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VOR Delays Decision On How To Deal With Threat Of Pirate Attacks
The threat of pirate attacks on the competing boats in the next Volvo round the world race has been relegated to the back burner as the route for the next race starting from Alicante on 4 October next year is announced.

Eight boats, all built to the new 65-foot design, are expected to leave Alicante, Spain, for a new first stopover in Recife, Brazil before setting out on what is the longest leg, around South Africa and up to Abu Dhabi, a distance of nearly 10,000 miles.

In the last race, the leg from Cape Town was cut short at Male, in the Maldives, from where the boats were shipped to Sharjah to avoid attack as they entered the Strait of Hormuz.

A similar move could still be made, and also on the third leg from Abu Dhabi to Sanya, China, if the pirate threat is high at the time. But, as pirate activity has declined, any decision on that has been postponed. -- Stuart Alexander in The Independent

www.independent.co.uk

Under The Microscope
Investigators believe that part of Trapani harbour was constructed by businesses with links to fugitive Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro. Judges at the local court have granted the police chief's application for the seizure of part of the harbour along with several nominee-owned companies traceable to Italy's most wanted Mafia fugitive from justice.

Contracts worth €46 million awarded in preparation for the 2005 edition of the America's Cup are also alleged to have been steered by organised crime. The headline-grabbing court order is the first of its kind. Investigations conducted by Giuseppe Linares focus on Francesco and Vincenzo Morici, who own a number of companies and have close links with Messina Denaro.

The case file also clearly describes the role played by Antonio d'Alì, the former chair of the Trapani provincial authority and former junior minister in the Berlusconi government. Mr d'Alì is currently facing trial for external complicity in Mafia-style criminal association. -- translation by Giles Watson

www.corriere.it

Marinepool - Clothing Partner of the Extreme Sailing Series™
Marinepool is widely regarded as one of the leading sailing clothing and maritime lifestyle brands and is the "Official Clothing Partner" of the Extreme Sailing Series™ .

We have built a reputation for outstanding quality, excellent service and quick and reliable deliveries. These are only a few of the reasons why no less than 4 out of 8 teams in the Extreme Sailing Series™ , among them 2012 Champions The Wave, Muscat, are racing in Marinepool kit.

Using only the best materials and state of the art production technologies, no detail is omitted to ensure every product is optimized before it reaches the market. More than 20 years of experience and design excellence, plus the invaluable input of the world class athletes proudly wearing Marinepool garments, guarantee the products are at the cutting edge of technology.

Uncompromising, highly functional and extremely light weight; Tested and approved by many of the world's finest sailors.

As a group of companies with German roots and head quarters, operating in 43 countries, with product lines ranging from performance sailing clothing and a test winning life jacket range to maritime fashion, Marinepool is uniquely qualified and the perfect match for the clothing requirements of YOUR sailing team or company.

Purchase the Extreme Sailing Series Collection by Marinepool directly from the official online store: www.extreme-sailing-series-store.com

www.marinepool.com

Halfway Point for Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series
Photo by Iain McLuckie. Click on image for photo gallery.

The six-Sunday Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series resumed on 7th April 2013 after a break over the Easter weekend. On a positive note, this was the warmest day of the event so far this year which has seen very cold conditions. However, the sea temperature has yet to warm up - 4.5 degrees compared with 10 degrees at the same time in 2012! Nonetheless, crews and race officers alike donned their thermals and foul weather gear to enjoy a great day's racing in a steady 10-14 knot breeze from the south-east in a fairly flat sea state.

At the halfway point, Tokoloshe (Michael Bartholomew) leads Loco (John Reivers) by one point in IRC1. A similar situation has resulted in IRC2 between Mitchellson Interceptor (Stuart and James Wilkie) and Puma Logic (Sailing Logic). Elaine (Mike Bridges) heads IRC3 with Jiggery Pokery and Starspray on level points. Menace (Tim Rees, Derek and James Morland) also holds a one point lead over Flashheart (Mike Webb and Tom Bailey) in IRC4. Although Offbeat (David McLeman) slipped to fifth place this week, two wins gives them top placing in the J/109s whilst Mefisto (Kevin Sussmilch) has three straight bullets in the Sigma 38s.

Competitors in the sportsboat classes may well have been discouraged by the cold weather, as not all those entered have made it to the start line. One who has been out each week is Ian Atkins' J/70 Boats.com with a 12 point lead at this stage over North Sails (Ruairidh Scott). Betty (Jon Powell) has never slipped lower than third place in the J/80s and currently holds off Rock 'n Roll (Gillian Ross) by 11 points. The SB20s have been most seriously affected by the chill spring. No competitor has entered every race but Whyaduck (Tom and Richard Clay) braved the elements the most and currently lead the class. -- Flavia Bateson

The Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series continues on 14th April 2013.

www.warsashspringseries.org.uk

Cumbley Defends Solo Spring Championship Title
In a year that is shaping up to a huge show at Hayling Island for the National Solo Nationals' and Nations' Cup (July 13-19), the main players were on the water for the Solo Spring Championship hosted by Oxford SC. It came down to the final race and it was Charlie Cumbley who tacked on the gun, found pressure and a clear lane to take charge of the race. Cumbley extended to defend the title he won a year ago, Andy Davis finished second and Jon Clarke third.

After months of freezing temperatures and biting easterly winds the Spring Championship was held in very 'Spring like' conditions, hosted by Oxford Sailing Club. There was much confusion amongst the 67 helms as to what to wear, drysuit had been the default setting but the warm caress of the sun duped some into neoprene.

The north-north-easterly wind still delivered a punch and the erratic deviation of direction caused much head scratching throughout the day. The vagaries of the wind direction soon wiped any smile off his face and there were plenty in the queue who were equally dumped on, and from a great height.

Top five resutls: Solo - Spring Championship

1. Charlie Cumbley, Warsash, 2 points
2. Andy Davis, Blithfield, 4
3. Jon Clarke, Draycote Water, 6
4. John Blundell, Staunton Harold, 8
5. Ewan Birkin-Walls, Grafham Water, 11

www.sailweb.co.uk

The 'bugeye' Of The Chesapeake
A late 1800's, early 1900's dictionary definition of the 'bug'-eye' - A canoe made of several hewn planks, decked over and sharp rigged, the ordinary small sailing craft of the Chesapeake Bay and it's tributaries - may have given the world at large a mental picture of a diminutive, crudely made craft, a sort of skiff, as inadequate for playing the role of the workaday 'bugeye'.

It fails to describe properly, the staunch seaworthy ships of upwards of 100 tons burden or more that could carry their sail long after larger craft have shortened sail or sought shelter. It fails woefully to describe the bugeye's, keen, graceful clipper bow, the ample but not too full-waisted mid-ship section, the tapering sharp stern, the tall masts that rake sharply aft and the sharp-headed sails of the bugeye rig that were sharp-headed many years before the Marconi rig became the standard among racing sailboats.

In it's evolution, the bugeye clung closely to a form, which made the tracing of its ancestry no difficult task. There were slight variations, but in the main, the rule of the ancients was so closely followed even in the building the last of the working boats and this gave rise to the expression, 'once a bugeye, always a bugeye'. -- Jim Bolland in his blog A Brush With Sail, citing work from Peter C. Chambliss. Great article (long, worth the time), at

abrushwithsail.blogspot.com

Round The World Sailor Dismasts
A young Danish yachtsman sailing solo non-stop round the world was dismasted in the English Channel last week on the final stretch of his voyage back to Denmark. Christian Liebergreen had been at sea for 260 days and was less than 600 miles from his home port of Skagen when the mast of his 35ft yacht broke off the Devon coast.

The 28-year-old left Skagen in Denmark on 18 July last year without fanfare on a completely unsponsored voyage. He was sailing Jonna, his family's Sagitta 35, a 40-year-old cruising yacht, and was updating his progress regularly on a small personal website in Danish.

Liebergreen was, at that stage, in the final few hundred miles of his journey. He rounded Ushant and was on his way up the English Channel. But then, unbelievably and very sadly, on 3 April with less than a week to sail until reaching home, he was dismasted.

"It happened at sunset. The wind was about 20 knots," he told me. "I had gone below to boil water for supper when I heard a smack. I knew what was happening, but I hoped it wasn't true. The mast had cracked and fell over and bent at the deck."

Liebergreen called home and cut all the wires and rope. He later discovered that one of the terminals had failed.

He was about 12 miles south of Brixham at the time, having gone inshore looking for flatter water in the east-north-easterly winds. Torbay RNLI was called to assist him and towed Jonna into Brixham. At that stage, they reported winds of Force 6-8 and "nasty seas".

Liebergreen hopes to get a new mast stepped in the UK and once Jonna is re-rigged he is planning to sail back home to Denmark. -- Elaine Bunting's blog in Yachtingworld.com

www.yachtingworld.com

Grind Through The Deck
Grinders are the powerhouse of every racing yacht, the boys with the big arms. Ever notice they've got big legs too? There's a reason for that, and it's all about efficient transfer of power. While it looks like it's the arms that do all the work, spinning those handles, a good connection with the deck is equally vital. Throw in 20 degrees of heel angle and blue water pouring through the cockpit, and you can start to see why grinders are picky about what they put on their feet. So adidas sailing has designed a shoe specifically for the grinder, the gr01 non-marking grinder shoe. Designed at the adidas sports footwear innovation centre in Germany, the gr01 shoe features a stable, low-profile design, treaded outsole with integrated heel and toe protection. An ingenious adidas drainage system offers exceptional grip for wet and slippery conditions.

gr01 grinder shoes feature:

- Upper with integrated TPU heel and toe protection
- 3D open weave warp-knit mesh for high breathability
- Moulded EVA insole for anatomical comfort
- Drain holes allow firm traction in wet conditions
- Non-marking rubber outsole grips during extreme linear and lateral movements

www.adidassailing.com/en/products.html

Progress Report
The past few months have seen a flurry of activity on both sides of the Atlantic. At Farr Yacht Design our team have been furiously producing construction drawings and details in Annapolis, Maryland while construction of all the tooling and components for the first boat are completed. As we write this the first hull with a significant amount of internal structure installed is on a truck making its journey north from Persico in Bergamo, Italy to Green Marine in Hythe, UK, and the lamination of the second hull is advancing.

Meanwhile, the deck of the first yacht, having had a full dry-fit of deck hardware, and complete with winch and structural supports, plus steering pedestals, is also on its way across the English Channel to Green Marine where final systems fit-out and assembly will take place over the coming months. Lamination of the second deck is well underway at Multiplast in Vannes, France. Manufacture of internal structural components is also ongoing at Decision in Ecublens, Switzerland, on schedule to be installed as the next hulls and decks are produced.

Machinery, electrical and hydraulic systems and their various penetrations have already been verified using the fullscale VO65 mock-up at Green Marine to ensure actual system installation will be as efficient and consistent as possible.

The first keel fin and bulb are in advanced stages of final machining while the first rigs are in an advanced state of construction at Southern Spars in New Zealand. Final designs for the pre-race sails are also all actively in the process of refinement. It's all happening. -- Britton Ward in Seahorse magazine:

www.seahorsemagazine.com

US Match Racing Grand Slam Series
Chicago, Illinois, USA: Organizers of the four events comprising the 2013 US Grand Slam Series are pleased to announce they are accepting applications for invitation to each of their ISAF Grade 2 match race regattas being held in August and September. This series is in its third season and is an important breeding ground for teams aspiring to the highest levels of match race sailing found on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour (AWMRT).

The first event will be the Chicago Match Race Center's Chicago Grand Slam, held in TOM 28's alongside the Chicago Air & Water Show for the 2nd year in a row. Twelve teams will be invited to compete, so skippers interested in an invitation should contact Maggie Shea at

The second stop in the Grand Slam is Bayview YC's Detroit Cup, held in front of the club on the Detroit River in Ultimate 20's over August 22-25. The winner of the Detroit Cup will receive an invitation to the AWMRT's Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda in October. Twelve teams will compete, and skippers interested in an invitation should contact

The third event will be the Manhasset Bay YC's Knickerbocker Cup, the oldest event in the Grand Slam and held in Manhasset Bay, NY in Swedish Match 40's over August 29 - September 1. There is a $19,000 prize money purse, and the winner will receive an invitation to the AWMRT's Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda in October 2014. Ten skippers will compete, with invitation inquiries to be made to

The final Grand Slam event is the Oakcliff International, held over September 5-8 just a few miles east of Manhasset Bay in Oyster Bay, NY on Swedish Match 40's. Oakcliff has a $10,000 prize money purse, twelve teams will be invited to compete, and invitation inquiries can be made to Bill Simon at The overall winning team of the 2013 Grand Slam Series will receive an invitation to the AWMRT's Chicago Match Cup in 2014, as well as to the 2014 Congressional Cup at Long Beach YC, the oldest ISAF Grade 1 event in the US.

www.usamatchracing.com

Featured Brokerage
1987 Comet 375 CL. EUR 55,000. Located in Stockholm, Sweden.

A nice Italian thoroughbred with beautiful teak wood interior and cockpit

The cabins are comfortable with solid wood furnishings and light blue-fresh upholstery. The yacht offers generous accommodation for 6 with great headroom, 2 toilets/showers with marble tops.

Electric anchor, new GPS Garmin, CD, Radio, VHF, Radar, Autopilot, folding propeller, Furlex Genoa, Refrigerator.

Brokerage through APPROVED Boats: www.yachtworld.com/approvedboats/

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

The Last Word
Watching television is like taking black spray paint to your third eye. -- Bill Hicks

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