The sailing conditions have become tougher over the past few hours as a low catches up with Groupama 3. Indeed the current aim for the giant trimaran is to try to stay at the front of this system until it rounds Cape Horn... To pull this off she will have to maintain a high speed to benefit from what is expected to be a NW'ly breeze as far as the Falkland Islands.

Aboard Groupama 3 2010/02/25 - © Team Groupama Stève Ravussin at the helm of Groupama3

Still faster than Orange 2, the giant trimaran is having to cover more ground to reach Cape Horn and hence her lead continues to yo-yo today... When Groupama 3 switches onto a NE'ly course, she distances herself from the direct route, and when she gybes, as she did on Sunday evening, she makes gains. The upshot of this is that her lead over the reference time changes according to the manoeuvres, with dramatic fluctuations from one hour to the next. Ultimately though, Franck Cammas and his men still have a lead of nearly a day over Bruno Peyron and his crew...
Aboard Groupama 3 2010/02/25 - © Team Groupama "We passed within three miles of Auckland Island, which is the first land we've seen since setting out from Ushant..."

"Right now we're pretty much on a SE'ly course, but we're going to gybe again at lunchtime tomorrow, and then again to get onto a direct course towards the Horn... We've had some choppy seas over the past few hours, but they're gradually becoming more regular now" explained Loïc Le Mignon at the 1130 UTC radio link-up with Groupama's Race HQ in Paris.
Groupama 3's log (departure on 31st January at 13h 55' 53'' UTC)
...
Day 20 (20th February 1400 UTC): 672 miles (deficit = 211 miles)
Day 21 (21th February 1400 UTC): 584 miles (deficit = 124 miles)
Day 22 (22nd February 1400 UTC): 607 miles (deficit = 137 miles)
Day 23 (23rd February 1400 UTC): 702 miles (lead = 60 miles)
Day 24 (24th February 1400 UTC): 638 miles (lead = 208 miles)
Day 25 (25th February 1400 UTC): 712 miles (lead = 371 miles)
Day 26 (26th February 1400 UTC): 687 miles (lead = 430 miles)
Day 27 (27th February 1400 UTC): 797 miles (lead = 560 miles)

Artemis masters the wind of the desert and closes in on Team Aqua Chris Bake and his Team Aqua still lead the fleet race ranking of the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy RC 44; however Torbjorn Tornqvists...

Chris Bake and his Team Aqua win the fleet regatta after a fantastic final battle whilst Torbjorn Tornqvist and Artemis conquer the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy (the combination of the match race and fleet race rankings) ahead of Pieter Heerema’s No Way Back and Markus Wieser’s Team Sea Dubai.

The conditions were very difficult for the last day of the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy RC 44, with a very shifty breeze blowing between 8-15 knots and a pale sky covered with sand and dust and a visibility reduced to half a mile.
Copyright: Nico Martinez / RC44 Class. Torbjorn Tornqvist and Terry Hutchinson raise the winner’s trophy – a great performance for this team’s first appearance on the RC 44 Championship Tour.
Team Aqua, Artemis and to a lesser extent Ceeref were in a position to win the fleet race ranking this morning. BMW ORACLE Racing took the best start at the pin end whilst Aqua managed to find clean air in the middle of the line. Things weren’t going that well for Artemis, who ended up sailing in the other team’s turbulences. A massive right shift made the Swedish team’s life even harder whilst giving a nice edge to No Way Back and Team Aqua. In a normal race, this would have been it but this definitely wasn’t a normal race. Indeed, the gusts, the shifts and the marks of course were hardly noticeable due to the dust.
"We felt that the temperature was dropping brutally", explained No Way Back’s owner Pieter Heerema at the end of the race. "This was a clear indication that the wind would turn right and blow from offshore." Indeed, the wind started veering in the middle of the second beat, sending half of the fleet way over the lay line and giving a beautiful opportunity to Artemis to catch up.
Copyright: Nico Martinez / RC44 Class. RC44 fleet
The wind carried on turning right during the last spinnaker ride, forcing the boats to finish under jib however without affecting the results much. No Way Back won the race ahead of Team Aqua and Puerto Calero, whilst Artemis recovered well, going from last to fourth and keeping a chance to win the overall title.
With four points between Team Aqua and Artemis ahead of the last race, all remained possible. Ceeref was also still in a position to grab the second place from Artemis. However, a premature start in the last race immediately made this look unlikely.
Copyright: Nico Martinez / RC44 Class. Chris Bake and his Team Aqua (UAE) managed to control Artemis (USA) throughout the day and to win the fleet race title
This last race was a strange one. The wind had shifted by almost 180 degrees since the first regatta and the land couldn’t be seen. Many teams looked disorientated and didn’t manage to adopt their usual pre-start routine. Two boats started prematurely, whilst many were late. Minutes later, Artemis refused a very basic port-starboard priority to its direct opponent Team Aqua. Chris Bake had to crash tack for the second time in two days to avoid a bad collision. After completing its penalty, Artemis ended up rounding the top mark in last for the second consecutive time.
The wind carried on turning to the right and the last beat and spinnaker ride turned into reaches. No Way Back once again benefited from its tactician Ray Davies’ fantastic understanding of the situation to win a second race in a row, ahead of Puerto Calero – also excellent today.
Copyright: Nico Martinez / RC44 Class. CEEREF (SLO), Katusha (RUS), Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) and Team Sea Dubai (UAE).
Thanks to this achievement, No Way Back gains one place in the overall ranking ahead of Ceeref. "It’s a shame, commented Ceeref’s owner Igor Lah at the end of the day. “We miss the fleet race ranking podium for one point and this costs us three places in the overall ranking. We would have finished second and we end up fifth!"
Well known for his spectacular come-backs since last year’s Gold Cup – and this week’s match race - Pieter Heerema’s No Way Back is the winner of the day; he ends up third in the fleet race ranking and second overall.
However, the fight for victory was happening at the back of the fleet, between Team Aqua and Artemis. Both teams had misfortunes during this race. Artemis’s spinnaker got twisted whilst Team Aqua took the very conservative – yet inefficient - decision not to raise theirs until the last quarter of the last leg. Artemis finally crossed the arrival line in sixth whilst Team Aqua finished eighth: both teams’ worse result in the event. Nevertheless, Team Aqua wins the fleet race title whilst Artemis finishes second. Already third of the match race ranking, the Swedish team also conquers the overall Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy ahead of No Way Back and an excellent Team Sea Dubai, winner of the match race event and fifth in the fleet race ranking.
The next regatta of the RC 44 Championship Tour will take place in very different conditions, in the Austrian mountain lake Traunsee, on April 20 – May 4.
Fleet race, final results after nine races:

(Ranking, name of team, helmsman, results, points)
1) Team Aqua (Chris Bake), 1, 2, 1, 2, 4, 1, 6, 2, 8 – 27 points
2) Artemis (Torbjorn Tornqvist), 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 1, 4, 6 - 29 points
3) Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema), 4, 1, 7, 7, 3, 4, 5, 1, 1 - 33 points
4) CEEREF (Igor Lah), 2, 7, 3, 3, 1, 5, 4, 5, 3 - 33 points
5) Team Sea Dubai (Raimondo Tonelli), 6, 6, 8, 4, 6, 2, 7, 7, 5 - 51 points
6) Katusha (Bob Little), 5, 5, 2, 8, 8, 7, 2, 9, 7 - 53 points
7) Team Austria (René Mangold), 8, 3, 9, 5, 9, 8, 3, 6, 4 - 55 points
8) Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (Daniel Calero), 7, 8, 4, 9, 5, 6, 9, 3, 2 - 57 points
9) BMW ORACLE Racing (Mike Perris), 9, 9, 6, 6, 7, 9, 8, 8, 9 - 67 points
Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy RC 44 final results:
 

(Ranking, name of team, match race points, fleet race points – total points)
1) Artemis 3, 2 – 5 points
2) Team No Way Back 2, 3 – 5 points
3) Team Sea Dubai 1, 5 – 6 points
4) Team Aqua 7, 1 – 8 points
5) CEEREF 4, 4 – 8 points
6) Katusha 8, 6 – 14 points
7) Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero 6, 8 – 14 points
8) BMW ORACLE Racing 5, 9 – 14 points
9) Team Austria 9, 7 – 16 points
www.rc44.com

source: cayard website
Three races were held today in a southeast to south wind blowing between 15 and 25 knots. It was incredibly dusty, with the wind blowing sand into the air.

Artemis had the best day with a 2,3,1.
Onboard Katusha, we did not have a great day as we made big errors in the first two races finishing 8,7.
In the last race we sailed well, getting to the first mark just behind Artemis and staying close all the way around. We closed in on them a lot on the final run, with a nice puff, but they managed to hang on to beat us by a couple of meters.
Photo: Copyright Nico Martinez / RC 44 – A great start for Artemis during today’s last regatta, whilst team Aqua struggles at the Committee end of the line.
In the first race of the day, we were not in great shape coming down the first run. It was windy and just before the leeward mark, we broached and got stuck on our side for a couple of minutes.
Fortunately, Aqua was very heads up as we were heading for them in the middle of the broach. They had to tack onto port to get out of our way and that saved the two boats from colliding. We hurt their race as they were in the lead at the time and they eventually finished 4th. We apologize for that. We did our penalty turn even though one had not been signaled and we were well into last place. We had a bit of luck in someone else's misfortune and we ended up passing Austria on the final run as they had a problem too.
In the second race, we were doing pretty well up the second windward leg battling away for third or fourth when a massive gust came down the course and shifted the wind 30 degrees. Sea Dubai had gone from last to first on this leg and were sailing past us in the new wind. So, I thought we should dig into it as it seemed it was filling. We got into it and were looking ok until that wind collapsed and the left filled back in. We lost 3 or 4 boats right there at the top of the beat and finished 7th. Very frustrating for all of us. So, it was nice to put a good race together in the last race of the day and come back to the dock feeling a bit better.
We really need to raise our game. We all know we can sail better. For sure the competition is tough but we must find a way to improve. With all that we are still in the same place we were in when we left the dock this morning...5th. Aqua still leads and Artemis is nipping at their heels.
Tomorrow, the forecast is the same, strong southerly winds which means the wind coming off the land and massive shifts of both wind strength and direction.

Fleet race, provisional results after seven races:
(Ranking, name of team, helmsman, results, points)
1) Team Aqua (Chris Bake), 1, 2, 1, 2, 4, 1, 6 – 17 points
2) Artemis (Torbjorn Tornqvist), 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 1 - 19 points
3) CEEREF (Igor Lah), 2, 7, 3, 3, 1, 5, 4 - 25 points
4) Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema), 4, 1, 7, 7, 3, 4, 5 - 31 points
5) Katusha (Bob Little), 5, 5, 2, 8, 8, 7, 2 - 37 points
6) Team Sea Dubai (Raimondo Tonelli), 6, 6, 8, 4, 6, 2, 7 - 39 points
7) Team Austria (René Mangold), 8, 3, 9, 5, 9, 8, 3 - 45 points
8) Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (Daniel Calero), 7, 8, 4, 9, 5, 6, 9 - 50 points
9) BMW ORACLE Racing (Mike Perris), 9, 9, 6, 6, 7, 9, 8 - 52 points

At 52° S and 172° E, Groupama 3 is positioned at a point which is practically antipodal to the finish point off Ushant!
With a 360 mile lead over the reference time this Thursday lunchtime, which is the equivalent of a good half a day, Franck Cammas and his men are carving out a course in almost ideal conditions to the South of New Zealand.

Groupama 3's log (departure on 31st January at 13h 55' 53'' UTC)
...
Day 20 (20th February 1400 UTC): 672 miles (deficit = 211 miles)
Day 21 (21th February 1400 UTC): 584 miles (deficit = 124 miles)
Day 22 (22nd February 1400 UTC): 607 miles (deficit = 137 miles)
Day 23 (23rd February 1400 UTC): 702 miles (lead = 60 miles)
Day 24 (24th February 1400 UTC): 638 miles (lead = 208 miles)
Day 25 (25th February 1400 UTC): 712 miles (lead = 371 miles)

Chris Bake and his Team Aqua dominated the first day of the fleet regatta with two victories and two second places. The team from the UAE sits seven points ahead of Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis and Igor Lah’s Ceeref after four races.

The conditions were absolutely fantastic today for the first day of the fleet regatta, with 15-18 knots breeze and a very warm sunshine.
Coming back to the top in style after a difficult match race, Chris Bake’s Team Aqua dominated the day and currently leads the overall ranking ahead of Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis.
"It’s a relief", said Bake at the end of the day. “We had a tough time last year in the Gold Cup and earlier in the week in the match race, so it is great to be back on top. In fact we all know how to sail well.
Photo: Copyright Nico Martinez / RC 44 – A great start at the pin end for Team Aqua during today’s fleet regattas.
Our main issue was to understand the mistakes we did and not to repeat them. Today our boat speed was great and we sailed well; I am very happy."
Team Aqua started the day with a bullet, sailing conservatively in the middle of the course and extending its lead at every shift. Igor Lah’s Ceeref finished second whilst Paul Cayard’s Katusha, with Bob Little at the helm, managed to climb back up to fifth after a premature start.
Team Sea Dubai was first to reach the second race’s top mark. They immediately jibed whereas all the other teams carried on sailing on starboard tack. The punishment was immediate, and Sea Dubai rounded the bottom mark in seventh. Team No Way Back benefited from this to take the lead and win the race ahead of Team Aqua and an excellent Team Austria. It was a nice revenge for the Dutch team, unfortunate in the first race when they got a knot in their spinnaker, finishing fourth instead of fighting for victory.
The wind started to drop a little bit during the third race, becoming shiftier as the sun was going down. Katusha and Puerto Calero started at the Committee boat and immediately tacked to port whilst Team Aqua went to the left. Paul Cayard’s strategy initially seemed to pay, until a massive left shift gave the lead to Aqua. Bake then controlled his opponents, winning for the second time ahead of Katusha and a very consistent Ceeref.
We improved a lot”, said the Slovenian owner and helmsman Igor Lah. “Especially in the pre-starts: our tactician Rod Davis made me work hard and it really paid off.
However what I love most is the spinnaker rides, when we are surfing at full speed. It was very exciting."
The last race could have cost a lot to Chris Bake and his team. Recalled for a premature start, Team Aqua rounded the top mark a long way behind the leader Artemis, and jibed immediately instead of following the pack. Seven minutes later, Team Aqua rounded the bottom mark in third, before overtaking Team Sea Dubai and finishing second behind Artemis. A great come-back! "Team Aqua did a fantastic job and I congratulate them”, said the Swedish team’s helmsman Torbjorn Tornqvist. "I am very pleased with our day", he added. “Our team is entirely new; there’s not one guy left from last year. So we are learning to sail together, and the guys need to discover the boat. Our results so far are very good."
Indeed, Artemis is currently second overall, seven points behind Team Aqua and two points ahead of Ceeref. The fleet regatta carries on until Saturday, with eight more races on the schedule. There is still a long way to go.
Fleet race, provisional results after four races:
(Ranking, name of team, helmsman, results, points)
1) Team Aqua (Chris Bake), 1, 2, 1, 2 – 6 points
2) Artemis (Torbjorn Tornqvist), 3, 4, 5, 1 - 13 points
3) CEEREF (Igor Lah), 2, 7, 3, 3 - 15 points
4) Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema), 4, 1, 7, 7 - 19 points
5) Katusha (Bob Little), 5, 5, 2, 8 - 20 points
6) Team Sea Dubai (Raimondo Tonelli), 6, 6, 8, 4 - 24 points
7) Team Austria (René Mangold), 8, 3, 9, 5 - 25 points
8) Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (Daniel Calero), 7, 8, 4, 9 - 28 points
9) BMW ORACLE Racing (Mike Perris), 9, 9, 6, 6 - 30 points

Η Πρόεδρος και τα Μέλη του Δ.Σ. του Ιστιοπλοϊκού Ομίλου Πειραιώς έχουν την τιμή να σας προσκαλέσουν στην παρουσίαση του διάπλου του Ατλαντικού που επιτέλεσε το σκάφος του ομίλου μας "Αρμενιστής" συμμετέχοντας στον Αγώνα ATLANTIC RALLY FOR CRUISERS (ARC).

Την παρουσίαση θα κάνει ο Δημήτρης Λιαρούτσος, κυβερνήτης του σκάφους μαζί με τα μέλη του πληρώματος Γεώργιο Νικολαΐδη και Παντελή Μυλωνά.
Η εκδήλωση θα γίνει στο εντευκτήριο του Ι.Ο.Πειραιώς, την Δευτέρα 22/3/2010 στις 19:00μμ.
www.iop.gr

ΠΕΡΙΦΕΡΕΙΑΚΟ ΠΡΩΤΑΘΛΗΜΑ OPTIMIST ΚΕΝΤΡΙΚΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΑΣ

Εξαιρετικές επιδόσεις σημείωσαν οι αθλητές της ομάδας Optimist του Ιστιοπλοϊκού Ομίλου Πατρών που συμμετείχαν στο Περιφερειακό Πρωτάθλημα Κεντρικής Ελλάδας που πραγματοποιήθηκε στις 19-21 Φεβρουαρίου στο Βόλο.
Συγκεκριμένα, η Κωνσταντίνα Δανιά κατάκτησε την 3η θέση στην κατηγορία Optimist Κοριτσιών και την 9η θέση στη Γενική Κατάταξη ενώ ο Βασίλης-Πέτρος Καρπούζας τη 2η θέση στην κατηγορία Optimist 11χρονων και την 37η στη Γενική Κατάταξη σε σύνολο 84 αθλητών.
____________________________________________________________________
3η Έκθεση Νέων και Ειδικών Μορφών Τουρισμού «ACTIVE TRIP»
Ο Ι.Ο.Πατρών συμμετέχει για τρίτη χρονιά στην Έκθεση Νέων και Ειδικών Μορφών Τουρισμού «ACTIVE TRIP» που θα πραγματοποιηθεί από 26 έως 28 Φεβρουαρίου 2010 στο ΠΕΑΚ «Ολυμπιονίκης Δ. Τόφαλος» (Μποζαΐτικα Πατρών).
Στο περίπτερο του Ομίλου θα γίνεται παρουσίαση των δραστηριοτήτων του Ομίλου τόσο των αθλητικών όσο και των οικολογικών και θα προβάλλονται βίντεο από αγώνες. Οι επισκέπτες θα έχουν τη δυνατότητα να δουν από κοντά διάφορους τύπους ιστιοφόρων σκαφών και να γνωρίσουν έναν εναλλακτικό, οικολογικό τρόπο διακοπών αλλά και άθλησης.
Από το Δ.Σ. του Ι.Ο.Πατρών

Taking just 8 days 17 hours and 39 minutes to traverse the Indian Ocean, the maxi trimaran Groupama 3 skippered by Franck Cammas has snatched the record held by Orange 2 since 2005.

At 2322 UTC on Tuesday 23rd February Groupama 3 crossed the longitude of Tasmania, to the South of Australia, which marks the exit from the Indian Ocean and the entry to the Pacific Ocean.
Having rounded Cape Agulhas off South Africa 8 days and 17 hours beforehand, Franck Cammas and his nine crew participating in the Jules Verne Trophy have taken 17 hours and 25 minutes less than the crew of Bruno Peyron some five years ago. With the Indian Ocean behind them, Groupama 3 is now attacking the largest ocean in the world, the Pacific; the exit from which is marked by the much renowned Cape Horn.
Indian Ocean crossing time:
8 days 17 hours and 39 minutes, that is 17 hours and 25 minutes faster than Orange.

This new record for the passage across the Indian Ocean is awaiting approval by the WSSRC, the international body responsible for sailing records.

Markus Wieser and his team from the United Arab Emirates win the match race title of the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy RC 44, ahead of No Way Back (DEN) and Artemis (SWE).

Unbeaten after seven flights, Markus Wieser and his Team Sea Dubai only had to avoid a penalising collision today to win the match race title of the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy.
Team CEEREF (SLO) against Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) - Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy RC44 © Nico Martinez / RC44 Class
That’s what they did, winning in the mean time a difficult race against Puerto Calero and loosing the last one to BMW ORACLE Racing.
However, the real action was behind, in a tough contest between six teams for the second and third places overall. Leader of this “secondary ranking” ahead of the last day, Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis - rejoined today by owner Torbjorn Tornqvist - started in the worse possible way by loosing the first race to Team Austria.
Pushed to the right of the course during the first beat, the Austrians seemed to benefit from a better pressure: they took the lead and increased it slightly throughout the match.
Team Artemis (SWE) against Team Sea Dubai (UAE) - Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy RC44 - Match Race - Day 2 © Nico Martinez / RC44 Class
The points were particularly precious at this stage, and No Way Back went from a potentially difficult situation – loosing their start against Team Aqua – to a sudden solid option on the overall ranking’s second place when they overtook Cameron Appleton’s Team Aqua during the first downwind leg.
Rod Davis (Ceeref) also won an important point against BMW ORACLE Racing, rejoining Artemis and No Way Back in the group of candidates to second overall ahead of the last race.
Sailing the last race against Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, Pieter Heerema and Ray Davies - joint helmsmen onboard No Way Back - managed to block the Spaniards on the wrong start of the Committee boat at the moment of the start. Team Aqua did the same to Katusha five minutes later.
Team Artemis (SWE) skippered by Terry Hutchinson (USA) - Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy RC44 Cup 2010 - Match Racing - Day 1 © Nico Martinez / RC44 Class
Observing this, Rod Davis obviously liked the idea and tried to inflict the same fate to Artemis; however the trick didn’t quite work and Terry Hutchinson just managed to squeeze in between the Committee boat and Ceeref’s bow whilst Davis remained stuck head to the wind during long, long seconds, finally crossing the line one minute late.
No Way Back and Artemis finish the event on a tie, however the Danish team gets the second rank overall thanks to their victory in the direct confrontation. Ceeref finishes fourth on a tie with BMW ORACLE Racing.
Match-race, final results after nine flights:
(Ranking, name of team, helmsman, No of victories / defeats, points)
1) Team Sea Dubai (Markus Wieser), 8/1, 8 points
2) Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema / Ray Davies), 5/3, 5 points
3) Artemis (Terry Hutchinson), 5/3, 5 points
4) CEEREF (Rod Davis), 4/5, 4 points
5) BMW ORACLE Racing (Adam Minoprio), 4/5, 4 points
6) Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (José Maria Ponce), 3/6, 3 points
7) Team Aqua (Cameron Appleton), 3/6, 3 points
8) Katusha (Paul Cayard), 3/6, 3 points
9) Team Austria (Christian Binder), 2/7, 2 points

Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, the recently-annointed Italian Challenger of Record for the 34th America's Cup, joins seven other Cup contenders in Auckland next month to race on New Zealand's Waitemata Harbor for the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland.
Inspired by last year’s Louis Vuitton Pacific Series and sailed in former America’s Cup boats, the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland is the second of five match race regattas. In France last November the Italian team Azzurra led by Francesco Bruni won the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d’Azur, defeating the favorite Emirates Team New Zealand and its skipper Dean Barker 2-0. Both teams are part of the eight-syndicate entry for Auckland.
Azzurra and Emirates Team New Zealand. © Franck Socha
The only syndicate from last year, other than Emirates Team New Zealand, is Great Britain’s TEAMORIGIN, skippered by four-time Olympic medalist Ben Ainslie.
Four new teams are coming, all with familiar faces and powerful credentials. All four teams made their debuts in Nice.
The French ALEPH Sailing Team is skippered by Bertrand Pacé.
All4One is a combined French/German team with skipper Jochen Schümann. Artemis, from Sweden, has Paul Cayard as skipper.
Russia’s Synergy Russian Sailing Team is skippered by Karol Jablonski.
Part of the Auckland Festival of Sail organized by Emirates Team New Zealand, the Louis Vuitton event will overlap with the Auckland International Boat Show.
The two Cup boats will dock in the heart of the Viaduct Basin on the quayside adjacent to Aucklanders’ favourite restaurants and wine bars, providing an unprecedented opportunity for spectators to view boat preparation and the departures and arrivals of the teams each day.
Azzurra gathers the spinnaker with Emirates Team New Zealand in hot pursuit. © Franck Socha
Racing will follow the format established in Auckland last year and adopted for competition in Nice last November. Racing starts Tuesday, 9th March. Teams will take turns racing the two boats in four matches a day to complete a round robin seeding series before a ladder elimination culminating in the finals on Sunday, 21st March.
Preparations are well under way to host the top tier professional sailors. The two Emirates Team New Zealand yachts NZL 84 And NZL 92 have been fitted out, optimized and rigged after a year in storage. They set out yesterday on their first shake-down sail.
The event web site http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com has content in English, French and Italian that includes race reports, press reports, features and photographs.

source: cayard sailing website
Tough day onboard Katusha. We had 5 match races today and only managed one win. I haven't had that bad of a win percentage in a long time.
The winds were lighter and later to fill than forecast. The wind peaked at 10 knots from 285. We started very well in all of the races except for the one against Artemis where we were over early by a second, all alone at the left end.

We had to go back to restart and that gave them that race. In the other four we had more than a fighting chance and something just ended up going against us.
Copyright: Nico Martinez / RC44 Class Association
As an example, in race number two, we were even off the line against the Dutch and we had the right which gave us right of way at each intersection. After two intersections, we went back at them a third time.
Then BMW Oracle, which was in another match, tacked on us blocking our wind. We could do nothing other than tack away to clear our air but that meant three tacks to the one for the Dutch and that gave them a strong lead in the light winds.
Anyway, not to whine too much. We just had a bad one today. The good news is that through all the frustration of the day we stayed tight as a crew, not getting down on each other but rather staying positive.
The local team, Sea Dubai is having a great regatta so far having won all 5 of their matches.
Our Louis Vuitton Trophy teammates on Artemis also had an excellent day winning all 4 of their matches.
The forecast for tomorrow is light offshore in the morning, shifting to light onshore as the land heats up. We're going for a good night's sleep and a good one tomorrow!

The 2011 TP52 Rule will transform the TP52 to an even faster, leaner and meaner all round offshore racing machine.

It will produce a boat that can be raced in IRC regattas without any modification and vice versa, so if you build to the TP52 Rule with the intention to race IRC events you may join the occasional TP52 event, like the TP52 Worlds or one or more of the MedCup events, without modifications.
Photo by: Rolex / Daniel Forster
Furthermore the 2011 TP52 Rule aims to curb the construction options that mainly result in extra cost without any or very little return in performance, like the use of ultra high modulus carbon and Kevlar nomex cores.
With the switch to the ISO scantling standard as required by ISAF from July this year and setting a few of our own TP52 standards on top of that, plus selecting the high quality services of Germanischer Lloyd as the Class Authorized Body, we aim to work towards safer as well as more even in terms of weight and weight distribution engineered boats.
Photo Jesus Renedo / Copa del Rey
We expect the build cost for a TP52 to come down by 5 to 10%.
By going for a deeper keel, a steel fin and a substantially heavier bulb, as well as a bowsprit, we will be able to reduce crew-weight in a dramatic way. The final choice is set on 1100kg, aiming for 12 to 13 crew. Reducing the current number by 3. This will result in quite some cost saving and exciting sailing.
From 2010 a TP52 will have a bowsprit and twin back-stays. The Code-0 is abandoned to the museum. Same for the spipoles, the aftguys, the ingenious jockey poles and all that comes with that. This allows us to introduce a square headed mainsail and bigger kites.
Sail numbers on board again will be reduced to 4 jibs and 4 spinnakers, 1 main, 1 heavy weather jib, stormjib and trysail. This will allow a typicly 5 event regatta circuit like MedCup to further reduce the sail limit to 15 or 16 sails. With one set of sails required to train and do other regattas this will the total amount of sails required for one year to about 25. Still a big number, but for the size of boat and the level of sailing this is very acceptable. Two years ago the top teams were used to look at a number of around 50 new sails each year.
For the 2011 TP52 Rule IMS based VCG limit disappears, resulting in simpler and easier to conduct measurement procedures. Less hassle, less cost.
The 2011 TP52 BOX (indicated are the major changes from 2009):
DISPLACEMENT: 7300KG (was 7484)
CREWWEIGHT: 1100KG (was 1274)
DRAFT: 3.35M (was 3.2)
BULBWEIGHT: 3800KG (was around 3000)
TPS: 8.3M (a bowsprit putting the spi tack more forward by about 1.1m)
MSA: 93.5M2 (mainsail area up by 2m2)
HSA: 65M2 (headsailarea up by about 1m2)
SPA: 260M2 (spi area up by about 13m2)

The full 2011 TP52 Rule, blessed by the TP52 Annual Member Meeting, will be available from mid October 2009. Earlier non-sanctioned versions will be available upon request from the Class Manager.
The time between now and October will be spend by the technical committee to fine tune the numbers and the rule on basis of further advice by experts and suppliers.
There is nothing stopping you from building a new boat to the 2011 TP52 Rule to race IRC events from the moment your boat is launched. Only for the 2010 MedCup and the 2010 TP52 Worlds there will be some restrictions, basicly aimed to accommodate the existing fleet racing these events to be 100% competative versus new boats without resulting in major costs for the existing fleet.
This means that for the 2010 MedCup and the 2010 TP52 Worlds we keep inclining the participating boats to bring them all to the same VCG, as well as that we keep the sailing displacement (boat plus crew) near to that of 2009. It will be a boat however that allready sports the bowsprit and the twin backstays.
The TP52 Class feels that by introducing the 2011 TP52 Rule it has done all it can do to bring you to the top of our sport at substantially reduced budget without giving away on quality. In the contrairy, we have stepped up towards an even more reliable offshore racer suiting racing and winning the worlds most reknown events. Whether you choose handicap or real time racing or a mixture, this is the rule that will open up the world for you.
There are over 50 TP52's actively racing as a result of the first decade of the TP52 Class, we aim to add at least another 50 in the years to come.
The TP52 is the ideal vehicle for international competition, whether based on WL racing, major offshores or a mixture. This year IRC modified TP52's won offshores like the Sydney Hobart and the Transpac as well as lots of WL or short courses all over the world. The TP52 Class will support any initiative, anywhere in the world. It welcomes fair comments and will try to accommodate good ideas and initiatives. The TP52 Rule will evolve with our sport, it aims to help making a succes of and protect your investment in a TP52. The best way we can do that is by steering for quality and proper controls of boats where ever they race. Sofar we have done this quite well, a healthy second hand market proofs our boats are not 6 months fancies.
More Info:
2011 TP52 Rule
2010-2011 TP52 Rule (a)
2009-2010 TP52 Rule (a)
nor_palmavela 2010
nor_ copadelrey2010
MEDCUP_NOR_2010

The Organizing Committee of the Platu25 World Championship 2010 and the RCRA, last week signed agreements with two companies specialized in boats transports.

TRANSCOMA and YACHTS IN MOTION can transport your boat from a port near you (in Europe) to Alicante and back, in very affordable rates!!.
This is a very convenient way to ship your boat and avoid towing it for thousands of kilometers in the motorways of Europe.
Boats transports will be organized from the ports of Livorno and Civitavecchia ( Italy), Pireaus (Greece), Derince (Turkey), Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and Bremerhaven (northern Germany).
http://www.platu25worlds2010.com/

Ο Ν.Ο.Τζιτζιφιών Καλλιθέας νικητής του Κυπέλλου Ομίλων.
Άλλες δυο ιστιοδρομίες πραγματοποιήθηκαν την Κυριακή για το Κύπελλο Ομίλων «Θέμη Μαγουλά».

Τα πληρώματα αγωνίστηκαν με λιακάδα και δυνατό άνεμο από δυτική βορειοδυτική διεύθυνση όπου στην πρώτη ιστιοδρομία έφτασε περίπου τα 15 μιλιά για να αυξηθεί στην δεύτερη σε 19.

Νικητής και των δύο ιστιοδρομιών της ημέρας ήταν η ομάδα του Ιστιοπλοϊκού Ομίλου Πειραιώς με το σκάφος Modus Vivendi-3Άλφα.
Καθώς ολοκληρώθηκαν πέντε ιστιοδρομίες τα σκάφη εξαίρεσαν την χειρότερη τους κούρσα.
Μετά την τελική βαθμολογία νικητής Όμιλος είναι ο Ναυταθλητικός Όμιλος Τζιτζιφιών Καλλιθέας με κυβερνήτη την Νεφέλη Παπαγιαννάκη και πλήρωμα τις Ευφροσύνη Τσιριτάκη, Ελισάβετ Μαζαράκη, Κατερίνα Αναστασάκη, Μάντυ Φραγκιαδάκη και υπεύθυνο σκάφους τον Δημήτρη Γεροντάρη.
Η απονομή επάθλων πραγματοποιήθηκε στον Ι.Ο.Πειραιώς στις 17:30 όπου βραβεύτηκαν και οι νικητές της Α΄ Φάσης του Πανελληνίου Πρωταθλήματος 2010
photo credits Νίκος Αλευρομύτης

source: cayard sailing website

Today was a practice day here in Dubai and we had 15-17 knots of wind with 1-2 meter seas. A breeze known as a "Shamal" blew in increasing the wind strength from the normal 8-10 knot thermal breezes we usually experience here. While all the teams went out training today, there wasn't a lot of aggressive match racing practice going on as the conditions were a bit much for that and tomorrow is the first race day.
The format for 2010 has changed just a bit in that the first two days of the RC 44 events will comprise match racing, the third day will be a make up day for match racing and/or the fleet racing practice race.
Then the final three days will be the fleet race portion. This new format gives the organizers a better chance to get a good match racing event in, even if faced with difficult conditions such as what we experienced here last November.
Team Katusha - Practice day © Ales Fevzer / RC44 Class Association
Last week the Artemis Louis Vuitton Trophy team....17 crew members....trained on two RC 44s, Katusha and Artemis for five days. The conditions were excellent with 8-11 knot winds almost every day and plenty of sun.
We had an excellent organization with two top umpires, a coach and a race committee. By setting up drills that put the boats into critical race situations, as well as running real races, we got into more race situations each day than we would normally get into over an entire regatta.
Having the umpires and coaches allowed us to debrief the situations, with video, and really learn the best way to manage these situations on the race course and the rules that apply.
It was also a nice team building exercise for team Artemis.
Next stop for the Louis Vuitton Trophy team is Auckland from March 9-21.
For now, Katusha and Artemis are concentrating on the Maktoum Trophy here in Dubai through Saturday.

On crossing the line marking the longitude of Cape Leeuwin (115° 08' E) at 04h 17' 47'' UTC this Monday 22nd February, Groupama 3 has obtained the best time over the section of course between Cape Agulhas, which marks the entry into the Indian Ocean, and the SW promontory of Australia: 6 days 22 hours 34 minutes.

Find all the latest news from the Groupama trimarans at: www.cammas-groupama.com

Invited by Russell Coutts to skipper BMW ORACLE Racing in Dubai next week, the World Match Race Tour champion 2009 Adam Minoprio gets a fantastic opportunity to test his skills against the world’s best match racers.
The first regatta of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2010 will take place next week in the United Arab Emirates.

Organized by Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC), the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy RC 44 will reassemble nine world Class teams and sailors including Ray Davies, Terry Hutchinson, Cameron Appleton, Rod Davis and many more.
Photo Credit: Copyright Raffaello Bastiani / RC 44 - Adam Minoprio and his Black Match Racing team will be sailing on board BMW ORACLE Racing next week, during the Al Maktoum sailing Trophy RC 44.
Unable to attend the event due to their America’s Cup post-victory commitments, Russell Coutts and Larry Ellison have decided to give the opportunity to an up & coming team to test its skills at the world’s top level.
Adam Minoprio and his Black Match Racing team - the winners of the World Match Race Tour 2009 - have been chosen; they will sail onboard BMW ORACLE Racing for this event.
"The boys and I are really looking forward to sailing on an RC 44 yacht" said Adam Minoprio. "I have heard so many great things about the class, so it’s going to be really exciting to finally venture into the class with my core team from the match racing circuit.
Even though it’s just for one regatta, we are still going to go out there to win. Sailing in the RC 44 class is an amazing opportunity for us as we will be racing some of the best teams in the world. We feel very fortunate to be given this opportunity from BMW Oracle and very humbled to be asked by Russell to take over and get them a good result while they are busy."
Adam Minoprio will be steering BMW ORACLE Racing during the match races on Monday and Tuesday, whilst will Mike Perris will be at the helm during the fleet regatta (Thursday – Saturday). Other members of the team include David Swete (main), Collin Orsini (grinder), Tom Powrie and Lorenzo Deflice (trim) as well as Revelin Minihane (pit) and Nick Blackman (bow).
As for Russell Coutts, he will be back on his boat for the next regatta: “I will be re-joining the RC 44 circuit at the following event in Austria", he said. "After the demands of the AC, I am very much looking forward to it."
Other new faces in the circuit include Terry Hutchinson, who joins the RC 44 Class for the first time on board Artemis and Raimondo Tonelli, who will steer Team Sea Dubai in the fleet races.
The teams involved in the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy RC 44:

• Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema / Ray Davies)
• Artemis (Torbjorn Tornqvist / Terry Hutchinson)
• CEEREF (Igor Lah / Rod Davis)
• BMW ORACLE Racing (Mike Perris / Adam Minoprio)
• Team Aqua (Chris Bake / Cameron Appleton)
• Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (Daniel Calero / José Maria Ponce)
• Katusha (Paul Cayard)
• Team Sea Dubai (Raimondo Tonelli / Markus Wieser)
• Team Austria (René Mangold / Christian Binder)

The miles have been streaming by since Thursday lunchtime: 763.4 miles across the water in 24 hours at an average of 31.8 knots!
The stable W to NW'ly wind is enabling Groupama 3 to maintain a constant speed thanks to a sea, which remains manageable for a thirty metre long trimaran. The deficit in relation to the reference time has shrunk away to less than 240 miles...

Groupama 3's log (departure on 31st January at 13h 55' 53'' UTC)
...
Day 10 (10th February 1400 UTC): 355 miles (lead = 272 miles)
Day 11 (11th February 1400 UTC): 267 miles (deficit = 30 miles)
Day 12 (12th February 1400 UTC): 247 miles (deficit = 385 miles)
Day 13 (13th February 1400 UTC): 719 miles (deficit = 347 miles)
Day 14 (14th February 1400 UTC): 680 miles (deficit = 288 miles)
Day 15 (15th February 1400 UTC): 651 miles (deficit = 203 miles)
Day 16 (16th February 1400 UTC): 322 miles (deficit = 376 miles)
Day 17 (17th February 1400 UTC): 425 miles (deficit = 338 miles)
Day 18 (18th February 1400 UTC): 362 miles (deficit = 433 miles)
Day 19 (19th February 1400 UTC): 726 miles (deficit = 234 miles)

πηγή: notk facebook
Στις 24 Φεβρουαρίου από τις 20:00 ως τις 22:00 θα γίνει μια παρουσίαση από τον Dave Perry, με θέμα "The Racing Rules and their Tactical Applications" (οι κανονισμοί αγώνων και οι εφαρμογές τους στους αγώνες).
Η παρουσίαση θα λάβει χώρα στις εγκαταστάσεις του Ν.Ο.Τ.Κ.
ΤΟ ΚΟΣΤΟΣ ΣΥΜΜΕΤΟΧΗΣ ΘΑ ΕΙΝΑΙ 25€ ΤΟ ΑΤΟΜΟ

In this presentation Dave goes through the racing rules, including the new changes in the 2009-2012 rules, ensuring that sailors and officials understand the rules and how to apply them to situations from common to complex, with a look to how to maximize winning tactics with an increased rules knowledge.
ABOUT DAVE PERRY
Dave grew up on Long Island Sound in Connecticut, racing Lightnings. He received his undergraduate degree at Yale University, and has received an honorary Doctorate of Education from Piedmont College. He is Chairman of the US SAILING Appeals Committee, and is a Senior Certified Judge.
He has authored three books on the sport, Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing, Winning in One-Designs, and Dave Perry’s 100 Best Racing Rules Quizzes. He is a two-time All American sailor and Intercollegiate Dinghy National Champion, 5th place finisher at the 1979 Laser Worlds, two-time Congressional Cup winner (1983 & 84), Silver Medalist in the 1983 Soling Pre-Olympic regatta, 2003 Ideal 18 North American champion, and the 2006 and 2008 winner of the U.S. Match Racing Championship for the Prince of Wales Trophy (a championship he also won in 1982!).
He is a member of the Sailing World Hall of Fame, and recipient of US SAILING's W. Van Alan Clark, Jr. Trophy for Sportsmanship and Captain Joe Prosser Award for Excellence in Sailing Instruction. He was the Rules Advisor and Afterguard Coach for Victory Challenge, Sweden’s 2007 America’s Cup Team, and the Rules Advisor for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Sailing Team. He is currently the coach for the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics women’s match race team. He has conducted hundreds of "rules talks" and seminars on the sport, and is best known for his clear, humorous and highly interactive presentations.

Three times holder of the Jules Verne Trophy and creator of The Race, the non-stop crewed race around the world without outside assistance and without limits, Bruno Peyron has officially announced that he has decided to relaunch The Race.
After several months of studies and some careful thinking and after consulting the main potential competitors, a second edition of the race around the world for the giant G-class boats is therefore planned for 2013-2014, starting from a port in Southern Europe.

Bruno Peyron, who took some time to think about this before coming to a decision explains: "As I've been able to stand back and gain some perspective since I last took part in the Jules VerneTrophy, there are several things I noticed that led me to take this decision to relaunch The Race.
First, since the recent America's Cup that we have just seen, we can conclude that we French are no longer alone in the world of multihulls and that is excellent news. We are entering a new era. We can see too that since The Race, 12 giant multi-hulls have been built, including four in the past three years.
So today there are certainly enough boats of sufficient quality for us to propose this event relaunch to their skippers and partners, without counting any new multi-hulls, which may be built following on from this by 2013 or 2014.
I have noticed that some major brands have been looking at the possibilities offered by the Volvo Ocean Race, which I can fully understand, but this does indicate that there is simply no alternative international race for multi-hulls. And just to conclude, others around me have become aware of this and share this feeling and my discussions with the leading G-class skippers have led me to move things forward in this direction.
After talks with various agencies specializing in sports marketing, Bruno Peyron has decided to award the overall management of The Race event to Thierry Reboul.
Former Head of Advertising for Air France and Head of Communications at Alcatel, Thierry Reboul was the founder of the Ubi bene agency, which specializes in promoting events. He will in particular be in charge of organizing and negotiating with the main partners and the official event sites.
A call for tender will be launched to complete the arrangements with an international team, which will be appointed as executive producers.
source: scuttlebutteurope.com

Though Groupama 3 has paid a heavy price at the entry to the Southern Ocean, she should soon get paid dividends from her investment in the Indian front...

The very straight trajectory announced as far as the longitude of Tasmania is particularly favorable, not solely for making up her deficit on the reference time, but above all amassing a fair bit of credit at the beginning of the Pacific.

Groupama 3's log (departure on 31st January at 13h 55' 53'' UTC)
Day 1 (1st February 1400 UTC): 500 miles (deficit = 94 miles)
Day 2 (2nd February 1400 UTC): 560 miles (lead = 3.5 miles)
Day 3 (3rd February 1400 UTC): 535 miles (lead = 170 miles)
Day 4 (4th February 1400 UTC): 565 miles (lead = 245 miles)
Day 5 (5th February 1400 UTC): 656 miles (lead = 562 miles)
Day 6 (6th February 1400 UTC): 456 miles (lead = 620 miles)
Day 7 (7th February 1400 UTC): 430 miles (lead = 539 miles)
Day 8 (8th February 1400 UTC): 305 miles (lead = 456 miles)
Day 9 (9th February 1400 UTC): 436 miles (lead = 393 miles)
Day 10 (10th February 1400 UTC): 355 miles (lead = 272 miles)
Day 11 (11th February 1400 UTC): 267 miles (deficit = 30 miles)
Day 12 (12th February 1400 UTC): 247 miles (deficit = 385 miles)
Day 13 (13th February 1400 UTC): 719 miles (deficit = 347 miles)
Day 14 (14th February 1400 UTC): 680 miles (deficit = 288 miles)
Day 15 (15th February 1400 UTC): 651 miles (deficit = 203 miles)
Day 16 (16th February 1400 UTC): 322 miles (deficit = 376 miles)
Day 17 (17th February 1400 UTC): 425 miles (deficit = 338 miles)
Day 18 (18th February 1400 UTC): 362 miles (deficit = 433 miles)

Ο Tim Spalding είναι ορθοπεδικός χειρουργός και πρώην ιατρικός σύμβουλος στο Volvo Ocean Race.

To Volvo Ocean Race είναι ιδιαιτέρως σκληρό όχι μόνο με τα σκάφη, αλλά και με τα πληρώματα.
Ο Tim είπε: "Έχω υπάρξει ιατρικός σύμβουλος για πάνω από 20 χρόνια στον αγώνα, από τότε που λεγόταν Whitbread, πριν εμφανιστούν αυτά τα 70ποδα θηρία. Και πάντα το ερώτημα είναι μήπως ο αγώνας θέτει σε όχι απαραίτητο κίνδυνο τα πληρώματα;
photo credit: Gabriele Olivo / Telefonica Blue / Volvo Ocean Race
Οι διοργανωτές πάντα προσπαθούν να ισορροπήσουν μεταξύ της ασφάλειας των πληρωμάτων και της έντασης του αγώνα, αλλά πλέον και οι σχεδιαστές και οι ομάδες από μόνες τους παίζουν σημαντικό ρόλο στις αποφάσεις.
Θα έπρεπε να σκάφη να είναι πιο προστατευμένα; Όπως ίσως είναι τα Οpen 60; Δύσκολη απόφαση αλλά το ζητούμενο θα πρέπει να πάει στους σχεδιαστές που θα πρέπει να βελτιώσουν την απόδοση των σκαφών και ταυτόχρονα να ελαχιστοποιήσουν το ρίσκο τραυματισμού. Συχνότεροι τραυματισμοί συμβαίνουν στα γόνατα, στους αγκώνες, στους αστραγάλους, και το βασικότερο πρόβλημα η χρόνια κούραση που ταλαιπωρεί όλα τα πληρώματα.
Αυτές είναι μερικές από τις προκλήσεις που έχουν να αντιμετωπιστούν και η ιατρική ομάδα του VOR έχει πλέον μεγάλη εμπειρία και έχει αφιερώσει πολλές ώρες μελέτης ώστε να θέσει τις βάσεις για μελλοντικές αλλαγές και βελτιώσεις.
Η πλήρη συνέντευξη θα δημοσιευτεί στην τελευταία έκδοση του περιοδικού Life At The Extreme.
source: www.volvooceanrace.com

The World Match Racing Tour (WMRT), the annual series whose winner is crowned the ISAF Match Racing World Champion, today announced the names of the nine Tour Card Holders for the 2010 season.
After developing the invite policy introduced in 2009, the WMRT has allocated the Tour Cards for 2010 to:

• Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch – 2009 ISAF Match Racing World Champion
• Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team – finished second in 2009
• Ben Ainslie (GBR) Team Origin – finished third in 2009
• Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Azzura
• Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
• Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team
• Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team
• Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
• Ian Williams (GBR) Team Pindar
  

“Last year, we had a great season. This year, we have received a tremendous response from the teams and believe that the 2010 series will be an even bigger and more significant series for the WMRT, the skippers and teams, as well as for everyone following the action on-site at the events or through the media,” said Tour Director Craig Mitchell.
The Tour Invite Policy, first introduced in 2009, will guarantee the Tour Card holders invites to six of the first nine events but they can compete in more events if they are able to secure wild card invites from the individual event promoters.
For teams that did not receive a Tour Card, there are still opportunities to race on the WMRT through event wild cards or through the events that make up the Tour Qualifying Series that feed into the World Tour events.
“We see the level of professionalism amongst the skippers and teams going up each year and 2010 will be no exception. We are looking forward to another great series of events and crowning a worthy champion. It is going to be fiercely competitive from the first race in France, in April, all the way through to the last race in Malaysia, in December,” Mitchell enthused.
Francesco Bruni from Team Azzura of Italy said, "I am extremely happy to be part of such an important and prestigious circuit. I am also very proud to have the opportunity to compete for the Match Race World Title wearing the Team Azzurra uniform!"
Mathieu Richard from the French Match Racing Team also shared the same excitement. “I am very glad to have a Tour card, and I am looking forward to taking part to a fantastic 2010 championship! The 2010 field is very exciting, with an interesting mixed of three generations of skippers – young guns like, Adam Minoprio (NZL), and Torvar Mirsky (AUS), veterans with Peter Gilmour (AUS) and Bertrand Pacé (FRA), and skippers of my generation.”
http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/

ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ
Οι εγγραφές στη νέα σειρά μαθημάτων της Σχολής Ιστιοπλοΐας Ανοιχτής Θάλασσας του Ιστιοπλοϊκού Ομίλου Πατρών έχουν αρχίσει.
Τα μαθήματα της σειράς, τα οποία θα ξεκινήσουν τέλη Φεβρουαρίου, θα διαρκέσουν οχτώ εβδομάδες και περιλαμβάνουν επτά θεωρητικά και οχτώ πρακτικά μαθήματα, τα τελευταία εν πλω, με το εκπαιδευτικό σκάφος ΗΩΣ του Ομίλου.
Με την ολοκλήρωση των μαθημάτων χορηγείται στους απόφοιτους δίπλωμα Ιστιοπλοΐας Ανοικτής θάλασσας διεθνώς αναγνωρισμένο.
Οι ενδιαφερόμενοι –υποψήφιοι ιστιοπλόοι ανοιχτής θάλασσας– μπορούν να επικοινωνούν για πληροφορίες και εγγραφές με τα γραφεία του Ι.Ο.Πάτρας στη Μαρίνα Τερψιθέας (δίπλα στο εστιατόριο Λάγιος) καθημερινά Δευτέρα, Τετάρτη 09:00-14:00 & 17.00-21:00 - Τρίτη, Πέμπτη 09.00-16:30 - Παρασκευή 09:00-16:00 στα τηλέφωνα 2610-423939, 6974157853.
Από του Δ.Σ. του Ι.Ο.Πατρών
http://www.sailingclub.gr

Source: BMW Oracle

Το GGYC ανακοίνωσε ότι το Ιταλικό Club Nautico di Roma (CNR) θα είναι ο Challenger of Record για το 34ο America’s Cup.
Η ομάδα που εκπροσωπείται από τον ιταλικό όμιλο δεν είναι άλλη από τη γνωστή και μη εξαιρετέα “Mascalzone Latino” που ανήκει στον γνωστό ιστιοπλόο Vincenzo Onorato.
Η ομάδα Mascalzone Latino αγωνίστηκε σαν διεκδικητής του κυπέλλου το 2003 και το 2007.
PHOTO CREDITS Conferenza stampa 04/02/2010 Mascalzone Latino/Marco Trovati
Vincenzo Onorato talking with Gavin Brady
Τόσο το GGYC (BMW Oracle Racing) όσο και το CNR (Mascalzone Latino) έχουν ξεκινήσει ένα διάλογο με την κοινότητα του AC προκειμένου να διασφαλίσουν ότι το επόμενο, δηλαδή το 34ο AC, θα γίνει με ισότιμους όρους για όλες τις ομάδες που θα συμμετάσχουν.

The second successive victory for BMW ORACLE Racing against Alinghi on Sunday 14th February 2010 marked the end of the 33rd America’s Cup in Valencia.

As an international sporting event it was without precedent in terms of the organization.
One month before Consorcio Valencia 2007 jointly with an international team of specialists staged a global event which again placed Valencia on the world stage.
The Société Nautique de Geneve delegated the land-side organization of the 33rd America’s Cup to Consorcio Valence 2007.
On 7th February the Port America' S Cup located in the Marina Real Juan Carlos I of Valencia inaugurated the 33e edition of the oldest international sporting trophy in the world in front of more than 60.000 people.
Over 10 days, more than 150 people of 10 nationalities were engaged in the smooth operation on the ground of an event which welcome over 200,000 visitors and which concluded with the ceremony of handing-over of the spectacular trophy crowned by an exceptional fireworks display.
TV

• 39 TV channels acquired the broadcasting rights: Sky (Great Britain), Canal + (France), Teledeporte and Canal 9 (Spain), Eurosport (Europe), Show Time (the Middle East), ESPN (the USA) FOX Live (Australia), TVNZ and Sky (New Zealand).
• 15 hours of live broadcasting to 216 territories
• 27 hours of special programs
• 2,160 million potential viewing audience.
  

INTERNET (www.americascup.com)

• 2,800,000 visits
• 1,200,000 unique visitors
• 656,000 unique visitors watched the live racing direct through the official web site (this audience does not include the streaming broadcasting by 350 other Internet sites worldwide)
• 346,000 was the record number of unique visitors, occurring on the 12 of February 16,000 Facebook fans and 13,000 followers on Twitter in the three official languages of all the communication of the Web (Spanish, English and French)
• More than 300 articles published more in three languages on www.americascup.com
  

PUBLIC AT THE MARINA REAL JUAN CARLOS 1 (from the 7th to the 14th of February)

• Global number of visitors: 201,000 between the 7th the 14th of February
• Record: 7th of February 2007 - 60,000 people at the event inauguration
• More than 2,000 children of Valencian schools in organized visits
• More than 1,200 hamburgers more served
• More 5,000 served plates of paella
• More than 800 fondues (150 kg of cheese) served
• More than 1,400 kilos of powder in `mascletás'
  

PRESS CENTRE

• 965 Requests accreditation requests from 37 countries (Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United States, Great Britain, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, the Faeroes, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Holland, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, Islands Vírgenes and the Ukraine)
• More than 8,000 articles were published
• 400 daily users connected to the Internet to the Wi-Fi network of 120 Mbs
• 10 kilometers of optical fiber installed
• 15 official Vehicles that have realised 13,244 kilometers in more than 700 services
• 5 official press conferences in the conference hall
  

PROMOTION

• 2,000 sq m of canvases
• 500 banners
• 180 bus stop advertising panels
• 1,000 1 minute adverts of the 33rd America's Cup in the trains of the Mediterranean corridor area
• Continuous advertising of 35 seconds in 345 buses of Valencia
• 10,000 official programs distributed.
• Presence in airports of Madrid and Barcelona
  

THE REGATA – 33rd AMERICA'S CUP

• 2 boats: the catamaran Alinghi 5 and the trimaran the USA
• 2 regattas: 12th of February and 14th of February 2 formats of racing: Windward/Leeward (12th of February) and triangle (14th of February)
• 79 nautical miles of racing: 40 in the first and 39 in second
• 24 sailors in the official crew listing: 14 on Alinghi 5, 10 in the USA
• 2-0, the score in favor of BMW ORACLE Racing
• 15 minutes and 25 seconds, the delta of first race, the 12 of February
• 5 minutes and 29 seconds, the delta of second race, the 14 of February
  

AMERICA'S CUP

• 33 editions of America's Cup between 1870 and 2010
• 4 countries have defended the America's Cup: The United States, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland
• 28 editions defended by the United States: 1870 to 1983, 1988, 1992, 1995
• 1 edition defended by Australia: 1987
• 2 editions defended by New Zealand: 2000 and 2003
• 2 editions defended by Switzerland: 2007 and 2010
• 7 countries have reached the America's Cup Match (England, Italy, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and the United States)
• 6 venues in 159 years: New York (the USA), Newport (the USA), Fremantle (AUS), San Diego (the USA), Auckland (NZL) and Valencia (ESP) 1 trophy: the America's Cup
• 1 America's Cup

Prizegiving 33rd America's Cup - BMW ORACLE Racing - ©Pedro Armestre/AFP/33rd America's Cup
Port America's Cup - ©Eduardo Ripoll/33rd America's Cup

The weather situation is changing at the entrance to the Indian Ocean: Groupama 3 is right in the thick of it now and will have to compromise with a strong N'ly wind blowing down off Africa. Conditions are harsh but this shouldn't continue for long and the trajectory towards Tasmania is likely to be very straight and fast.

The time for the albatrosses has arrived and the ride across the Indian Ocean will warrant a switching of gears this Monday afternoon with over forty knots of wind picking up a more aggressive sea. Indeed Groupama 3 rounded Cape Agulhas at 05h 43' 47'' (UTC) today, 14d 15h 47' 54'' after leaving Ushant. As such the giant trimaran had a seven and a half hour deficit on the reference time on rounding this first cape of the Jules Verne Trophy. The African promontory is also the kick-off point for another of the records approved by the WSSRC: the Indian Ocean crossing, from Cape Agulhas to the South of Tasmania; a record held by Bruno Peyron and his crew with a time of 9d 11h 04'...
"On Sunday there were a pile of birds around... Then this morning a huge albatross followed us from daybreak. At noon today we're in a transition zone between the front which was following us and the N'ly air flow, which is due to hit us with 40 knots late this afternoon. We even had a moment of sunshine and it's not too cold: we've had time to have a little break! I haven't even put my boots on yet..." indicated Steve Ravussin at the 1130 UTC radio link-up.
Heavy airs jib and reefs Groupama 3 had to reposition herself slightly to the South just before crossing the longitude of Cape Agulhas, in order to avoid a zone of confluence where the breeze was light. However this zigzag hasn't proved disadvantageous, quite the contrary in fact, as Franck Cammas and his nine crew are just 200 miles behind Orange 2. In addition, the reigning Jules Verne Trophy holder didn't enjoy great conditions in her crossing of the Indian Ocean so, if all goes to plan, the giant trimaran should have made up her deficit a good way before the Kerguelen Islands. By sailing along the southern edge of a zone of high pressure, the boat shouldn't suffer too much as the seas won't have had time to build.
"We're going to be beam on in this harsh wind and we've prepared the heavy airs jib and intend to put in reefs. This gale will last for around twenty hours. It's not going to be very pleasant, but we're lucky that we'll be sailing in following seas. It's set to be a bit different than it was two years ago! We've performed a general check-up and all's well. We'll be ready to tackle these conditions before nightfall... We're trying to sail without putting too much strain on the foils, especially the starboard one, which has been working hard since the start. As such we're rarely exceeding 37 knots, but we do at times make 42 knots as we did yesterday."

Groupama 3's log (departure on 31st January at 13h 55' 53'' UTC)
Day 1 (1st February 1400 UTC): 500 miles (deficit = 94 miles)
Day 2 (2nd February 1400 UTC): 560 miles (lead = 3.5 miles)
Day 3 (3rd February 1400 UTC): 535 miles (lead = 170 miles)
Day 4 (4th February 1400 UTC): 565 miles (lead = 245 miles)
Day 5 (5th February 1400 UTC): 656 miles (lead = 562 miles)
Day 6 (6th February 1400 UTC): 456 miles (lead = 620 miles)
Day 7 (7th February 1400 UTC): 430 miles (lead = 539 miles)
Day 8 (8th February 1400 UTC): 305 miles (lead = 456 miles)
Day 9 (9th February 1400 UTC): 436 miles (lead = 393 miles)
Day 10 (10th February 1400 UTC): 355 miles (lead = 272 miles)
Day 11 (11th February 1400 UTC): 267 miles (deficit = 30 miles)
Day 12 (12th February 1400 UTC): 247 miles (deficit = 385 miles)
Day 13 (13th February 1400 UTC): 719 miles (deficit = 347 miles)
Day 14 (14th February 1400 UTC): 680 miles (deficit = 288 miles)
Day 15 (15th February 1400 UTC): 651 miles (deficit = 203 miles)
photo credits: © Team Groupama - Aboard Groupama 3 2010/02/13

BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):

- Larry Ellison (USA) team founder and afterguard BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“ It is a fabulous experience I am very proud to be part of this team and I am exceptionally proud to bring the America’s Cup back to the United States of America for the first time in a very long time.”
- James Spithill (AUS) skipper-helm BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“ What a fantastic race. Firstly I would really like to congratulate Alinghi for bouncing back today. They were coming out there swinging. We knew they were a champion team and they showed that again today. Full credit to them it was one hell of a boat race. I tell you enjoyed every minute of it.”
It was good to see the reaching race, I think you’ll appreciate the boats getting together and showed how exciting it can be.
- John Kostecki (USA) tactician BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“ This is huge. I have been dreaming about winning the America’s Cup for 25 years and so it is a very special moment. It is a great team and this was very much a team effort. Everyone put in a lot. It was a difficult project especially with the wing sail, and there was some testing times.”
- Russell Coutts (NZL) CEO and afterguard BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“ I think this was a very challenging event. Even two or three months ago I was not sure that we could have our team working effectively enough to beat these guys. I know, because I was in team Alinghi and I know how good they are. It was a fantastic effort on our behalf to have beaten them and certainly I hope to see them back and competing in the America’s Cup.”
- Larry Ellison (USA) team founder and afterguard BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA)
….one his thoughts on possible venues for the 34th America’s Cup in response to questions about San Francisco and Valencia:
“ I think we are open to considering a lot of options. We will talk to San Francisco, to Valencia…..Valencia have been fantastic hosts to the last two America’s Cups. And as you know we pushed very hard to hold this Cup in Valencia. It was not the Defender’s first choice, and overall we enjoyed sailing the 32nd and the 33rd America’s Cup in Valencia.”
- Larry Ellison (USA) team founder and afterguard BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA) …on speculation about a Challenger of Record:
“ All I would like to say is that we definitely have Challenger of Record. One thing I would like to assure people about the 34th America’s Cup. There be a completely independent jury, there will be a completely independent umpires. It will be an independent group which manages the next America’s Cup and there will be a level playing field for all competitors.”
- James Spithill (AUS) skipper-helm BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA)
…on comparisons with his last America’s Cups in monuhulls;
“This one has been an amazing experience, pretty much for al the team, but especially for the sailors, Pretty much everyone on the boat had very little multihull experience beforehand. In some ways this almost one feels harder. For me personally it was a really steep hill to climb. To be able to climb that you need to have good support and early on Franck Cammas and the Groupama guys, Glenn Ashby, Roman Hagara and a lot of these multihull experts. From my point of view there was no way I could have got to that level without their help and support.”
- Russell Coutts (NZL) CEO and afterguard BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“ Of course we would like to see Alinghi back as a challenger. They are one of the best teams in this business, and they have proven that. I think that the Cup boats we should reach consensus with the rest of the America’s Cup world. I think it would be irresponsible for one party to make try and make a decision on behalf of the everyone else. You need to put a lot of thought into this. This is a 159 year old trophy and let’s look after it.”
- Larry Ellison (USA) team founder and afterguard BMW ORACLE Racing Team (USA):
“This particular America’s Cup has got a lot of interest because for the first time in a long time it featured the two fastest sailboats in the world. And the limits of what is possible marrying high speed sailing and material science, carbon fibre, Kevlar, computational fluid dynamics, computer simulation of not only our hulls but also our wing. It was really a high tech race. And a bunch of people who really aren’t that interested in sailing followed it pretty closely. And we think that is important for our sport. We think that is important to get the television coverage, to involve non sailors as well as sailors. We are going to try and make decision along with the rest of the America’s Cup community so we can do just that, achieving sponsorship and funding for all of the teams from BMW ORACLE and Alinghi to the China Team and the South African Team and the Swedish team the New Zealand team. If we do our job well and work closely with them it should be the most popular America’s Cup ever, the 34th America’s Cup.”

Team Alinghi (SUI)
- Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI) Team President and helm Alinghi (SUI):
“Over the last ten years anyone who has come close to the Alinghi team I guess understands what I feel now. There is a unique warmth, a unique spirit, a unique friendship that ties any person who has either worked, cheered or come close and met the Alinghi team. And so I am very proud of what we achieved over the last nine years.”
“It is not for me decide the future of the America’s Cup any more so I will wait and see what the future is going to bring us and where it going to take us. Then I will decide.”
“We could see there was a bit of difference in the boats, but that’s yacht racing.”
“ They had a strategy. They got a little help from the legal system in New York that always makes things difficult for us Europeans to get the same sort advantages. They were able to change their boat when they saw ours, they were able to bring a wing and they were faster. So, good on them. Maybe I wouldn’t have done the same thing, but that is the America’s Cup, it is not the European Cup, it is the America’s Cup. The Americans have a bit of an advantage but they take the Cup back home. Let’s see what happens now.”
“ I think the greatest achievement of Alinghi is being the first European Team to win the America’s Cup.”
“If you win the America’s Cup you hope you are not going to be sued!”
“ The best part is not actually having the silverware itself. The best part is having the team that is successful, which has a spirit, which wins and god knows if we had won. If any team that has won over the last ten years has won it is Alinghi. Now these last two races we did not win, we were disadvantaged we didn’t have a boat which was quite fast enough, but with the boat we had, with the odds we had we did our best to show that we were not going to lay down. We exit with our heads high.”
- Brad Butterworth (NZL) skipper-tactician Alinghi (SUI):
“ I think both days were real races. Unfortunately it is just two races, but I’d like to congratulate Oracle on the job that they have done, designing and building and sailing that boat. It is not an easy thing to do the change their boat, to re-mode it and to push it when they saw what we were coming out with. And to the guys in our group as well. They did a great job with the time constraints they had.”
“ We wanted to get the right hand side of the start line. We were a little bit bunched by the start being called so late in the day. We really weren’t close enough for the time that we had and we struggled to ping the ends and then gybe round and get to our end so we got a nice penalty for free and that was two for two, so we like be even numbers, that is good. We thought we’ve got the penalty we will gybe round and we could not get to the starboard layline to the committee boat which is what wanted, because of the spectator boats.”
“We managed to get what we wanted and I think we had better pressure on that side on that long starboard tack and we pushed the boat harder than we have ever pushed it on both tacks.”
photos credits: Final Press Conference - ©Eduardo Ripoll/33rd America's Cup