Sally Fitzgibbons And Tyler Wright Dominate Day One At The Breaka Burleigh Pro

Tyler Wright (AUS) clocked the day’s highest single wave score – 9.87 out of a possible 10. Pic ASP/Will H-S

Burleigh Heads/Australia: Sunday February 3 2013: Sally Fitzgibbons (Australia/Sth Coast NSW) the 2012 number 2 ranked surfer in the world, pulled the rash vest back on for the first time for the 2013 season at the Breaka Burleigh Pro on the Gold Coast today and quickly showed the large crowds she’s ready for a big season with a solid opening round heat win.

Fitzgibbons won the heat comfortably ahead of Dimity Stoyle (Aus/Sunshine Coast) who advanced in 2nd place while Maud Le Car and Lee-Ann Curren from France were both eliminated.

Vendee Globe, ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered capsized. Javier Sanso in his liferaft awaiting rescue

 

Breaking News - February 3, 2013, This Sunday morning 3rd February around 1049hrs UTC two distress beacons of ACCIONA 100% EcoPowered, skippered by Spanish solo sailor Javier Sanso which is racing in the Vendée Globe non stop solo round the world race were triggered. The alarms were received at 1052hrs UTC.  

At 1049hrs UTC the boat was positioned at 31° 59.00 N 27 26.24 W, so 500 miles west of Madeira and 360 miles south of the Azores island of Sao Miguel

Weather conditions in the area that Sanso was sailing were a NE’ly wind of 15kts. The boat was racing upwind in a moderate trade winds swell. Prior to the incident all was reported to be well on board, only minutes before Sanso had e-mailed a daily report to Race Direction.

Medal Race Saturday Crowns New Champions at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami

MIAMI, Fla. (February 2, 2013) – Eight Olympic class events raced for medals on Saturday’s finale of the 2013 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami. Once again, conditions on the emerald waters of Biscayne Bay mixed with the high level of competition and medal race urgency, allowed these sailors to evaluate their abilities and determine where they rank among the world’s best.

Sarah Newberry and John Casey (USA) capped a fantastic regatta in the intriguing Nacra 17 event. For nearly the entire week, Newberry and Casey were at the top of the leaderboard. They were fifth in today’s medal race and won the gold medal by five points. Finishing with silver was Sarah Streater and Matthew Whitehead (USA). Taylor Reiss and Sarah Lihan (USA) won bronze.

“Throughout the event we were focused on communication,” said Newberry. “What carried us through was communicating about what was happening on the boat immediately on the race course, and in the end the ability to explain the situation. I’m sure at the highest end of sailing, especially when you’re a woman and a man you don’t always speak the same language.”

“It was such a tough medal race. One minute we thought we were dead last and had to crawl back. In the end John told me we won, but I needed a minute to take it in,” said Newberry.

Vendee Globe Ocean Race, The final duel : Golding vs Le Cam

 

• Golding v Le Cam, different choices
• JP ready to spring from Spanish haven
• Mich’ Desj’ 08-09 record beaten only by the podium finishers

Their Vendée Globe duel has been nearly as long and intense as that of winner François Gabart against second placed Armel Le Cléac’h, and it is certainly proving an engaging postcript to the podium finishes, but British skipper Mike Golding insists he is not stressing about Jean Le Cam’s strategy which is the very opposite to his. 

For the first time since December 12th,  Golding overhauled his French nemesis last night – according to the computation of the rankings - but affirmed this afternoon on Vendée Globe LIVE ! that he takes little store from his elevated position on the leaderboard, as it will be a couple of days before it is really known how the end game to their opposite thinking will play out.

Florence Delivers Performance of the Winter at Volcom Pipe Pro

  PIPELINE, Oahu/Hawaii (Friday, February 1, 2013) - All eyes were on Pipeline’s favorite son John John Florence at the Volcom Pipe Pro today, as a perfect pairing of phenomenal waves and supernatural talent unfolded before a highly charged beach crowd. It fast became a 25-minute Florence super session as he clocked up four incredible tube rides in succession: 9.3, 9.53, 9.73, and 9.97. His top two scores delivered the highest heat total of the competition so far – 19.7 points out of 20. But the only Electric Perfect 10 of the day went to Santa Cruz’s Nat Young, in his competitive debut at the Banzai Pipeline. Wave face heights were consistently around 15- to 20-feet today, and there were more than a day’s worth of horrific wipeouts. In his first competitive appearance of the 2013 ASP season, this is just the beginning of a long year already loaded with expectation for Florence. Having come so close to a world title in 2012, he is prepared for the pressure but focused on surfing. If today was any indication, it will be a devastating year for his peers. Florence, 20, is the top seed and defending champion of this event.

Emirates Team New Zealand: The Sensation of the AC 72 - America's Cup

With the launch of their second AC72 imminent, Emirates Team New Zealand crew members reflect on what it’s like to sail the newest – and most extreme – class of America’s Cup boats.

“It’s a new beast. It’s a wild untamed beast,” says tactician Ray Davies. “And it’s been a challenge to get to grips with it. Honestly, it’s a handful. There are only 11 guys on board and it’s a very physical, tough boat to sail.”

“AC72 sailing is very unique,” is the way skipper Dean Barker puts it. “All of sudden you flick the switch and they go from being reasonably controllable and mundane to where they definitely get your attention.”

11 countries represented at Red Bull Youth America’s Cup trials

© Guilain GRENIER / ORACLE TEAM USA

The line-up for the Selection Series for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup will include 11 national teams, attending the two qualifying sessions in San Francisco from February 9-24.

A British team, the GBR Youth Challenge, has been added to the roster to take the place of the previously invited French Youth Team, who now qualify directly for September’s event after gaining support from the French America’s Cup World Series entry, Energy Team.

“The America’s Cup is the greatest thing you can do in sailing,” said Adam Lees, of the British team. “The Red Bull Youth America’s Cup is about getting more people involved in the competition and making it more accessible to young sailors so the next generation is involved early on.”