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ISAF Midyear Meeting
Andy Rice checks in from St. Petersburg:

Today the Events Committee secured a 60% majority in favour of the following events and equipment:

Board and/or Kiteboard men & women - RS:X/Kiteboard - evaluation.
One-person dinghy men - Laser,
One-person dinghy men women - Laser Radial.
2nd one-person dinghy men - Finn.
Two-person dinghy (spinnaker) men & women - 470.
Skiff men - 49er,
Skiff women - equipment evaluation.
Two-person multihull mixed - equipment evaluation.

This is almost exactly the same slate put forward by the Events Committee four years ago.

No keelboats.

The Star class has a potent ally at the top table of ISAF, the Executive Committee, in vice-president Eric Tulla from Puerto Rico. The rumour mill says Tulla will be pushing hard to get the Star back in for Rio, and that he is bringing three of the remaining six vice-presidents with him in pushing for the original submission from Puerto Rico to be considered. The keelboats, for men and women, would stay in, and the skiffs would be out.

If Tulla really has managed to convince fellow VPs, Alberto Predieri, Tomasz Holc and Nazli Imre, to push for a submission that earned no votes from the 29 available from the Events Committee vote, then we know that ISAF has learned nothing from the debacle of 2007. We will know that the Federation remains as corrupt - or at the very least, corruptible - as it was four years ago.

Will the committee of experts, the Executive Committee - find itself ignored once again? It would be an almighty slap in the face, but not for the first time.

Andy's full report on his blog:
sailjuiceblog.com

Roland Gaebler's report:

The ISAF Events Committee just finished the voting procedure at the midyear conference in St. Petersburg and there was no discussion for the comeback of the Multihull. There is also a small chance with the Submissions from the Netherlands to get 2 Multihulls (Women + Men) in with the 5:5 slide.

The Keelboats (Starclass and Women Matchracing) are completely out. It seems the finacial crisis and less money in the MNAs make it impossible to finance Olympic Keelboat sailing.

Also Kiteboarding went out early in the voting procedure. So no colorful and action loaded flying surfers.

Tomorrow the ISAF council can change the vote again the Events Com. made. So there is still an open vote to fix it 100%. But with the view to the submissions again, it looks Keelboat Sailing hasn't got the strong voice as in years past.

Now the focus should be back on the format of racing and how we can make sailing a spectator and media sport. IOC gives pressure to reach higher media value and better ticket sales. Also ISAF need more money from IOC. We hope the ISAF not missed the chance to upgrade Olympic sailing with a high performance Multihull. We need to have a boat like the Tornado which flies hulls in any wind condition.

www.teamgaebler.de

Gutek Reaches Charleston
Photo by Ainhoa Sanchez, w-w-i.com. Click on image to enlarge.

Gutek He's done it! Tenacious Polish solo sailor Zbigniew 'Gutek' Gutkowski brought to an end a gruelling 38-day sprint from Punta del Este in Uruguay to Charleston, USA, today as he crossed the finish line of the fourth leg of the Velux 5 Oceans.

As the South Carolinian city slept, a small celebration was taking place out in the harbour as the Velux 5 Oceans race director's horn sounded at 0120 local time (0520 UTC) marking the end of an epic sprint for Gutek and his Eco 60 yacht Operon Racing.

Just a few hours later, and over a month since starting the 5,700-nautical mile sprint with the rest of the fleet, the 36-year-old ocean racer docked at Seabreeze Marina, stepping off Operon Racing and onto dry land to rapturous applause from fellow competitors, friends and fans.

Ocean sprint four was a huge hurdle for Gutek, who was dogged with problems onboard Operon Racing from early on in the leg. After setting sail from Punta del Este on March 27, Gutek was left with no choice but to turn round and head for Fortaleza, Brazil, when the forestay on Operon Racing broke.

At that stage he was already battling a broken alternator and a cracked bowsprit. Gutek was also suffering from broken ribs which he sustained in a nasty fall early on in the sprint. He was just eight miles across the Equator when he was forced to turn back to Fortaleza. Gutek spent 11 days in port during which he and his shore team carried out repairs to Operon Racing and allowed his broken ribs to heal. Ironically, Gutek had stopped in Fortaleza to make repairs on his first voyage around the world in The Race ten years ago.

After leaving Fortaleza, and his fellow racers practically uncatchable, Gutek promised to take things easy - but, ever the racer, he made quick progress across the Equator and through the North Atlantic, making the 3,300-mile journey from Brazil to Charleston in 13 days at an average of 10.3 knots.

Gutek and his team now have ten days to prepare Operon Racing for the finale of the VELUX 5 OCEANS, a 3,600-nautical mile blast through the North Atlantic to La Rochelle, France, where the race started eight months ago. It is set to be a thrilling finish to the race for Gutek, who will go into the leg tied in second place with Derek Hatfield.

Final statistics for ocean sprint four

Brad Van Liew, Le Pingouin: Finished 19.04.11 in 23 days 4 hours and 58 minutes
Derek Hatfield, Active House: Finished 20.04.11 in 23 days 19 hours and 36 minutes
Chris Stanmore-Major, Spartan: Finished 21.04.11 in 25 days 9 hours and 45 minutes
Zbigniew Gutkowski, Operon Racing: Finished 05.05.11 in 38 days 13 hours and 20 minutes

www.velux5oceans.com

Spray Stop From PSP Tapes
Click on image to enlarge.

PSP Tapes New from PSP Marine Tapes is Spray Stop, designed to prevent spray of fuel, hot water or steam from burst pipes, pipe joints, flanges, boilers, exhaust manifolds, silencers and engine installations. Spray Stop tape is now a requirement under SOLAS Regulation 11-2/15.2.11.

Spray Stop is an essential, low cost requirement for every marine engine room! It is a multi-layer aluminium and glass cloth, coated with a high performance, heat resistant silicon adhesive. Available in two widths of 25mm or 50mm, each pack is measured into one-metre lengths for the retail market and can be ordered in various widths by 10m rolls for the commercial market. The tape is easy to apply and quickly able to prevent leakage and splashing from hot, dangerous flammable liquids or steam.

Available via retailrers and commercial distributors worldwide.
Or contact PSP direct.

www.pspmarinetapes.com

25th RYA Eric Twiname Championships
Photo by Paul Wyeth, www.pwpictures.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

RYA Eric Twiname Championships The nation's finest young sailors are preparing to set sail this weekend (7-8 May) as the 2011 RYA Eric Twiname Championships marks its 25th anniversary at Rutland Sailing Club.

Celebrating its Silver Jubilee, the Championships are the pinnacle of the Junior racing calendar for the RYA Zone and Home Country squads as the nine squad teams go head-to-head over two days for the prestige of picking up the coveted Eric Twiname Shield and being named top RYA Zone.

276 of the nation's youngest sailors - all members of the RYA Zone/Home Country Squads invited to take part at the Championships by their respective RYA High Performance Managers - are set to compete in the Optimist, Topper, Feva, Mirror and Cadet dinghy classes with the windsurfers racing on Bic Techno boards with 4.5m, 5.8m, 6.8m and 7.8m rigs.

Last year's Championships saw the RYA's South Zone walk away with the prestigious Eric Twiname Shield as they claimed Championship glory at Rutland Sailing Club. However last year's racing was very close with sailors from all Zones providing stiff competition in all classes. This year will undoubtedly be as competitive with each Zone having the potential to proudly walk away with Championship honours.

Thanks to the long-standing and ongoing support of the Eric Twiname Memorial Trust, the event, for sailors aged between eight and 15, is very cheap to enter with almost all of the costs associated with the running of the regatta met by the RYA and the Trust.

The first part of the selection process for the 2011 Laser 4.7 National Junior squad will also take place alongside the Championships, with results from Rutland used in conjunction with those from further indicator events later in the season.

Racing is scheduled to start at Rutland at 11.25am on Saturday with a maximum of seven races set for the weekend (up to four races on Saturday, and up to three on Sunday). No warning signal will be made after 3pm on Sunday.

www.ryaracingevents.org.uk
erictwinametrust.org

ISAF World Sailing Rankings
The ISAF World Sailing Rankings for 4 May 2011 have been released.

The next release of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings will be on 1 June 2011 and will include the Delta Lloyd Regatta, The Netherlands, the fiftth regatta of seven in the ISAF Sailing World Cup series.

World Ranking Leaders - 4 May 2011

Men's One Person Dinghy (Heavyweight) - Finn
Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO)

Women's One Person Dinghy - Laser Radial
Marit Bouwmeester (NED)

Men's One Person Dinghy - Laser
Tom Slingsby (AUS)

Men's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page (AUS)

Women's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Ingrid Petitjean and Nadège Douroux (FRA)

Men's Skiff - 49er
Nico Delle - Karth and Nikolaus Resch(AUT)

Men's Keelboat - Star
Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA)

Men's Windsurfer - RS:X
Nimrod Mashich (ISR)

Women's Windsurfer - RS:X
Blanca Manchon (ESP)

The full ISAF World Sailing Ranking lists, results from all ISAF Graded events, lists of Graded events throughout the year, Ranking release dates and the method of calculation for the Rankings can be found at www.sailing.org/rankings

Dubarry Sligo - Genuine Club Class
Dubarry Sligo Tired, tide-lined and tatty. Do you wear your battered boat shoes like a badge of honour? While you might get away with them in the yacht club, try padding down the pavement and you'll find your look is more homeless than hardcore. Do your feet a fashionable favour with Dubarry's new Sligo deckshoe. With quick-drying, hard-wearing leather and waxed canvas uppers, a shock-absorbing removable EVA footbed and Dubarry's award-winning super-grip sole, it's at home whether you're in the cockpit or the cocktail lounge. Just like you.

Dubarry Sligo - the only deck shoe you'll ever need.

www.dubarry.com

Artemis Racing to Compete in the D35 Class
Geneva, Switzerland: Artemis Racing, the Swedish Challenger for the 34th America's Cup, has a new addition to the team's fleet of multihulls, a Decision 35. This high-tech, one design catamaran built purely of carbon fibre was designed especially for lake racing, well suited to the conditions on Lake Geneva.

Artemis Racing will line up against 11 other teams in this competitive one design class, including Ernesto Bertarelli's Alinghi. The team's inaugural regatta will be the Grand Prix Les Ambassadeur event that takes place from 6-8 May on Lake Geneva.

Artemis Racing Chairman Torbjorn Tornqvist will helm the D35 for the majority of the regattas this season including the prestigious Bol d'Or on 18 June.

"The D35 is yet another opportunity for Artemis Racing to broaden the team's multihull experience. We are looking forward to meeting all of the great sailors in the fleet," said Paul Cayard, CEO of Artemis Racing.

The crew onboard Artemis Racing for the Grand Prix Les Ambassadeur regatta includes Paul Cayard (Helmsman), Julien Cressant, Rodney Ardern, Yvan Ravussin and Pierre Pennec.

www.artemisracing.com

Tshirts from Scuttlebutt

Just Say Yes To Sailing
The North American edition of Scuttlebutt has launched a new T-Shirt for the sailing lover that likes to say "Yes to Sailing". Included on the shirt is the famous pink ribbon that's the international symbol of breast cancer awareness. All proceeds go to breast cancer research. To support your sport and this worthy cause...shirts can be purchased at the Scuttlebutt Store: www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/store

Industry News
Sligo Yacht Club and Fireball International are proud to announce Dubarry as a Title Sponsor for the 2011 Fireball International Week and World Championship.

This partnership will provide competitors with a range of prizes taken from the exclusive Dubarry Clothing and Footwear ranges and offer Dubarry a platform to access a vibrant and international racing class and their audience.

The sponsorship committee would like to thank Michael Walsh and all his team at Dubarry for choosing to support this event and we look forward to working closely with them.

www.fireball-worlds.com
dubarry.com

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Howth Yacht Club, near Dublin, Ireland, has announced that BMW Ireland is to be the title sponsor of the J/24 European Championship at Howth next September when up to forty boats from six countries are expected to compete.

One of the major regattas in Ireland this year, the BMW J/24 Europeans has already attracted interest from J/24 sailors in the UK, Holland, Sweden, Monaco, Italy, Germany and Greece. Racing will take place over four days (Sept.12th-15th), and will be preceded by registration, measurement and practice from the 9th. The Principal Race Officer will be ISAF International Race Officer David Lovegrove while Bob Milner (UK) will chair the International Jury.

Howth Yacht Club has previously hosted six World and European Championships in the past, testimony to its ability to host major regattas. The BMW J/24 Europeans is the biggest event in a programme of 22 local, national and international events being staged by the club in 2011.

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LaserPerformance will be working with a number of Clubs in the UK to help increase their membership, by attending Sailing Club Open Days with a range of their boats to be demonstrated and displayed to create extra activity at Open Days, attracting a greater number of visitors and more potential members to your Club.

LaserPerformance can support your Sailing Club by providing boats for demonstration and a prize draw competition for all attendees at your Club's Open Day. They will also offer any of your new members, who order a boat from them at your Open Day, their first years Club membership fees off the price of their boat. There will also be great offers on the LaserPerformance range of spares and accessories.

The first Sailing Club Open Day to be supported by LaserPerformance will be held at Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club in Greater Manchester on Saturday 21st May. Local sailors and non-sailors are invited to attend the Open Day between 10.30am and 3.30pm. A range of LaserPerformance boats will be on the water, rigged and ready for visitors to demo sail.

LaserPerformance will also be attending Open Days at the following Clubs:

4th June - Highcliffe Sailing Club, Mudeford Quay, Dorset
11th June - Rotherham Sailing Club, Harthill, Sheffield, Yorkshire
25th June - Black Swan Sailing Club (hosted by Wokingham Borough Council Multi-Activity Centre), Dinton Pastures Country Park, Berkshire

laserperformance.com

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Young RS:X windsurfer Elliot Carney received an additional boost to his blossoming campaign after he was awarded the coveted Marlow Ropes Award.

The 22-year-old has posted a number of positive results in recent regattas, including qualifying for the top 10 medal race at the 2011 Rolex Miami OCR in January and the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma last month.

Carney is a current member of Skandia Team GBR Development Squad giving him access to an array of world class training resources used by Britain's Olympic gold medal winning sailors - a real stepping stone to succeeding at the highest level.

The Marlow award entitles Carney to free Marlow rope for a year; a financial boost previous winners, double World 470 champions Nic Asher and Elliot Willis and 2008 Olympic Yngling gold medallist Pippa Wilson, have also benefitted from.

Marlow Ropes introduced the award in 2002 with the aim of rewarding Britain's most promising rookies for their determination, focus and talent.

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Dorset based Rockley Watersports will be hosting the 2011 Airline Regatta which will take place from 6th-7th May. This huge event, which this year has been arranged by the British Airways sailing club Silver Wing, will include staff teams from eight airlines including Lufthansa, Air Canada and Air Australia.

The event, which is sponsored by Highland Spring will comprise of a total of eight teams, each of which will have six sailors. Normally British Airways would host the event on Wraysbury Lake where their Sports and Social Club is based, however this year organiser David Finch has opted for a different location. He said "It was important to offer the teams a new, more picturesque location, more competitive racing conditions and the opportunity to race in a different style of racing dinghy - the RS Vision."

Racing will start on Friday morning with a total of eight races throughout the course of the day. The evening will commence with a tour around the RNLI Headquarters followed by an evening reception and dinner. Saturday will see the completion of the final races followed by a gala presentation evening.

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 German Frers, re: French Legends entry: The 81/82 Whitbread Andre Viant' family boat was designed by yours truly, built by Palmer Johnson in the US. The picture and the dates are from Kriter IX.

* From Kirt Simmons: In your article today about potential Olympic catamarans you refer to the new AC18 as having a "wing mast" yet the accompanying illustration, and the AC45 and AC72 catamarans have wing "sails". Almost all F16's and the new F18 designs have "wing masts" which are very thin, "wing" shaped conventional masts with a soft sail on them. They have distinct advantages over more conventional "teardrop" shaped masts as evidenced by the switch to this design in the newer F18 class boats and their universal adoption in the A class catamarans. Wing sails are, well I shouldn't have to explain that! They have no soft sail components. Ben Hall's wing sail A class catamaran and the recent Moth wing sail boats seem to point to the future in unlimited (or nearly so) classes but having been at the A cat World's when Ben was there they certainly have their own logistic issues. I await the clever integration of soft and hard sails to come up with a more manageable wing sail, having the advantages of both.

* From Mike Evans, IYRU Executive Director 86 to 96: I would just point out that in writing such copy accuracy is important. For example the Simplification of the Racing Rules was initiated by Peter Tallberg amongst many other changes he pushed through on his watch. Also it is worth noting that he managed to persuade the IOC to increase the number of Olympic Sailing Events from 7 to 11 including Women's events for the first time.. We are now back to 10 having lost one somewhere along the way!! . In view of the wrangling (sorry lobbying) currently going on I wonder if anyone has been cap in hand to Jacques Rogge and Ng Ser Miang to plead for it back.

Featured Brokerage
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World champion, European champion in 1997 as Mean Machine
2009 winner of the Bloohound cup in the RORC Fastnet-race
2010 Winner of the North Sea Race in ORC 1. 2nd in the North Sea Regatta

Equipped for ISAF offshore regulations 2 and ready to race.zz

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Complete listing details and seller contact information at
uk.yachtworld.com/core/listing/boatFullDetails.jsp?boat_id=2300188

The Last Word
Everything is changing. People are taking the comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke. -- Will Rogers

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