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Warren Jones International Youth Regatta
The 15th Warren Jones International Youth Regatta came to a conclusion in perfect sailing conditions late on Friday afternoon as the sun was setting on Perth Waters in front of the City of Perth skyline.

A warm summer day and a gentle S/SW breeze allowed PRO Kim Laurence to set the ideal race track in Perth Waters with the stadium course surrounded by numerous large spectator craft.

Having topped the leaderboard in the round robins, Chris Steele (36 Below Racing) of Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, had the right to pick his opponent for the semis and he chose fellow compatriot, George Anyon also from the RNZYS, in a best of three semi-final.

Chris Steele was a worthy winner of the title, displaying a masterful performance and remains an inspiration to his fellow competitors and members of the RNZYS performance programme, for which he acts as a mentor.

Finals (Best of 5 matches)
Chris Steele 3 - Sam Gilmour 1

Petit-Finals (Best of 3 matches)
Matt Jerwood 2 - George Anyon 0

Semi-Finals (Best of 3 matches)
Chris Steele 2 - George Anyon 1
Sam Gilmour 2 - Matt Jerwood 0

Final overall placings
1. Chris Steele (36 Below Racing) RNZYS NZL
2. Sam Gilmour (Neptune Racing) RFBYC AUS
3. Matt Jerwood (Redline Racing) SoPYC AUS
4. George Anyon (RNZYS Performance Programme) NZL
5. Harry Price (Down Under Racing) CYCA AUS
6. Lachy Gilmour (Gilmour Racing Team) RFBYC AUS
7. James Hodgson (Mooloolaba YC) MYC AUS
8. Will Boulden (Alpha Racing Team) RFBYC AUS
9. Will Dargaville (Dargavllle Racing) RPAYC AUS
10. Mans Holmberg (CFA Sports) CCYC
11. Leonard Takahashi (RNZYS Performance Programme) NZL
12. Ethan Prieto-Low (Calypso Racing) RFBYC AUS

www.warrenjonesregatta.org.au

Pineapple Cup
Prospector and Wizard, leading the IRC fleet, rounded the waypoints off Cuba's east coast this morning and are currently south of Guantanamo in an ENE breeze of about 14 knots.

Prospector continues to lead on corrected time while Wizard is in contention for line honors. The PredictWind forecasts show this breeze staying in the 8-20 knot range from this same direction for their duration of the race. Expected arrival time into Montego Bay for Prospector and Wizard is Monday morning.

The tight PHRF fleet is making their way through the Bahamas and are certainly keeping things exciting! Renegade, Amhas and White Rhino are leading the fleet, all within a 5nm range of each other, but it's Hermie Louise who is coming out on top when corrected time is taken into account. This is anyone's race! The fleet is forecasted to get into stronger breeze as they near Cuba so it's a race to see who gets there first and can make some gains on the rest of the fleet.

Tracking: www.pineapplecup.com/tracking.html

www.pineapplecup.com

Volvo Ocean Race Legends Race
The Volvo Ocean Race will celebrate 45 years of history with a Legends Race on the final leg of the 2017-18 edition from Gothenburg to The Hague.

Any yacht to have featured in the Whitbread Round the World Race or Volvo Ocean Race, dating back to 1973-74, will be welcome to join the 2018 Legends Race. The race will be run over the same course, and around the same time, as the closing leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18, which starts from Gothenburg on 21 June.

The announcement was made at the yacht racing seminar Meetingspot in Gothenburg and follows a hugely successful Legends Regatta that was held before the start of the 2011-12 race in Alicante and exhibitions at the both the Volvo Ocean Race Museum in Alicante and at the finish in Gothenburg in the last edition in 2014-15.

Among those participating at the seminar was Tracy Edwards MBE, who skippered the all-female Maiden team to two leg victories in their class in the 1989-90 race and is planning to reunite her crew and the boat for the 2018 race

"Maiden was found in a sad state a few years ago in the Seychelles and since then I have been working very hard to get her back, restore her and get her back in her former glory again," said Edwards.

"She will shortly be shipped back to the UK for a renovation program and our aim is the gather the original all-female crew from 1989-90 and compete in the new Legends Race 2018."

The plan for the Legends Race is to include a Maxi class, a Volvo Ocean 60 class an Open class. Both Sweden and Holland have a proud history in the Volvo Ocean Race and a large number of fans who have followed the event through the years. -- Jonno Turner

volvooceanrace.com

Great Show For 33rd Primo Cup - Trophee Credit Suisse
Photo by Carlo Borlenghi. Click on image for photo gallery.

The 400 sailors from 16 nations divided into five one-design classes went home happy after three intense days at the 33rd Primo Cup - Trophee Credit Suisse organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco. The event rewards all crew in the top three teams in each class with SLAM Advanced Technology Sportswear.

In the J/70s, clean starts and impeccable control downwind ensured victory for the Brazilians on Mandachuva. "It was a wonderful regatta. The level was high and there was everything to play for," said helmsman, Mario Soerensen Garcia. In 2nd, nine points adrift, was Frenchman Adrien Follin (Give me Five) with the YCM's Ludovico Fassitelli (Junda Banca del Sempione) clinching 3rd. This is the J/70s Act 4 in the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series, with the grand finale on 3-5 March in Monaco.

In the Smeralda 888s, Valter Pizzoli on Ange Transparent, won followed by Timofey Sukhotin (Beda) and Charles de Bourbon des Deux-Siciles' Vamos Mi Amor in 3rd.

It went down to the wire in the Melges 20, with Achille Onorato (Mascalzone Latino) clinching victory ahead of the YCM's Matteo Marenghi Vaselli (Raya) and Manfredi Vianini Tolomei (Maolca), International Melges 20 Class Association President, in 3rd.

In the M32s, their first outing at the Primo, the Swedish Flux Team helmed by Johnie Berntsson snatched victory from Riccardo Simoneschi's Italia Sailing Team, with Patrik Sturesson (Cape Crow Vikings) in 3rd.

Finally, Italian Roberto Benamati, 1991 World Champion, in the Stars proved what a master he is in this class, while Swedish Tom Lofstedt beat arch rival, the German Reinhard Shmidt, into 2nd.

Next edition of the Primo Cup - Trophee Credit Suisse: 1-4 and 8-11 February 2018.

Final rankings:

Final ranking - J/70
1st: Mario Soerensen Garcia - BRA (Mandachuva) - 4 points
2nd: Adrien Follin - FRA (Give me five) - 13
3rd: Ludovico Fassitelli - MON (Junda Banca del Sempione) - 22

Final ranking - Smeralda 888
1st: Valter Pizzoli - MON (Ange Transparent) - 7
2nd: Timofey Sukhotin - MON (Beda) - 12
3rd: Charles de Bourbon des Deux-Siciles - MON (Vamos Mi Amor) - 17

Final ranking - Melges 20
1st: Achille Onorato - ITA (Mascalzone Latino) - 13
2nd: Matteo Marenghi Vaselli - MON (Raya) - 13
3rd: Manfredi Vianini Tolomei - RUS (Maolca) - 16

Final ranking - M32
1st: Johnie Berntsson - SWE (Team Flux) - 21
2nd Riccardo Simoneschi - ITA (Italia Sailing Team) - 21
3rd: Patrik Sturesson - SWE (Cape Crow Vikings) - 27

Final ranking - Star
1st: Roberto Benamati - ITA (7488) - 6
2nd: Tom Lofstedt - SWE (8517) - 10
3rd: Reinhard Shmidt - GER (8427) - 13

www.yacht-club-monaco.mc

Michas Wins Overall Melges 20 Winter Regatta Title, Golison Takes Corinthian Top Honor
Miami, Florida: Congratulations to Jason Michas aboard Midnight Blue with crew members Stu McNay, Alec Anderson and Danielle Septembre as they are 2017 Melges 20 Miami Winter Regatta Champions. Drew Freides on Pacific Yankee placed second overall, and Igor Rytov aboard Russian Bogatyrs took third place.

Congratulations to Jay Golison and his all-amatuer Midlife Crisis team that included Steve Flam and Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic, they are 2017 Corinthian Winter Regatta Champions.

After yet another very frustrating and breezeless day, the Melges 20 fleet wrapped it up early with a prize giving ceremony at Miami Shake-A-Leg to recognize and congratulate the champions.

The Miami Winter Regatta is the first Melges 20 World League event to complete in 2017.

Top five final places (fleet of 21, 4 races):
1. Jason Michas, USA, 9
2. Drew Freides, USA, 17
3. Igor Rytov, RUS, 17
4. James Wilson, USA, 22
5. Liam Kilroy, USA, 24

Full results:
www.yachtscoring.com

A Rigorous Partnership
Tokyo 2020 qualification!

Held every four years, the Sailing World Championships is the largest gathering of Olympic class sailors. At the 2014 edition in Santander, Spain, more than 1,100 sailors from 82 nations attended with tens of thousands of spectators taking to the promenade and spectator dune.

Main picture: A good sailor, an even better coach and with a doctorate in small boat tuning… David Howlett plus weight jacket (old school, kids) seen here sailing his Bungy Taylor Finn ahead of the 1976 Games, went on to unparalleled coaching success with Iain Percy and Ben Ainslie who with his help and guidance won six gold medals between them.

At the opening ceremony a reported 40,000 people gathered at the nearby Campos de Sport de El Sardinero and were treated to cultural performances to symbolise the importance of hosting an event of this nature. The Santander 2014 Worlds perfectly married up the spectacle of sport and leisure, placing them side by side in a beautiful setting.

As thousands enjoyed the show, there was some exceptional competition on the water as the worlds marked the start of the journey to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Fifty per cent of the countries on the Rio startline qualified their national slots in Santander, two years before the Olympic Regatta itself began - highlighting the importance of the event. -- Alistair Fox

Full story in the March issue of Seahorse:
www.seahorsemagazine.com

Thurlow Fisher Lawyers Wins 18ft Skiff Australian Championships
Photo by Michael Chittenden. Click on image for photo gallery.

Michael Coxon, Dave O'Conner and Trent Barnabas of Thurlow Fisher Lawyers were crowned 18ft Skiff Australian Champions today after sailing a faultless race on Sydney Harbour. The trio led the final heat of the championship from the start line and finished almost four minutes ahead of second place.

The NNE breeze challenged the teams as they saw everything from 4-15 knots. With half the fleet using their big rigs and half the fleet on small rigs, there was plenty of action around the racecourse.

Jono Whitty's Line 7 put up a strong fight at the front of the racecourse with their second rig but it was Lee Knapton's Smeg that took advantage of the patchy conditions. After an ordinary start to the race, the red boat fought their way through the fleet to take second across the line. Line 7 finished third.

After five races, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers and Smeg finish the series on nine points each, with both boats scoring 1, 2, 3, 3. After a second count-back, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers were announced the winners with Smeg second. John Winning's Yandoo finished third overall.

The JJ Giltinan kicks off February 24 and runs through to March 5. With a number of international boats heading to Sydney for the event, including Mark Foy Champions Yamaha, the battle for the JJ Giltinan Trophy is going to be a close one.

Racing returns next Sunday, February 12, with the President's Trophy, a three-buoys race. -- Kimberley Wilmot/Australian 18 Footers League

www.18footers.com.au

Tactical Battle On The South Side
The conditions had mellowed somewhat for the second day of the Superyacht Challenge Antigua, compared to the opening day's surfing festival. 15 knots from the east, with a moderate swell, and predominately tactical windward leeward racing, put other skill sets to the test. Staying in clear air and executing text book tacks and gybes were the keys to success. Day Two was the powerplay, with two of the four races taking place. In the Buccaneers Class, Acadia and Kawil shared a win each to set up a big finale tomorrow. In the Corsairs Class, Spiip now has a three point cushion, but with no discard, the class is far from over.

The second race of the regatta was about 12 miles, along the stunning South Coast of Antigua. A downwind start was followed by a tactical long beat, and a short reach to finish.

The third race of the regatta was about 12 miles. A short beat was followed by a long tactical downwind leg, with a big gybe offshore to reach back towards Antigua, followed by a beat to finish.

With one final race scheduled for Sunday 5 February and no race discarded, it is all to play for at the Superyacht Challenge.

Full results: sycav1.blogspot.com/p/results-2017.html

2017 Transgascogne
The good news of the week comes from the Mini 6.5 class and Les Sables d'Olonne Vendee Course au Large. The Transgascogne 2017 will be organized!

A new organization, few changes in the course "Les Sables d'Olonne - Aviles (Spain) - Les Sables d'Olonne" and still the opportunity to choose between a single or double-handed 600 NM race.

The start of the first leg will take place on July, 30th and the second leg on August, 5th.

Watch for NOR coming soon:
www.classemini.com/?mode=calendrier

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 Alistair Skinner: I certainly agree with Rob Kothe. It would be nothing short of hypocritical if World Sailing held any of their events, conferences or regattas in a country that discriminated against any athlete on any grounds of race, religion, colour, nationality or any other means.

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The Last Word
To be afraid you need to imagine alternatives to the present. -- Rosalind Ridley

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