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Records Smashed In Round St. Maarten Race
The multihull and monohull records for the Round St. Maarten Race were shattered on the first day of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta. 193 yachts set off on the 26 mile circumnavigation, with strong Trade Winds from the east, the magnificent fleet enjoyed a spectacular reaching start in Simpson Bay. In one of the fastest races for many years, the huge armada provided a spectacular sight around the rugged coastline of St. Maarten.

Lloyd Thornburg's Phaedo3 completed the Round St.Maarten Race in an elapsed time of 1 hour 19 minutes and 59 seconds, establishing a new race record. Phaedo3 also beat the course record, which was set by Phaedo3 in a successful attempt outside of the official race last year and won the Multihull 1 Class after time correction.

Lord Irvine Laidlaw's RP82, Highland Fling XI completed the Round St. Maarten Race in an elapsed time of 2 hours 12 minutes and 32 seconds establishing a new race record for the Round St. Maarten Race.

Peter Harrison's TP52, Sorcha completed the race in just over two and half hours and after CSA Rating time correction was declared the overall winner of the Round St. Maarten Race.

A special mention for Bernard Sillem's St. Maarten Beach Cat Gonzalo, which finished the course in an astonishing elapsed time of 2 hours 21 minutes and 16 seconds and Ross Applebey's British Oyster 48, Scarlet Oyster, which was holed on the water line yesterday and having been repaired over night came back to win CSA 2 for the Round St. Maarten Race.

Full results are available at: regattaguru.com/heineken/100131

Record Fleet For Gill Commodore's Cup
Simpson Bay, St. Maarten: The 10th edition of the Gill Commodore's Cup featured a record entry of 84 boats for the stand alone event prior to the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta.

With a rough sea state and the wind piping up to over 20 knots, boat handling was at a premium in the Gill Maxi and Gill 1 classes racing off Marigot Bay. The big boats revelled in the conditions, Race Officer Stuart Childerley, officiating at the regatta for the first time, set three windward leeward courses.

In Gill 3 there was glory for local legend Bobby Velasquez racing Beneteau 45 L'Esperance. The team from St. Maarten won the first race and placed third and second in the subsequent races to win the class by a single point. Lawrence Aqui's Dufour 40, Wild T'ing, from the US Virgin Islands, won the last race of the day to snatch second on countback from Jordan Mindich's American J/105, Solstice. Richard Wesslund's Florida based J/122, El Ocaso scored a perfect three bullets to win Gill 1 from Don Terwilliger's American First 47.7, Dauntless. Chris Jackson's First 40, Team Boston was third.

Peter Harrison's TP52, Sorcha scored three straight bullets in the Gill Maxi class to stamp their authority on the opposition. Although Irvine Laidlaw's mighty Highland Fling X1 only took part in the first race and looked to be a real flyer in the big breeze. Ralph Johnson's Bajan TP52, Conviction was second in class, a fine result for a young team in harsh conditions.

For full results for the Gill Commodore's Cup: regattaguru.com/heineken/100137/results

Close-Run Finish To 3rd Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series After Final Act
After six races in three days, the Italian Giacomo Loro Piana (Mary J) took top honours in the 5th and final Act of the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series for the J/70s, ahead of Filippo Pacinotti (Pensavo Peggio) and the Swiss Nicolas Groux (Aprotec) in 3rd.

Held once a month from October to March, an initiative of Valentin Zavadnikov (Synergy), the regattas give amateur and professional teams an opportunity to establish their winter training base in Monaco to prepare for the summer's big meetings.

After 23 races for the 2015-2016 edition for a total of 64 teams, the President of the Monaco Class Association, Jacopo Carrain (Carpe Diem) retained his title, coming top of the overall ranking. Hard on his heels just half a point behind was British boat led by Sam Carter (Brutus) and in 3rd place Monegasque Stefano Roberti (Piccinina).

"The level was very high," commented the winner, "and it was great to see the 18-strong Monegasque fleet, which has made such progress this season, with seven boats in the top ten at the end of five Acts."

Also racing were eight Stars competing in Act 3 of their European Winter Series (Princess Grace Trophy). With five race wins, the German Ulrich Vater (Chimera) won ahead of Italian Carlo Brenco (Stella), with Daniel Stegmeier's British team (GBR 7990) in 3rd and YCM member Andrea Orlando in 4th.

The final Act of the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series 2015-2016 for the Melges 20 is on 18th-20th March 2016.

www.ycm.org
Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series

Bacardi Miami Sailing Week
In its sixth year, BACARDI Miami Sailing Week presented by EFG is building on the success of previous year's events, again offering six days of remarkable sailing competition. Celebrating its 89th anniversary, the Bacardi Cup has become a world known event valued by many. The Trofeo Bacardi traces its roots to 1920's Havana's, Cuba.

The regatta was conceived as a three-day event with sailors competing for the Trofeo BACARDI as part of the Cup of Cuba's Mid-Winter Championship. In 1962 political unrest forced the Bacardi Cup to move from Havana to Coconut Grove, Florida, where it has since been hosted by the Coral Reef Yacht Club, the organizing authority for the BACARDI Cup.

Heading into 2016, the Bacardi Cup continues to be the only Cuban-born sporting event to survive in the United States. This event now attracts more than 200 sailors each year from some 23 countries and the attention of national & international media. The 89th running of the BACARDI Cup for the Star class will be the marquee event of BACARDI Miami Sailing Week, with racing from Sunday, March 6th through Saturday, March 12th, 2016. Competition for the J/70, Viper 640 and VX Ones classes takes place Thursday, March 9th, through Saturday, March 12th.

www.miamisailingweek.com

Conquered Canfield Backs Sehested To Go All The Way
Fremantle, Australia: Nicolai Sehested today cast aside any idea that Taylor Canfield and US One were the event favourites, ruthlessly dispatching the American team 3-1 in their Quarter Final match at the World Match Racing Tour Fremantle.

The young Dane is showing no fear of any opponent, and nor should he, the way he is tearing around the track in the M32 multihull this week.

The simplest Quarter Final victory went to Great Britain's Ian Williams who despatched Sweden's Mattias Rahm 3-0 in a superior performance by the GAC Pindar crew. As the reigning and six-time World Champion, Williams was the undoubted master of the slow keelboats, but he's proving to be a fast learner in the multihulls.

Today it's Williams v Sehested, and Wallen v Guichard. With the pre-event favourite out of the running, Canfield was asked who he'd back for the overall win, for the US$33,000 prize money tomorrow afternoon. "Sehested. He was fast against us today, and I think he'll do it again tomorrow." Will Canfield's confidence be a curse on the Dane? Or is Canfield right to foresee the young Viking doing another smash-and-grab assault on his more experienced competitors on the final day, the climax of the World Match Racing Tour Fremantle?

Results after Day 5

Through to the Semi Finals:

Ian Williams (GBR) v Nicolai Sehested (DEN)
Hans Wallen (SWE) v Yann Guichard (FRA)

Results in Quarter Finals:

Nicolai Sehested (DEN) beat Taylor Canfield (ISV) 3-1
Yann Guichard (FRA) beat Murray Jones (AUS) 2-1
Hans Wallen (SWE) beat Matt Jerwood (AUS) 2.5-1.5
Ian Williams (GBR) beat Mattias Rahm (SWE) 3-0

www.wmrt.com

*|YOUTUBE:[$vid=JFqmmR_t1Nw, $max_width=500, $title=N, $border=N, $trim_border=N, $ratings=N, $views=N]|*

Team Aqua Wins RC44 Bermuda Cup
A last minute charge from Vladimir Liubomirov's Bronenosec Sailing Team was not enough to displace Chris Bake's Team Aqua from the top of the leaderboard at the conclusion of the RC44 Bermuda Cup, the first event of the Sir Russell Coutts-conceived one design's 10th anniversary season.

Conditions on the final day of competition on Bermuda's Great Sound looked marginal initially with a near glass out mid-morning. After a postponement ashore, the first warning signal was finally sounded at 1410 and PRO Peter Reggio just managed to lay on two races in a shifty, patchy breeze that rarely exceeded five knots.

A disappointing penultimate day of racing had seen Bronenosec drop off the leaderboard, but today in the difficult light conditions the Russian team's tactician, Michele Ivaldi, seemed to have a direct line to the wind gods. This somehow enabled the blue-hulled RC44 to win both of today's races.

The RC44s now leave the 35th America's Cup venue bound for the RC44 Sotogrande World Championship in May.

RC44 Bermuda Cup - Fleet Racing Results (after 12 races)

1. Team Aqua, GBR, 37
2 Bronenosec Sailing Team, RUS, 39
3. Team Nika, RUS, 42
4. Team CEEREF, SLO, 46
5. Peninsula Petroleum, GBR, 49
6. Artemis Racing, SWE, 57
7. Katusha, RUS, 68
8. Artemis Racing Youth, SWE, 83

rc44.com

Star Class: Walker Cup
Coconut Grove, Florida: Two races were held today in a postcard perfect Miami. 10-15 knots from the North and clear blue skies.

The Walker Cup is in honor of Harry Walker, who served the star class as secretary for many years. The 43 competitors were competing to win the Walker Cup but also as a tune up for the 88th Bacardi Cup that stars tomorrow at the same venue.

Brain and I were trying a few new things this weekend on the boat. Obviously it went pretty well but we will be continuing to try some things next week during the Bacardi Cup as we prepare for the World Championship in April.

The forecast for the upcoming week is generally windy. 16-20 knots, with gust up to 25, from the North East going South East as the week goes on So the temps and humidity will be up with the wind coming off the 82 degree ocean. -- Paul Cayard

Final top five:
1. Paul Cayard / Brian Fatih, USA, 15 points
2. Lars Grael / Samuel Goncalves, BRA, 25
3. Tom Loefstedt, SWE, 28
4. Peter Vessella, USA, 29
5. Jim Buckingham / Craig Moss, USA, 34

Full results: www.yachtscoring.com

18ft Skiffs: Club Championship, Race 10
Sydney Harbour, Australia: The champion Smeg team continued the form which has seen it take victories in both the JJ Giltinan and Australian Championships when Lee Knapton, Ricky Bridge and Mike McKensey led nearly all the way in Race 10 of the League's Club Championship on Sydney Harbour today.

After taking the lead soon after the start in a #2 rig East North East wind, Smeg wasn't headed throughout the rest of the race and took the honours by 1m31s from Coopers 62-Rag & Famish Hotel (Jack Macartney, Dan Phillips, Peter Harris).

Championship leader, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers (Michael Coxon, Trent Barnabas, Peter Mackie) was a further 27s back in third place, ahead of compassmarkets.com (Keagan York), Yandoo (John Winning) and Triple M (John Sweeny).

With just one more race to be sailed in the championship, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers has a total of 37 points, for a three points lead over Smeg (40 points).

Next Sunday's race is for the Alice Burton Memorial Trophy.

Race 11 of the Club Championship, the last race of the championship and last race of the season, will be sailed on Sunday, 20 March. -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League

www.18footers.com

Young Artists Will Get The Chance To Design A Piece Of Sailing History
A competition has been launched to design trophies for one of Britain's biggest sailing events, the America's Cup.

The Victory Trophies competition will return for a second year with children, aged five to 16, from across Hampshire and Isle of Wight submitting designs for the official event trophies.

The event will feature some of the best sailors in the world racing on 45ft foiling catamarans.

Last year's trophy design competition received more than 2,000 entries and the winning design, by six-year-old Leo Howard, from Portsmouth, was made into a trophy and presented by the Duchess of Cambridge to the winning team of sailors, which included Sir Ben Ainslie.

Entry forms are available at http://www.lvacwsportsmouth.com and the closing date is June 6. -- James Woolven in the Isle of Wight Country Press

www.iwcp.co.uk

Why Moonduster Should Not Make Ireland Her Home After Restoration
This week's sad video on Afloat.ie about the dilapidated and deteriorating condition of the late Denis Doyle of Cork's very special Frers 51 Moonduster in northern Norway has led to a flurry of communication on social media, and all sorts of suggestions about how best she might be restored and used in the future. Inevitably, there have been many who reckon she should find her future back home in Ireland, and be properly restored here. W M Nixon isn't so sure.

There was a period recently when the word "iconic" appeared so frequently as to become meaningless. But fortunately we've moved on from that level of gross over-use, and a certain rigour has returned to the deployment of this very useful and eloquent adjective. Which is just as well, for when you try to tell today's rising generation of offshore sailors just what Denis Doyle and Moonduster meant to us during their twenty years of glory from 1981 to 2001, "iconic" and "inspirational" are the only words which will hit the target...

... But now the care of Moonduster in Norway has apparently gone pear-shaped and beyond. A saviour and guardian angel is urgently required. And if you insist and can organise it, by all means get her restored to full health in Ireland. But once that's done, please take her away to join the classic offshore racers group in the Mediterranean. Take her away and keep her away for a good while yet. Fifteen years may have passed. But we're still not ready to see Moonduster sailing in Ireland again without The Doyler at the helm.

WM Nixon's full editorial: afloat.ie/blogs/sailing-saturday-with-wm-nixon

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KIWI MAGIC is for sale. World famous for being the last and best built of the three 'plastic fantastics" which were known as KZ 3, KZ 5 and this boat KZ 7. Updated winches, sails, deck hardware, there is not much left on this boat from her original days of blasting around in Perth Australia during the 1987 Americas Cup. Since that glorious time in sailing, she has had several loving owners that have spared no expense to keep her in a near perfect condition. In recent years she has spent much of her time stored in a heated shed in Rhode Island, but she was last sailed in the 2012 12 Meter North Americans, which she won handily. If one wants the very best and last composite built 12 meter in the world, KIWI MAGIC is seriously for sale. Call to be sent her full details and photos.

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Please contact William Jenkins at 410-267-9419

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2003 MC46. 240,000 EUR. Located in Italy

An excellent choice for a family to cruise and to race in the ORC and IRC.

Very seaworthy yacht, high-performance, easily to sail with small crew: the perfect combination between a competitive racer and an elegant cruiser.

The 'MC 46 Seawonder, designed by Ceccarelli Yacht Design, is the ideal boat for an owner sportsman, who want a fast boat and competitive for the race and comfortable and safe for cruising. Made entirely of carbon sandwich pre-impregnated core Corecell, this Cruiser Racer is the expression of the most 'high levels of construction. The extreme attention to detail and the pursuit of better performance is also reflected in the interior, entirely in carbon. The elegance and functionality find their best expression in the exposed carbon, lacquered or veneered with pear. In 2009, the MC 46 Seawonder returned at Marine Composite where significant changes and improvements were made to the boat.

A new bow and IRC/ORC keel were fitted in 2009. A new fin shell and revised ORC bulb we're fitted in 2014.

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C&C30 OD - NEW BOAT

Twin backstays to allow a larger square-top main help to distinguish this foxy new addition to the 30ft market. The powerful C&C 30 promises electric performance and all at an affordable level of cost – around 20 boats have been sold to date

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See the RaceboatsOnly.com collection at seahorsemagazine.com/brokerage/

The Last Word
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