); Swan Grand Prix (under 60 feet); Swan 60 and Swan Classic (Sparkman & Stephens) - completing coastal courses using the many granite islands of the La Maddalena archipelago as natural buoys.

The first signal for racing is scheduled for 11.30 a.m. Tuesday 9th September. A light westerly breeze is predicted. -- Jill Campbell / Donata Cuppone

www.yccs.com
www.regattanews.com

LIGHT Winds, Heavy Competition At Snipe WH&O Championship
San Diego California, USA: A strong pack has emerged from the 43 teams that took to the water after day one of the Snipe Western Hemisphere and Orient Championship. Of the top six scoreboard leaders, no team has a double-digit finish in either of the races. The competition is tight with only a seven point spread across the top six teams.

Though wind conditions at the start of the first race were one or two knots lighter than the race organizers had been hoping, the winds started to pick up throughout the race and ultimately the regatta featured some incredible sailing. Those winds came just in time for skipper Doug Hart and crew Ryan Hopps, who finished in first place in Race One.

Two races are scheduled daily over the next four days, but with two different course locations in consideration, competitors are never sure which of the two courses the next day will bring. The Organizing Authority will announce each morning whether racing is set to take place inside the bay or on ocean waters. The next race is set to start at noon on Tuesday, September 9.

www.snipewho.org

Dubarry Crosshaven - Comfortably The Best Performer
Volvo Ocean Race teams have chosen Dubarry's Crosshaven in every edition of the race since the boot was developed with Green Dragon in the 2008 edition. There are several reasons for that.

First, the innovation that impressed the Green Dragon guys most: the integral gaiter. Made of lightweight, hard-wearing, water-resistant fabric and cinched up with a drawstring, this gaiter means you can kneel down and work on the foredeck without suffering the dreaded 'bootful of green' that kills comfort for the rest of the passage.

And when you're dodging icebergs in the Southern Ocean as winter's teeth snap at your vitals, you'll appreciate the 350g GORE-TEX® Duratherm membrane and thermally insulated footbed that will keep your feet, at least, toasty.

Then there's the award-winning grip of Crosshaven's non-slip and non-marking sole. If you're trying to stay vertical on deck, and several tonnes of water traveling at 30 knots is trying to persuade you that you might be more comfortable lying down, you need your feet to stay planted.

We can all benefit from experience, but it comes at a price. Lucky for you that Green Dragon footed the bill, and the benefit is all yours.

Dubarry Crosshaven - Born at sea

dubarry.com

Dragon Gold Cup
Medemblik, Netherlands: Mother nature has not been generous so far. Over the last couple of days, she allowed the organization of the Tune-Up Regatta to get only three races in. Four were needed for an official series, so the warming-up event for the 2014 Dragon Gold Cup was invalid. Nevertheless, it gave a huge boost to the Dutch Bakker family, who surprisingly topped the leader board after three results.

"The fact that you are in first position is of course nice, but the feeling of being able to keep up with the top guys is even better", says Jan Bakker, who competes with his sons Dominic and Olivier.

"We now enter the Dragon Gold Cup with self-confidence, but also with certain modesty. The Tune-Up was raced with 29 boats and now the fleet will consist of 87 entries." Several favourites grabbed the chance of testing the race area before the first gun for the 70th Dragon Gold Cup, among which title defender Marcus Wieser. "There were no surprises in the front of the fleet", comments Jan Bakker. "Except for us", laughs his son Dominic.

One race sailed on Monday, top five:

1. Markus Wieser, Pugachev Sergey, Leonchuk Georgii, UAE
2. Reemt Reemtsma, Petra Reemtsma, Lorenz Jensen , GER
3. Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen, Hamish McKay, Andrew Norden, GBR
4. Dirk Oldenburg, Paul McKenzie, Dominik Zycki, SUI
5. Lawrie Smith, Tim Tavinor, Joost Houweling, GBR

Racing continues through Friday September 12

www.dragongoldcup.com

Take Good Care
Sports persons consistently face the risk of injury during training, practising or competing and even a minor disability can be a career ending event.

Injuries are a realistic possibility in the world of professional sailing, however, Personal Accident Insurance is too often overlooked by those competing in top-level sailboat racing programmes.

For the uninsured it is extremely hard to obtain compensation for injury against a yacht owner unless negligence can be proven and the process is expensive and challenging. In all sports disciplines athletes accept the "Volente non fit injuria" rule, which simply translated means that one knowingly consents to take risks whilst performing dangerous sport activity, simply: participants are aware of the risks involved.

In this context proving negligence is not straightforward and the process is aggravated by the tortuous legal wrangles around the owner's registration, flags of convenience and maritime law in different jurisdictions. The chances of a successful legal action is reduced and ultimately may not provide proper and adequate compensation to protect future income.

Lex Risks has been arranging Career Ending Injury insurance for many top sailors and racing yacht teams involved in the America's Cup, RC44, and Volvo Ocean races amongst others for many years.

More in Seahorse magazine: www.seahorsemagazine.com

Busy Season For Jeremie Beyou
One of the few triple Solitaire du Figaro winners - along with Jean Le Cam, Philippe Poupon and Michel Desjoyeaux - Jeremie Beyou is currently busy preparing his IMOCA Maitre CoQ for the next Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe. Doesn't he think that working on two different projects simultaneously might hamper his performance ? Not at all...

Why did you choose to compete in the Solitaire du Figaro while running your IMOCA project?

"Maitre CoQ and I started talking about the programme last autumn as they wanted some visibility beyond the Route du Rhum. At the time, the IMOCA programme had not yet been fully confirmed and I was really keen to come back to the Solitaire du Figaro. Working on both projects has brought a wider media audience and allowed me to maintain a high sporting level throughout the year."

Doesn't the management of an IMOCA or a Figaro project require two very different approaches?

"Exactly. Our versatility will be what sets us apart. In the Figaro, it's in the small details that you can make the difference. The IMOCA culture has forced us to be meticulous about the basics, like the details and the use of materials. In retrospect, the Figaro allowed us to look for small strategies which weren't necessarily very costly but which made life easier. We have then tried to transfer these to IMOCA, and they sometimes work to very positive effect."

IMOCA: www.imoca.org

The Fifth Challenger
Team France has now taken over the mantle of 'France's challenger for the America's Cup'. The campaign was launched last December at the Salon Nautique in Paris as a joint venture between three titans of French sailing - Franck Cammas, Michel Desjoyeaux and Olivier de Kersauson. Between Cammas and Desjoyeaux alone there is a formidable collection of Vendée Globe and Route du Rhum victories. Yet, while both showed skill racing their ORMA 60 trimarans inshore back in the day, they are known primarily as offshore sailors. The same is true of de Kersauson - famously Eric Tabarly's second in command during the Pen Duick era and since the early 1990s as one of the keenest hunters of the Jules Verne Trophy (he has made more attempts than anyone else on the fully crewed non-stop around the world record).

So why are they campaigning for the America's Cup? For Cammas and Desjoyeaux as professional sailors, it is clearly because the Cup is the biggest, sailing's most prestigious competition, while de Kersauson is known to be an immense America's Cup fan. His role in the team is also crucial for while Cammas and Desjoyeaux are famous in the French sailing and sports worlds, neither holds the profile with the French general public of de Kersauson.

Full articles for subscribers of TheDailySail.com

www.thedailysail.com

Paige Railey To Miss Isaf Sailing Worlds In Santander
After sustaining a biking injury while riding close to her home, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athlete Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) will be unable to compete at the upcoming ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander, Spain. The 2012 Olympian, Laser Radial world champion and ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year is expected to make a full recovery. "Unfortunately, Paige is not medically cleared to race by her doctors," said Charlie McKee, High Performance Director of the US Sailing Team Sperry Top Sider. "However, her training and racing program is expected to resume in about a month. Paige is a world-class athlete and a leader on our team, and we'll miss her presence at the Worlds."

"I'm disappointed not to be able to compete at the Worlds this year," said Railey. "It is frustrating, as I have been training hard for the event, but this is the best decision for my Rio 2016 Olympic effort. I look forward to getting back out on the water in a few weeks."

Racing at the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander, Spain will run from September 12-21, 2014. Combining the world championship regattas of all ten Olympic classes into a single event, the combined Worlds in Santander will be the premier event for Olympic class competition in 2014. -- Will Ricketson, US Sailing

www.ussailing.org
www.santander2014.com

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The Last Word
Most of our ancestors were not perfect ladies and gentlemen. The majority of them weren't even mammals. -- Robert Anton Wilson

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