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Solo Sailing Around The World on a Mini
Photo by Thierry Martinez, www.thmartinez.com. Click on image to enlarge.

Alessandro di Benedetto On 22th July, just after sunrise, Alessandro di Benedetto came back in Les Sables after 268 days 19 hours 36 minutes and 12 seconds. He left on his Mini (monohull of 6.50 meters) for that solo round the world tour on 26th October 2009.

Charlie Doane in boats.com:
Just a few hours ago that crazy Italian guy, Alessandro di Benedetto, arrived safely in Les Sables d'Olonne, France, thus completing his solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world. He now holds the world's record for smallest boat (21 feet) ever to do this. The fact that he was dismasted and has been sailing with a jury-rigged mast since before he rounded Cape Horn makes this feat especially phenomenal.

So far the only recognition I find of his return is the simple one-word statement on his website: Arrived. Right over a tracking map that puts him on the Brittany coast. Though I do imagine there must be some kind of wild party going on there right now.

Brad Hampton in YachtPals.com:

Alessandro set out for a world record, which YachtPals discussed with him before he left (see video). He wanted to circumnavigate the globe non-stop in the smallest boat ever. The craft he chose was a tiny, 21-foot mini - modified, with a larger than usual forward cabin for living aboard, as well as an aft enclosure for added buoyancy. Why added buoyancy? Because Alessandro was quite sure he would be knocked down and even capsized many times on his route, and he was correct. For more than the first half of his journey, his tough little boat took each knockdown and bounced right back up, just as intended. And then, as Alessandro approached Cape Horn, disaster struck when his rig was severely damaged in violent seas.

On April 2, after receiving word from his team, YachtPals reported that Alessandro would have to make for land in Chile. And then a few hours later, we had to retract that statement. Alessandro had notified shore support that he was going to try to jury rig his boat, AND SAIL AROUND CAPE HORN! We double- and triple-checked. Was he serious? Was he crazy? Cape Horn is the nastiest patch of water on the planet, and most sailors wouldn't round it on a perfectly sound boat. Yes, he was serious, and maybe crazy too! But ever-so-slowly, Di Benedetto approached and then rounded Cape Horn, after which he pointed his bow for home.

Pending WSSRC ratification, he will hold the official world record for a non-stop circumnavigation aboard the smallest boat in history. Bravo Alessandro!

www.boats.com/boat-content

yachtpals.com/sailing-record-9116

www.alessandrodibenedetto.net

Figaro Start
Photo by Benoit Stichelbaut, www.stichelbaut.com. Click on image to enlarge.

Figaro Start The 45 sailors competing on the 41st edition of La Solitaire du Figaro got off today at 14:00 under overcast skies in the bay of Le Havre with 8/9 knots of breeze from varying north-westerly direction. Bar the two individual recalls given to overeager rookies, Francisco Lobato (ROFF/TEMPO/TEAM) and Louis Maurice Tannyeres (St. Ericsson) the race got off to a clean start. Eric Peron (Massif 2009), warded off some stiff competition to reach the offset mark some thirty minutes into racing in the lead and continued to ward off attempts by Frederic Duthil (BBox) and Adrien Hardy (AGIR) to grab the coveted Radio France mark lead.

The fleet now face their first night at sea with wind predicted to rise gradually overnight to up to 20 knots from the North, Northwest on the approach to the Cotentin and Barfleur headlands. The sailors now face multiple difficulties, but one in particular that all unanimously complained of before the start is the seaweed. "It can stop the boat and even modify your course, especially at night when you don't see it and you could be sleeping... you can well sail for 20 or 30 minutes without realising and that's a disaster. It's a minefield for everybody and I am under the impression that I get more than the others!" Worried Eric Drouglazet (Luisina) competing for the 18th time on the race.

The first part of the leg could be considered as "inshore and very technical" marked by the crossing of the bay of Seine; the skippers will then have to sail past the Cotentin and the Raz Blanchard headlands, well known for the strength of their powerful currents. Aurigny Island must be left to starboard, at the passage of the cape of the Hague, the sailors then head South sailing through the Channel Islands. Guernsey and Herm are official gates, which means that the fleet have to either sail through the narrow passage called the Great Russel on a direct route, or sail a more Southerly course depending on the turning tide times. This first stage requires careful navigation and strategy to be well positioned for the second stretch along to Brittany headland.

The course between the Four channel and the Raz de Sein is yet another difficult and technical area that will remind the trailing skippers that nothing is yet decided with so many new obstacles to face. The Triagoz isles, ile de Batz, ile Vierge, Four lighthouse, Molene archipelago, Saint-Mathieu point, the legendary ile Tevennec, ile de Sein, passage of the Raz de Sein... there will be so many key passages to approach and each requires careful negotiation. Once these initial 90 miles have been covered, the sailors will head south on the run to Gijon.

Pietro D'Ali (I.NOVA 3) from Italy reached the Radio France buoy in 21st place whilst Francisco Lobato

(ROFF/TEMPO/TEAM) from Portugal managed to climb up to 31st place after the upset start and Jonny Malbon (Artemis) from the UK reached in 41st place; but it is early days with a further 511 miles to go to the finish in Asturias.

Top ten at the Radio France Buoy:

1. Eric Peron, Kipper Macif 2009
2. Frederic Duthil, BBox Bouygues Telecom
3. Adrien Hardy, AGIR Recouvrement
4. Laurent Pellecuer, arnolfini.fr
5. Damien Guillou, La Solidarite Mutualiste
6. Laurent Gouezigoux, Trier C'est Preserver
7. Fabien Delahaye, Port de Caen Ouistreham
8. Marc Emig, marcemigethoi.com
9. Jean-Pierre Nicol, Bernard Controls
10. Aleix Loison, Allmer Ineo-GDF-Suez

www.lasolitaire.com

Plastiki

The Plastiki Has Arrived In Sydney!
The Plastiki and crew have reached the end of their epic voyage which has taken them through the Pacific Ocean on an 8,000 nautical mile adventure lasting over 130 days, The team arrived midday today at Sydney's Australian National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour to an excited crowd of friends, family and supporters.

The Plastiki cabin has been home to 10 members of crew over the 4 month journey; Skipper Jo Royle, Co-Skipper David Thomson, Expedition leader David de Rothschild, Olav Heyerdahl, Graham Hill, Luca Babini, Matthew Grey, Max Jourdan, Singeli Agnew and Vern Moen. All of whom have witnessed the polluted waters of the Pacific, affirming their mission to share their experience with the watching world and most importantly highlight solutions to protect our oceans and beat waste.

www.theplastiki.com


Hotel and Development Land For Sale in Bequia
Hotel And Development Land Forsale In Bequia The Receiver of Friendship Bay Hotel Limited (in Receivership) offers for sale the land and property situated at Friendship Bay Hotel in Bequia, St Vincent and the Grenadines.

- Located on c 435,600 sq ft land;
- c.20% beachfront;
- Development potential;
- Rear undeveloped land is sloping with ocean views;
- Hotel consists of 19 rooms and 5 suites (2 with individual plunge pools);
- Beachfront restaurant/bar;
- Breakfast room; and
- Private jetty.

About Bequia
Bequia has its own airport with daily scheduled flights to and from Barbados and several other of the Grenadine Islands. Bequia is the second largest of the Islands after the capital island of St. Vincent. It measures approximately 7 square miles and has a population of approximately 5,000 people. It has a strong maritime heritage and is a favourite destination for yachts from all over the world. Friendship Bay is a sheltered south facing bay on Bequia's windward side with a broad sandy beach.

Further details available on request.
Indicative offers by 5pm EST Monday 16 August 2010.

Contact for enquiries
Claire Loebell
Phone: +1 345 814 8922
Email:
Ernst & Young Ltd
62 Forum Lane, Camana Bay
PO Box 510, Grand Cayman KY1-1006
Cayman Islands
www.ey.com

RORC Channel Race
This year's Channel Race was blessed with good breeze around the 130 mile course with sunshine during the day and warm air temperature at night. The overall winner was the First 40, La Reponse, owned by Peter Morton and RORC Commodore Andrew McIrvine, by just under three minutes on corrected time from Neil Kipling's J 122, Joopster. Charles Ivill's Grand Soleil 54, John B, was third but did win Class Zero, against some stiff opposition.

La Reponse were also victors in IRC One with Neil Kipling's J 122, Joopster, second, and Sailing Logic's Reflex 38, Visit Malta Puma, third in class.

Class Zero winner was Charles Ivill's Grand Soleil 54, John B, who beat several competitors against whom they will be competing in next month's Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race.

Second in IRC Zero was John Shepherd's Ker 46, Fair Do's VII, with Piet Vroon's Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens, in third.

In IRC Super Zero Derek Saunders' CM 60, Venomous was the handicap winner. Venomous got off to an excellent start, leading on the water from the British Keelboat Academy's TP52, John Merricks II, as they left the Solent. However John Merricks II fought back to take line honours, in just under 14 hours.

Peter Olden's A 35, Solan Goose of Hamble, continued their recent run of form, to win IRC Two and the Two Handed Division. Propelling them to third in IRC Two for the Season's Points Championship. From Belgium, Eric Van Campenhout's JPK 110, Rackham, took line honours for the class and second place on handicap with French entry, Didier Dardot's Sphinx 33, Parisfal, claiming third.

Jean Yves Chateau's Nicholson 33, Iromiguy, came out top in IRC Three to open up a slender lead for the Season's Points Championship from Matthias Kracht's JPK 9.60 Ultreia!, who was second in the race. Phoenix Yacht Club's Starlight 39 Spellbinder of Wytch, was third.

The next RORC racing is a mixture of inshore and offshore races for the Rolex Commodores' Cup

www.rorc.org

Cowes Radio Online Streaming!
Streaming now! With memorable material stretching back over the years, Cowes Radio is already streaming on the Internet.

Cowes Radio celebrates 25 years at the worlds' greatest regatta, Cowes Week, and goes on air this Friday on 87.7FM as the longest running RSL station in the UK.

New on the website this year is Flash streaming on the eDigital Research sponsored webpages www.cowesradio.co.uk/listen , as well as feeds for every kind of web player. There's even some new links to listen to Cowes Radio on your iPhone or Blackberry, which means you really can listen to Cowes Radio everywhere!

Highlights of the Cowes Radio Week include live coverage of all the Cowes Week Class starts every day, the finishers, plus live commentary of the finals of the Even Keel Project on Monday evening. And live host broadcast radio coverage of the inaugural 1851 Cup - match racing in America's Cup Class yachts between the AC holders BMW Oracle from the USA and the UK's Team Origin. Live coverage of the racing off The Green at Cowes will take place Tuesday-Friday late afternoons with a round the Island course on Thursday.

The Cowes Radio team includes: Steve Ancsell (Station Director); Cheryl Buggy (Station Manager - Express FM); Chris Carnegy (Managing Editor of BBC Radio Solent); Dick Johnson (on-the-water commentator/Musto UK); Roger Price (High Peak Radio); Chris Tibbs (renowned Meteorologist); Russ Tollerfield (Technical); Simon Vigar (Squadron Platform presenter /Channel 5 TV News Presenter) and Clarissa of Cowes (mystery socialite).

www.cowesradio.co.uk

German 18ft Skiff Grand Prix
Click on image to enlarge.

German 18ft Skiff Grand Prix The British Pica team won the German 18ft Skiff Grand Prix when they finished five points ahead of Denmark's Flemming Clausen and his GP Covers team at Travemuende.

Third overall went to Hungary's European champion Liberty Sailing Team, skippered by Miklos Ujhelyi-Gaspar.

Four German teams filled the next four placings. Friedrich Renner's Eurolink was fourth, followed by Remember The Days, Magic Marine and Berlinsyndikat.

As predicted, the wind was light, very light for day three and it wasn't until 5pm before the teams could launch their boats.

The fleet now moves on to contest the third event of the 2010 European Grand Prix, "The Viking 18ft Skiff Grand Prix" from Denmark's Sonderborg Yacht Club. -- Frank Quealey

www.flying18s.com/index.php?p=1_4
www.flying18s.com

Development Leads The Way At Southern Spars
Southern Spars The second quarter has been a busy period for the Southern Spars Group with a raft of exciting new developments: from bringing onboard the Nordic Mast team, to implementing leading edge robotic technology, as well as preparing for the move to a newly constructed, bespoke manufacturing HQ later this year.

Add the launching and commissioning of Zefira, Imagine II, Eclipse, Marie and Twizzle, all featuring the latest in mast design and rigging technology; coupled with a string of grand prix launches and race results including the highly anticipated M34 and famous Open 60, Virbac-Paprec 3; it is evident that one company continues to take giant leaps into the future.

To find out more about these advancements visit: www.southernspars.com

Artemis Takes Control
Valencia, Spain: Small jibs and loose boom vangs were the order of the day as the RC 44 Valencia Cup got underway here in a pumping sea breeze that topped out at 20 knots.

Despite the strong wind off Malvarrosa Beach, the professional crews threw the light-displacement boats around with seeming ease.

In a day that saw seven flights and 28 match races completed, three crews made it through the first five flights undefeated. But only Torbjorn Tornqvist's Artemis escaped unscathed.

"We started well enough today and the boat was going well through the water," said Artemis skipper Terry Hutchinson, who finished the day at 6-0. "We had our best day boathandling, and we needed it today."

Three other teams finished the day with 4-1 records including Russell Coutts and the BMW ORACLE Racing team, Cameron Appleton's Team Aqua and James Spithill's 17. Rounding out the top five is Igor Lah's Ceeref at 3-1 with Rod Davis as skipper.

Corresponding with the increase in wind strength was an increase of incidents. Upwards of eight penalties were issued, three spinnakers ripped, one jib battered and one steering system damaged.

The match racing portion of the RC 44 Valencia Cup continues tomorrow with another seven flights planned. Thursday is a scheduled practice day for the fleet racing portion of the regatta, which runs Friday through Sunday.

Match racing, after seven of 14 flights
1. Artemis / Terry Hutchinson, SWE, 6-0
2. BMW ORACLE Racing / Russell Coutts, USA, 4-1
2. Team Aqua / Cameron Appleton, UAE, 4-1
2. 17 / James Spithill, USA, 4-1
5. Ceeref / Rod Davis, SLO, 3-1
6. No Way Back / Pieter Heerema and Ray Davies, NED, 3-3
7. Team Sea Dubai / Markus Weiser, UAE, 2-4
8. Katusha / Paul Cayard, RUS, 1-3
9. Mascalzone Latino Audi Team / Tommaso Chieffi, ITA, 1-4
10. AEZ RC44 Sailing Team / Christian Binder, AUT, 0-5
10. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero / Jose Maria Ponce, ESP, 0-5

www.rc44.com

Platu 25 Worlds
Photo by Jesus Renedo. Click on image for photo gallery.

Platu Worlds Alicante, Spain: Kostas Karageorgiou's Modus Vivendi-3Alfa won back the World title in the waters of Alicante. The Greek boat was crowned champion after six days of fierce competition. The sailors coming from Greece, who got the sceptre in 2008 and silver in 2009, were undoubtedly the best and more consistent team suffice to say that they won with a race to spare. In which, nonetheless they ended up in sixth.

Their score is impressive with three victories, a third, two sixth, two seventh and an eleventh as their worst. Their consistency was apparent in any of the thirteen races and sometimes their superiority did not leave any chance to their opponents.

The Platu 25 Alicante 2010 closes with some disappointing results too, such as those of Bribon-Movistar owned by Marc de Antonio who was bronze in the last two editions or the Italians on Emanuele Vitrano's Brera Hotels who at the start were accredited with more than the thirteen place they achieved. Some regrets for Farrbar skipperd by the German Ahlgrim, reigning champion of the Primo Cup 2010 in Monaco. On the bright side the result of Oriol Bou's PIX1 Anna Mora that showed a brilliant improvement.

Top ten (66 entries)

1. Modus Vivendi, M.Panagiotis / P.Kagialis / V.Kappas / A.Palera / K. Karageorgiou, GRE, 40 points
2. Carpantxo, J.Pintos / F.Sanchez/ R.Alvarez / J.Figueria/ B.Coira, ESP, 57
3. Iberdrola, M.Weiller / F.Pomar/ M.Bonet / P.Balaguer/ F.Gallaste, ESP, 61
4. Mexillon de Galicia-Movistar, C.Paz / A.Paz/ J Deben / B.Paz/ JJ.Cores, ESP, 61
5. La Revoltosa, A.Rodger / J.Pont/ M.De Tomas / F.Muro/ J.Segarra, ESP, 61
6. Fermax, D.Maestre / A.Sanchez/ F.Sauquillo / M.Vilanova, ESP, 73
7. Xacobeo 2010 Galicia, E.Pons / A.Pillado/ G.A.Prego / P.Torrado/ J.J.Duran, ESP, 82
8. The Collection /Coppel Dental, J.M.Perez / A.Mella/ J.Lopez/ E.Ganete / I.Lopez, ESP, 82
9. Flexi, N.Ganssauge / J.Bottcher/ S.Krabbe / F.Spateholz, GER, 95
10. Mundo Marino Team, J. Padron/ A.de Haro/ J.de Arias/ / V.Soto/ A.Quevedo, ESP, 102

Full results: www.platu25worlds2010.com

Folkboat Nordic Nationals
Photo by Eddie Mays, www.eddiemays.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Folkboat Nordic Nationals This year's Folkboat Nordic Nationals, sponsored by Sanders Sails and hosted by the Royal Lymington Y.C., attracted the biggest fleet for several years. With 19 boats entered the expectations for the weekend were high and so it was a shame that on Friday afternoon there was never enough breeze to lay a course. The upside was that with racing abandoned everyone was back at the club in good time for the championship dinner.

Friday's disappointments were soon forgotten when the boats arrived at the start area on Saturday to find a good F3 - 4 SW'erly breeze that slowly increased to over 20 knots during the last race.

With the first day's racing completed the teams for Team Trophy were selected. First presented in 2009 the Team Trophy pairs the top & the bottom of the rankings at the end of the first day's racing together for the rest of the championship with all the races to count and the winning team the one with the lowest aggregate score at the end of racing.

Sunday morning saw very similar conditions to Saturday and the fleet managed to complete another three races, which allowed everyone to discard their worst result. Racing in the area just inside the Hurst Narrows the competition was as fierce as ever in this one design class with boats finishing overlapped in every race.

The full results can be found at the Folkboat website, www.folkboats.com , and a gallery of images are at www.eddiemays.com

The next major event for the Folkboat Association is Folkboat Week, which will be hosted by the Royal Solent Y.C. at Yarmouth from 16th to 21st August.

Top Five Overall Results:
1. Crackerjack, Stuart & Caroline Watson and Matthew Jones
2. Boomerang, Rory Heron, Nick Rogers & Chester Maudslay
3. Tak, Jeremy Austin, Ado Jardine & Bill Dunsdon
4. Padfoot, Chris Hill & Crew
5. Madelaine, Edward Donald, Rob Reed & Simon Osgood

Team Trophy:
1. Crackerjack & Good Shepherd
2. Madelaine & Tagomago
3. Yukon & Tattarat

Featured Brokerage
Featured Brokerage Boat 2006 Reichel / Pugh 72, EUR 2,200,000. Located in Valencia, Spain.

Pinta is a beautifully built Reichel & Pugh designed 72 foot Racer / Cruiser. Launched in 2006 and, as you would expect from a yacht carrying the famous Pinta name, is in fabulous order. Her full carbon construction combined with a beautifully engineered cruising interior does provide the best of both worlds. Not only can Pinta race with the best, she can easily by used for family cruising.

Brokerage through Ancasta Yachts: www.yachtworld.com/ancastayachts/

Complete listing details and seller contact information at uk.yachtworld.com

The Last Word
Sanity calms, but madness is more interesting. -- John Russell

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