The sixth in-port race day of the Volvo Ocean Race is scheduled for Saturday afternoon on Galway Bay and it promises to be among the more memorable events of the 2008-09 race. If the welcome the fleet received last weekend at the conclusion of the leg from Boston is any indication, the local crowds will be large, loud, and very enthusiastic.

The weather forecast is for sunshine and light to moderate breezes, which should offer fair racing conditions and fantastic opportunities for race fans to watch the proceedings. The hometown favourites, Ireland's Green Dragon, will be among seven teams battling for supremacy on a short, inshore racecourse, located just outside the city on Galway Bay.
The local team received a hero's welcome last weekend, after securing a podium finish on the leg into Galway and their skipper, Ian Walker, knows the pressure is on for another strong performance during the in-port race.
"Within our team, we have made a really big effort this week," he said at the skippers' press conference today. "We’ve done twice as many training days here as we have before. We've bolstered the crew. We’re taking it very seriously, we know that all of these people are coming and they want to see Green Dragon do well, and we're going to do our best."
The action is sure to be closely contested. On the overall race leaderboard, Ericsson 4 has built a 14.5 point lead over its nearest rivals, Telefónica Blue. But the crew on the Blue boat has shown itself to be a force on the in-port races, having won the last two in-port days in Boston and Rio de Janeiro.
In addition, PUMA is just 1.5 points behind Telefónica Blue on the leaderboard, in the hard-fought battle for second place.
"The question of the week has been about the fight between Telefónica Blue and PUMA," said Telefónica Blue in-port helmsman Iker Martinez. "But I think the big fight is with ourselves; just to round these marks, get the spinnaker up and down with no problems, that's already pretty difficult. The goal for us is to have no problems and try to be in the top three."
"There's no doubt we'll know where they are on the race course," admitted PUMA skipper Ken Read, speaking about the rivalry with Telefónica Blue. "As the regatta gets further along, you start to pinpoint your closest competitors so that's really a normal thing. One problem is that Telefónica Blue has a really nice way of dialling in the weather because these light air days surely are very good for them. That makes it a little bit harder to really go after them if they potentially have speed on you. If it's light air tomorrow, they're certainly the boat to beat."
The teams are permitted to add two additional sailors to their crew lists for in-port racing and there was some light-hearted banter between Ken Read and Ericsson 3 skipper Magnus Olsson over who was adding the most muscle to their team. After hearing Read detail the two 'grinders' who would be added to PUMA for the race, Olsson joked: "We have a Danish guy on our boat, eight and a half feet tall and 250 kilos strong!"
Racing is due to start on Saturday at 1300 local time, 1200 GMT. Two races are scheduled over the course of the afternoon.
Online, www.volvooceanrace.org, will have live coverage of the racing with a live blog and audio commentary, and www.volvooceanrace.tv will feature a live broadcast of the race.
Overall Leaderboard
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA): 92.0 points
2. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED): 77.5 points
3. PUMA (Ken Read/USA): 76.0 points
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE): 60.0 points
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR): 52.0 points
6. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP): 36.0
7. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermudez/ESP): 29.5 points
8. Team Russia (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT): 10.5 points

Starting tomorrow, May 29, Quantum Sails will begin accepting entries to win an all-expenses-paid trip to be part of the crew on board TP52 Quantum Racing for the Audi MedCup event in Portimao, Portugal.
The regatta will take place on August 18-23, 2009.
To enter, ponder this: “Have you ever dreamed of racing on a grand prix yacht at the highest level? Here's your chance. Tell us why you should be the one to come to Portimao and live the dream.”

Essays up to 300 words accompanied by one photo, or video essays of less than two minutes will be accepted.
The entry form will go live on the QuantumSails.com website on Friday, allowing participants from around the world to submit their best stories.
A judging panel will narrow down the finalists, and then, for one week in mid-July, the public will be invited to pick their favorite to determine the winner. The winner will receive a round-trip airline ticket from their nearest major airport to Portugal on August 14, 2009, ground transport, ten nights at the four-star Tivoli Marina Hotel in Portimao, three days of practice and six days of racing (weather permitting) on the TP52 Quantum Racing along side top professionals in the world of yachting, including 2008 Yachtsman of the Year, Terry Hutchinson. The winner will be a full member of the racing crew and will be involved in all team activities. Quantum Racing crew gear will also be provided, along with full access to the Audi MedCup village, crew facilities, and special events.
For additional information, and to submit an entry, visit http://www.quantumsails.com

El Desafío is the new Cristabella
After being unable to race in Alicante, John Cook's Cristabella (GBR) team will return to compete on the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit with their new boat and some additional key crew members. The British team will race in the City of Marseille Trophy (June 9-14) with the 2008 TP52 of El Desafío.
Cristabella have recently secured the TP52 which was previously El Desafío which finished seventh on the 2008 Audi MedCup Circuit and raced her final regatta in Spanish colours at the 2009 City of Alicante Trophy, finishing seventh.
The new Cristabella is a 2007-8 Judel Vrolijk design built in Valencia by the Spanish America's Cup Challenge.
The hull sister to Bribón is now being prepared to be raced in Marseille as Cristabella.
"Now we have a bit on to be ready, to get the boat sorted and on our way to Marseille”, explains Brendan Darrer (IRL), Cristabella's boat captain. “Now we just want to get there and to enjoy our sailing again. It was very disappointing to miss out in Alicante. We have only missed four MedCup regattas since we started in 2005 so we really are looking forward to being back."
Limited time means that the boat will be green and silver, with the sponsors' logos removed. "It looks pretty good in green and silver," Darrer notes. "I am not remotely superstitious and green, of course, is my national colour!"
The British team is happy about racing again with a Judel/Vrolijk design, as Barren highlights: "I'm really happy with the boat. The thing about the Judel Vrolijk boats is they are all so similar, just very small differences, and we are great believers in it being the way you sail them. We had already bought some new sails for this season and have some good, later ones from the 'old boat' so I feel we'll be OK in that area to start with."
Cristabella’s crew will include El Desafio's Olympic Finn bronze medal winning John Cutler (NZL). The Manchester, England born Kiwi sailed as tactician last year when the El Desafío team finished seventh overall, including a third overall in Cartagena, Murcia.
World No 1 match racer Ian Williams (GBR) joins the crew, which is otherwise largely unchanged from the usual core including navigator Nat Ives (GBR) and owner/skipper John Cook (GBR).
http://2009.medcup.org

RC 44 - Gmunden, Austria by Paul Cayard

Wednesday, May 27, 2009
We had a good day onboard Ceeref today winning three races and losing just one. The conditions were tricky as seems to be the norm here and this caused more than a few lead changes.
Before things got going, our boat captain Josh did a great job getting down to the boat at 0700 to check her out. He even dove on the boat and found that the trim tab had been damaged by one of the mooring lines the night before in the storm. He and a couple of the crew took the boat down to the end of the lake, about 10 miles away, hauled it and tried to put in the spare tab. It did not fit so they put the damaged one back in, sanded it a bit and we raced like that. Luckily we had a bye in the first flight of racing so we did not miss anything.
We actually led around every mark of every race we were in. In our first race, we lost the lead on the final run to the finish when the boat behind gybe set and got a puff of wind we never saw. Other than that, we never crossed behind anyone. I could not have hoped for much more than that. Most importantly, my friend and fellow team member from the 1983 America's Cup, Rod Davis, kindly let me beat him so I could win the master division.
So tomorrow we have the last four matches. We start out with Artemis where Dean Barker is the helmsman. The forecast for tomorrow isn't great but I think we just have to reset our idea of good wind down to about 4 knots with 40 degree shifts and then it will all be normal.
We had a nice party tonight in an old palace half way down the west side of the Lake. There was a church in this place from the 12th century. Most places we go are very international really. If you go to Palma or St. Tropez or San Francisco, you can find anything. This place is very old and very Austrian.
Standings after today:
1) Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 4/1, 4 points
2) CEEREF, Paul Cayard, 3/1, 3 points
2) Artemis, Dean Barker, 3/2, 3 points
2) Team Organika, Karol Jablonski 3/2, 3 points
5) BMW ORACLE Racing, Rod Davis, 2/2, 2 points
5) No Way Back, Pieter Heerema, 2/2, 2 points
5) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, Jose Juan Calero, 2/3, 2 points
8) Team Sea Dubai, Markus Wieser, 1/3, 1 point
9) Team Austria, Christian Binder, 0/4, 0 point

Paul Cayard
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Tomorrow will be the first day of racing for the RC44 fleet here in Gmunden. The RC44 is a relatively new class of boat designed by Russell Coutts and Andre Justin. It looks like a 1/2 scale of the America's Cup boats from 2007. But it is relatively lighter and very high performing. It planes downwind in 16 knots of wind and it is fully powered up in 7 knots upwind. It is a one design class and the boats are very high tech being built out of carbon fiber and even having a trim tab on the keel fin.
The RC 44 fleet has a circuit around Europe and the Middle East.? So far this year, the fleet has competed two events, one in Lanzarote and one Cagliari, Sardinia.
I have been asked to sail onboard Ceeref for just this regatta as the tactician, Sebastian Col is off doing one of the World Match Race Tour regattas.
The format for racing in this class is: Wednesday and Thursday Match Racing where a professional can steer the boat and Friday-Sunday is Fleet Racing and an armature must steer the boat which is usually the owner.
So we will race each other team once in a round robin over the next two days. There are some very good match racers here and I haven't match raced in a while so it will be a good challenge for me.
Gmunden in on Lake Traun. This lake is nestled at the bottom of some very high mountains. So far, two of the three days, the wind had trouble getting down to the lake with any kind of steadiness. Yesterday was a fantastic day with the wind blowing down the length of the lake due to thermal convection in the mountains at the far end of the lake. The lake is about 8 miles long and 2 miles wide. It makes for a beautiful setting. There are many summer homes here is Gmunden is just 40 minutes from Salzburg.
A big wind just blew through the town and knocked a couple of the boats off their mooring. I am told there was a bit of damage to one of them when another drifted into it.? We'll see in the morning.
It has been about 33C for the past two days but the temp is supposed to drop to 15C tomorrow.

Bouwe Bekking, one month to go

May 26, 2009
In just one month, on June 27, the Volvo Ocean Race 2008/09 finishes in St. Petersburg, Russia. Bouwe Bekking and the crew on board TELEFONICA BLUE have just arrived in Galway, Ireland, after seven months and two weeks of sailing seven Legs and 35,150 nautical miles around the globe. After adding the maximum number of points at the scoring waypoint of St. Johns, Newfoundland (Canada), Bouwe Bekking's boat finished Leg 7 in fourth place, not the result they were fighting for, but enough to maintain their second place position on the overall leaderboard of the race.
Leg 7 was 2,550 nautical miles from Boston (USA) to Galway (Ireland), including the scoring waypoint and the ice gate to avoid any risk of sailing too far North. In the words of Bouwe, the Leg could be divided into two parts: "The beginning part was as expected in terms of wind conditions, while in the second part we had more breeze than we had hoped for." That first part was where TELEFONICA BLUE showed her true potential, crossing the scoring waypoint first, just 40 seconds ahead Puma after 1,000 miles of racing from Boston. Bouwe described the situation on May 19 in one of his exclusive reports for www.bouwebekking.com: "It was a nail-biter right until the end. The last two hours I was on the helm, and the regular trimmers were in their positions while the rest of the crew was hiking. When we crossed the line, I let out a breath of air as it had been some intense hours."
For TELEFONICA BLUE that crossing was the key moment of Leg 7, and in the words of Bouwe: "I think for us the key moment was winning the scoring gate, as we knew we would sail in conditions where all the boats would be close in performance, so it was important to win that part."
That was the second consecutive scoring waypoint won by TELEFONICA BLUE in this race and the seventh partial win since the start of the race in October 2008 (Leg 3, Leg 4; the scoring waypoints of Leg 5 and Leg 7; the in-port races in Alicante, Rio de Janeiro and Boston). For Bouwe, these results show the strength of the team and the boat, which has improved her performance in this last leg after receiving some changes during the Boston stopover: "In heavy downwind conditions we were moving better than ever before, and we have managed to hang in there. Compared to the previous legs in similar conditions, we were hanging in better than expected. The best comparison we have is against our sister ship, and we have hugely improved in that sense."
What about the best and worst moments of Leg 7, Bouwe? "The best was the win at the scoring gate. We didn't actually have any moments where you thought 'this is really bad,' so in that sense maybe the worst was getting to Galway in 4th." But one thing that Bouwe is always proud of is his crew: "The mood has been incredible, always positive and believing in ourselves." Two days before getting to Ireland, Bouwe wrote: "The guys are giving everything they have, pushing, pushing all the time, wanting a good result on his leg. The word sleep is not a real word in our vocabulary right now, that is only a thing everybody dreams about." Enough said.
Next Saturday, May 30, TELEFONICA BLUE will face off with the fleet in Galway for the sixth and penultimate in-port race of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008/09. Until that moment, Bouwe is enjoying a couple of days with his family back home in Denmark while the shore crew is "doing some work on the boat to get it at 100% for the in-port race. No big changes are planned, we plan to go sailing on Thursday."
It is just one month, three legs and 1,845 nautical miles to go before the finish in St. Petersburg. There are 32 points left to fight for (8 per each of the three legs, plus 4 per each of the two in-port races left) before it's over, and Bouwe is realistic but positive about their chances to catch up to Ericsson 4, current leader of the race: "We'll keep on trying to win each leg, as usual; that never changes. On the other hand, I have to be realistic, it will be getting harder and harder, but we are not giving up until it is over. I've said it before: very strange things can happen in sailing..."

120,000 people on the beach in Les Sables d’Olonne for the prize-giving ceremony

At 10.30 in the evening on Saturday, the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe skippers climbed one after the other onto the huge podium erected on the beach for the official prize-giving ceremony for this sixth Vendée Globe. No fewer than 120,000 people turned up for this show that was entirely free and packed with emotion. One final opportunity to applaud the sailors, but also an occasion to look back at this historic race. During the evening, the date of the start of the next Vendée Globe was revealed. It will begin on 21st October 2012.
As night fell over Les Sables, the show began. A highly emotional atmosphere with a joyful crowd watching the large stage set up on the beach in Sables d'Olonne.
One by one the skippers, who kept millions of fans so excited, would make their appearance. On the giant screens on either side of the stage, the audience was able to watch the highlights of the race. There would be all the emotion of the start, footage of the storms, the moments of stress and anguish, the skippers being forced to retire, the rescues. Then, all the joyful moments: Michel Desjoyeaux's amazing comeback, the ecstasy of each finish. To conclude, there was a giant fireworks display over the beach and sea to close the evening a quarter of an hour after midnight.
For more information: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/

The crew of Delta Lloyd just gets better and better. Although finishing in fifth place this morning in Galway at 0339 GMT, the team had been up in the lead during this leg and was in contention for a podium finish right up until the last moment.
As the crew gelled, their performance has improved and they scored a third place each in the in-port race series in Rio de Janeiro and Boston as well as being third at the scoring gate on leg six. On stepping ashore, Spanish skipper, Roberto Bermúdez said, “We’re sailing against really good teams and really good people. We are trying to not make mistakes and to sail within our limits and that’s what we did here. And you enjoy the race so much more when you don’t ‘lose’ the fleet. “You always think about the real big downwind sailing in the Southern Ocean when you think about this race, but these last couple of days were maybe the best downwind in the race. It was really good. “It’s a happy team and we’ve enjoyed it a lot. Everybody sailed very well and we are really starting to feel like a close group.”
As the winner of the 2005-06 Volvo, Delta Lloyd already has one circumnavigation under her keel and the team’s first priority was to get to Galway in one piece, however, when the rest of the fleet put the throttle down, the crew of Delta Lloyd did the same. The fight for fifth place was hard fought. Telefónica Black was also leader of the pack in the first third of the leg, but once the fleet cleared the ice exclusion zone and turned downwind, Telefónica Black did not flourish. They were, according to navigator Roger Nilson, “demolished” and finished at 0358 GMT, just 19 minutes behind Delta Lloyd. Fellow Spaniard and skipper of Telefónica Black, Fernando Echávarri, commented, “We performed quite well. In the first half we were very comfortable with the boat and we did well. But we knew it was going to be really hard downwind. “At the end we were really close to passing Delta Lloyd, but we could not. It was very exciting racing, very close. It is more interesting when you can see the other boats.” For Ericsson 3, who finished two hours later in seventh position at 0558 GMT today, leg seven could have been a leg the crew would rather forget, but in his usual irrepressible way, skipper, Magnus Olsson was pragmatic. “We are a little disappointed with the result, but that’s life. We think we’ve sailed the best ever, but this time it wasn’t enough. When we sail as well, we are normally fighting for podium positions, it was frustrating when we didn’t go so well and in the end, we took some chances. In the short term, our egos have taken a beating. And now we know how hard it is to really be up there.” With Volvo fleet safely arrived in Galway, there is a full two weeks for the crews to enjoy the legendary Irish hospitality before the in-port race next Saturday 30 May and the start of leg eight the following Saturday 6 June.

Leg Six Finishing Order Galway
1. Ericsson 4: 8 points
2. PUMA: 7 points
3. Green Dragon: 6 points
4. Telefónica Blue: 5 points
5. Delta Lloyd: 4 points
6. Telefónica Black: 3 points
7. Ericsson 3: 2 points
Overall Leaderboard (Provisional)
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) 92.0 points (FINISHED)
2. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) 77.5 points (FINISHED)
3. PUMA (Ken Read/USA) 76.0 points (FINISHED)
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) 60.0 points (FINISHED)
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) 52.0 points (FINISHED)
6. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) 36.0 points (FINISHED)
7. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermúdez/ESP) 29.5 points (FINISHED)
8. Team Russia 10.5 points (DNS)
more on: www.volvooceanrace.org

Leg Seven Day 6: 1400 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)
1. Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermúdez/ESP) DTL 1186 nm
2. PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +2
3. Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) + 3
4. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +6
5. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +9
6. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +36
7. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +46
8. Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS

The 2009 TP52 World Championship to be held in Palma in October

The 2009 TP52 World Championship will be held in the Bay of Palma from 6th to 11th October. World Sailing Management (WSM) in cooperation with the Real Club Naútico de Palma (RCNP) and the TP52 Class will run the event.
Both the organisers and the class manager expect entries of between 10 and 14 boats and see the stand alone World Championship as the perfect opportunity for potential TP52 owners or programmes to test their skills and to find out how it is to race a TP52 against many of the world’s best sailors.
Palma has long been a popular venue for the TP52 fleet. It offers potentially excellent and reliable wind conditions in October, but it also has a large protected bay, which gives shelter and is still sailable in case of strong north westerly or north-easterly winds.

ODLO sets the sails: Official Clothing Supplier agreement signed with Alinghi

With immediate effect, the Swiss sportswear manufacturer ODLO is providing the Alinghi sailing team, Defender of the 33rd America’s Cup, with functional clothing for the 33rd America's Cup campaign and thus becomes the Official Clothing Supplier for one of the world's top sailing crews.
http://www.odlo.com/en/#index.cfm

ΑΓΩΝΑΣ ΑΙΓΑΙΟΥ ΑΡΧΙΠΕΛΑΓΟΥΣ 2009
Μια από τις παρακάτω διαδρομές θα χρησιμοποιηθεί για τον Αγώνα Αιγαίου Αρχιπελάγους.
Η επιλογή της διαδρομής θα γίνει λίγο πριν την εκκίνηση με κριτήριο τις μετεωρολογικές προγνώσεις.
Η εκκίνηση του αγώνα έχει προγραμματισθεί για αργά το απόγευμα της Παρασκευής 19 Ιουνίου 2009. Πρόθεση των οργανωτών είναι να έχουν τερματίσει όλα τα σκάφη μέχρι το βράδυ της Κυριακής 21 Ιουνίου 2009.
ΠΡΟΚΉΡΥΞΗ
ΕΝΤΥΠΟ ΔΗΛΩΣΗΣ ΣΥΜΜΕΤΟΧΗΣ
ΠΡΟΘΕΣΕΙΣ ΣΥΜΜΕΤΟΧΗΣ

ΔΙΑΔΡΟΜΗ 1: 156 ναυτικά μίλια
ΔΙΑΔΡΟΜΗ 2: 182 ναυτικά μίλια
ΔΙΑΔΡΟΜΗ 3: 193 ναυτικά μίλια
ΔΙΑΔΡΟΜΗ 4: 210 ναυτικά μίλια
ΔΙΑΔΡΟΜΗ 5: 214 ναυτικά μίλια

Great first day of racing at the Rolex Capri Sailing Week

Capri, May 21st 2008
The first day of racing at the Rolex Capri Sailing Week, organized by Yacht Club Capri and Rolex, proved to be interesting today. The 40 participating yachts were not stopped by the early morning downpour and as scheduled by the Race Committee, the gun for the first race was fired at 12 p.m. On the 30 mile long offshore course from the Island of Capri to the Island of Ischia and return competitors sailed in a 13 knot breeze and rough seas, the remainder of yesterday’s storm that grounded all commercial ferries between Capri and the mainland. The race was particularly challenging for Swan45 Earlybird who lost a sail overboard and for Comet45 I.nova who burst her spinnaker on the finishing line. All yachts concluded the race minutes before another downpour submerged the island.
The first to return to the harbor was Alfa Romeo at about 2.15 p.m. with the rest of the fleet lagging behind by an hour. As every year it was a memorable show to see the yachts cutting the line just in front of the harbor of Marina Grande.
For the scoreboard’s purpose the offshore race is valid as two separate races: Capri- Formiche di Vivara the first and Formiche di Vivara – Capri the second.
Η Ελληνική συμμετοχή είναι το σκάφος "AELA" (Swan 42), της Μιράντας Παπαδοπούλου. Μετά τις πρώτες ιστιοδρομίες βρίσκεται στην τέταρτη θέση της κλάσης του.
http://www.yccapri.org/

The fleet, led by Telefónica Black, is converging on the southeast corner of the ice exclusion zone just over three nautical miles ahead, where sheets will be eased and spinnakers hoisted as a new and exciting downwind game begins.

photo credit: Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race
Jordi Calafat and Pablo Arrarte covering themself from an imminent cold shower, onboard Telefonica Blue, on leg 7 from Boston to Galway
“Everyone is just lining up for what looks like a rip-roaring ride on the second part of this leg into Galway,” said Guy Salter, Ericsson 4’s MCM.
The outlook for the next 24 hours shows a big front coming in from the northwest and the fleet can expect some more typical trans-Atlantic weather.
“We have a lot of respect for the weather in the Atlantic. There is definitely that feeling here on our boat, which has done a lot of miles and is not the newest in the fleet,” said Delta Lloyd’s navigator Wouter Verbraak. “The first goal is to get the boat to Galway in one piece, and the second goal is to push hard when we can,” he said in a radio interview today.
photo credit: Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race
On deck instrumentation onboard Green Dragon, on leg 7 from Boston to Galway
The crew of Green Dragon has been looking forward to this point of the leg. The forecast is for downwind sailing and much of it will be in very windy conditions.
“We have not sailed in close proximity to the other boats in weather like that, so it will be interesting for everyone. The whole leg is setting up for a grandstand finish in Galway Bay,” said skipper Ian Walker whose team has been taking strategic advice from the online gaming community as to where to position Green Dragon.
“It is providing a good source of entertainment, trying to decide what we should ask the gaming community to vote on. Sadly most of the options suggested would be very funny, but are far from acceptable,” he said. On a more serious note, he added that the experiment has been working well. “We had a long period where the strategic advice matched our actions, but it is clear that when the weather is very changeable or not matching the forecast, we need to react quickly.” What will the gaming community suggest for this portion of the leg?
photo credit: Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race
Straight into cold and windy conditions. Daryl Wislang is adding a new sheet to the jib and is holding onto it while Xabier Fernandez is pulling him towards the boat
Earlier, when Telefónica Black set off along the 175 nm southern perimeter of the ‘ice fence’, quite suddenly they hooked into the warm waters of the Gulf Stream – two knots of east setting current and 16 degrees Celsius water temperature.
“For two hours it felt like summer. Clear skies and a steady warm, southerly wind sweeping across our frozen faces,” wrote navigator Roger Nilson. However, just as quickly as it arrived, it was replaced by thick fog and colder water. For all crews, a little treat of salami or cheese was much appreciated when they finished a freezing watch.
Currently, just 12 miles separate pathfinder Telefónica Black, from Ericsson 4 and Telefónica Blue. Delta Lloyd leads the second string from PUMA, Green Dragon and Ericsson 3 who are having a torrid time after losing three positions at the scoring gate.
Telefónica Blue has averaged the highest boat speed of 17 knots over the past three hours and also holds the fastest 24-hour run of 269 nm. Computer routing software is predicting a finish in Galway early on Sunday morning based on current performance.

Scoring Gate Order 1. Telefónica Blue at 03:11.24 GMT
2. PUMA at 03:12.04 GMT
3. Ericsson 4 at 03:33.05 GMT
4. Ericsson 3 at 04:06.02 GMT
5. Telefónica Black at 04:36.54 GMT
6. Delta Lloyd at 06:16.00 GMT
Leg Seven Day 5: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)
1. Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) DTL 1596 nm
2. Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +2
3. Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +12
4. Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermúdez/ESP) +16
5. PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +24
6. Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +37
7. Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) +48
8. Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) DNS

Η υπομονή των αθλητών και της επιτροπής αγώνων δοκιμάστηκε την τελευταία ημέρα των αγώνων καθώς η αστάθεια του καιρού ταλαιπώρησε όλους όσους βρίσκονταν στην θάλασσα για το Πανελλήνιο Πρωτάθλημα.

Οι δύο κούρσες που κατάφεραν να ολοκληρωθούν πραγματοποιήθηκαν με 2 διαφορετικούς καιρούς. Η μια με βορειοανατολικό άνεμο έντασης 10 μιλίων, και η άλλη με νοτιά του οποίου η ελάττωση της έντασης ανάγκασε την επιτροπή να κάνει επιβράχυνση και τα σκάφη να τερματίσουν στην πόρτα των πρίμα.
Νικητής στην κούρσα του βοριά αναδείχθηκε το σκάφος Platypus με κυβερνήτη τον Παύλο Καγιαλή. Στην «μισή» κούρσα με τον κομμένο νοτιά, την πρώτη θέση κατέλαβε η ομάδα Modus Vivendi-3Alfa με κυβερνήτη τον Παναγιώτη Μάντη.
Όμως η αγωνία για το τελικό αποτέλεσμα συνεχίστηκε και στην στεριά με σημαντικές ενστάσεις. Η επιτροπή ενστάσεων μετά την εκδίκαση τους, ακύρωσε την πέμπτη κούρσα λόγω εσφαλμένων χειρισμών της επιτροπής αγώνων, γεγονός που στέρησε από τους αθλητές μια ολοκληρωμένη κούρσα και ανέτρεψε το τελικό αποτέλεσμα. Μετά από πολύωρη αναμονή των αποτελεσμάτων, πραγματοποιήθηκε η απονομή των κυπέλλων στο εντευκτήριο του Ι.Ο.Πειραιώς αλλά ο γευστικό μπουφές είχε προηγηθεί!
Πανελληνιονίκης για το έτος 2009 αναδείχθηκε το πλήρωμα του σκάφους Modus Vivendi-3Alfa με κυβερνήτη τον Παναγιώτη Μάντη και πλήρωμα τους Αντρέα Παπαδόπουλο, Αντώνη Μανωλάκη, Βαγγέλη Κάππα και Σταύρο Αργυρό.
Την δεύτερη θέση κατέκτησε το σκάφος Ευρύαλος με κυβερνήτη τον Στέλιο Σωτηρίου και πλήρωμα τους Δημήτρη Γεροντάρη, Ανέστη Καραγιαννίδη, Στρατή Ανδρεάδη και Αναστάσιο Μηλιώνη.
Τέλος το κύπελλο του τρίτου νικητή απονεμήθηκε στο πλήρωμα του σκάφους Maximum με κυβερνήτη τον Παναγιώτη Καμπουρίδη και πλήρωμα τους Σίμο Καμπουρίδη, Πέτρο Σεκούρη, Περικλή Θ.Λιβά και Αντρέα Παλερά.
Περισσότερα: www.platu25.gr

Με νίκη στην τελευταία κούρσα του Alicante
Trophy (Audi MedCup 2009) η Αργεντίνικη ομάδα Matador διασφάλισε την πρωτιά στο στόλο των TP52.
Παράλληλα το Islas Canarias Peurto Calero επωφελήθηκε από τον Ιταλικό εμφύλιο στην κλάση των GP42 και πήρε την πρώτη θέση.




Audi MedCup Circuit 2009 - City of Alicante Trophy
TP52 Series - Overall results
1. Matador (ARG) 2,5,1,8,7,5,5,2,1=36 points
2. Artemis (SWE) 7,2,9,7,2,2,1,5,2=37 points
3. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 4,4,6,2,1,3,10,1,7=38 points
4. Quantum Racing (USA) 5,1,3,4,5,6,7,3,6=40 points
5. Bigamist (POR) 3,12,5,5,9,1,4,4,3=46 points
GP42 Series - Overall results
1. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) 3,2,1,2,4,5,2,1=20 points
2. Airis (ITA) 2,3,3,1,2,1,4,5=21 points
3. Roma (ITA) 1,1,2,3,5,3,1,6=22 points
4. Caser-Endesa (ESP) 4,4,4,6,6,2,3,4=33 points
5. Turismo Madrid (ESP) 6,5,5,4,3,4,5,3=35 points
Αναλυτικά τα αποτελέσματα θα τα δείτε στο επίσημο site της διοργάνωσης: http://2009.medcup.org/results

CLOSE ACTION AS TELEFÓNICA BLUE LEADS AT START OF VOLVO OCEAN RACE LEG SEVEN

After a short postponement the last open ocean leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 got underway today, starting right off the race village at Fan Pier, Downtown Boston.
There was some confusion around the time of the postponement which led to four boats racing half the first beat of the inshore course before turning back to restart 20 minutes later.
After the gun fired, the seven-strong fleet split immediately with PUMA (Ken Read/USA ) looking really strong on port tack, followed by Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermúdez/ESP), Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) and Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA), while Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE), Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) and Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) opted for a starboard tack start.
Fog descended on the course as Telefónica Blue screamed up through the fleet to lead round the first mark, followed by Telefónica Black, Green Dragon, PUMA, Ericson 3 and Ericsson 4. As the fleet approached the mark, a large freighter hove into view. The leaders had a clear rounding, but Delta Lloyd was forced to alter course by the ship and rounded in last place.
While the two Telefónica boats showed a clean pair of heels to the rest of the fleet, PUMA ate into Green Dragon’s margin and Ericsson 4 put pressure on PUMA.
At the second turning mark the two Telefónica boats, Blue and Black, led the fleet. PUMA stole third place from Green Dragon as they nipped inside at the mark, followed by Ericsson 4. Ericsson 3 sailed ‘through the eye of the needle’ between PUMA and Green Dragon as the fleet dropped their spinnakers and flew headsails for the final leg of the course.
As the fleet sailed back towards the gate at the start line off Fan Pier, the freighter reappeared and the coastguards ushered the fleet away from it, the drama unfolding right in front of the huge crowd of spectators watching the racing from the shoreline.
The final order as the fleet left Boston and disappeared into the mist heading for Galway in Ireland, was Telefónica Blue, Telefónica Black, PUMA and overall race leader Ericsson 4.
The first boat is scheduled to arrive in Galway one week from today, but first the fleet has to cope with ice further south than normal, a scoring gate off the island of Newfoundland, a whale exclusion zone just off Boston, and an ice exclusion zone in the shape of a pouch hanging to the east and south of Newfoundland.
It this isn’t enough to keep the minds of the 77 sailors occupied, in 2005-06 on this Atlantic leg Bouwe Bekking and his crew had to abandon their yacht movistar and were rescued by the crew of ABN AMRO TWO who, days before, had had to cope with the loss of crewman Hans Horrevoets who drowned after being washed over the side.
The 2,550nm leg seven to Galway promises to give the seven competing crews plenty to think about.
Overall Leaderboard 1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) 81 points
2. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) 68.5 points
3. PUMA (Ken Read/USA) 65.5 points
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) 55.5 points
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) 45.0 points
6. Telefónica Black (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) 31.0 points
7. Delta Lloyd (Roberto Bermúdez ESP) 24.0 points
8. Team Russia 10.5 points (DNS)

Μία ιστιοδρομία κατέφερε να ολοκληρωθεί σήμερα, στο Πανελλήνιο Πρωτάθλημα. Αν και η ώρα εκκίνησης ήταν προγραμματισμένη στις 11:00, τα πληρώματα έμειναν στην στεριά μέχρι τις 13:00 περιμένοντας να φυσήξει ικανοποιητικά. Η ένταση του ανέμου στην μια κούρσα που πραγματοποιήθηκε δεν ξεπέρασε τα 6 μίλια με την διεύθυνση της γνωστής μπουκαδούρας. Η κούρσα πραγματοποιήθηκε με πολλές εναλλαγές στις θέσεις στων σκαφών, καθώς στους αγώνες με λίγη ένταση τα λάθη επιλογής και τακτικής κοστίζουν.
Νικητής της κούρσας αναδείχθηκε το σκάφος Modus Vivendi-3Alfa με κυβερνήτη τον Παναγιώτη Μάντη.
Εάν και η επιτροπή περίμενε για λίγο παραπάνω ένταση, ο καιρός δεν βοήθησε για μια ακόμη ιστιοδρομία, γεγονός που έστειλε τα πληρώματα στην στεριά, όπου τους περίμενε ένα απολαυστικό BBQ. Η αυριανή τελευταία ημέρα των αγώνων θα είναι καθοριστική για την ανάδειξη του νικητή.
Επίσης αύριο το πρωί στις 10:00 έχει προγραμματιστεί και η συνάντηση των Μελών της Ελληνικής Κλάσης Platu25.

Περισσότερα στο www.Platu25.gr

Consistency was the key once again as champions Quantum Racing emerge to lead the TP52 series after three great races, while Roma 2 leads the GP42 Series.

At times it was spectacular as the sea breeze off Alicante built to 17 knots at times, but it was never easy or straightforward as the Audi MedCup champions Quantum Racing (USA) eased into the overall lead of the City of Alicante Trophy Regatta after three close races today. In the GP42 Series which revelled in the sparkling conditions today, it is the Italian Roma Mk2 which leads.
Quantum Racing struck gold early, winning the first race of the day, threatening the kind of dominant performance which they displayed in certain conditions last season but it was their consistency across Races 3 and 4 of the TP52 Series which ensured they hold a three points lead over second placed Matador (ARG).
Matador, new this season, lead the overall standings after Race 3 but were slow off their final start and could only manage an eighth to share the same points tally as third places Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL).
Skipper Terry Hutchinson (USA) admitted the Quantum Racing crew were satisfied with their day but confirmed that although the action looked brisk and exciting, there were always differences in pressure and wind strength to make gains and losses on every leg.
Quantum Racing (USA) squeezed inside Valars III (RUS) at the windward mark in the first race of the day to lead at each turn and win from 2007 champions Artemis (SWE).
A wind shift to the right just as the second race started, with the breeze peaking at 16-17 knots, made life interesting at the right hand end of the start line, where the bunching at the committee boat was pronounced. In this melée Bribon fouled Quantum Racing, but the American boat was still able to extricate themselves going on to finish third behind Matador and Synergy.
The Russian team on the Reichel-Pugh designed former USA-17 capped a strong day for them when they won the third race. With Cameron Dunn (NZL) calling tactics and Chris Main (NZL) trimming the mainsail for helmsman Sergei Pichugin (UKR) they could have been even better but for catching a plastic bag round their keel.

First blood for GP42 Emerging as the day’s winner on an impressive 1-1-2 record in the GP42 Series, the Roma 2 team, led by skipper Paolo Cian (ITA), showed their experience from two previous years of GP42 campaigning in having strong starts and fast pace all around the course, but particularly so downwind where they often stretched their lead when ahead and closed the gaps when behind. Designed by Farr, the boat has just emerged from tummy-tuck surgery to the stern sections to better optimize performance downwind and in light air.
“The team did a great job,” said Cian, helmsman of the Shosholoza America’s Cup team and currently ranked 7th in the World Match Racing Tour, “as we were very aggressive at working every wave and puff, and seemed to gain the most here. It was a great day for us a fantastic start to the season.”
The Roma team is pushing hard in this GP42 Series, even on the GP42 class 800 kg weight limit: a post-race weight check revealed the team to by a mere 6 kg under the limit, where even the slightest infraction in this class yields a disastrous DSQ on the scorecard of any offending team.

Audi MedCup Circuit 2009 - City of Alicante Trophy TP52 Series Provisional standings after 4 races:
1. Quantum Racing (USA) 5,1,3,4=13 points
2. Matador (ARG) 2,5,1,8=16 points
3. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 4,4,6,2=16 points
4. Marazzi Sailing (SUI) 4,6,4,10=24 points
5. Synergy (RUS) 11,11,2,1=25 points

GP42 Series Provisional standings after 3 races:
1. Roma (ITA) 1,1,2=4 points
2. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) 3,2,1=6 points
3. Airis (ITA) 2,3,3=8 points
4. Caser-Endesa (ESP) 4,4,4=12 points
5. Turismo Marid (ESP) 6,5,5=16 points

Complete results - http://2009.medcup.org/results2/venue.php?trophy=1

9ο ΠΑΝΕΛΛΗΝΙΟ ΠΡΩΤΑΘΛΗΜΑ ΣΚΑΦΩΝ Platu 25

Ο Πανελλήνιος Όμιλος Ιστιοπλοΐας Ανοικτής Θαλάσσης, σε συνδιοργάνωση με τον Ιστιοπλοϊκό Όμιλο Πειραιώς, προκηρύσσει το 9ο Πανελλήνιο Πρωτάθλημα σκαφών Platu 25 στις 15 – 17 Μαΐου 2009.
Οι 11 ομάδες που αγωνίζονται για τον τίτλο του Πανελληνιονίκη βρέθηκαν στην γραμμή της εκκίνησης κατά τις 14:30, στην θαλάσσια περιοχή έξω από το Μικρολίμανο.
Η μεσημεριανή μπουκαδούρα που δεν ξεπέρασε τα 10 μίλια βοήθησε να ολοκληρωθούν 3 ιστιοδρομίες. Η διεύθυνση του ανέμου κυμάνθηκε από 180°-160°, χωρίς να χρειαστεί να γίνουν μεγάλες αλλαγές από την επιτροπή αγώνων στον αγωνιστικό στίβο.
Το σκάφος Ευρύαλος με κυβερνήτη τον Στέλιο Σωτηρίου αναδείχθηκε νικητής στην πρώτη και στην τρίτη ιστιοδρομία, ενώ στον δεύτερο αγώνα της ημέρας την πρωτιά πήρε το πλήρωμα του σκάφους Maximum με κυβερνήτη τον Παναγιώτη Καμπουρίδη. Στην τρίτη ιστιοδρομία τα σκάφη Anaconda, Platipus και Duende ξεκίνησαν πρόωρα και βαθμολογήθηκαν με OCS και στην πρώτη ιστιοδρομία η ένσταση ανάμεσα στο σκάφος Jolly και Minimum ακύρωσε με βαθμολογία DSQ το σκάφος Minimum.
Τα πληρώματα των σκαφών έδειχναν αρκετά φορμαρισμένα γεγονός που θα προσφέρει ένταση και άμιλλα τις επόμενες ημέρες.
Δείτε τα αποτελέσματα της πρώτης μέρας:
http://www.platu25.gr/Portals/0/Platu25_Results_15052009_1.pdf

Δε φυσάει δεν έχει αγώνα για τα 12 TP52 και για τα 6 GP42.
Δείτε πάντως τον μοναδικό αγώνα που έγινε εχτές σε animation.
Animation Race 1 TP52 Series - Day 1 City of Alicante Trophy (EN)

Η Ελβετική ομάδα Marazzi Sailing στην παρθενική της εμφάνιση κέρδισε τον πρώτο αγώνα του πρωταθλήματος ΤΡ52 στο Alicante, αλλά η χαρά δεν κράτησε για πολύ.

Στην καταμέτρηση του βάρους του πληρώματος βρέθηκε ότι ήταν για λίγα κιλά υπέρβαροι οπότε τους επιβλήθηκε ποινή, 3 βαθμοί ποινής.
Η απόφαση αυτή των κριτών έριξε την Ελβετική ομάδα στην τέταρτη θέση της βαθμολογίας να ισοβαθμεί τους Νεοζηλανδούς.
Στο αγωνιστικό κομμάτι της ημέρας ο καιρός δεν ευνόησε στο να βγουν κούρσες. Στη μοναδική που πραγματοποιήθηκε ο τέσσερις φορές Ολυμπιονίκης Jochen Schuemann που εκτελούσε χρέη tactician για τους Ελβετούς και τον Flavio Marazzi τιμόνι/ιδιοκτήτης, εκμεταλλεύτηκε μια αλλαγή 10 μοιρών στο πρώτο σκέλος στα όρτσα και έπειτα οδήγησε την κούρσα ως το τέλος.
Πολύ καλό αγώνα έκανε και η Πορτογαλική ομάδα Bigamist, οι οποίοι έφυγαν άκυροι γύρισαν πίσω ξαναπήραν εκκίνηση και τελικά τερμάτησαν στην τρίτη θέση πίσω από το Matador που ήταν δεύτερο.
Ο αγώνας έγινε με άνεμο έντασης 8-10 κόμβων.

City of Alicante Trophy, Overall standings after 1 race
1. Matador (ARG) 2pts
2. Bigamist 7 (POR) 3pts
3. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL)
4 pts 4. Marazzi Sailing (SUI) 4pts
5. Quantum Racing (USA) 5pts
Αναλυτικά αποτελέσματα και αναμετάδοση του αγώνα στο: http://2009.medcup.org

Record breaking yachtsman Alex Thomson has been making the most of HUGO BOSS being back in the water and enjoying some 'foiling' off his IMOCA Open 60 in the Solent.

Alex, always one for a challenge was thrilled to get out on the water and found the 'foiling' an exhilarating experience and was able to execute some complex moves thanks to the technology of the Carafino 'Hydrofoil' board, one of the most highly innovative designs available.
"The conditions were perfect with good breeze and sunshine adding to the feel good factor on the day. I haven't been 'foiling' before but I loved it. It's pretty extreme - at a certain speed the hull is lifted above the water and the craft skims along on the hydrofoils at great speeds. It's like snowboarding, just on water," explained Alex.
Richard Thompson from Carafino UK was on board Hugo Boss with Alex last week and was hugely impressed with not only the Open 60, but also with Alex.
"What a guy! He has this tremendous confidence with the water you don't see very often and was straight up and gone first time. His level of fitness is staggering and served him well on the Hydrofoil, I really was blown away by his performance. Alex looked completely at ease and was in control all the time."
After a turbulent end to 2008 Alex is now focusing on the next four years. Alex and HUGO BOSS will compete in this year's Rolex Fastnet Race in August and the double-handed Transat Jacque Vabres in November before focusing on the Barcelona World Race in 2010. Before that though Alex is currently sailing HUGO BOSS to Monaco ready for the Monaco Grand Prix 21-24 May, as part of the Hugo Boss VIP hospitality programme.
http://www.alexthomsonracing.com/homepage.asp