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Mini Fastnet
After 30 hours of racing, the leaders of the Mini Fastnet fleet have passed Wolf Rock at the southern tip of West England. In the Prototypes, Bertrand Delesne/Stephane Le Diraison (Prati'Buches 754) are ahead in the fight with the duo Rogues / Souben (Generation Aeolus - GDF Suez 716). In series boats, leaders change every score, the battle is intense, despite the tough weather conditions. Six boats have abandoned, including David Reason on Magnum who has dismasted.

Almost all night and all morning on Monday, competitors sailed in 30 knots of wind.

Top five Protos at 1600 hours Monday:
1. Bertrand Delesne / Stephane Le Diraison, Prati'buches, 452.7 nm to finish
2. Sebastien Rogues / Matthieu Souben, Eole Generation-Gdf Suez, 2.9 nm to leader
3. Tomas Normand / David Sineau, Financiere De L'echiquier, 3.6 nm
4. Nicolas Boidevezi / Fabien Despres, Defi G.D.E., 5.4 nm
5. Vincent Barnaud / Remy Beauvais, Sex' N Sun/ Systeme D, 5.9 nm

Top five Series at 1600 hours Monday:
1. Bruno Simmonnet / Jonas Gerckens, El Nono, 471.5 nm to finish
2. Xavier Macaire / Yves Ravot, Starter, 1.6 nm to leader
3. Amaury Francois / Joseph Brault, Amauryfrancois.com, 4.2 nm
4. Jean-Marc Allaire / Mickael Mergui, Baker Tilly-Ag2r La Mondiale, 4.3 nm
5. Davy Beaudart / Pierre Denjean, Nauty'mor, 4.8 nm

Six abandonments:
David Raison / Julien Barnet, FRA, Magnum (Proto)
Vincent Pilato / Mattieu Corbel, FRA, MCOM (Series)
Guenole Le Maux / Matthieu Guillon Verne, FRA, Kairos (Series)
Jean-Claude Guillonneau / Marine Gasula, FRA/BEL, Zerline (Series)
Koen Willaert / Bert Bossyns, BEL/BEL, Felicity II (Series)
Clement Santoro / Renaud Santoro, FRA/FRA, Teo Taket ! (Series)

www.winchesclub.com/minis650/fastnet650/-

Whiskers Leads By A Whisker
Photo by Paul Wyeth, www.pwpictures.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Coutts Quarter Ton Cup Cowes, UK: With a record 35 teams competing the opening day of the 2010 Coutts Quarter Ton Cup, hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Cowes, brought thrills, spills, a spot of giant killing and two close races. Just four points now separate the top four teams. The Joubert Nivelt designed Whiskers, helmed by Ian Southworth and crewed by John Santy, Lincoln Redding, Nigel Smith and Mike Kite, is leading the regatta overall on six points, one point ahead of Howard Sellars and Mike Till's Bullet, crewed by Henry Bagnall, Roshan Vurgose and George Wavell. In third place on eight points is Cote, the newly restored 1990 Gonzalez design owned by Darren Marston and Olly Ophaus, with Darren on the helm, Olly on the bow and crew members David Lenz, Rob Dyer and Chris Cooper, while in fourth place is Peter Morton's Farr designed Anchor Challenge crewed by Kelvin Rawlings, John Newnham, Jason Carrington and Stuart Childerley.

It was a very tough day even by Solent standards with a shifty and variable wind clocking from NE round to Southerly and a turning spring tide to contend with. The starts of races one and two, both windward/leeward races, were incredibly tight with two general recalls and a number of individual recalls. The race committee did start a third race, but no sooner were the boats underway on a round the cans course than the wind began to die. Before long the boats were struggling to make way over the tide and kedge anchors began appearing on deck. The race committee were forced to abandon the race to the satisfaction of the vast majority of competitors. The one man not very happy with the decision was Willy McNeil helming Illegal Immigrant - the only boat to make it around the first mark.

Overall leader Whiskers had been late arriving at the regatta thanks to the need to rebuild one of the stringers in the back of the boat to stop the transom falling off and she certainly had her fair share of gear failure today with the toolkit making a number of appearances on deck. By the end of the day both primary winches had seized completely and back ashore trimmer John Santy took charge of a full strip down and service to ensure he wasn't left trimming without mechanical assistance tomorrow.

The award for most embarrassing manoeuvre of the day goes without doubt to Bullet who managed to achieve a truly impressive broach in a mere ten to fourteen knots in race one.

Tomorrow racing is scheduled to start at 10.30 am with three further races planned. The forecast is for good wind and plenty of sunshine so we look forward to another great day of Coutts Quarter Ton Cup Racing. The regatta concludes on Wednesday.

Provisional Overall Top Five After Two Races

1. Whiskers - Ian Southworth/Led Pritchard, GBR, 3, 3 = 6
2. Bullet - Howard Sellars/Mike Till, GBR, 2, 5 = 7
3. Cote - Darren Marsto/Olly Ophaus, ESP, 6, 2 = 8
4. Anchor Challenge - Peter Morton, GBR, 5, 4 = 9
5. Espada - Louise Morton, GBR, 8, 8 = 16

Full results are available from www.rcyc.co.uk

Shetland Round Britain And Ireland Race
Sponsored by Shetland Islands Council, the 12th running of the Round Britain and Ireland Race which started from Plymouth Sound on 6th June is well under way with only four official retirements.

It was bad luck for Plymouth skipper Stuart Dodd and his co-skipper Ian Marshall when, attempting to make up time on the first leg from Plymouth to Kinsale in Ireland, they sustained damage to their spinnaker too severe to carry on. UK competitors Gratifikation and Quid Non? and Dutch entered Spirit have also retired.

However, it's much better news for south west mariners Simon Baker and Dan Fellows in Drama Queen, a Dazcat 1150 catamaran built by Simon's company Multimarine Composites based in Millbrook, Cornwall.

Drama Queen was the first of 8 multihulled boats to reach Castlebay on the isle of Barra this weekend, having come in second to Freebird on the first leg of the gruelling 2,000 mile race. Simon is married to Tracey Baker, Managing Partner at Plymouth legal firm Woollcombe Yonge.

Other provisional category winners of the second leg of the race from Kinsale to Barra were Sungard Front Arena in the Class 40's, 3 hours ahead of Alex Bennett in Fujifilm; Jbellino in IRC Class 1; Elixir in Class 2; The Shed in Class 3 and Santana in Class 4.

The front runners, led by Class 40's Pheshaya-Racing and SunGard Front Arena and multihull Paradox which left in the small hours of Monday morning (14 June), are already well underway on the third leg of the race, destination Lerwick.

www.rbandi.com

* SunGard Front Arena leads fleet at Saint Kilda in third leg of RBI

Just before 10pm Marco Nannini and Paul Peggs rounded Saint Kilda, leading the third leg of the Shetland Round Britain and Ireland closely followed by Phesheya Racing.

The duo had started with an 8 minute lead on second placed RSA Team Phesheya Racing sailed by Nick Legatt and Philippa Hutton-Squire and managed to hold the position through the light airs that hampered the progress of the fleet.

The sailors are headed for Lerwick and the next mark on the course is Muckle Flagga at the top of the Shetlands some 300 miles north east of Saint Kilda. The wind is due to fill in gradually providing excellent conditions for a spinnaker run for the approach to the Shetlands. -- marconannini.com

Key West and Miami Beach - Mark Your Calendars
Joe Wood’s RED from the UK. Winner of the Melges 32 2010 Florida Grand Prix award for best combined score from the Gold Cup, Key West and Miami. Photo by Ken Stanek

Key West and Miami Beach Time to plan your South Florida winter getaways! The Key West Notice and Conditions of Race is now available on the web site. News about classes and participation and a variety of cost savings and simplified logistics initiatives are posted and will be updated over the summer. IRC, PHRF, One Design, and Multihull classes are invited. After Key West, IRC, Farr 40 and Melges 32 classes can bask in more Florida sunshine at the Miami Grand Prix in March. Experience warm waters, dependable breezes, professional race management and nightlife that is unique to Key West and South Beach.

Event web site: www.Premiere-Racing.com

Key West Race Week January 17-21, 2011 - Miami Grand Prix March 10 - 13, 2011

Calvi Network Escapes The Pack
Photo by Guido Trombetta / STUDIO BORLENGHI  Audi Melges 20 Sailing Series Event No. 3 Riva del Garda, Italy: Calvi Nework's Carlo Alberini dominates the first stage of the Audi Melges 20 Sailing Series Event No. 3. 1,2,2: These results, although partial, leave no question about who is clearly the strongest sailor in the race on the Riva del Garda.

Gabriele Benussi, tactics, as usual alongside Carlo Alberini, managed to hold tight to the sides of each race, consistently putting Calvi Network in first position or in a favorable position.

The first race, slightly delayed by the lack of a consistent wind direction, was won by Calvi Network without their slightest concern, by the first windward mark they already had a substantial margin, unbridgeable for the pursuers. Thule's Fausto Rubbini (replaced at the helm by Mauro Mocchegiani) with Matteo Ivaldi finnises in second while third place goes to Alessandro Molla on Spring Sailing Team (Niccolò Bianchi tactics).

It will be the crew who has the most motivation that will win the second round, leaving behind Calvi Network and Reggini Sailing Team's Francis Farneti (Branko Brcin tactics).

During the last race of the day a speech then a brawl, which lasted nearly all of the regatta, between the current interim leader of Calvi Network and Reggini Sailing Team left no one with the upper hand on arrival.

Provisional overall standings after 3 races:
1. Calvi Network (Alberini / Benussi), 5 points
2. Thule (Mocchegiani / Ivaldi), 11
3. Spring Sailing Team (Molla / Bianchi), 15
4. Hulk (Di Properzio / N.Wilmoth), 15
5. Reggini Sailing Team (Farneti / Brcin), 19
6. Notaro Team (Domenici / Vigo), 20
7. Jingle (Stefano Sacchi / Federica Salva), 22
8. Value Team (Giallongo / Fonda), 23
9. Turnover (Perazzo / Cassinari), 23
10 . Sei Tu 20 (Morina / Del Rio), 32

Two-Handed Division Opened Up For Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland
The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) announced today the introduction of a Two-Handed Division in the non-stop race around Britain and Ireland, sponsored by Sevenstar starting on Monday 23rd August from the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes.

RORC Racing Manager Ian Loffhagen commented: "We have been receiving a lot of interest and enquiries from competitors who wanted to race double handed in this non-stop challenge, so have made the decision to open it up to enable them to race alongside the fully crewed boats. They will race for the Rebel Maid Trophy.

Originally we did not have a Two-Handed Division in the race out of deference to the Royal Western Yacht Club's two handed (stopping) Shetland Round Britain and Ireland Race. However when they reached their entry limit the RWYC kindly told us that they were happy for us to open our race to two handed boats.

The Sevenstar RBI will be the most challenging race of the RORC season for the two handed fleet and we are hoping that it will appeal to the Class 40 fleet in particular. However because of the timing of this announcement the race will not be part of the Season's Points Championship for the Two-Handed Division. It is a stand alone challenge and it will be a big one at that!"

The first boat to enter the Two-Handed Division is Michel Lebrun's IMOCA 60, An Ocean of Smiles.

sevenstar.rorc.org

Camet Introduces The Women’s Wahine Sailing Shorts In Slate Grey
Camet Wahine Shorts With the great success of the Wahine in silver, we have decided to add a new color to the line! The addition of slate grey will allow teams to purchase both men’s and women’s team gear (The men’s shorts being the new Nantucket short which was introduced just this year). The Wahine, along with the Martinique, is a big step forward in the design of women’s clothing. Brian Camet says, “We are the first company to really focus on women’s sailing apparel and make it both fashionable and functional for women".

For more information on these shorts, please go to www.camet.com

Talisker Bounty Boat Expedition Finishes
The Talisker Bounty Boat today lands in Kupang, West Timor completing the expedition which set sail to re-create Captain Bligh's epic journey 'Mutiny on the Bounty'. The official landing marks a historic occasion - it is the first time anyone has ever successfully re-created the mutiny voyage, under the same conditions and with the same navigational equipment as Captain William Bligh, who embarked on the 4,000 mile open boat journey through the Pacific Ocean 221 years ago.

Setting sail from Tonga on the 29th April, the crew, led by Captain Don McIntyre, together with 18 year old Brit Chris Wilde, Australian Dave Pryce and Englishman David Wilkinson, have undertaken one of the greatest open boat voyages in history.

Determined to get a feel for what Bligh really went through, the seven week expedition aboard the Talisker Bounty Boat - a 25ft long, 7ft wide, open wooden vessel - saw the crew face the same deprivations as those encountered by the original crew, which included: no navigation charts; only two weeks of water; hardly any food; and a lack of everyday luxuries such as a torch and even toilet paper.

Much like the original voyage the crew encountered its fair share of challenges - surviving a knock down, shortly after launch - thanks to gale force winds and 6 metre waves crashing over the side of the boat - It was all hands on deck as the boat started filling with water, Captain McIntyre even dislocated his toe during the commotion.

Shortly after, the Captain was struck down with excruciating pain, which later transpired to be Kidney Stones. Thankfully, the agonising pain was short lived as he passed three stones in quick succession.

Not content with just taking on this huge challenge, McIntyre and the crew were also attempting to raise over $250,000 for The Sheffield Institute Foundation for Motor Neurone Disease (SIF), which is building the world's first research Institute into Motor Neurone Disease (MND), Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

www.taliskerbountyboat.com

Line Honours Again On Day 2
Photos by Carlo Borlenghi and Luca Butto / STUDIO BORLENGHI. Click on image for photo gallery.

Giralglia Rolex Cup With 19 knots of wind, the conditions were ideal for Esimit Europa 2 (EUR) on the team's second day of racing during the inshore portion of the Giralglia Rolex Cup. The bright blue, 100 foot maxi flying the European flag is the largest yacht competing and towers over the fleet of 221 boats. The competition is strong as some of the best known professional sailing teams such as Jethou (GBR), Shockwave (NZL) and Container (GER) prepare for the Giraglia Rolex Cup which starts on Wednesday.

Esimit Europa 2 was quick off the start line today, second around the first mark and took the gun at the finish line with a lead of several minutes over the next boat, mini Maxi Alegre (GBR).

Skipper Flavio Favini; "Each day we discover more about this boat. The inshore races are like an accelerated training programme and we have plenty to learn. Esimit Europa 2 is big and powerful and we want to be as prepared as we can be for the start of the Giraglia Rolex Cup on Wednesday."

Racing continues tomorrow in the confines of the Bay of St Tropez with the prizegiving for the inshore regatta at the historic Citadelle in the evening. All this in preparation for the start of the 58th edition of the Giraglia Rolex Cup, the 241 nautical mile race from St Tropez, which takes the fleet around the Giraglia rock and up to the finish in San Remo.

www.esimit.com
Event site: www.giragliarolexcup.com

Santander's Spectacular Stage 2 Start
Santander, Spain: It was the hometown heroes versus the golden Movistar duo when the eight IMOCA Open 60's broke the start line for the Vuelta Espana a Vela this afternoon off the Real Club Maritimo Santander, with France's Safran - the race leader - challenging them ominously behind.

The short sprint to the mouth of the bay was blessed with glorious sunshine and 12 knots of breeze, perfect for the spectators who lined the promenades and the beaches. Ahead for the eight teams, there is the promise of an upwind leg to Gijon, with NW and N'ly winds gusting to 25 knots. The chance to enjoy the sunshine was one to be seized for squally showers and rain are forecast, a small penance to be endured before the Mediterranean's sunshine and lighter winds.

The leg holds similar strategic options to Leg 1, although the beat will be more one sided. But two things will be critical: when to tack for the long starboard leg to lay Gijon, and consistent upwind boat speed. How best to manage the five person crew has been the subject of some teams' Santander stopover de-briefs. Some pointed out that they need to not over try and over complicate their approach. For others the key will be to work harder at balancing and trimming the boat.

At 110 miles in the current forecast it seems most likely that the first boats would reach Gijon in Vuelta Espana a Vela, General Standings

1. Safran, Marc Guillemot, FRA
2. PRB, Vincent Riou, FRA
3. Movistar, I. Martinez/X.Fernandez, ESP
4. W Hotels-Nova Bocana, P.Rivero/A. Piris, ESP
5. Estrella Damm, P.Ribes/A.Pella, ESP
6. GAES Centros Auditivos, D.Caffari/A.Corbella, GBR/ESP
7. Central Lechera Asturiana, J.Merediz/F.Palacio, ESP
8. Pakea Bizkaia, J.Mumbru/C.Sanmarti, ESP

www.vueltaespanavela.com

Track The Bermuda Racers On Iboattrack
On Friday, June 18, more than one hundred and eighty cruiser, cruiser/racer and pure racing sailboats from 33 to 100 feet long will set out from Newport, Rhode Island bound for Bermuda.

The first of more than a dozen starts is set for 2:00PM EDT on Friday when the 188-strong Newport Bermuda Race fleet gathers off Castle Hill in the East passage from Narragansett Bay to the Rhode Island Sound for the 47th 'thrash to the Onion Patch'. Each class is then scheduled to start at ten-minute intervals for a 2 hour period until all boats are heading out to cross the Gulf Stream towards the sunny isles of Bermuda.

The best place to watch the start is from Castle Hill. The view is spectacular and the grounds are comfortable. Viewing is also excellent from the Castle Hill Lighthouse area on Ocean Drive.

Once the fleet has disappeared from view, digital spectators can follow their favorite boat, class or division online. Go to the Newport Bermuda web site, www.bermudarace.com , then click on the 'Go to Race tracking' within the Race Tracking window on the left, and follow the prompts. On the Boat Mapper page you can track individual boats, classes and divisions and add Gulf Steam as well as wind speed and direction graphics to the screen.

Because the racing crews can also log on to these tracks, the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee will impose a tracking delay during the race in order to satisfy the rule barring outside assistance. Positions seen on your screen will be the previous position for each boat.

The record, set in 2002, is held by the late Roy Disney's Pywacket with a time of 53 hours, 39 minutes 22 seconds. -- Talbot Wilson

www.bermudarace.com

Featured Brokerage
Featured Brokerage Boat 1988 X-Yachts 402, EUR 63,000. Located in Belgium.

Engine and saildrive in very good condition, well maintained. Semi battened main sail (2002), furling genua (2002), spinnaker (2002),spinnaker equipment, radio/CD, teak deck, hot & cold water, warm water boiler, anti-osmose treatment with epoxy (1999), swimming platform and ladder, manual anchor windlass. BOAT NEEDS SOME ATTENTION, especially the teak decks!

Brokerage through Vinces Oy: www.yachtworld.com/vinces/

Complete listing details and seller contact information at
uk.yachtworld.com/core/listing/boatFullDetails.jsp?boat_id=2217094

The Last Word
If all wishes were gratified, many dreams would be destroyed. -- Buckaroo Banzai

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