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Figaro Final Leg
Night two over, and the fleet now sail along the South Coast of England, just around the corner from the Leg 4 starting point of Torbay. Xavier Macaire, (Skipper Herault) has maintained his lead despite strong tides, and is now just over two and a half nautical miles ahead of the battle for second place between Corentin Douguet (Sofinther) and Charlie Dalin (Macif 2015).

On the overall leaderboard, Macaire is 3rd and Charlie 2nd. Overall race leader Yann Elies (Groupe Queguiner) sails in 4th place in Leg 4, 2.8 miles behind Macaire. Since there is just under an hour between first and third place overall, and roughly 35 minutes between second and third, Macaire will need to extend his lead over Elies and Dalin to make a difference to his positioning on the overall leaderboard. Luckily for him, light winds are forecast for the English Channel crossing to Dieppe - with a slow finish on our hands, Macaire could drastically change his result if he can stay ahead.

Following an issue with his rigging, second stage winner Sebastien Simon (Bretagne - Credit Mutuel Espoir) has abandoned the race and is heading to Roscoff. British Jack Bouttell (GAC Concise) is currently 11th place overall, so Sebastien's abandonment could be beneficial for him. However, Jack is sailing in 29th at present, so he'll need to climb the ranks further in order to breach the top 10 - not unfeasible if the light winds cause entire race restarts!

The sailors have a likely ETA in Dieppe of sometime on Thursday, but this is difficult to pinpoint due to light winds forecast.

www.artemisoffshoreacademy.com
lasolitaire.com

Team Aqua Regains Her Golden Wheels
Chris Bake's Team Aqua, on this occasion with Jim Richardson steering, proved that she has lost none of her winning ways, when she claimed the Audi RC44 Porto Cervo Cup albeit by a mere point, after a final day of three races, held in near perfect conditions off Sardinia's Costa Smeralda.

The race committee boat departed mid-morning into a mill pond, but after an extra hour's wait ashore, the fleet was invited out to Porto Cervo's famous 'Bomb Alley' and a steady 10 knot northeasterly.

Starting the day with a five point lead over second placed Peninsula Petroleum, Team Aqua made a strong statement of intent, convincingly winning the first race.

Ultimately an eighth place to Peninsula Petroleum's fourth in the final race was enough for Team Aqua to win by a point.

Team Aqua's victory at the Audi RC44 Porto Cervo Cup sees her regain the RC44's coveted overall championship leader's 'golden wheels', currently on board Nico Poons' Charisma. As Cameron Appleton put it: "They haven't strayed very far from our boat, so we are excited to get those back. I think they match our boat nicely..."

Audi RC44 Porto Cervo Cup Results

1. Team Aqua (GBR 2041), 46 points
2. Peninsula Petroleum Sailing Team (GBR 1), 47
3. TEAM CEEREF (SLO 11), 49
4. Team Nika (RUS 10), 52
5. Aleph Racing (FRA 17), 52
6. Bronenosec Sailing Team (RUS 18), 55
7. Artemis Racing (SWE44), 62
8. Charisma (MON 69), 65
9. Katusha (RUS 21), 72
10. RUS - 7 Anywayanyday (RUS 7), 88
11. Artemis Racing Youth (SWE 4). 94
12. MAG Racing (POL 44), 98

www.rc44.com

Seahorse July 2015
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

World news
Gitana work towards full (offshore) flight, Franck Cammas welcomes the 'budget' AC, mixed signals as New Zealand 'backs' Oracle, Nicho prepares to go afloat (again) and the USA (at last) wakes up to round-the-world racing. Blue Robinson, Ivor Wilkins, Patrice Carpentier, Carlos Pich, Dobbs Davis

Paul Cayard
And a very different sailboat race

IRC column
So why all the fuss about transparency? James Dadd

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Kieler Woche
It was a very mixed bag of weather for Day 4 of Kieler Woche (Kiel Week). After a long and sunny delay waiting for some breeze to fill in, the 49er FX and Nacra 17 catamarans eventually got out on the water for some late afternoon racing.

In the Nacra 17 catamarans, Paul Kohlhoff and Carolina Werner pulled through to their customary lead by the top of the first windward leg. But at the top of the final windward leg, the Germans fell out of the best breeze and could only watch as the fast charging Argentineans - Nahuel Martinez & Eugenia Bosco - surged past in stronger wind from the left-hand side. It was a race-winning move by the South American team, relegating the usually dominant Germans to second at the finish.

While the Dutch team of Annemieke Bekkering and Daniel Bramervaer have a good lead in the 49er FX fleet, today was a chance for other teams to shine. Leonie Meyer and Elena Stoffers took the lead of race 10, but the chasing Dutch used the leeward gate to force a split up the final windward leg.

When the Dutch and Germans converged, it was neck and neck. But Meyer liked the look of a gust on the left, and at the next cross the Germans had re-established a comfortable lead. Meyer and Stoffers would win that race, and the one after, to move up to 2nd overall.

On Wednesday (23 June), it's Medal Race day for all the Olympic classes. Scheduled for live TV coverage are:

Medal Races:
11:00 - Laser Std. Men
11:50 - Nacra 17 Mix
12:35 - 49er men
13:20 - 49er FX women

Then on Thursday, it's the start of part 2 of Kiel Week, with the chance for the Corinthian classes to appear on the live YouTube feed. -- Andy Rice, SailJuice.com

Event site: www.kieler-woche.de

Live video feed

J Class Falmouth Regatta
Lionheart started the 2015 J Class racing year in the same way they did their 2014 season, with a win. But as they crossed the finish line off Falmouth's picture postcard Pendennis Castle to take the first winning gun of the J Class Falmouth Regatta it partly atoned for a disappointing finale to last year in Saint Tropez and also marked the first race victory since Olympic medalist John Cutler joined as tactician.

And to take the first winning gun of the season means a lot: "It feels good. We struggled a lot in St Tropez and so it was good today to be going pretty fast, to be going the right way. It was nice. I did the Falmouth regatta on Ranger in 2012. Then it was foggy, raining and cold but it is a great place to go racing, really pretty, such a beautiful part of the world."

Racing on Wednesday is scheduled to be a three hours coastal course for the Kings Hundred Guinea Cup.

Result Race 1 (Corrected Times)
1 Lionheart 1hr 21m 19s
2 Ranger 1hr 22m 43s
3 Velsheda 1hr 24m 33s

Live tracking can be followed on jclassyachts.com

Win A Vendee Globe's Boat ... For Free!
Pro Sailor and sports journalist Sebastien Destremau is entering into the next Vendee Globe with FaceOcean's project. After the race, one of his supporters will have the opportunity to win his boat for free.

"As far as I know this is the first time such a big boat will be won. It is unheard of and very innovative," said David Brabis, CEO of the Vendee Globe

For Sebastien Destremau, who participated in five America's Cup campaigns, FaceOcean's goals are simple: create a human-scale project and share it with thousands of Fans, finish this solo round the world race and give the possibility to a lucky winner to take over the helm in 2020.

Today is the beginning of a vast operation of crowdfunding conducted on the sport specialized crowdfunding platform Fosburit.com.

The project changed gear with the recent purchase of the IMOCA 60 "Explora-Gartmore". Currently located in South Africa, the boat is simple and very reliable. She has already competed four round the world races, including two Vendee Globe (both in the top 10 finish)

To become a Supporter: www.faceocean.fr
To become a Crewmember : bit.ly/1JWgphI

J24 European Championships
Crouesty de Arzon, France: There was no wind on the final day of the J/24 European Open Championship and the result was that all thirty-two crews (representing France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Great Britain, Brazil and United States) returned to shore to haul their boats and prepare for the awards ceremony earlier than many expected. Nevertheless, the regatta was warmly and enthusiastically embraced by Europe's top J/24 teams as they enjoyed great sailing on the Bay of Biscay, excellent RC PRO work from Yacht Club du Crouesty Arzon, and fabulous shoreside evening activities at one of the nicer seaside resorts in France.

After counting seven races total over the four-day regatta, it was the British team of MADELEINE skippered by Duncan McCarthy that took the European crown with a remarkably consistent 2-2-2-3-9-4-3 record.

Taking the Open European Championship was the American team of Mike Ingham with the amazingly low tally of four 1sts and a 2-3 for counters for just 9 pts total!

www.j24euro2015.com

Industry News
The Florida Yacht Brokers Association hired a law firm to help change a more than century-old federal law that the group says is costing them billions in lost sales.

"We have a law on the books that says any yacht coming from a foreign port has to pay 1.5 percent customs duties" if it is going to be offered for sale to Americans, said Jennifer Diaz of Becker & Poliakoff.

There are a couple of exceptions, such as at a boat show for yachts over 79 feet, Diaz said. But if someone even offers a foreign-flagged yacht for sale, it is subject to seizure. That is costing Florida billions in lost revenue from hundreds of boats, Diaz said.

FYBA said it is like paying taxes on a house before showing it, Diaz told Trade Only Today. Because they are paid prior to the sale, the duties are paid on the boat's estimated value.

"You have 300 to 400 non-U.S. foreign vessels valued in excess of $2 billion that want to come to the United States to be sold to U.S. residents that cannot unless they come pay U.S. customs prior to offering their boats for sale," Diaz said. "All we're trying to do is defer the duty the exact same way that is done in a boat show so that if they sell the boat to an American, then they have to pay customs duties."

The lost sales aren't the only revenues lost, Diaz said. Owners typically spend 10 percent of the value of yachts on labor, goods, services and maintenance, which amounts to an additional loss of $200 million.

www.tradeonlytoday.com

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The Yacht Racing Forum announces a two years partnership with Gurit, a global supplier of composite materials. "High performance yachting is a key innovation and activity area for Gurit to develop and deploy new materials which can make the difference. In this context, the Yacht Racing Forum is of great interest for us", says Rudolf Hadorn, Gurit CEO. "Geneva is a fantastic venue for the Yacht Racing Forum, located at the heart of Europe and host to a very dynamic yacht racing scene. The new organizers of the Forum are determined to organise a great event and we support this effort. The international yacht racing community needs a Forum to showcase its products, to network and debate. We look forward to our participation."

The Yacht Racing Forum 2015 will take place on December 7-8, at the prestigious Hotel Intercontinental.

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Crewsaver today announces that is has been selected by Artemis Racing to become its Official Safety Supplier for the 35th America's Cup.

Crewsaver, a Survitec company, and one of the world's leading personal floatation equipment manufacturer, is excited to announce its exclusive safety equipment partnership with Artemis Racing; Crewsaver will be working with the Artemis Racing team to develop the most advanced, cutting edge performance technology available to date.

The new designs will enable Artemis Racing's elite sailors to perform safely, yet to the very best of their ability, under the most challenging of conditions. Specifically, two radical new buoyancy aids, including one designed to meet the sailors' unique needs aboard the foiling AC Class boat for the 2017 America's Cup itself, give the team light weight, breathable solutions that provide total freedom of movement and temperature control.

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Acclaimed yacht designer Bruce Farr is coming out of retirement to consult on the design for an updated version of the 12-meter class that will be sailed in the San Francisco Yacht Racing Challenge starting in July 2017.

Farr will consult with Farr Yacht Design, the firm he retired from in 2012. Farr has extensive experience in one-design classes, and Farr Yacht Design drew the plans for the 65-footers that just completed the closely contested Volvo Ocean Race.

Farr also was part of the team that designed the fiberglass Kiwi Magic 12-meter for New Zealand Challenge for the 1986-87 America's Cup challenger trials in Fremantle, Australia.

The boats for the SFYRC, founded by former America's Cup executive Tom Ehman, will be called Super 12s because they won't be designed within the limits of the 12-meter rule. While capturing the classic look of the yachts that were sailed in the America's Cup from 1958-87, they will have updated keels and rigs. -- Bernie Wilson

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/

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A line-up of 25 world-class charter yachts worth a combined value of over $100 million has been finalized for the 34th Annual Newport Charter Yacht Show. The event, which started Monday, June 22 and runs through Thursday, June 25 at the Newport Yachting Center in Newport, R.I., is one of only six such charter industry shows in the world, catering to industry professionals and VIPs interested in exploring the many options available for luxury chartering in New England.

Throughout the week the show's Crew Competitions - organized by Captain's Concierge and sponsored by Crew Food Safety Training, LLC, Culinary Convenience, LLC and DYT Yacht Transport/SevenStar Transportation - will shine a light on the professional crews and private chefs behind these luxury charter yachts, putting their hospitality and culinary skills to the test in a series of contests held throughout the week.

On Wednesday and Thursday mornings, two Industry-Focused Seminars - one hosted by the American Yacht Charter Association as part of their annual meeting and the other presented by the Newport Charter Yacht Show - will add to the educational component to the show.

www.newportchartershow.com

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The key issue of how to deal with boats when they reach the natural end of their life will be the subject of a newly announced one-day conference that will be held on Monday 16 November 2015, the day before METS starts.

A discussion of the business prospects for an organised yacht recycling network, and the term 'End-Of-Life Boats', have come to prominence recently in yachting circles. This reflects the fact that the boom years of the 1970s and '80s and the mass production of GRP yachts from long-lasting composite construction materials are presenting the yachting industry with various economic and environmental challenges.

London-based Quaynote Communications and YachtMedia nautical media consultants from Rotterdam will host a one-day conference specifically targeted at this sector during METS 2015. Fully supported by METSTRADE, 'The Future of Yacht Recycling' conference will be held on Monday 16 November in Amsterdam RAI.

www.metstrade.com

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Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L) and KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI) today announced the signing of a reciprocal distribution agreement with immediate effect.

Under the agreement, KVH becomes a non-exclusive, global distributor of Inmarsat's Fleet One and FleetBroadband services, and Inmarsat becomes a non-exclusive distributor across all vessel types for KVH's Videotel Basic Training Package, as well as for its NEWSlink newspapers within the leisure and non-passenger merchant vessel segments, which will be offered as enhancements to Inmarsat's Fleet Media service.

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