Best Heats of 2012, by Surfer Magazine

We’ll remember 2012 as the year Joel Parkinson overcame Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater to win his maiden World Title. Over the course of ten months, surf fans witnessed a new generation of World Title candidates emerge, while the veterans reigned supreme, again. It was a year when J-Bay was missed, while Fiji was welcomed back. Here are the 10 best World Tour heats of 2012: Best Heats of 2012

Vendee Globe Ocean Race, Day 51 - Resolutions, resolve and relief at Cape Horn

Gabart and Le Cléac’h at Cape Horn Tuesday evening
Cold affects play, Sanso’s solution
De Lamotte first into 2013, Gabart first in 2013?

Cape Horn, and the left turn up the Atlantic has always represented some kind of deliverance for Vendée Globe skippers. Thus far the Pacific winds and seas may have been relatively gentle on the majority of the fleet, but it also is the relief from the mind and body numbing chill that the Atlantic finally brings which is universally welcomed.

Of the skippers who today were reflecting on the misery of the relentless, all- pervading greyness, cold and damp, it will be Jean-Pierre Dick - in third - who will actually escape to rising temperatures first. But when the soloist who has been most vociferous in conveying his passion for the south is no longer at one with the weather, then it is a fair bet that there others sharing the misery.

For sure one is Javier Sanso. Home for‘Bubi’ may be the sunny Balearic island of Majorca, but the career professional mariner is no stranger to the hardship of the deep south. As well as a successful racing circumnavigation on the first Barcelona World Race, Sanso skippered an Antarctic sailing odyssey.

But he has now taken to a radical solution to warm his permafrosted feet:
“ I can complain about one thing and that is the cold,” reported Sanso today. “Worse than the cold is damp, chill humidity. It isn’t that cold – just ten degrees, but it is the humidity that gives such a strong sensation of cold and on a day like today where the sun doesn’t come out it is even worse.”

“ I have had freezing feet for the last four days because of the humidity but I have given myself shock treatment. I took out my new boots and put on brand new dry and clean socks and my toes were still frozen. I then took two bags which are used to heat my food – the hot packs – and I strapped them around the boot with tape for ten minutes – and finally my feet dried.”

And the damp is also getting to Mike Golding who is on his sixth circumnavigation:
“ It is foggy, drizzly, rainy and unpleasant. And it is cold. Inside the boat everything is damp and that makes the cold feel worse.”

Tanguy De Lamotte too has been finding it cold: “I have a very small radiator but it’s not enough for the cabin. The best way to stay warm is to stay inside the sleeping bag. The temperatures are so low it just takes longer to get warm. I’ve used the engine a couple of times just to stay warm. »
Back to the Future?

De Lamotte may be 12th, 4080 miles behind the leader but he was the first of the Vendée Globe fleet to celebrate sailing into 2013. At his position, just passing close to Campbell Island, 380 miles south of Dunedin NZ, De Lamotte was not only in to the New Year at around 1200hrs CET today, but as he is due to sail across the international date line tomorrow, so he will effectively be able to celebrate all over again. Add the option tonight to mark the start of the 2013 with his friends and family at home in France, and the popular skipper laughed that he had under- estimated his champagne supplies:

“I’ll get to celebrate at least twice because I’ll cross the antimeridian tomorrow, it’s quite a privilege. I didn’t do it on purpose, though, but it’s great! So champagne today and red wine tomorrow!”

In fact De Lamotte (Initatives Coeur) and Bertrand De Broc (Votre Nom Autor Du Monde avec EDM Projets) some 230 miles ahead will likely limit their celebrations as they expect stormy wind conditions (gusts to 50kts) and big seas.

After 13th placed Alessandro Di Benedetto at 1600hrs this Monday afternoon, the leading duo, François Gabart (Macif) and Armel Le Cléach (Banque Populaire) – at 450 miles to Cape Horn – will pass into 2013 around 0500hrs UTC Tuesday 1st and the group comprising fifth placed Jean Le Cam to seventh placed Dominique Wavre around 1000hrs.

A First for Gabart
Ironically of the top ten skippers it is only today’s leader François Gabart who has yet to sail past Cape Horn. Gabart has built a lead now of 20 miles on Armel Le Cléac’h. To lead past the third great cape of this race would in itself be a fantastic moment for a skipper who only rose to real prominence three years ago when he won the MACIF skipper selection trials in 2009. Remarkably when the last Vendée Globe started in Novmeber 2008 Gabart had yet to race an IMOCA Open 60 at all, and indeed it was only the following autumn when he raced his first major Transatlantic on an IMOCA, taking fourth in the Transat Jacques Vabre on Groupe Bel with Kito de Pavant. The leaders are still expected at Cape Horn on the evening of Tuesday 1st January.

Vendee Globe Ocean Race, ETA passage of Cape Horn 01/01/2013

ETA passage of Cape Horn 01/01/2013 - between18:00 and 23:00 (UT)

The current Vendée Globe leaders, François Gabart (Macif) and Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire) are expected at Cape Horn Tuesday, January 1st between 18:00 and 23:00 (UT).

A video conference will be held with both skippers - via ClipWay with Armel Le Cleac'h and via Skype with François Gabart - for this key point of passage which marks the exit of the Southern Ocean and return to Les Sables d'Olonne.

Both audio and video material will be broadcast live on the official website and DailyMotion and will be made available for broadcasters to download from the Video Server as well be available for replay on VendeeGlobe.org thirty minutes after broadcast.

Industry News: ISA Announces 2013 World SUP and Paddleboard Championships | SUP Magazine

The International Surfing Association (ISA) is excited to announce the second edition of the ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship in Miraflores, Peru. After a historic inaugural event in January 2012, Peru is getting ready to once again host the world’s top athletes to compete February 24th to March 2nd, 2013.

Peru is anticipating 150 of the world’s greatest watermen from 25 countries who will compete in 11 different events in the Men and Women’s divisions, all in search of taking home the Gold Medals and the Club Waikiki-Peru Team Trophy.

“SUP is one of the fastest growing sports, not just within surfing, but of all sports around the world,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “It is an honor to also have the Paddleboard Championship because prone paddling is an ancient discipline of surfing that dates back to the 1700′s in Hawaii, and it’s also strongly growing right now. Thanks to the continued support from legendary Club Waikiki, IPD (Peruvian Institute of Sports), ADO (Peruvian Association of Olympic Athletes), and COP (Peruvian Olympic Committee), we look forward to replicating the success of the inaugural 2012 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship. It is with great pleasure that we will once again watch the world’s best competitors showcase their talent at the historic surf beach of La Pampilla, in Lima, Peru.” More;

Industry News: ISA Announces 2013 World SUP and Paddleboard Championships | SUP Magazine

Danny Ching Clinic at Surf Expo with FCS SUP

ORLANDO, Florida - Surf Expo is just around the corner and many stand up paddle manufacturers will be there in full force. This trade show has been taking place since 1976 and is a place where manufacturers and retailers in the surf, skate, water sports, swim and resort industries come together to buy and sell product.

 Danny Ching on the far left with his signature FCS SUP fin

There will be fun activities specific to the SUP world this January 10th - 12th at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. One such event includes a chance to meet and learn from Battle of the Paddle Champion Danny Ching. He will be signing autographs and talking about racing and SUP equipment at the FCS SUP booth number 3435 on Friday January 11th from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm

Vendee Globe Ocean Race, Day 50 - New Year, no change ?

- Leaders at Cape Horn tomorrow night
- Stamm and Sanso on a charge, making gains
- All 13 skippers in the same ocean ?

2013 may well start with the status quo intact. There seems little chance of any immediate change in the ranking order on the Vendée Globe even if Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) and Javier Sanso (Acciona 100% Eco Powered) are each on a charge, sailing the biggest distances over the 24 hours to build a growing threat to the skippers immediately in front of them. Otherwise the order is very settled. Even between the two leaders, François  Gabart (Macif) ahead of Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) again, there are 9.5 miles. With 650 miles to go to Cape Horn the top duo are anticipated there tomorrow evening. Meantime Italy’s Alessandro di Benedetto can pass into the Pacific before the leaders leave.

With 300 miles to go to enter the Pacific Ocean, making between nine and 10 knots, Italy’s Alessandro di Benedetto, on his 1998 Finot Conq designed Team Plastique, has a fighting chance of passing in to the world’s most expansive ocean at its western entrance just before the two leaders depart in the east, at Cape Horn. Oceanic adventurer Di Benedetto passed the East Australia gate last night, just over 5000 miles behind race leader François Gabart who is back at the head of the Vendée Globe fleet.

The two leaders are racing with courses only 7 miles apart in modest 13-17kts NW’ly winds as they reach towards Cape Horn where it seems increasingly likely that it will be the more friendly, benign face of the feared mariners’ landmark that the 29 year old Vendée Globe first timer Gabart will encounter Tuesday evening. In third place Jean-Pierre Dick’s margin to the leaders remains relatively static as he keeps pace with them, some 318 miles behind.

The biggest distances sailed in the 24 hours up to 0500hrs UTC this morning were made by Bernard Stamm (440 miles) and Javier Sanso (425 Miles). Stamm has been cutting distance to Arnaud Boissières virtually since he rejoined the race course three days ago after his technical stop, and this morning was just 49 miles behind the Frenchman’s Akena Vérandas. Sanso, chasing down Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud) is now at 100 miles behind and has averaged more than 3 knots quicker over the last 24 hours. The Spanish skipper from Palma, Majorca’s desire is to be back with Wave and Mike Golding (Gamesa) by Cape Horn. Golding was 300 miles from the Pacific West gate this morning.

Four hundred miles ahead of Golding Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) has completeted that Pacific West Gate and enjoys relative isolation in a solid fifth place as he has Alex Thomson 1000 miles ahead on Hugo Boss. The British skipper has still 1530 miles to make to Cape Horn but will be delighted to finally complete a solo passage of the infamous point. As for the two leaders they are still more than two days ahead of the race record and might still break 80 days.

Vendee Globe Ocean Race, Day 50 - Lucky 13 into 2013 ? Challenges all the way to the finish line.

• Le Cléac’h, Gabart will look out for each other in Cape Horn ice zone
• South Atlantic might offer mean challenge early in 2013
• Stamm confident

It is the Southern Oceans,  the successive challenges of the Indian Ocean and then the Pacific which might normally exact their toll on the Vendée Globe fleet. But there are also dangerous weather and sea conditions in the South Atlantic. E even winter storms in the North Atlantic on the final stretch to Les Sables d’Olonne can break tired boats.

As the leading three skippers of the 13 remaining on this Vendée Globe contemplate passing Cape Horn on the first days of 2013 they may well give thanks that the last month of 2012 has delivered relatively benign conditions in the ‘big south’.

Complacency is not often a failing which visits many solo sailors, but after a five week spell with no abandonments – since Vincent Riou on 26th November – it would be too easy for an outside observer to consider that a successful escape unscathed from the Pacific is a passport to a successful finish in Les Sables d’Olonne.

Recent editions of the Vendée Globe have seen at least one retirement in the Atlantic. In 2009 it was Roland Jourdain who lost his keel and had to retire in the Azores. Four years before, for Nick Moloney it was also keel damage which forced him to abandon, retiring into Brazil. In the last Barcelona World Race Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret lost their mast on the return up the Atlantic in tough conditions off Argentina.

Ice at Diego Ramirex Island
For the leaders there is an initial worry about ice at Cape Horn, but once they are into the South Atlantic there is predicted to be a succession of low pressure systems which can be as challenging as anything they have had in the Indian or the Pacific.

The ice threat for Armel Le Cléac’h and François Gabart is being very carefully monitored. Closest to their routing for their approach will be a 200 metres long, 100 metres high berg which is reported to be grounded beside Diego Ramirez island – some 50 miles SW of Cape Horn, which is reported to be releasing smaller growlers.

The iceberg is just one of five in the area, the others are more to the east and south of the current course.

“ I’m concerned about the ice in the Cape Horn area.” Race leader Armel Le Cléac’h admitted today to Vendée Globe LIVE, “ It’s a little unusual in that zone, but we’ll deal with it. It’s not fun to sail close to the coast in such conditions, with icebergs, but we’ll use the latest info given by Race Direction. François and I will be very careful and if we do see ice, we’ll let each other know. That’s another good thing about being so close. If you really want to be as safe as possible, the radar is not enough. We’re lucky because when you’re at 56° south, nights are very short and that helps when you are looking around, checking for icebergs. Except when there’s fog, of course!” Armel Le Cleác’h (Banque Populaire) was leading the race by eight miles this afternoon ahead of Francois Gabart with less than 800 miles to Cape Horn.

Stamm in the fog, one speed only.
The return of Bernard Stamm continues as the Swiss skipper chases down Arnaud Boissières on Akéna Verandas which is now around 50 miles ahead of Cheminées Poujoulat. Stamm has been second quickest of the fleet and spoke today to Vendée Globe LIVE for the first time since he made his technical stop off Dunedin, NZ.

Splitting thick fog at an average of 19 knots average, Stamm said he could only see 200 meters. But he confirmed that his two hydrogenerators are working well, restoring his power to well beyond the two hours he had left his batteries when he was on his technical stop. "I had no more than half a liter of fresh water left at one point. There, you can always call for help and throw in the towel."  Tenacious Stamm managed to avoid doing that. After 50 days at sea, in 10th position he is clearly intent on staying in the race.

New Yorkers mourn the loss of young Hurricane Sandy hero

Earlier this month Dylan Smith was named one of People Magazine's "2012 Heroes of the Year" for his heroic rescue efforts during Hurricane Sandy. The 23-year-old surfer from Belle Harbor, New York, helped save six people from ravaging fires in the aftermath of the storm, using a makeshift rope bridge along with his surfboard to get stranded victims to safety on the Rockaway Peninsula.

Photo of Dylan Smith courtesy the Smith family archives.

Tragically, on Sunday, Smith's body was found floating near his surfboard along Maria's Beach on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Smith was vacationing there to enjoy the warm water and winter swells near Rincon, one of the most renowned surf breaks on the island, and a favorite escape for East Coast surfers.

Read more by Chris Mauro on GrindTV.com ; New Yorkers mourn the loss of young Hurricane Sandy hero

Icah Wilmot retains Jamaica Surf Association National Open title

Icah Wilmot rides a wave at the Jamaica Surfing Association National Open Series   at the Boston Bay surfing beach in Portland on Saturday. 30 December, 2012 : - - Defending National Open champion Icah Wilmot secured a narrow, come-from-behind win in the 2012 Jamaica Surfing Association National Open Series with a fourth-place showing at the fifth and final event concluded at the Boston Bay surfing beach in Portland on Saturday.

The event was contested by 14 competitors, the smallest turnout for the series. Some of the top names were absent from the line-up, as Portland's top surfer and former national champion Shane Simonds did not compete, dashing his hope of a 2012 title in the process. Also missing from the line-up and a shot at the title was series leader at the time, young Akeem Taylor of Boston.

The day was sunny and the forecast was for chest high waves on a building swell to reach head high by evening. The home crew had the advantage in the fickle waves of the pristine white sand cove and they were looking strong despite their missing stars.

As expected, there were no upsets in the first round and all the top seeds made their heats to sit it out, while two round two heats selected the contenders who would advance to meet them again in round three where the real action began.

The first heat of the round was dominated by the defending champ and the judges agreed unanimously. Garren Pryce got a unanimous second of his own and they were through to the semi-final. Heat Two was a lot closer with Shama Beckford and Dwayne Hall splitting first and second for their places in the semis. The youngest Wilmot, Ivah, also dominated his Heat Three with Warren Lewis taking second and advancing with him. The final heat of the round was a family affair for Ackeam Phillips and his younger brother Armani Green, who nabbed a unanimous first and second to complete the semi-final field.

The first semi-final saw Icah, Shama, Dwayne, and Garren paddle out. The surfing was at the top of the local scale, and the young Beckford went toe to toe with his elder, narrowly finishing in second, but making it to the final, nonetheless. Boston's Dwayne Hall finished equal fifth with Garren Pryce equal seventh.

Semi-final two was straight forward in the judges' eyes, with all giving the two spots in the final to Ackeam and Ivah. Armani Green and Warren Lewis took equal fifth and seventh, respectively.

In the much-anticipated final it was at the Boston Crew's home turf, a number of their top representatives were absent, which made the final a totally 'South Coast' affair. Eighteen waves were ridden in the short 15-minute heat with Shama, Ivah and his brother Icah all getting five each. Shama's first wave was a thriller and gave him a good grip on the first exchange which he did not relinquish. Icah was trying hard, while Ackeam sat patiently and waited for his calling. Ivah was busy also, but was having more luck than his elder brother, as he connected sections across the bay. Ackeam got a good right and almost landed an air reverse which made him look very dangerous in the choppy conditions of the evening. But Shama held on to his lead as the clock ticked down.

When the horn sounded Shama Beckford was the event winner, followed by Ackeam Phillips in second, Ivah Wilmot in third and Icah Wilmot in fourth.

www.jamsurfas.webs.com
www.jamaicaobserver.com

Vendee Globe Ocean Race, Day 49, Full Attack

-All 13 skippers making good speeds
-Macif leads
-Stamm on the prowl

It is full attack mode for all 13 skippers on the Vendée Globe this morning as each manages to maintain solid average speeds, all making good miles towards their next waypoint. For the two leaders, who spoke last night by VHF radio, the next ‘mark’ is Cape Horn which will be less than 1000 miles ahead today. Just two miles apart last night with Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) leading François Gabart (MACIF), it is Gabart who has extended slightly, to be 6 miles ahead on the 0500hrs UTC ranking. In third place Jean-Pierre Dick has passed his final gate, Pacific East, and gained some miles on the two leaders last night. After his return to the race course two days ago Bernard Stamm is the second quickest in the fleet.

An exchange by VHF radio last night between leaders Gabart and Le Cléac’h when they were less than a couple of miles apart is another small insight into the enduring relationship between the top two Vendée Globe skippers. Now racing slanted hard to the SE, at 55 degrees south, they may have been virtually side-by-side for 20 days now, fighting toe to toe for every small metre gain here and there, constantly monitoring each other’s progress, but the brothers-in-arms also have huge respect for each other. There was a humorous warning yesterday evening when he was behind from Gabart to his rival in front to make sure one did not run into the other. But so too there will be a very definite sense of solidarity and shared safety as they approach Cape Horn together where ice is being reported within 50 miles of the cape.

Dick’s last gate
Having had to retire from the last race with rudder damage, into New Zealand, Jean-Pierre Dick will be quietly satisfied to have checked off the final ice gate of the course, Pacific East, now and is also making excellent speed towards his sixth rounding of Cape Horn. JP is the quickest in the fleet this morning at 19kts and with a 431 miles 24-hour run has also covered the greatest distance.  His margin to the leaders is 352 miles this morning but he continues on a more direct course while the top two plunge more south. In fourth Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) is 581 miles behind Dick, 1.5 days at current speeds. Around 1000 miles astern Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) is preparing to make the Pacific West gate which is 160 miles in front of him.

The other duel which is playing out in the fleet is that between the ‘senior’ skippers  Mike Golding (Gamesa) and Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud). Swiss skipper Wavre had closed to within seven miles of the Briton yesterday morning (in terms of distance to finish) but since their split on to opposite gybes for the early part of yesterday, it is Golding who is managing to re-establish the miles he lost, now restored to 30 miles ahead of Wavre this morning. Both are on port gybe in the same modest 15kts breeze. And behind them Javier ‘Bubi’ Sanso has a better wind angle than them and is fighting back hard after his mainsail headboard car repair cost him miles.

On the prowl
Since rejoining the race course two days ago Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) has been progressively building speed on his powerful Juan Kouyoumdjian design and is making progress in his quest to catch Arnaud Boissières (Akena Verandas).  The Swiss skipper made a spectacular comeback in the last race, albeit ill fated. After hitting a cargo ship on the first night in November 2008, Stamm restarted five days after the fleet had left Les Sables d’Olonne and was up to 12th place of the 30 starters when his race ended in the Kerguelen Islands when his boat ran aground whilst trying to anchor in a 45 knots gale. With a back catalogue of ill luck on this Vendée Globe,  Stamm has fire in his belly and is 85 miles behind Boissières but nearly two knots faster.

America's Cup Discovered - Onboard Emirates Team New Zealand AC72

This week on AC Discovered, see aerial and onboard footage of Emirates Team NZ AC72.  Grant Dalton comments on foiling, speed and energy.  Go 101, with everything you wanted to know about the America's Cup.

http://www.americascup.com/

2012 UIM Class 1 Dubai Grand Prix World Powerboat Championship, Racing Highlights

The penultimate Class 1 Grand Prix of the season in Dubai provided for some of the most spectacular powerboat racing and plenty of drama not to mention the best images of the season.. watch and enjoy!!

by CaseProductionsLtd

Molokai 2 Oahu Paddleboard World Championships, the world’s most challenging paddleboard race

In 1996 the sport of paddleboarding was making a comeback. Once the domain of only the most hardcore of watermen and big wave riders in the 50’s and 60’s, the sport found a new set of acolytes on the North Shore of Oahu and in Honolulu at the Outrigger Canoe Club.

At that time Hawaii’s top paddler was Dawson Jones. After completing the 32-mile Catalina Classic, from Manhattan Beach to the island of Catalina, Jones returned to Hawaii inspired to establish a race across the Ka’iwi Channel. He called on his trusted training partners, Garrett Macamara and Mike Takahashi, to discuss the possibility of starting a paddleboard race between the islands of Molokai and Oahu. The men agreed Jones had hit on a great idea, and a year later, Molokai-2-Oahu was born.

Takahashi and Macamara started Epic Sports Productions. Takahashi planted the seed funds himself, but they both realized that entry fees would not cover the event’s operations costs. The race needed sponsorship.

With an initial sponsorship from a division of Quicksilver called “Q,” which was trying to establish a brand for watermen, the first Molokai to Oahu race was successfully completed in July 1997. Takahashi became race director, as he is today, Jones organized the safety boats, and Macamara managed the finish line.

The race was an instant hit with the local media. All of the contestants made history as the first prone paddleboarders to cross the Ka’iwi Channel in an organized competitive race, and surfers had found a new challenge to fill annual void created by flat summer surf.

Today the race sells out with both prone and stand up paddleboarders (SUP) from around the world who compete in solo and team divisions.

Information on the 2013 race to be held on July 28th and a great video from the 2012 race can be viewed here; http://www.molokai2oahu.com/

Vendee Globe Ocean Race, Day 49 - The Cape Horn Dual Slalom ?

Day 49, 1250 miles to Cape Horn  

• Ice will require prudent passage of Cape Horn by Gabart, Le Cléac’h
• Dick less than a day behind ?  
• Fatigue at seven weeks

Expected at Cape Horn on the first day of 2013 Tuesday January 1st,  the two Vendée Globe leaders Francois Gabart and Armel Le Cléac’h might be able to look forward to relatively clement, settled weather for their passage but they will have another critical variable set to challenge them as they round the notorious point. Ice has been monitored well to the north and east of Drake’s Passage for much of December.

When the leaders are due to round there are expected to be 15 relatively small icebergs to the south and east of Cape Horn at a radius of about 50 miles.

The ice is reckoned to be drifting away at a rate of around 20 miles per day which, suggests Race Director Denis Horeau, means the problem is most serious for the first boats.

Horeau told Vendée Globe LIVE today:
“ CLS our partners have seen by satellite that there is ice drifting in the south and east of Cape Horn, but of course the problem is that the satellites can only see some of the ice, not all of it. So far we can only see ice by satellite which is at least 100 metres long. And so long as we know that there is ice of 100 metres long approximately then you can be sure that there will be some smaller bergs around. So that is our problem.”

“The choice is now with the skippers. We will inform them every day of the situation, what we can see with the satellites and what the drift is expected to be. So we will provide them with a report every day in order that they can understand the situation as well as we can see it.”

The bergs which are seen by the satellites are between 100m and 400m long, but the problem for the skippers is the smaller sections which almost certainly exist, some of which will be semi-submerged. 

By comparison there were significant levels of ice in the East Pacific during the last edition in 2008-9, much of it well before the longitude of Cape Horn. Then, the Pacific East gate was moved more than 400 miles to the north to keep the fleet as clear of danger as possible.

Closer
The two leaders are back in close contact with one another. After Francois Gabart took the lead again this morning, the 19th time that the baton has been exchanged between the Macif and Banque Populaire, the gap opened to six miles during the day but on the 1500hrs UTC ranking Gabart is only one mile ahead. The duration and closeness of their dual is on this race is largely unprecedented in solo ocean racing and there is an expectation that they can pass Cape Horn a matter of tens of minutes apart. What is perhaps most amazing is that the duo have had no significant, known breakdowns.

Jean-Pierre Dick, in third is in a much better place than he was on Christmas Eve. He will now feel much more in touch with the two leaders, who sail VPLP-Verdier designs which are very similar to his Virbac-Paprec 3. At 371 miles behind Macif this afternoon, JP should pass Cape Horn less than 24 hours behind. The gains which he has made over the last few days have not just stabilised but in fact he has lost some 30 miles now that Gabart and Le Cléac’h are back up making between 17 and 19kts this afternoon after their 48 hours slow down.

Thomson still finding it tough
All of the top trio are eagerly anticipating their safe passage from the Big South into the Atlantic. But all will have already previewed the weather expected in the South Atlantic and it is not looking very easy with a succession of low pressure systems set to spin off the South American continent.

That said the desire to get clear of the Pacific is equally shared further back down the fleet. Alex Thomson from Hugo Boss, in fourth at 895 miles behind the leader reported again how tough he is finding the conditions with big seas, and very gusty winds:

"I am very, very tired. I can not sleep, the wind is too unstable, I have to trim  the time, "he wrote this morning. And the same level of fatigue and stress is maybe getting to Jean Le Cam who also hade 30 knots and was under pressure during the Vendée Globe LIVE communication which he had to abandon temporarily to keep SynerCiel upright:

“It is hard, hard, hard.” Said Le Cam.
On this 49th day of racing, only Mike Golding (Gamesa) and Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud) have been in relatively comfortable conditions, on the southern edge of an anticyclone.

Red Bull Jaws will not run December 30/31

Pe'ahi, Maui, HAWAII - (December 28, 2012) - Organizers of RED BULL JAWS, Paddle at Pe'ahi have announced that they will not hold the event during the forecast December 30/31 swell, primarily due to the overnight peak swell arrival time.

"We have been monitoring this developing swell very closely but the real issue is the timing," said Contest Director Mike Parsons. "There will be some very large waves late Sunday/early Monday, but we do not have 90 percent confidence that either day will offer up the required seven hours of optimal 30-50 foot wave face heights that we are looking for to make this a great event.

"The winter is just getting started and by all accounts, it looks like January is going to be a great month for waves."

RED BULL JAWS, Paddle at Pe'ahi has a holding period from December 7, 2012, through March 15, 2013. The ideal conditions for the event to be called "on" are wave face heights of between 30 and 50 feet, from a NNW swell direction, with little-to-no wind.

When the event does run, it will feature 21 big wave paddle-in surfers from around the world.
Red Bull Jaws

Fans in the U.S. can tune-in on June 9, 2013 to catch the RED BULL JAWS, Paddle at Pe'ahi special airing nationally on NBC. RED BULL JAWS airs as part of a 15-stop event series called the "Red Bull Signature Series" which features the most progressive surfing, snowboarding, mountain biking, freestyle motocross, skiing and BMX events. For more information: www.redbullsignatureseries.com.

Vendee Globe Ocean Race, Port La Fôret in the Pacific ?

• Two leaders race in sight of each other
  JP Dick still gaining
  Golding and Wavre split gybes

As the two leaders of the Vendée Globe, François Gabart and Armel Le Cléac’h, set up to pass the eighth and final safety gate of the course, after nearly 50 days at sea they continue to race in visual contact for some of the time, only a few miles apart. Jean-Pierre Dick continues his dramatic return, 344 miles behind the leaders, whilst further back in the fleet sixth placed Mike Golding and Dominique Wavre, seventh, split strategies.

Last night the advantage held by Armel Le Cléac’h at the top of the Vendée Globe standings was just 0.3 of a mile. This morning the tables have been turned by Gabart but by only 0.6 of a mile on the 0500hrs ranking. As they anticipate the final gate of the course, a matter of 50 miles ahead, the twosome continue to speed match one another, side by side, making tiny gains and losses against each other, minute by minute, hour by hour. The rankings output this morning says Gabart was one tenth of a knot quicker overnight but for some of the time the duellists will have been in sight of each other and will certainly not need empirical evidence of who was quicker through the night schedule. Even after nearly 50 days at sea the intensity of the match is as high as ever. « It’s incredible... Macif side by side with Banque Populaire for a few hours, just like we are training at Port La Fôret » Gabart told his fans by Twitter last night.  With less than1400 miles to go to Cape Horn, there is every chance that not only might the duo bring in 2013 together, but they should pass the mighty Cape during the first day of the New Year. Might they even be in sight of each other then ?

Still gaining
Jean-Pierre Dick’s fight back has continued. The Virbac-Paprec 3 skipper has been quickest of the fleet overnight to reduce his margin to the leader now to 344 miles. Dick is still in a moderate to fresh NW’ly wind flow and making over 17kts this morning, but – significantly perhaps – so too Le Cléach’s instantaneous speed is back up to 18kts which suggests that perhaps speeds will even out between the top three now. Dick still has the more direct route towards the gate. At 833 miles to the leader, so too Alex Thomson’s return on the leaders has stabilised now. Thomson gybed late yesterday afternoon and is heading more to the north with a strong W’ly wind of around 30kts. The British skipper says he has found recent days tough, the intensity of the changes in wind strength down in the Furious Fifties, challenging him as he, too, anticipates his first solo passage around Cape Horn.

Profit to Le Cam
Jean Le Cam (SynerCiel) continues to profit from his positioning on a low pressure system making more miles against Mike Golding (Gamesa) and Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud) who this morning are now more than 460 miles behind him.  Golding was under threat from his friend and rival Wavre – with whom he raced the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabre  - yesterday. This morning Golding has the upper hand by only 7 miles but the two are splitting in opposite directions, lateral separation already at 100 miles, after their passage of the New Zealand gate. Gamesa is heading south looking for stronger breeze.

Since rejoining the race course yesterday morning Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat)  has made over 300 miles giving chase behind 70 miles behind Arnaud Boissières. Stamm has yet to report how successful his battery charging is but the Swiss skipper has continued to average between 16 and 17kts.

QUIKSILVER IN MEMORY OF EDDIE AIKAU AN OFFICIAL "NO GO" FOR DEC. 30/31

HONOLULU (December 28, 2012) -- Organizers of the QUIKSILVER IN MEMORY OF EDDIE AIKAU big wave invitational have announced that the event is officially a "NO GO" for the upcoming December 30/31 swell.

"What we see is an inconsistent 20-foot swell with peak energy during Sunday, and dropping after that," said Contest Director George Downing. "We do not foresee the eight daylight hours of consistent 20- to 25-foot deep water swell (wave face heights of approximately 40 feet) that is the minimum requirement for this event to run."

In its 28th year, the QUIKSILVER IN MEMORY OF EDDIE AIKAU has an excellent track record for making the right call. The event is held in memory of Waimea Bay lifeguard and big wave pioneer Eddie Aikau, who lived for those rare days of epic wave size and quality that are the yardstick for the event. "The Eddie" has only been held at Waimea Bay a total of seven times when conditions have met the criteria.

http://quiksilverlive.com/eddieaikau/2013/home.en.html

Vendee Globe Ocean Race - Day 48, Back for more

Day 48  1400 miles west of Cape Horn

- Jean-Pierre Dick still catching
- Bernard Stamm leaves Dunedin
- King Jean’s Golden Blanket does no harm

A spell of more peaceful life in the Pacific is proving something of a welcomed tonic for the two Vendée Globe leaders. Despite the fact that Armel Le Cléac’h and François Gabart - side be side just three miles apart - have been forced to concede 300 miles since Boxing Day to the fast moving Jean-Pierre Dick, second placed François Gabart asserted today that the interlude of lighter winds has been good for him to recuperate and to check Macif before the race rookie’s first passage of Cape Horn.

Gabart may have learned diligently at the Michel Desjoyeaux school of always giving positive spin, but knowing now that there are no big weather surprises set to come between him and the South Atlantic engenders yet another measure of confidence for the race’s youngest skipper, who 47 days into his first Vendée Globe has yet to show any weakness in his armoury, physical or mental.

“ It is not so bad.” Confirmed Gabart coolly to Vendée Globe LIVE this afternoon, “We have easier conditions for the boat and for me, the skipper, just to live a bit easier and to check the boat a bit, to manage to eat well. Without big waves it is always easier. I am quite happy to have these lighter conditions right now.”

Dick was 685 miles behind the leading pairing on Boxing Day. Even this afternoon he was still winding them in with his speed advantage of five knots. Most recent routing predictions still have Virbac-Paprec 3 catching to within 18 hours of the leaders who are expected at Cape Horn during the middle hours of January 1st.

Stamm’s back.
Bernard Stamm raised his anchor at around 0600hrs UTC this morning from his spot off Allan’s Beach at Dunedin NZ and, without fanfare, returned quietly to the Vendée Globe race course. Having repaired both his hydrogenerators it was an exhausted rather than elated Stamm who briefly joined Vendée Globe LIVE to confirm he is back in the race. His first concerns were to make sure that his batteries charged successfully, then to get some very much needed sleep. With both of the hydrognerator propellors re-attached to the back of the boat he started slowly, but by the late afternoon was making 14.7kts. The hard driving Swiss skipper has lost six places since his power generating problems hit but he is no stranger to playing catch up. His initial target is a fast moving one, Arnaud Boissières on Akena Vérandas, is some 60 miles ahead in ninth place.

“I’m on the way.” Stamm reported dryly, “ I am now trying to recharge my batteries. Just now I just try the autopilot. I am happy with me work. I tried to fix the pedestal winch but it has gone again. Now I am tired. I have just never stopped. I am done in. I am going to get some sleep because I need to recharge my own batteries too.”

Meantime Jean Le Cam, who has fourth placed Alex Thomson as a distant hope some 1000 miles or so in front, has restored his own sleep reserves, accumulating more than eight hours. In a more orderly sea, steady winds and under a bright moon, Le Cam is one skipper who has been very much at one with his boat and the elements. The same can be said for his counterparts Mike Golding and Dominque Wavre, but both the British skipper and the Swiss are more than 400 miles behind Le Cam’s SynerCiel and they still stand a chance of being caught by a high pressure ridge now extending from the south of New Zealand.

Ever the upbeat entertainer, Italy’s Alessandro Di Benedetto celebrated his passage of Cape Leeuwin in typically understated fashion with a thundering operatic aria.

Blue Planet Odyssey - Round the World Sailing Event 2014

The Blue Planet Odyssey is a round the world sailing event aiming to raise awareness of the global effects of climate change. The event is spearheaded by Jimmy Cornell, founder of the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) and organiser of several other successful international sailing rallies including five round the world events.

Blue Planet Odyssey Route Map

Blue Planet Odyssey will have starts in every continent and its route will call at some of the most threatened islands in every ocean: Tuvalu, Tokelau, Tuamotus, San Blas, Maldives, Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall, and Andaman Islands. The rally will also highlight the effects of climate change on the Arctic icecap, the Great Barrier Reef, and nature reserves such as the Galapagos Islands.

Community projects
At every stop at those endangered places, the sailors will take part in community projects such as building wind and solar powered desalination plants. Participants with specialist skills will take part in local projects and carry out essential repair and maintenance work.

Science and education
The Blue Planet Odyssey will have both a scientific and educational set of objectives. As the routes will pass through some of the least travelled parts of the oceans, opportunities exist for oceanographic institutes and research centers to leverage the unique potential of small vessels moving at one within their environment to make observations, collect specimens, and transmit first-hand environmental data to recipients ashore.

For example, in an earlier trans-Atlantic voyage, a university set up a small lab on a sailboat, trained two teenage crew members to collect daily plankton samples throughout the voyage and perform initial triages on them. When the specimens were shipped back to the university, they provided an invaluable snapshot of the state of the current Atlantic eco-system. When concerns arose that oil from the Gulf Oil Spill would flow into the Atlantic, the data collected by that sailboat was an invaluable contribution to setting up a pre-spill baseline for scientific comparative purposes.

In another project, badges are being worn by crews on cruising vessels to track levels of radioactivity that are then forwarded to document evolving conditions in the Pacific.

With oceanographic institutes and research centers to help design and guide the efforts of our Blue Planet Odyssey participants, whether it is taking seawater samples and making measurements to test for acidification, pollution, the depletion of the plankton population, changes in temperature and salinity to compare to previous data, or many other possibilities, this voyage can make an enormous contribution to our better understanding of the changing climate.

In addition to offering scientific discovery opportunities, the event will also seek to enrich the educational experiences worldwide of students and children at all levels. Books and educational material will be delivered to places en route and local schools will be offered the opportunity to be twinned with schools in the country of origin of the participants. Using satellite transmissions, the internet, and social media, plans are underway to allow various schools to track in real time the progress of participating vessels and form relationships with participating crews. Documentaries will share the experiences of the Blue Planet Odyssey and the peoples and places they visit with educational audiences around the world.

Route
Participants in this global event will be able to start and finish from a port on their own continent, with a first start in London followed by starts on both coasts of North American (New York and Miami, Vancouver, San Francisco and San Diego), a South American start from Rio de Janeiro, an African start from Cape Town, an Australian start from Sydney and an Asian start from Shanghai.

Blue Planet Odyssey will sail westabout around the world along the classic trade wind route via the Panama Canal and Torres Strait. For those who prefer to sail a more challenging route, there will be the option of a northern route via the Northwest Passage or a southern route via Easter Island.
European participants will start from London in summer 2014 and after crossing the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean will continue to Panama and the Pacific Ocean. The event will be joined at certain points by participants who have started from New York, Miami, San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, Sydney and Shanghai.

Detours will be made along the main route to call at every one of the endangered islands: the San Blas Islands will be visited en route to Panama, while the Galapagos and Tuamotus will be stops on the route to Tahiti. Tokelau and Tuvalu will be incorporated into a detour from Tonga to Samoa and on to Vanuatu. The Andaman and Maldive Islands will be visited during the crossing of the North Indian Ocean, while the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Micronesia will be stopovers on the westbound route from Hawaii.

For more information and news on Blue Planet Odyssey, visit www.blueplanetodyssey.com or email info@blueplanetodyssey.com.

Vendee Globe Ocean Race, Day 47 - Catch up time for Dick and Thomson

Alex Thomson / Hugo Boss

Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3) and Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) continue their respective comebacks against the Vendée Globe’s leading duo Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) and François Gabart (Macif) who have been slowed by a transition zone of lighter winds.

Though a report was sent by his Cheminées Poujoulat team last night indicating that Bernard Stamm was nearly ready to leave his anchorage off Dunedin, NZ and rejoin the race after making repairs, the Swiss skipper, who has been protested by the Race Committee, was still stopped early this morning. The actions which took place when he went alongside a Russian survey vessel in the Auckland Islands in adverse weather conditions in a tight anchorage are the subject of the protest hearing. It is investigating whether outside assistance, contrary to the strict race rules, took place.

Jean-Pierre Dick and Alex Thomson have been reeling off relatively fast miles as they benefit from strong W’ly and NW’ly winds which are allowing them a much more direct, straight course towards the final safety gate of the course. Forced south by an awkward transition zone of slack winds, race leader Le Cléac’h and Gabart make only modest speeds. With some 300 miles to make to the Pacific West gate Le Cléach is ahead of Gabart by just 12.7 miles this morning, the pair making between 13 and 15kts in light N’ly winds. Their speeds have risen slightly but their losses to their pursuers are expected to continue.  Dick has reduced his margin to the leader by 180 miles in 24 hours and was down to 460 miles behind Banque Populaire. Briton Thomson, recovering 170 miles over that same period, is about 850 miles behind.

Fiftes in the 50’s….Le Cam accelerates
Conditions have been pretty tough for the vastly experienced Jean Le Cam who leads the group of ‘Fifties in the 50’s’ on SynerCiel. Le Cam, 53, had visibly slowed through yesterday and had complained of the robust sea state but his more direct course to the north of the tracks of Mike Golding (Gamesa) and Dominique Wavre (Mirabaud) sees the French skipper sailing significantly quicker, riding the low pressure system whilst his pursuers are on the back of it and may run the risk of falling off.  After repositioning to the north slightly and losing some miles in lighter airs, Spain’s Javier Sanso – 300 miles behind Mirabaud - looks set to have Acciona 100% Eco Powered back in stronger NW’ly winds today.

Arnaud Boissieres (Akena Verandas), sixth in the last edition of the Vendée Globe, must have expected to be higher up the fleet at this stage, but the skipper from Arcachon has been delivering some impressively quick 24 hour runs recently. He has just passed Stamm and so is up to ninth place and is 450 miles from the New Zealand gate. Bertrand de Broc (Votre Nom Autour du Monde avec EDM Projects) passed into the Pacific at 21:55hrs last night.

Update on Red Bull Jaws and what is needed for it to happen

Mark Sponsler, Surf Forecaster for Red Bull Jaws, explains in depth what is needed in order for this event to happen. From studying weather patterns to watching storms form, wave forecasting is a unique science. See more;

http://www.redbullusa.com/cs/Satellite/en_US/Video/Mark-Sponsler-explains-what-is-needed-for-Red-021243299250784

Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 | Ringing in the changes for 2014-15 Race

Teams will be allowed an extra crew member for In-Port Races in the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2014-15, in one of a series of rule changes announced in the Notice of Race on Friday.

Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 | Ringing in the changes for 2014-15 Race

2012 SupConnect SUP Women of the Year Winners

Candice Appleby won the SupConnect 2012 SUP Woman of the Year Elite Division.

SAN DIEGO, California - This year, the competition for the SUP Woman of the Year was conducted in two separate phases.··The first was an open nomination process where anyone could be nominated to become the next SUP woman of the year. The second phase involved a month of voting on pre-seeded athletes along with the top nominees from the first phase. In the end the results were so incredible and exciting that there are two categories of women who will be honored this year.

#1 Candice Appleby - Candice Appleby is a professional ocean athlete from San Clemente, California. She has been deemed by many as the "Queen of SUP", has had stellar performances for years and is arguably the most winning stand up paddler of all time. This year she has won many races such as the Gorge Challenge, and the River Rocks SUP race. She was second at the Battle of the Paddle yet has won more Battle of the Paddle races than any other man or woman. Candice has also been highly involved in spreading the SUP stoke to the youth in our sport and has really gone out of her way to help teach the groms to paddle well, but most importantly to love the sport. There is no doubt that her ambassadorship, involvement, performance and support in stand up paddle make her the 2012 SupConnect Elite Woman of the Year.

Read the whole story at; http://supconnect.mylocallineup.com/SUP-Other/supconnect-sup-women-of-the-year-winners.html

Ocean Rescue Lifeguards of Florida - # 1

Deerfield Beach Lifeguard Tower - C Michael Hager

 

As we prepare to enter into a new year and with the coming beach season, we thought it would be fitting to feature a different type of watermen!  We will look at some of the different agencies, tryouts, training, day to day work and lifestyles of Ocean Rescue Lifeguards in Florida.

Vendee Globe Ocean Race, Can two become three?

Armel Le Cléac’h and his long time running partner François Gabart may have had it all their own way, making the pace at the front of the Vendée Globe fleet since well before they passed side-by-side into the Pacific Ocean nine days ago. But – as was widely predicted – the twosome have finally been slowed through today.  It has been the two skippers which are chasing hard behind, Jean-Pierre Dick and Alex Thomson, who have finally been granted the chance to shine.

Dick and Thomson are riding up on a fast moving low pressure system which will ultimately reach and rescue the two leaders from their light winds low pressure trough. Dick has had Virbac-Paprec 3 at 18 to 19 knots for much of Thursday whilst speedster Thomson has been quickest in the fleet averaging over 18 knots over the previous 24 hours. Both have recovered more than 100 miles on the leaders today so far, and their gains are expected to accumulate progressively over the next 24 hours.

Whilst the two leaders are scarcely voicing concerns, the threat from both chasing skippers may not be immediate, but it certainly gives hope to Frenchman Dick and the Briton who, like Gabart ahead, has yet to round Cape Horn solo.

The top two are still expected at the Cape on January 1st.

All four know well what weather traps can await after Cape Horn, in the South Atlantic where the return round, past or through the Saint Helena High anticyclone is just one where light winds can effectively open doors, or alternatively slam them shut hard.

JP Dick’s margin should be less than 500 miles by this evening, and correspoindingly Hugo Boss is also at 903 miles to Le Cléac’h. Recent routings still have Dick, the skipper who has passed the mythical rocky Cape many more times (5) than his rivals being granted a much more direct route to the Horn. Indeed some still predictVirbac-Paprec 3 will be a matter of hours behind at the ‘big left turn’ rather than the current deficit of more than one day.

In turn Le Cléac’h has actually gained on Gabart who has been slowed more with a much reduced VMG.

"It looks like François and I just can’t stay away from each other, the gaps are tiny, we’ve had quite similar routes so far. » Le Cléac’h told Vendée Globe LIVE, « It’s been a great fight pretty much since the start of the race and because there aren’t that many different options mainly because of the weather, we should stay close to each other for a while, unless something unexpected happens."

Dick is ready for his big push: “Right now I have a 28-32-knot wind but I know it’s going to go up to 40 knots so I’m ready to go out there and trim my sails for whatever comes. There’s so much noise on the boat! Right now my speed is 19-20 knots, it’s pretty good. But the waves are quite rough.  It’s tough but it’s still better than yesterday, when the wind was much lighter than the weather files had predicted. I’m glad things changed and I think Gabart and Le Cléac’h will slow down so hopefully I can catch up with them a bit in the next few days.  It’s hard for me to say what the maximum gap between me and the leaders could be at Cape Horn for me to still have a chance… I just can’t answer because I know my boat and her current state very well but I have no idea how their boats are doing. So many things can change and evolve before we get there…

Protest hearing for Stamm
Bernard Stamm’s attempts to finish his first Vendée Globe remain stalled off Dunedin as he tries to complete all of his repairs, including the essential hydrogenerators. He was reported to be hoping to leave later Thursday (French time) but as yet there has been no confirmation of a departure time.

When his anchor became stuck fast in the kelp beds in Sandy Bay, the refuge in the east of the Auckland Islands where he initially tried to make his first repairs, Stamm sought permission to lie alongside a Russian scientific survey vessel which was anchored in the same location. Now the exact way in which this operation was undertaken is under scrutiny by the Race Committee who have raised a protest which is now in front of the International Jury for hearing,  which is under way. The race rules under Notice of Race 3.2 preclude any form of outside assistance.

With very limited power Stamm will complete his repairs and then is expected to provide required information to the hearing.

Bubi climbs but loses miles
Spain’s Javier ‘Bubi’ Sanso, in seventh, successfully climbed the mast of Acciona 100% Eco Powered early today to make a repair to his damaged headboard car. He chose to make a detour north, rising a few degrees of latitude to find milder temperatures simply so he could work more efficiently whilst swinging 27 metres up in the air. His tenacity was rewarded when he discovered the damage was much worse than it could be:

“It was the piece that I had already changed in the Canaries which was faulty. The plastic bush that goes into the car and which reduces the friction when going up the track was missing when I lowered the main yesterday…so they were touching. You had the aluminium from the car against the aluminium on the track. I had to make a kind of invention and change the parts in the car to that which I had changed…anyway I had to cut a pin and make an invention that I hope will hold as I have no more parts…
Now funnily I have raised the car that I changed in the Canaries with the titanium fixtures of the one I had previously… well anyway, as long as it all holds we are at 100%. The piece is held better in this car.
But just like it was in the Canaries, this repair has not only made me lose time repairing but also completely left my out of sync with the racing.”

Cortes Bank Big Wave Paddle In Session | Photos | Transworld Surf

A big wave session of epic proportions goes down at Cortes Bank—an underwater mountain 100-miles off the San Diego coastline. And while the surfers got the waves of their lives, it was not without consequence as former Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational winner Greg Long nearly perished at the rarely-surfed spot. Read Greg’s account of the near tragedy;

Cortes Bank Big Wave Paddle In Session | Photos | Transworld Surf

BIG WAVE SURFERS GATHERED FOR THE RED BULL JAWS PADDLE AT PE’AHI THAT OPENS 3-MONTH CONTEST WINDOW

The RED BULL JAWS, Paddle at Pe'ahi presented by Casio G’z One is a one-day big wave paddle-in surfing event that will be held on a single day between December 7, 2012 and March 15, 2013, when wave face heights reach between 30 and 50 feet, and with no assistance from motorized personal watercraft.

Event organizers are currently monitoring the swell that is building for December 30 and 31. 

Vendee Globe Ocean Race, Go Direct

As they unfold their strategy for dealing with a serious zone of light, disturbed winds the two Vendée Globe leaders Armel Le Cléac’h and François Gabart have the same 10 miles between them that separated the leader Banque Populaire from Macif yesterday. As they make steady progress to the final safety gate of the course, a little more than 500 miles ahead, it is their two pursuers, Jean-Pierre Dick and Alex Thomson who are now accelerating, already shortening their respective deficits. And in Dunedin, NZ Bernard Stamm has not yet managed to finish his repairs but was forced to move anchorages during last night (daytime NZ) to find a more sheltered haven. 

To date it would appear that it is not Bernard Stamm’s lack of skills or materials which have prevented him completing repairs to his hydrogenerators but rather the weather which has chased him from one spot to another.  So it would appear again that the Swiss skipper was required to move again. Stronger NE’ly winds and a building swell have required Stamm to move eight miles from his anchorage at Murdering Beach to now stop off Allan’s Beach on Wharekakthu Island. He has been the subject of considerable local interest, steadfastly refusing all offers of food, drink and any kind of help at all that would break the strict Vendée Globe race rules. 

Stamm has been interviewed by 3News and The Otago Daily Times reported their encounter with the round the world racer:

“ When asked if he had had a shower since his departure, he shook his head and pointed to the sea before making scrubbing motions.  He often dreamed of having a cold beer. He said: ''A beer would be nice now, but it would taste better at the end.''

Being at sea alone was lonely at times, but he was grateful he could communicate via his laptop with his wife and two children. However, the damaged hydro-generator meant he has had to cut back on the amount of communication with his family. He was looking forward to finishing the repairs so he could make contact with them more often. He hoped to be back on the high seas some time today, he said.”

Slow down
So far the two leaders have managed to resisted their expected slow down, but the light winds are widely forecasted for the complicated transition zone ahead of them. Of the two it is Le Cléac’h who was faster by nearly one knot over the ‘night’ period between the 2000hrs and 0500hrs rankings. The duo have still made just over 400 miles each for their 24 hours up to 0500hrs, 100 miles more than Virbac-Paprec 3 but the tables are expected to be turned. Indeed Dick and Thomson, are already three knots or more quicker this morning. The leading pair have chosen the southern option which is more direct but the quiet zone will be at its worst for them today between noon and midnight. Their pain should not last too long as a new low pressure should press them on their way tomorrow with NW’ly winds of more than 30kts.

Approaching the Pacific West Gate today Jean-Pierre Dick’s fortunes continue to yo-yo. After a loss of nearly 200 miles over the last 36 hours Dick will seize every opportunity presented by the 25-30kts of NW’ly winds which he has, placed nicely on the edge of the new depression which will catch up to the leaders later tomorrow.  Dick has already been making close to 20kts this morning and so too Alex Thomson has had Hugo Boss wound up to between 17 and 19 knots. And both the third and fourth placed skippers are already winding in miles from the leaders.

Just less than 2000 miles behind the leaders fifth placed Jean Le Cam is now looking to the next wind shift as he angles SE to prepare for the Pacific West. Mike Golding on Gamesa has continued to make small gains on Le Cam who is now 350 miles ahead, but the British skipper has been slowed this morning in the downwind conditions. Golding is still perhaps compromised in the moderate wind strengths against both Le Cam and Switzerland’s Dominique Wavre who remains 49 miles behind Gamesa in terms of distance to finish, but is on a similar longitude but further to the south of the Briton. Javier Sanso is currently just to the south of the Auckland Islands, gybing downwind in winds of 20kts which will hold firm for at least 24hours, probably precluding the Spanish skipper’s planned mast climb to repair his damaged mast track.