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Barcelona World Race
Renault Z.E. Sailing Team takes third:
Ghosting across the windless finish line in the bright morning sunshine, making the final metres to complete their third placed by sheer willpower and motivation, Pachi Rivero and Toño Piris the childhood friends who met nearly 40 years ago as grommet surfers on the beaches of their native Santander, finalised the podium for this second edition of the Barcelona World Race. As Rivero and Piris broke the finish line at 06h 47m 36s UTC Friday morning (08h 47m 36s Barcelona) the duo completed their non-stop circumnavigation in an elapsed time of 97d 18h 47m 36s for the 35,200 miles route. They had their Barcelona rivals Estrella Damm 150 miles behind. The Santander duo finished 2 days 21 hours 30 min 36 sec after second placed MAPFRE and 3 days 20h 27 min 36 sec after race winner Virbac Paprec 3.

Estrella Damm Sailing Team takes fourth:
Alex Pella (38)and Pepe Ribes (39) crossed the finish line to complete their Barcelona World Race at 08:45:59hrs UTC (10:45:59hrs local) Saturday April 09th in fourth place.

Their elapsed time for the course was 98 days 20 hours, 45 minutes and 59 seconds, an average speed for the course of 10.62kts for the 25,200 miles theoretical course.

They sailed an actual course of 28,762 miles, at an average 12.12 knots

Neutrogena takes fifth:
Ryan Breyamaier (USA) and Boris Herrmann (GER) crossed the finish line of the Barcelona World Race at 1513hrs (UTC) to take fifth place on a perfect spring Sunday afternoon.

Only the third team to finish this edition race without stopping, Herrmann becomes the first German sailor ever to complete a non-stop racing circumnavigation and to finish an IMOCA Open 60 race, whilst Breymaier - a late adopter to sailing who only started sailing seriously at college in 1993 is the first American to finish the Barcelona World Race.

Their repair skills were tested rebuilding the autopilot hydraulics, the hydrogenerators, a costly 90 minutes odyssey to the lee of Isla Neuva at the entrance to the Beagle Channel to fix a Solent headstay head fitting which cost them miles and a major repair to a water ballast pipe.

Ironically this will be the boat's first fully completed circumnavigation after retirements from two successive solo Vendee Globe races. The pair completed the theoretical course of 25,200 miles at an average of 10.49 knots, actually sailing 27,850 miles at an average speed of 11.59 knots, arriving 6 days, 4 hours, 53 minutes and 25 seconds after race winners Virbac-Paprec 3.

Their race has been underpinned by rock solid consistency, very strong, assured weather strategies in each ocean - they will be one of the few teams who will be almost entirely happy with their weather choices - and a youthful endurance which allowed them to hold pace, or be faster, than many newer generation boats. Even so theirs has been a big learning curve, the fruits of which Herrmann hopes to take forwards to the solo Vendee Globe.

barcelonaworldrace.com

Are the Barcelona Rules a Threat to Safety?
As the leaders of the Barcelona World Race finish their circumnavigation, the tail end yacht is half the world behind and perilously isolated in the Southern Ocean. It has highlighted a serious loophole in the race rules that threatens to undermine the event's safety, one the race director agrees needs to be changed.

Yesterday Fran Palacio and Juan Merediz on Central Lechera Asturiana reported 60 knots of wind and a huge sea state as they battled their way back to New Zealand with a broken ring frame. It follows 25 days in port in Wellington in March as the pair had their broken mast rebuilt by Southern Spars and made other major repairs.

This lengthy stop left them nearly 5,000 miles behind the next placed boat and saw them returning to the Southern Ocean dangerously late in its autumn season.

Renewed pressure is being put on the pair to retire from the race. Race director Denis Horeau told me: "It's a nonsense. It puts everybody in a bad situation: the competitors and the organisers."

The rules of the Barcelona World Race state that yachts making a stop for repairs after Tasmania must take a 48-hour time penalty, but nowhere do they refer to a maximum time in port. It was simply never envisaged that a crew would spend almost a month carrying out a mini refit, although in hindsight the option was going to appeal most to tailenders whose victory is in finishing the course.

This situation underlines several serious anomalies in the race rules, and a continued blurring of the concept of self-sufficiency. Asked if he thinks the rules need to be changed, Denis Horeau replies: "Yes, they must change, absolutely. It is very bad."

He takes out a ring binder with the Notice of Race and points to rule number 1.2, which clearly states that the Barcelona World Race is 'a non-stop round the world race, without assistance'. Yet elsewhere, stops are allowed for and assistance permitted...

... Quite apart from the obvious safety implications, this is puzzling to the public and appears to put commercial considerations above safety.

Full editorial by Elaine Bunting on her blog:
www.yachtingworld.com/blogs/

Ben Ainslie Ultimate Winner of the Trofeo Princesa Sofia MAPFRE
Photo by Richard Langdon/Skandia Team GBR. Click on image to enlarge.

Ben Ainslie Ultimate Winner of the Trofeo Princesa Sofia MAPFRE The medal races and Women Match racing finals have crowned the champions in the 42 Trofeo Princesa Sofia MAPFRE in Palma.

The Women Match racing finals were a hard fought battle with Silja Lehtinen, Silja Kanerva, Mikaela Wulff (FIN) taking the first match by a small margin, then Sally Barkow, Elizabeth Kratzig-Burnham, Alana O'Reilly (USA) winning the next three close matches to win the Gold medal.

The Finals and Petit-Finals were sailed in perfect conditions after the sea breeze filled in around midday to a steady 7-10 knots. The Petit-Finals saw Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vandemoer, and Deb Capozzi (USA) defeat Claire Leroy, Marie Riou, and Claire Pruvot (FRA) in two straight matches to win the Bronze medal.

In many classes, yesterday leaders kept their early position after the double pointers medal race to win the title.

For Ben Ainslie (GBR), who was playing for Gold or Silver, winning the medal race from start to finish settled the questions. Giles Scott (GBR) kept Silver and Thomas Lebreton (FRA), the bronze.

Ben Ainslie, coming back to the Finn after a break sailing in the Match racing circuit, is successful with a win in Sail Melbourne a second in Miami and a second SWC win in Palma. The Olympic champion is also taking the Ultimate Trophy which crowns the best sailor across all classes in the event.

"The come back to the Finn has been hard work. I need to work more on my fitness. It is good to see the other British do well, it is motivating and is good for sailing in England." Ainslie's next stop will be Hyères and Sail for Gold for the start of the British Olympic selections.

Women's Match Racing:
Finals: Barkow (USA) defeats Lehtinen (FIN) 3-1
Petit-Finals: Tunnicliffe (USA defeats Leroy (FRA) 2-0

Final Top Ten Results:
1. Sally Barkow (USA), Elizabeth Kratzig-Burnham, Alana O'Reilly
2. Silja Lehtinen (FIN), Silja Kanerva, Mikaela Wulff
3. Anna Tunnicliffe (USA), Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer, Debbie Capozzi
4. Claire Leroy (FRA), Marie Riou, Claire Pruvot
5. Stephanie Hazard (NZL), Susannah Pyatt, Jenna Hansen
6. Anne-Claire Le Berre (FRA), Alice Ponsar, Myrtille Ponge
7. Lucy Macgregor (GBR), Annie Lush, Kate Macgregor
8. Silke Hahlbrock (GER), Maren Hahlbrock, Kerstin Schult
9. Ekaterina Skudina (RUS), Elena Syuzeva, Irina Lotsmanova
10. Nicky Souter (AUS), Nina Curtis, Olivia Price

Top three by class:

470 Men
1. Nicolas Charbonnier / Jeremie Mion, FRA, 56
2. Pierre Leboucher / Vincent Garos, FRA, 71
3. Luke Patience / Stuart Bithell, GBR, 72

470 Women
1. Jo Aleh / Bianca Barbarich-Bacher, NZL, 64
2. Ai Kondo / Wakako Tabata, JPN, 74
3. Gil Cohen / Bouskila Vered, ISR, 83

Finn
1. Ben Ainslie, GBR, 22
2. Giles Scott, GBR, 42
3. Le Breton, FRA, 54

RS:X Men
1. Dorian Van Rijsselberge, NED, 34
2. Tom Ashley, NZL, 52
3. Nick Dempsey, GBR, 56

RS:X Women
1. Marina Alabau, ESP, 24
2. Charline PIcon, FRA, 41
3. Alessandra Sensini, ITA, 61

49er
1. Dyen Manu / Christidis Stephane, FRA, 81
2. Pietro Sibello / Gianfranco Sibello, ITA, 87
3. Nico Luca Marc Delle Karth / Nikolaus Leopold Resch, AUT, 126

Laser
1. Paul Goodison, GBR, 44
2. Tom Slingsby, AUS, 47
3. Nick Thomson, GBR, 53

Laser Radial
1. Sara Winther, NZL, 63
2. Evi Van Acker, BEL, 66
3. Ginare Scheidt, LUT, 69

Star
1. Ian Percy / Bart Simpson, GBR, 42
2. Robert Stanjek / Frithjof Kleen, GER, 79
3. Torben Grael / Marcelo Ferreira, BRA, 79

2.4 Metre
1. Thierry Schmitter, NED, 13
2. Heko Kroger, GER, 21
3. Megan Pascoe, GBR, 30

Full results at www.trofeoprincesasofia-mapfre.org

Dubarry Crosshaven

Dubarry Crosshaven - The Best Gets Better
Click on image to enlarge.

You'd have to go around the world to find a better boot than Dubarry's Ultima or Shamrock - so they did. Green Dragon's raced round the world in Dubarry boots and their Southern Ocean feedback helped to create the world's best offshore boot. Top of the Dragons' list was a waterproof built-in gaiter with top draw-cord to make sure your foredeck forays don't result in a bootful of briney. They're warmer too, lined with GORE-TEX® Duratherm waterproof insulation, heel and toe reinforcement and a new super-supportive footbed inspired by Formula 1 technology.

Dubarry Crosshaven - boots born in the Southern Ocean.

www.dubarry.com

Transat Benodet Martinique
Eighteen solo Figaro Beneteau sailors set sail on Sunday 10 April on the Transat Benodet Martinque, a 3474 nm Atlantic crossing from Benodet (Cornouaille) France to Fort de France, Martinique.

Three sailors were awarded the top honors: Jean-Paul Mouren (SNEF Group), the dean of the race, had the best start, Nicolas Lunven (Generali), first around the windward mark, and Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) . The winner of the last edition took control from the first spinnaker up at buoy Benodet, the last compulsory step before crossing the Gulf of Biscay. Now, before the bows of competitors, 3,474 miles of racing against others and against oneself.

Cyrille Duchesne, weather consultant: "The conditions are near optimal for the first week at sea because we are on the edge of the anticyclone with winds from the North-West which will then move northeast and then take the Mariners to sea. We still expect for tomorrow winds slightly lower temporarily before Cape Finisterre where it's going to strengthen significantly.

Competitors:

Jeanne Gregoire, Fra, Banque Populaire
Anthony Marchand, FRA, Bretagne - Credit Mutuel Espoir
Thomas Rouxel, FRA, Bretagne - Credit Mutuel Performance
Gildas Morvan, FRA, Cercle Vert
Amaiur Alfaro, FRA, Edm - Pays Basque Entreprises
Nicolas Lunven, FRA, Generali
Jean Paul Mouren, FRA, Groupe SNEF
Eric Drouglazet, FRA, Luisina
Eric Peron, FRA, Macif 2009
Erwan Tabarly, FRA, Nacarat
Yannig Livory, FRA, One Network Energies
Fabien Delahaye, FRA, Port De Caen Ouistreham
Francisco Lobato, POR, Roff
Romain Attanasio, FRA, Saveol
Louis-Maurice Tannyeresy, FRA, St-Ericsson
Pascal Desmarets, BEL, Tetraktys
Eric Baray, FRA, Dan Vwel 972
Frederic Rive, FRA, Vendee 1

www.transat-benodetmartinique.com

Gutek Heading for Port with Broken Forestay
As reported late Friday, Polish ocean racer Zbigniew 'Gutek' Gutkowski is heading for port after the forestay on his Eco 60 yacht Operon Racing broke. Although the rig is secure, the damage has forced Gutek, who was lying fourth in ocean sprint four, to turn his boat round and head for Fortaleza on the northern coast of Brazil to carry out the vital repairs.

The 36-year-old explained: "There was a wind change so I went to the bow to drop the gennaker and hoist up the Solent. When I finished my job I was tidying the ropes when I heard a loud bang. It was pitch black but I had a head torch and I saw the sail in the water. When I made it up on deck I saw a fitting connecting the forestay to the mast was broken. It's very solid piece of equipment dealing with the strongest forces onboard - there is nothing more solid than a stay fitting.

"The fact that the north trades are quite strong winds means I will not risk going there without a main rigging line stabilising the mast. I need to go to Fortaleza, Brazil to avoid the risk of losing the mast. It was not an easy decision. The main task now is to get my boat safe to Brazil, change the fitting, and then sail to Charleston to make a start to La Rochelle."

It is a huge blow for the Polish skipper who is currently placed second overall in the Velux 5 Oceans overall rankings. Gutek has been blighted with bad luck onboard Operon Racing since developing keel problems rounding Cape Horn during ocean sprint three.

The Velux 5 OCEANS race management are in regular contact with Gutek and will continue to monitor his situation.

www.velux5oceans.com

Joe Harris and Gryphonsolo2 Head for the Normandy Channel Race
Click on image to enlarge.

Gryphonsolo2 Over the weekend, American solo sailor, Joe Harris, announced that he will test GryphonSolo2, his new Akilaria RC2 Class40, in the double-handed Normandy Channel Race in May. Harris will be joined on the maiden ocean race by Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR) Race Director, Josh Hall, for the 1,000 mile event. Harris had intended to race in the inaugural Atlantic Cup, a new Class40 race in the US. However, unavoidable production delays at the Akilaria MC-TEC yard in Tunisia during the country's government struggles in January pushed back delivery and commissioning making it impossible to fulfil the yacht's original programme.

"I'm really looking forward to getting back into ocean racing in my new Class40," says Harris. "We had wanted to make our racing debut in GryphonSolo2 in New York City for the Atlantic Cup race to Newport Rhode Island," he continues. "But delays in construction and moving the boat's commissioning to France made that impossible. The Normandy Channel Race will be an even greater challenge for us." Harris and Hall will join the 16 boats currently entered in the Normandy Channel Race; an impressive fleet that includes four entries in Hall's GOR race: the French duo of Jacques Fournier and Jean-Edouard Criquioche with their Finot-Conq Design Pogo 40S2 Groupe Picoty; the Franco-English duo of Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron with the new Pogo 40S2, Team Mabire-Merron, subject to funding; the Italian duo of Francesco Piva and Luca Zoccoli on their Farr Yacht Design - Cookson Boats-built Kiwi 40FC, Peráspera, and the Dutch GOR entry, Nico Budel and co-skipper, on Budel's 2007 Akilaria, Sec Hayai (ex-Beluga Racer, winner of the 2008-09 GOR).

Starting on Sunday 22nd May off the port of Ouistreham on the Normandy coast, the fleet will race across the Channel to the Isle of Wight and east-west through The Solent, along England's South Coast to Land's End before heading north-west across the Celtic Sea to Tuskar Rock, eight miles off the south-east coast of Ireland. Leaving the rock's lighthouse to port, the fleet then head south-west along the Irish coast to Fastnet Rock before a 370 mile return leg across the Celtic Sea and the Channel to Guernsey, before bending around the Cherbourg Peninsular and on to the finish line off Ouistreham.

GryphonSolo2 departed from La Trinite during the weekend and will head around the Cherbourg Peninsular to the V1D2 specialist racing yard in Caen for further sea trials and Normandy Channel Race preparation. -- Oliver Dewar

globaloceanrace.com

Seahorse May 2011
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Unstoppable
You'd have thought that 80-years young, things might have started to calm down in terms of International 14 development. Not so, explain designer/sailor/builders George Nurton and Tom Partington

Time and place
In 2005/6 VO70 rig world was all about PBO cables then 3 years later it was carbon bundles. Now the standing rigging market has opened up even further as Phil Anniss explains...

Update
Terry Hutchinson earns his Extreme 40 stripes, Giuliano Luzzatto talks to Maxi class godfather Gianfranco Alberini, Paul Bieker brings lessons of nature to his foil designs and Stan Honey... le navigateur

If you haven't subscribed to Seahorse already we're keen to help you attend to that! - Please use the following promotional link and enjoy the hefty Scuttlebutt Europe discount... and it gets even better for 2 and 3 year subscriptions...

www.seahorse.co.uk/shop/subs

Camper VOR70 Revealed
Photo by Chris Cameron, www.chriscameron.co.nz. Click on image for photo gallery.

Camper VOR It has been almost a year since Camper and Emirates Team New Zealand confirmed their entry in the Volvo Ocean Race. This morning in Auckland, the team's Volvo Open 70, CAMPER, rolled out of the shed at Cookson Boats and was transported across the Harbour Bridge to the team's base in the Viaduct.

Marcelino Botin led the Emirates Team New Zealand design team, and over the last 12 months a core group of people from Emirates Team New Zealand has been working hard with the Cookson crew to keep the build on track.

Emirates Team New Zealand Managing Director, Grant Dalton, is very pleased with progress. "This is a great day for us as a team," he enthused. "To be able to stand back and see the amazing job that the guys have done and now see her in her full livery, is quite humbling. I am very excited about going out sailing towards the end of this week."

The shore crew will bring the final components together from the team's base in Auckland's Viaduct Harbour. The remaining systems and keel will be fitted before CAMPER is lowered in the water by travel lift, where the mast will be stepped and the sails loaded.

Then follows the boat's first sail, when the full extent of her new livery will be revealed.

www.volvooceanrace.com
www.camper.com/#/en/volvo-ocean-race/

The Royal Thames Mansura Trophy
Click on image to enlarge.

Mansura Trophy With ten international entries received by the extended closing date of 8th March 2011 the 2010 Royal Thames Mansura Trophy, in association with Bosch Engineering GmbH, the judging panel got down to studying the comprehensive details of craft and their voyages set out in the submissions.

Established by the Royal Thames Yacht Club in 2007 and supported by RYA and the Green-Blue, the Mansura Trophy is a most prestigious international maritime award to encourage marine companies in developing new forms of hybrid power. Eligible vessels must use at least two independent sources of propulsive power, and the final drive system must be electrical.

Full submissions for the 2010 competition include two craft of different sizes from Mermaid Cruises and Shipping Co. Ltd in Thailand, built by Electric Boats Thailand Ltd; another, from Hybrid Marine of Sandown, Isle of Wight is Chelonian which incorporates Hybrid Marine's well proven propulsion system, while the same system is also found in the joint entry by Jeremy Rogers Ltd and Hybrid Marine of the "Green Contessa" Calypso which had received a lot of attention in the British yachting press in 2010. Salterns Brokerage in Poole, Dorset has entered the hybrid motor yacht Greenline 33 that was seen at the 2010 Southampton Show.

The remarkable Green eMotion was built in Durban, South Africa by African Cats BV and with her lightweight construction and novel propulsion system has completed a long and successful maiden voyage to Ijmuiden in the Netherlands via Cape Town, St Helena and the Azores. Gideon Goudsmit says they have two more exciting boats in development. Ian Rutter, by contrast, has entered his immaculate River Thames pleasure launch Irene.

For full details of the the award and the rules for entry visit www.mansuratrophy.com
Green eMotion: www.green-motion.com

Featured Brokerage
Featured Brokerage Boat 2001 Andrews TP52. NZ$ 590,000. Located in Auckland, New Zealand.

Alan Andrews design built by Dench Marine USA, V5 is a well maintained canting version of the TP52 rule. Actively raced in the Auckland 50ft fleet, V5 has proved to be a very fast and competitive offshore and coastal racer. Maintained with no expense spared and now heavily reduced for sale.

Brokerage through All Boat Brokerage Ltd.: www.yachtworld.com/allboat/

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

The Last Word
Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway. -- Mary Kay Ash

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