Good start for Rolex Middle Sea Race >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News

Good start for Rolex Middle Sea Race >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News: Ta' Xbiex, Malta (October 17, 2020) - The 2020 Rolex Middle Sea Race got underway for the 50 boats registered to take on the 606 nm clockwise

SailGP – a revolution in yacht racing

In SailGP, five-member crews representing six countries race identical F50 foiling catamarans in the world’s most famous harbours. Complex control systems and high-end carbon-fibre materials, combined with supreme teamwork and athleticism, enable the boats to skim the water at exhilarating speeds. Australia won the inaugural SailGP title in 2019. After topping the table through five regattas, the team helmed by Tom Slingsby then beat Japan in the deciding match race in Marseille. Rolex is the Presenting Partner and Official Timepiece of SailGP, enhancing a partnership with yachting that dates back more than 60 years. Discover more https://on.rolex.com/36KGcbA
Rolex has always associated with activities driven by passion, excellence, precision and team spirit. It naturally gravitated towards the elite world of yachting six decades ago and today supports the most prestigious clubs, races and regattas. The brand is Title Sponsor of 15 major international events – from leading offshore races, such as the annual Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race, to grand prix competition at the Rolex TP52 World Championship and spectacular gatherings at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Rolex Swan Cup. It also supports the exciting new SailGP series, where national teams race in supercharged F50 catamarans on some of the world’s most famous harbours. Rolex’s partnerships with the likes of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, New York Yacht Club and Royal Yacht Squadron are the foundation of its enduring relationship with this dynamic sport.
#Rolex #SailGP #Perpetual

Sailboat Racing In Antigua | Liveaboard Sailing Cruisers that Race | Sai...

Get the full scoop about Sailboat Racing in Antigua at the Oyster Antigua Regatta 2019. Find out what the crew thought of the event, get behind the scenes information, check out some amazing sailboat racing photos and more. Read the associated article that goes with this video here: https://sailingbritican.com/racing-an...
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The Vendée Globe, 100 days and counting!

This Friday 29 July, there are exactly 100 days until the start of the eighth Vendée Globe, which will set sail from Les Sables d'Olonne on France’s Atlantic seaboard on 6 November at 13:02pm local time. Thirty sailors have signed up for this eighth edition, 28 of whom have already qualified. We get the low-down.

As 13:02pm French time ticks by this Friday, we’ll be down to just double figures to indicate the number of days until the start of the upcoming Vendée Globe. Less than 100 days to go then. Fourteen weeks and forty-eight hours, a mere drop in the ocean in relation to the four years between each edition. If a number of the skippers are allowing themselves a few days’ respite this summer, it’s also because they know that it’s the last opportunity to take some time out before the final rush for the start. Indeed, September will be very hectic with the sailors obliged to be present in Les Sables d’Olonne with their boats on the eve of the opening of the race village, which equates to a noon deadline on 14 October 2016 at the latest.

Dates to remember:
. 8 and 9 September: Skippers’ briefings
. 14 September: Press Conference in Paris
. 14 October: Presence of the skippers and boats in Les Sables d'Olonne
. 15 October: Official opening of the Village in Les Sables d'Olonne
. 6 November: Start of the Vendée Globe
. 7 November: Opening of Race HQ in Paris

More information 

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…”

Holding on to the King’s Cup Crown : 52 SUPER SERIES – Pure Performance

There was to be no succession at the 2014 Copa del Rey Mapfre. Rán Racing may have gone into the final day of the Mediterranean’s showcase regatta with designs on the King’s Cup, just three points behind reigning champions Quantum Racing, but the defending champions squashed the challenge from Niklas Zennström’s team on the start line of the final and rolled out overall winners in Palma for the second season in a row.

For Doug DeVos’ American flagged team which is lead by America’s Cup winner Ed Baird it was their second Barclays 52 SUPER SERIES event win in a row, adding to their victory in Porto Cervo, Sardinia.

Dock Talk: Dongfeng Race Team’s mid-Atlantic near miss with a whale

 

ALICANTE, Spain, June 5 (Volvo Ocean Race) – Dongfeng Race Team’s Chinese rookies came face to face in the mid-Atlantic with a whale in a taste of the kind of larger-than-life experience the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 will throw at them.

They have already sailed through a storm, faced up to 40 knots of wind and French skipper Charles Caudrelier says he has navigated “one of the darkest nights I’ve known with absolutely no moon at all and barely any visibility”.

He continued: “We had the scariest experience to date during the night when we came so close to hitting a whale, so close we could hear it breathing.

“You can smell whales in the air but in the pitch black you can’t tell where they are. You can’t sense them in the water because very often when whales are at the surface it’s because they’re sleeping so it’s a nasty surprise for both the whale and us!

“I just held my breath knowing how close we were to potential danger but, thankfully, we didn’t hit it – we just had a near miss.”

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

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.”

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.

Safran-Guy Cotten wins the Transat AG2R La Mondiale

Gwénolé Gahinet and Paul Meilhat crossed the finish line in St Barts on Monday at 1917hrs and 59 secs (French time) to win the 12th edition of the Transat AG2R La Mondiale. After 22 days, 6 hours, 17 minutes and 59 seconds of perfectly controlled racing at an average speed of 8.74 knots on the 4,670-miles of the actual racecourse between Concarneau and St Barts, the crew of Safran-Guy Cotten claimed victory ahead of Skipper Macif.

 

Gahinet and Meilhat, heroes of the day 

Under a blazing sun in the clear blue waters of the Caribbean, the bow of the Figaro Safran-Guy Cotten finally appeared. Shortly after noon in St Barts, hundreds of locals came to greet the two men of the moment. After 22 days going head to head on the ocean, Gahinet and Meilhat savoured their victory. It was the best possible reward for Gahinet, the young skipper of Safran-Guy Cotten, who was making his debut on the Figaro circuit. 

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.”

Team Extreme Qingdao announced as home nation entry for Chinese Act of 2014 Extreme Sailing Series / Extreme Sailing Series

In just over one week, China’s 2008 ‘Olympic Sailing City’ of Qingdao will welcome the formidable fleet of Extreme 40s to Fushan Bay, with the home nation entry ‘Team Extreme Qingdao’ bolstering the elite level racing fleet to 12 boats, including two of China’s top sailing stars. The teams will race under the shadows of the Olympic rings on the short, sharp racecourse, designed for spectator-friendly Stadium Racing, with thousands of public expected over the Chinese national holiday. The Act, presented by Series Main Partner Land Rover will see teams vying for the ‘Double Star Mingren Cup’ from 1-4 May.

For the home-grown Chinese sailors, Liu Xue and Zhang Yiran, 2014 will be their second year competing on the circuit, following their Stadium Racing debut with China Team in Qingdao in 2013. Liu Xue, who also raced with China Team at the America’s Cup World Series in 2013, spoke of the importance of events such as the Extreme Sailing Series, for growing the sport of sailing within China. “I'm so excited and very proud to join the Extreme Sailing Series in my hometown. I think it's very important for China to host this international sailing event as we can gain more experience, and learn more from the competition. It's helpful to improve the overall level of sailing in our country.” Liu Xue and Zhang Yiran recently trialled for China’s Dongfeng Race Team for the next Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15, growing the versatility of their sailing talents.

Five-time Olympian and Extreme 40 veteran Mitch Booth will share skippers duties with Zhang Yiran, leading the home team into the stadium in front of the local crowds, alongside Nick Moloney and British multihull dinghy sailor Freddie White. Despite his Extreme 40 pedigree, Booth is realistic about the challenge ahead. “It is really great to be back in Qingdao and racing together with Chinese crew members. The Extreme Sailing Series has jumped to a very high level this year and it will be tough to compete in what is probably the premier sailing circuit in the World today. It has been exactly one year since I raced in the Series and I'm keen to do battle with the best of the best.”

The full crew lists for Land Rover Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3 Qingdao for the ‘Double Star Mingren’ Cup will be confirmed on Thursday 24th April.

Volvo Ocean Race | Why Capey keeps coming back

It’s so hot inside I’m sweating over the chart table. No more clean clothes, little freeze-dried food left. Only 30 minutes of sleep last night. And the nine of us, tucked in that boat together. The wind is too light, too strong, or in the wrong direction. You would be grumpy too if you were doing this for the sixth time, right?  More; Volvo Ocean Race | Why Capey keeps coming back

The first sail and success on Spindrift 2 / Spindrift Racing

Spindrift 2 has had its first sail after the winter optimisation, spending a night at sea criss-crossing the Bay of Biscay. The control was there straight away and the boat ran like clockwork. The 2014 season has begun and it has started well for Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard’s team. This week, the Spindrift team will be racing on Lake Geneva as they begin the D35 training.

With 15-25 knots of wind and a full moon in a cloudless sky, the weather rolled out the red carpet for the maxi-trimaran during its first offshore trial run from La Trinité-sur-Mer. "The season has started and it's great,” Guichard said. “What a pleasure to be sailing again and rediscovering this boat. Things felt really good out there and the technical assessment has been very positive too. After the changes we made, Spindrift 2 is behaving as expected. With the crew, we feel that the boat is still safe and sound, but lighter and more responsive. We also really improved the speed of the manoeuvres. Overall, although we still have work to do calibrating all the sailing instruments, to match the numbers to these feelings, the team can be proud of what they’ve done."

Dona Bertarelli was equally happy on the trimaran on which she will attempt to beat the North Atlantic record this summer. "After the long winter and the considerable amount of work needed in the boatyard, it was a real pleasure to be back on board with the whole team for the first sail,” an enthusiastic Bertarelli said. “Spindrift 2 has lost nothing of its aura or its dynamism, quite the contrary. Shining with the colours of our new partners, she looked better than ever on the water. You should’ve seen the smiles on everyone’s faces when we did the first unfurl (of the headsail)…we were quickly up to 35 knots."

A giant step in the Bay

The area covered by the 40-metre trimaran in the 30 hours of this first offshore trip in the Bay of Biscay show just how much a boat like this compresses distances. "We headed out due west, to the limits of the European continental shelf before descending below Arcachon and then returning via l’Ile d'Oléron, so we could check everything on board,” Bertarelli said. “The new rig had 25 knots of wind and passed the tests. That is a crucial point for this year because we’ve adapted the mast for the twin programme of records: the crewed ones and the solo Route du Rhum. The sail plan was also fully tested at all points of sail and I take my hat off to North Sails, they’ve done a very good job. So, we have taken one big step successfully. The performance work can start now.”

Lake Geneva next and New York to follow

This week, Dona, Yann and the crew of the D35 catamaran Ladycat powered by Spindrift racing will meet at Versoix, Switzerland for the first week of training before the start of the annual Vulcain Trophy championship scheduled for May 9 with the Grand Prix des Ambassadeurs (Société Nautique de Genève).

Between Lake Geneva and the Atlantic coast, the women and men of Spindrift are engaged on all fronts. The sporting deadlines are approaching and race against the clock continues. After a few days of work for the technicians at the team base in La Trinité-sur-Mer, on April 28 the sailors will be back on board the maxi trimaran Spindrift 2. On the horizon is the delivery to New York and then Newport, where the boat will begin, from the start of June, its official stand-by period, waiting for a good weather window in order to attempt to break the supersonic North Atlantic and 24-hour records.

Desjoyeaux leading the transatlantic race - Vendée Globe 2016

© Alexis Courcoux

 

Michel Desjoyeaux, two times winner of the Vendée Globe, is currently leading the Transat AG2R LA MONDIALE, sailing with Corentin Horeau on the Figaro Bretagne-Crédit Mutuel Performance. Jean Le Cam and Kito de Pavant are not far behind. But a word of caution, as the fleet has split in two with clear options to the north and south.

A lot has happened over the past few days in the double-handed transatlantic race between Concarneau and Saint Barth, in which a number of Vendée Globe sailors are competing. The most spectacular development has been that the fleet scattered after passing through the gate off La Palma in the Canaries. In short, a low-pressure area without any wind was blocking their route and disturbing the trade winds, which we usually find here. Nine boats chose a radical route due south after passing this gate. They were moving away from the direct route and extending their voyage in the hope of picking up some stronger downwind conditions. The other five made the opposite choice by heading off on a northerly route attempting to make their way westwards remaining closer to the direct route and therefore not having to sail too many extra miles.

How important is the final double points race? / Extreme Sailing Series

The final race of each Extreme Sailing Series™ Act is worth double points, and more often than not the outcome of the event is riding on it. Using the SAP sailing analytics, we took a look at all of the final races from the last 16 months, and found that keeping a cool head and performing under pressure can make all the difference.

Over the last nine Acts (seven in 2013, and two in 2014), the reigning champions The Wave, Muscat have won an incredibly impressive 67% of the events. Of the events they won, they also sailed to victory in 50% of the final races, often winning the Act in that moment. For the Omani team, the double points race seems to be of the upmost importance to their Act winning tactics.