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Tamara Echegoyen is ISAF Women's Match Racing World Champion
Photo courtesy ISAF. Click on image to enlarge.

Spain's Tamara Echegoyen has been crowned ISAF Women's Match Racing World Champion but Camilla Ulrikkeholm of Denmark gave her a hard time in the final.

Ulrikkeholm didn't let the Spaniard continue her amazing undefeated run and in breeze with gusts up to 25 knots, the exciting finale ended 3 - 2 in the Spaniards favour.

"It was a really difficult day, with wind changes and puffs that forced us to always stay close to the other boat to try and control them. Now I'm just so happy, and very proud of my great team. They've done a marvellous job, and I enjoy every day with them,"

Camilla Ulrikkeholm's next event will be the Danish Open Ladies Cup, sailed June 20 - 23 at her home waters of Skovshoved, Denmark.

In the Petit Final in Busan, Katie Spithill (AUS) lost the first match against Skudina, but then managed to get back, defeating the Russian in two thrilling matches, and securing the third place and the World Championship bronze medal to Australia.

Final results:
Camilla Ulrikkeholm (DEN) - Tamara Echegoyen (ESP) 2 - 3

Petit Final result:
Ekaterina Skudina (RUS) - Katie Spithill (AUS) 1 - 2

Semi-final Result
Tamara Echegoyen (ESP) - Katie Spithill (AUS) 3 - 0
Ekaterina Skudina (RUS) - Camilla Ulrikkeholm (DEN) 1.25 - 3

Quarter-final Result
Tamara Echegoyen (ESP) - Claudia Pierce (NZL) 3 - 0
Ekaterina Skudina (RUS) - Alexa Bezel (SUI) 3 - 0
Camilla Ulrikkeholm (DEN) - Susannah Pyatt (NZL) 3 - 0
Anna Kjellberg (SWE) - Katie Spithill (AUS) 0 - 3

Round-robin
1. Tamara Echegoyen (ESP) 16 - 0
2. Ekaterina Skudina (RUS) 13 - 3
3. Camilla Ulrikkeholm (DEN) 10 - 6
4. Anna Kjellberg (SWE) 9 - 7
5. Katie Spithill (AUS) 8 - 8
6. Susannah Pyatt (NZL) 5 - 11
7. Alexa Bezel (SUI) 5 - 11
8. Claudia Pierce (NZL) 5 - 11
9. Sung-Eun Choi (KOR) 1 - 15

www.busanmatch.com
www.wimrs.com

Perfect Winning Hat Trick for Edmond De Rothschild
Photo by Mark Lloyd, www.lloydimages.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Three wins, including two inshore races in which they lead at every turning buoy, marks out an initial superiority for Sebastien Josse and his polished crew of Edmond de Rothschild who will leave Valencia on Sunday with the best of the inshore points in the bag when the Route de Princes fleet head off on offshore Leg 1, 800 miles to Lisbon, Portugal.

While the first offshore stage out of the Mediterranean is expected to be slow in light winds, the three short sharp inshore circuits off Malvarossa beach Saturday were contested in a gusty, puffy cross-offshore breeze which topped 20knots at times, especially testing boat handling and sheer speed.

Edmond de Rothschild were on imperious form, inshore tactician Sebastien Col and navigator Charles Caudrelier combining to produce some key layline calls and astute use of the gusty winds.

While Edmond de Rothschild's success today could be said to reflect the form book, their team enhanced by the recruitment of Caudrelier and Col who won last summer's MOD70 European Tour with Michel Desjoyeaux's Foncia, the surprise package perhaps today was Jean-Pierre Dick's Virbac Paprec 70. They had back to back second places and only by virtue of a second place in the third race today - which brought the complement of Valencia inshores to six - did Spindrift steal second overall, on countback. -- Sabina Mollart Rogerson

MOD70's Valencia Inshore Final Standings after 6 races:
1. Edmond de Rothchild (Sebastien Josse) 54 pts (2,1,3,1,1,1)
2. Sprindrift (Xavier Revil) 42 pts (1,3,2,4,3,2)
3. Virbac-Paprec 70 (Jean-Pierre Dick) 42 pts (3,4,1,2,2,3)
4. Oman Air-Musandam (Sidney Gavignet) 30 pts (4,2,4,3,4,4)

www.routedesprinces.com

Artemis Racing Announces Revised Schedule
Alameda, California, USA: Artemis Racing is back at work following the memorial service for Andrew "Bart" Simpson. Starting on Monday, June 3 the team resumed its preparation in earnest to compete in the 34th America's Cup.

The team is now working to ready its second AC72, which it expects to launch in a few weeks and which will undergo a rigorous testing regime. When the sailing team is satisfied that the boat can be pushed hard in race conditions, it will join the competition.

"We are working around-the-clock to get our new boat ready, in the water and to prepare our team to race" said Paul Cayard, CEO of Artemis Racing. "We still have a mountain to climb, but our plan is to launch our new boat in early July and get ourselves in a position where we can race by the end of the month."

* Following confirmation from Artemis Racing that it intends to continue, Regatta Director Iain Murray has updated the schedule to reflect one of his Safety Recommendations developed after the capsize, in reducing the number of preliminary rounds to five from seven. This safety recommendation followed team feedback indicating more maintenance time between races was desirable.

The Summer of Racing kicks off with an opening ceremony on July 4, followed by a fleet race with the Defender and challengers on July 5. The first race day of the Louis Vuitton Cup, America's Cup Challenger Series, remains July 7.

artemisracing.com
americascup.com

Volvo Ocean Race Welcomes Musto as Official Clothing and Footwear Supplier
Team Telefonica, leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Auckland, New Zealand to Itajai, Brazil. Photo by Diego Fructuoso / Team Telefonica / Volvo Ocean Race. Click on image to enlarge.

Market-leading sailing clothing brand Musto has been chosen by the Volvo Ocean Race as its official supplier of sailing apparel and footwear for the next edition starting in October 2014.

Click here for video announcement: youtu.be/r9X1gMHbmJg

The Volvo Ocean Race celebrates its 40th birthday in September 2013 and Musto's association with the historic test of sailing skill, teamwork and character goes back as far as the third edition in 1981-82 with winning boat Flyer II.

Since then, Musto has supplied sailing clothing and waterproof equipment to teams in every edition of the race around the world and the company was official race supplier for the eighth and ninth editions in 2001-02 and 2005-06.

Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad said he was delighted to welcome back Musto as official partners for 2014-15.

"Musto sailing clothing is used across our sport and carries huge respect as the kind of high quality, durable gear needed for an event which has the demands of the Volvo Ocean Race," Frostad said. "We are returning to a much-loved race partner and I'm delighted that we'll be working with them once more."

Musto will place the Volvo Ocean Race at the heart of its marketing activities running through to 2018, while showcasing branded clothing and equipment across existing and future sales points and at the host ports along the route.

Nigel Musto commented: "The Volvo Ocean Race has always been part of the Musto DNA. Since 1981 it's been our test track, now a 40,000-mile endurance run not only for the crew and the boats but for our waterproof jackets and gear - a laboratory for all our innovations and a true test of our products.

"Musto never have designed their foul weather gear from behind a desk, and this new partnership helps us to continue working with the very best offshore crews in the world, clothing designed by sailors, for sailors. It's going to be a very exciting few years."

The 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, starting in Alicante on October 4, 2014, will be the first to be raced with a new fleet of one-design boats, designed by Farr Yacht Design in the United States and built by a consortium of boatyards in Italy, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

musto.com
volvooceanrace.com

Foggy Cap Finisterre
It's been a positive night for the 41 skippers competing in the second leg of the 44th Solitaire du Figaro - Eric Bompard cachemire that left Porto yesterday bound to Gijon. The fleet made good progress in a westerly breeze between 8 and 11 knots, despite some light patches and shifts. But now, a few miles from Cap Finisterre the wind has dropped almost completely and the fleet is surrounded by thick fog.

At around 9pm yesterday, the breeze started to drop, giving the more inshore group, led by Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) and Jean-Pierre Nicol (Bernard Controls) the chance to get some edge on the rest of the fleet. With the wind becoming lihgter and lighter the leaders opted to tack west to cover the rest of the fleet. Just before sunrise, the fleet had seven miles of lateral separation, with Thierry Chabagny (Gedimat) and Jeremie Beyou (Maitre Coq) in the lead sailing off the Spanish town of Vigo in a WNW breeze and flat sea.

The light air, though, was not enough to disperse humidity and a dense fog that has engulfed the fleet. On the approach to Cap Finisterre, the skippers were sailing in 5, at times 3 knots, and visibility was down to 500 metres. The fleet still spread out on a West/East line of around 6 miles, with young Simon Troel (Les recycleurs bretons) the most inshore. With a very unstable and shifty breeze, veering to the North, the skippers were forced to tack almost incessantly to keep going.

The weather forecast issued by Meteo Consult is anything but encouraging: mist, poor visibility, and very light to nonexistent, extremely shifty wind.

* At 21.23 the Race Direction boat received an emergency call from boat Joanna. The skipper Louis-Maurice Tannyeres, informed to be suffering of strong pains to one shoulder due a fall. The accident happened 3 miles off Cedeira on the Northern coast of Spain.

On advice of doctor Jean-Yves Chauve, the race MD, Race Direction decided to evacuate the skipper to be hospitalized. The French Navy's ship PSP Flamant, with the help of the RIB Hurricane, has embarked a crew member of the race direction's boat on Joanna and Tannyeres has been evacuated.

The rescue operation was conducted without fault in rough conditions, 20/25 knots of wind and choppy seas and completed by 23:00. The ship PSP Flamant is heading to La Coruna to disembark the skipper who will be transferred to an hospital for further examination. The boat Joanna is being delivered to Gijon.

Top ten, stage 2 Sun 09 Jun 2013 06:53:00 PM CEST

1. Cercle Vert, Gildas Morvan, 140.98 nm to leg finish
2. Bernard Controls, Jean-Pierre Nicol, 1.37 nm to leader
3. Banque Populaire, Armel Le Cleac'h, 1.63
4. DLBC, Yoann Richomme, 1.86
5. Maitre Coq, Jeremie Beyou, 1.89
6. Groupe Queguiner - Leucemie Espoir, Yann Elies, 1.99
7. Agir Recouvrement, Adrien Hardy, 2.09
8. Sepalumic, Frederic Duthil, 2.16
9. Destination Dunkerque, Thomas Ruyant, 2.23
10. Bretagne Credit Mutuel Performance, Anthony Marchand, 2.28

www.lasolitaire.com

The 2013 Bermuda 1-2
Greetings from the North Atlantic. The first 24 hours of the 2013 Bermuda 1-2 solo leg have been a bit trying as the remnants of tropical storm Andrea left a large and messy sea state that was difficult to punch through. After a good start in Newport Harbor, GS2 led the fleet past Castle Hill lighthouse and out into a nasty sea state. The boat would rise up over a giant swell and launch itself airborne, only to return to the sea with a shattering pancake-like smash that left me looking for something broken. Repeat. Repeat. The wind has been up, down and all-around in both direction and velocity causing the need for constant sail trimming and numerous sail changes. The sea state has made me mildly nauseous and tired, so I have been catching my 20 minute "cluster-naps" which when strung together are supposed to result in rejuvenation but thus far have left me in what I think of as a "fugue state" where I'm operating at about 75% capacity and each job seems to take longer than it should and decision-making is less than crisp.

But, the long night is over and the sun is out - I witnessed an inspiring sunset last night and sunrise this morning which always has a calming and pleasing effect on my psyche. The wind is pretty light (8 knots) right now and from the West so I am beam reaching (wind is 90 degrees off my starboard/right side)on a southerly course and the slamming still continues, although it is not as bad. Typing is not the best activity in these conditions!

My goal for the day is to get to the Gulf Stream, which is a little less than 60 miles away but it will likely take me all day to get there at a 6 or 7 knot average. Hopefully there will be a bit more wind associated with the warm water and the stream usually delivers a few rain squalls including thunder and lightning if your lucky -- Joe Harris aboard Gryphon Solo 2

Live Race Tracker: yb.tl/onetwo2013
www.gryphonsolo2.com
www.bermuda1-2.org

Seahorse July 2013
What's in the Latest Edition Of Seahorse Magazine

Update
Terry Hutchinson celebrates a birthday... Class40s grab a US beachhead, Ivor Wilkins reviews the Cup reviews, Vasco Vascotto continues to enjoy life (and win races). Plus a trinity of rating experts sets out the UMS stall

Paul Cayard
Remembering two great sailors

IRC column
The mystery of inclination...

Design - A fascinating year
Adolfo Carrau describes some of Botín Partners' most recent design output

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Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta
Porto Cervo, Italy: Saturday dawned overcast and with little wind, and after a short delay and an attempt at starting a race which was then abandoned due to lack of wind further up the course, the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta fleet dropped sail and headed for home. It was a disappointing end to what has been a magical event, but the owners, guests and crews of the 21 participating superyachts were all thrilled with the sailing that they have been able to get in over the last four days in the event organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Boat International Media.

The abandoned race meant that the overall placings are as Friday night's standings, with three races counting for the trophies. In Class A, My Song achieved a resounding victory with three wins out of three; second and third went to 25m Aegir and the Baltic 112 Nilaya respectively.

In Class B, Salperton IV took the win, ahead of fellow Fitzroy yacht Zefira - at 49.7m, the largest yacht in this year's fleet - and the Southern Wind Cape Arrow. Bequia held on to win Class C, with the 37m Genevieve and 30.8m Oyster Sarafin second and third respectively. Genevieve and Sarafin held the same scoreline at nine points each, but Genevieve took second on countback after winning Friday's race.

Racing continues at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in August with the Perini Navi Cup and the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.

Full results and event details:
www.yccs.com
www.loropianasuperyachtregatta.com

Fine Art Prints for Sailing Charity
Gipsy Moth IV Rounding Cape Horn. Click on image to enlarge.

Limited edition fine art prints from an original oil painting by Norman Wilkinson will be boosting the coffers of a sailing charity.

The painting, of 'big and frightening' seas, was commissioned by Colonel Bill Whitbread to celebrate Sir Francis Chichester's pioneering one-stop circumnavigation.

It was presented to the yachtsman after his return in 1967.

The 250 limited edition prints measure 76cm x 51cm and are signed and numbered by Giles Chichester (Sir Francis's son).

All profits go to the Gipsy Moth IV Trust, which is charged with keeping this famous yacht sailing. She competed in last week's Round the Island Race with a crew of disadvantaged children.

The prints cost £99 each including VAT, postage and packing to the UK, and can be found online here. www.pplmedia.com/online/guest_poy.lasso

From Practical Boat Owner: www.pbo.co.uk

Admiral Gianfranco Alberini
One of the most influential figures in modern offshore sailing has suddenly left us, stricken by a stroke, returning from a Maxi class meeting in Paris. Comandante Gianfranco Alberini will no longer call in as "Alpha" on VHF radio as he did for so many years, and his passing leaves a large void in the Grand Prix yachting scene, as well as in his family.

Over his long life Alberini had been at the forefront of many big changes in the sport, where he has used them to increase and expand his long-range vision of excellence and innovation in offshore sailing.

When he resigned from the Italian Navy, after having sailed in many offshore races, especially Artica II, Alberini landed in Porto Cervo, and there developed step by step a world-renowned regatta venue that before him was only known by a handful of passionate Italian sailors. The Sardinia Cup was created, with memorable editions in the 80s, attracting boats and crews from all over the world, created as a companion rather than a competitor with the then shining Admiral's Cup, then the Maxis, the One Design Classes, the Veteran boats, the 12m. When the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda decided to carry the flag for the first Italian America's Cup challenge, he managed an effective leadership role amongst a large group of sponsors, sailors and technicians, creating a unique image and synergy of widely differing people for the Azzurra challenge in 1983 in Newport.

In the following America's Cup in Perth, he managed the role of Challenger of Record, and provided a structure for the Race Management to remain effective despite difficult conditions, earning widespread respect from all involved worldwide.

When Alberini left YCCS for a few years in the early 1990's, he managed then the IMS Class Association, AVAI, and contributed to the creation of the IMS European Championship.

When he stepped down from the YCCS commodoreship after a fabulous 40th Anniversary regatta in 2007, he continued to work for the International Maxi Association, vastly expanding its membership and deftly managing the difficult task of balancing the expectations and interests of Maxi owners and their egos until his last day.

In 1998, at the first ORC Management Committee meeting scheduled in Porto Cervo, he presented a new idea of organizing an IMS World Championship on handicap. This event has been a growing success ever since its first edition was held in Porto Cervo in 1999.

The ORC is forever grateful to Alberini for this and many great ideas, and he will always be remembered and admired as being an assiduous, independent-minded and unsurpassed planner and organizer of pioneering but successful events. All those who worked with him will not forget his determination and charisma. -- Nicola Sironi

Featured Brokerage
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The yacht has won several prizes in the Mediterranean regattas.

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

The Last Word
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