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Close At The Top
Photo by Max Ranchi, www.maxranchi.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Ancona, Italy: This morning on the first day of the Adria Ferries ORCi World Championship, things looked extremely promising: partly sunny skies, 14-17 knots of wind from the northwest, just enough to speckle whitecaps on the beautiful azure seas of the Adriatic. Race managers were excited about the day, planning to hold two out of the seven inshore races they intend for the week.

The 110 teams from 15 countries must have also been excited, with boats from both Class A and Class B rushing their first starting attempts into General Recalls, prompting immediate Black Flags on the two subsequent starts in an attempt to control the unruly crowds of over 50 boats on each starting line. But once the Black Flag was raised both classes were sent off successfully on their second starts to their respective 9.7 and 8.0-mile courses. This all looked like the week would be off to a spectacular start.

But two hours later, and fortunately after the finishes of both classes, a thick black cloud rolled off the coast from behind Ancona, bringing with it lightning, rain and a significant wind shift to the south.

At 1600 local time when it became clear this cloud was not moving and it would be impractical to set up another inshore race course in the uncertain conditions.

Nonetheless, the first race was extremely close at the top of Class A, with reigning ORC Class A World Champion Alberto Rossi and his TP52 Enfant Terrible team earning the first victory of the week.

the winner of the first race in Class B did so in more convincing style, with Giuseppe Giuffre's M37 and reigning ORC European Class B champion Low Noise trailing UkaUka Racing's Comet 38S by a few boatlengths, but defeating them in corrected time by 51 seconds to take the first Class B victory. But just as in Class A, there was less than 3 minutes in corrected time from 1st to 10th place, with some positions determined by as little as 5 seconds.

Racing will continue tomorrow, with the long and short offshore races scheduled to start tomorrow morning and end about 24 hours later on Wednesday. Both short and long race are worth equal points (1.0, same as an inshore race), but the long offshore race cannot be discarded from a team's overall scores.

www.orcworlds2013.com

Mini Fastnet
Ten hours into the race, and the front-runners of the Mini Fastnet are already out in the Channel. The Italian-French duo Pedote/Bourgues (Prysmian) has taken the lead in the Prototype fleet, while 'the pair from Finistere' Cloarec/Mahe (Lomig) is leading the Production boats. It'll be a calm night as far as the weather's concerned, but not so calm for the competitors who will need to contend with the maritime traffic and whatever the winds might throw at them

In the Prototypes, a group of four boats has already managed to break free. At the head of the fleet 0 although they're sailing close-hauled and in moderate downwind conditions: the Prysmian with Giancarlo Pedote and Laurent Bourgues. Hot on their heels are two strong-arm pairs going nose-to-nose: Maslard/Marette (Groupe Sefico) and Gahinet/Mouly (Watever - Nautipark). Just behind them, less than one nautical mile from the front-runners, there's Jorg Riechers/Pierre Brasseur (Mare).

In the Production boats, the front-runners are a little more grouped together but four boats have managed to gain a slight lead. Out in front are Damien Cloarec/Gildas Mahe (Lomig), then not far behind, the female duo of Mettraux/Joschke (Teamwork). Davy Beaudart/Simon Koster (GO4IT) and Antoine Guillou/Julien Marcelet (Region Nord Pas de Calais) complete the line-up of the four leaders.

As they approach the Scilly Isles, they'll have to carefully anticipate how they're going to navigate around the Traffic Separation Systems (set up in areas of intense maritime traffic) as getting even the tip of their boat anywhere near these forbidden zones could lead to disqualification.

Follow the race:
www.facebook.com/groups/34793611189/?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/MiniFastnet

RC44's Head To Marstrand
Photo by Nico Martinez, www.martinezstudio.es. Click on image to enlarge.

After a close finish to the RC44 Trapani Cup last month, the fleet has returned for the third consecutive year to the sailing mecca of Marstrand, Sweden for round three of the 2013 RC44 Championship Tour. The fleet of 11 teams will be joined by the Bronenosec Sailing Team owned by Russian Vladimir Liubomirov ready for the first day of racing on Tuesday 25th June.

The Championship is still wide open after racing went down to the wire, in the final metres, of the final race, of the RC44 Trapani Cup, Sicily back in May. RC44 heavy weights Team Aqua eventually snatched the lead from Slovenian Team CEEREF to secure the event win and their place at the top of the overall fleet racing leaderboard.

Racing on home waters will be Torbjorn Tornqvist, Artemis Racing, who are currently sitting in third place in the fleet race ranking. Tornqvist will be joined by tactician Morgan Larson and will be looking for a win in Sweden to be in with a shot of this years championship title having finished on the podium for the past four seasons.

It is the third year the class has been hosted in Marstrand, Sweden. Attracted by the reliable and regularly strong afternoon sea breeze with open sea to the west, the sailors should be greeted with some great sailing conditions along with a large audience of mid summer holiday makers watching from Marstrand Island.

Not competing in the RC44 Sweden Cup due to prior commitments are RC44 Team CEEREF and MAG Racing who will be back for the fourth event of the Tour in Cascais, Portugal.

www.rc44.com

Plymouth Bound
The third offshore leg of the Route des Princes kicked off this Monday at 1000 GMT in a NW'ly breeze of between 10 and 13 knots. After an inshore race spanning a few miles, the three MOD70s still racing headed offshore, bound for Bardsey. The first to pass this island, situated in the Irish Sea, just a few kilometres from the Welsh coast, will be awarded the first bonus points for this leg. Getting off to a solid start, the trimaran fitted out by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild was lying in second place, just a few boat lengths astray of Virbac Paprec, as the fleet of multihulls left Dùn Laoghaire in its wake. This leg promises to be tactical with a number of passage marks to be negotiated in winds that could well prove to be fickle.

As the trimarans took to the open sea, the route for this third leg hadn't yet been clearly defined. Race Management has created several possible scenarios once the fleet has left Eddystone lighthouse to starboard.

In addition to the weather, which is sure to make life difficult for the sailors, Sebastien Josse and his men will also have to negotiate the numerous TSSs (Traffic Separation Scheme) punctuating the course: "On the whole, the TSSs are zones forbidden to non-commercial shipping. As such, these zones become real obstacles, which we have to round as we would an island. These TSSs can clearly have an influence on our strategy as they force us to make a decision about which route to take with some more clear-cut trajectories being called for. There are around seven such systems in this third offshore leg: Dublin, Tuskar, Fastnet, Bishop, Seven Stones..." explained the skipper of Gitana Team. Of note is the fact that those boats, which fail to respect the TSSs may be penalised by the Race Committee.

The bonus points (2 points per mark as the leg is scored on a factor of 2) will be awarded to the first boat to pass Bardsey and later Bishop Rock.

Ranking for the Route des Princes (after the jury)
1. Spindrift Racing (Yann Guichard) / 94 points *
2. Edmond de Rothschild (Sebastien Josse) / 88 points
3. Musandam - Oman Air (Sidney Gavignet) / 84 points
4. Virbac Paprec 70 (Jean-Pierre Dick) / 66 points

* Spindrift Racing is ranked as DNS in offshore 3 as the crew were forced to retire after capsizing in the first inshore race in Dublin last Saturday. -- Translated by Kate Jennings

www.routedesprinces.fr

Kiel Week Day 2
The new race format for the olympic classes at the Kiel Week makes the result lists more dynamic. After the first two racing days, the sailors have only taken their position as a point score into the first elimination round. So the first race of the best teams almost starts from scratch until the decision in the evening, which six teams per class will reach the finals in the eight olympic disciplines.

After the first half of the races, in the so-called Gold Fleets, German teams are likely to make it into the top three in seven classes

Top three by class:

2.4mr
1. Heiko Kroger, GER, 12
2. Lasse Klotzing, GER, 35
3. Barend Kol, NED, 40

49er
1. Erik Heil / Thomas Plosel, GER, 19
2. Pavle Kostov / Petar Cupac, CRO, 25
3. Nico Luca Marc Delle Karth / Nikolaus Leopold Resch, AUS, 35   49er FX
1. Victoria Jurczok / Anika Lorenz, GER, 11
2. Tina Lutz / Susann Beucke, GER, 13
3. Tessa Parkinson / Chelsea Hall, AUS, 16

Nacra 17
1. Tim Shuwalow / Hanna Klinga, SWE, 21
2. Iker Martinez / Tara Pacheco, ESP, 23
3. Vittorio Bissaro / Silvia Sicouri, ITA, 26

Finn
1. Andrews Mark, GBR, 13
2. Andrew Mills, GBR, 14
3. Lauri Vainsalu, EST, 30

470 Men
1. Anton Dahlberg / Fredrik Bergstrom, SWE, 10
2. Luke Patience / Joe Glanfield, GBR, 11
3. David Bergehr / Lukas Mahr, AUT, 30

470 Women
1. Afrodite Kyranakou / Anneloes Van Veen, NED, 11
2. Sophie Weguelin / Eilidh Mcintyre, GBR, 14
3. Lara Vadlau / Jolanta Ogar, AUT, 19

Laser Standard
1. Robert Scheidt, BRA, 15
2. Jesper Stalheim, SWE, 17
3. Ashley James Brunning, AUS, 21

Laser Radial
1. Paige Railey, USA, 14
2. Tuula Tenkanen, FIN, 23
3. Josefin Olsson, SWE, 24

Melges 24
1. Lucia Giorgetti / Lucia Giorgetti, Enrico Fonda, Federico Buscaglia, Vittorio Rosso, ITA, 23
2. Markus Wieser / Vedder Basti, Braslavats Evgenij, Wieser Vanessa, Morino Victor, GER, 44
3. John Den Engelsman / Rikst Dijkstra, Rob Van Burik, Rinse Ubbink, Willem Jan Van Dort, NED, 46

Platu 25
1. Jens Ahlgrimm / Mathias Gedrange, Nils Theuerkauf, Stefan Theuerkauf, Stephan Molle, GER, 30
2. Gordon Nickel / Morten Nickel, Nils Mathes Fiege, Nils Merten Farber, Sebastian Roske, GER, 33
3. Andre Teutenberg / Jan Teutenberg, Jens Wehrenbrecht, Lars Teutenberg, Sven Wehrenbrecht, GER, 38

J80
1. Martin Menzner / Carsten Hopp, Frank Lichte, Mika Rolfs, GER, 11
2. Hauke Kruss / Ole Sartori, Susanne Sartori, Schytt-Nielsen Rune, GER, 47
3. Flemming Djernes / Jorn Andersen, Kim Londal, Soren Bro Mikkelsen, DEN, 51

SB20
1. Daniel Spanle / Herbold Ines, Kraus Konstantin, Tobias Spanle, GER, 19
2. Nils Beltermann / Christian Zieger, Nico Gebhardt, GER, 23
3. Syring Fabian / Christiansen Maike, Friedrich Maximilian, Gosda Roland, GER, 31

Albin Express
1. Morten Arndal / Anette B. Hansen, Dennis Petersen, Jacob Kraes, Martin Dyxenburg, DEN, 27
2. Andreas Pinnow / Anna Ziebarth, Johann Tammen, Malte Nathke, Julian Heller, GER, 23
3. Hans Christian Erbs / Bjarne Gronning Pedersen, Jeppe Bohn Djurtoft, Klaus Lauridsen, DEN, 41

www.kieler-woche.de

EUROSAF 2K Keelboat Team Racing Championships
GBR takes Gold and Silver in the toughest fought final of the Eurosaf 2K Championships at the Batavia Sailing Centre at Lelystad Holland. The Royal Thames Yacht Club team skippered by Andy Cornah and Claire Lasko finished the three day championships with only a single loss to take the Albert Little Trophy and the 2nd edition of the Eurosaf Championships. GBR Itchenor Saiing Club, skippers George Yeoman and Andy Shaw, took second place while ITA Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, skippers Jacopo Pasini and Antonio Sodo Migliori took Bronze.

The final day of racing again with fully reefed sails and very marginal sailing conditions placed huge physical as well as tactical demands on the teams.

The finals were to prove a series of set piece moves... with Victory going to the team who made less mistakes.

With the completion of the second edition of this Eurosaf Championships 2K has established itself as a major European Sailing Discipline. The addition of 2 nations from the first event a year ago is a major step forward. 2K now has a growing circuit across the continent with events in no less than 8 countries. -- Bruce Hebbert

Final rankings:

1. Royal Thames Yacht Club, GBR
2. Itchenor sailing Club, GBR
3. Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, ITA
4. Snipe Team, BEL
5. Dutch Match and Team Racing Association, NED
6. Serpentine Team Racing Club, GBR
7. Bayerischer Yacht Club, GER
8. Batavia Sailing Centre, NED

eurosaf.org

Cork Sailor Wins Canada's Van Isle 360 Offshore Race
As his younger brother became the youngest ever Irish skipper to complete the Figaro race in Dieppe, France this morning, on the far side of the Atlantic George Kenefick steered the J109 Diva to victory in the marathon Canadian offshore race, the Van Isle 360.

Royal Cork's Kenefick was leading the biennial point to point race after the penultimate leg on Thursday and continued the consistent form to win the 15-boat division two category.

The Van Isle 360 is a biennial, 580 nautical mile point-to-point race circumnavigating wild and rugged Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Sailed in ten legs, the course provides inshore, offshore and overnight sailing through some of the most stunning and challenging waters on the planet.

www.vanisle360.com

Report from Afloat magazine: afloat.ie

Line Honours For Atlantic In Trophee Bailli De Suffren Leg One
Photo by Kurt Arrigo, www.kurtarrigo.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

The 185 foot schooner Atlantic was first to finish the 193 mile opening leg of the 2013 Trophee Bailli de Suffren, following a 22 hour match race with the 137 foot Herreschoff schooner Elena - and with just 90 seconds separating the two yachts as they reached Porto Rotondo in Sicily. The fleet of 22 classic yachts left Saint-Tropez on Saturday on the first of three legs that cover 600 miles of offshore racing between the south of France and the island of Malta.

This year's race features the most impressive fleet ever assembled for an offshore classic race in the Mediterranean, with the giant schooners Atlantic and Elena competing with such famous yachts as Lelantina, Mariska and the 1903-built Moonbeam III.

The opening stages of the race involved a short windward/leeward in the Golfe de Saint-Tropez in a light easterly breeze that saw Mariska lead over the line from Moonbeam IV with Noryema IV getting a good start at the leeward end.

Rowdy, a previous winner in 2009 and 2010, quickly cleared some early traffic and joined the front runners, holding a better lane of breeze to lead Mariska by three boat lengths at the windward mark.

An hour later as the leaders left the bay and headed offshore, Rowdy had extended to a three minute advantage over Mariska, with Moonbeam IV lying in third. But over Saturday night the wind veered to the west and freshened to 20 to 25 knots, giving all boats a fast ride and enabling Atlantic and Elena to make the most of their massive waterline length.

On corrected time Moonbeam III finished first into Porto Rotondo with the 15m Class Mariska, sailing in her first offshore race, coming in a close second. The second leg, to Trapani in Sicily, starts on Wednesday, and the final leg to the finish in Malta's Grand Harbour is scheduled for Sunday.

www.cnmarinas.com
www.facebook.com/TropheeBailliDeSuffren
www.bdsrace.com

And Now, It's The New Dublin Bay 21
It's all so very 21st Century. The growth and development of this new Dublin Bay One Design has been healthily organic. And it hasn't been imposed from above - there's none of your old-fashioned de haut en bas here. Nor has it been dreamt up in some winter committee meeting by people with more notions than practical experience. On the contrary, it has developed at grass roots level, out of a genuine need, in an impeccably people-friendly way. And perhaps best of all, it involves a high level of re-cycling. For although this "new" boat perfectly fits the contemporary Irish sailing zeitgeist, the design has been around for 20 years. So making a new class out of it simply involves fulfilling the true potential of attractive little boats which have been just waiting to blossom since 1993.

Not that the First 211 was ignored when she made her debut back in the day. I can recall being utterly charmed aboard an early version in a Dublin Boat Show (remember them?) a long time ago. We old salts were particularly taken with the cute little porthole in the topsides, like a traditional little Edwardian cruising cutter, all made more charming by knowing the boat was designed by Groupe Finot and had drawn on the experience gained with Figaro Solo boats and Open 60s in order to produce a compact trailerable family cruiser with attitude. -- WM Nixon in Afloat.ie:

afloat.ie

Simplified, Inexpensive Communications For Offshore Events
Brian Boschma is always thinking. Earlier this season he developed a simplified course tracking app for Android phones Click for thread and also shed light on a bizarre anomaly with the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge which causes auto pilots to deviate wildly when passing under said structure ( a major hazard for short handed sailors)* (see bottom of post)

Brian's latest contribution is a venture into simplifying and making affordable communication with sailors engaged in nearby offshore events. Using a home built high gain antenna and finding a clear line of site location, Brian was able to communicate with vessels nearly 200 miles offshore!

"There is merit in providing a communication platform on the Santa Cruz range to cover vessels from SF to Monterrey and out to at least 150 miles. Beyond 150 miles my experience shows that conditions may be a bit spotty as you are depending on atmospheric refraction. During this event however, I was getting excellent reports to about 170 miles out. Coverage of the Gulf of the Farallone's and points South to Point Sur would be relatively easy with appropriately positioned radios and high gain antenna."

More from Erik Simonson and Brian Boschma at Pressure Drop:

www.pressure-drop.us

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

The Last Word
Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. -- T. S. Eliot

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