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Brought to you by Boats.com Europe, Yachtworld.com Europe, Scuttlebutt Europe is a digest of sailing news and opinions, regatta results, new boat and gear information and letters from sailors -- with a European emphasis. Contributions welcome, send to Container Fill The Top Spot On Their Audi Medcup Circuit Debut A pair of well earned second places, behind the Synergy Russian Sailing Team in the first heat and Italy's Audi Azzurra Sailing Team, was enough to give Markus Wieser (GER) and crew a lead of two clear points after their first ever races as a crew in the fleet. The Container team, with Hamish Pepper (NZL) calling tactics, built their pair of second places from solid, if not spectacular first beats and twice in consecutive races they got the better of the world champions, Quantum Racing on the final run to the finish. The German backed crew made no big errors, and - crucially - were always taking places rather than going backwards in the tough fleet. Indeed it was Quantum Racing which managed to maintain the same consistency. Ed Baird (USA) and crew collected two third places to lie third on count back. Racing in 13-18kts of mainly northerly breeze, with the windward-mark set just off Cabo Raso, to the west of Cascais, the wind carried the typical hallmarks which the Portuguese capital's sailing centre has long been known for - big differences in wind pressure and shifts in direction- plenty for the tacticians and strategists to work with. And there was more than enough wind strength to punish any crewing errors. In the Soto 40 fleet it was Iberdrola Sailing Team (ESP) which proved their supremacy, gained through a solid training programme off their Valencia base, when they won the first practice race of the season. But it is only tomorrow, Thursday, that points racing begins for this exciting new class for the first time ever in Europe. Cascais Trophy Day 1 40 Series Lighter, But More Stable Conditions
Overnight leader Peter Saxton (GBR) didn't enjoy the best of days. After racking up a 18, 20 and 43 Saxton drops to thirteenth overall. This is a disappointing set of results after such a strong start to his Championship. 2009 Laser SB3 World Champion, Craig Burlton, had a down, up, down day adding a 21, 2 and 29 to his score card. Burlton drops three places to eight overall; he won't be happy with that. Another boat that has shot up the leader board today is "Team Russia", Oleg Zherebtsov's Laser SB3 helmed by Rodion Luka. After leading Fleet A on day one of the Zhik SB3 World Championships, Robert Greenhalgh (GBR) slid to sixth place yesterday. Today, the crew onboard Red were back in race winning form. Adding a 1, 3, 1 to their results, Robert now leads the fleet by nine points. Top ten gold fleet: Two More Bullets In the amateur only Corinthian Division, Eiichiro Hamazaki on JPN 783 Esprit continues to dominate with two more wins today to maintain his perfect score so far. Racing at the 2011 Melges 24 World Championship in Corpus Christi, Texas continues tomorrow Thursday 19 May and runs through until Saturday 21 May, with six more races scheduled. Top Five Overall Top Five Corinthian Camet Code Zip Performance Shirt For more information please see The Struggle For Sponsorship Onorato's statement of surrender echoes the sentiments of Sir Keith mills when he shut down his TEAMORIGIN - the issue is not being short of funds to compete, but not having enough money to win. Because the America's Cup is not your normal sporting event. There is no handicap system or one-design equipment rule. The America's Cup, like other sports where technology is the driver rather than the athletes, can be bought. The withdrawal of the Italian team is also not good news for the America's Cup Event Authority (ACEA). The organisation set up to promote the cup and represent its commercial interests has already discounted entry fees heavily to try and attract teams, yet Mascalzone Latino and TEAMORIGIN have still found the price tag too steep. If this was the old America's Cup, then that would be okay, but if wealthy sailing team owners can't raise the funds to compete, then the new model seems broken before its started. If the challenger of record can't attract enough sponsorship money to be competitive, then somewhere, the benefits of being a sponsor of the next America's Cup are not being communicated. There is no doubt that economic conditions, especially in Europe, are harsh, but IEG predicts that sports sponsorship will increase by 6.1% in 2011. Perhaps, the new format America's Cup is too much of a risk for sponsors who can choose to back promoters with proven track record of delivery. The America's Cup is not just competing with big, mass market sports for fans, it is also competing for sponsorship dollars. -- David Fuller in YachtSponsorship.com: Dockyard 18ft Skiff Grand Prix 1 Hungary
Pica won six of the eight races contested to finish win an overall net total of eight points, after discarding her worst performance - a fifth placing in Race 5. Denmark's Original Chia sailed by Flemming Clausen, Thomas Ebler and Soren Clausen finished in second place on 15 points, followed by the current European champion Liberty Sailing Team of Miklos Ujhelyi-Gaspar, Matyas Majthenyi and Zsombor Szepfy in third place on 21 points. -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League www.18footers.com.au ISAF Match Race Rankings Ian Williams (GBR) returns to #3 after taking victory at the VII Open de Espana in Calpe defeating Pierre-Antoine Morvan(FRA) in the final. Morvan went on Match Race France, the first event of the 2011 World Match Racing Tour in Marseille where he finished fifth and climbs two places to a career best of #6 in the world. It was an all French final in Marseille with Damien Iehl up against Bertrand Pace. Iehl eventually took the win and subsequently climbs two places up the rankings to #9. Pace, an ex world #1, continues his return to the rankings and climbs a further 13 places up to #19. Iehl's accolades include the title 2009 ISAF Nations Cup champion and this rankings it is Laurie Jury from New Zealand who enters the Nations Cup stage, claiming victory at the Oceania Regional Final. Jury climbs four places to #25 as a result. Lucy Macgregor (GBR) returns to the top of the ISAF Women's Match Racing World Rankings today after claiming victory at the Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres. Claire Leroy (FRA) slips down to #2, her fourth at both Hyeres and Palma do not add any points to her overall total. The big gain is by Sally Barkow (USA) who moves up five places to match her lifetime best of #3. Barkow won gold at the Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia MAPFRE and silver in Hyeres to add some valuable points to her total. The double ISAF Women's Match Racing World Champion (2004 and 2005) has not been ranked in the top three since May 2006 and is clearly laying down her challenge to represent the US in 2012. The next release of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings will be 6 July 2011. Top ten, Open Rankings Top ten, Women's Rankings 1. Lucy Macgregor, GBR 2. Claire Leroy, FRA 3. Sally Barkow, USA 4. Renee Groeneveld, NED 5. Nicky Souter, AUS 6. Anna Tunnicliffe, USA 7. Anne-Claire Le Berre, FRA 8. Ekaterina Skudina, RUS 9. Katie Spithill, AUS 10. Genevieve Tulloch, USA Dubarry Lahinch - Inspired By Design Dubarry Lahinch - performance perfected. ICRA Awarded Sailing Club of the Year In the more than three decades of the Sailing Club of the Year award, no organisation as young as seven years-old has ever won the title. Yet, this nimble and hands-on organisation, formed in 2003 to represent and promote the Cruiser Racing sector in Ireland, managed to eclipse the more than Irish 120 clubs eligible for the award. As an organisation run by sailor for sailors, 2010 saw the energetic membership of the ICRA achieve great success. In May, with the Royal St George Yacht Club Committee under ISA Volunteer of the year Brian Craig, they hosted a magnificent ICRA National Championships with a record entry of nearly 130 boats. Following this, an ICRA selected and supported Irish Sailing team achieved victory at the highest level in the Solent, winning the Commodores Cup for the first time for Ireland. Having participated in this event for thirty years, this was a historic and proud achievement for Irish Sailing and the Irish Cruiser Racing Association. If that wasn't enough, the ICRA continued to work tirelessly in co-ordinating the race handicapping systems in both IRC and Echo, while also organizing the annual conference. The Irish Cruiser Racing Association is the 32nd recipient of the award, which was devised to honour and encourage the efforts of sailing clubs and associations nationwide. XOD Class Edwardian Race Day The Lymington and Yarmouth fleets will join together for the afternoon for a Solent Race followed by dinner at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. Crews are striving to ensure they are attired much as they would have been during that first race that took place in Southampton Water a century ago. It was won by a Portsmouth brewer named Harry Brickwood competing against such gracefully named Xs as Mistletoe, Mayfly, Mischief, and Merrymaid. One of them, X5 Madcap, survives and still races actively today. At the Lymington event will be Eric Williams, the only helmsman to win Cowes Week three times in a row, and, in support of the modern element, Ben Paton, aged 26, recently Laser Radial World Champion who was second at Cowes last year. "The X Class is not standing still," says Rory. "Several completely refurbished boats will be at Lymington on 3rd June, including X87 Excalibur which has been completely rebuilt by her owner Adrian Summers and looking like new. X32 Ibex has also completely restored after being rescued from abroad." The grandson of the original 1911 builder Alfred Westmacott, William, is also expected to take part in the Centenary event in X56 Xanthus. -- Peta Stuart Hunt Short Tacks The Bosphorus Cup i. "the event" of the region; the race course streching along two continents. arousing the attention of hundreds of thousands of sailing fans, Shop&Miles Bosphorus Cup will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with Corum Watches as the official timekeeper. The spectacular race will be held between May 19-22, 2011 in Istanbul once again, offering its audience much more thrill and excitement with the VIP facilities specially designed for the 10th anniversary. ------------------------------------------------------- Madeira has secured a visit by the ten-strong fleet competing in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race which, at 40,000 miles, is the world's longest race. Quinta do Lorde Marina on the Portuguese archipelago will be the first port of call after the stripped out, ocean racing yachts depart the south coast of England on 31 July. The fleet is expected to arrive in Madeira between 8 and 10 August this year. The 68-foot Clipper yachts, each of which is sponsored by a city, region, country or company around the world, will be berthed at Quinta do Lorde Marina, located on the southeast point of Madeira Island. Quinta do Lorde Marina is located in Ponta de São Lourenco, a mesmerising peninsula known for its stunning sea views and natural beauty. Inspired by the island's traditional architecture, the unique resort, which is scheduled to be completed in spring 2012, will resemble a picturesque coastal village and includes a wide range of modern facilities to ensure utmost comfort and relaxation for visitors to the stopover. The international fleet will visit 14 ports on six continents during the 12-month race including Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, west and east coast of Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Qingdao, California, New York, Nova Scotia, Derry-Londonderry and the Netherlands before returning to the UK. ------------------------------------------------------- Following a winter on the hard standing at Hamble Yacht Services in Hamble, Hampshire, the South African team in the double-handed, Class40 Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR), Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire, relaunched Phesheya-Racing early on Wednesday morning. The duo has just over one week to prepare for the double-handed Normandy Channel Race and sail their Class40 to France. In the inaugural, 2010 Normandy Channel Race, the South African team took sixth place and they are looking for a good result in this year's event. The duo will also use the race as a qualifying passage for the GOR ------------------------------------------------------- The International 420 Class Association is pleased to announce the launch of a free online Training Video to provide coaching and training tips for both the beginner and experienced 420 sailors. This is the first specific training video produced by the International 420 Class Association and introduces a range of specific techniques, and demonstrates how to master them in different wind and sea conditions and what to consider when undertaking a range of manoeuvres. Animated graphic overlays demonstrate specific points to consider in completing manoeuvres, accompanied by an excellent voice over. Designed to help sailors improve their skills and sail their boats better, the video provides a free and excellent resource for 420 sailors around the world. Coaches can also benefit from the video and look at new approaches to training and coaching. Users can either choose to view online or may download the files via http://www.420sailing.org or go to www.prosailingcoach.com Featured Brokerage "Stark Raving Mad V" is the former "Mean Machine" which won the 2006 TP52 Med Cup. She was imported from Europe and has undergone a complete overhaul with many upgrades and improvements. No expense has been spared to make this the best TP52 on the circuit. This boat is ideal for racing in the Southern California circuit and is the perfect boat for next years Transpac Race in July. There is a growing number of TP 52's in Southern California making it a fast, exciting one design in a highly competitive fleet. This is truly a Grand Prix yacht of sailboat racing. Brokerage through JK3 Nautical Enterprises, Inc.: Complete listing details and seller contact information at The Last Word |
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Corpus Christi, TX, USA: The 2011 Melges 24 World Championship in Corpus Christi, Texas reached its midpoint today, with races five and six being completed in overcast but breezy conditions. Despite the fresh conditions, the racing was characteristically tight throughout the fleet with each start and every mark rounding fiercely fought. Overnight leader Lorenzo Bressani at the helm of ITA 817 Uka Uka Racing, won both of today's races to establish a 15 point lead and an effective stranglehold on the championship. A fourth and a seventh for Kristen Lane on USA 812 Brick House 812, sees her retain her second place overall, tied on points now with Flavio Favini helming SUI 596 Blu Moon in third. Also tied just one point adrift of Favini, in fourth and fifth respectively are Brian Porter on USA 749 Full Throttle and Nathan Wilmot on IRL 607 Embarr.
