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Straight Line Wins To Poland And Australia On Opening Day Of 470 Worlds
Haifa, Israel: Launching off the beach into the warm azure waters off Haifa Bay, the 2015 470 World Championships got underway today in Israel.

The 470 Men were split into yellow and blue fleets for 3 races, with the 470 Women contesting 2 races in a single fleet. Weather conditions were perfect with a clear blue sky, 13-15 knots of breeze, and big rolling waves. The left consistently paid, with teams choosing this side repeatedly popping out in front by the first mark.

Defending World Champions Mat Belcher/Will Ryan (AUS) scored a hat trick of wins - three in a row - to launch a perfect opening day.

There are 6 Olympic Qualification places on offer for the 470 Men with 16 nations in contention: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Turkey.

470 Men Results after 3 Races
1. Mathew Belcher / Will Ryan, AUS, 2 points
2. Luke Patience / Elliot Willis, GBR, 3
3. Stuart McNay / David Hughes, USA, 5
4. Johan Molund / Sebastian Östling, SWE, 5
5. Matthias Schmid / Florian Reichstaedter, AUT, 6
6. Ferdinand Gerz / Oliver Szymanski, GER, 6
7. Sime Fantela / Igor Marenic, CRO, 7
8. Jordi Xammar / Joan Herp, ESP, 7
9. Anton Dahlberg / Fredrik Bergstrom, SWE, 8
10. Joonas Lindgren / Niklas Lindgren, FIN, 8

In the Women's 470 Poland's Agnieszka Skrzypulec and Irmina Mrozek Gliszczynska scored back to back wins.

In fourth overall are defending World Champions Lara Vadlau and Jola Ogar, who despite suffering from illness today still knocked out a 6,8 scorecard. The pair battled through, but by the final race Ogar was losing out to her cold and fever.

470 Women Results after 2 Races
1. Agnieszka Skrzypulec / Irmina Mrozek Gliszczynska, POL, 2 points
2. Camille Lecointre / Helene Defrance, FRA, 8
3. Hannah Mills / Saskia Clark, GBR, 14
4. Lara Vadlau / Jolanta Ogar, AUT, 14
5. Anne Haeger / Briana Provancha, USA, 15
6. Annika Bochmann / Marlene Steinherr, GER, 16
7. Jo Aleh / Polly Powrie, NZL, 19
8. Xiaomei Xu / Ping Zhang, CHN, 26
9. Carrie Smith / Jaime Ryan, AUS, 28
10. Shasha Chen / Haiyan Gao, CHN, 29

2015worlds.470.org

ISAF Rolex World Sailor Of The Year Nominees Announced
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) and Rolex are pleased to announce five male and five female nominees for the 2015 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards.

Set to be held on Tuesday, 10 November 2015 in Sanya, China, the Awards ceremony celebrates the world's finest sailors' achievements during the qualifying period from the end of September 2014 through to 31 August 2015.

Only one nominee wins in both the male and female categories. The names vying for the coveted and prestigious 2015 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards are:

Male
Peter Burling & Blair Tuke (NZL)
Loick Peyron (FRA)
Giles Scott (GBR)
Ian Walker (GBR)
Ian Williams (GBR)

Female
Sarah Ayton (GBR)
Sam Davies (GBR)
Elena Kalinina (RUS)
Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (DEN)
Charline Picon (FRA)

The winners will be selected by the ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs), the national governing bodies for sailing around the world, by a process of voting prior to the event and on the night of the Awards. The MNAs are now invited to vote for the male and female nominee they believe most deserves the Award. This vote will contribute to 50% of the overall result, while the remaining 50% of the vote will be decided by those in attendance on the night in Sanya.

Each winner will be presented with the prestigious ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award Trophy and a distinctive Rolex timepiece at the Award ceremony on 10 November 2015 in Sanya.

www.sailing.org/worldsailor

Antigua Sailing Week
It's blowing twenty gusting twenty-five, blue water's hissing at the rail. The helm loads up, the boat takes off, down another Caribbean roller. The wild ride continues, stem-deep pristine ocean cascades over the bow. The deck is hot, the sun is brilliant, and so is the competition. Sun, Sea and Surf, the pace is on. Palm trees dance on Pigeon Beach, the 'Trades' are in, and you don't want them to stop.

Cracking jokes on the dock, salt encrusted, a cold one soothes the thirst. The beat goes on and the rhythm hits you. You nod, shake your hips, and move your hands and feet. You're tuned-in and the DJ's playing your favourite song with a hundred or more dancing with you. The sun sighs farewell, setting the skies ablaze, but the party goes on. You don't want to stop but it will be blowing twenty when the sun says - Good Morning.

The 49th Edition of Antigua Sailing Week - April 23-29 2016

www.sailingweek.com/v4/

To enter: www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=1477

RenRe Junior Gold Cup
Nacho Davila won the RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup in Hamilton Harbor yesterday.

The Spaniard finished the twelve race series nine-points clear of nearest rival Mia Nicolosi, of the US Virgin Islands, after discarding his worst score.

Mathias Berthet, of Norway, rounded off the podium.

Topping the local leaderboard was Micah Raynor Thomas in tenth overall followed closely by Tayte Stefanuik in eleventh and Jordan Etemadi in fourteenth.

Christian Spodsberg, the defending champion, finished seventh. -- Colin Thompson, Bermuda Gazette

www.royalgazette.com

juniorgoldcup.com

Gold Cup's Future Left Hanging In Balance
The Argo Group Gold Cup's World Match Racing Tour status hangs in the balance after Tour officials rolled out plans for next year's professional racing circuit.

Tour officials announced at the weekend that the M32 high-performance catamaran will be the featured class on the WMRT next year.

This means that organisers of the Gold Cup, the oldest match racing trophy in the world for competitions involving one-design yachts, will have to amend the class rule from the International One Design sloop to the M32 catamaran if the local event is to retain its WMRT status.

Peter Shrubb, the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club rear commodore, who is responsible for international events, said discussions between the Gold Cup organising committee, Tour officials and Gold Cup title sponsors Argo Group are ongoing.

"We are negotiating with our sponsor and the new owners of the Tour on what's the best direction for us to go," Shrubb said. "As soon as we have completed negotiations on any deal that's satisfactory for all stakeholders we will make an announcement." -- Colin Thompson

www.royalgazette.com

On Stand-By For Jules Verne Trophy
Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard introduce the Spindrift 2 crew for the Jules Verne Trophy around-the-world record attempt. The crew will be on stand-by from October 19th.

The target: to sail around the world in less than 45 days, 13 hours and 42 minutes. The tough record they will try to beat was set by Loick Peyron and his crew in 2012 on Banque Populaire V, which was renamed Spindrift 2 a year later.

The French-Swiss team decided to use the same 40 m trimaran because they believed that the boat could be further optimised, a task that sailors, engineers and technicians at the team have been working on ever since. After countless hours of work at the boatyard and 40,000 nautical miles of racing and training, the Spindrift racing-prepared trimaran is all set to go. The team will officially go on stand-by on October 19th and wait for the ideal weather window.

Spindrift 2 crew for the Jules Verne Trophy

Yann Guichard, skipper
Dona Bertarelli, helmsman-trimmer

Sebastien Audigane, helmsman-trimmer
Antoine Carraz, helmsman-trimmer
Thierry Duprey du Vorsent, helmsman-trimmer
Christophe Espagnon, helmsman-bowman
Jacques Guichard, helmsman-trimmer
Erwan Israel, navigator
Loic Le Mignon, helmsman-trimmer
Sebastien Marsset, bowman
Francois Morvan, helmsman-trimmer
Xavier Revil, helmsman-trimmer
Yann Riou, media reporter
Thomas Rouxel, helmsman-bowman

Jean-Yves Bernot, onshore router

Simone Gaeta, substitute
Thomas Le Breton, substitute

spindrift-racing.com

Dubarry Ultima - Loved by Sailors
It's hard to love a pair of boots. They either do a job or they don't. Some will have great grip and others will send you crashing down to the deck like some slapstick comedian. Some will keep the water out, others will leak like a pair of bespoke footbaths. Some will breathe to keep you comfortable, others will slowly baste your feet in their own sweat. Some will look great, others like you've just escaped from a circus.

Even if you do find a pair that ticks every box, that looks good, grips well and keeps you warm, dry and comfortable, you'd still struggle to love a boot. Unless, of course, it's a Dubarry boot. Take the Ultima, with its blend of rich, supple leather and durable man-made fibres, the hi tech GORE-TEX liner that acts like an air conditioner, the award-winning grip of the sole - yes, those are all there, recognised benchmarks of quality, but what you can't see or touch or smell is the soul. Ultima boots have it in abundance because, like you, they change. They gain experience at sea and improve with age just as surely as you do. That's why sailors love them.

Dubarry Ultima - Where will you go in yours?

dubarry.com

35th Student Yachting World Cup
Hamble, Hampshire, UK: The 2015 Student Yachting World Cup (SYWoC), an ISAF-recognised event hosted and run by students for students, is being held in France between 13-20 October and this year will host around 150 competitors from 15 countries. Four UK University teams are entered and every one is either skippered or crewed by a Royal Southern Academy member.

The Oxford University team is skippered by 19 year-old Lulu Wallis; Cambridge is sailed by Damien Arnol (25), and 21 year-old Annabel Vose is heading up the Southampton University team. Annabel is a 420 World and European Champion and successfully skippered a women's match racing team to win the University World Championship last summer. She is joined by Academy members Jamie Diamond & Tom Harrison. The University of Strathclyde's team captain is 22 year-old Peter Cameron.

Competitors will race a minimum two races per day in J/80s, enabling each team to showcase their talents with the aim of being crowned University World Cup Champion.

All teams have been training hard at the Hamble-based Club using their fleet of J/80s.

www.royal-southern.co.uk/Afloat/Academy

www.sywoc.org

Henry V Warship Holigost 'May Be Buried In River Hamble'
The wreck of a 600-year-old warship which helped Henry V wage war on France is believed to have been found buried in a river.

The Holigost - or Holy Ghost - was one of four "great ships" commissioned by the king in his war against France.

It was spotted in an aerial photograph by historian Dr Ian Friel, in an area of Hampshire's River Hamble described as a medieval breaker's yard.

Historic England said it was a "tangible link" to Henry V.

The Holigost fought in sea battles during the Hundred Years War which broke the French naval power.

Dr Friel identified the wreck when he was revisiting documentary evidence for a book on Henry's navy.

Future scientific research on the ship, which could include sonar and aerial imaging using drones, could reveal much about 15th Century shipbuilding and improve understanding of life aboard ship, naval warfare of the time, dock building and docking practices.

Historic England said it was taking steps to protect and investigate the shipwreck in part of the river next to where Henry's flagship, the Grace Dieu, was identified in the 1930s.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-34503044

For The Record
The WSSR Council announces the the establishment of a new World Record

Record: Plymouth to La Rochelle. Outright record.
Yacht: Phaedo 3. MOD 70
Names: Lloyd Thornberg USA and Brian Thompson GBR plus a crew of 5.
Dates:.17th September 2015.
Start time: 04;43;23 UTC on 17/09/15
Finish time: 18;48;43 UTC on 17/09/15
Elapsed time: 14 hours 05 minutes and 20 seconds
Distance: 329 NM
Average speed: 23.36 kts kts

Comments: Previous record: "PlayStation" Steve Fossett. USA. April 02. 16h 42m 40s

John Reed
Secretary to the WSSR Council
sailspeedrecords.com

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 Philip Crebbin: I read about the Endeavour Trophy 2015 with interest. What a great result by Ben Saxton and Toby Lewis! Many congratulations to them.

Out of interest, the article makes a big thing about this being the first time in the 55 year history of the event that such an outstanding result has been achieved. I assume that is supposed to mean that it is the first time that someone has won all the races in the event.

So I feel I should note that the second time I won the Endeavour Trophy in 1975, representing the 470 class, it was blowing very hard and Tony Landamore and I won every race by a long way (the event was then held in Larks). In fact the total of the winning margins was more than 15 minutes.

We did not have as many as 8 races, partly because of the severe conditions which were gradually getting worse, but I think there were 6 races held. So I bow to Ben and Toby in terms of the number of races won at one Endeavour Trophy event! Certainly not an easy record to beat.

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The Last Word
Middle age is when your old classmates are so grey and wrinkled and bald they don't recognize you. -- Bennett Cerf

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