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ISAF and Rolex Announce World Sailor Nominees
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) and Rolex are proud to announce the Nominees for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2014.

ISAF received nominations for the 2014 Awards from across the world for sailors representing all aspects of the sport. The nominees are put forward based on achievements made during the qualifying period from 1 September 2013 to 21 September 2014.

Only one nominee wins in both the male and female categories. The names vying for the coveted and prestigious 2014 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award are:

Male
Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS)
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL)
Bill Hardesty (USA)
Giles Scott (GBR)
James Spithill (AUS)

Female
Steph Bridge (GBR)
Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA)
Charline Picon (FRA)

The winners are selected by the ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs), the national governing bodies for sailing around the world. The MNAs are now invited to vote for the male and female nominee they believe most deserves the Award.

The winners will be announced at the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards presentation and dinner, taking place on Tuesday 4 November 2014. The venue for the event will be at the Pueblo Español, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Each winner will be presented with the prestigious ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award Trophy and a distinctive Rolex timepiece.

Full profiling of each nominee and their achievements will be available on the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards microsite at www.sailing.org/worldsailor starting 6 October.

David Kellett To Be Awarded ISAF Beppe Croce Trophy
David Kellett (AUS) is to be awarded the ISAF Beppe Croce Trophy which honours an individual for their outstanding voluntary contribution to the sport of sailing.

The ISAF Beppe Croce Trophy, first presented in 1988 in memory of Beppe Croce, the ISAF President from 1969 to 1986, will be presented to Kellett at the 2014 ISAF Annual Conference in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Born on 14 December 1948, Kellett has been a passionate sailor throughout his life. He started out in small boats and Olympic classes before making the move to ocean racing and the America's Cup.

Kellett's first involvement in ISAF came in 1992 when he became the ISAF Member of Council for Group L. Kellett represented the region and his involvement and impact within ISAF was quickly felt. From 1994-1998 he was a Member of the Events Committee and from 1997-1998, a Member of the Oceanic Committee.

In 1998 Kellett was elected as an ISAF Vice President and held the position through to 2008. He then served as Treasurer from 2008-2012.

Kellett is the first recipient from outside of Europe or the America's.

Full article with more biographical information at
www.sailing.org/news/38976.php

The Volvo Ocean Race Apps
Volvo Ocean Race fans can now carry the world's toughest ocean race in their pocket, thanks to the launch of a new official mobile app.

Developed for both iOS and Android systems, the app is available for download from the App Store and Google Play.

An exclusive rolling digital channel, Life at the Extreme TV, will stream live events from the race's Alicante HQ and 10 other host ports around the globe, as well as the very best of our videos.

Fans can use the in-built tracker to follow the progress of the fleet with pin-point accuracy, showing updates every 10 seconds during live coverage.

In addition, the introduction of a tailored notifications service means that users need not miss a thing during the nine-month, 38,739 nautical mile marathon.

Volvo Ocean Race App on iOS

Volvo Ocean Race App on Android

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

Update
Some you win some you lose... with Terry Hutchinson, Dobbs Davis celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Big Boat Series, Nick Holroyd of Emirates TNZ takes a first look at AC62 design and we catch up with 'new' Italian skipper on the block... Roberto Tomasini

Quality sells
Even TP52 class manager Rob Weiland is faintly amazed at the number of TP52s in build

Have your say!
The Sailing Yacht Research Foundation needs your help... as Dobbs Davis explains

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Jclass at St Tropez
As the J-Class at Les Voiles de Saint Tropez contemplate Thursday's mid-regatta day off from competition, Ranger enjoy a comfortable lead at the top of the Class standings thanks to today's win around the windward-leeward course, their third victory from three starts.

The long time members of the Ranger crew believe it might be some seven years since they last won three races back-to-back, but the net result is that they have breathing space, four clear points up on second placed Lionheart which finished a good, close second today, Velsheda finished third and Shamrock fourth. For sure the smiling motif which appears below Ranger's waterline might be broader today.

A delay to start time was rewarded by a light SE'ly breeze which faded at times but never really mustered much more than seven knots. An economy of manoeuvres, keeping tacks and gybes to the bare minimum was vital today, as was picking the strongest lanes of breeze.

The enjoyment of the magnificent regatta is in no way marred for the Shamrock crew which are inherently less competitive, racing with cruising sails, but they are pushing themselves hard and happy with how they are sailing the boat.

"Things couldn't be going better on Shamrock." Grins Mike Toppa, Tactician on Shamrock, "We have been having such a good time, a good week. But the two rainy days, the first two days, are probably our best chance to do better when it was windier, these were best days of sailing. The boat got up and was going. We are not really competitive against the racing Js. We have cruising sails, slower winches and a limited number of crew.

The guys do an awesome job on Shamrock. They get the sails up and down fast, they are sharp and crisp. It is a little frustrating but we can make our mark at the starting line. We race ourselves, and push ourselves to do better at the mark roundings and the start and so on. But we are all having such a good time. How can you possibly tire of being here. The scene is amazing, the range of boats. If you don't like Saint Tropez you don't like sailing. The boats are like celebrities here. It is phenomenal to see the boats here, so beautifully maintained. I love it."

jclassyachts.com
lesvoilesdesaint-tropez.fr/en/

Industry News
Oakley Capital Private Equity s pleased to announce the acquisition of Tomasoni Topsail S.p.A by its portfolio company North Technology Group. Tomasoni holds the exclusive license to manufacture and distribute North Sails branded clothing throughout Europe and Asia. The acquisition follows Oakley Capital's investment in North Technology Group (owner of the North Sails brand) earlier this year; and marks the final stage in consolidating North Sails global operations back under common ownership.

"We are delighted to be backing the most iconic brand in sail making as it looks to deliver its ethos of performance, innovation and technology to new ranges of consumer products," said Peter Dubens, Managing Partner of Oakley Capital. "The acquisition of the apparel licensee will enable North Sails to broaden its significant brand heritage and awareness within the sailing community to a larger international range of consumers on and off the water."

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Inspection and rigging specialists Marine Results are providing a pre-launch inspection to the fleet of seven Volvo 65 yachts that have been built for the forthcoming Volvo Ocean Race which starts on 11th October 2014.

The company have been carrying out the ultrasound inspection of the hull slamming area, rudders, masts and spreaders, whose highly sensitive results reveal any defects in the early stages of construction. The work has taken place at Green Marine, the UK based yacht builders that have been finishing each yacht, and the Marine Results team has been on site for each one as it is completed.

The inspection is part of a requirement of R&Q Insurance Services to fulfil insurance risk assessment requirements.

The Marine Results inspections will flag up any early flaws in the yachts and their rigs, which can be then be rectified before the fleet crosses the start line of the 39,000 mile race.

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Sunset+Vine|APP, the Oxford-based unit of the multi-award winning UK independent TV sports production and media company Sunset+Vine, has helped ISAF smash all previous broadcaster records for the recent Santander 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships.

Sunset+Vine International was responsible for the television distribution of the championships which took place in Santander from 12th-21st September 2014.

With daily news bulletins and live coverage of all ten Medal Races forming part of this year's programming offering, the event secured an unprecedented commitment from broadcasters worldwide including ESPN (USA), BBC, OSN, beIN France, Seven Australia, CBC, Globosat and TYC Argentina.

The final number of broadcasters that took live and news coverage from this year's event was 24 - a staggering 600% increase from the previous ISAF World Championships held in 2011. This equated to a total of 46 territories and an impressive estimated household reach of 182,114,000 - a figure that doubled all previous records for the event.

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NetComposites will present CompIC (Composites in Construction), an international conference taking place 3rd February 2015 at The Park Hotel, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Abstracts are now being accepted from potential speakers.

The conference is designed to introduce and educate visitors on the use of fibre reinforced composites in construction, allowing delegates to explore and discuss the current and future innovations and trends of the industry.

Running in conjunction with the conference will be a free-to-attend EU Research Project clustering event on 4thFebruary, which will take place at the prestigious Teijin Auditorium, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands, a landmark use of composites in construction. This event will promote dissemination between research and commercial companies alike, through mini exhibitions, posters and forums.

www.netcomposites.com

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HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco met with designers from ten superyacht design firms that have signed up as Wood Forever Pact Partners - as well as two WFP Members, builders VSY and Burger - at the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation stand (QP 42) in the Monaco Yacht Show on 24 September.

Designers of Superyachts who care about deforestation have the opportunity to make a real difference to the environment by becoming Partners of Wood Forever Pact.

Wood Forever Pact is the flagship project of the 'Monaco makes a commitment against deforestation' initiative, led by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

Committed to specifying only certified woods, these designers have pledged to introduce clients - who they are designing (or have designed) superyachts for - to Wood Forever Pact (also proposing that superyacht owners become WFP Ambassadors) and raise awareness of the benefits of using woods sourced from well-managed forests.

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Doyle Sails is back as the lead sponsor of the Hamble One Design Championships. 2014 will be the 12th edition of this popular event, attracting both white and black fleet one design racing over two weekends - 4/5th October and 18/19th October.

This year the weekend of 1/2nd November has been designated as a 'spare', so as to give the race management team the flexibility to run racing should one of the earlier weekends be completely lost to bad weather.

The Doyle Sails Hamble One Design Championships will offer 3 races on each Saturday and 2 races each Sunday. Racing, under the experienced eye of CROs Jamie Wilkinson and Stephen Parry, is offered on white group for SBR, J/70, J/80 and SB20 classes and on black group for J/109, J/92 and Impala classes. Other One Design Classes that can muster a minimum of six entries may also apply for a class start. Please contact HRSC to discuss.

Doyle Sails is one of the world's largest sail makers, with over 80 locations around the world. The Southampton Loft, based at Shamrock Quay covers every aspect of sail making and service from Dinghies to Superyachts and aims to be the first choice loft for repairs, service and laundry.

The Doyle Sails Hamble One Design Championships is a key component of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series, organised and run by Hamble River Sailing Club.

hamblewinterseries.com

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CD-adapco, the largest privately held CFD focused provider of Computer Aided Engineering software, today announced its new partnership with Ben Ainslie Racing. The America's Cup team will be utilizing the CD-adapco simulation tool, STAR-CCM+® in the design of its racing boat

The focus of the 35th edition of the America's Cup is sustainability, the set of restrictive rules means this is likely to be the most challenging America's Cup ever from an Engineering Simulation point of view. The introduction of much tighter design specifications, including "one design" components such as a common wing for all contenders, reduces the scope for large design differences between the boats and will likely mean that victory is decided by the smallest of margins. Since the rules will likely prohibit actual sailing of the boats until about 5 months before the competition, most of the important early design decisions will have to be based on data from CFD simulations.

www.prweb.com/releases/

Letters To The Editor -
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.

* From David Barrow: Well Done Bob Fisher it is about time someone let the cat out of the bag. I am sure a few of us have been offered "expenses" over the years. Kind offer never accepted.

The problem is that the rules were never hard enough and not really policed properly. Also pro definitions need tightening up. Why not look at similar sports like golf and tennis and see if there is something we can learn from there. The sport of sailing needs growth and getting beaten by people who are paid to compete against you is not going to be a good marketing proposition for our sport. There are those that say sailing is unique in so far that everyone can sail together. That's ok for the odd regatta, but where will it end if pro sailors are completely unregulated.

* From Alistair Skinner: I have to say 'The Fish' is 100% right. Sailing is a self policing sport and if Alesandro has proof that an owner is paying someone to sail, obviously knowingly passing off a category 3 as a 1 then it is quite simply cheating. The red flag should go up at the first 4 minute signal of the regatta. Rules in question? Certainly Rule 2 "shall compete....sportsmanship & fair play". If payment can be proven then it would "clearly establish these principles have been violated" Perhaps even a Rule 69.1(a) "a gross breach of a rule" It would be kind of hard to prove perhaps but this sort of pre-meditated cheating is not good for our sport at all and every effort should be made to stamp it out. ISAF may have many faults in some people's eyes but if sailors don't use the rules to help keep the sport honest it is like blaming the police because you got robbed when you left the front door open.

Sad that some people have so little in their lives that they have to cheat just to win a yacht race though.

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The Last Word
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