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Bouncing Back
Photo by Max Ranchi, www.maxranchi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.
Puerto Portals, Mallorca: As Quantum Racing had to fight hard to return their fourth and first place race finishes which ensure they lead the Puerto Portals Sailing Week regatta for the 52 SUPER SERIES it was the notable return to form of Sled and Bronenosec after lacklustre performances in Porto Cervo which stood out on the Bay of Palma today.
Quantum Racing pretty much carried on from where they left off in Sardinia earlier this month, ferociously consistent and proving the value of every point gained on each race course. But, after their ninth and tenth places respectively at the Audi Settimana delle Bocche, Vladimir Liubomirov's Bronenosec and Takashi Okura's Sled both bounced back with a strong opening day to the third regatta of the five which form the 2016 52 SUPER SERIES.
The Bay of Palma provided typical 10-13kt sea breeze conditions which cooled, only slightly, the high summer temperatures in the water. The wind for the first race was stronger and more settled. The second contest saw some lighter patches develop and proved slightly trickier.
Points are close in the middle of the fleet, three points separating fourth from seventh.
52 Super Series - Puerto Portals Sailing Week Standings after Day 1
1. Quantum Racing, USA (Doug DeVos USA) (4,1) 5 pts
2. Sled, USA (Takashi Okura USA) (3,2) 5 pts
3. Bronenosec, RUS (Vladimir Liubomirov RUS) (1,5) 6 pts
4. Provezza, TUR (Ergin Imre TUR) (2,7) 9 pts
5. Azzurra, ITA (Pablo/Alberto Roemmers ARG) (6,4) 10 pts
6. Platoon, GER (Harm Muller-Spreer GER) (5,6) 11 pts
7. Gladiator, GBR (Tony Langley GBR) (9,3) 12 pts
8. Ran Racing, SWE (Niklas Zennstrom SWE) (7,9) 16 pts
9. Alegre, GBR (Andres Soriano USA) (8,8) 16 pts
10. Xio/Hurakan, ITA (Giuseppe Parodi ITA) (DNS/11, DNS/11) 22 pts
Full results bit.ly/2aq2pjf
Olympics Update
International Sailing Federation allows Russian sailors to compete at Rio Olympics
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has no claims to Russian sailors, thus allowing them to compete at the Rio Olympics, spokesman for the All-Russia Sailing Federation (ARSF) Alexei Zhirov told TASS on Monday.
"The team is already in Brazil, in combat readiness. They are undergoing acclimatization," the spokesman said.
The Russian sailing team at the Rio Olympics is represented by Sergey Komissarov, Stefania Elfutina, Max Oberemko, Denis Gribanov, Pavel Sozykin, Alisa Kirilyuk and Liudmila Dmitrieva. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission chaired by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren released a report on July 18 on the results of its probe into the accusations of doping and manipulation of tests by Russian athletes and officials at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
The report claimed that the commission found evidence that Russia's Sports Ministry and the Center for the Training of Russian National Teams and the Federal Security Service had covered up the doping program in Russian sports.
At its conference call on July 24, the executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided against barring the Russian national team from participation in the Rio Olympics. A decision on admitting Russian athletes to the Summer Olympic Games in Brazil should be taken by the relevant international sports federations, the IOC resolved.
The Summer Olympic Games in Brazil will be held on August 5 - 21.
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Australia boycott Rio athletes village, 'not safe, not ready'
The Australian Olympic team will not move into the athletes village in Rio after it was condemned as "not safe or ready" by the country's chef de mission on Sunday.
Team chief Kitty Chiller said problems include blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, darkened stairwells where no lighting has been installed and dirty floors in need of a massive clean.
She claimed that water has come through the ceiling resulting in large puddles on the floor around cabling and wiring.
"Due to a variety of problems in the Village, including gas, electricity and plumbing I have decided that no Australian Team member will move into our allocated building," she said in a statement.
"We were due to move into the Village on July 21 but we have been living in nearby hotels, because the Village is simply not safe or ready."
The Australian officials said they have raised their concerns with local organisers.
Chiller also claimed that the British and New Zealand delegations were experiencing similar problems in a major organisational headache with the Olympics due to get under way on August 5.
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A New Zealand athlete claims that he was kidnapped by police at gunpoint in Rio.
Jason Lee, a New Zealand national jiu-jitsu champion, said he was pulled over by two armed police officers, who told him they were doing a routine search for drugs and weapons.
"First he asked me to stretch my arms, then patted me down. He grabbed my genital area, which was quite a surprise," Lee told New Zealand website Stuff, where his girlfriend Laura McQuillan works.
Lee said police officers also searched his car. He was then notified that he could not drive in Brazil without carrying his passport, according to Lee.
Police said Lee would be arrested if he didn't pay 2000 Brazilian Reais (around $610), according to Stuff.
But he didn't have enough cash so the police forced him into one of the officer's cars, Lee explained.
"At this point I acknowledged to myself that I've completely backed myself into a corner," Lee told Stuff.
After Lee withdrew the cash and gave the police the money, he was released.
Seahorse Sailor Of The Month
Last month's winner:
Phil Sharp (GBR)
'All he ever does is work, he deserves it' - Rebecca Linder; 'Phil and the 2020 Vendée Globe, he's had to wait too long' - Anne Fauconnier; 'I vote for Phil, he demonstrates great seamanship and determination in finishing third in the Transat with so much damage' - Hugues Jacquemin; 'Well done, that man, buy him a sail' - Mark Thomas; 'Marvellous' - Armando Farhate; 'Tenacity' - Jean-Luc Cialdini; 'Who else could podium with half a main?' - Katie Lawson; 'This boy has party stamina too' - John Burnie.
This month's nominees:
Peter Becker (USA)
Peter Becker lobbied us hard to nominate his Spanish friend Guillermo Altadill for this prize. Altadill did a wonderful job encouraging and coaching Becker's young crew of Bermuda Race prize winners to a very significant success, but Becker founded the programme and has been working away with the youngsters for over three years now; and it was he who encouraged Altadill and other top professionals to get involved. So step forward, sir.
Fahad Al Hasni (OMA)
A regular member of Sidney Gavignet's crew on Musandam-Oman Sail, Al Hasni was one of three Omani sailors onboard when the blue MOD 70 set a new round Ireland record and took line honours in this year's race of the same name. But Oman Sail had trailed her American rival Phaedo3 almost to the end, before pouncing in the fast-fading breeze with less than a mile left to go and scraping home just a few metres ahead.
Seahorse Sailor of the Month is sponsored by Musto, Harken McLube & Dubarry. Who needs silverware, our prizes are usable!
Cast your vote, submit comments, even suggest a candidate for next month at seahorsemagazine.com/sailor-of-the-month/vote-for-sailor-of-the-month
To subscribe to Seahorse Digital £30 for one year with discount promo code SB2 click www.seahorse.co.uk/shop/digital
Team Postma/Bramervaer Wins Opening Day 29er Worlds
Medemblik/Netherlands: Dutchmen Lars Postma and Quinten Bramervaer win the opening day of the 29er Worlds 2016 in Medemblik, Netherlands. They are leading after three races on Monday July 25, on equal points with the 2015 Optimist World Champion Rok Verderber and his crew Klemen Semelbauer from Slovenia.
The southwester breeze was a bit stronger in the morning, varying from 7,5 to 13,5 knots. The wind dropped a few knots in the second race, but picked up again in the afternoon. The 228 boats strong fleet completed, divided into six groups, three races on three courses.
The Slovenian newcomers to the 29er class surprised by grabbing two victories on the IJsselmee.
Best all female team were Aleksandra Melzacka and Maja Micinska from Poland. They finished fourteenth overall with a score of 7-1-10.
The weather forecast for tomorrow, Tuesday July 26, looks challenging with very light conditions. The best chances for racing will be in the morning with about 5 knots of breeze.
There are four qualifying races scheduled.
Top five after three races:
1. Lars Postma and Quinten Bramervaer, NED, 6 points
2. Rok Verderber and Klemen Semelbauer, SLO, 6
3. Tom Crockett and Harry Morton, AUS, 9
4. Gwendal Nael and Lilian Mercier, FRA, 9
5. Ingmar Vieregge and Henrik Vieregge, GER, 9
KBC Laser Radial Youth & Men's World Championship
Photo by David Branigan, www.oceansport.ie. Click on image for photo gallery.
Shifting winds, general recalls, black flag penalties and one abandoned race led to a drama- filled opening day at the 48- nation KBC Laser Radial Youth and Men's World Championship on Dublin Bay, Ireland this afternoon.
Ireland, Croatia, USA and the Cayman Islands were four countries that made the most of the day's sub ten- knot breezes, each winning a race in their respective divisions of the 229- boat boys fleet.
But for all the on- the- water success of the day, there was also plenty of sailors among the 350 competing promising improvements tomorrow.
Sailors tackled offshore winds gusting up to 12- knots but sometimes the summer breeze was as low as three knots for each of the qualifying races.
Winds from anywhere between 225 and 300 degrees were strong enough to keep the dinghies moving through the small chop and tide but there was little opportunity for hiking. Upwind, the fastest sailors sought the strongest lines of pressure coming off the shore. Downwind, the on- the water umpires were active, with 28 rule 42 penalties for rocking and pumping infringements.
Racing continues with two more qualifying races tomorrow. Similar westerly winds are forecast.
Industry News
Today, it was announced that nine people will make up the 2016 class of inductees in the NSHOF:
America's Cup winning helmsman Ed Baird (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Legendary sailing champion (Star Worlds, Congressional Cup and America's Cup) Bill Ficker (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Husband and wife sail training pioneers, adventurers and authors Irving and Electa "Exy" Johnson (Hadley, Mass.)
Brothers and J/Boats co-founders, Robert Johnstone (Newport, R.I.) and Rodney Johnstone (Stonington, Conn.), respectively, marketing guru and boat designer
Yachtsman and sailmaker Dave Ullman (Newport Beach, Calif.)
America's Cup sailor and Star World Champion Malin Burnham (San Diego, Calif.)
The innovator behind the modern square rigged Superyacht "The Maltese Falcon", Tom Perkins (Belvedere, Calif.)
These nine members of the class of 2016 will join 48 previously-recognized individuals as the National Sailing Hall of Fame continues to fulfill its mission by drawing recognition to Americans who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing.
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Mediaset Premium, Italy's largest commercial broadcaster, has acquired the exclusive rights to broadcast all racing from the 35th America's Cup in Italy, across all platforms.
The broadcaster is providing live coverage on its sport channel Premium Sport HD, and will highlight programming on the free-to-air channel Mediaset Italia 2.
The next events in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series take place in Toulon, France from September 10-11 and Fukuoka, Japan from November 19-20.
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Global technical sailing apparel brand, Gill, has appointed Jamie Tunnicliffe as the company's new CEO, as part of the firm's management expansion and growth plans. Gill has also hired Ian Poore as its new Finance Director.
Tunnicliffe's appointment was made after Managing Director, John Deverill, announced his retirement from the British-based company after almost two decades in the position. Tunnicliffe has extensive international experience within the Sporting Goods sector, having spent 16 years with both Nike and Adidas Group in various commercial functions. More recently he has held an Executive position at the luxury British fashion brand John Smedley, delivering substantial global sales growth and overseeing the successful expansion of its ecommerce operation.
Poore brings over 25 years' experience in finance, a considerable part of which was in the clothing sector. He possesses a high level of consumer-facing commercial expertise, and a pedigree of delivering strong sales growth, particularly in ecommerce.
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Southern Spars today announced it has been appointed to build Emirates Team New Zealand's boat for the 35th America's Cup.
New Zealand's Southern Spars has provided masts for a range of different teams in every America's Cup for the past 25 years, including the victorious Black Magic campaign in 1995.
The boat, a 50ft foiling catamaran, will be launched early next year ahead of the Louis Vuitton Challenger Series and America's Cup to be held in Bermuda from the beginning of May 2017.
Emirates Team New Zealand said it will be its most technically-advanced yacht ever.
Last month, Emirates Team New Zealand launched its first custom-designed development boat, which Southern Spars is also producing the wing-sails for.
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Navico - a leading provider of marine electronics and parent company to the Lowrance, Simrad, B&G and GoFree brands - announced that Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division and Altor Fund IV have partnered and signed an agreement to acquire Navico from the Altor 2003 Fund.
Navico is an innovative force within the recreational and commercial marine electronics market and has a rich history of investment in research and development. It has led to the development of award-winning technologies that make boating safer, easier and more fun. In the last two years, Navico developed the award-winning HALOTM Pulse Compression Radar technology, StructureScan® 3D sonar technology for fish finding and B&G sailing chartplotters used to race around the world.
The company was created from the acquisitions of Simrad Yachting, Lowrance Electronics and Brunswick New Technologies.
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 Heike Blok: We know that Mr. Putin is looking for accretion of power and territory to compensate for, well, take your pick. Russian athletes winning at the Olympic Games is, of course, another way to make Russia look good. But that, at all cost? Putting these fine athletes as well as Russia's great sport reputation, in jeopardy by the large scale organising of a sort of doping "orgy"?
In so doing, Mr. P and his cronies should realise, that they FORCE the IOC, procrastinating and all, to take the ONLY proper measure; to exclude all or most athletes from these Olympic Games. And those who are excluded, guilty or not, should know who to "thank" for that.
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The Last Word
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