What is a Waterman in Occupational Terms?

 

Great writing on what a waterman is as an occupational term from Shawn Alladio the founder of K38 Rescue Water Craft Services

Terminology is precision in language as the proper use of words. When using Waterman as an occupational term you are speaking our language!

Our (your) maritime heritage is centuries old, and this word begins in the 1100’s of England. If you know someone with the surname ‘Waterman’ you will understand.

A waterman was a boatman livery guide for transportation and lighterage.

In Medieval times, waterman formed gangs, or what we call unions or guilds. Some joined the Navy, others became pirates; merchant marines and stevedores.

They began apprenticeships to learn the water features and hazards because they were being taxed for their navigational skill.

Travel and moving freight were faster on water and their skills broadened with helmsman, pilotage and moorage.

Wherrymen (named for their boat) were subject to paying duties, they were required to have a license and were scrutinized for accidents.

Watermen enforced rules.

They suffered changes in travel.

They sought better pay.

They formed a Company of Watermen and Lightermen.

The filed for Acts on their behalf for support and protection.

They suffered death from occupational risk by drowning, respiratory and skin infections.

They became lifesavers by rescuing people and animals.

Our boating laws began in England and were brought here during the American Colonial period, we use many of these rules and laws in our courtroom today and on the water but sadly few even understand this. Even worse, instructors who teach do not know.

On the US east coast watermen pull up lobsters and in the Gulf they shrimp and tug. These Coxswains are our reminder of who we are today ‘boat servant’.

‘All whirry men, and all maryners vpo the see, shall leape out of their boates, and set them selues vpon the lode. - Book of Ezekiel

Do not be deceived, study and know our history.

Our ancestors died and struggled for the luxury we enjoy this day.

Onward.

Ocean Cup Sets Five-Event Itinerary for 2023

 

From; SpeedBoat.com Jan 3, 2023

For those wishing to have their boat racing abilities tested on all levels, Ocean Cup has five opportunities to set world records sanctioned by the APBA and UIM in 2023.

Success will be measured by the pilot’s navigational skills and ability to understand wind, waves and swells, as well as their vessel’s maintenance and seaworthiness. Courses are navigationally challenging crossing open ocean, out of the sight of land, and each is more than 100 miles.

Here's the 2023 Ocean Cup events calendar:

May 4–7 (to be confirmed)—Miami around the SS Sapona Shipwreck (Bimini Bahamas). 106 miles.

June 1-4—Palm Beach to West End (Bahamas) and back. 111 miles

Aug. 17–20—San Francisco around Farallon Islands. 138 miles.

Sept. 14–17—San Francisco to Marina del Ray to Long Beach. 435 miles.

Sept. 28–Oct. 1—Pacific Airshow, Huntington Beach around Catalina Island. 112 miles.

The Pacific Airshow is presented in a four-day format:

Day 1: Arrivals and VIP Pilot Dinner Party.

Day 2: Briefings, Inspections, Meet and Greet, and Media Opportunities.

Day 3: World Speed Record Attempts, Awards, and Closing Party.

Day 4: Departures.

Ocean Cup competitions are for the bold and adventurous, having the skills and desire for a man and his machine challenge in the open ocean. Every team must be prepared for any and all eventualities with regard to their own safety and be prepared to be effectively on their own until help, from whatever source, can arrive. Pilots are required to hold sea survival and first-aid certificates.

For more information, please contact:

Ronald Saja (561) 301-7283, email Ronald@OceanCup.com

Simon Trumper (949) 678-0138, email Simon@OceanCup.com

The Queen's Watermen

Until the middle of the nineteenth century the Sovereign regularly travelled on the river Thames, either on State occasions or between the Royal Palaces of Windsor, Westminster, Hampton Court, Greenwich and the Tower of London.

The men who rowed the Royal Barges up and down the river Thames were known as Royal Watermen. The Sovereign today still retains 24 Royal Watermen under the command of The Queen's Bargemaster, thereby continuing one of the most ancient appointments in the Royal Household. The original number of 48 was halved by King Edward VII.

There are no State Barges still afloat today. However, the Royal Nore, which is owned and maintained by the Port of London Authority, is the official motor launch used whenever a member of the Royal Family travels on the river Thames for an official engagement.

Royal Watermen are chosen from the ranks of the Thames Watermen whose business today is manning tugs, lighters and launches, therefore earning their employment on the River. Upon their appointment, each Waterman is given a Warrant of Appointment and paid a small honorary sum per year.

Their uniform is a skirted scarlet tunic with a silver gilt Royal Cypher (plastrum) on the front and back of the jacket, breeches, navy/black cap, scarlet stockings, white shirt and black buckled shoes.

The duties of the Royal Watermen are now purely ceremonial. On the water, the Watermen escort members of the Royal Family on board the Royal Nore on the river Thames, and visiting Heads of State who arrive in London on the river, such as The King and Queen of Norway on the Royal Yacht NORGE in 2005. The Royal Watermen participated in the Silver Jubilee river progress in 1977.

On-shore duties consist of acting as boxmen on Royal carriages during State Visits, Royal weddings and Jubilees, and walking behind The King or Queen's Bargemaster at Coronations. At the State Opening of Parliament, The Queen's Bargemaster and Watermen travel on the carriages guarding the regalia when it is conveyed from Buckingham Palace to Westminster and back as a reminder of the days when it was brought by boat from the Tower of London.

Sonya Baumstein Rescued: U.S. Solo Rower Trying To Cross Pacific Ends Trip Due To Bad Weather

 

American rower Sonya Baumstein, from Orlando, Fla.,sets out in her custom rowboat for San Francisco Sunday, June 7, 2015. Baumstein, who hoped to be the first woman to row across the Pacific Ocean, had to give up her quest due to bad weather. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

 

TOKYO (AP) — A U.S. woman attempting to cross the Pacific by rowboat has ended her solo attempt because of expected bad weather.

Sonya Baumstein was rescued off the Japanese coast on Saturday after sending out a distress signal, Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday.

The 30-year-old Baumstein departed from Choshi, Japan, one week ago, hoping to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific.

She was headed for San Francisco but sent out the signal on Saturday around 2:20 p.m. about 250 kilometers (155 miles) off the coast of Japan.

A freighter traveling nearby rescued her at around 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) Saturday and passed her on to a coast guard ship around 8:55 p.m. (1155 GMT), the Japanese coast guard said.

Baumstein was hoping to finish the 6,000-mile (9,600-kilometer) journey by late September.

2016 Vendée Globe: all lights are go

With less than two years to the start of the Vendée Globe, Bruno Retailleau, President of the Saem Vendée, gave a complete rundown of the situation concerning the eighth Vendée Globe at the Paris Boat Show this afternoon (Tuesday). As well as confirming the start date for Sunday 6th November 2016, we also learnt that around fifteen sailors are already certain to compete and that 20-25 were well advanced in their project. This press conference was also an opportunity for Sodebo and the town of Les Sables d’Olonne to announce that they have renewed their commitment to the race. Many skippers were also present to present their projects.

The start date is now official. The start of the eighth edition of the non-stop solo round the world race, the 2016-2017 Vendée Globe, will take place on Sunday 6th November 2016. Bruno Retailleau, President of the Vendée Council and the SAEM Vendée, the event organiser, appeared very optimistic. “Everything seems to be looking favourable for this edition, both in terms of the race and the organisation.” After showing a teaser video, Bruno Retailleau reminded everyone of some very impressive figures. “The Vendée Globe is already France’s leading sporting event in terms of media coverage along with the Tour de France and Roland-Garros with coverage representing 200 million euros. We can also see some other data about the 2012 event, which illustrated how exceptional the impact was for such an ocean race.  9 million single visitors looked at the website during the three months of the race, 285 million pages were viewed, 30 million videos watched, 500,000 players joined in with the Vendée Globe Virtual Game, 85 hours of live TV were watched, 1,700 accredited  journalists attended the Race Village at the start…”

Super Boat Iinternational Key West Worlds Preview

A great preview of the SBI Worlds from Matt Trulio, writer for Offshore Only

Look for Miss GEICO to repeat as the SBI Unlimited class World Champion in Key West in November. (Photo by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.)

A month after the Super Boat International National Champions are crowned in the organization’s various classes—and that happened two days ago in Clearwater, Fla.—an entire “mini season” called the SBI Key West Offshore World Championships begins. Three days of racing off the fabled Florida city produce the world-title holders, and it doesn’t matter who won what during the regular season.

Or does it? In terms of points carried over or anything like that, no. In the SBI Key West Worlds, everyone starts from scratch. World titles are determined by the results in races Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. But when it comes to handicapping and picking favorites in each class, yes, it makes sense to look at what happened during the season.

So here’s my take on how it will play out in five classes in this year’s brand-new mini season.

Read more;

WINS FOR VICTORY AND CHAUDRON – TEAM ABU DHABI CRASH OUT

Sunday, 7 September, IBIZA: Victory and Chaudron produced the stand-out performances of the afternoon and dominated race 2 of the Mediterranean Grand Prix, cruising to emphatic victories in their respective classes in a dramatic race that was red flagged after Abu Dhabi crashed out at the first corner, both Faleh AL Mansoori and Rashed Al Tayer emerging unscathed from the upturned boat.

It was a bitter blow for Al Mansoori and Al Tayer on their debut Grand Prix outing in their new boat, and after going second quickest in qualifying earlier in the day were running in second spot behind Victory at the first turn when they hooked and went over.

VICTORY CRUISE HOME TO WIN RACE 1 – TOMMY ONE WINS IN V1

Saturday, 6 September: Thirteen boats lined up for the first race in over two decades with Class 1 catamarans and V1 monohulls running side-by-side, with Arif Al Zaffain and Nadir Bin Hendi carrying on from where they left off and last raced together in 2011, cruising to an easy victory in race 1 of the Mediterranean Grand Prix to win by a massive 49 second margin.

The Victory duo who earlier in the day shared the pole position spoils with LFF10, led from the start and were never challenged, going on to complete the 13 laps in 35:41.85s.

Despite matching the winners in qualifying Luca Fendi and Giovanni Carpitella could not match the sustained pace of the leader’s, but looked comfortable in second spot when they suddenly hit trouble on lap 9 and stopped.

From third place at the end of lap 1 Guido Cappellini and C1 rookie Mikhail Kitashev held off an initial challenge from Ugur Isik and Christian Zaborowski in Relekta-Zabo-Isiklar before opening out a comfortable advantage to move into and take second spot following the exit of LFF10.

The Relekta-Zabo-Isiklar crew in turn faced a race long challenge from Faleh Al Mansoori and Rashed Al Tayer in Team Abu Dhabi’s new MTI, who passed them on the final lap to take the chequered flag in third, only to be hit with a 25-second post-race penalty for destroying a turn buoy, handing the podium spot back to Isiklar and Zaborowski, the Abu Dhabi duo dropping to fifth behind LFF8-Polimersan.

The performance of the day came in V1 from the Tommy One crew of Maurizio Schepici and Stefano Bonanno who powered their way through the field from a long way back in fourth spot, first passing Bernico-New Star, then the early race leader’s Chaudron before setting their sights on and overhauling the pole sitters Antonio and Giuseppe Schiano in Karelpiu, to take the win in 36:33.39s.

Thunder on Cocoa Beach - A First Class Event

It was obvious this past weekend that the race organizers and Port Canaveral truly knows how to have a first class event.  The 5^th annual Thunder on Cocoa Beach part of the Space Coast Super Boat Grand Prix was just that.

The new venue area for the dry pits around Port Canaveral’s Exploration Tower provided a perfect location for the event and created a festival type of atmosphere where race enthusiast could walk among the race boats, chat with the drivers and crew, watch a bikini contest or listen to a band as they nibble on some food or had a cold drink.

The 5^th Annual Space Coast Super Boat Grand Prix on Sunday in Cocoa Beach was even more exciting as Miss GEICO won the Superboat Unlimited class.  Winners in other classes included Instigator - Superboat Extreme, STIHL - Superboat, Sun Print - Superboat Vee, SOS Venezuela - Superboat Stock, Black Pearl - Manufacturer Prod P3, and Dare Devil - Manufacturer Prod P4.

Racers, spectators, vendors, port restaurants and businesses all applauded Thunder on Cocoa Beach and look forward to its return next year as well as more festival and events of this magnitude.  If you did not make it out this year for the races, please join us next year in Port Canaveral for Thunder on Cocoa Beach.

BARCLAYS 52 SUPER SERIES entrants Phoenix and Provezza warm up at Gaastra Palma Vela : 52 SUPER SERIES – Pure Performance

Gaastra Palma Vela regatta on the Bay of Palma proved a useful training and preparation event for two BARCLAYS 52 SUPER SERIES teams as they make ready to head to Capri, Italy for the first regatta of the four of this European season.


For Eduardo de Souza Ramos and his crew on the brand new Botin designed Phoenix – the first boat to be built to the 2015 TP52 rule – it was their maiden regatta outing, the first ever races for the boat which will represent Brasil for the first time on the circuit.

After a few days of sail testing in Valencia where the King Marine built TP52 was launched and a couple of days informal racing on the Bay, after three years away from competitive sailing it was an exciting and very pleasing time for the owner to be on the helm and take the first start gun on Friday. 


Ergin Imre’s Provezza sailed against Phoenix informally before the regatta started and also used the three days of racing to ensure the team which flies the Turkish flag will be in the best possible shape for when the Barclay’s 52 SUPER SERIES starts on May 20th in Capri. Provezza has a new Future Fibres rig and some new crew on board.

More; BARCLAYS 52 SUPER SERIES entrants Phoenix and Provezza warm up at Gaastra Palma Vela : 52 SUPER SERIES – Pure Performance

Team Warpaint Rebuilt and Ready for Space Coast Grand Prix | OffshoreOnly.com – Powerboating Online

After crashing its 42 MTI in Key West, Fla., last November, Team Warpaint Offshore Racing is excited to have its boat back in time for next week’s race in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

Photo by Lucididee Fast Boats.

Six months after wrecking its boat in the second race of the Super Boat International Key West Offshore World Championships, Team Warpaint Offshore Racing is ready to return to action, starting with next week’s fifth annual Space Coast Super Boat Grand Prix in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

“We got the boat back from MTI right after Easter,” said Bob Vesper, owner and driver of the 42-foot Marine Technology Inc. (MTI) catamaran that he runs with throttleman Danny Crank in the competitive Superboat class. “They did a beautiful job on the boat. The damage was enough that we really needed to let the manufacturer do the work, and I’m glad we did—she looks great. Now it’s time to get her back on the water.” More; Team Warpaint Rebuilt and Ready for Space Coast Grand Prix | OffshoreOnly.com – Powerboating Online

Volvo Ocean Race / SCA Cross the Atlantic: Check

Cory Silken / Team SCA

Sam Davies is walking down the dock in Newport when a group of three school girls come running up seeking her autograph. Team SCA just sailed across the Atlantic but Davies obliges willingly, much to the girls' delight. “My daughter is a huge fan of Sam’s,” says one father. “She has posters of her on her walls.”

The Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 made its first official stop in Newport, Rhode Island, on Wednesday evening when Team SCA, the all-female crew, glided into town.

Family, friends and race fans were on shore and on the water, cheering on the crew that had just completed a 13-day passage from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.

“It’s an impressive welcome, especially because it’s just a training leg, not a race leg,” said Sam Davies, the Person in Charge. “We have a few Americans onboard and we knew their families were going to be here. And because Newport is part of the race it’s pretty nice to have the first Volvo Ocean 65 in town.”

“It was cool watching the stealthy silhouette coming in,” said Quintin Ciszek, the 31-year-old brother of crewmember Sophie. “I’ve only known this campaign through photos and blogs, but this is very impressive. The gravity of what they’re preparing for hits home when you see it all.”

Swiss dominate as Alinghi and Realteam lead the charge ahead of the final Extreme Sailing Series™ Qingdao showdown

On a packed-eight race day at Act 3 of the Extreme Sailing Series™ in Qingdao, the battle lines were drawn between the 12 competing international Extreme 40 teams ahead of tomorrow’s final showdown on the compact stadium racecourse, which at times resulted in a few near misses, protest flags being pulled, a man overboard for SAP Extreme Sailing Team and a collision in the final race of the day between GAC Pindar and Team Extreme Qingdao, that will see the Aussie team with a night of repairs ahead. Alinghi – the team who have led the Act since race one – managed to cling onto a 10-point advantage at the close of play, but it was their fellow Swiss country men Realteam who had their strategy sorted, strengthening their hand with each race, including a win in the day’s opener, to head into tomorrow’s final showdown in China’s Olympic Sailing City in second place, to the delight of skipper Jérôme Clerc. “We started in fourth place today and we are now second so we are very happy. It shows that our strategy is working. We have stayed conservative all day and didn’t take too many risks, but at the same time have had good starts and our tactics were spot on. Tomorrow we will be happy if we manage to keep Alinghi behind us.” The defending Series champions The Wave, Muscat are just two points behind Realteam, and with up to 90 points for the taking tomorrow, and huge gusts up to 28 knots set to return, the Land Rover Extreme Sailing Series Act 3, Qingdao is set to go down to the wire.

The first four races were played out in around eight knots of wind, and executing the starting procedure well was crucial, with decisions made in the pre-start often dictating the outcome of the race. On the short start line the fleet struggled to get away cleanly, with the on-water referees dishing out starting penalties including two general recalls, before the third attempt saw nine of the 12 boat fleet red flagged. After five races, there was a change in tempo, and a building southerly breeze outside the harbour brought with it big swell, that saw the teams punching through the waves in 12 knots of breeze. One team to relish the conditions was Emirates Team New Zealand, who finished the day strongly with two back-to back-wins, leaving them trailing the defending Series champions by just one point in fourth place. 22-year old Pete Burling, who has taken the tiller from Dean Barker this week said: “We started the day a little slow, but in the last three races of the day we really got off the start-line well which is the first time all week we have really managed to do that. I think the level is really high right now, we’re slowly getting better each day, and we’re happy with the boat speed and hopefully we’ll be able to give it a good crack tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll need to do the same as we did in those last races today – good starts off the line and consistency.”

Tense Finale in Paradise / Antigua Sailing Week

Piet Vroon's Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens 3, Credit: Tim Wright/Photoaction.com

 

High drama and fantastic conditions rounded off the 47th edition of Antigua Sailing Week. Going into the last day, two yachts racing under CSA were undefeated, scoring seven straight bullets: Piet Vroon's Dutch Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens 3 and David Cullen's Irish J/109, Pocket Rocket were both vying for the prestigious overall prize, The Lord Nelson Trophy.

Several classes hung in the balance and the outcome of a whole week of racing was to be decided by seconds in CSA 2 & CSA 4. The last day of racing provided the windiest conditions of the week. Gusting up to 20 knots with an agitated sea state, the spray was flying off hulls on the south coast of Antigua and there was a 'Cinderella moment' for one of Antigua's veteran yacht racers.

Extreme Sailing Series / Full pressure day as the Extreme 40 fleet battle huge gusts on the Qingdao stadium racecourse

It was a full pressure day as the fleet moved into the stadium racing mode at the Land Rover Extreme Sailing Series™ in Qingdao, described by the skippers as ‘radical’, ‘full-on’, ‘unpredictable’ and gnarly’, with gusts up to 32 knots weaving their way through the surrounding skyscrapers like bullets screaming across the stadium racecourse. The racing was right on the edge, and the teams used all their strength to muscle their speed machines expertly around the track, tackling a huge wind range of over 20 knots. The experience of both Alinghi and The Wave, Muscat was evident, and the teams relished today’s big breeze as much as yesterday’s light winds, remaining first and second respectively, while one first and two second places for the Kiwis on Emirates Team New Zealand upgraded their overall position to third, ahead of tomorrow’s penultimate day’s racing.

There was plenty of hull flying, bows down and extremely close mark rounding’, with the fleet reaching top speeds of 25 knots as they tried to predict the huge wind shifts which saw the breeze go from 10 to 32 knots in a second. Before racing, Race Management made the call to split the fleet, first into groups of eight, and then groups of four, to minimize the chance of collisions on the tight race track. Leigh McMillan, skipper of The Wave, Muscat who is out to defend his title in Qingdao, commented: “We like it when the breeze is up, today was pretty radical. Gusts and big shifts is quite a handful. But we’re happy to have made it through the day with no big collisions which is great - it was pretty full on out there.”

OPA racing comes to Lake of the Ozarks

Lake of the Ozarks (LOTO) is one of the biggest destinations for families in the Midwest for water sports and general relaxation from the hustle and bustle of their work weeks. Missouri is known as the "Show Me" State and the fine folks of LOTO have gone to the Offshore Powerboat Association (OPA) and said "Show Me some racing!!!" On the weekend of June 6-8, OPA has obliged and will bring their brand of offshore racing to the site known simply as "Lake Race".
​
"We are excited to be able to come in and be the producer of the Lake Race. Having the opportunity to work with promoter, Alvin Heathman, and his wonderful staff in order to put this together has been a pleasure and we look forward to racing at LOTO", commented Ed Smith (Smitty), President of OPA.
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The Lake Race is presented by Mountain Dew and Formula Boats of Missouri. The action kicks off Thursday June 5 with the teams arriving to the race village and the Lake Race Props and Hoses Poker Run, continues with the Lake Race Street Party on the Historic Bagnell Dam Strip on Friday, finishing up with racing on Saturday and Sunday.
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“Lake Race” is the 2nd stop on the OPA Racing National circuit. Lake Race schedule will contain 2 days of racing. All classes are schedule to run both days. OPA Racing Class prize purse is $35,000. In additional to the regular class racing, the “Run What you Brung” will be ran which has an additional $40,000 purse that will payout up to 5th place.
For more info on the Lake Race go to www.oparacing.org . ​
​RUN WHAT YOU BRUNG

This class has a $40,000 purse that pays back five places and races for two days with the combined points determining the finishing order. If you own a Canopy Vee or Canopy Cat with 30 plus feet, you are able to compete!

• 1st Place - $18,000
• 2nd Place - $10,000
• 3rd Place - $6,000
• 4th Place - $4,000
• 5th Place - $2,000

With the tortoise and the hare style racing, you don’t have to be the fastest to win, you have to be the most reliable for the Saturday and Sunday.

Testing light winds on day one, as the home team make best ever debutby an invitational entry » Extreme Sailing Series

Racing began in China’s Olympic sailing city today at the Land Rover, Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3 Qingdao, for the ‘Double Star Mingren’ Cup, where five different race winners emerged from the eight races sailed, in a day that saw the fleet struggle for consistency and the leaderboard reshuffle after every race. On the open water racecourse, the Swiss team Alinghi dominated in testing light winds and strong tide, to edge ahead on the leaderboard at the end of day. But it was the local boat, Team Extreme Qingdao, who will be grabbing the headlines tonight after an outstanding debut performance sees the team in third place at the end of day one - the best ever performance by a home nation invitational team.

 

Unfortunately for Oman Air, their day was over before it had a chance to begin, after a collision with GAC Pindar in the start line tussle of the first race left the team with severe damage to their port hull, forcing them back to the pit lane. Rob Greenhalgh, skipper of Oman Air - who has welcomed the talents of America’s Cup winner Kyle Langford to the team this week - explained what happened:“Just after the start of the first race, GAC Pindar tacked onto port and misjudged the dip on us and T-boned us pretty hard – we have a pretty big hole in the side of the boat. These things happen unfortunately. The shore guys will work hard tonight and get the boat ready for racing tomorrow. We will lick our wounds and be back. It’s a disappointment – we were pumped to race.”  The team will be given a redress and will likely be awarded average points from their races over the next two days by the international jury.

RESULTS: OPA Smokin' the Sound Offshore Powerboat Race

It was an exciting racing season opener this weekend for the Offshore Powerboat Association on the pristine Gulf Shores of Biloxi, Mississippi as racing action took place along Casino Row as boats raced in four different classes to include the Run What You Brung class, providing excitement for all. 

If you missed this race, we to see you at the next OPA event for the Lake Hopatcong Grand Prix in Lake Hopatcong, NJ

Super Stock
1st - S-1 Top Stars
2nd - S-111 SOS Venezuela
3rd - S-11 WSMParts.com

Super Vee Lite
1st - 4 Octane
2nd - 21 Pirate

Class 4
1st - 404 Simmons Marine

Run What You Brung
1st - S-111 SOS Venezuela
2nd - S-11 WSMParts.com
3rd - 113 Miss GEICO
4h - 4 Octane
5th - 21 Pirate Racing
6th - 404 Simmons Marine
7th - Cat Can Do

Day 3 Round-up: Michal Smolen Takes Gold / USA Canoe/Kayak

 

Another beautiful day and another day of racing at the Penrith Whitewater stadium. Day three of the Junior & U23 World Championships featured the semifinals/finals and team races for the U23 K1-men, K1-women, and C2-men categories, but the real story of the day for Team USA was Michal Smolen (Gastonia, NC) winning gold.

Fast, clean, and victorious; those are the best words to describe Michal Smolen's winning run in the K1-men's final. Facing fierce competition from a class stacked with former U23 World Champions as well as World Cup and World Championship medalists, Smolen knew he had to be at his best entering the day's races. After qualifying 4th in semifinals, Smolen blazed down the course and to the top of the leader board with a time of 93.10 seconds, 1.29 seconds faster than the next fastest athlete, Italian Geovanni De Gennaro. Only Jiri Prskavec of the Czech Republic, had a time faster, but a two-second penalty at the top of the course left him 1.57 seconds behind Smolen and in third place. None of the other three athletes to start after Smolen were able to best his time, thus securing him the title. In the words of comedian Mel Brooks, "It's good to be the king."

Usually paddling C1, Zach "Bug" Lokken (Durango, CO) and Tyler Hinton (Boulder, CO) joined forces to compete in the U23 C2-men's class. In the semifinals, Hinton/Lokken finished 10th, just making the final. Then in the final, the two were able to improve their position, finishing 7th overall. 

In his return to international racing, Simon Ranagan (Bethesda, MD) finished 24th in the K1-mens semifinals.

Next up are the semifinals/finals and team races for the junior K1-men, K1-women, and C2-men categories. 

For live results and video stream, please visit the links listed below:

Live results:

http://www.canoeliveresults.com/event/2014/penrith-sydney-junior-u23-world-championships.php

               

Live video stream:

http://www.justin.tv/mattwebster24

12 Extreme 40s head to China’s Olympic sailing city for Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3 / Extreme Sailing Series

In one week the fleet of 12 Extreme 40s, including home nation entry ‘Team Extreme Qingdao’ will line up on one of the most notorious stadium racecourses on the global tour, at the Land Rover Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3 Qingdao, for the ‘Double Star Mingren’ Cup, 1-4 May. Fans in China can follow all the action on the newly launched Chinese website and watch the racing live on leading sports portals PPTV.com and Letv.com, as well as on regional broadcaster Qingdao TV. International fans will be able to watch the Stadium Racing action on the official event website, www.extremesailingseries.com.

China’s host city for the 2008 Olympic sailing regatta’s holds plenty of proud memories for the fleet, with Brits Paul Goodison, Pippa Wilson, Sarah Ayton and Ben Ainslie, and American Anna Tunnicliffe, all taking gold in their respective classes. For Ainslie, the most successful Olympic sailor of all time, the Act in Qingdao will be the first time he has raced on the Olympic waters since winning the Finn gold in 2008. The J.P. Morgan BAR skipper commented: “We are all really looking forward to China. For Paul, Pippa and I who spent a lot of time there before and during Beijing 2008 it’s a special place for us. But we know that it is another difficult venue and there’s a lot of tide there so that could be challenging and tough but we certainly want to work on our performance as a team.”