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ISAF Annual Conference
Just four months ago Dun Laoghaire and the Royal Marine Hotel, the ISAF Conference venue, were gearing up to host the 2012 Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship. Several committee members attended the event and the meeting today allowed them to review the 2012 event and look forward. The committee received 2016 bid presentations from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Medemblik, the Netherlands, Al Musannah Sports City, Oman and Gdynia, Poland. After a lengthy discussion it was decided that Al Musannah Sports City, Oman would be recommended to the Events Committee. Submission 091-12 was approved by the Sub-committee which could see the Championship shortened by two days subject to approval from the Events Committee and ISAF Council. * We did some research on the Kiteboarding/Windsurfer issue over the weekend. It is clear that a double standard is being adopted in regard to this debate. On one hand the Windsurfer is being judged on the merits or otherwise of the RS:X, a one design single manufacturer item. The Kiteboards are being judged on their appeal as an event - and are strongly against the adoption of one design equipment - which is really one of the tenets of Olympic competition. If a box-rule windsurfer were being compared with a box-rule kiteboard, then there would be sound grounds for comparison, but that is not the case. The other issue of course, is that over the years ISAF has made some hasty decisions over Olympic class choice, and have overlooked the rather obvious detail which should have been taken into account. While that approach has been constrained in more recent times, the sport doesn't need another rush of blood to the Councillor's heads. -- Richard Gladwell in Sail-World.com
575,000 Visitors In Two Weeks
The popularity of this 7th edition is obvious on the internet, too. The audience of the Vendee Globe official website ( vendeeglobe.org ) quadrupled between September and October, with over 302,000 single visitors and 2,191,000 pages viewed. The race's Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/VendeeGlobe ) now has more than 20,000 fans while 4,000 people are following the official Twitter account. As for the virtual race, two weeks after registration opened, 44,500 players have already signed in on http://virtualregatta.com Last but not least, the app for smartphones and tablets, which has been available for 48 hours only, has become the most downloaded sports app (free apps) on the Apple Store. www.vendeeglobe.org/en/mobile-applications.html
Panerai Transat Classique: Arriving Early
During the briefing that preceded the restart the race committee and the competitors had discussed the eventuality of the meteorological conditions preventing the fleet from fetching Cascais in the allotted time. Erratic winds oscillating between dead calms and strong breezes, ugly seas and the interminable beating to windward—plus the three days of forced inactivity in Barcelona—have finally taken their toll on the crews who, for the most part, have professional imperatives to attend to back in France. These five hundred nautical miles have been excellent preparation for the Atlantic crossing scheduled for December and allowed the teams to iron out any technical problems that may have subsisted. The decision to abandon the leg is irrevocable and the yachts have been requested to rally Portugal as quickly as possible. In the meantime, the race committee is putting the finishing touches to a warm welcome for the crews in the hallowed walls of Cascais's legendary Clube Naval. At 15:06 local time the big ketch White Dolphin was the first to cross the gate which is located to the east of Sotogrande and a few miles from Gibraltar. Following the changes decided by the race committee, this gate now decides the pecking order. But until Corto crosses the line, no one knows for sure who will be the winner of the Mediterranean leg. www.transatclassique.com/Panerai.html
Eileen Ramsay - The Queen Of Yachting Photography
But Eileen established herself as one of the greatest yachting photographers of her time, taking famous portraits of sailing icons like Francis Chichester and Eric Tabarly, Olympians, including Rodney Pattisson and Keith Musto, and historic pictures from the first Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic (OSTAR) Races. Her unique archive records the explosive growth in dinghy and offshore sailing during post-war years, and includes pictures of the first Enterprises, Mirrors, Ospreys, Optimists and the first America's Cup 12 metres Sceptre and Evaine. Eileen, now into her 90s can remember just about every photograph she has taken and relate an anecdote or story about each one. Many of these memories are also recorded in the book. Eileen Ramsay - the Queen of Yachting Photography, is a spectacular celebration of a pioneering photographer and a fascinating time in yachting history. 160 pages, 123 classic pictures. £25 + postage & packing southatlanticpublishing.com/er_intro.htm
Levi Crowned Audi Melges 20 Gold Cup Champion
Levi's team has been together for a couple of seasons, and in 2012 they never missed an event, and with each performance, strengthened their skills, improved their boat handling and gained the necessary speed and experience required to win such a marquee title. The event closed with a final heat won by Alessio Marinelli aboard Candida Sailing Team, which thanks to this simple success, jumped the second place overall at Gold Cup, grabbing the lead and taking the title of the 2012 Audi Melges 20 Sailing Series. Renato Vallivero's Turnover came second and Levi placed third for the Series. Mirko de Falco on Peccere took fourth and 2012 European Champion Guido Miani on Audi - Out of Reach rounded out the top five. Finishing in third overall is Enrico Pegoraro on Karma. He slipped from second to third due to a penalty on the course in the last race. Davide Albertini on Leviathan closed the event in fourth, followed by Achille Onorato's Mascalzone Latino, Jr. in fifth. The International Audi Melges 20 Class Association looks forward to hosting the 2013 Audi Melges 20 Gold Cup in Key Largo, Florida at Ocean Reef Club on November 7-10. Top Ten Results (Final - After 7 races, 1 discard)
1. Dario Levi/Andrea Casale, Fremito d'Arja, 25 points Full results: www.melges20.com
The Tour Finale - Everything To Play For
Spurred on after a disappointing regatta at Match Race Germany, Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team has gone on to lead the overall table since the second event of the season. Consistent performances from fellow Tour stalwarts Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar and Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing have seen two of the most successful Tour skippers ever progress to the knockout stages of every event that they have competed in, putting them in second and fourth overall respectively. Hansen leads 9-5 head-to-head against Williams overall in 2012 and assuming both teams progress to the knockout stages of the Monsoon Cup, it would be interesting to see whether the Swede would choose to face his opponent at the earliest possible opportunity to try and eliminate him. The stats suggest he should - while Williams has achieved a podium finish in all but one of his Tour events this year, Hansen has beaten his biggest title rival in both of their knockout stage battles. Demonstrating the potential shifts in the table, currently occupying that eighth spot is Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team, who is once again relying on a late season surge to power his way up the leaderboard. He secured a third place finish overall last year, which seemed unlikely before Final appearances at the Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda and the Monsoon Cup. He climbed the table from seventh place to the podium after the final event in 2011 and will hope to repeat that feat again come December. A second place at the recent Argo Group Gold Cup in October has left him with a mathematically possible shot at the Tour title but a more realistic chance to reach the top three overall for a second consecutive year. The wildcards for the Monsoon Cup will be confirmed next week.
Monsoon Cup - Competing Teams:
Artemis Racing Launches AC72
Barbro Osher, Consul General of Sweden in San Francisco and Godmother of Artemis, christened the AC72 in the presence of the entire team and their families. The Challenger of Record's hulls were built in Sweden, trucked to the base in Valencia in spring of this year and then travelled by cargo ship to San Francisco only to arrive in August. The team's first AC72 wing was built and tested in Spain but suffered significant damage in May during training. Artemis Racing overcame this setback and it is the rebuilt wing in its entirety, and it is this wing which will power the AC72. Designed by Juan Kouyoumidjian and his team in Valencia, this is the first of two AC72 catamarans for Artemis Racing. From here the research and development will continue with the valuable input generated from training on the San Francisco Bay. The first day of sailing for the Swedish team is likely to be next week. The team has completed its relocation from its first training site in Spain and is now 80 strong in Alameda. "It's been a tremendous team effort to design, build and launch the AC72. We are looking forward to valuable training time on the Bay in the coming weeks," said team CEO Paul Cayard.
artemis-racing.americascup.com
Running The Rhumblines
Skipper Piccinelli and his Wobbly Boot crew are seasoned campaigners and deserve to lead the series but while they hold a five point lead over the Mike Keyte skippered Beneteau Take Flight there is no latitude to become complacent. Both Take flight and the big improver the Ross Winterbourne steered Bobby D winner of four from five of the last races are preparing to turn up the tactical heat on the Wobbly Boot crew. The separation of a single point suggests that Take Flight and third placed Bobby D will continue to improve forcing the experienced Wobbly Boot sailing team to become selective in matching the tactical strategy and handicap rated speed of their rivals. There is no mistake about Craig Piccinelli having the placid nature to handle the expected pressure but he will need to stay in touch to protect his handicap rated speed against the larger, faster and higher handicapped Take Flight and Booby D. All three crews possess the skill to win however the Wobbly Boot crew who have survived on their consistency needs to record a win in the next Club Championship race to ward off the challenge from their equally determined rivals. The same applies to Club Commodore Rob Davis and his Breakaway crew as the battle for the honour of winning the Division 3 class series heats up. Two wins from the past two races suggests Breakaway is back on the pace but they have not broken clear from the boat on boat challenge against the Dewi Hughes helmed Anthea. Breakaway presently holds the upper hand with a narrow two point lead over Anthea but both crews have been evenly matched throughout the series which suggests the battle for their class championship is far from being decided. Naturally wind and sea conditions will play an important role however the present situation on the progressive championship points table suggests that the crews of Wobbly Boot and Breakaway are the nominated favourites to win their respective titles. -- Ian Grant
African Kite Course Racing Championships
The event will be hosted by Colonia Watersports and Royal Dream Tours in cooperation with the Egypt Sailing Federation. Kiteboarding is the first of the 2016 Olympic events that managed to secure a continental championship in Africa for the upcoming years, providing another opportunity especially for the emerging regions in africa to take part in the Olympic Qualifying process. Details will be published soon through the ISAF and IKA websites. www.internationalkiteboarding.org
Countback for Farr 40s In Audi Showdown
The race literally went down to the wire, with Wired (Stephen Boyes) taking the honours with four wins as against three by Voodoo Chile (Andrew Hunn). With both boats stacked with topline sailors, the competition between the two was intense from the very start of today's three short windward/leeward courses. Among the crew of Wired was Richard Hewson, who skippered the Australian yacht Gold Coast to victory in the Clipper Round the World Race early this year, winning a record number of legs. Two other Clipper Race crew members, Tasmanian Gina Gourlay and British yachtsman Barry Chamberlain, also raced in the Showdown, aboard Don Calvert's Intrigue in Division 1. Gina sailed on Gold Coast in the Clipper Race, Barry on the Scottish yacht Edinburgh. Wellknown Farr 40 sailor and sailmaker Richard Allanson was aboard Voodoo Chile. Voodoo Chile won the first two races in this morning's light sou'easter to throw out a strong challenge to Wired. In the final race, the two-boat duel saw Wired get the gun by just 27 seconds. Wired's regatta series score was 1-1-1-(3)-3-2-2-1; Voodoo Chile's (2)-2-2-1-2-1-1-2. Third place in all three races today went to War Games (Wayne Banks-Smith) finished on 22 points with POW (Craig Clifford) on 25 points. The close one-design racing between the local fleet of Farr 40s over this weekend's Audi Showdown is an indication of what can be expected when they are joined by at least four Farrs 40s from the Sydney fleet for the Tasmanian championship in Hobart in early January 2013. -- Peter Campbell
New Websites
You will also note that the new ORR website joins its sister HPR website hprsailing.org , soon to be linked under a new parent ORA website. Please visit www.offshoreracingrule.org =========================== Named after the extraordinary runner in Greek mythology, the Atalanti Racing Team has lived up to this name - from the first boat its founder, George Andreadis, built in 1974. Almost 40 years later, the Atalanti Racing Team is part of the story of sailing. Legends like Russell Coutts and Paul Cayard have associated themselves with the Team over the years, and on many of its finely crafted boats, talent was nurtured and sailors became champions. The Atalanti Racing Team has competed in a wide range of international events, always committed to excellence, always passionate about sailing. This rich history - the names on board, the team's milestones, the list of achievements, those images that take you inside the race: it's all there in a website just launched. The Atalanti Racing Team is online at atalantiracing.com , and fans of sailing can now navigate these pages for the story so far, or to find out about the steps ahead. The new site takes us inside the vision of George Andreadis, from his days as an Olympian in 1968, to his significant roles today, not least in training a new generation of professional sailors.
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