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Williams and Ainslie Tied in Argo Group Gold Cup Qualifying
Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC. Click on image for photo gallery.

Gold Cup Hamilton Bermuda: In Argo Group Gold Cup action Tuesday, Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar, Alpari World Match Racing Tour champion and current leader on the Tour, has had a top day in Group 2 racing. He stands undefeated at 4-0. Ainslie, fresh from the super fast, high flying Oracle AC72, is locked at the top with his countryman at 4-0 as well. They will meet Wednesday on the course.

From the first race of the first flight in Argo Group Gold Cup, penalty flags flew fast and furious. The biggest penalty was on Bermuda's Lance Fraser (BER) Digicel Business Match Racing in his first race. He fouled Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racingafter rounding the weather mark, got a yellow flag, a red flag and another yellow before getting a DSQ black flag for not taking his penalty turn promptly. That was a tough end to his first race.

In Group, 1, Adam Minoprio has 3 wins, Bruni and Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team are on 2 wins and no losses, but have sailed one less race because of a bye and boat damage for Berntsson, and a bye plus a boat damage problem for Bruni. The match they missed was to be against each other. That is coming up later. Simone Farrarese (ITL) Ferrarese Racing Teamhas 2-1. Defending champion Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone has a 2-2 record.

Group 2 started racing later than expected because of repairs to boats damaged in the heavy morning squalls. They got five full flights in on Tuesday while the first group only got in three and a half flights. Group 1 had been delayed earlier because of damage and a torrential downpour and high winds from a passing squall. For racing, winds were 15-18 out of the South Southeast with higher gusts here and there.

argogroupgoldcup.com
wmrt.com

The Wave, Muscat Sails a Faultless Regatta in Nice
Photo by Mark Lloyd, www.lloydimages.com. Click on image for photo gallery.

Extreme After sailing a near faultless regatta, The Wave, Muscat were crowned champions of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 7 Nice, presented by Land Rover. The team, representing the Sultanate of Oman, has led the Act since the first race and haven't looked back since.

McMillan and his crew of Pete Greenhalgh, Ed Smyth, Musab Al Hadi and Hashim Al Rashdi had an unassailable lead going into the all important double points final race, but the battle for second was raging behind them.

Few of the teams have been able to pull together a consistent set of results this week which unfortunately was the story of the Danes on SAP Extreme Sailing. After expertly averting a pitchpole on the first day, the Danish-flagged team missed out on vital points to make repairs before returning to the fleet, where they found themselves embroiled in mid-fleet battles for most of the Act and ultimately have to settle for sixth.

Next stop on the global tour is Florianopolis, Brazil 14-17 November where four days of racing and over 30 races will decide the 2013 champion. Five teams - The Wave, Muscat, Alinghi, Red Bull Sailing Team, SAP Extreme Sailing Team and Realteam - are all in contention for a podium position.

Extreme Sailing Series 2013 Act 7, Nice presented by Land Rover standings after Day 4, 29 races (6.10.13)

Position / Team / Points
1. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Ed Smyth, Pete Greenhalgh, Musab Al Hadi, Hashim Al Rashd, 237 points
2. Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Anna Tunnicliffe, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey, 217
3. Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Simon Cooke, Kinley Fowler, 216
4. Realteam (SUI) Jerome Clerc, Pierre Pennec, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bryan Mettraux, Thierry Wasem, 213
5. ChinaSpirit (CHN) Phil Robertson, Garth Ellingham, Llang Wu, Louis Viat, Nick Catley, 183
6. SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Pete Cumming, Mikkel Røssberg, Nicolai Sehested, 175
7. the first club by ALL4ONE (FRA) Jean-Christophe Mourniac, Romain Petit, Stephane Christidis, Arnaud Jarlegan, Julien Cressant, 170
8. GAC Pindar (NZL) Will Tiller, Matt Steven, Harry Thurston, Brad Farrand, Shaun Mason, 130

extremesailingseries.com

Synergy Take Their First Ever RC44 Win in Cascais
RC44 Cascais Racing went down to the wire in Portugal, the closest RC44 event for many seasons. Five boats were in contention for the top spot going into the final day of racing. Cascais delivered another day of perfect sailing conditions, local sailor Patrick de Barros won the first two races of the day at the helm of Team Cascais - Aleph Racing, but it was Valentin Zavadnikov and Leonid Lebedev's Synergy Russian Sailing Team who took the final race to move up from fourth overnight and lift the RC44 Cascais Cup.

Synergy was on great form, Maxim Logutenko on the helm standing in for the injured Zavadnikov. This is the first ever event win for the team since joining the Tour back in 2010.

In the annual standings, Team Aqua stay in control discarding their fifth place in Cascais. After four events each team can discard their worst result, Chris Bake's team need to finish in the top three at the World Championships in Lanzarote to be crowned RC44 champions for the third consecutive year. Katusha are three points adrift, and will be going for the all-out win in Puerto Calero to snatch the trophy away from the reigning champions.

The class now move to Puerto Calero in Lanzarote for the final round of the 2013 RC44 Championship Tour which doubles as the class World Championships from 20 - 24 November 2013.

RC44 Cascais Cup Fleet Race Ranking (After twelve races)
1. Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 51 points
2. Team Cascais-Aleph Racing, 53
3. Katusha, 54
4. Peninsula Petroleum, 57
5. Team Aqua, 67
6. Ironbound, 70
7. Artemis Racing, 78
8. Team Italia, 93
9. Gazprom2, 96
10. Team Nika, 106
11. Team Aegir, 107
12. Bronenosec, 109

rc44.com

New - D12 99 and D12 Max 99
Photo by Pedro Martinez, www.martinezstudio.es. Click on image for photo gallery.

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


Jamaica Get All Right Clinches Line Honours In Race 2
Jamaica Get All Right crossed the finish line into Rio at 10:53:48, just 19 seconds ahead of PSP Logistics, following a thrilling battle in Race 2 of the Clipper 2013-14 Round the World Yacht Race. Qingdao crossed the line third, at 13:45:00. (UTC-3)

Jamaica Get All Right Skipper, Pete Stirling said: "It felt great to come in first to Rio. It was a very long, very tough race. There have been highs and lows. It's not the toughest of all the races physically but mentally it felt incredibly tough."

"Coming into the Doldrums, we were at the back of the pack but I had my tactics planned the whole way. Making our break out to the East and overtaking the fleet to take line honours in the final stages is a fantastic and memorable achievement for us all."

However, the victory is bitter sweet. After taking into account redress, which gave some boats time credits to compensate for suspending racing while replenishing fresh water supplies in the Doldrums, PSP Logistics move ahead of Jamaica Get All Right in the overall standings after applying a 1 hour 11 min redress. Henri Lloyd is now the one to watch as it has a 7hr 15 mins redress, giving it a slim chance of upsetting the final podium positions.

https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com

The Team To Beat In 2013-2014
With the Australian 18 Footer League's 2013-2014 Season about to start next Sunday (13 October) on Sydney Harbour, what better place to begin a look at team news than with the champion Gotta Love It 7 team.

A new hull (replacing the previous five years old hull) and the return of long time crewman Sam Newton from The America's Cup, will give skipper Seve Jarvin an excellent opportunity to equal the legendry Ianin Murray's six victories in the JJ Giltinan Championship next March.

The Jarvin-led Gotta Love It 7 team has won five of the last six Giltinan championships and will start the new season as early favourite to retain the crown.

The new Van Munster-built hull has only just been completed and it will be a couple of weeks before the team hits the water as all three crewmen are presently overseas.

Jarvin (China Cup), Scott Babbage (World Moth Championship in Hawaii) and Sam Newton (touring USA) will all be back early in November.

CEO and 2013 Regatta Director of The America's Cup, Iain Murray adds his magnificent knowledge of the 18s as Team Manager so it's not hard to see why Team Seven will again be "the team to beat in 2013-2014". -- Frank Quealey, Australian 18 Footers League

18skiff.com

Transmitter Maintenance Could Affect BBC Shipping Forecast
The BBC's Droitwich transmitter will undergo essential maintenance during 2014. From approximately April to mid-August the 12:01 2014 shipping forecast will potentially be transmitted at a lower power or maybe inaudible on LW for that period.

Other shipping forecasts will be unaffected.

This is due to essential maintenance work taking place on the BBC's Droitwich transmitter which will be shut down during the daytime from Monday to Friday. The Burghead and Westerglen LW transmitters will be unaffected.

There may also be occasional dates outside this period when power is lowered or shut down. The Royal Yachting Association will issue updates when further information is provided at http://www.rya.org.uk -- Laura Kitching in Practical Boat Owner

Read more at www.pbo.co.uk

Team and Event Wear By Marinepool - High Tech Functionality and Customization
Marinepool With more than 22 years experience and design expertise, highly functional sailing clothing is one of the core competencies of Marinepool.

Before and during production, no detail is omitted and only the best materials and state of the art production technologies are utilized to ensure every product is optimized before it reaches the market.

In addition Marinepool focuses also on post-production services and particularly on customized team wear. Post-production branding is paramount for professional teams and the ambitious amateur crew alike. Marinepool provides branding services on both, functional sailing clothing - always maintaining its technical qualities - but also on technical fashion and casual lifestyle clothing.

As the official clothing supplier of world-class teams such as Energy Team France - challenger in the 34th America´s Cup, Oman Sail and the Oman Sail racing crews in MOD70, Ex40 The Wave, Muscat and M34 circuit as well as the German national squad Sailing Team Germany Marinepool has vast experience and offers top notch quality for branded gear. Performance where it counts, durable in all wind and weather conditions.

Yet another strength of the brand are special productions for events, event series and teams where Marinepool - due to a vertically integrated organization from design to production and distribution - is able to offer a service second to none. Specially developed collections for the Extreme Sailing Series ( www.extremesailingseries.com ) or the Sailing Team Germany fan collection launched at 2013 Kiel Week ( www.stg-store.de ) are just a few examples.

Turn to Marinepool for your team or event wear!

www.marinepool.com

Powell and Dickson Have the First Titles of RS100 World Champions
Over forty RS100s from across Europe and as far as Australia are converged on Circolo vela Bellano, Lake Como in Italy for their first ever World Championship.

The RS100 Class was granted ISAF status in November last year following its rapid worldwide growth since launch 2010. Sales continue strongly in both the more established sailing countries and also some less obvious nations... For example, the first three boats have just been despatched to an embryonic fleet in Taiwan and we look forward to meeting those sailors at a future World Championship.

Top five results, RS100-10.2
1. Huw Powell, GBR, 6 points
2. Colin Smith, GBR, 10
3. Paul Jacobs, GBR, 19
4. Mark Nethercleft, GBR, 20
5. Christer Bath, SWE, 29

Top five results, RS100-8.4
1. Alistair Dickson, GBR, 20 points
2. Antonio Tamburin, ITA, 26
3. Jack Holden, GBR, 26
4. Greg Booth, GBR, 26
5. Mark Cotgrove, FRA, 30

www.RS100sailing.org

Student Yachting World Cup
The Student Yachting World Cup is less than a week away, all the best teams from Universities all around the World will gather in La Rochelle, France for the 33rd edition of SYWoC.

Teams from Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, Ireland and USA will fight for the title on the 14th of October.

The SYWoC is an annual sailing competition organized by students of the ecole Polytechnique, a French engineering school, seeing the world's best student sailing teams confront each other in a week-long series of races.

The SYWoC is organized by students for students to provide the best experience in very high-level student sailing.

www.sywoc.org

Promo video: youtu.be/EFv28kHkgaM

Boatyard Bliss, Where Owners Can Work On Their Craft
The boat bodger doesn't think in terms of days, let alone close of business. All he needs is all the time in the world, and his own little space. In most modern coastal communities, neither is available. So we wax nostalgic about traditional yards where the boats came up a slip (at least a day's work in itself), and the work schedule stretched gently into the infinite beyond.

Every so often we still come across such places, and if we're on other business in the area, I am expressly forbidden from going near these paradises for boat nuts, as they're very heaven, and I'd be lost for the rest of the day But you won't find any in Dublin, where boat life now is all travel hoists and cranes and strictly scheduled throughput, while people think a slip is something that happens on a banana skin. However, if you get way from the big urban centres, there's more chance of finding yards which somehow retain enough of the traditional mood to relax the stressed boat owner, while at the same time embracing enough of the present to stay in business. And they're filled with boats which are themselves a living history of yacht design.

Perhaps the most remarkable boatyard place in Ireland is around Oldcourt in West Cork, where the Ilen River comes conveniently near the road as it meanders on its way down from Skibbereen to Baltimore. Several marine-related businesses seem to overlap here, there are boats of all shapes and sizes, and there are certainly some craft for which this is the final port of call. But as Spring arrives, somehow the numbers ashore get less, the number of emptied cradles increases, and despite the unhurried atmosphere, a lot gets done.

WM Nixon's long, great article in Afloat:

afloat.ie

Boatbuilder Remembered as Humble and Hands-On
Warren Luhrs was not the type of man who surrounded himself with "yes men." Instead, the man who co-founded Hunter and Silverton with his brother, John, chose to be around straight-shooting people with integrity.

That's according to past Luhrs president Roger Yarborough, who told Trade Only Today that the Sept. 18 death of the 69-year-old Luhrs was a complete shock to everyone who knew him and a tragic loss of a great man.

"He had a massive heart attack; it was totally unexpected and he didn't recover," Yarborough told Trade Only. "He was going over to someone's house when it happened. Warren was a real health nut, too. He did all the right things. He was 69 and a very young 69."

There had been few details about Luhrs' death because his wife, Linda, wanted to wait until after his funeral. "Warren's family was very private," said Yarborough, who has worked with Luhrs since 1988.

www.tradeonlytoday.com

Correction
In the report from the Voiles St. Tropez:

The winner of the Trophee les marines de Cogolin was listed as Turquoise (Dufour 40) Erik Aroux

That report was incorrect. The winner was Andrew McIrvine's La Reponse (Beneteau First 40)

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 Daniel Charles: Adrian Morgan's letter claiming that « no one, not the Kiwis and Australian professionals whose lives depend on sailing, nor those desperate to buy into the New America's Cup want a genuine nationality clause" forgets somebody in his list: the public. National publics need the nationality clause to identify with their teams. Such national bond will re-motivate national sponsors.

I also believe that the world of sailing as a whole needs a nationality clause: the actual domination of the Cup by Kiwi nationals owes much to the fact that they occupy all the spots; while they accumulate experience, the others are deprived of it and have no way to reach their level. New-Zealand's domination of the Cup is circumstantial: in other events they are not so domineering. The ETNZ team didn't win the last Volvo Race, and in the last Olympic Games Australia and Spain won more gold. By breaking the Kiwi monopoly, the nationality rule would indeed create an employment crisis among New Zealand and Aussie professional sailors but would offer new revenues to the professionals of the other countries.

* From Eero Lehtinen: Spot on, Adrian Morgan. It would have been so much more than just a win for ETNZ, Auckland and the whole nation of NZ. The Cup was now won by OTUSA, but I am afraid the Cup itself lost a lot while not ending up in hands of the Kiwis. We will wait and see.

* From Rob Martin: With reference to Adrian Morgan's comment on the "Auld Mug" … he is spot on, it's more the Kiwis versus the others from "Down Under".. should call it the International Cup held in America, the original deed and I stand corrected is a home grown team in all disciplines from the keel up.. remember the dispute regarding the Winged keel in 84… in my mind we should get down to basics and make it a my country effort , on the other hand some country's will not have the technology to compete.

Featured Brokerage
Featured Brokerage Boat 2008 Dufour 365 Grand Large. EUR 97,000. Located in Crosshaven, Cork, Ireland.

This Dufour 365 Grand'Large is in very good condition. She is the twin aft cabin version and comes with an excellent inventory including a fully battened mainsail, Furling Genoa, hot water, shore power and more. She has the added advantage of a 2010 Volvo 29HP diesel engine. "St. Jude" has had light use from new. Excellent value!

Brokerage through Crosshaven Boatyard: www.yachtworld.com/crosshavenboatyard/

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

The Last Word
I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be. -- Isaac Asimov

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