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British Woman Dies After Being Swept Overboard In Clipper Yacht Race
A British woman has died taking part in the Clipper Round the World yacht race after being swept overboard, the event's organisers have said. Sarah Young, who was 40 and from London, is the second person to die aboard the same vessel in recent months.

She was pulled unconscious from the Pacific ocean near the international date line by her crewmates on the IchorCoal on Friday. They tried to resuscitate her but she did not regain consciousness, Clipper said in a statement.

The race organisers said that Young was working onboard the vessel in high winds on Friday when she was "knocked from her position by a wave. She fell back toward the guard wire and was swept under it by another wave ... She was not tethered on to the yacht at this time and was swept away in strong winds."

Her crewmates applied their man overboard drill but the conditions hampered a rescue effort and they had trouble sighting Young. At 12:44pm universal coordinated time (1:44pm BST) - after more than an hour in the ocean - she was pulled back aboard the vessel.

The incident happened on day 12 of the ninth race in the 14-stage yacht race as the vessel approached the international date line. The crew were sailing across the ocean from Qingdao in China, to Seattle in the US and were more than 3,200 miles from their destination.

www.theguardian.com

* The teams have been paying tribute to lost crewmate Sarah Young, who was buried at sea at 1202 local time today after a ceremony on board IchorCoal.

Whilst the ceremony was taking place on board, the other 11 teams held their own minute's silence, and read the poems and readings from the service.

Darren Ladd, Skipper of IchorCoal, wrote about Sarah's adventurous spirit in his blog today. He said: "Sarah was an adventurer and lived life to the full. She died an adventurer's death battling the elements circumnavigating the globe. I wish we could have said goodbye properly, we all do. The ceremony was for Sarah on behalf of all those that were fortunate enough to know her. Today we said goodbye, but she will always be present in our hearts."

www.clipperroundtheworld.com

Trofeo Princesa Sofia Iberostar
As an indicator as to possible Olympic sailing medal form in Rio, the Trofeo Princesa Sofia IBEROSTAR regatta which finished today, Saturday) in Palma revealed two absolute stand outs.

France's charismatic four times wold champions Billy Besson and Marie Riou won the Nacra 17 class with a day to spare and win the overall Trofeo Princesa Sofia IBEROSTAR for the best performance at the regatta.

The famous Bay of Palma dealt the armada of over 800 boats competing at the 47th Trofeo Princesa Sofia IBEROSTAR a full range of different breezes, just what was really wanted by those sailors who have their courses set towards the 2012 Olympic regatta in Rio.

For the first time Spain's showcase Olympic event offered European countries their last opportunity to qualify their nation for the Olympics. For other sailors it was a selection trials event. And for very many, the traditional curtain raiser to the European Olympic classes season, was a chance to polish their skills in a high pressure, big fleets situation.

* Josh Junior (NZL) has sealed his first ever European regatta win and his first ever major Finn regatta win with a fifth place finish in the medal race at the 47th Trofeo Princesa Sofia IBEROSTAR to take the gold by 27 points. Giles Scott (GBR) wins the silver and Tapio Nirkko (FIN) the bronze. The medal race was won in great style by Zsombor Berecz (HUN).

Scott spoke of his preparations for what will be his first Olympics. "This week has gone really well apart from the day I got a 45th and 11th and ultimately, what really killed me was the [rudder] breakage. But that being said, if Josh had a breakage, he'd have picked up 14th and not 45th, so in that regard you have to take your hat off to Josh."

This week is the first regatta that Scott has lost since April 2013, just short of a three year winning streak. Top three results:

470 Men
1. Mathew Belcher / Will Ryan, AUS, 21 points
2. Stu Macnay / Dave Hughes, USA, 49
3. Panagiotis Mantis / Pavlos Kagialis, GRE, 57

470 Women
1. Agnieszka Skrzypulec / Irmina Mrozek, POL, 48
2. Fernanda Oliveira / Ana Barbachan, BRA, 50
3. Amy Seabright / Anna Carpenter, GBR, 52

49er Men
1. Ryan Seaton / Matt Mcgovern, IRL, 75
2. Nathan Outteridge / Iain Jensen, AUS, 88
3.-Diego Botin / Iago López, ESP, 97

49er FX
1. Annemiek Bekkering / Annette Duetz, NED, 61
2. Jena Mai Hansen / Katja Steen, DEN, 74
3. Tina Lutz / Susann Beucke, GER, 93

Finn
1. Josh Junior, NZL, 51
2. Giles Scott, GBR, 78
3. Tapio Nirkko, FIN, 78

Laser Standard
1. Andrew Maloney, NZL, 57
2. Robert Scheidt, BRA, 66
3. Tonci Stipanovic, CRO, 72

Laser Radial
1. Tuula Tenkanen, FIN, 55
2. Evi Van Acker, BEL, 64
3. Anne-Marie Rindom, DEN, 65

NACRA 17
1. Billy Besson / Marie Riou, FRA, 60
2. Thomas Zajac / Tanja Frank, AUT, 104
3. Allan Norregaard / Anette Viborg, DEN, 109

RS: X Men
1. Tom Squires, GBR, 28
2. Pawel Tarnowski, POL, 40
3. Byron Kokkalanis, GRE, 41

RS:X Women
1. Olga Maslivets, RUS, 44
2. Flavia Tartaglini, ITA, 51
3. Lilian De Geus, NED, 56

2.4mR
1. Heiko Kroger, GER, 8
2. Damien Seguin, FRA, 15
3. Helena Lucas, GBR, 16

Dragon
1. Lady Tati, POR, 8
2. Sun Flower, RUS, 14
3. Convergens, RUS, 16

Full Results

www.trofeoprincesasofia.org

Mark Turner Appointed Volvo Ocean Race CEO
Mark Turner Mark Turner, one of the most respected figures in professional sailing, has been appointed Volvo Ocean Race CEO, stepping down after 23 years at the helm of global sports marketing company OC Sport.

The Briton, who competed in offshore sailing's leading international event as a Whitbread Round-the-World sailor in 1989, and masterminded the Dongfeng Race Team project in the 2014-15 edition, will take up his new position in succession to Knut Frostad from June 7 this year.

Turner, 48, said: "There probably isn't any other post in sailing that could have attracted me today after taking OC Sport through so many different areas of the sport over the last two decades.

Turner has competed in many of the sport's leading events including the Transat Jacques Vabre and the Mini Transat, but really made his name in the sport by masterminding Briton Ellen MacArthur's successful Vendee Globe race in 2001 when she finished second. He then oversaw her breaking the solo circumnavigation of the world record in 2005.

Turner went on to launch the very successful Extreme Sailing Series with OC Sport as well as many other leading adventure sports events.

volvooceanrace.com

Seahorse May 2016
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Seahorse Magazine

Design - Fast, light and not too brutal on the pocket
Maarten Voogd is creating not just boats but fleets with his Chinese business partners

World news
A foiling Figaro one-design, Francois Gabart readies for action, Franck Cammas gets some (more) dosh, (more) thriving Class40s, mixed Olympic feelings in Auckland, a new star from McConaghy... and whither measurement, asks Dobbs Davis. Plus our new Asian column. Ivor Wilkins, Blue Robinson, Patrice Carpentier, Andy Rice, Carlos Pich

Paul Cayard
And an all-new Star boat as Andrea Folli challenges Marc Pickel's P-Star hegemony

Rob Weiland
Why skill handicapping is for the birds... or at least the (polo) ponies

Special rates for Scuttlebutt Europe subscribers:
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Transat AG2r La Mondiale
At 1308 CET, the 13th edition of the biennial Transat AG2R La Mondiale got underway - a 3,890nm transatlantic race from Concarneau to St Barts via La Palma.

Conditions for the start were light. Eight knots of breeze propelled the fleet over the start line under spinnaker and beneath the cloudy skies of Concarneau.

Of the 15 double-handed teams gathered for the start, it was Figaro young guns and pre-race favourites Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme who took an early and expected lead off the startline - driving away under their distinctive blue spinnaker, chased by an impressive flotilla of spectator boats.

Both only in their early 30's, Dalin and Richomme hail from the next generation of Figaro legends. Regular names in the Class Figaro Beneteau top five, the pairing make for a formidable duo aboard 'Skipper Macif' - with Dalin having won the race before onboard 'Cercle Vert' with Figaro giant Gildas Morvan in 2012.

British skippers Sam Matson and Robin Elsey, one of four Rookie teams and the only team without French expertise amongst their crew, also got off to a solid start aboard their Figaro 'Artemis'. After sailing a well-put together inshore leg, the pair is now settling comfortably into sixth position as the fleet sails into the first night of competition.

With a consistent 20 to 25 knots currently forecast for most of the race, the 2016 Transat AG2R La Mondiale could be one of the fastest yet.

Leaving Concarneau on Sunday 3rd April, with the current forecast, the first boat could arrive at St Barts as early as Friday 22nd April.

2016 Transat AG2R La Mondiale entries

Sebastien Simon & Xavier Macaire/Bretagne - CMB Performance
Gildas Morvan & Alexis Loison/Cercle Vert
Thierry Chabagny & Erwan Taberly/Gedimat
Nicolas Lunven & Gildas Mahe/Generali
Nicolas Thomas & Arthur Prat/Les Saintes
Arthur Bouwyn & Alienor Fleury/Guadeloupe
Yannig Livory & Erwan Livory/Lorientreprendre
Charlie Dalin & Yoann Richomme/Skipper Macif
Martin Pope & Eric Peyron/Bellocq Paysages
Tolga Ekrem Pamir & Stephanie Jadaud/Freedom Services a Domicile
Tanguy Le Turquais & Herve Aubry/Cuisine Ixina
Adrian Hardy & Vincent Biarnes/AGIR Recouvrement
Milan Kolacek & Pierre Brasseur/Fulgur - Evapco
Keni Piperol & Benjamin Augereau/Marie Galante
Sam Matson & Robin Elsey/Artemis

transat.ag2rlamondiale.fr

Gabart Single-Handed Training on the MACIF Trimaran
Re-launched on 4 March in Lorient and delivered to its port of registry, Port-la-Foret, immediately afterwards, the MACIF trimaran has been out sailing regularly this March. The goal for Francois Gabart, double-handed winner of last November's Transat Jacques Vabre, is to familiarize himself as quickly as possible with single-handed sailing on his 30-metre trimaran.

Similar to last year, Francois Gabart asked Pascal Bidegorry, with whom he won the Transat Jacques Vabre, to develop the MACIF trimaran with him.

Yesterday, MACIF and Sodebo were taking part in a two-day training course organised by the Port-la-Foret Offshore Racing Centre. On the programme: sailing around the Glenan and then 24 hours in racing mode in the Bay of Biscay, during which Francois Gabart and Thomas Coville will do their best to sail single-handed.

MACIF trimaran 2016 programme

23 April: Prologue of The Transat (St Malo)
02 May: Start of The Transat (Plymouth - New York)
June: On standby for North Atlantic Record attempt
13-19 July: Brest Maritime Festival
September/October: On standby for Mediterranean Record attempt

www.macifcourseaularge.com

Dubarry Crosshaven - Preferred By Professionals
Dubarry Crosshaven If you had to invent the most punishing ordeal for offshore sailing footwear - an extreme boot camp perhaps? - then it would be a professional, fully-crewed round the world race: thousands of ocean-bashing, boat-trashing miles around the planet. If there's even the slightest imperfection in boat, man or gear, this race will find it, break it, then tell everyone about it.

For most of us, it's the ultimate contest of man and machine against nature. For Dubarry, it's R&D. After supplying its ever-green Shamrock boot to the professional crew of Ireland's Green Dragon entry in a 2008-09 round the world race, Dubarry's most fanatical designers listened, developed, tested, listened some more, tweaked, analysed and tested again. The result was the Crosshaven boot.

When Green Dragon arrived in Galway at the end of leg 7 for the best party the race has ever seen, elbowing their way through the "craic addicts" was Dubarry's research team, wanting yet more feedback. Their finishing touches sealed the Crosshaven's reputation as the offshore professional's boot of choice. Where's the proof of that? Professional teams chose Crosshaven in the 2011-12 and 2014-15 round the world races.

Dubarry Crosshaven - Born at sea

dubarry.com

2K Team Racing at Royal Southern YC
Hamble, Hampshire, UKL '2K' is defined as two boat team racing in keel boats, with mixed gender crews and no spinnakers. Team racing provides short, high intensity races with lots of close quarter encounters between boats.

The RSrnYC held this new training event, organised by Dr Stephanie Merry, during this weekend, sailing in the Club's Academy fleet of J/80s. Members were invited to form mixed gender crews of four people to take part.

Bruce Hebbert, who created 2K Team Racing and its new European circuit, started off the event with a talk about 2K tactics on the evening of Friday 1st April in the Club house.

The winning team, announced during post-race drinks at the bar, was captained by Phil Meakins with Ann Wilkinson, Richard Patrick and John Kickham (a newcomer to team racing) in his crew. In 2nd was Ian Armstrong, with a crew of novice team racers, Kate Sawbridge, Fiona Cotterill and Richard White. The "Commodore's Cadets", skippered by the Commodore's son Ben Mansfield, came 3rd.

The ultimate aim of this training event is for a team or teams from the RSrnYC to participate in the 2K European Tour, which takes place in 11 different countries during 2016.

www.royal-southern.co.uk

World Sailing Annual Conference Heading To Barcelona
World Sailing announced today that the 2016 World Sailing Annual Conference and General Assembly will be held in Barcelona, Spain.

The conference will take place at the Hotel Renaissance Barcelona Fira from 4 November to 13 November 2016.

The conference provides the opportunity for World Sailing Member National Authorities, Committees, Sub-committees, Commissions, Class Associations, Sailors, Event Organizers, Boat Manufacturers and Observers to discuss the future of sailing.

Over 500 delegates were in attendance at the 2015 Annual Conference, which took place in Sanya, China and up to 700 delegates are expected in Barcelona this year.

www.sailing.org/meetings/2015-conference.php

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