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Emirates Team New Zealand Elects to Advance to Louis Vuitton Cup Final
Photo by Luna Rossa / Studio Borlenghi/ Borlenghi-Butto. Click on image for photo gallery.

San Francisco, California, USA: Emirates Team New Zealand today won its ninth consecutive race of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the America's Cup Challenger Series, cementing its status as the top team in the challengers' series.

Later in the day skipper Dean Barker announced his team would exercise its right to advance to the Louis Vuitton Cup Final, scheduled to begin Aug. 17. Emirates Team New Zealand earned that right by winning the round robin of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Emirates Team New Zealand will race either Artemis Racing or Luna Rossa Challenge. Those two teams will race the Louis Vuitton Cup Semifinal, scheduled Aug. 6-15.

Barker said the team considered racing the semifinals, but in the end opted to advance development program of Aotearoa, the team's AC72.

"We thought hard about doing the semifinals to get more racing and more starting, to get more race time under our belts," Barker said. "But we also have a fairly large amount of work to do to our boat, a lot of changes and modifications intended to improve the performance.

"That takes time, so we will take the next period to make changes and we look forward to lining up against whoever we will race in the Louis Vuitton Cup Final," Barker said.

Barker said his team has informed Artemis Racing that it won't be on the start line for their scheduled match on Tuesday, but it's unlikely Artemis Racing would participate. Artemis Racing skipper Iain Percy said his team is still targeting the Aug. 6 start of the semifinals for their first live race.

On the racecourse today, the Kiwis completed a sweep of Luna Rossa Challenge, their one-time training partners. With Barker back on the helm after yesterday's breather and movie star Tom Cruise watching, the Kiwi crew grabbed the lead on the first reach leg and never looked back. The Kiwis led by 7 seconds at the first turning mark, 35 seconds at the second turning mark and 1:35 at the third turning mark en route to a 3:20 victory.

Standings
1. Emirates Team New Zealand 9-0, 9 points (1 race remaining)
2. Luna Rossa Challenge 4-5, 4 points (1 race remaining)
3. Artemis Racing 0-8, 0 points (2 races remaining)

americascup.com

Vasilij Zbogar Wins Finn Europeans
Andrei Gusenko. Photo by Robert Deaves. Click on image for photo gallery.

Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) has won the 2013 Finn European Championships in Warnemunde, Germany after all racing on the final day was cancelled with the wind failing to stabilise over four knots. Ed Wright (GBR) takes the silver and Andrew Murdoch the bronze.

The sailors have played a waiting game all week and the final day was no different. The forecast cloud cover did not materialise but the race course was largely windless nonetheless, with searingly hot sunshine at least offering the promise of something later in the day. The fleet race was cancelled at 13.30, the medal race was cancelled at 14.00, and the sea breeze arrived slighty kater although still very light compared to previous days. This left the results standing from Friday. The week had ended how it began, with no racing taking place.

In taking the title, Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) wins his first major championship in the Finn class. He was clearly the best sailor here this week and fully deserves to lift the trophy. In spite of two breakages which cost him valuable points he kept his usual cool and consistency to remain in control and win the last two races.

The new European Champion, Vasilij Zbogar placed sixth in the London 2012 Olympics after finishing as runner up at the 2012 Finn Europeans. He is the key sailor at Luca's Devoti's Dinghy Academy in Valencia, which the Finn Class is supporting through limited campaign funding for eligible sailors.

The sailors now have a brief respite before gathering again in a few weeks time Tallinn, Estonia for the Finn Gold Cup from 23-31 August. -- Robert Deaves

Final results (top 10 from 103), eight races:

1. Vasilij Zbogar, SLO, 24 points
2. Ed Wright, GBR, 31
3. Andrew Murdoch, NZL, 48
4. Pieter-Jan Postma, NED, 50
5. Josh Junior, NZL, 54
6. Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic, CRO, 63
7. Max Salminen, SWE, 72
9. Jonathan Lobert, FRA, 73
9. Thomas Le Breton, FRA, 66
10. Alican Kaynar, TUR, 59

Juniors

1. Peter McCoy, GBR, 176 (23rd overall)
2. Jake Lilley, AUS, 193 (25th overall)
3. Lennart Luttkus, GER, 285 (39th overall)

www.finneuropeans.org/ec2013

The Wave, Muscat Wins Extreme Sailing Series Act 5 In Porto
Photo by Mark Lloyd, www.lloydimages.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Act 5 of the Extreme Sailing Series in Porto has delivered the ultimate challenge in Stadium Racing for the eight international teams competing this week, with a narrow river, high walls, strong tides, big rocks and gusty winds to contend with. After 30 races it came down to the wire between The Wave, Muscat and Alinghi in the final double pointer with just three points separating two of the most experienced teams on the circuit. Impeccable boat handling from McMillan and a win in the final race - their tenth of the Act - ultimately saw the Omani flagged team claim a deserved win who have been unflappable this week having led the charge since race eight.

Porto is the third Act win this season for McMillan and his crew Peter Greenhalgh, Hashim al Rashidi, Musab al Hadi and Ed Smyth following victories in Oman and Qingdao which significantly leaves them tied on points with Alinghi at the top of the overall Series leaderboard.

Always in contention and pushing the top teams hard was Pierre Pennec, who returned to the Series at the helm of Realteam for this Act. Pennec - who is known to be one of the most daring sailors in the Series - has lost none of his edge, and pushed the Realteam Extreme 40 hard around the course to help the team to their first ever podium position.

With four Acts complete and four Acts to go, the Series is at its halfway stage and next heads to the Welsh capital Cardiff over the August bank holiday weekend where they will be hosted by the Cardiff Harbour Festival, 23-26 August.

Final standings after Day 4, 30 races (28.7.13)

1. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Ed Smyth, Pete Greenhalgh, Musab Al Hadi, Hashim Al Rashdi, 248 points
2. Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Ben Lezin, Pierre Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey, 235
3. Realteam (SUI) Pierre Pennec, Bryan Mettraux, Nils Palmieri, Cédric Schmidt, Thierry Wassem, 223
4. SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Kostner, Pete Cumming, Mikkel Rossberg, Nicolai Sehested, 214
5. Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Simon Cooke, Graeme Spence, 204
6. GAC Pindar (NZL) Will Tiller, Brad Farrand, Stewart Dodson, Harry Thurston, Shaun Mason, 173
7. ROFF Cascais Sailing Team (POR) Antonio Mello, Bernardo Freitas, Joao Mello, Ricardo Schedel, Joao Matos Rosa, 156
8. Team Tilt (SUI) Lucien Cujean, Jocelyn Keller, Jeremy Bachelin, Thomas Mermod, Lionel Vaucher, 156

Extreme Sailing Series 2013 overall standings after Act 5, Porto
Position / Team / Points

1. The Wave, Muscat, OMA) 36 points
2. Alinghi, SUI, 36
3. Red Bull Sailing Team, AUT, 30
4. SAP Extreme Sailing Team, DEN, 27
5. Realteam, SUI, 22
6. GAC Pindar, NZL, 21
7. Team X Invitational, 17
8. Team Korea, KOR, 16

extremesailingseries.com

NACRA 17 Worlds Ends Without Medal Race
The Hague, Netherlands: On Saturday July 27 2013 at 15:30 hours it was finally clear that Billy Besson and Marie Riou from France were the first ever World Champions Nacra 17. After another long day of waiting, the thunderstorm left The Hague without any breeze and the Race Committee had no choice but cancelling the decisive Medal Race. The British pairing of Ben Saxton and Hannah Diamond takes silver, followed by Matías Bühler and Nathalie Brugger from Switzerland.

The latest starting time according to the Sailing Instructions was 16 hours and boats needed at least thirty minutes to get there, so the practical cut time was 15:30 hours. That was when Billy Besson knew he had won his second World title within one month.

Now he is not only world's best F18 helm of 2013, but also in the new Olympic mixed multihull class.

The cancellation of the Medal Race was especially disappointing for Renee Groeneveld and Carel Begemann from the Netherlands, who where not far from a podium finish. Now they remain fourth overall, one point behind the Swiss team. -- Diana Bogaards

Top ten 2013 Nacra 17 Worlds in The Hague:

1. Besson / Riou, FRA, 20 points
2. Saxton / Diamond, GBR, 23
3. Buhler / Brugger, SUI, 43
4. Groeneveld / Begemann, NED, 44
5. Vaireaux / Audinet, FRA, 48
6. Waterhouse / Darmanin, AUS, 50
7. Delnooz / De Koning, NED, 51
8. Bissaro / Sicouri, ITA, 52
9. Jones / Saunders, NZL, 56
10. Zajac / Frank, AUT, 58

www.nacra17worlds.com

Antipodeans Rule
Photo by Robert Hajduk, www.shuttersail.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

arhus, Denmark: Morning rain and a dead calm greeted the sailors upon arrival at the Kalovig Sailing Club in Aarhus, Denmark for the 2013 29er World Championship. After a bit of a postponement on the water, the wind slowly built from nothing to 19 knots and 3 races were held on the 4 courses set on Kalovig Bay.

After some close racing and a quick ride back to the shore, the sailors downunder and across the pond stand in the top 3 positions. Charlie Wyatt and Tom Siganto of Australia sit in first with 1-3-1 followed by New Zealanders Markus Somerville and Jack Simpson with 5-3-1. American brothers Dane and Quinn Wilson sit in third overall posting a 2-1-7. Dane WIlson, crew of the US boat commented on the day, "it was shifty in all conditions, but we sailed well." When asked about coming from the Youth Worlds, "we're really practiced and we sailed against the best; coming here there's more depth."

ISAF Youth World champions Lucas Rual and Emile Amoros of France sit in 4th overall. The top female team of sisters Ragna and Maia Agerup of Norway who finished 11th in the Youth Worlds and were the only all-female team, currently are the top female team in the Worlds sitting 11th overall. Denmark's top team of Frederik Just Melson and Markus Oliver Nielsen are 21st overall in the standings and also came straight from the ISAF Youth Worlds.

Twenty-five nations are representing all continents with 213 entries in this highly competitive fleet.

Racing continues on Monday, July 29 with two more days of the qualifying series followed by three days of the final series. The prizegiving will be held on Friday, August 2.

www.29erworlds.org

Charisma Dominates To Win Rolex Farr 40 North Americans
Photo by Daniel Forster, www.DanielForster.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Edgartown, Massachusetts, USA Nico Poons (Monaco) and his mostly Dutch crew aboard Charisma sealed their deal today, winning the Rolex Farr 40 North American Championship in Martha's Vineyard with only two finishes worse than second in a 10-race series. The event, which began on Wednesday (July 24) and hosted 11 teams from six nations, had seen Charisma top the scoreboard at the end of each of three prior race days, and going into today, with seven races in its score line, the team had a rare-for-the-class ten points on its closest competitor, Jim Richardson's (Boston, Mass.) Barking Mad. In contrast, Alberto Rossi's (Ancona, Italy) Enfant Terrible was only five points behind Barking Mad, which put into play a most intriguing game of chess on the game board that was the flat, sunshine-soaked sea off the Vineyard's northeast shore.

This is Poons's first North American title in the Farr 40 class, for which he was awarded the 2013 Farr 40 North American Trophy and a Rolex Submariner timepiece. His next target is the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship in Newport, R.I. in September.

Day Four, Final Results

1. Charisma, Nico Poons, Monaco, MON, 25 points
2. Barking Mad, James Richardson, USA, 33
3. Enfant Terrible, Alberto Rossi, Ancona, ITA, 37
4. Groovederci, John Demourkas, USA, 54
5. Nightshift, Kevin McNeil, USA, 58
6. Plenty, Alexander Roepers, USA, 60
7. Struntje light, Wolfgang Schaefer, GER, 64
8. Flash Gordon 6, Helmut Jahn, USA, 72
9. Flojito y Cooperando, Bernardo Minkow/Julian Fernandez, MEX, 78
10. Asterisk Uno, Hasip Gencer, TUR, 78
11. Oakcliff Farr 40, Oakcliff Sailing, USA, 108

farr40.org

The King Canute Regatta
Hamble, Hampshire, UK: As so many of its racing events have been hit by adverse weather throughout the early part of the Royal Southern Yacht Club's racing programme this year, the Hamble-based club has announced a one-off and free-to-enter 'King Canute Regatta' that will take place on Saturday 31st August.

The Club's Sailing Committee is putting up a new prize - the Canute Cup - for the overall winner. As its Chairman Colin 'Canute' Hall quipped, "We might not be able to turn back the tide, but we can help make up for the dreadful weather."

Although this Regatta won't count for the Club's Series Championship, as a stand-alone event it will earn Class winners invitations to the Club's glittering AVEVA-sponsored Prizegiving Dinner in November.

There will be two round the cans Solent-style races offered to both IRC and Club Class divisions. The overall winning boat will be chosen from the each division by the Race Committee which will have the additional discretion to award extra merit to teams entering into the spirit of the event, family crewed boats, youngest and oldest crew, and fancy dress.

www.royal-southern.co.uk

Bo Petersen Wins 2013 OK Dinghy European Championship
The OK Dinghy European Championship in Carnac, France, concluded on Friday without another race being sailed. Very light winds kept the fleet on shore all day in the sunshine. So Bo Petersen (DEN) won the title from Stefan Myralf (DEN) and Thomas Hansson-Mild (SWE).

After only two years in the class the 50 year old architect Bo Petersen won the championship by just one point from Myralf. Petersen said, "I was hoping the wind would not materialise, while Stefan hoped that the wind came. Four years ago I said to myself that I would win a World Championship before I was 50; now I'm 50 and have won a championship."

Final results (seven races, one discard)

1. Bo Petersen, DEN, 15 points
2. Stefan Myralf, DEN, 16
3. Thomas Hansson-Mild, SWE, 23
4. Tomasz Gaj, POL, 25
5. Greg Wilcox, NZL, 29
6. Dawid Kania, POL, 41
7. Nick Craig, GBR, 42
8. Lee Child, GBR, 52
9. Jorgen Lindhardtsen, DEN, 56
10. Rene Johannsen Sarabia, DEN, 56

Event website: euro2013.yoleok.org
Class website: www.okdia.org

GC32 at Cowes Week
Photo by Christophe Launay, www.sealaunay.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Visitors to Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week will get a taste of state of the art catamaran racing as the Great Cup makes its UK debut during the world's most famous sailboat regatta.

The Great Cup, a new circuit due to launch properly in 2014, is raced in latest generation GC32 one design catamarans. These have been designed by foil expert and fluid mechanics PhD Martin Fischer, designer of several World Championship winning F18 dinghy catamarans such as the Phantom, as well as the foils on Franck Cammas' Volvo Ocean Race victor, Groupama.

These 10m long by 6m wide catamarans are built by Premier Composite Technologies in Dubai and feature reverse 'Dreadnought' bows, L-profile rudders and unique double S-shaped daggerboards, with control lines to alter their pitch.

Three GC32s will be competing in the Multihull class at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week.

Spax Solutions is being campaigned by Frenchman Laurent Lenne, creator of the Great Cup and the GC32 catamaran. Racing with Lenne will be his right hand man in the Great Cup, Australian former Tornado sailor Andrew Macpherson, plus Swedish Volvo Ocean Race sailor Mikael Lundh and young New Zealand match racer and former China Team AC45 crewman James Williamson.

An all-British GC32 crew will be racing on Time on the Water, named after the company run by former Team GBR Olympic Tornado sailor and Extreme 40 helmsman Hugh Styles. On board with Styles, who is today coach of British Laser Radial ace Ali Young, will be other ex-Team GBR squad members, 470 sailor Richard Mason and 49er crew Rick Peacock, plus catamaran expert Adam Piggott.

Another strong contender will be Flavio Marazzi's Marwin team. Marazzi is making his transition to catamarans having previously represented his native Switzerland in the Star class at both the Athens and Beijing Olympic Games. Also racing on board is Swiss 470 turned Nacra 17 Olympic catamaran sailor Matías Bühler, Diego Stefani from Uruguay and France's Nicolas Heintz.

www.thegreatcup.com

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

The Last Word
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