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ISAF and Rolex Announce World Sailor Nominees
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) and Rolex have announced the Nominees for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2013.

ISAF received nominations for the 2013 Awards from across the world for sailors representing all aspects of the sport. The nominees are put forward based on achievements made during the qualifying period from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2013.

Only one nominee wins in both the male and female categories. The names vying for the coveted and prestigious 2013 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award are:

Male
Mathew Belcher (AUS)
Francois Gabart (FRA)
Johnny Heineken (USA)
Paul Larsen (AUS)
Ian Williams (GBR)

Female
Jo Aleh & Olivia Powrie (NZL)
Deneen Demourkas (USA)
Erika Heineken (USA)
Raiya Al Habsi (OMA)

The winners are selected by the ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs), the national governing bodies for sailing around the world. The MNAs are now invited to vote for the male and female nominee they believe most deserves the Award.

The winners will be announced at the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards presentation and dinner, taking place on Tuesday 12 November 2013. The venue for the event will be at the El Bander Hotel, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

Each winner will be presented with the prestigious ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award Trophy and a distinctive Rolex timepiece.

Full profiling of each nominee and their achievements will be available on the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards microsite at www.sailing.org/worldsailor

J/22 World Championship
Newport, RI, USAL Allan Terhune jumped out to the early lead after one day of the J/22 World Championship, sponsored by Fidelity Investments. With 3 points over two races, Dazzler notched first and second for a quick seven-point advantage. Terry Flynn's Margo and Benz Faget's Fats are tied for the next two positions with 10 points each. Hosted by Sail Newport, the five-day event marks the 30th anniversary of the J/22.

Terhune got the regatta started with a victory in the opening race when winds were around 6 knots. Fred Hunger came in second and David McBrier in third. Terhune dropped to second in race two, as Chris Doyle's The Jug 4 1 topped the fleet when winds increased to 8-10 knots. Flynn placed third.

Racing continues through Saturday for the 71 teams from Canada, the Cayman Islands, South Africa and the USA.

Complete results, regatta information and live racing updates are available at www.j22worlds.com

World Class Programs Making Key West Plans
Photo by Andy Newman / Florida Keys News Bureau. Click on image to enlarge.

Key West Race Week Thoughts of sunshine, dependable breezes and world-class competition are drawing top programs to Florida's southernmost point for Quantum Key West 2014 in January.

The TP52's are returning to begin their second US Super Series; one design numbers are growing in the Melges 24, J/70, and J/80 classes; the Melges 32, Swan 42, and mini-maxi classes are all filling the scratch sheet; and top tier programs from Europe and the US are joining the IRC, High Performance, and PHRF divisions.

Don't miss out on the challenge of international competition and renowned Key West nightlife! Quantum Key West January 19 - 24 2014.

Entries and more: www.premiere-racing.com

Laser Radial - Women's World Championship
Rizhao, China: Today is the first day of the Laser Radial - Women's World Championship. The first warning signal time 12:00 was delayed 2 hours, and at 2:00 p.m started. Fortunately, the race committee successfully completed 2 races as planned. The host Chinese sailor, Zhang Dongshuang is ranked the second with 7 points, and American girl Paige Railey is ranked first. Host Chinese girl Xu Lijia,(Olympic champion in 2012) finished her first race with BFD, however got the first in the second race. She is ranked thirty-sixth at present.

Top ten after 2 races

1. Paige Railey, USA, 5 points
2. Dongshuang Zhang, CHN, 7
3. Josefin Olsson, SWE, 9
4. Tina Mihelic, CRO, 10
5. Sarah Gunni, DEN, 11
6. Isabella Bertold, CAN, 12
7. Min Gu, CHN, 13
8. Daiqing Zhou, CHN, 14
9. Marit Bouwmeester, NED, 15
10= Alicia Cebrian, ESP, 18
10= Alison Young, GBR, 18

www.rizhaolaserworlds2013.com/en/

Rolex Middle Sea Race: Record Entry For Season Finale
The Royal Ocean Racing Club has been a supporter of the Rolex Middle Sea Race for over 50 years and the 35th edition of the race has a record entry of over 111 yachts. For the first time the 606-mile race, starting and finishing in Malta, is included in the RORC Season's Points Championship and a number of boats are attending the event with the aim that their results could affect the final standings.

"The Royal Ocean Racing Club were co-founders of the race with the Royal Malta Yacht Club in 1968 and the Rolex Middle Sea Race is an important event in our calendar. Therefore the RORC Committee concluded that it should be included in the Season's Points Championship," commented RORC CEO, Eddie Warden Owen.

This, the last race of the RORC Season's Points Championship, could affect the results in two IRC classes. Derek Saunders' CM60, Venomous, is currently lying second in IRC Zero for the season but a good result in the Rolex Middle Sea Race could see the British boat secure the class ahead of the current leader, Harm Prins' Dutch Volvo 60, Pleomax.

Two production yachts have made the long journey to Malta from the Solent to take part in the race. RORC Admiral, Andrew McIrvine's First 40, La Reponse, and past RORC Commodore, Peter Rutter racing Grand Soleil 43, Trustmarque Quokka. Whilst neither yacht will be able to overtake Gery Trentesaux's Courrier Vintage to win IRC Two they have a chance of taking second place overall. The two boats have enjoyed a close rivalry over many months and the final score will be settled in Malta.

The overall winner of the Rolex Middle Sea Race is decided by the best corrected time under IRC and currently 96 yachts will be racing in four classes using the Spinlock IRC rating system.

Although the Rolex Middle Sea Race attracts some of the world's top professional teams, the last two editions have been won by Corinthian entries. In 2012 Eddie De Villiers' Royal Cape Yacht Club team, racing Hi Fidelity, was victorious. In 2011 the whole island was celebrating as Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard's Artie-RTFX, with an all-Malta team, were the overall winners. Neither yacht had a big budget campaign and Artie-RTFX is a production J/122 and will be racing again this year, as will over a dozen Maltese yachts.

www.rolexmiddlesearace.com

Chasing Gold In Bermuda
With four stages of the 2013 Alpari Wold Match Racing Tour (AWMRT) now complete, just 10 points separate the top four skippers on the Tour rankings as the series heads into its penultimate stage at the Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda from 7-13 October.

The Argo Group Gold Cup runs on a slightly different format from other Tour events with a 22-team format, as opposed to the 12 teams at the other Tour events. The field is split into two groups of 11 teams for the qualifying rounds with the top four from each group advancing to the quarter-finals.

All eight of the 2013 Tour Card Holder skippers will need to be on their game as they face a higher risk of early elimination with over half of each qualifying group being knocked out in the early stages of the event.

Defending Argo Group Gold Cup champion Taylor Canfield and his USone Sailing Team are heading to Bermuda fresh from their impressive win at the Chicago Match Cup which advanced Canfield to second place on the Tour rankings, just nine points behind current Tour leader Ian Williams of GAC Pindar. Canfield also recently elevated his world status to no1 on the ISAF World Match Race Rankings, placing him and his team in a confident position to extend their winning streak. Ian Williams and his GAC Pindar team are also looking to perform well in Bermuda as he chases his fifth ISAF Match Racing World Championship.

Full article in Seahorse magazine: www.seahorsemagazine.com

New - D12 99 and D12 Max 99
Marlow Ropes Throughout our history Marlow have always embraced innovation, technology and advancement in materials and that philosophy continues at METS 2013 where we will be showcasing our all new D12 99 and D12 Max 99 products.

Manufactured using new Dyneema® SK99, these new products join our Grand Prix Series as the highest strength for weight products on the market. 20% stronger than SK78 and 7% stronger than SK90, SK99 is the strongest fibre ever made by DSM.

Our Grand Prix Series customers rely on us to manufacture performance running rigging that can make the difference between winning and losing - whether it needs to be lighter, thinner, stiffer, softer. Winning margins are miniscule, but our partnership with DSM Dyneema® means one thing that can be relied upon is the performance of the rope to get the most out of the crew and the boat.

Our network of Grand Prix Riggers demand the best for their customers and we deliver.

Visit our stand 03.031 in the British Pavilion at METS to find out more about D12 99 and D12 Max 99.

www.marlowropes.com

RC44's Prepare To Do Battle In Cascais
Hosting the RC44 class for the second consecutive year, Cascais in Portugal will be the penultimate event of the 2013 RC44 Championship Tour. Local sailor Patrick de Barros is back in the fleet taking the helm of Team Cascais-Aleph Racing. Two time British Olympic gold medallist, Iain Percy makes his RC44 debut as tactician on Artemis Racing and Russell Coutts rejoins the class as tactician onboard Team Italia.

With the Tour heading into the final stages of the year, it is Chris Bake's Team Aqua who are leading the way in the fleet racing again this year with two event wins, their worst result as second place in Oman.

The winners of the 2012 RC44 Cascais Cup, Katusha (Gennadi Timchenko /Andy Horton) are seven points behind adrift of Team Aqua in second, Synergy (Valentin Zavadnikov / Ed Baird) and Sweden's Artemis Racing, are just two points off second and looking to bridge the gap. RC44 Class rules allow the team's to discard their worst event from five venues visited throughout the Championship Tour season meaning consistency is often the key to success in the RC44 fleet.

The RC44 Cascais Cup starts 10.00 (GMT) Wednesday 2nd October - Sunday 6 October follow the racing with the live blog at www.rc44.com

Mediterranean Crossing Record
Armel Le Cleac'h has beaten the record for a single handed Mediterranean crossing, completing the record attempt in18 hours 58 minutes 13 seconds * or 6h 40 '23'' better than the time set by Thomas Coville a year (25h 38 '36'')

After an initial attempt Sunday which had resulted in a return to Marseille harbor following lower than expected wind conditions, Armel Le Cleac'h did not wait long for another assault on the record. The Maxi Trimaran Banque Populaire VII Solo set sail at 5h 02 '57'' on Monday towards Carthage (Tunisia) in a north-westerly breeze of around twenty knots.

In a westerly breeze in the Bay of Tunis, the trimaran sailed at more than 32 knots on the last mile to cross the finish at 00 h01 '10'' Tuesday.

Armel Le Cleac'h passed his first challenge in collaboration with the router Marcel van Triest.

The record is pending World Sailing Speed Record Council ratification.

www.voile.banquepopulaire.fr

GC32 Added To Warm Up Bill For Extreme Sailing Series
The new GC32 one-design catamarans are the latest emerging class to be added to the on water warm up bill at the penultimate round of the Extreme Sailing Series in Nice, 3-6 October presented by Land Rover. Alongside the windsurfers of the NeilPryde Racing Series and SpeedDream, the pioneering monohull which aims to break speed records, two match racing GC32 catamarans will add to the high performance racing spectacle of the Extreme 40s on the Mediterranean during Act 7.

The smaller GC32 catamarans are designed for inshore and coastal racing and represent an interesting new development in the multihull world. The Extreme Sailing Series continues to seek the inclusion of other sailing classes in to the Stadium concept that OC Sport has developed,

Two GC32s will match race on the Bay of Angels each morning as the prelude to the Extreme 40 racing and in open water each afternoon. Representing the host nation, the French-flagged SPAX Solution will be led by French businessman Laurent Lenne, creator of the GC32 catamaran.

Former Swiss Olympic Star Sailor Flavio Marazzi will head up the Swiss boat Marwin Sailing Team. Argentinian Matias Buhler, who finished third at the Nacra 17 worlds earlier this year is also aboard with Frenchman Nicolas Heintz and Diego Stefani from Uruguay.

www.extremesailingseries.com

Garmin Hamble Winter Series
The 2013 Garmin Hamble Winter Series starts on the 6th October and runs for eight Sundays until 1st December.

There is racing in 5 classes for IRC keelboats (rating 0.880 and above) as well as seperate starts for J/109, J/111, Sigma 38 and Mixed Sportsboat classes.

There are two races a day before the mid-series break, and one race a day following the break.

This year also sees a return of the Doyle Sails Hamble One Design Championships and MDL Hamble Big Boat Championships.

Hamble River Sailing Club is grateful to Garmin, now in their eighth consecutive year of sponsorship, and to the event's day sponsors - The Bugle, Hudson Wight, Southern Ropes, One Sails, Rigmasters, Driver's Dry Berthing and the Sigma 38 class, who are celebrating their 25th year.

The first and third weekends of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series will also play host to the prestigious MDL Hamble Big Boat Championships.

Held on the 5/6th and 19/20th October, the MDL Hamble Big Boat championships features top-flight racing for Farr 45, J/111, Beneteau 40.7, Beneteau First 40 and all IRC classes for yachts with a minimum IRC rating of 1.040.

Farr 45s and J/111s will race as a One Design class, while IRC-rated yachts will be divided into two starts. Four or more identical boats competing in IRC can request seperate extracted results. These exciting championships will consist of 12 races - a maximum of 4 each Saturday and 2 each Sunday.

The second and fourth weekends of the main series see the return of the Hamble One Design Championships, this year sponsored by Doyle Sails.

A class start is also on offer for any one design class with at least 8 boats - contact the race office if that's you:

hambleriversc.org.uk

Letters To The Editor -
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.

* From Vincent Delany, Water Wag Club, Dun Laoghaire: I recently found this song which was sung annually at the North Shannon Yacht Club regattas in the 1920's.

Regretfully the club no longer exists although an annual regatta is held on Lough Boderg, Ireland in recognition of the club of the past.

The first line and verse:

The English may boast of their Henley.
The Yanks the America Cup,
But give me for sport health and beauty
Boderg when the flags are all up.
The boats they flock in in their thousands,
At least sanguine Bob* tells us so,
The tin house is chock full of prizes
All glittering there in a row.

(*Bob Devinish, Commodore.)

You can download the entire lyrics at scuttlebutteurope.com/pdf/boderg_regatta.pdf

Featured Brokerage
Featured Brokerage Boat 1935 M.M. Davis-Maryland-USA Chubasco. EUR 55,000. Located in Venezuela.

Born as a Marconi ketch motorsailer, actually Marconi cutter handy motorsailer , she was designed by Charles D. Mower for George H. Townsend and built as Cheerio Too by M.M. Davis in Solomon Island, Maryland in the spring 1935.

Chubasco underwent a total reconstruction between 1990 and 1996.

Brokerage throught Zacboats: www.yachtworld.com/zacboats/

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

The Last Word
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. -- Albert Einstein

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