Yachting Australia

Preview - 2005 Australian Formula 18 Catamaran Nationals

Boating Officers Target Alcohol and Speed

The operation will aim to cut the number of boating-related deaths and increase the level of safety awareness.

NSW Maritime acting chief executive Chris Oxenbould said a fall in the number of deaths last year reflected an emphasis on safety in the boating community.

'Last year, there was a considerable fall in the number of boating fatalities recorded on NSW waters,' he said.

'Nine lives were lost compared with 22 in the previous year, and this is despite an annual increase of some three per cent in the number of boating licences and registrations.'

Pit stop in Wellington, New Zealand for Volvo Ocean Race

Closing Ceremony - 2004 Paralympic Games

Athens, host-city of the ATHENS 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games, farewells the greatest Sports competition for athletes with a disability with a Closing Ceremony was held at the Olympic Stadium of Athens (OAKA).

Due to the tragic road accident that claimed the lives of high school students who were traveling to Athens to attend the Paralympic Games, the Closing Ceremony only entailed the protocol segments required for the completion of the Games.

At the beginning of the Ceremony, a minute’s silence was observed and then the flags and the athletes of the participating Paralympic Commitees entered the Olympic Stadium.

After the Greece’s and China’s national anthems were heard, the Athens Mayor, Dora BAKOYANNI, handed the Paralympic Games flag to the Vice Mayor of Beijing. The Paralympic flame was extinguished and the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games were completed.

ISAF Paralympic Games Microsite
www.sailing.org/paralympics2004

Dunstan and Crew Wins Open Match Racing Championship

AUS V NZ - Australian Match Racing Championship Final

After a delayed start this morning due to lack of wind, the semi finals were finally completed early this afternoon.

An exciting finals showdown has been set with Australia versus New Zealand in both the final and petit final.

Final

Michael Dunstan V Simon Minoprio

Petit Final

Gordon Lucas V Graeme Sutherland

Stay tuned!

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	Latest results

Ford Becomes Major Sponsor - America’s Cup

AC Management, the event organiser for the 32nd America’s Cup is pleased to announce a collaboration with Ford under which the car manufacturer will become a Supporter and Official Car of the 32nd America’s Cup. 
Ford has supported several America’s Cup teams in the past, most recently with the OneWorld Challenge in 2003, but this is the first time in the recent history of the America’s Cup that the company has backed the event organisation.

“We are extremely happy to have Ford as a supporter, as they are such a strong company in the region of Valencia,” said Michel BONNEFOUS, the CEO of AC Management. “For the America’s Cup coming to a new country it is important that our supporters have strong ties locally and an impeccable reputation internationally. In this respect, and many others, Ford is an ideal fit.”

“This is a very beneficial arrangement both for Ford and for the America’s Cup,” said Margrethe van der Stroom HOLDENER, Director of Business for AC Management. “For the America’s Cup, it means a complete transportation solution for all of our needs over the next three years. For Ford, this is an opportunity to build on its tradition of support for sailing and the America’s Cup.”

Under the agreement, Ford becomes the Official Car of the 32nd America’s Cup, and will provide the transport services for the event. Ford cars will be used at each event in locations across Europe.

The announcement was made at a ceremony at the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) in Valencia, the Host City of the 32nd America’s Cup. José Manuel MACHADO, Chairman and CEO of Ford España, Rita BARBERA, the Mayor of Valencia, Michel BONNEFOUS, the CEO of AC Management, and Margrethe van der Stroom HOLDENER were present.

“Having supported Valencia’s candidature from the beginning, we are very proud of the city’s success in being selected as Host City for the 32nd America’s Cup. We are now extremely pleased t o be involved with the competition in Valencia,” said José Manuel MACHADO, the CEO of Ford. “We see this as an ideal opportunity to extend awareness of our brand and our products through the most prestigious sporting event in Spain, and indeed the world. As with the America’s Cup, our company relies on the latest high technology and design to achieve success, and we see this collaboration as a natural partnership.”

The America’s Cup has returned to Europe for the first time in over 150 years. Over the next three years, a series of opening Acts across Europe will lead into the main events Valencia in 2007, the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger selection series and the 32nd America’s Cup Match. 

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	America's Cup website

Semi Final Time at the Australian Match Racing Championship

The top four crews after round robin two was completed, met in the semi finals on day two of competition at the 2004 Australian Match Racing Championship, in Perth, Western Australia.

New Zealand's Simon Minoprio, Matthew Stuart, Stuart Molloy, Haydon Goodrick and Ryan Houtston finished the rounds on top, taking on third placed Aussie's Gordon Lucas and crew.

Michael Dunstan and crew (2nd) won both semi final races against Graeme Sutherland, Brett Elliott, Nick Bastow, Dave Swete and Doug Cooksey (4th), and now progress into the finals which start on Wednesday.

More information

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	Day Two Results

Moloney Going off to Conquer his Everest

He will also be the first person ever to race around the word in three disciplines crewed with stops, fastest non-stop and solo non-stop.

Moloney, who is the only Australian entry in the Vendee, considers himself an adventurer rather than a yachtsman although a lot of his adventures do involve sailing boats of some kind. Well-known overseas, his first real bout of Australian notoriety came in 1998 when he became the first person ever to cross Bass Strait on a windsurfer. Unsurprisingly, nobody has attempted it since.

Born and bred in Ocean Grove, Victoria, Moloney says, ‘as a young child I always had a lot of dreams. I grew up around the beach in Victoria and eventually started sailing. I dreamed about sailing around the world, crewing in the America’s Cup and winning a Sydney-Hobart.’

The quietly spoken Moloney has done all of that and more, including racing in the former Whitbread Around the World yacht race and a number of Transat, Mini Transat and other long distance races.

On a flying visit to Australia to see family and friends and fulfil media obligations, I spoke with Moloney in Sydney yesterday on his past sailing feats and his latest adventure.

He told me it had been a long, hard road making the transition from a young sailor to going overseas in search of dreams.

‘It’s hard, as an Australian, to build an international career, but as my reputation grew, I got more offers.’

Those offers culminated in a stellar career in 1992 crewing aboard Syd Fischer’s America’s Cup Challenge, then moving to the Italian Il Moro di Venezia team (they won the Louis Vuitton series), then again in ’95 with John Bertrand’s OneAustralia.

From there, in ’96, Moloney did the World Match Racing circuit, crewed on the winning Kenwood Cup team in Hawaii, helmed/trimmed aboard Toshiba in the 1997-98 Whitbread Race, in which they set a 24 hour monohull speed record, competed in and won the Hobart race aboard Ausmaid, retired with injuries from the ’99 Mini-Transat in which he feared for his life, was helmsman/sailmaker on three of Steve Fossett’s Playstation unsuccessful transatlantic record attempts.

In 2001, Moloney co-skippered, with Ellen MacArthur, winning the EDS Atlantic Challenge, the same year he finished third with Mark Turner in the two-handed Transat Jacques Vabre, then crewed on Playstation again, breaking the Cowes to St. Malo record.

Then in 2002, Moloney joined Ellen MacArthur’s Offshore Challenges Sailing Team and that same year was the only non-French crew on the maxi-cat Orange when she broke the Jules Verne record and set a new course record and finished first in the Open 50 class 2, in the Route du Rhum race.

Then Skandia came aboard and Moloney skippered his Open 60 Skandia Set Sail in the Fastnet Race. In 2003, with Sam Davies, he co-skippered Team Cowes in the Transat Jacques Vabre two-handed race, following up with the Le Defi Antlantique solo race.

His latest venture was the Transat solo race in May this year (in which he finished fourth) and over the years has accumulated twelve sailing World Spped and Course Records.

During this year’s Vendee Globe the 34 year-old will raise money for Sail 4 Cancer, the charity he is Patron of and well-supported by his sponsor, Skandia..

In an ironic twist, Moloney’s father, who is a Director of the charity’s Australian based division, has advanced cancer himself. Moloney will have to deal with that knowledge whilst he is away competing and is hopeful of raising ��,000 for the charity.

Moloney’s 26,000 nautical mile Vendee Globe odyssey, starting from Les Sables d’Olonne on the north-west coast of France, will take him around the world from west to east, on a route south of the three Capes Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn – all kept to port with Antarctica to starboard.

He told me yesterday, ‘The Vendee is the biggest mental struggle I have ever had. The Mini Transat in ’99 tore me apart. I genuinely though I was going to die. We rolled and I had some injuries. It tore me apart and gave me a bad fear of the ocean.’

To get back to reality, the Victorian spent time with the disabled sailing team at Rushcutters Bay to tune their boats and sail.

‘I left there thinking I was the luckiest guy on the planet,’ he said.

‘When I did the Route du Rhum I thought I was going to die. I was nervous about being on my own and the weather had got so bad I turned of all my communications, I didn’t want to face what was happening to everyone out there, it was too frightening – it was a very big storm. I wasn’t totally out of touch though, just in case of anyone in trouble in my vicinity that may need help.

‘At one stage I opened my front hatch and flooded part of the boat on purpose for displacement – that was scary too, but I went on to win, so it was my fairytale story.’

His boat for the Vendee is like a Volvo 60 and is Ellen MacArthur’s ex Kingfisher, which obviously had to be extensively renovated, particularly below decks, to suit the race and also Moloney’s height (Ellen is tiny and the boat had been fitted to accommodate her).

Maloney said, ‘I am petrified of doing the Vendee distance solo. I am trying to find a solid platform to deal with my fears – like meditation. My boat below has been painted in a type of yellow. It has been proved it reduces fear and rage.

‘What helps is to phone my family and close friends. It’s both the best and worst thing – I feel like I am at home when I have them on the phone, but it is the worst thing to hang that phone up - I try not to make too many because of the hanging up.

‘Sailing solo is stressful and the fatigue gets bad. You have to be quite strict with yourself and work out when to stay up and when to grab sleep. Sleep deprivation is the worst thing for you. That’s when you can hallucinate, make bad decisions and generally get into a lot of trouble.

‘We are prepared to race now though – I am ready and my team is ready. I like the adrenaline rush I get from a long race, of going hard. You have to totally concentrate, you have to be prepared, check everything – on deck, below, just make sure it’s all going to happen right.

Why is a 34 year old, who has filled more in a short space of time than any of us would even think about doing, doing the Vendee Globe?

‘I don’t need to do a solo race. Some people need to do it for their ego, some need to prove something to themselves and others go out there to discover the meaning of life and what they are meant to be doing, but I am at peace with myself, I am a very happy person. I just want the adventure.’

Asked whether he thought about his own death prior to going on these extreme sailing races, Moloney said, ‘yes, I am very aware of my own mortality. I’ve even written my own obituary, and even changed it a few times! I do all the rounds and say goodbye to family and friends.

‘My biggest fear is falling off Skandia and watching it sail away from me.’

Just to finish this race will be my biggest victory ever. I set myself a goal a long time ago – to complete the Whitbread Round the World Race, to break the Jules Verne around the world non-stop record and to finish the Vendee Globe.’

Moloney has ticked the former two boxes with only the Vendee to complete the hat trick.

On paper, Moloney says he is eighth or ninth fastest of the entries, with SIL as his yardstick, but has a hunch that it is Mike Golding’s race.

His objective is a top five finish, which he aims to do by picking the right shifts, a bit of luck and staying reliable. To help achieve that goal, he has added 250 kilos to Skandia’s bulb and purchased new sails. He is grateful to Skandia who came aboard with much needed sponsorship that has got him to the start line.

‘They have been wonderful to me – not just with this race, but as part of their Skandia Set Sail program as well.’ Surprisingly, for all his achievements and high risk adventures, arguably more than any other Australian sailor ever, Moloney is little known in the public arena in his own country - but I have a hunch that may change come the Vendee.

To follow Nick Moloney’s Vendee Globe assault on Skandia go to his website: www.nickmoloney.com/skandia

This official website of Nick’s will provide the latest action from onboard via the Breaking News section and a Race Viewer Console which allows readers to follow his race from start to finish and skipper Audio Sessions. There are also onboard cameras and images, so watch the website.

Should you want to send an email to Nick, either prior to his start, or during, go to the website for details.

At his press conference in Sydney, Moloney said emails ‘are very welcome, they give me the spirit and strength to keep going.’

Optimist Sailor Nominated for Bermuda Junior Gold Cup

Day One - Australian Match Racing Championship

Morining report

After a welcome by the Rear Commodore at 0800 hours followed by a boat and headsail draw, the crews competing in the 2004 Australian Match Racing Championship (AMRC) had a morning of practice and an early lunch before racing commenced at 1300 hours. Thankfully with a morning of very light winds, the breeze picked up to 15 - 18 knots southerly just before the start of the first flight.

With two flights completed at 1430 hours, only Graeme Sutherland and Richard Howard remain undefeated. Racing has been close with winning margins mainly under 20 seconds.

Afternoon report

With a 15 - 20 knots southerly all afternoon, we have been able to make an excellent start to the AMRC. The forecast for tomorrow and Wednesday morning is for somewhat lighter winds, however as always we will have to wait and see.

More information

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	Results after day one

Winners Return for 60th Anniversary Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

The Overall and line honours winner of last year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race are both aiming to re-write the history books with back-to-back wins in the 60^th anniversary race starting Boxing Day, December 26, 2004.

Grant Wharington’s 98-foot Victorian super maxi Skandia is currently on its way to Hong Kong for the China Coast Race Week where it will contest the 652 nautical mile race from Hong Kong to Vietnam before returning to Sydney to prepare for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

“We believe the race to Vietnam will be another good test for the boat and that we’ll be race ready when it comes time to attempt our second consecutive line honours win in the Rolex Sydney Hobart,” Wharington says.

Since taking line honours in the 2003 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race and more than 30 other races in less than 12 months, Wharington has lightened the boat and made some modifications, including installing a retractable carbon fibre canard and a bowsprit to carry larger spinnakers.

For the Boxing Day bluewater classic, he will sail with just 14 crew rather than the 19 he carried last year.

The greatest threats to Wharington’s ambitious plan are expected to come from Ludde Ingvall’s new 90-foot Nicorette, which is currently under construction, Stewart Thwaites’s same sized Konica Minolta from New Zealand, which as Zana narrowly lost to Skandia in last year’s race, and possibly Neville Crichton’s 90-footer, Alfa Romeo, the 2002 Rolex Sydney Hobart line honours winner.

Not since Condor of Bermuda took consecutive line honours wins in the 1982 and 1983 Sydney Hobart races has a competing yacht and crew managed such a feat.

For Michael Spies, the record of back-to-back Overall handicap wins proves this is an even more elusive achievement with Trygve and Magnus Halvorsen’s Freya the last yacht to be awarded the Tattersalls Trophy not just for two but three consecutive handicap wins in 1963, 1964 and 1965.

Outright handicap winner in the 2003 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race with the Beneteau 40.7 First National Real Estate and race record holder as co-skipper of Nokia in 1999, Spies is looking to replicate his success for the anniversary event.

This year First National Real Estate is a new Beneteau 44.7 designed by American based New Zealander Bruce Farr and built in France. Since arriving in Australia, the boat has undergone optimization of the IRC Rule, which is now used to determine the Overall winner of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

Many of the First National Real Estate crew for the 2004-2005 season have sailed with Spies for more than a decade and are now recognised as one of the most successful and experienced teams on the Australian offshore circuit.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has received 38 applications to enter this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and expects more than 100 yachts to line up for the start of the 628 nautical mile bluewater classic at 1.00pm on December 26.

Further information:

Lisa Ratcliff, CYCA Communications Manager, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia

Phone: 02 9363 9731 Fax: 02 9363 9745, or

Peter Campbell, Media Director, 60^th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2004-09-09 Phone:  0419 385 028 or email:  peter_campbell@bigpond.com

Australia's Foreign Affair wins Mumm 30 Worlds

An Australian team coming from way Down Under to win in North America took on a new meaning in the Bell Mumm 30 World Championship, but it's becoming routine for Richard PERINI and his crew. 

While most eyes were watching whether hometown favourite Fred SHERRATT'S frontrunning Steadfast, with Andy ROY as skipper, could fight off Tom RITTER'S Tramp from Michigan and the Kahns, father and son, from California and Hawaii on the fourth and final day Friday, the issue became a Foreign Affair.

That's the name of Perini's boat from Sydney that won the class at Key West in 2002 and 2003 and arose from fifth place here to bite all the contenders with a runaway flourish in the last race. Pending the outcome of some protests, that left Foreign Affair three points ahead of Steadfast, four ahead of 15-year-old Shark KAHN'S Pegasus 20 and five ahead of Tramp. Nelson STEPHENSON, the Mumm 30 World Council president from Connecticut, was fifth with TeamBOLD.

The 15-year-old Shark led the regatta after two days and again after winning the first race Friday. Then his comeback from the previous day's belly flop fizzled when he became entangled with Carlo ALBERINI'S Calvi from Italy at the leeward gate. Forced wide by the Italians and two other boats, Pegasus 20 was passed by several and protested by Calvi, as well, for not giving room at the mark on its way to 15th place.

Steadfast, meanwhile, struggled to 11th and 13th places, leaving the door wide open to Perini for the 49-year-old businessman's first class world title in five tries. Overall, he scored two firsts and three seconds in the nine races and seemed a popular winner as one rival after another came by his boat to congratulate him.

'There were six boats that could have won it today,' Perini said, 'which is a tribute to the depth of this class. We went into today 13 points behind the leader, so we just said we weren't going to give up, that's not an insurmountable lead.'

His start in the second race set the tone. Foreign Affair was a boat length ahead of the pack coming off the line and controlled its own destiny from there, as directed by tactician Steve Flam, a 42-year-old real estate manager from Long Beach, Calif.

'We had a nice gap and were going full speed when we hit the line,' Perini said. 'Then Steve did a fantastic job in picking our way up that first beat.'

They didn't waste time looking for the other contenders. 'We had no idea where they were,' Perini said. 'We just wanted to do our best in that situation.'

Flam said, 'It was not a tactician's dream out there this week. It's not just the shifts. We're looking for pressure, too. If you're in a little breeze it's better to hang on a bit. But the crew deserves most of the credit.'

Flam and Canadian bowman Curtis FLORENCE were the only non-Australians on the crew, which also included Tristan ELDERSHAW, pit Chris COOK, cockpit Darren JONES, main sail trimmer, and Jason ROWED, jib and spinnaker trimmer.

'They were flawless all week,' Flam said. 'Sets, trims and takedowns were all perfect.'

Principal race officer Mike Milner had hoped to run four races to complete the complement of 11, but by the time enough wind arrived out of a morning fog shortly before 3 p.m. there was time only for two. The first race started in 6 knots of breeze from the east and built to 9 in the second race.

Protest hearings involving Calvi against Pegasus 20 and Steadfast and Dan Cheresh's Team Intermec from Michigan against each other were being heard well into the evening but would not affect Foreign Affair's victory.

Top ten final results (9 races):

1. Foreign Affair, Richard Perini, Sydney, Australia, 2-12-13-2-17-1-2-7-1, 57 points.
2. *Steadfast, Fred Sherratt, Toronto, 8-2-4-6-2-11-3-11-13, 60.
3. *Pegasus 20, Samuel Kahn, Honolulu, 3-1-17-3-1-2-18-1-15, 61.   
4. Tramp, Tom Ritter, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., 1-7-7-15-4-5-5-p-10-8, 62. 
5. TeamBOLD, Nelson Stephenson, Southport, Conn., 15-11-14-9-3-4-1-2-10, 70.
6.  *Team Intermec, Dan Cheresh, Holland, Mich., 6-10-9-10-7-6-6-17-2, 73.
7. Groovederci, Deneen Demourkas, Santa Barbara, Calif., 4-18-2-14-6-14-4-9-7, 78.
8.  Pegasus 591, Philippe Kahn, Honolulu, 5-3-5-1-5-19-9-18-17, 82.  
9. Calvi, Carlo Alberini, Pesaro, Italy, 16-5-11-7-13-7-10-6-9, 84.  
10. Cygnet, Richard Swann, Fairfield, Conn., 13-8-1-12-10-8-19-2-12, 85.

* Protests pending.

Full results are available on the event website at the address below.  

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	Event website

Aussies Finish 3rd at International C Class Catamaran Championship

A slick calm delayed racing some hours, with things finally getting underway just after one. Breeze was shifty from the SE generally at about 4 knots.

In the Grand Final, Cogito dominated her rival boathouse mate. At the start of the first race, she started to leeward, and was clearly faster, able to fly a hull in puffs when Patient Lady was stuck to the water. Four minutes into the race she crossed Patient Lady, and rounded the weather mark at 13 24 09 with Patient Lady two minutes back. Cogito just made the mark three minutes inside the twenty minute time limit. Cogito continued to stretch her lead, winning the first race by six minutes.

The second race told a similar story. In prestart maneuvers with the wind building to about 6, Patient Lady got caught in irons and Cogito crossed the starting line with over a minute lead. By the weather mark the lead had increased to 1 minute 20, the leeward mark to almost two minutes, which Cogito held to the weather mark in a breeze now building past 10 knots. Cogito won the race and the championship by almost 3 minutes.

The Petit Final was much more interesting. After the first race was abandoned as neither Ronstan nor Invictus got to the weather mark in the specified twenty seconds, the race was restarted in a breeze now respectable by the standards of this week about 7 knots. The Australian win in race 2 meant a final race was needed to decide the day.

At 10:15AM Saturday acing concluded. During rigging this morning for Petit Final day 4 Team Invictus suffered major damage to the hulls of their catamaran and have been forced to withdraw conceding the final to Australia.

Both the British and the Australians were pleased to finally see some air that they clearly needed to make their wings perform. Still not in the class of Cogito which lapped them as she sailed her second race and the challengers sailed their first, at least both programs could feel the excitement of sailing a C Class cat at speed. Ben Fuller

Final Results:

1. Team Cogito. Helm Duncan McLane / Crew Steve Clark
2. Team PL6. Helm Lars Gluck /Crew Stan Schreyerer
3. Team Australia. Helm Gavin Colby / Crew Darren Smith
4. Team Invictus. Helm John Downey / Crew Paul Larson

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	Event website

Annual Sydney International Regatta Notice of Race Available

The Notice of Race for the 2004 Sydney International Regatta (SIRs) is now available on the Yachting New South Wales website. Olympic, Paralympic, Youth and invited classes will take to the Harbour over three days this year from the 18th to the 20th December. 

The invited classes joining the regatta this year are the: Laser Radial and 4.7, 505, Moth, OK Dinghy, Etchells and 5.5 classes. The competing Olympic, Paralympic and Youth classes will be the: 49er, 470, Laser, Europe, Finn, Yngling, Tornado, Mistral, Star, 29er, 420, Laser Radial, Hobie 16, 2.4mR and Sonar. 

This year will be the 13th year Yachting NSW has organised the Sydney International Regatta, which will again be hosted out of the Woollahra Sailing Club with the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron hosting the keelboat classes. 

The 2003 Regatta was a great success, attracting high profile sailors from 21 countries. With previous fleet sizes of up to 250 boats, this regatta is valuable training time prior to the various State, National and World Championships held in December and January.

SIRs forms part of the Sail Down Under series with Sail Brisbane being held in December, Sail Melbourne in January and the New Zealand stop over of the circuit, Sail Auckland in January and February.

The NOR is available on the Yachting NSW website at www.nsw.yachting.org.au 

Media Contact: Sam Crichton - Regatta Director, email samcrichton@smartchat.net.au or ph +61 (0) 407 63 64 16

Final Results - Australian Women's Match Racing

The Australian Women's Match Racing Championship finished at 1500 hours on a sunny Perth afternoon.

Report coming soon...

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	Final Results

Day Two Results - Australian Women's Match Racing Championship

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	Day Two Overall Results

Latest Results from Australian Women's Match Racing Championship

Afternoon report

After a long and sunny day on the water, with only a short lunch break,  the crews and race officials came ashore at 1730 hours having completed RR1 and two flights in RR2. The breeze stayed in all afternoon with wind  speeds of 15 - 20 knots and one gust of 24 kts.

The forecast for tomorrow is fairly light for the morning, building as the morning progresses. The latest time for an attention signal on Saturday is 1200  hours, allowing everyone to watch the Grand Final.

Morning report

The wind was a bit slow to wake up this morning on the first day of competition at the 2004 Australian Women's Match Racing Championship. The predicted forecast of 10 - 13 knots SE failed to prevail. Nonetheless, two races were sailed in 4-6 knots on the Swan River.

The light winds have meant that the 'Delta' has generally been minutes rather than seconds. We are forecast for a better sea breeze this afternoon so let's hope the Bureau have it right!

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	Day One Overall results
	Lunch results - Day one
	Morning results - Day one

Aussies Defeat Brits in Day One Petit Final for The Little America's

Day One of the Petit Final for The Little America's Cup saw TEAM RONSTAN (Australia) defeat INVICTUS (Great Britain) 2-0.

The new windward-leeward course made the racing more tactical with the opportunity for the crews to split tacks and use opposite sides of the track.

After a long morning delay, of which INVICTUS and RONSTAN spent swanning around on a 38ft power yacht that had come to watch the racing, the breeze gently built to 10 knots for the west and racing got underway late in the afternoon.

RONSTAN performed very well in the shifty conditions without the many breakages the had plagued the Team in the qualifying. In the Trophy for the Little America's Cup PATIENT LADY 6 surprised everyone to beat COGITO by four seconds in the first race of the finals. However the superior boat speed of the defender proved too great and went on to win the day 2-1

Racing continues today in Upper Narragansett Bay.

Aussies Defeat Brits in Day One Petit Final for The Little America's

Day One of the Petit Final for The Little America's Cup saw TEAM RONSTAN (Australia) defeat INVICTUS (Great Britain) 2-0.

The new windward-leeward course made the racing more tactical with the opportunity for the crews to split tacks and use opposite sides of the track.

After a long morning delay, of which INVICTUS and RONSTAN spent swanning around on a 38ft power yacht that had come to watch the racing, the breeze gently built to 10 knots for the west and racing got underway late in the afternoon.

RONSTAN performed very well in the shifty conditions without the many breakages the had plagued the Team in the qualifying. In the Trophy for the Little America's Cup PATIENT LADY 6 surprised everyone to beat COGITO by four seconds in the first race of the finals. However the superior boat speed of the defender proved too great and went on to win the day 2-1

Racing continues today in Upper Narragansett Bay.

Shark Makes It Unsafe For Mumm 30s On The Water

One doesn't hear about many shark attacks on Lake Ontario, but there aren't many 15-year-olds devouring major international one-design classes the way Samuel KAHN is sailing the Bell Mumm 30 World Championship.

Kahn, a.k.a. 'Shark,' and his world-class crew of Mumm 30 neophytes finished third, first and second in Wednesday's second day of racing-Lewmar Day around the historic Royal Canadian Yacht Club-to seize a six-point lead after six of 11 races.

'Awesome stuff,' said a rival, Richard PERINI of Sydney, Australia, who had a fair day himself by wrapping a second and first around a 17th to climb into fifth place in the feisty 21-boat fleet.

The younger Kahn took over the lead from his father Philippe, the California software developer who opened the day with a win, followed by a fifth and a wind-dying 19th, settling into third place 11 points off his son's pace and five points behind second-place Fred SHERATT, the local hope from the host club.

The Shark's stunning performance is an even larger surprise than the weather. On the first day of autumn, when the resident Canada geese should be flying south and citizens donning winter woolies, the region remained in the grip of a high-pressure system with a peak temperature Wednesday of 29 (C.), which converts to 85 (F.)-probably warmer than it was in the Kahns' second home in Hawaii.

The conditions meant light to moderate winds fading to very light and swinging 45 degrees left through the afternoon.

'It was hot,' Kahn said - his only complaint.

When he and several of the same crew won the Melges 24 worlds last year a fair share of credit was given to the other guys in the boat, particularly professionals Richard CLARKE and Mark (Crusty) CHRISTENSEN. But when a quiet lad of 14 and now 15 steps into an authentic international one-design class like the Melges 24s and Mumm 30s and outperforms veterans as Kahn is doing, some extraordinary forces must be at work.

At least he raced the Melges 24 a couple of years before reaching the top. Here, he and each of his six crew members are racing a Mumm 30 for the first time in their lives.

Clarke, the tactician, said, 'His improvement over a year is just amazing. He's giving us a little feedback now. He used to be a mute back there, but now when we're sailing a target speed of 6.2 knots he says, 'I could be going 6.3 the windward telltales aren't flowing.' '

Clarke also notes Christensen's contribution for 'setting the boat up so well' by tuning the rig and trimming the sails.

Christensen said, 'None of us has ever raced a Mumm 30 before this week, so we're all still learning. Shark has always listened and done everything we said, but now he's saying how it feels. The nice thing is he's really unfazed by it all.'

The unassuming skipper said, 'Mainly, if I give any feedback it's to see if I'm doing the right thing. Pretty much all I do is look at the telltales and the speedo.'

But he's also having fun. 'Light air is all about concentration,' he said, showing a subtle sense of humor. 'I had an extra cup of coffee this morning that may have helped.'

Nelson STEPHENSON, the Mumm 30 World Council president from Connecticut, said Kahn's performance midway of the regatta is 'a big surprise' that defies conventional wisdom. 'Everyone that knows these boats knows it takes a lot of time to learn them.'

Perini said, 'Sure, he has a great crew, but you still have to steer the boat, and, sure, he's had the opportunity to sail at this level with family support, but he still has to get on the boat and do the job.'

And he's doing it better than anyone so far. Three races are scheduled Thursday and the last two Friday.

Overall Results (after 6 of 11 races)
1. Pegasus 20, Samuel Kahn, Honolulu, 3-1-17-3-1-2, 27pts
2. Steadfast, Fred Sheratt, Toronto, 8-2-4-6-2-11, 33pts
3. Pegasus 591, Philippe Kahn, Honolulu, 5-3-5-1-5-9, 38pts
4. Tramp, Tom Ritter, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., 1-7-7-15-4-5, 29pts
5. Foreign Affair, Richard Perini, Sydney, Australia, 2-12-13-2-17-1, 47pts
6. Team Intermac, Dan Cheresh, Holland, Mich., 6-10-9-10-7-6, 48pts
7. Cygnet, Richard Swann, Fairfield, Conn., 13-8-1-12-10-8, 52pts
8. TeamBOLD, Nelson Stephenson, Southport, Conn., 15-11-14-9-3-4, 56pts
9. Groovederci, Deneen Demourkas, Santa Barbara, Calif., 4-18-2-14-6-14, 58pts
10. Calvi, Carlo Alberini, Pesaro, Italy, 16-5-11-7-13-7, 59pts
11. Team Traffic, Philip Werheim, USA, 14-13-21-4-9-3, 64pts
12. USA 65, David Pyles, Easton, Md., 7-16-6-18-8-10, 65pts
13. Three Niner, David Gonzalez, Lambertville, Mich., 12-15-10-5-11-13, 66pts
14. Notorious, Kevin Brown, Toronto, 9-9-12-8-16-16, 70pts
15. it, Jim Sminchak, Euclid, Ohio, 11-4-16-16-18-15, 80pts
16. Dark'n Stormy, Kevin Young, Novelty, Ohio, 10-14-19-11-12-17, 83pts
17. Champosa, Jonathan McDonagh, Minneapolis, Minn., 20-6-3-19-19-20, 87pts
18. Surprise, David Irish, Harbour Springs, Mich., 18-17-15-13-15-12, 90pts
19. War Pony, Art Guerrera, Atlantic Highlands, N.J., 19-10-8-20-20-9, 96pts
20. Hammer, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, Conn., 17-19-18-17-14-18, 103pts
21. Wildthing, Jeff Fogarty, Fonthill, Ontario, 21-21-20-21-21-21, 125pts
 
Mumm 30 Worlds website
www.mumm30rcyc.com/

Australia's Best for Formula 18 Nationals

Measurers have been busy ensuring that all sails and new boats meet the strict requirements of the International Formula 18 rules. Competitors will travel from as far as Cairns in Far Northern Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, with five Formula 18 Catamaran designs in attendance.

It is rumoured that a few guest ‘Big Guns ‘will also make appearances. Sailing for Hobie, the current World F18 champs, Darren Bundock/Glen Ashby, are sure to put in a good performance.

On a Nacra, Steve Brewin, A-Class World Champion and Nacra guru, will be one to watch. Greg Goodall, fresh back from Europe, scoring sixth at the recent World Championships on his own Capricorn design is also a likely podium finisher.

Eric and Anna Cook, who have come all the way from the Netherlands with their home-built Hunter design, have shown lightning speed at times during their lead-up preparation. Chris Dean from South Australia will hit the water with a new home-grown design. Although it is unproven, it should be competitive, due to the effectiveness of the Formula 18 rule.

Last year’s winner, Neville Thompson, will be out to have his name again recorded on the perpetual trophy. Unfortunately, last year's runner-up, Brad Sumner, has torn a heart-muscle and will not be attending. One thing is for sure though - this will be one of the keenest cat contests for some time, as egos and manufacturer interests will be fiercely defended.

For most of us, big fleet racing is a chance to catch up with friends from all classes and the opportunity to watch some of the world's best players battle for honours.

On the beach, after racing, there will be many ‘coulda, shoulda..........didn't’ tales of woe. With two bids already on the table for next year's event, the ongoing future of Formula 18 Catamaran racing in Australia is bright.

Thanks to Hot'N'Dry (makers of affordable effective drysuits) for their support of the Australian Formula 18 Class.

Results will be available at www.f18.org.au

Weather Dictates All for Nick on Board Skandia

Ever stopped to think how much the weather effects our lives? It dictates what we wear, what we do and when, it can even have a catastrophic effect on peoples lives and, of course, we love to talk about it!

For Nick Moloney, who will race Skandia solo around the globe in less then 45 days, it will be no different and, if anything, the weather will dictate every aspect of his life at sea.

How fast, how slow, the optimum route on the race track, what he can eat, how much he drinks and the gear he wears from survival suit to a t-shirt. Last week, Nick spent several days with the Norwegian weather expert, Wouter Verbraak (Volvo Djuice Dragons weather router under Jean-Yves Bernot), studying the expected weather over the Vendée Globe course.

The aim was to breakdown the Vendée course weather to enable Nick to understand all the scenarios and properties of the course in order to create a feasible racing strategy.

'I was reassured to find out how much I understood - after leaving home four times to attempt to go around the world and so far making it twice, my knowledge was greater than I expected. I am also interested to see the difference in the route I am able to take with regards to the time of year we will depart Les Sables d'Olonne. So far I have left for around the world attempts in September (Whitbread Round the World), January (The Race) and March (Jules Verne),' commented Nick.

Nick is also feeling very comfortable with SKANDIA, after racing her for the past two years in both crewed and solo events, he is getting to know the performance and set up of the Open 60 and has been able to use that knowledge to modify her to suit his needs.

However, all the above still comes with some trepidation - this will be a different race, on his own, a different course and a whole new set of emotions even after nine equator crossings and 13 transatlantic's the nerves are still there.

With only 45 days to go to the start, this Friday Nick will head Down Under one last time to fulfill media requirements and say an emotional final farewell to family and friends that are unable to travel from Australia to the the start line on November 7th.

THE WEATHER PART 1

France
The fleet leaves Les Sables d'Olonne on the French north-west coast in early November. This is well into autumn in that part of the world and although the winds can be favourable, the chances are that the first part of the course, to Cape Finisterre across the Bay of Biscay, will be sailed upwind. The chances are also strong that the fleet will encounter gale and storm force headwinds crossing the Bay of Biscay. Three races ago (1992-93) the first few days of the race took a terrible toll on the fleet and Nigel Burgess was lost overboard from his boat.

Spain/Portugal
After the west coast of Spain and Portugal, which again can produce any weather at this time of year, the fleet will reach south negotiating the various weather systems on the way. Abeam of the Straits of Gibraltar the fleet will be heading towards the Canary Islands. Here lighter winds will be encountered, especially at night, and the fleet will be hoping to pass through the archipelago during daylight hours and hook into the Trade Winds. But the skippers will already have an eye ahead contemplating the next major hurdle of the course - the Doldrums.

The Doldrums
The ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone) is an area of extremely variable weather, mostly light winds interspersed with big storms, which can stretch over thousands of square miles and are fairly hard to predict. Basically triangular in shape, it can be crossed quickly at the western end but leaves boats that choose this option sailing upwind into the south-east Trade Winds. Heading further west to cross the zone closer to the Latin American continent can take significantly longer but drops the boats that choose this route into favourable downwind conditions on the other side and on a better route for the next weather phenomenon, the St Helena High pressure zone.This fairly stationary high pressure zone needs to be passed to the west for the most favourable downwind conditions, giving boats an effective sling-shot into the Southern Ocean.

For more information visit http://www.nickmoloney.com or contact :

Helen King
hk@offshorechallenges.com
T : +44(0)870 063 0210
M : +44(0)7870 678360

Thompson and Sonars 5th as Sailing Regatta Wraps Up

Both Australian Paralympic crews came into the final day of racing in 5th place overall, and despite valiant efforts both remained there.

Variable, challenging conditions throughout the regatta at the 2004 Paralympic Games truly separated the medal winning sailors from the rest.

The final race for the 2.4mR class got under way with a 6-knot southwesterly. All attention was focused on Damien Seguin (FRA) and Thomas Brown (USA), who coming into the race were sitting on equal net points.

Early on in the race Seguin took the lead ahead of Brown and as it turned out Seguin’s 4th place as he approached the last two windward and leeward legs was all he needed to maintain to take home the gold.

'I am really happy. I worked hard for three years but it paid off and now I'm enjoying it….My next goal is to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in the Tornado class, which is a boat I used to sail before I switched to the 2.4mR,' explained first time gold medal winner Seguin.

Australia’s Peter Thompson put in a competitive effort, crossing the line in 3rd. A bullet to former World Champion Heiko Kroeger (GER) gave Thompson no room to progress up the leader board, the Aussie settling for 5th overall.

After finishing 4th at the Sydney 2000 Games, Thompson was eager to go one, two or three steps further in Athens. Unable to maintain consistently top results, cost Thompson in the chase for a medal.

In the Sonar class Israel comfortably took home the gold, with an 11 point win over the second placed Dutch crew. Australia’s successful protest against the Israeli crew on day one did not seem to interfere with their quest for gold. The crew secured four bullets out of the nine races sailed.

Australia’s Jamie Dunross, Colin Harrison and Jeff Milligan finished off their Paralympic pursuit with an 8th. At one stage during the regatta the trio from Western Australia sat in 2nd overall, however mid fleet finishes pushed them back to 5th on day three, and this is where they remained until the end.

Having finished 13th at the 2003 IFDS Sailing World Championships, 5th at this pinnacle event is a remarkable improvement.

Sonar - Day Six (9 races/1 drop)

1. Dror Cohen/Arnon Efrati/Benni Vexler (ISR) (1,(16),4,1,4,4,3,1,1) 19pts
2. Udo Hessels/Marcel van de Veen/Mischa Rossen (NED) ((6),4,5,4,2,3,2,2,6) 28pts
3. John Ross Duggan/Jean Paul Creignou/Bradley Johnson (USA) (3,1,3,6,6,6,7,5,(10)) 37pts
5. Jamie Dunross/Jeff Milligan/Colin Harrison (AUS) (2,6,6,5,7,2,9,(10),8) 44pts

2.4mR - Day Six (9 races/1 drop)

1. Damien Seguin (FRA) (1,1,4,5,1,(6),3,2,4) 21pts
2. Thomas Brown (USA) (4,2,1,1,(5),5,1,3,(10)) 22pts
3. Thierry Schmitter (3,3,2,(6),3,4,4,1,5) 25pts
5. Peter Thompson (AUS) ((10),5,5,4,9,2,2,8,3) 38pts

Sydney to Newcastle Life Without Barriers Heritage Rally

From the 7-9 January, 2005 an new event will be held to raise money for Life Without Barriers, a registered charity.

The event will include a classic car run starting from the old Berowra toll gates and winding its way along the old Pacific Highway to the Newcastle foreshore. 

Classic Yachts/boats will leave from Middle Harbour, and the tall ships will leave Sydney Harbour, on the evening of Friday 7th January 2005, for an overnight cruise to Newcastle, where a warm welcome will be waiting from the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club and people of the Hunter.

Onshore on the 8th and 9th of January, there will be a food/beer/wine festival with entertainment for young and old. The entry fee for yachts/boats/tall ships will be $30.00. Each entrant will receive a medallion/ plaque. Entry forms will be available shortly.

Stay tuned!

**The event will be held annually and is sponsored by the Newcastle Council, NCYC, Ports Authority, NSW State Government, along with a host of local businesses.

Bell Mumm 30 World Championship - Day One

Toronto, Canada: Last year Samuel Kahn, then age 14, stunned the sport when he sailed a Melges 24 to the class world championship on his first try. Tuesday, four inches taller at 6-2 but still too young to own a driver's license, he finished third and first before stumbling to 17th in  he third race on the first day of the Bell Mumm 30 World hampionship-his first day racing one of the 31-foot sloops after ailing it only three days in practice.

Tom Ritter, who settled into a pair of sevenths after winning the first ace, noted a mellow mood on the first day. 'People were being very gracious and considerate out there,' he said. 'I didn't hear any yelling or swearing. I let a couple of port [tack] boats cross us and was shown the same favor once or twice.'

Some-including Shark Kahn in the last race-were obliged to do penalty turns for routine infractions, but no protests were filed at the end of the day. Ritter doesn't expect it to last. 'We're all showing the love early because the hate's coming soon enough,' he said.

Top ten (after 3 of 11 races):

1. Pegasus 591, Philippe Kahn, Honolulu, 5-3-5, 13 points.
2. Steadfast, Fred Sheratt, Toronto, 8-2-4, 14.
3. Tramp, Tom Ritter, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., 1-7-7, 15.
4. Pegasus 20, Samuel Kahn, Honolulu, 3-1-17, 21.
5. Cygnet, Richard Swann, Fairfield, Conn., 13-8-1, 22.
6. Groovederci, Deneen Demourkas, Santa Barbara, Calif., 4-18-2, 24.
7. Team Intermac, Dan Cheresh, Holland, Mich., 6-10-9, 25.
8. Foreign Affair, Richard Perini, Sydney, Australia, 2-12-13, 27.
9. Champosa, Jonathan McDonagh, Minneapolis, Minn., 20-6-3, 29.
10. USA 65, David Pyles, Easton, Md., 7-16-6, 29.

http://www.mumm30rcyc.com and http://www.mumm30.org

Aussies Sailors Will Need Something Special On Final Day

Day five - the penultimate day of racing for the 2004 Paralympic Sailing Competition. With no room for error the pressure was on. Both fleets (the Sonar and 2.4mR) sailed their two scheduled races.

Going into day five, the top seven sailors in the 2.4mR class (Australia’s Peter Thompson included) were all still in reach of the medals. Similarly in the Sonar fleet the top five (including Australia’s crew) were all still chasing the gold.

The first race of the day (race 7) on the Sonar course started with a light southwesterly that eventually became a south to southeast ten-knot breeze.

Sitting in 7^th overall the Australian Sonar crew needed some top finishes to creep their way into a medal position. First across the line was the relatively unknown local Greek crew, who recorded their first win at the regatta. Second across was the Dutch team, while overnight leader Israel fought back from eighth place to overtake Canada and Norway in the final beat and eventually finish in third.

The Australian Sonar crew of Jamie Dunross, Colin Harrison and Jeff Milligan set off well to round the upwind mark in fourth place but soon after had a disastrous second windward leg and finished ninth.

Race 8 began with the wind blowing from 170 degrees. The Israeli trio proved unstoppable as the secured their third bullet in Athens. While the Australians struggled in race nine, crossing the line in 10^th place.

ISAF concludes, 'With only the final race left, Israel has 18 net points, four less than the Netherlands, whereas Germany and the USA lie in third with 30. Australia and Canada with 37 and 42 points respectively have still minor chances to take the bronze home.'

Australia will have to produce something very special.

In the race for gold in the 2.4mR class France’s Damien Seguin and American Thomas Brown have set the stage for an epic final race.

Seguin’s day five results totalled five points, while Brown’s totalled four. This sees Brown move onto equal points with Seguin with one race remaining. On count back Seguin however sits in the gold medal position for now.

Thierry Schmitter (NED) can not be forgotten either. Thanks to a bullet in race eight the Dutch sailor is also still within gold medal reach, placed only three points behind the leader.

Australia’s Peter Thompson finished with a 2^nd and 8^th place in race seven and eight respectively. Although a medal is not impossible, it looks as though Thompson will have to settle for a similar position to the one that he secured at the Sydney 2000 Olympics (4^th).

1. Dror Cohen/Arnon Efrati/Benni Vexler (ISR) (1,(16),4,1,4,4,3,1) 18pts
2. Udo Hessels/Marcel van de Veen/Mischa Rossen (NED) ((6),4,5,4,2,3,2,2) 22pts
3. Jens Kroker/Peter Reichl/Olaf Jacobs (GER) ((9),8,2,2,3,1,7,7) 30pts
5. Jamie Dunross/Jeff Milligan/Colin Harrison (AUS) (2,6,6,5,7,2,9,(10)) 37pts

1. Damien Seguin (FRA) (1,1,4,5,1,(6),3,2) 17pts
2. Thomas Brown (USA) (4,2,1,1,(5),5,1,3) 17pts
3. Thierry Schmitter (3,3,2,(6),3,4,4,1) 20pts
5. Peter Thompson (AUS) ((10),5,5,4,9,2,2,8) 35pts

Visit the ISAF website for a full list of results and reports - http://www.sailing.org/paralympics2004/default.asp

Don’t Give Marine Pests A Free Ride

Marine pests - don’t give them a free ride is available in pdf format on the AQIS website at www.aqis.gov.au/marinepest and from AQIS officers at Australian ports.

Carson Creagh
Media Manager
Tel: (02) 6272 5156
Mob: 0414 577 472

Aussies Aim to Stop Italian Streak - Mumm 30 World Championship

Carlo ALBERINI and his all-Italian crew sail into the Bell Mumm 30 World Championship today ballasted by the weight of tradition. They alone carry the hopes of their homeland to stretch the string of four consecutive class titles won by Italians. 

Fifteen Americans, three Canadians and one Australian are lined up to see that it doesn't happen again. None of the seven former champions is competing.

The schedule calls for 11 races through Friday, with no discards. The event is hosted and organized by the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, located on an island off downtown Toronto in an elegant setting of flower beds, tennis courts, a bowling green and a stone facing dedicated by the Prince of Wales in 1919. The club dates to 1852, only one year younger than the America's Cup.

Alek KRSTAJIC, director of marketing for the title sponsor, said, 'Canada has had a rich heritage in sailing, and Bell is proud to be associated with hosting a world championship.'

Besides Alberini, the other overseas entry is Richard PERINI, sailing Foreign Affair from Sydney. Perini won class in similarly difficult competition at Key West in 2002 and 2003 and has sailed in four previous Mumm 30 Worlds, but he was worried about sailing in uncharted waters here.

'I've never been to Canada,' he said after two low-key practice races in light winds Monday. 'All the locals we've spoken to say conditions could be anything at all, so we're ready for nothing. We're hoping for wind. We seem go have a bit of an edge when the wind comes up.'

Alberini echoes that sentiment. The week's forecast calls for 10 knots tops.

'A lot of the teams are very, very strong,' said Alberini. 'The racing will not be easy because of little breeze. But I'm here to play the game with what I have in my hand.'

Two crew members, Sandro and Paolo MONTEFUSCO, are veterans of three Olympic Games in the 470 dinghy class they won silver medals in 1988. 'My crew is from all parts of Italy,' Alberini said, 'from the north to the south.'

Alberini's home is in Pesaro, a town on the Adriatic coast near where the composer Rossini and the painter Raffalo were born-but their boat, Calvi, is named for to company of a sponsor.  

Other Links
	Event Website

Jarvin, Clout and Newton Win Youth Match Racing Nationals

Seve Jarvin, Tom Clout and Sam Newton have claimed the champion title at the extremely competitive Australian Youth Match Racing Championship, which concluded at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria last night.

Yesterday sailors enjoyed fresh and blustery conditions on Port Phillip Bay, the race committee doing well to complete the entire series. Over 100 races were sailed over the three day event, keeping sailors, umpires and the race committee working hard the entire series.

Over the first two days, two round robins were conducted, ranking the teams and establishing the more experienced teams at the top of the table. Yesterday the top four ranked teams contested the semi finals, before being divided for the finals. NSW 1 (Jarvin, Clout, Newton) challenged NSW 2 (Nathan Outteridge, Ayden Menzies, Iain Jensen) in the finals. WA 1 (Torvar Mirsky, Tim Castles, Tessa Parkinson) took on WA 2 (Keith Swinton, Rob Senior, Steve Oliver) to battle for 3^rd place in the petit finals.

The NSW 1 team defeated NSW 2 in a best of 5 final which were extremely close, hard fought out races. Winning 3 of the 5, Jarvin’s team NSW 1 (representing the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia) were crowned the champions.

WA 1 defeated WA 2 to claim third place overall. The final scoreboard is as follows:

Place	Team
1	NSW1	Seve Jarvin, Tom Clout, Sam Newton
2	NSW2	Nathan Outteridge, Ayden Menzies, Iain Jensen
3	WA1	Torvar Mirsky, Tim Castles, Tessa Parkinson
4	WA2	Keith Swinton, Rob Senior, Steve Oliver
5	VIC1	Reagan Burdon-Bear, Adrian Kamer, Robert Scrivenor
6	WA3	Robert Gibbs and crew
7	SA1	Dylan Clark, Jonathan Bannister, Nic Deussen
8	NSW3	Stuart Pollard, Jonathan Dorling and crew
9	VIC3	Will Phillips, Terence Koh, Fletcher Johnson
10	QLD1	Scott Webster, Sandy Cavill, Jono Walker
11	TAS1	Nick Jones, Blair Spaulding, Nick Chambers
12	VIC2	Krystral Weir, Tom Chisholm, John Newman

The presentation ceremony was held last night, where teams were awarded their trophies by Yachting Australia Board member Andrew Plympton, and RYCV Commodore Jeff Gray. The entire Yachting Victoria Executive Board were in attendance at the function, as they had scheduled their Board meeting to coincide with the event, demonstrating the importance they place on the event, which identifies Australia’s best sailors.

The event was hugely successful, with the entire allotment of 12 entries being filled. Six states were represented, making it a true national championship. This has been the first time the event has been held outside NSW since its induction.

After winning the event, Jarvin (who has just returned from sailing overseas with the Oz Boys Challenge) plans to compete in the upcoming Accord Logistics Match Racing Regatta to be held at the CYCA, before going on to the Warren Jones U25 Regatta in WA in January. He and his team plan to move into skiffs for the summer, with Clout and Newton aiming to team up in a 49er, and Jarvin possibly sailing an 18ft skiff or a 49er.

For full results and more information click here. 

Thompson Still a Medal Chance

In what was a crucial day for the 2.4mR sailors, many wondered if racing would ever get under way on day four of the 2004 Paralympic Sailing Regatta. The wind was extremely light and variable with just 2 to 4 knots out on the course area.

Eventually, at 13.00hrs local time the wind kicked in and the fleet were able to complete the two scheduled races in an ideal 10 knots from the south.

'The wind stayed relatively consistent throughout the afternoon, shifting slightly further west by the time race six was started,' ISAF reported.

In the first race of the day (race five), 25 year old Damien Seguin (FRA) looked set to repeat his day one performance. Seguin sailed a conservative race and once he had taken the leading position at the first mark, he extended it through the rest of the race.

Following close behind was Australia’s Peter Thompson (ACT), who seemed certain to cross the line in second place, but a tactical error pushed him down the pack.

ISAF explains, 'Hard on Seguin's heels at the first mark was Australia's Peter Thompson who so narrowly missed out on a medal in Sydney. Unfortunately, Thompson's choice to head right after rounding the bottom mark proved not to be a good one and by the time he reached the windward mark for the second time he was way down in seventh place.'

The all important race drop came into play after race five with Seguin regaining the gold medal position from Thomas Brown (USA).

Thompson discarded his 10^th place from race one and now must carry the 9^th he recorded in race five. Had he secured a second placing he could have climbed convincingly up the leader board.

In race six Thompson gave it all he had to record the result he had hoped for in the previous race. The 2^nd placing was Thompson’s best so far at the regatta.

With the gold medal still within the reach of a number of sailors, race six was set to be a fierce race to the finish line. However, a 7^th and 6^th to competition leaders Seguin and Thomas allowed Jen Als Anderson (DEN) to convincingly take his first victory of the competition.

Sydney 2.4mR Gold Medallist and five consecutive IFDS World Champion (1998-2003), Heiko Kroeger (GER), is still in the race for a medal. He currently sits in 4^th overall, on equal points with Dutch sailor Thierry Schmitter.

With only three races remaining Thompson sits nine points shy of the bronze medal position. Racing continues tomorrow with both classes (2.4mR and Sonar) scheduled to sail two races.

2.4mR - Day Two (6 races/1 drop)

1. Damien Seguin (FRA) (1,1,4,5,1,(7)) 12pts
2. Thomas Brown (USA) (4,2,1,1,5,(6)) 13pts
3. Thierry Schmitter (NED) (3,3,2,(6),3,5) 16pts
7. Peter Thompson (AUS) ((10),5,5,4,9,2) 25pts

Visit the ISAF website for a full list of results and reports - http://www.sailing.org/paralympics2004/default.asp

Notice of Race Now Available Online - 2005 Sail Melbourne

Notices of Race for the majority of Sail Melbourne World and National Championships are now available on the Sail Melbourne website. 
As the organisation of all Sail Melbourne events progresses, more and more details and arrangements are being set in place for a sensational summer of sailing competition.

Notices of Race are now available to view or download for the events listed below, simply go to the Race Documents page.

• Sail Melbourne Olympic & Invited Classes (inc Mistral Oceanics and Yngling Aus Champs)
• Sail Melbourne Hobie 17 & 18 World and Australian Championships 
• Sail Melbourne Hobie 16 Youth, Womens, Masters Championships
• Sail Melbourne Hobie 16 Asia Pacific Championships
• Sail Melbourne Hobie 14 Australian Championships
• Sail Melbourne Hobie Tiger Australian Championships
• Sail Melbourne International Moth World, Australian and pre-world Championships
• Sail Melbourne 46th National Heron Championships
• Sail Melbourne Australian Sharpie Championships
• Sail Melbourne Australian Contenders Championships
• Sail Melbourne Australian Minnow Championships
• Workforce Marine MUMM 30 Australian Championships at Sail Melbourne 

Other Links
	Race Documents Page
	Event Website

Silva Signs Sponsorship Deal with Volvo Ocean Race

International C Class Challenge Trophy - Day 3 Team Ronstan Report

Wind: Initially northerly at 10-15 knots.

On the sail to the start, Ronstan showed good speed and height against Cogito and Patient Lady VI, although the true meaning of this was hard to assess outside of the racing arena.

Just at the start and with the wind fading already both Ronstan and Invictus, the British boat, had equipment failure. Ronstan was unable to completely limit any twist in the wing and was slow off the line and low.

After tacking away, a block on the crew's trapeze line exploded, depositing Darren in the brine. In the process the boat's tiller arm was sheared off.

Gavin Colby did well to control the boat, gybe and collect Darren in less than a minute. However once repairs were affected ashore two races had been lost.

The third race was held in a dying breeze. Ronstan went way out to the left looking for breeze and found it, but as they approached the top mark in the lead, the race was abandoned, as under the Sailing Instructions a boat must reach the windward mark within twenty minutes of the start. A very frustrating day.

NSW Dominate the Youth Match Racing Nationals

The 2004 Australian Youth Match Racing Championship, being held at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, is beginning to heat up as the series moves in to the semi-finals.

As day two of competition continued on Port Phillip Bay in Victoria, the youth teams did not fail to impress on the water. While on land, spectators enjoyed the perfect view of the exciting racing from the RYCV marina, which is only a short distance from the race course.

Yesterday saw the completion of Round Robin One, with NSW 2 (Nathan Outteridge, Iain Jensen, Ayden Menzies)dominating the field and winning all 11 of their races. NSW 1 (Seve Jarvin, Tom Clout, Sam Newton) scored 9 points to rank second, whilst VIC 1 (Reagan Burdon-Bear, Adrian Kamer, Robert Scrivenor) were ranked third with 8 points.

All three Western Australian teams went through to Pool A in the second round robin, along with VIC 1, NSW 1 and NSW 2. The group went on to contest the second round robin, with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals, which are currently in progress.

NSW1 (Jarvin, Clout, Newton) - finished RR2 on 5 points, winning all flights
NSW 2 (Outteridge, Jensen, Menzies) - finished RR2 on 3 points, defeating WA 1 in their flight
WA 1 (Torvar Mirsky, Tim Castles, Chris Jacob) - finished RR2 on 3 points, defeating WA 2 in their flight
WA2 (Keith Swinton, Rob Senior, Steve Oliver) - finished RR2 on 3 points, defeating NSW 2 in their flight

Racing is very intense between this highly talented group, featuring Australia's best youth match racers. Many incidents and Y flags are keeping the umpires on their toes. At the end of the semi-finals the top two will continue into the finals.

Racing concludes today, with the Presentation ceremony at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria at 1900hrs.

For more information and score sheets, click here

Close Racing Means Medals Are Still Anyone's - Paralympics Day Three

A quiet day on the Saronic Gulf with only the Sonar fleet taking to the water on day three of the sailing regatta at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. For the 2.4mR sailors it was a day to tune and polish.

Luckily for some of the athletes (who found themselves on a local bus that did not know the way to the sailing venue) racing was postponed as the Race Committee waited for the breeze to settle down. Eventually the seabreeze came to visit and the postponement flag was lowered.

Big wind shifts and unsteady conditions meant crews needed to be on the ball in the first race of the day (race five). An ecstatic British crew took the bullet after a close finish with the Netherlands and Germany.

Australia’s Sonar crew, Jamie Dunross, Colin Harrison and Jeff Milligian (WA), crossed the line in 7^th - their worst result so far. However, ISAF reported from on site that the first seven boats finished within one minute of each other – a testament to the high calibre of this field.

A discard came into play after race five was completed. This enabled the teams to discard their worst score. Gold medal favourites Israel were able to drop their day one disqualification and after a successful day, regaining the number one place.

After a small postponement the second race of the day began. Germany dominated this race from the start, eventually winning by a comfortable margin.

Following behind them were the Dutch, Israeli and the Australian crews. Some interesting manoeuvres and a lot of shouting between the Netherlands and Israelis enabled Australia to sneak through to take second place.

'Consistency is going to be the key in this high class fleet and there are four teams who have not finished outside the top ten. It is too difficult at this stage to try and predict who will take home the medals and there are five races left to sail,' ISAF reports.

Day four is a lay day for the Sonar fleet. Racing will resume on day five.

1. Dror Cohen/Arnon Efrati/Benni Vexler (ISR) (1,(16-DSQ),4,1,4,4) 14pts
2. Jens Kroker/Peter Reichl/Olaf Jacobs (GER) ((9),8,2,2,3,1) 16pts
3. Udo Hessels/Marcel van de Veen/Mischa Rossen (NED) ((6),4,5,4,2,3) 18pts
5. Jamie Dunross/Jeff Milligan/Colin Harrison (AUS) (2,6,6,5,(7),2) 21pts

Visit the ISAF website for a full list of results and reports - http://www.sailing.org/paralympics2004/default.asp

International C Class Challenge Trophy for the Little Americas Cup

Race Reports:

Day 1 (16 September). Wind: 3-5 knots all day. Weather: raining under low cloud. Results: Cogito 1,1,1 (in three races), Patient Lady VI 2,2,2, Australian Catamaran Challenge-Team Ronstan 3,3,3. Team Invictus (British) Did Not Start (DNS), 4th, Did Not Finish (DNF).

Day 2 (17 September) Wind: 5-12 knots. The Australian team vacuumed water out of their soggy wing (courtesy of the rain on Day 1 and pin-holes in the glass/Kevlar veil skin on the wing). The British worked on their wounded wing. The Americans were Cogito 1,1,1 and Patient Lady 2,2,2.

Day 3: (18 September) declared a Lay Day (20-35 knots and driving rain from Hurricane Ivan).

Brindabella Wins 2004 Starlight Sailing Challenge

Brindabella won Friday's 2004 Starlight Sailing Challenge, presented by CommInsure, which took place on Sydney's beautiful harbour.

Twenty two of Australia's finest racing yachts including Brindabella, Spirit, Illbruck and Big Kahuna tackled the course with corporate sponsors and guests to raise much needed funds for the Starlight Children's Foundation.

This exhilarating race was a close challenge right up to the finish with Brindabella winning line honours, Spirit crossing the line in second place, Streuth winning the Division A handicap and Laramie winning the Division B handicap. Sporting aficionado and author Peter Fitzsimons presented trophies and prizes to the winners at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.

The 2004 Starlight Sailing Challenge presented by CommInsure raised in excess of $139,000.

Starlight children and their families on board the replica tall ship 'Bounty,' followed the race action, having a rollicking good time with the pirates, magicians and musicians.

Starlight wishes to acknowledge the support and generosity of CommInsure, yacht owners and crew, plus the many companies and individual donors who gave of their time and money to make this event a success!

For further information in Sydney contact Amanda Rankin tel: 02 8425 5931 or email: arankin@starlight.org.au

NSW at top of ladder on Day One - Australian Youth Match Racing Championship

Sonars Strike Back in Athens

Day two of the sailing regatta at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, and the conditions are proving every bit as variable as they were for the Olympics.

Competition overnight was unpredictable and at other times quite easy to read. The first race on both the 2.4mR and Sonar courses started in a northerly 14-knot land breeze, shifting both ways near the top marks.

Halfway through racing the wind eased to 100 degrees and the Race Committee on the 2.4mR course sat and waited as the race turned into a shambles. While over on the Sonar course the race committee were forced to change the marks.

Race two on both courses started in a light SW breeze, which was quite stable until the sea breeze came in from the right at the end of the 2.4mR race, and just before the last lap of the Sonar race.

The Australian Sonar crews successful protest against day one leaders Israel, for an infringement at a mark in race two, sees the trio jump two places to second overall and the Israeli team plummet to 7^th.

The Aussies consolidated on day two, coming from behind in both races. With nearly half the series over the crew from Western Australia are yet to record a bad race.

'The boys are doing it tough with very ordinary starts in both today’s races, but with good speed and low handling errors they finished 6^th and 5^th,' Sonar coach Geoff Chambers reports from Athens.

In the 2.4mR class Australia representative Peter Thompson (ACT), led the first race of the day, but failed to get in phase on the second lap, losing a top place finish. In the tightly packed fleet the first five across the line finished within 30 seconds of each other.

A change of wind in the second race caught Thompson unawares, again pushing him from the top of the fleet to finish 4^th. Although still in medal contention, Thompson will need to record a solid third day to stay in touch.

The United States dominate the Saronic Gulf after two days of racing. They lead both the Sonar and 2.4mR classes.

Two more races are scheduled for the Sonar class tomorrow, while the 2.4mR fleet will take a break.

1. John Ross Duggan/Jean Paul Creignou/Bradley Johnson (USA) (3,1,3,6) 13pts
2. Jamie Dunross/Jeff Milligan/Colin Harrison (AUS) (2,6,6,5) 19pts
3. Udo Hessels/Marcel van de Veen/Mischa Rossen (NED) (6,4,5,4) 19pts

1. Thomas Brown (USA) (4,2,1,1) 8pts
2. Damien Seguin (FRA) (1,1,4,5) 11pts
3. Heiko Kroeger (GER) (2,4,3,3,) 12pts
6. Peter Thompson (AUS) (10,5,5,4) 24pts

Visit the ISAF website for a full list of results and reports -  http://www.sailing.org/paralympics2004/default.asp 




For more information please contact:
Simone Green
Media and PR Co-Ordinator, Yachting Australia
(02) 9902 2155 or 0402 278 178
www.yachting.org.au

Other Links
	Yachting Australia Paralympic webpage

Competition Begins in Athens

The Olympics have come and gone and it is now the Paralympic sailors who will call the Agios Kosmas Sailing Centre home for the week ahead.

Known for its unpredictable the Saronic Gulf forecast was for Northerly or North Easterly winds between 16-20 knots with gusts of up to 26 knots and plenty of sunshine. However, these conditions did not exactly go according to plan for both classes.

Both classes sailed their two scheduled races and with the conditions on the Saronic Gulf known to be tricky, all were determined to make a strong start to this competition, where in this high class field, consistency is going to be the key.

The first day of racing for the three-person keelboat event was one of glorious sailing conditions. The wind blew and the sun shone.

A Gold Medal winner in Sydney, Sonar sailor Jamie Dunross (WA) is eager to win back-to-back medals. This time around Dunross steps up to the skipper role, the position that the late Noel Robins so successfully fulfilled.

In race one the Australian and American teams swapped second and third throughout the first race. Eventually the Aussies took second place after a nail biting finish which saw the two boats neck and neck down the final run and as they crossed the finish line.

Along with crew Jeff Milligan (WA) and Colin Harrison (WA), Dunross completed the day in fourth overall. Having finished mid way through the 16 crew fleet in the practice race, the West Australian crew crossed the line 7^th in race two.

The scheduled start time for the 2.4mR fleet was postponed and the conditions were certainly marginal for this small boat.

Nevertheless both scheduled races were contested, with Australia’s 2.4mR sailor Peter Thompson (ACT) recorded a 10^th in the first race and improving five places in the second to record a 5^th. This places Thompson 8^th overall.

“Conditions were tough out on the race course with all sailors putting their bilge pumps to good use! The water was relatively flat with the breeze coming off the shore but these boats are so low that they easily take on a lot of water,” ISAF reports from Athens.

Sydney 2.4mR Gold Medallist and five consecutive IFDS World Champion (1998-2003), Heiko Kroeger (GER) is the undisputed favourite to win the gold again in Athens. Kroeger is currently in equal second overall.

Damien Seguin (FRA) showed he is determined to end Kroeger’s winning streak, taking the lead in both races right from the word go and staying there to take two bullets - an excellent start to his regatta.

Sonar - Day One (2 races)

1. Dror Cohen/Arnon Efrati/Benni Vexler (ISR) (1,1) 2pts
2. John Ross Duggan/Jean Paul Creignou/Bradley Johnson (USA) (3,2) 5pts
3. Jostein Stordahl/Aleksander Wang Hansen/Per Eugen Kristiansen (NOR) (4,4) 8pts
4. Jamie Dunross/Jeff Milligan/Colin Harrison (AUS) (2,7) 9pts

2.4mR - Day One (2 races)

1. Damien Seguin (FRA) (1,1) 2pts
2. Thomas Brown (USA) (4,2) 6pts
3. Heiko Kroeger (GER) (2,4) 6pts
8. Peter Thompson (AUS) (10,5) 15pts

Visit the ISAF website for a full list of results and reports -  http://www.sailing.org/paralympics2004/default.asp 

For more information please contact:

An Elite Sports Competition - 2004 Paralympic Games

4,000 athletes, representing 140 countries in 19 sports, will participate in the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games, taking place from 17-28 September 2004.

It is a top-level sports event of equal value to that of the Olympic Games and at which for the first time in its history the athletes will not be asked to give any financial sum for their participation.

During the Paralympic Games, Athens will offer hospitality to 3,000 press officials, 1,000 technical officials and judges, 2,000 team escorts and 2,500 official guests. In order to cover the needs for the organisation of the Paralympic Games 35,000 people are employed, with the 15,000 of them being volunteers

In one day the Paralympic Games will be opened in the Olympic Stadium in Athens. Paralympic athletes will demonstrate their extraordinary talents and beat some new records that sometimes even exceed able-bodied athletes’ performances.

Records Exceed Able-Bodied Performances
Many records set by athletes with a disability can be compared to those set by their able-bodied counterparts, for example: In power lifting, currently four men's and two women's world records are held by athletes with a disability. In several cases, the Paralympic records are significantly better than the records of able-bodied athletes by up to 14.5 kilograms.

Fast over 100 meters
In the men's 100m sprint, the world record of 10.72 seconds, held by Adjibola ADEOYE (NIG), an athlete with an upper limb amputation, is only 0.94 seconds more than the able-bodied world record of 9.78 seconds held by Tim MONTGOMERY (USA). The world record in the women's 100m sprint of 12.28 seconds, held by Marla RUNYAN(USA) who has a visual impairment, is only 1.79 seconds more than the able-bodied world record of 10.49 seconds held by Florence GRIFFITH JOYNER (USA).

Close To Popov’s Record
In swimming, the men's 50m freestyle record held by the Paralympic athlete Andrey STROKIN (RUS) (24.67) is only 3.03 seconds more than the able-bodied record held by Alexander POPOV (RUS) (21.64).

Wheelchairs As An Advantage
Proving that a wheelchair is not a disadvantage, but sometimes an advantage, a number of athletics records set by athletes with a disability are significantly faster than their able-bodied counterparts: In the men's 800m, the record held by Ernst VAN DYK (RSA) (1:32.17) is 8.94 seconds better than the record held by Wilson KIPKETER (DEN) (1:41.11).

Amazing Records In Marathons
In the women's Marathon, the record by Tsuchida WAKADO (JPN) (1:38:32) is 36:53 minutes better than the record held by Paula RADCLIFF (GBR) (2:15:25). In the men's Marathon, Heinz FREI (SUI) (1:20:14) holds a record which exceeds Paul TERGAT’S (KEN) record (2:04:55) by 44:41 minutes.

2004 Paralympic Sailing Competition
The ISAF website will bring you daily reports and results from the 2004 Paralympic Sailing Competition at www.sailing.org/paralympics2004
 
ISAF Paralympic Website
www.sailing.org/paralympics2004

ATHOC Website
www.athens2004.com

Other Links
	Yachting Australia Paralymic webpage

Moloney Only Entrant from Southern Hemisphere Confirmed for Vendée Globe

On Thursday morning, 16 September, in Paris, Philippe DE VILLIERS, President of the SAEM Vendée, the organisation behind the Vendée Globe, presented the fifth edition of the unaided, non-stop, single-handed round the world sailing event.

Starting on 7 November from Les Sables d’Olonne, 23 skippers, including two women, representing seven nationalities will make up the list of participants for the single-handed ocean race.

And then there were 23!

'Today, 23 skippers have signed up and fulfilled the qualifying criteria to take part in the next Vendée Globe. 7 nationalities are represented (England, Australia, Austria, Belgium, the U.S., France and Switzerland), 2 women will be setting off and 14 skippers will be lining up for the first time for the single-handed, non-stop, unaided round the world race', Philippe DE VILLIERS was pleased to announce at the start of the press conference, which was held in Paris this morning.

23 single-handed yachtsmen, coming from all sorts of background, with in particular a new generation of extremely ambitious young sailors. '23 have signed up and they will all be sailing in 60 foot Open class boats, which means that two thirds of the world’s fleet of these monohulls will be taking part in this edition. Among them, some youngsters, like Sébastien JOSSE, Vincent RIOU, Conrad HUMPHREYS, Karen LEIBOVICI… all aged around thirty, which is proof of the emergence of a new generation of skippers. They will be competing alongside more experienced single-handed yachtsmen – Marc THIERCELIN, Roland JOURDAIN, Jean LE CAM, Mike GOLDING for example - most of whom have already several round the world trips under their belt. They are discovering or coming back to this event, which should be the crowning glory of their ocean travels. It is the wide variety of men and women taking part, which really makes this list of participants so rich. But they do have one thing in common: they are all true sailors!', explained Denis HOREAU, the race director.

The skippers and boats are due in Les Sables d’Olonne by the 16 October, to be ready for the starting gun of this fifth edition, which will be fired at 1 p.m. on the 7th November.

Safety is given priority

'One skipper, one boat to round the three capes' the formula, which has ensured the popularity of the Vendée Globe for the last 15 years, promises once again to work wonders during the 23,000 mile course. It is still with an optimum level of safety in mind that the organisers and the race directors have drawn up the arrangements for this fifth edition. To achieve this, two new features have been added to what has already been in place - the participation of Alain GAUTIER, the 1992-93 winner and race expert, as a safety adviser, and the presence in Sydney (Australia), of David ADAMS – for the second of the three legs, from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific – as liaison officer. During the period in the Southern Seas, this champion yachtsman will be responsible, if necessary, for liasing between the race organisers and the Australian marine rescue services.

'Today, the circumnavigation can be done in less than 94 days, and ocean racing continues to make great strides forward. But one thing has remained unchanged since 1989 - safety is and as always will be paramount, insists Denis HOREAU. There will be 23 of them setting out on this great voyage and there must be 23 of them finishing back in Les Sables d’Olonne to tell us all about it'.

All hands on deck

Philippe DE VILLIERS also presented all the arrangements, which after 6 months of hard work are finally ready and in place, 'If we’ve reached this point today, it’s largely thanks to the work carried out with the Skippers’ association IMOCA, the French Yachting Federation (FFV) and the town of Les Sables d’Olonne' stressed the President of the SAEM Vendée, which took over the Vendée Globe in February 2004. 'I’d like to add to these thanks the SODEBO company, the private partner for the event, without whom we would not have been able to offer the skippers the unprecedented level of service for such a race'.

So alongside the sporting organisation itself, the reception of the thousands of journalists that are expected, the editorial teams, the website (www.vendeeglobe.org, which will be online at the end of September), the video production units, …all hands are on deck to ensure the event will be covered for 4 months '17 hours per day, live and in 2 languages (French and English)' Monsieur de Villiers concluded.

Les Sables ready and waiting

The preparations are well underway on the Vendée Globe Esplanade in Port Olonna. Louis Guedon, the local MP and the town’s Mayor presented the main features of a new 6,000 sq.m village. Many events, a big wheel, a craft village, an educational fun trail based around the sea for the young ones, a business park … A big event is planned in Les Sables d’Olonne from the 16 October. They have paid particular attention to the berths for the boats, which are 7.5 m wider and some 86 metres longer!

The boats are pulling into the station!

One of the most original features of this 2004 edition is without any doubt the partnership signed with French Railways (SNCF), who will be offering a home to the Paris headquarters in one of their finest sites, Montparnasse Station. In fact, from the 8 November, the day after the start, the nerve centre of the race will be opening its doors in an area above the departure and arrival zone for trains to and from the West coast of France! Open to the general public, it will house the monitoring and communications centre for the race. The general public and the media will be able to listen in at the end of the morning everyday to the radio reports from the skippers and thus follow the latest developments in the race.

An organisation that is ready and waiting, enthusiastic partners, a great effort has been made to allow the public and the media to follow the race … and just a month away from the opening of the village and just fifty days or so from the start of the fifth edition, it’s time for the big adventure to begin and hand over things to the 23 heroes! 

Event Website - to be launched end September
www.vendeeglobe.org

Paralympic Practice Race in Light and Shifty Conditions

The first day of racing at the 2004 Paralympic Sailing Competition dawned sunny and windless. The Practice Race, scheduled with a warning signal at 12.55 was duly postponed as the Race Committee waited for the wind to fill in. This was forecast to happen by around 15.00 and eventually the postponement flag was lowered.

The fleets of 2.4mR keelboats and Sonars began filing out of the marina in what was a glorious afternoon. Out on the course areas, the Sonars were the furthest south on Area B and the 2.4mRs just outside the entrance to the sailing centre on Area A the wind was blowing a gentle 4-5knots from the South West.

Sailors are renowned for being a superstitious bunch and most will not be too concerned about their performance in the practice race. One of the many superstitions is that it is unlucky to finish the practice race. It is therefore not a way for spectators or teams to judge the form of the fellow competitors. Many will only sail part of the race and it was therefore no surprise to see the Irish Sonar team duck around the back of the committee boat and not cross the finish line.

The Sonars got away for their first race but the light airs meant that the race had to be abandoned. As indicated in the Sailing Instructions 16.1 the time limit to reach mark 1 is 20 minutes. As none of the fleet had achieved this the race was abandoned – had the race continued, it was GBR and the USA who were first round that mark.

The fleet headed back to the start area for a re-start with the exception of the British team who headed for home. Team Coach Mark BARRON acknowledged that as it was getting late in the day the team opted to conserve their energy for the days to come. The team, and many others, have been out training for several days now on the tricky waters of the Saronic Gulf, practicing starts and getting to know the conditions.

The start was postponed further as the wind made a dramatic shift to the south and increased to around 8 knots. The race committee re-laid the course and the race was started. The re-start got away first time but with some individual recalls. Japan were however the only team to head back and re-cross the start line but the committee boat indicated that the USA, Norway and Spain were also over but did not return.

The majority of the fleet opted for the left hand side of the course with Ireland, Poland, Canada and Norway making a break for the right. By the first mark it appeared that the left was the favoured side as Israel, Spain and the Netherlands rounded first. The whole fleet was closely bunched together and some frantic calls from the USA boat ensued as the Australians made a sneaky tack beneath Norway to get round the mark. By the time the fleet reached the bottom mark, it was the Norwegian team who had taken the lead after heading out to the right of the course. Back up to the top mark again and it was Germany who had snuck into the lead. Some excellent boat speed and the right choice of the left hand side of the course took Jens KROKER and his team into the lead which they maintained for the rest of the race.

At the back of the fleet Singapore and Japan were having a race of their own. Singapore took delivery of their Sonar in Athens and are very much the newcomers to this class. It will be interesting to watch their improvement over the course of this regatta. Singapore finished the race just a couple of boatlengths before the Japanese who had returned to re-cross the startline.

Over on the 2.4mR course the fleet were also affected by the light and shifty breezes. They did not have to have the race re-started but the race committee had to move the buoys as the wind shifted. The race was therefore not a procession as sailors benefitted and lost from the changing conditions!

And so to the luck of the Irish! After the five day dash across Europe to deliver a new boat to the team the hull was finally in measurement this morning and completed satisfactorily. The team had no chance of making the original start time and were still craning their boat into the water when all the others were out on the course areas. The abandonment of the first Sonar race however left them able to join the fleet when the race was re-started. 

International C Class Chamionship Begins

Two days of minor rig reconstruction and the Ronstan Bus is back together! Sailing in 20 knots upwind three days ago the Ronstan Rocket Ship suffered minor rig delamination after launching over a series of waves. Darren 'I need a saftey glasses Smith' said the boat was well out of the water when a key structural element of the wing decided to relax momentarily causing the damage. Now the rig is repaired, stronger than ever before. The failed element of the wing has been replaced with a super high tensile carbon rib (SHTCR) to ensure structural integrity of the wing.

Gavin Colby, skipper and head repair guru, commented 'not ideal preperation for a a major regatta but after the amount of resin I have injested in the past few days I have felt worse.'

The Team has been overelmed with letters of support from across the globe. Please send further 'Hero messages to +61 43869 8824' as to not clog up our
email.

Tomorrow the first races of the International C Class Chamionship begin and Team Ronstan are confident of being worthy challengers.

Thanks for all the support.

Measurement for the Paralympic Teams

Today has been the last official day of measurement for the Paralympic Teams at the Agios Kosmas sailing centre. The Measurement team headed up by chief international measurer Gene HINKEL and ably supported by the local measurers have been kept busy and it’s not over yet.

Very few major dramas have been reported and the biggest problem has been that faced by the Irish sonar team – no boat. The original boat that the Irish team had planned to use was discovered to be un-sailable just days ago and a call was put in by skipper John TWOMEY to Paul MCARTHY, his friend and rival back in Kinsale to borrow a boat. The boat, which has now arrived in Greece, is that of the Irish team skippered by Paul MCARTHY who did not make selection to these Paralympic Games but in the true spirit of the Games, they rushed to Athens to lend their boat to their countrymen. The replacement boat is currently at a nearby Yacht Club and being worked on round the clock by the Irish sailors and support team to get it ready for racing. Months spent in the water in Kinsale have not given the hull the finish that the team may have liked! Skipper John TWOMEY is however certain that they will be ready for measurement and the practice race tomorrow before spending Friday making the finishing touches to have her race ready.

The Sonar team from Singapore of Chen Ian LEO, Sulaiman PUNGOT, Thanapal SINNIAH and Wei Qiang Jovin TAN took delivery of their Sonar in Athens. The team have not even had a chance to sail her yet and were assisted by the measurement team with how to set up the rigging correctly. Completing six Sonars a day, the measurement team will finish the Australian boat this afternoon and then wait for the new Irish hull to arrive.

Over in the 2.4mR area, the final day of measurement saw Stefan Ryott and his team working on the French, Danish and Spanish boats. The team have also been completed sink tests on the 2.4mRs this afternoon, completely filling the cockpits of the hulls to ensure that they do not sink if too much water is taken on board – a potential hazard in these boats with such low freeboard. The Class Rules require positive buoyancy in the case of flooding and as a self-righting, unsinkable class it is very safe. According to the Class Rules, the boat is required to float in an approximate horizontal position when flooded and loaded with an extra 35kg of lead ballast placed within a 100 mm of 0.55xLWL station. The sailors will be keen to thoroughly dry out their boats following this test! Defending champion Heiko KROGER (GER) found his boat to be overweight when it was first weighed in but it was soon discovered to be the result of water soaking into the buoyancy and a dry out got him back down to weight.

As with the Sonar, there have not been any major problems with measurement for the 2.4mR and the team are pleased with the facilities available to them.

The Minister for Sport and Recreation Launches Sail Melbourne 2005

For more information on the Regatta please visit our website www.sailmelbourne.com.au

Sail Melbourne International Regatta, Yachting Victoria
PO ox 83, Sandringham, Victoria, Australia. 3191
Telephone: + 61 3 9597 0066, Facsimile: + 61 3 9598 7384
E-mail: info@sailmelbourne.com.au Website: www.sailmelbourne.com.au

Terrible Blow to Australian Team at Little America's Cup

Other Links
	Event website

Paralympic Preview: Three-Person Keelboat - Sonar

2004 Paralympic Team Member

On Friday 10 September, the Agios Kosmas Sailing Centre opened its doors once again for business again to welcome the 73 athletes who are competing in the Single-person and Three-person Keelboat events at the 2004 Paralympic Sailing Competition, in the 2.4mR and Sonar respectively.

57 Sonar sailors from 19 nations will be making their final preparations for the ultimate event in their sailing calendar. 19 of these sailors will be attending their second Paralympic Games and six of those have already tasted the glory of a medal. It’s not easy to pick a favourite for Athens with such an array of talent and the Sonar fleet will see medallists from Sydney, and the 2003, 2002 and 2001 IFDS World Championships all lining up for the ultimate prize. The Sydney medallists have not been showing exceptional form at recent regattas, but able to draw on a wealth of experience there is no telling what will happen on the Saronic Gulf in ?? day’s time.

In Sydney, the first ever Paralympic Sailing Competition, Australia’s Jamie DUNROSS went home with a gold medal. Four years later he will be returning to the fray but this time as skipper. Dunross has teamed up with Colin HARRISON and Jeff MILLIGAN to defend his title and, despite finishing a somewhat disappointing 13 at the 2003 IFDS World Disabled Sailing Championship, the trio are not to be ruled out of the medals. If the weather conditions at the Olympics are anything to go on, experience in a wide range of conditions will count along with the ability to outwit the breeze.

The Danish team are certainly strong medal contenders, combining experience and recent form. Skipper Udo HESSELS finished sixth in Sydney with crew member Mischa ROSSEN and since the pair teamed up with Marcel VAN DEEN they have taken gold at the 2003 IFDS Worlds, in which they never finished out of the top four. Not far behind them in Athens last year were the Israeli team skippered by Dror COHEN. The Israeli’s are sending a four person team to Athens, two of whom competed in Sydney. There has been a slight re-jig of positions with Cohen, who crewed in Sydney, taking over the helm from Arnon ERFATI who moves forward to mainsheet. Benny VEXLER makes up the trio with Mickey LEVY standing by as an alternate. Erfati and Cohen finished eighth in Sydney – can they claim a medal in Athens?

The British contingent will also be hoping for medal glory and are a team to be reckoned with. This relatively young team, which includes two of the five women in this event took the bronze at the 2003 IFDS Worlds after sailing a consistent series capped by a race win in the final race. The only female helm in this fleet is Yoko SONE from Japan.

The Canadian team will also be in contention for a medal. Crew members Brian MACDONALD, Paul TINGLEY and Brian WILLIAMS went home from Sydney with a Bronze medal each. Now joined by helm Brian MACKIE, with Williams taking on the role of alternate, the 2001 IFDS World Disabled Sailing Champions are well poised for a podium position in Athens.

The Silver medal in Sydney went to Germany and two of the team will be returning to the Paralympic arena to go one better and win the Gold. Skipper Jens KROKER has impressive credentials and it is rare for him and his team not to finish a regatta on the podium. Hans-Peter REICHL who competed with Kroker in Sydney is returning as jib trimmer.

The Norwegian team could also produce a surprise, although at this stage they do not have a proven tally of success together. Jostein STORDAHL will take the helm for Norway and this will be his second Paralympic Sailing Competition – not however in the Sonar. In 2000 Stordahl finished ninth in the 2.4mR class and one year later finished just off the podium in the same class at the 2001 IFDS World Disabled Sailing Championship. For Athens however, Stordahl will be joined by Alexander WANG HANSEN, who helped bring Norway home in twelfth in Sydney, and Per Eugen KRISTIANSEN to compete in the Sonar.

Another relatively unknown entity is the team from the USA. Skippering the team will be John RUSS-DUGGAN and he will be joined by Jean-Paul CREIGNOU and Roger CLEWORTH. Whilst the team do not have a long list of outstanding results at IFDS events they share a significant amount of experience. The youngest member of the four man squad is Brad JOHNSON who has only been sailing for five years. He is however already a Paralympian having competed in 2000 in the USA Volleyball squad.

And what can the Greek team do? The relatively unknown crew will have the advantage of sailing on home waters but will that be enough for them to hold off the challenges from this high class field?

The Three-person Keelboat event will get underway on Saturday 18 September after a practice race on Thursday 16 September. Nine races are scheduled with the final day of racing taking place on Thursday 23 September when the 2004 Paralympic Champions will be crowned.

The ISAF website will bring you daily reports on all the action throughout the 2004 Paralympic Sailing Competition.

Paralympic Preview: Single-person Keelboat - 2.4mR

2004 Paralympic Team Members

Sixteen sailors are making their final preparations for competing in the Single-person Keelboat event in the 2.4mR at the 2004 Paralympic Sailing Competition. All three of the medallists from Sydney will be returning to the fray and all of the medallists from the 2003, 2002 and 2001 IFDS World Disabled Sailing Championships will be striving to add a Paralympic medal to their honours.

The Gold Medal in Sydney went back to Germany in the hands of Heiko KROEGER. Kroeger is the big name in 2.4mR sailing. He has won the IFDS World Disabled Sailing Championships every year since 1998 and also won the open 2.4mR World Championship in 2001. Can anyone wrestle the Gold from his grip?

There are plenty of sailors in with a very good chance of doing so and many have similarly impressive credentials. At the 2003 IFDS Worlds the silver medal went to Damien SEGUIN (FRA) for the second consecutive year. At just 25 years of age, Seguin will be one of the youngest sailors in the Paralympic Sailing Competition, and is a sailor who has many years ahead of him. Whilst he may have less experience at top level events as some of the other competitors, he will certainly be out to give Kroeger a run for his money.

Denmark’s Jens Als ANDERSEN took home the silver medal from Sydney and should be closely watched. Andersen is certainly a seasoned competitor and has raced in numerous single-handed transatlantic races and rates his most amusing sporting episode as sinking in the north Atlantic during the Single-handed Transatlantic Race after hitting a semi-submerged container! Andersen’s more recent results have been somewhat less consistent, but he is more than able of adding another Paralympic medal to his trophy cabinet.

Another seasoned competitor is Tom BROWN (USA) who took the bronze podium position in Sydney, climbed onto the podium in silver position at the 2001 IFDS Worlds and claimed bronze at the 2002 IFDS Worlds. Brown dedicated himself to an Olympic campaign in 1997 and became a member of the 1999 US SAILING Team in the Soling. The team did not qualify for Sydney so Brown changed tack, took up sailing the 2.4mR and represented his nation in Sydney. There is little doubt that Brown will be somewhere near the front of the fleet in Athens, but whether he can improve on his bronze from Sydney is another question altogether.

The youngest sailor in this field is Norway’s Bjørnar ERIKSTAD. Erikstad’s best result came in 2001 when he took the bronze medal at the 2001 IFDS Worlds, which was followed by top ten finishes in 2002 and 2003. Thirty years his senior is Australia’s Peter THOMPSON who narrowly missed out on a medal in Sydney after a start line mishap in the final race. Thompson also finished fourth at the 2003 IFDS Worlds but may well find that his wealth of experience puts him in good stead for a medal in Athens.

The only other sailor to have competed in Sydney is Japan’s Masakazu SUTO. Suto finished 16 after making a last minute switch to the 2.4mR from the Sonar. The Netherlands are also fielding a strong medal contender in Thierry SCHMITTER who took the bronze medal at the 2003 IFDS Worlds and scored top ten positions in 2002 and 2001.

The rest of the line up could also produce some surprises. The representatives from Canada, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Singapore and the only female in the fleet, and Spain may be less well known as some of the other competitors, but time will tell who will be on the podium at the Agios Kosmas Sailing Centre in just over ??? time.

Racing gets underway on Saturday 18 September, with nine races scheduled. The ISAF website will bring you daily reports on all the action throughout the 2004 Paralympic Sailing Competition.

Three More Inducted into Sydney-Hobart Hall of Fame

Mike Green, Phil Eadie and Kim Jaggar were the three in question. Green, who is known as ‘the bridesmaid’, due to five second placings before finally winning the race as helmsman on Bob Steel’s Quest in 2002 said ‘yes, I was glad to get that monkey of my back and score a win.’ He goes down in history twice as part of the only father-son duo to have ‘attained the double’ of both competing in 25 or more races each.

Green’s father Peter created a little history himself he was the first person to achieve 35 Hobart races, his final one in 1988 aboard Margaret Rintoul, before his untimely death after an illness.

There is only one other father-son combination, to my mind, who could emulate this feat, that of Bernie and Robert Case from Victoria. Dad Bernie, a tacitican/driver, disappointingly missed his 39th last year when Broomstick was a last minute withdrawal, while Robert completed his 20th and both intending going again this year. They were hoping to have 60 races between them for the 60th race.

Well known navigator Phil Eadie has sailed the bulk of his races with two of Australia’s best known yachtsmen – Syd Fischer and Peter Kurts and can count a number of wins, including two line honours and a couple of overall wins, or three, perhaps, if you count 1985 (and Eadie does) when he raced with Peter Kurts on Drakes Prayer, only to be disqualified in an incident on an overcrowded start line.

The incident created history the following year there were two start lines, such were the number of entries during those years. ‘I count that as a win, because we sailed well and we did win, it is unfortunate that we were blown out, but I accept that, I don’t dwell on it,’ Eadie explained.

Kim Jaggar did most of his races on his own boats named Vanessa. ‘My father owned the first Vanessa and at the last minute in 1977 he handed me the boat and told me he couldn’t go and that I could take the boat in his place. I was terrified, because I couldn’t really sail,’ he said.

From then on he was hooked and in later years, as an arm amputee, the Head Master joined David Pescud’s Sailors With disAbilities, on which, as helmsman, he helped break the Around Australia record and also marked his 25th race.

The 2003 race denoted Tony Cable’s, 40th race, which he did aboard The Rum Consortium’s (spearheaded by Maurie ‘Bear’ Cameron), Witchdoctor. Cable, or ‘Glark Cable’ as he is known, had his first go in 1961 aboard Tarni. He, along with the other inductees, intend heading South again in this 60th Anniversary race.

Other former inductees spotted on the night included Sighty Hammond, a veteran of 40 races who presented the inductees with their plaques, Don Mickleborough a ‘rascally’ veteran with 34 races, who also celebrated his 80th birthday (his actual birthday is in October), Maurie Cameron, Dick ‘Bart’ Norman, Dick Bearman, Rolf Mische, Colin Betts, Fraser Johnson, Geoff ‘Hagar’ Barter, Lindsay May, Ian ‘Bugs’ Potter and noted joke teller Bruce ‘Jacko’ Jackson.

Once again, the dedicated CYCA Breakfast Club, led by Alan Brown, new Life Member Phil Grounds and Fiona Littley did a superb job in supplying and feeding the multitudes. Associate Committee ladies Gail Lewis and Shaaron Walsh along with former Commodore Les McLean did their bit too by sorting out the front of house.

Notably missing in action was MC, Peter Shipway, off having a great time aboard Bob Oatley’s brand new Reichel/Pugh 66, Wild Oats, at the Rolex Maxi Worlds in Italy. Their subsequent second place (the event finished overnight) excuses him this time. However, Steve ‘Mothy’ Jarvin kindly stepped into the breach with help from Frank Sticovich.

Funds raised at this annual event go to the sponsorship for CYCA Youth Academy boat aptly named ‘QLD’, courtesy of the hard work done by Tony Cable.

See you all there again next year.

Winners Decided - Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

After five days of racing under blue skies and sunshine, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2004, ended with Pyewacket, Alexia and Mister A winning the Racing, Wally and Cruising Divisions respectively. 

In yesterday’s race, the same three boats won. All three divisions sailed a coastal courses with the Racing Division sailing 30 miles, the Wally Division 26 miles and the Cruising Division 23 miles.

The Racing Division provided some great action with the front three boats trading places during the coastal section. Genuine Risk eventually beat Pyewacket by 2 and half minutes, with Alfa Romeo a further two minutes behind. Preceding this, the windward-leeward-windward legs were some of the best of the week, with multiple boat roundings, immaculate sail handling and spot-on tactics contributing to the spectacle. The start was highly charged with Genuine Risk close to being squeezed out at the Committee Boat by Idea. Further down the line Drake Passage almost found herself over early for the second race in a row. The 66-foot Wild Oats fought another close battle with the bigger Idea. Idea finally establishing a lead she could hold during the long leg from Monaci to Mortoriotto, beating 'The Oats' (as she is affectionately known) by just over a minute.

'This has been a fantastic week of racing in a setting that is hard to match,' noted Roy DISNEY, owner of Pyewacket. 'We had three factors working in our favour: excellent crew work, smart tactics and a great boat. Today, we went out to sail clean and enjoy ourselves. Our win, combined with the warm hospitality provided by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Rolex marks this regatta as a highlight on the world yacht racing calendar.'

'Even though we technically won the regatta yesterday, we love to race so we wanted to sail today with the same spirit,' said Alberto ROEMMERS Jr., son of owner of Alexia. 'We have raced here before with our IMS Maxi Alexia, but this is the first time we raced our new Wally, and truly enjoyed the week. While we had a strong performance, we faced a major challenge on day one. A shackle used to douse the spinnaker exploded just prior to a takedown. In the process, I was knocked into one wheel, breaking it and then the sheet hit the other wheel, damaging it too. For the rest of the race, we steered with the remaining spokes of both wheels.' Following this early hiccough, Alexia sailed a perfect remainder of series with four bullets.

In the Cruising Division, throughout the week the closest competition was between Mister A, the German yacht Inspiration, and the restored J-Class Velsheda. The range of racing experience was as varied as the designs of the boats themselves. In the end, Mister A made it look easy scoring 4 straight bullets. A creditable result given this was its debut Maxi racing event.

'Since we are so much smaller than the other boats in our division, our goal was to sail our own race, which is exactly what we did,' said Aldo PAGANI, owner of Mister A. 'This is our first real Maxi regatta and our first experience in the serious race circuit. We hope we will have the same luck in the future.'

Thirty-one Maxi yachts from 13 nations competed during a week of light to moderate winds on courses that ranged from windward-leeward to longer, scenic coastal courses. The world-renowned regatta featured elegant classic yachts along side of modern-day boats featuring the latest racing technology. International CEOs such as Roy Disney and business leaders from established companies such as L'Oreal, Pirelli and The Carphone Warehouse sailed in addition to America's Cup and Olympic champions. Competitors attended social activities at the most beautiful of Sardinia's venues, including the five-star Hotel Cala di Volpe. This year celebrates the 20-year partnership between the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Rolex.

'We thank the competitors, many of whom have travelled a long distance, for their enthusiasm and commitment to the sport,' said Commodore Gianfranco ALBERINI. 'It has been our privilege to host this distinguished fleet and we are happy to have welcomed our guests to our beautiful home. We thank Rolex for its partnership during the past twenty years and look forward to continuing our friendship in the future.'

Full results are available on the event website at the address below. 

Event Website
www.yccs.it

Regatta News
www.regattanews.com

Double Victory For Richardson - Rolex Farr 40 World Championship

Jim RICHARDSON and his Barking Mad team entered the history books in San Francisco by becoming the first team in the history of the class to win the coveted world championship title for a second time.

'I‘m very, very proud,' said a beaming Richardson, clutching a glass of champagne minutes after his boat reached the dock at the St. Francis Yacht Club. 'We‘ve been working at this since the first Worlds I won in 1998,' he continued. 'It is hard to win this regatta and everything came together perfectly for us. I had a teacher at school who said ‘you learn from doing and being done.‘ We‘ve been done enough that we‘ve started to learn some things from our competitors and figured out ways to improve and it all worked out.'

In the first race yesterday Barking Mad got into trouble with Norwegian Steam in a port-starboard incident at the end of the first beat, dropping it to the middle of the fleet. It was exactly the type of incident Richardson‘s team has strenuously managed to avoid all week. Tactician Terry HUTCHINSON said that this came about due to a miscommunication. 'We had a 35 point lead,' he said. 'I screwed up what I was thinking, but we put the hammer down in the second race and sailed like we know how to sail.' Hutchinson will soon go to Valencia, Spain to serve in the afterguard of the Emirates Team New Zealand America‘s Cup challenge, but will continue to sail with Barking Mad.

In the second race, Barking Mad took a commanding lead and was fifth to round the top mark. Up the long final beat, as the San Francisco Bay fog shrouded the race course, the team lost the charge to be first to the finish line by five seconds. This did not matter to Richardson. 'It was close going up that last leg,' he said. 'but it doesn‘t matter whether you win by one point or one hundred.'

With 47 points total and an exceptional single digit scoreline -counting a ninth place in the first race as its worst finish - Barking Mad finished 40 points ahead of the defending World Champions Massimo MEZZAROMA and Antonio sodo MIGLIORI (ITA) on Nerone.

Geoff STAGG, president of Farr International, put Barking Mad‘s win into perspective. 'It is the biggest margin in a Farr 40 world championship by miles, ever,' he said. 'I was thinking an average of an eighth-place might win it, but they did it with an average of fourth, which is great.

Barking Mad was very well prepared and the team was very well trained. They had good starts. They didn‘t get brilliant starts, but they were never in trouble on the start line. Terry was brilliant with the laylines particularly when the ebb tide was kicking in. It‘s the old story of their stars being aligned.'

After a dismal set of results to date in the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds, Stuart and MarrGwen TOWNSEND‘s (USA) Virago, on which Chris LARSON (USA) has been calling tactics, came from nowhere to win yesterday‘s first race while fending off a strong challenge from Scott HARRIS and Alex GEREMIA‘s (USA) Crocodile Rock and John KILROY‘s (USA) Samba Pa Ti. Aside from Barking Mad‘s exceptional win, Kilroy‘s team was the class act of the day finishing third in the first race and winning the second, to finish 13th overall.

Samba Pa Ti was one of the favourites going into the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds, but its early results in this regatta were disappointing in the extreme, including five uncharacteristic finishes in the 20s. 'We spent the week trying to get the tune of the boat right,' explained Samba Pa Ti tactician Paul CAYARD (USA). 'Basically we used a brand new mainsail and it wasn‘t what we thought it was, so it took us a while to get things sorted out with the tune. We got going better yesterday afternoon and then today we went a bit more in the same direction and had good speed and had two great starts and were out in front from the get-go which helped a lot.'

Nerone held on to second place overall, having scored some better results than yesterday‘s, while the fight for third place was closely fought between five boats. Steve and Fred HOWE‘s (USA) Warpath eventually beat Steve PHILLIPS‘ Le Renard for third place.

With the 2004 Rolex Farr 40 Worlds over, the main contenders in the class do not have long to wait before the next running of this regatta - set to take place on Sydney Harbour on 1-4 March, 2005. Full results are available on the event website at the address below. 

Farr 40 Class
www.farr40.org

Regatta News
www.regattanews.com

Young WA Team Wins 2004 Australian Team Racing Championship

• Royal Perth Yacht Club defeated New South Wales 2-0
• Tasmania defeated Queensland  2-1

As the wind shifted the finals commenced:

• In race one Royal Perth defeated Tasmania
• Race 2 Queensland defeated New South Wales
• Race 3 Royal Perth defeated Tasmania.  With RPYC succumbing to the pressure applied by the Tasmania Team and time running short the teams agreed to go past the cut off time for lunch.
• Race 4 was held
• Race 5 Royal Perth defeated Tasmania
  RPYC 3 - Tasmania 0
• Race 6 was then started, however the Race committee were not satisfied it was a fair race and hoisted the abandonment flag.

Queensland Maintain Lead at Australian Team Racing Championship

• Queensland Vs Tasmania
• Royal Perth Yacht Club Vs New South Wales

Australian C Class Catamaran Arrives in Bristol for Little America's Cup

The Australian Catamaran Challenge team have arrived in Bristol, Rhode Island with their innovative C Class Catamaran Ronstan to race against previous Little America’s Cup winner Steve Clark’s Cogito and the British Invictus syndicate, backed by the resources of Airbus.  “The C Class catamaran is at the absolute cutting edge of sailing technology,” said Damien Smith, the head of the syndicate’s design team, “The advanced wing sails, similar to an aeroplane wing, used on these boats could be the vanguard of a return to wind powered commercial vessels.” continued Smith.

For syndicate coordinator Ian Jenkins to finally have the team’s boat arrive, after some minor shipping delays, is the realization of a long held dream.  Jenkins has likened the complexity and difficulty of the project to putting a man on the moon, “There are just so many little elements of the project that could go wrong and spell disaster”.

The Award winning Ronstan will be skippered by former world champion sailor Gavin Colby and crewed by Darren Smith both from Perth, Western Australia.

The regatta, affectionately known as ‘The Little America’s Cup’ will be sailed in Rhode Island from 15-26 September to decide who can design, construct and race the fastest boat on the planet.

Australian Catamaran Challenge website: www.lacaustralia.com

International C Class Championship website: www.cclasscats.com

Queenslanders Set Hot Pace in Teams Racing Nationals

Teams Racing Nationals: Day 2 lunchtime report

2004 Paralympic Games Torch Relay

Today, September 9 the Paralympic Torch will be lit for the ninth time in history – and this time, it will be in Athens. Its route will take it throughout Attica, passing through 54 municipalities and covering a distance of 410 km.

680 torchbearers will share its light and the values of strength, pursuit and noble competition.

On September 17, the Paralympic Flame will offer its light to the Olympic Stadium, in an Opening Ceremony that will inspire the world to celebrate the first Paralympic Games in Greece.

The Flame that will light up Attica The ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Torch Relay will bring its light to historical areas and monuments as well as sites with a distinctly modern Greek character. It will be an amazing tour through places of unique natural beauty, highlighting the accomplishments of today’s Greece.

The journey will begin from the heart of Athens, in Thisseion area.

On the first night the Paralympic Torch Relay will stop at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, one of the ancient monuments where cultural events still take place.

The temples of Poseidon in Sounio and Artemis in Vravrona, and the great centers of the classical age, Megara and Elefsina, with their remarkable archaeological museums, will all welcome the Paralympic flame which will also shine its light on the magnificent coastal route that runs towards Sounio and the dam of Marathonas.

On the morning of September 17, the Paralympic flame will begin its journey towards the Olympic Stadium of Athens and its final destination: the opening of ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games.
 
ISAF Paralympic Games Microsite
www.sailing.org/disabled

Athens 2004 Website
www.athens2004.com

Other Links
	Yachting Australia Paralympic webpage

Regrouping at Maxi Worlds

With two races remaining to be sailed, Roy Disney’s Reichel/Pugh maxZ86 Pyewacket leads with four points from Bob Oatley’s brand new RP 66 Wild Oats, seven. Both have CBTF (canting keel, twin foil) appendages.

Third is the conventional keeled R/P British maxi Nokia-Enigma (Charles Dunstone) on 11.

Randall Pittman’s new CBTF Dubois 90 Genuine Risk should also be in the picture after race five when the one-race discard comes into play.

Genuine Risk was scored as a non finisher in race two when she and Neville Crichton’s Reichel/Pugh 90 Alfa Romeo sailed the wrong course.

Genuine Risk was third in race one and won race three.

Wild Oats is sailing extremely well in her first regatta, considering the lack of preparation time, but her crew is concerned that she may not be able to overcome the handicap advantage that Pyewacket has relative to her size.

Pyewacket’s IRC TCC is 1.615 Wild Oats’ is 1.497. Genuine Risk has accepted a penalty of 0.008 in her TCC of 1.677 to carry the Code Zero headsail that powered her to win race three in light wind.

The organizing authority, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, is allowing yachts to carry only one Code Zero. Only Genuine Risk is using one.

Bob Ross' full report will be in the November issue of Australian Yachting.

Australian Team Racing Championship - Day 1 Lunchtime Report

The Australian Team Racing Championship has commenced in fresh to frightening conditions at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club in Western Australia.

After being held ashore whilst a storm came through this morning, sailors are currently contesting the 14th race of the first Round Robin, with the South of Perth Yacht Club and Queensland teams in the lead. 21 races are still to be completed in Round Robin 1.

The gusty conditions have caused many collisions with several boats being holed, and various protests keeping the National Jury on their toes. The sailors are enjoying the exciting conditions which have the Pacers up and planing on the downwind runs in the 20+ knots of seabreeze.

Results to this point are as follows:

Team	Wins	Losses
TAS	3	TBA
RPYC	3	2
VIC	1	3
SoPYC	4	0
NSW	2	1
RFBYC	0	3
QLD	3	0

Racing is still underway, with several hours left of Perth sunshine, and the Race Committee keen to complete as many races as possible in the testing conditions.

An end of day report will be posted when information becomes available.

For further information, crew lists and photos (when available), click here

Young Crew Put Together a Challenge for the 60th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht

Maxi Rolex Worlds Day Three

Genuine Risk, under a ‘magic’ light air sail - a masthead genoa on a furler - generated incredible upwind speed in the 5-8 knot sea breeze on the opening two short windward legs of the course that preceded a coastal race of about 33n miles around La Maddalena Island.

Genuine Risk accepted a handicap penalty under the IRC rule to carry the sail, which she can only use in winds up to eight knots. In today’s breeze of 5-8 knots for the two opening windward legs, Genuine Risk, was holding speeds of 10.8-11.4 knots.

She led Pyewacket by four minutes at the second windward mark and stretched her lead on the long reach to round the rocky islet Barrettinelli at the northern tip of La Maddalena. With a staysail set inside the masthead genoa, Genuine Risk was doing 13.5 to 15 knots with the wind still only eight knots.

Genuine Risk finished 8min 24sec ahead of Pyewacket, which had taken line honours and won the first two races of the regatta on IRC corrected time. Genuine Risk also won race three on corrected time by 51sec from Pyewacket.

Bob Oatley’s Wild Oats from Sydney was third on corrected time. She picked the shifts well on the first windward work and also made up ground on the first run, with some good tactics after a poor start.

Oatley said: ‘We made some really brilliant tactical moves and picked up a lot. We must have saved ten minutes with our tactics, without all that we would have been dead ducks.’

Genuine Risk’s owner Pittman said McConaghy’s had built a great boat. ‘It has tremendous potential. It is going to take us a while to get that potential out.

'We are just going to keep working on it.

‘Today, there were a lot of things we were experimenting with. This is all a learning process.’

Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo from Sydney was seventh. She lost ground when the spinnaker halyard became jammed at the end of run on the windward-leeward sector of the course. A crewman had to go the masthead to fire it free.

After three races, Pyewacket leads with 4 points from Wild Oats 7 and Nokia Enigma (Charles Dunstone, Great Britain), 11.

Read Bob Ross' detailed reports in the December issues of Australian Sailing and Australian Yachting.

Maximum Field Confirmed for Australian Youth Match Racing Championship

Applications having been oversubscribed, the maximum number of teams allowed under this format will take part. Six Australian States are represented and three States have multiple teams entered.

New South Wales will be represented by three teams led by Nathan Outteridge, Seve Jarvin and Stuart Pollard. The Wangi Sailing Team entry will be skippered by Nathan Outteridge with his 420 crew Iain Jensen and 470 crew Ayden Menzies.

In fleet racing, Nathan and Ayden were 2004 ISAF Youth World Champions in the 420 class, with Nathan claiming the prize for three successive years, also winning the 2002 NSW Match Racing Championships. Stuart Pollard will be joined by Mark Dorling on mainsheet for the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron team, while the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia will be represented by Seve Jarvin, Tom Clout and Sam Newton recent winners of the NSW Youth Championship.

Three clubs from Western Australia will also be sending teams. Torvar Mirsky will helm the Fremantle Sailing Club entry with Tim Castles and Chris Jacob as crew. Robert Gibbs will steer the Royal Perth Yacht Club effort and Keith Swinton is representing South of Perth Yacht Club.

Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania are each sending one team. Scott Webster, with Sandy Cavill and Jono Walker are flying the RQYS flag. Dylan Clarke, Jonathan Bannister and Nic Deussen are representing the Yachting South Australia Youth Squad, while Nick Jones, Blair Spaulding and Nick Chambers are competing on behalf of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.

Victoria will have three teams entered in the Championship. 2004 Laser Radial Womens World Champion Krystal Weir will sail with Tom Chisholm and John Newman for Sandringham Yacht Club. Will Phillips will team with Terence Koh and Fletcher Johnson for the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club. For the RYCV home team, Reagan Burdon-Bear will helm for Adrian Kamer and Robert Scrivenor.

Whilst the Australian Youth Match Racing Championships have not been run in Victoria previously, Yachting Victoria are now hopeful of securing the event for the next two years running.

‘Victoria has not traditionally been strong in teams or match racing, but we are now focusing our attention on building these areas of the sport’, says Yachting Victoria Coaching Manager, John Mooney.

The Royal Yacht Club of Victoria has maintained a fleet of Elliott 5.9s for last six years with terrific support from Ronstan, and has also established the Doyle Fraser Match Racing Series as a regular part of the Victorian sailing calendar. Other Victorian clubs are now looking at building match racing fleets.

‘With the action so close, match racing is a great racing format to watch and take part in,’ says John Mooney. ‘It also has benefits for fleet racing competitors as it hones their tactical skills and develops their knowledge of the racing rules.’

A Match Racing Umpires seminar is also being run in conjunction with the Championships, led by International Umpire and International Judge David Tallis. Information about the seminar is available from Yachting Victoria on 03 9597 0066.

The 2004 Australian Youth Match Racing Championship continues at Royal Yacht Club of Victoria from Saturday September 18 to Tuesday September 21 with good spectator viewing from the marina.

Results will be update daily on the RYCV website www.rycv.asn.au and the Yachting Australia website www.yachting.org.au.

Wild Oats Scores Another Second

She is being sailed by Oatley’s Sydney regulars, with Mark Richards steering, plus Australia’s round-the-world record-breaking sailor Adrienne Cahalan who is navigating and American Gary Weisman on tactics.

Completed by McConaghy Boats in Sydney only just in time for shipping to Europe Wild Oats is a canting keel twin-foil 66-footer, designed by John Reichel and Jim Pugh and built by McConaghy Boats in Sydney.

Roy Disney’s new Reichel/Pugh designed maxZ86 Pyewacket in a 12-16 knot breeze in race one, beat Wild Oats by 10min 27sec on corrected time and today won again, by 6min 47sec.

Pyewacket, extremely well sailed and on a quite favourable IRC handicap, is going to be tough to beat, concede Wild Oats’ crew

Race two, of about 33n miles around a big triangle with an opening windward-return lap, was sailed in a light sea breeze, building from five knots at the start to a steady ten knots in the final stages.

From a clear air start right on the pin, Wild Oats headed far left to pick up a wind shift with pressure, that helped her steam into second place at the windward mark, only two boat lengths behind Pyewacket.

She continued to show good speed in the light wind, doing 15.9 knots on the first long reaching leg of the triangle under code zero reacher.

But Pyewacket, extremely well sailed, soon stretched away.

Neville Crichton’s Sydney-based water-ballasted 90-footer Alfa Romeo, also designed by Reichel/Pugh, was fourth at the mark, alongside the new Welbourn 90 Genuine Risk (Randall Pittman, USA), which was also built in Australia by Boatspeed Performance Sailcraft at Somersby, NSW.

But both Alfa Romeo and Genuine Risk then set off on the triangular leg of the course, apparently unaware of a change of course that inserted the windward-return leg before the triangle, posted at 9.25am before the noon start.

Both Alfa Romeo and Genuine Risk have protested against the race committee. The toughest race for Wild Oats so far was to the regatta itself. First, the rudder fell off the ship carrying it from Sydney to Isbezia. ‘They had to tow it into port, so that was a big delay,’ said Oatley. ‘They told us initially they were taking it to Rotterdam.

‘Rotterdam is a long way from Sardinia and then they made another decision. They took it to Hamburg which is even further away.

‘We managed to get a trans-shipment to another boat that bought it here to Caligari in southern Sardinia. They knocked it about. You can see some of the patches.’

The Wild Oats team went down to Caligari, put the keel on. Then Oatley’s long-time sailing friend Bill Buckle towed it to Porto Cervo, on the northeastern coast of Sardinia, behind another Wild Oats, Oatley’s 61ft motor yacht that he keeps at Porto Cervo to cruise the Med.

‘They towed it around here at 20 knots,’ said Oatley. ‘They did 150 miles in eight hours.’

Wild Oats arrived in Porto Cervo at 8am Sunday, a day before the first race. The crew rigged the boat and went sailing that afternoon.

‘So, it was quite a saga,’ said Oatley. ‘We did have a few hours’ sailing the boat in Sydney but arrived still with a lot to do. Jobs on a boat never end and this on is still unfinished down below.

‘I am very happy with today and yesterday.’

Aussie Olympian Nossiter confirmed in +39

Lorenzo Rizzardi (Gargnano YC president), Cesare Pasotti (team manager) and Luca Devotti (skipper) held a press conference at the Circolo Velico Gargnano to announce the sailing team and afterguard who will be leading the Italian challenge to the America's Cup 2007.

A very ‘Olympic-colored’ Team was hanging around Luca Devoti (ITA), Finn silver medallist at the Sydney Olympic Games.

No less than five members of the +39 Team competed in the Olympic Finn sailing class at Athens 2004. Beside Rafael Trujillo of Spain (silver medallist in Athens), the Challenge has recruited Karlo Kuret of Croatia (4th), the Australian Anthony Nossiter (6th), the French Guillaume Florent (8th) and Alejandro Colla of Argentina (22nd).

The other ‘Finnists’ are the Brits Chris Brittle et Andrew ‘Barth’ Simpson, third in the Finn class world championship 2002 and 2003.

The Italian syndicate was represented in the Star class too with the French pair Xavier Rohart/Pascal Rambeau (bronze medalists) and the former gold medallist in the Finn Class in Sydney Iain Percy (6th).

The Italians - Gabriele Bruni and Dede De Luca were in Sydney (respectively in the 49er and in the Soling Class).

Rounding out the field of team members are three former Prada boys (Claudio ‘Ciccio’ Celon, Stefano Rizzi and Massimo Galli) and James Lyne, who competed in Auckland with the GBR Challenge.

ISAF World Match Race Rankings

As the Olympics closes in Athens and we look forward to the Paralympics, which start in just a couple of weeks, the Match Racing World is slowly but surely coming towards the twilight of it’s 2004 season. On Wednesday 1 September ISAF released the sixth ranking release out of eight for the year.

This release for the Open Rankings includes two ISAF Grade 1 events having taken place since the last release on 28 July The Internationaux de France, and the Danish Open. For the Women’s Rankings, the Lysekil Women’s Match Cup is added to the points score for any skippers who attended.

As well as those Grade 1 events, there have been a host of grade two and three events, including national championships and qualifiers around the world.

Top Ten Skippers - Open

1. Ed BAIRD (USA)
2. Karol JABLONSKI (POL)
3. Mathieu RICHARD (FRA)
4. Peter GILMOUR (AUS)
5. Jesper RADICH (DEN)
6. Magnus HOLMBERG (SWE)
7. James SPITHILL (USA)
8. Ian WILLIAMS (GBR)
9. Lars NORDBJERG (DEN)
10. Paolo CIAN (ITA)

Top Ten Skippers - Women

1. Lotte MELDGAARED-PEDERSEN (DEN)
2. Nina BRAESTRUP (DEN)
3. Claire LEROY (FRA)
4. Christelle PHLIPPE (FRA)
5. Jesper RADICH (DEN)
6. Malin KALLSTROM (SWE)
7. Marie FAURE (FRA)
8. Marie BJORLING (SWE)
9. Jenny AXHEDE (SWE)
10. Paula LEWIN (BER)

2004 Paralympic Sailing Competition

The Agios Kosmas Sailing Centre will re-open it's doors for business this Friday 10 September for the 2004 Paralympic Sailing Competition.

After six days of registration and measurement a practice race will take place on 16 September before the Opening Ceremony on Friday 17 September. The first day of racing is scheduled for Saturday 18 September for both events - the Single-person keelboat using the 2.4mR and the Three-Person Keelboat using the Sonar - and each have five days of racing scheduled to decide who will win those coveted medals.

Throughout the 2004 Paralympic Sailing Competition, ISAF will bring you all the latest news from Athens. A round up of each days racing, daily results, photographs and other news will all be available on the ISAF website.

For more information about the 2004 Paralympic Sailing Competition or disabled sailing visit the websites below.

Related Websites

ISAF Paralympics 2004 Microsite http://www.sailing.org/sc.asp?id=paralympics_2004

Yachting Australia Paralympic webpage http://www.yachting.org.au/default.asp?MenuID=Racing%2F2%2F0%2CHigh%5FPerformance%5FSailing%2F41%2F0%2CParalympics%2F55%2F11729

Athens 2004 Website http://www.athens2004.com

ISAF General Assembly - Election of Officers

On 2 September, ISAF published details of those candidates eligible to stand for the office of President and Vice-President at the ISAF General Assembly in November 2004.

In order to be eligible, candidates had to receive at least five nominations from ISAF Member National Authorities by 17.30 hours UTC on Wednesday 1 September 2004. Eligible Candidates are:

ISAF President

• Fernando BOLIN (ESP)
• Sadi CLAEYS (BEL)
• Goran PETERSSON (SWE)

ISAF Vice-President

• George ANDREADIS (GRE)
• Fiona BARRON (GBR)
• David IRISH (USA)
• David KELLETT (AUS)
• Fiona KIDD (CAN)
• Teresa LARA (VEN)
• Teo Ping LOW (SIN)
• Nucci NOVI CEPPELLINI (ITA)
• Maximo RIVERO KELLY (ARG)
• Bernhard STEGMEIER (SUI)

The Election of Officers will take place during the ISAF General Assembly on Saturday 13 November 2004, Copenhagen, Denmark. There will be seats for one President and seven Vice-Presidents. At least two of the seven Vice-Presidents are required to be women.

Own ISAF Athens Official DVD

400 sailors representing, 61 nations, 126 races over 15 days for 11 sailing events and 54 athletes receiving medals – relive the excitement from the 2004 Olympic Sailing Competition of the XXVIII Olympiad, Athens, Greece and order the ISAF Official Film.

Available on DVD in VHS or NTSC format, the ISAF Official Film will present the 'Olympic Story' of the eleven sailing events contested in Athens, bringing you the action from the race course, together with facts and figures and interviews with the Gold medallists who recount their campaign for Olympic glory. The film will look at the infrastructure behind the Olympic Sailing Competition, the different organisations involved and the background to competitors and personal sacrifices made in pursuit of the honour of representing their nation at the Olympic Games.

Compiled as an historic and educational film, in addition to the 'Olympic Story', the DVD will contain racing footage from each of the eleven events providing an excellent coaching tool on racing techniques and tactics.

The DVD will link back to the comprehensive information on the ISAF website, including results, mark by mark roundings, event reports and images.

The DVD available in VHS or NTSC format can be ordered direct from the ISAF Secretariat at a cost of £25 plus postage and packing. DVDs will be dispatched in the week commencing 11 October 2004.

Official Order Form - http://www.sailing.org/olympics2004/FilmOrderForm.pdf

First Rankings Of The New Olympiad Released

ISAF on Thursday released the first rankings of the new Olympiad following the conclusion of the Olympic Sailing Competition of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games last Saturday.
Although the primary event included in this rankings release, the Olympic Games, is Graded as a World Championship for all eleven events, there are a number of other Grade 1 and 2 events included. These affect the rankings of athletes who were not in Athens, but who are starting their relevant campaigns for 2008 in Beijing.

Windsurfing – Mistral

In the men’s fleet, medal favourite for the Olympic Games, Julien BONTEMPS (FRA) still tops the rankings, despite him failing to secure a podium finish in Greece. Gold medallist Gal FRIDMAN (ISR), who secured Israel’s first ever Olympic Gold, has consolidated his position in the rankings and moves up from eleventh to sixth. Meanwhile, Nikos KAKLAMANAKIS (GRE), in winning the Silver medal after a long period of training alone and not being on the circuit, jumped from 17 to eighth.

Nick DEMPSEY (GBR) in that rock and roll final race in Athens secured his first Olympic medal and the bronze for Great Britain, he now sits in second place, the highest of the three Olympic medallists for 2004. The gap between him and Bontemps remains fairly large and a number of athletes will be pushing to close that gap.

Further back in the top twenty there are some new names emerging in this post Olympic period of the rankings. Lars KLEPPICH (USA) finished eighth out in Athens. It was not his best performance at an Olympic Games as he finished fourth in Sydney in 2000, but the result has catapulted him up the rankings from 27, to round out the top ten.

Women’s ranking leader, French athlete Faustine MERRET firmly embedded herself at the top of the Windsurfing ladder when she won Olympic Gold at her first attempt. Third at both the 2004 and 2003 World Championship, she has extended her lead at the top of the rankings to a massive 240 points over Italian Alessandra SENSINI. Alessandra herself has leapfrogged Natasha STURGES (GBR) as a result of her Bronze medal in Athens. Natasha had a disappointing time in Greece and her ranking has suffered as a result.

Silver medallist Jian YIN (CHN) has rocketed into the top twenty, up from 25 to 18 after her result at the Olympics. She hasn’t been a big attendee on the World circuit but looking forward to the next four years, she will be developing in order to represent her nation at the Olympic Games on her doorstep.

Single-handed Dinghy Women – Europe

Siren SUNDBY dominated the Saronic Gulf over August, taking home a Gold medal for her efforts, but the gap is still tight at the top of the rankings in the class. Finnish Olympic representative Sari MULTALA is hot on her heels and her fifth place in Athens has kept her firmly attached to Siren’s tail.

The hardest thing for Siren, with a Gold medal in her possession, will be to try and maintain the edge over her rivals, of which during the next four years, there will be any number wanting to take the accolade from the Norwegian athlete.

Silver medallist in Athens, Lenka SMIDOVA (CZE) has not seen her position on the list change as a result of her fantastic achievement, whilst Signe LIVJBERG (DEN), who scored one of Denmark’s two Olympic medals, has popped up from 10 to eighth. She jumps over a no doubt disappointed Carolijn BROUWER (NED), who finished 19 in Athens.

Single-handed Dinghy Open – Laser

Robert SCHEIDT (BRA) has now reached legendary status in the class that was first introduced for the 1996 Olympic Sailing Competition in Savannah. That was one Gold medal he won and after finishing second in Sydney in 2000, he reclaimed what he must really be considering his own possession, becoming the first to win two Gold medals in the class.

At the top of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings he is also unassailable and holds nearly a 300 point advantage over closest rival Paul GOODISON (GBR). After a shaky start in Athens, Goodison recovered and narrowly lost out on the bronze medal, but it is refreshing to see the athlete back on form and looking forward to Beijing in four years time.

Silver medallist Andreas GERITZER has always been there or thereabouts on the International circuit but he really found his form in Athens. The resultant medal for Austria has moved Geritzer into the top ten for the first time in 2004. Vasilij ZBOGAR (SLO), Bronze medallist in Athens is up to fourth overall, behind Australia’s Michael BLACKBURN.

Double-handed Dinghy – 470

The men’s 470 fleet in Athens was one of the tightest in the Games, and the Gold and Silver medals were not decided until the final race. It was the start of the final race when US veterans Paul FOERSTER and Kevin BURNHAM went one better than their combined previous in getting the better of Nick ROGERS and Joe GLANFIELD (GBR)

The Silver medal for the British team, however, was enough to secure them the top spot in the subsequent rankings release. They rose from third overall as a result of a disappointing result in Athens from previous ranking leaders, Nathan WILMOT and Malcolm PAGE (AUS). Foerster and Burnham remain in fifth spot.

Surprise Bronze medallists Kazuto SEKI and Kenjiro TODOROKI (JPN), have moved into the top ten and now sit just behind class veterans Eugene BRASLIVETS and Igor MATVITENKO (UKR) in 14 place. The biggest moves in the top twenty however, are reserved for Slovenians Tomaz COPI and Davor GLAVINA. They finished 14 in Athens and are making their first appearance in the top twenty, now lying in 17 position in the rankings, their highest point in the last two years.

The women’s fleet was dominated by the familiar sight of local athletes Sofia BEKATOROU and Emilia TSOULFA (GRE), and after a period of uncertainty when due to injury it was doubtful as to whether we’d see them on the startline, they were popular winners of the Gold medal.

Ingrid PETITJEAN and Nadege DOROUX (FRA) still lead the rankings despite finishing a disappointing tenth in Athens. Sofia and Emilia, after their extended layoff from International competition moved up from 14 to 11 position along with receiving their Olympic Gold medals.

Silver medallists Natalia VIA DUFRESNE and Sandra AZON (ESP) have remained in sixth place, whilst Therese TORGERSSON and Vendela ZACHRISSON (SWE) have closed the gap on their Spanish rivals after their Bronze medal performance out in Greece.

Double-handed Dinghy Open – 49er

Leading up to the Olympic Sailing Competition there were one or two teams who really stood out as consistent contenders for Olympic glory. Over the sixteen short, sharp races that cream rose to the top.

Current leaders of the Rankings, Great Britain’s Chris DRAPER and Simon HISCOCKS, eventually secured the bronze medal in Athens and as a result have maintained their lead at the front of the 49er fleet. Coming into the Olympics on the back of a fairly serious arm injury, Iker MARTINEZ and Xavier FERNANDEZ were their closest rivals, and were hungry to keep themselves from breaking and taking home a medal. This they achieved and as a result have moved up from 20 to 13.

Rodion LUKA and George LEONCHUK (UKR), have always been up there in a fleet with an excellent camaraderie between athletes and teams, and in winning the silver medal ahead of Draper and Hiscocks in Athens, they popped into the top three in the rankings, behind Tim WADLOW and Pete SPAULDING.

Single-handed Dinghy Men – Finn

Ben AINSLIE (GBR) showed the world exactly what he is capable of in the world of sailing when he fought back from a disqualification early on in the regatta to claim his second Gold medal in a row, his first being in the Laser in Sydney 2000.

That feat has not launched him to the top of the rankings in a very tight front of the pack, but it has closed the gap between himself and the three top class athletes infront of him. The number one spot is held by multiple medal winner Mateusz KUSZNIEREWICZ, who seemed to be the happiest man in Greece when he won the Bronze medal after a tense final race.

Rafa TRUJILLO (ESP), who was third at the ISAF World Championships in Cadiz in 2003, has closed the gap to the front to a mere 15 points following his second place finish in Athens.

Further back in the rankings, Laser sailor turned America’s Cup skipper turned Finn sailor Dean BARKER, has made his first appearance in the top twenty of the Finn rankings, just. In finishing well in Greece he has improved his position in the World by nine places up to 20 overall.

Multihull Open – Tornado

One of the final events to finish at the 2004 Olympic Games on the last Saturday, Gold medals were eventually awarded to the Austrian team of Roman HAGARA and Peter STEINACHER. Despite this, the proximity of Satiago LANGE and Carlos ESPINOLA (ARG) in the final finishing positions to the Austrians has resulted in them taking the top spot from the Olympic Champions.

Lange and Espinola won the bronze medal in Athens and finished behind John LOVELL and Charlie OGLETREE (USA), who won USA’s second medal in the Olympic Sailing Competition. That has pushed them up a single place to fifth overall in the rankings, ahead of Leigh MCMILLAN and Mark BULKELY (GBR), who had a disappointing time on the racecourse in Athens.

Francesco MARCOLINI Edoardo BIANCHI (ITA) have really come on strongly in their build up to finishing tenth in the fleet in Athens, that build up to a solid result has meant that they are now established within the top twenty in the World, and rightly so.

Keelboat Women – Yngling

Shirley ROBERTSON, Sarah WEBB and Sarah AYTON’s emphatic victory in the class at the Olympic Sailing Competition was as impressive as it was useful to their ranking position. They are now in the top three of the rankings, behind leader Dorte JENSEN (DEN) and Kristin WAGNER (GER).

Dorte eventually ended up with a Bronze medal in Athens after being OCS’d in a decisive last race. With the OCS attached to her scoreline she lost the fight for silver with Ruslana TARAN (UKR), who has now one three Olympic medals in two different classes over the years.

Ruslana was previously 15 in the rankings but her Silver medal in Athens has pushed her up to eleventh. The US crowding of the fleet that was obvious in the build up to their very competitive Olympic Trials as diluting as many of the skippers and crews return to their match racing or other products.

Carol CRONIN, Liz FILTER and Nancy HABERLAND, who represented the USA to tenth place at the Games, have maintained their fifth place position in the rankings, just behind Giulia CONTI (ITA).

Keelboat men – Star

Out in Athens, Torben GRAEL and Marcelo FERREIRA showed the amassed depth of talent exactly how easy it was to win a fifth Olympic medal, his fourth in the Star class. That results has pushed him up the Rankings from 14 to 12 after having not been seen on the circuit for a little while.

Freddie LOOF and Anders EKSTROM (SWE), ex Finn sailors, had an Olympic Regatta that they might want to forget quite quickly, although finishing 12 in one of the closest fleets in the Olympic Games has not hurt their position at the top of the latest rankings release.

A disappointing Olympics for Loof allowed Iain PERCY and Steve MITCHELL (GBR), the chance to come back at their close friends and rivals, despite being strong medal prospects, like Loof and Ekstrom they suffered from inconsistent results in the light and tricky conditions on the Saronic Gulf. Flashes of brilliance enabled them to pull back to finish sixth overall, closing the gap on the leaders in the overall rankings release.

Silver medallists Ross MACDONALD and Mike WOLFS (CAN) have also watched their ranking position improve as a result of a brilliant result in Athens. Now in fifth place they have made the gap at the top look pretty slim going in to the next Olympiad. It was French athletes Xavier ROHART and Pascal RAMBEAU (FRA), who pulled off a Bronze medal and with it secured an extra place on the rankings. They now lie in sixth place. 

ISAF World Sailing Rankings
www.sailing.org/rankings

Down to the Wire at the Hayman Regatta

To register your interest in competing at the 2005 Hayman Regatta, or for more information on the event, please contact Rob Mundle at Rob.Mundle@bigpond.com.au, or call (07) 55 27 11 26.

HOT FM Great Whitsunday Fun Race

Loyalty and enthusiasm combined with a fun filled attitude injected a very healthy spirit of friendship into the 28^th Birthday celebrations of the HOT FM Great Whitsunday Fun Race on beautiful Pioneer Bay last Saturday.

This event hosted by The Whitsunday Sailing Club is well established as the major aquatic sport icon in tropical North Queensland.

The Fun Race not only injects an enormous party factor back into the sport of sailing but more importantly provides a huge cash flow into the economical stability of the Airlie Beach community.

Placing a sensible figure on the ‘bank roll’ benefiting businesses servicing accommodation, hospitality, fuel, drinks and food is almost impossible however there was a bin full of withdrawal slips at all of the ATO’s in town which indicates the spend up was well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

All who raced or took part as a party person in their colourful tropical shirts as crew manning the sun drenched decks aboard the armada of the spectator craft enjoyed a day to remember.

They were responsible for the huge cheer when Terry Hudson steered the former Whitbread Globe Race maxi British Defender to the overall line honours and the cheers continued for Southport Yacht Club skipper Jon Fleming when he steered the majestic Herreshoff gaff-ketch Francis to victory in the Tall Ships, Gaffers and Luggers class.

The Fun Race birthday celebrations were not complete without the ‘toddy or two’ of the traditional Bundy and Coke however all concerned behaved responsibly and exercised the expected duty of care.

Naturally there is always some one to thank are they were the crew proudly wearing the bright orange shirts who answered the roll call to be a Fun Race Volunteer.

There are just too many of them to name which is a shame considering their dedicated duty of service in making the special day another enormous success for the Whitsunday Sailing Club and the community of Airlie Beach.

Perfect Forecast For Festival Of Sails

An ideal weather forecast of cloudless sky 10 to 15 knot South East Trade winds and 27 degree temperature has set the foundation for a spectacular final to the 2004 Whitsunday Festival of Sails off Airlie Beach tomorrow.

These conditions will offer ideal sailing for the 110 boat fleet which has nominated to contest the 15n/ml Hot FM Great Whitsunday Fun Race set to start on a sun drenched Pioneer Bay at 11am.

Crews of former champion maxi yachts Drumbeat and The Card have completed their final pre race check on sails and rig in preparation for what promises to be an exciting duel to win the worthless 28 year old trophy of an EMPTY Bundaberg Rum bottle mounted on a slab of Mackay Rainforest cedar.

They will be racing to protect pride and reputations against a fleet which includes the large assembly of new and not so new sailing craft from the most modern Grand Prix IRC class yachts to the traditional Square Riggers, Gaffers, Schooners, yawls and Pearling Luggers.

Drumbeat the international race winning maxi previously owned and skippered by successful Americas Cup syndicate boss Alan Bond has been nominated as the line honours favourite.

However the race strategy team including the skipper and crew of Drumbeat can expect to face a serious challenge from the former Whitbread around the World race ketch The Card.

The race which will start with a two sail reach followed by a spinnaker run then a windward beat from Grimston Point to the finish will provide The Card with her powerful ketch rig to set the early pace while Drumbeat noted for her speed in sailing against the breeze will be the fastest finisher.

2005 Hardy Cup Dates Confirmed by RSYS

The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron has confirmed that the next Hardy Cup will be sailed on 7-10 February 2005.  This prestigious event is an ISAF Grade 3 match-racing contest for sailors under the age of 25.

Now in its fourth year, the 2005 Hardy Cup will be conducted once again on spectacular Sydney Harbour, with the world famous Harbour Bridge and Opera House as the backdrop, using the RSYS fleet of six Elliot 6 sports boats, a three crew keelboat with spinnaker.

Sir James Hardy, the former America’s Cup, World Champion, Olympic yachtsman and prominent RSYS member, donated the Hardy Cup to promote the match race helming and tactical skills of young sailors. 

The 2004 Hardy Cup attracted a high calibre of competitors, including two teams from the USA, three from New Zealand, one from Japan and Australian entries from Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron team, helmed by Laurie Jury won from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron team helmed by Michael Dunstan.

The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron is one of Australia’s premier yacht clubs and boasts a proud history of involvement in international sailing, including challenges for the America’s Cup.   More recently,  the Squadron has had a significant involvement in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and various World, National and State Championships, including the 2004 Open Yngling World Championship and the Prince Philip Cup for the International Dragon class.

In late December/early January, the RSYS will conduct the World Championship for the International 5.5 Metre class and later in January the NSW State Championship for the International Etchells class.

Notice of Race and Application for Invitation for the Hardy Cup is available on the RSYS website,  www.rsys.com.au. 

Issued on behalf of the RSYS by

Peter Campbell – 0419 385 028 or peter_campbell@ bigpond.com  

Lay-day at Hayman Island Regatta

For more information on the Hayman Regatta contact the Regatta Director, Rob Mundle, on 0417 323 573.

Portugal to Host 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championship

On 28 August, 2004, ISAF announced Cascais, Portugal, as the venue selected to host the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championship.

The selection of Cascais from an original thirteen bidding cities was announced at a press conference on the morning of Saturday 28 August at the Agios Kosmas Sailing Centre during the 2004 Olympic Sailing Competition, Athens, Greece.

Paul HENDERSON, ISAF President, opened the announcement by highlighting the impact the inaugural ISAF Sailing World Championship in 2003 had on the sport of sailing and the ongoing impact the quadrennial Championship will continue to have in the future, bringing a focus to Olympic Sailing, and providing a much closer synergy with the quadrennial Olympic Sailing Competition. The 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championship will be the primary qualification event for the 2008 Olympics.

The 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championship will be hosted by the Clube Naval de Cascais in association with the Portuguese Sailing Federation and the International Sailing Federation. The dates are to be finalised, but will be late July/early August to co-ordinate with the 2007 Olympic Test Event in Quingdao, China.

Paul HENDERSON went on to comment on the motivation behind the selection of Cascais over the other venues, 'It is essential that the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championship is a total success, across all elements of the Championship. The most important element is the wind and weather and ISAF is confident that the wind conditions in Cascais are very, very good for what we want to do. The wind is very reliable, very steady and the sun will be shining. Add to this the many years experience of the Club Naval Cascais in hosting large international events, an excellent infrastructure, a compact single event site and the spectacular backdrop of Cascais – the venue will provide a fantastic stage for our sport.'

More - http://www.sailing.org/olympics2004/results/news2926.html

Not A Game For Kids - 18 Footers International Regatta

John Winning has been racing what may be the world's most temperamental sailboat for 29 years, or before some of his rivals in the third annual 18 Skiff International Regatta were born.

He won the class's JJ Giltinan classic in 2000 and, at 52, is still ranked second in the world.

The Australian veteran has learned that the little things count, as they did Tuesday when he and his crew of Euan MCNICOL and Jack YOUNG sailed Computer Associates to a sweep of both races in front of the host St. Francis Yacht Club.

That left them one point behind countryman Trevor BARNABAS and six up on third-place Californian Howie with four of nine races sailed in the competition scheduled through Friday. Clearly, it's not a young man's class.

When those guys talk, their rivals would do well to listen to their elders. Among them they have won eight Giltinans.

Everyone dealt with tricky tides and puffy wind of 15 knots blowing through the wind tunnel known as the Golden Gate, but Winning credited a small gear change for the way they breezed wire to wire in both three-lap races around a mile-long windward-leeward course.

'We were short on [mast] raking yesterday,' he said, referring to his opening day pair of thirds. 'We were set up for more wind.'

As for the tide, he noted, 'It was coming in for the first race, but in the end it was running hard out.'

The tides on his home waters of Sydney Harbour run about 1 knot, while those on San Francisco Bay not only are as strong as 4 knots in either direction but, as Winning said, 'In the section we sail it's going in different directions at the same time.'
Barnabas, with son Trent and Robert GREUTER on Omega Smeg, noted that puffs also were a factor. 'There's some big gains and losses out there [depending on whether] you tack in breeze or no breeze,' he said.

What it all adds up to is that the 18s go so fast-often faster than the wind-that all variable factors are magnified into dramatic switches in position.

Hamlin followed Monday's pair of seconds with a sixth and a fourth on Tuesday but insisted it wasn't because of losing veteran forward crew Rod HOWELL with a knee injury in Monday's second race. Hamlin scrambled to replace him with Trevor Bozina, a 20-year-old member of the St. Francis junior program who had sailed but never raced on an 18. Mike Martin remained in the middle on West Marine.

'Trevor wasn't holding us back,' Hamlin said. 'He did a great job. The only problem is that we're lighter now. He's 40 pounds less than Rod. That's OK in light wind but not if it blows.'

There are no weight limits, maximum or minimum, on the 18s.

There were a few flips in the back of the eight-boat fleet but the most serious damage was to Dalton BERGAN'S bowsprit. Bergan, a close second in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 49er class, is sailing with Jeff NELSON and Kevin RICHARDS. They had a steady 4-5-4 regatta going until the busted sprit caused them to capsize on the day's last downwind leg and cost them a DNF (did not finish).

The good news is they'll be able to discard their worst result after the fifth race Wednesday. There will be two throwouts if the regatta goes the nine-race limit.

The regatta is one of the class's three international events, along with the European International Championship and the JJ Giltinan Trophy Championship, the class's premier event that has been contested in Australia, the boat's country of origin, since 1938.

Full results are available on the event website at the address below.

Other Links
	St. Francis Yacht Club

Tough Contest for Club Marine NSW Youth Match Racing Title

This weekend's Club Marine NSW Youth Match Racing Championship will bring together nine teams consisting of Australia's best match racers for two days of intense racing on Sydney Harbour.

The host club, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia is putting forward three teams to defend its title including last year's winning skipper Seve Jarvin with his new crewmembers Tom Clout and Sam Newton.

Robert Bell, the sheet hand for Seve Jarvin during the team's string of successes last year and the Australian Schools Teams Racing champion this year, has combined with James Francis and Ed Christian to form another strong CYCA team.

Evan Walker, who won the Australian 29er Youth Championship last year, has formed a team with Tom Barker and Mark Langford who have sailed with the CYCA's Youth Academy for the last few years.

The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron is putting up a solid combination of Mark Dorling, who recently returned from winning the Cowes Week Youth Match Racing Regatta, and skipper Stuart Pollard who finished third in 2003 Governor's Cup.

The Pittwater team from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club will feature Murray Gordon, Tom Spithill and Hamish Roughly. Tom and Murray formed part of the winning Governor's Cup team in USA in July this year and have sailed together for many years, making them a tough team to beat.

A second RPAYC will be led by Craig Souter, who was the third member of Murray's winning crew at the Governor's Cup this year and is a well-known 420 and Flying 11 sailor.

The Hunter Academy has put forward Nick Wells, Clint Marshall and Alex Vandervoort who are new to match racing but have past dinghy experience. 

The Wangi Wangi team from Lake Macquarie will be skippered by Nathan Outteridge with his 420 crewman Ian Jensen and 470 crewman Ayden Menzies. Nathan and Ayden won the NSW Youth Match Racing Championship in 2001 and 2002 and the ISAF Youth Match Racing Championships in the 420 class in 2001 and 2002 and Nathan and Ian won it this year.

Racing will commence at 10.00am both Saturday, September 4, and Sunday, September 5, in the vicinity of Rushcutters Bay followed by a prize presentation late Sunday afternoon at the CYCA.

The winners and second placed team will go on to represent NSW in the Australian Youth Match Racing Championship to be held in Victoria from 18-22 September.

Club Marine, Australia's largest insurer of pleasure craft, is a long-term sponsor of the Youth Sailing Academy and taking up the naming rights of this state regatta further demonstrates its commitment to youth sailing.

Further information from Jenni Bonnitcha on 0418 214 830 or Lisa Ratcliff on 0418 428 511.

Day Three of the Hayman Regatta

‘Thar She Blows’ As Race Yacht Hits Whale

In the PHS division it was time to celebrate for Don Algie and the crew of the Warwick 62 Storm II. After finishing last and second last on PHS in the first two races they filled the top spot today ahead of Gomez and Zoe.

Ragamuffin Relinquishes Empty Rum Bottle Trophy

World famed maxi sloop Ragamuffin will not defend her Great Whitsunday Fun Race title over the Whitsunday Sailing Clubs Pioneer Bay on Saturday.

The former Sydney-Hobart line honours champion is in the final stages of an extensive refit and will miss the chance to race for what is recognised as the most useless prize in International yacht racing.

Ragamuffin outclassed the fleet of equally famed maxi yachts including British Defender, Apollo and The Card last year to have her name engraved on the unique trophy made up from an empty Bundaberg Rum bottle mounted on a slab of Mackay rainforest cedar.

Former Whitbread around the World race competitors British Defender and The Card have become the race favourites along with the former Alan Bond owned maxi Drumbeat which will compete under her new name of Spank Me.

This impressive sloop winner of several expensive international trophies has the potential to live up to her name and ‘spank’ the opposition by winning the 15n/ml race ahead of a fleet including some of Australia’s oldest sailing yachts including the historical lugger Torres Herald and the steel Square Rigger Solway Lass.

Similar interest will focus on the match race between the ‘baby boats’ Fallen Angels and the Hog’s Breath Boss Hog trophy winner Wobbly Boot.

Skipper Damien Suckling has applied a high performance sail fast finish to Fallen Angels in his bid to win the boat on boat mate against mate duel against the Craig Piccinelli helmed Wobbly Boot.

The 28^th Great Whitsunday Fun Race starts off Airlie Point at 11am with the presentation ceremony and crew party commencing at the Whitsunday Sailing Club at 5pm.