Gimson and Burnett Lead GBR 1-2 After US Crew Penalised At Nacra 17 Worlds | Tornado World Championships | Yacht Racing Forum: Time to register! | Germany wins Inshore Trophy of Nord Stream Race | Fortini Wins J/80 Obelix Trophy France | GAC Pindar Steal Series Lead and Event Win Off Home Team in Aarhus | Passione - Persico | Blast off! Best foiling catamaran action from the GC32 Racing Tour | New TV Series To Explore 'Ireland's Deep Atlantic' | RORC Cherbourg Race | America's Cup bases must be built in Auckland by 2019 | Letters to the Editor | Featured Brokerage
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Gimson and Burnett Lead GBR 1-2 After US Crew Penalised at Nacra 17 Worlds
American duo Riley Gibbs and Louisa Chafee had led the Nacra 17 World Championships after the first three qualifying races were contested in light, sub 10 kt breezes and pleasant sunshine off La Grande Motte's Baie de Aigues Mortes. They were protested after racing for a measurement infringement and penalised, ceding the lead to Britain's John Gimson and Anna Burnett.
As if to answer the question whether the younger generation can make a big impression at these first ever foiling Nacra World Championships, foiling kiteboarder and 49er racer Gibbs, 21, paired with Rio Olympian Chafee, 25, had opened with an opening second and two first places from their 24 strong Blue fleet group and were credited with the provisional early lead of the championship. But they were subsequently protested and penalised for sailing with the rubber bushes at the top of the foils removed, contrary to the International Jury's interpretation of the measurement rules.
The young Americans, training partners of injured Bora Gulari and Helena Scutt who - Scutt reported after the hearing - had already trained with the bushes removed in order to preserve maximum strength in the head area rather than seek a performance gain were it to allow the foil to drop lower. "This is not about any performance gain this is about the strength in that part of the board." Scutt emphasised after the hearing. "We had the boards not once, but twice, to measurement like that and so we considered it was fine." Added USA coach David Howlett.
With the young American pair receiving a 50 per cent place penalty for each of their races, John Gimson and Anna Burnett now lead a British Sailing Team 1-2 at the top of the World Championship standings with New Zealand's Rio Olympians Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders in third.
Racing will start at 1100hrs Wednesday with a forecast for NW'ly breeze in the morning.
nacra17.org/events/2017-world-championship/
Tornado World Championships
Dany Paschalidis and Petros Konstantinidis from Greece are the 2017 Tornado Worlds Champions in the overall category
Zdenek Pavlis and 17-year-old Michaela Pavlisova from Czech Republic are the 2017 Tornado Worlds Mixed champions.
7th title in a row for Dany Paschalidis who accepted the challenge and sailed without Kostas Trigonis but with a young promising talent, Petros. It was Petro's first ride on this boat. What to say for this crew! They scored 7 bullets, a second and a fourth place.
Zdenek Pavlis and Michaela Pavlisova fight for this title 10 years now and wanted it so much. After their excellent performance this year they made it, finishing also 7th in the overall category.
The wind did not seem promising due to the clouds this morning but a rather northern breeze came in at around 3pm. Many wind shifts though resulted in a race that was abandoned. The RC decided to wait for the wind to get more stable and managed to start the one and only race of the day that included many shifts in direction and strength (from 6 to 12 knots).
Yacht Racing Forum: Time to register!
Many of the sports key personalities and brands have already confirmed their participation. Don't miss the opportunity!
It will be a great event, informative and fun, and an excellent opportunity to network and do business!
The Yacht Racing Forum will focus on three key areas that impact everyone in the industry: Business & Marketing, Design & Technology and Risk Management & Safety.
Register: www.yachtracingforum.com
Germany wins Inshore Trophy of Nord Stream Race
Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club (Team Germany) has won the Inshore Trophy of the Nord Stream Race after winning two of the three short-course heats this afternoon in Helsinki.
Just as in Copenhagen a week ago, the German team skippered by British sailor Hugh Brayshaw proved to be the best at handling the ClubSwan 50 around a short course, on this occasion in winds gusting over 20 knots. Nylandska Jaktklubben (Team Finland) won the first race of the day, making Kenneth Thelen's team second from today's competition and also placing them second overall in the Inshore Series, beating Cape Crow Yacht Club (Team Sweden) on tie-break.
The fourth and final leg of the Nord Stream Race set off from Helsinki, this evening. At 170 nautical miles, this deciding leg of the offshore race organised by St. Petersburg Yacht Club will see the international crews sail towards the eastern end of the Baltic Sea as they race towards the finish line in St Petersburg.
The leg is expected to take around 24 hours, with the fleet looking to arrive in St Petersburg on Wednesday evening. -- Andy Rice, www.sailingintelligence.com
Nord Stream Inshore Trophy
1. Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club (Team Germany) - 2
2. Nylandska Jaktklubben (Team Finland) - 5
3. Cape Crow Yacht Club (Team Sweden) - 5
4. Lord of the Sail - Europe (Team Russia) - 8
5. Frederikshavn Sejlklub (Team Denmark) - 10
Nord Stream Trophy - overall results after three offshore legs
1. Cape Crow Yacht Club (Team Sweden) - 4
2. Nylandska Jaktklubben (Team Finland) - 8
3. Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club (Team Germany) - 9
4. Frederikshavn Sejlklub (Team Denmark) - 11
5. Lord of the Sail - Europe (Team Russia) - 13
Race tracker: www.nord-stream-race.com/eng/race-tracker
Fortini Wins J/80 Obelix Trophy France
Benodet, France: Created in 1971 by Dominique le Page and Erwan Quemere, the Obelix Trophy that took place from August 25th to 27th has become over the years an essential rendezvous for all those who sail during the summer in France.
The event takes place every year and brings together J/80s and over 100 other sailboats on the Benodet Lake. The Obelix Trophy, also counts for the overall season championship, the J/80 Coupe de France.
This year's event enjoyed the most beautiful sailing conditions in a wonderful place!
Reveling in the conditions was Damien Fortini's crew on J-GANTESQUE from CN Lorient. His crew consisted of Stephane Brouillet, Anne Le Gouguec, Julien Le Granvalet, and Nathan Meric-Pons- a mostly Lorient-based crew. However, their record of 2-1-5-1 for 9 pts meant they had to win on a tie-breaker, based on number of 1sts, over Anne Phelipon's NAVIGATLANTIQUE crew from Societe Regate Rochelaises that had a 1-3-2-3 tally. Anne's crew consisted of Bertrand Nun, Thomas Haddouche, and Loig Leon.
Rounding the top three for the regatta was Xavier Tinel's team from CN Lorient on JEROBOAM MARINE LORIENT (Christophe Audic, Christophe Dreyer and Julien Bregegere). Their record of 3-5-1-2 for 11 pts meant they were just two points off the pace! For more J/80 Obelix Trophy sailing
www.classej80france.com/obelix-trophy-2017/
GAC Pindar Steal Series Lead and Event Win Off Home Team in Aarhus
Aarhus, Denmark: Returning to Aarhus as the team to beat from 2016 the British lineup, skippered by Ian Williams, showed huge growth as they climbed the podium positions through the weekend's racing to end a solid seven points clear of the chasing pack. A crowded shoreline was on hand to cheer home the two local Danish teams who were greeted with dramatic racing on the tightest and closest-to-shore racecourse seen on the 2017 M32 Series Scandinavia. The local teams may not have finished this regatta on top but they sure put on a show for their supporters.
The GAC Pindar Team showed great progression through the week, finishing day one in third spot, day two in second, before finally topping the table on the final day.
With the British team GAC Pindar winning in Aarhus, they join Wallen Racing with two event wins each on the series.
The Brits take the top spot on the leaderboard, but with just two points between the teams if either win the event in Stockholm they will also lift the overall M32 Series Scandinavia trophy. Still in with a shot at glory in the finals is both Swedish entries, Flux Team and Essiq Racing Team.
Both will look to impress their Swedish home fans as the series concludes with a double-point finale in Stockholm in just two weeks.
Finals action will run 14-16th September in the Swedish capital on the Riddarfjarden just off Norr Malastrand.
Final results:
1. GAC Pindar, Ian Williams, GBR, 52 points
2. Flux Team, Johnie Berntsson, SWE, 59
3. Essiq Racing Team, Nicklas Dackhammar, SWE, 69
4. Wallen Racing, Jonas Warrer, DEN, 75
5. Trifork, Michael Hestbaek, DEN, 93
Passione - Persico
Talking about the WallyCento that is currently nearing completion, Marcello Persico is clearly more than a little excited about the future of this class. 'I consider it the top class you can race with a boat that also offers a relatively high standard of comfort. There is nothing comparable at the moment. You have to choose either a pure racing machine or a comfortable superyacht,' he says.
Pictured at right: When the 3rd WallyCento Magic Carpet went afloat it was clearly a step forward in terms of both saving weight in the build and keeping the weight out of the ends. Boat no4, seen here, is certain to be an even bigger game changer in an already jaw-dropping racing class
The WallyCento class has taken a few years to develop, but that shouldn't be a surprise when you consider the complexity of such a high-end yacht. Each WallyCento takes years to develop and bring to fruition.
Full article in the September issue of Seahorse: www.seahorsemagazine.com
Blast off! Best foiling catamaran action from the GC32 Racing Tour
High speed foiling and most dramatic moments from the ultra-speed GC32 catamarans from this year's GC32 Racing Tour events in Riva del Garda, Villasimius and Copa del Rey MAPFRE.
New TV Series To Explore 'Ireland's Deep Atlantic'
Ireland's Deep Atlantic is a new three-part TV documentary exploring the fascinating sights in the waters west of this island.
The series will be broadcast as part of RTe's recently announced autumn schedule, according to TheJournal.ie, and comprises footage captured by Sea Fever Productions from the RV Celtic Explorer on expedition in the North Atlantic.
The team behind Ireland's Deep Atlantic previously produced Ireland's Ocean, a four-part series for RTe that documented the bounty of wildlife closer to Irish shores,
TheJournal.ie has more on the story
RORC Cherbourg Race
Ker 46 Lady Mariposa, skippered by Daniel Hardy, has won the 2017 Cherbourg Race, after holding off a strong challenge from James Neville's HH42 Ino XXX. After IRC time correction, 29 seconds was the winning margin, after a high speed blast to Cherbourg across the English Channel. Edward Broadway's Ker 40 Hooligan VII was third, completing the podium for overall honours. The 75 mile race featured a tight reach west out of the Solent, followed by a moon-lit downwind sprint to Cherbourg across the English Channel.
In IRC Zero, Lady Mariposa was the winner, and now leads the class for the season. Ross Hobson's Open 50 Pegasus Of Northumberland, racing Two Handed, was second for the Cherbourg Race, and Stephen Durkin's Farr 52 Bob, sailed by Jonathan Tyrrell, was third. In IRC One, Ino XXX was the winner, and now leads the class for the season. Hooligan VII was second for the Cherbourg Race, and Tor McLaren's MAT 1180 Gallivanter, sailed by Andrew Horrocks, was third.
In IRC Two, the race winner was Nick & Suzi Jones' First 44.7 Lisa, sailed by RORC Commodore Michael Boyd. Lisa was just seven seconds ahead of Gilles Fournier's J/133 Pintia, after IRC time correction. Christopher Daniel's J/122e Juno was third.
In IRC Three, Ed Fishwick's Sun Fast 3600 Redshift Reloaded, racing was the winner by less than a minute after IRC time correction. Delamare & Mordret's JPK 1080, Dream Pearls was second, and Rob Craigie's Sun Fast 3600 Bellino, racing Two Handed, was third.
In IRC Two Handed, Redshift Reloaded was the winner, Bellino second, and Ian Hoddle's Sun Fast 3600 Game On was third. Bellino has retained the lead in IRC Two Handed for the RORC Season's Points Championship.
In IRC Four, Jerome Desvaux's Sprint 108 Jurassic - Captain Corsaire, scored a memorable victory over fellow French competitor Noel Racine, racing JPK 10.10 Foggy Dew. Paul Kavanagh's S&S Swan 44 Pomeroy Swan, was third for the race, and moves up to second, behind Foggy Dew, for the RORC Season's Points Championship.
America's Cup bases must be built in Auckland by 2019
Auckland has less than two years to build facilities for the America's Cup defence, it emerged today.
Auckland councillors heard the city needs to have facilities built by mid-2019 when the first challenger syndicates arrive in Auckland for the 2021 defence.
Urgent work is underway to consider the options for basing the syndicates on the Auckland waterfront, which include a 60m to 80m Halsey Wharf extension north of the Viaduct Harbour, an extension to Westhaven Marina and Captain Cook Wharf.
Panuku Waterfront chief operating officer David Rankin said there is not much time considering the complexity of the issues and involvement of different parties, including Auckland Council and central government.
"There is a lot to pull together," he said.
Mayor Phil Goff said the decision to hold the defence of the cup had still not been made by Team New Zealand and would only be made if there was a suitable place for the syndicate bases.
He has instructed council chief executive Stephen Town to work with council bodies to look at all the options and come back to councillors with what works and achieves a legacy for Auckland.
"I'm not interested in funding the race. I am interested in an infrastructure legacy for Auckland in the same way the Viaduct Basin was (for the first America's Cup defence in 2000)," Goff said. -- Bernard Orsman in the New Zealand Herald
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:
Great article by Jock Wishart. My only hope is that he wrote is based on leaked information from the ETNZ/Luna Rossa AC36 Protocol, or if he didn't that they read his article before finalising their document.
He is so right, the first time you see a human cannonball or a Space Shuttle launch is a real "ooh-Ah" moment - the 10th time, or even the 2nd time it is not quite so exciting just as the first foiling tack left a feeling of 'how did they do that!' then ... yawn ...when is this going to end.
Someone talked of the action of the AC35. Almost less tacks in the whole AC 35 Match than on the final beat of the final race of 1983. Now THAT was action!
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