News

Despite promising weather forecasts, there was no sailable wind yesterday off Valencia, as even the general media reported already yesterday. Tomorrow Wednesday is the next race day according to the Notice of Race (Friday the following one), but the wind forecast fot the rest of the week is not very encouraging due to a low pressure area over Spain. Both teams agreed to the Race Committee's decision. Here the reports of Alinghi and BMW-Oracle.
The official report and the summary by Valencia-Sailing.

Not only the two multihulls disputing the America's Cup challenge are state-of-the-art, but also the media coverage of sailing in general and specifically the America's Cup is more and more up-to-date to deliver fast and explicit information. Our live-coverage yesterday - real-time until the abandon of the race - brought a daily visitor record with 4500 calls. We shall of course continue with our service during the coming days.

Yesterday, the maxi-trimaran 'Groupama 3' had to continue her detour along the Brazilian coast, as the lull in the middle of the South Atlantic is very large, and Franck Cammas FRA and his team will most probably stay West on their Southern course until the Roaring Forties. There, a cold front could bring the trimaran East to the Cape of Good Hope at a high speed, provided they can catch this 'fast train' in time. This moring, the advantage had melted to 390 miles. The race-viewer and the daily report with video.

After an odyssee through Europe looking for sailable ice, Lake Neusiedl in Austra was the good destination and yesterday, three World Championship races could be sailed. As usual, the participants are split in a Gold-, Silver- and Bronzefleet, according to their rankings. Michael Burczynski POL, followed by Vaiko Voremaa EST and Ake Luks SWE is the classification after the first day. 8 heats will be sailed for the Worlds title, followed by the races counting for the European Championship. 167 sleds from 15 nations are on the entry list, among them from the USA and England. The results and the short report.

The Geneva CER begins its 2010 season full of ambitions with the Surprise Primo-Cup in Monaco, disputed over the coming weekend. Promoting young development sailors, defense of the Surprise Swiss Championship title, a podium place at the Tour de France are some of the goals aimed at. To prepare a successful Tour de France, the CER will participate in the important Farr-30 regattas at the French Atlantic coast. In autumn 2010, the M34 yacht will arrive, the new monotype for the Tour de France in the coming years. The report.

Finishing 5th (Worldcup Miami) and 4th (Women's Midwinter's, Fort Lauderdale), the Swiss Natahlie Brugger, Olympic Diploma 2008, had a convincing comeback to the Olympic circuit after one year off due to studies. In her newsletter, published yesterday, she informs about her stay in Florida, where she will remain until the end of February for trainings and some more regattas.

Yesterday, the Soling World Championship 2010 began in Brazil with the Practice Race. 20 teams from 5 nations participate with their three-person-keelboats, Olympic class until 2000. Koch/Koch/Bornemann GER, one of the favorite teams, are the only representatives of Europe. In yesterday's race, the fleet was taken by surprise by a thunderstorm gust and a Brazilian Soling almost sank. The report.

next start on Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 a.m. An instable situation with very light and shifty winds did not allow to start a fair race and the boats go back to Valencia.

3 kn at the start and 7-9 kn at the windward mark, but from different directions (80-100° variance). Still uncertain if and when a start can be given. Last possible starting time = 16.30 hrs. More .. .

As the live-images show, it will still last some time till the wind fills in to allow for a start. Rain, 2 kn SW wind, poor visibility actually. Our Twitter will inform as soon as racing starts.

Here an overview on the crew-list: the report.
The BMW-Oracle-live-streaming is on.

Now, the crewlist of BMW-Oracle has also been published. Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts are on the boat sailing to the starting area, but they will leave it during the race.

Alinghi is on the water with a 14 men crew, including three Swiss: Ernesto Bertarelli, Nils Frey and Pierre-Yves Jorand. The communiqué.

BMW-Oracle did also leave the port, with a crew of 10, it seems with Larry Ellison USA and Russell Coutts on board. The report.

Alinghi has left the harbour before 7 a.m. and the Race Committee is also on the water. At 8 a.m., new by the RC are expected. Acutally there is a Southerly wind of 5-8 kn.

Both teams are actually ready at the harbour, and soon, the crew names will be published officially. Up-to-now, no start postponement has been announced. The Race Committee will inform before 8 a.m. CET, if the planned starting time of 10 a.m. will remain. For sure, the starting line will be far out on the open see with the light winds from the shore prevailing.

After two years of quarrels and Court actions, sailing will finally begin on the water - a historical and exciting moment never experienced in the over 160 years of the Cup with leading-edge boats. It's open whether the start will be at 10 a.m. According to the weatherforecast, the wind will be very light with 4-6 kn, and a postponement of the start may come. We shall stay online to bring the latest information over this website and link to all detail site. At this very moment, the video channel of BMW-Oracle is already online (6:30 h). An interview with the past Match-Race-World Champion 2008 Ian Williams GBR is transmitted.

The first 15 minutes will be the most thrilling of the 33rd America's Cups. After the start, we shall quickly see which multihull is faster under the existing conditions. But before, we shall live a pre-start phase never seen before. Aficionados of match racing will quickly recognise a different starting procedure when Alinghi 5 and the challenger line up for Race 1 of the 33rd America’s Cup Match. The start line will look familiar, set as square to the wind direction as possible with the official race committee boat at the starboard end and another committee boat at the pin end. This to avoid that the boats aiming at each other at 30-plus knots when entering the start-box, and the first time they get next to each other is more likely to be on same tack. More ....
Yesterday, BMW-Oracle did win the ballot for the side to enter the box and will have the advantage to have the right-of-way. It will not be very likely to see the two boats engage in a series of circling or luffing trying to get an advantage over the other. The report of the Alinghi-team.

The distinct high pressure zone over the South Atlantic (see the race-viewer, wind indicator) forces 'Groupama 3' to go very close to the Brazilian coast going South, which is a detour on the way to the Cape of Good Hope. However, the good wind conditions make it possible to maintain an average speed of over 25 kn, and the maxi-trimaran could maintain an advantage of 536 miles on the existing record until now. The report and the video of the equator crossing.

During the last race of the Midwinter's yesterday, Anna Tunnicliffe USA using her 'new' skills as a matchracer, led the leading Marit Bouwmeester NED into a disqualification situation. As a result, the American succeeded to pass the Dutch women, securing another Laser Radial title. Alicia Cebrian ESP finished 3rd. With a race win in the last heat, Nathalie Brugger SUI confirmed her good form, terminting the Championship on the 4th place. The results and the Gallery.

Only one race by class on the last day of the Primo-Cup due to the very light wind. Winning this last race, Anatoly Loginov RUS and his team are the winners in the Dragons class, joining Vincent Hösch GER in points but taking first because of more race wins. Christian Boillot FRA is 3rd.
The Swiss dominated the Esse 850 fleet: With his third race win in a row, Alain Marchand SUI and his team are the final winners ahead of Arnaud Gavairon SUI on 2nd and Daniel Schroff SUI on 3rd. In the Melges 20 class, Benedetto Giallongo ITA is on the first rank, and in the local club class Smeralda ranking, Maurice Bourget FRA is on the first position. The final report in English and French.

Heavy snowfalls on Saturday and Sunday spoiled the sailable ice on the Balaton in Hungary and the organisers had to find a new venue for the World and European Championships. In the meantime, the almost 200 participants dislocated to the Lake Neusiedl in Austria, where the Championships should start today. The report. To set the mood, check out a video of the 2007 Worlds in the USA.

End of the 60ies, the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) organised an evaluation event for a new Olympic one-person dinghy, and during three events, the proposed designs were tested. On these occasions, the Contender, developped in Australia, was the dominating boat, but as trapez-dinghies were not allowed, this most advanced boat did not have a chance to be chosen. But the Contender had its place in sail racing, and at the World Championships, usually over 100 boats are on the entry list. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary, a book entitled 'Hooked on !' has been pubished. Visit the Contender-website to learn more about the IRYU evaluations almost 50 years ago, by the way with the sailing legend Paul Elvström presenting an own design.

No trainings yesterday as the wind was too fresh, and press conferences and open-houses were on the program instead. As announced, Larry Ellison did not attend the 'Owners Press Conference' as he was offended that Russell Coutts NZL was explicitly ask not to join the podium. Here a summary of the Conference and the audio-transcript on the Alinghi-website. Ernesto Bertarelli draw the attention on the safety aspects, important considering the potential of the two multihulls and the winterly conditions. Today, the conditions should allow sailing and both teams are expected to go out for another training. Alinghi 5 has been relaunched already yesterday evening. The illustrated report.
The BMW-Oracle-Team welcomed yesterday a number of guests to demonstrate the trimaran closely, among others also Michael Fay NZL, who in 1988 - with his giant monohull - lost the America's Cup against Dennis Connor's catamaran. The video-report.
The wind forecast for tomorrow Monday announces light winds between 6 and 10 kn. A start on time at 10 a.m. CET seems possible. Paul Cayard USA predicts in his report that the light winds would favour the lighter Alinghi-catamaran. Cayard will be acting as a co-commentator of Eurosport. Check out all previous reports on the Eurosport website.

Fresh and - coming from the shore - also very shifty winds exceeding 20 kn made racing tactically demanding on the second day of the Midwinter's. No changes on top of the rankings but with reduced points gaps: Marit Bouwmeester NED remains first but with the day ranks 2/1/1, Anna Tunicliffe USA, best of the day, is now only 2 points from the Dutch woman. Also solid Alicia Cebrian ESP, who consolidated her 3rd place over Nathalie Brugger SUI, who also defended her 4th position with the day ranks 4/4/6. 28 participants from 8 nations are racing. The results.

Yesterday morning at 10 a.m. CET, 'Groupama 3' crossed the equator after 5 days and 19 hours, the second best time ever. Their own record, established in 2009 on the occasion of their abandoned attempt (an average off the South African coast terminated their record race) was missed by 4 hours. In the meantime, Franck Cammas' maxi-trimaran is on an upwind course in the Southern trade winds already off the coast of Brazil. The average speed of 22 kn plus could be maintained, as is the advantage on the existing record. This morning, 'Groupama 3' was 536 miles (roughly 24 hours) ahead of 'Orange 2' - the race-viewer. Actually the St-Helens high pressure area with its lulls over the Southern Atlantic is extremely distinct, and a long detour along the South American coast will be necessary. The advantage will therefore melt during the coming day. The report (e and f) and the video of the day.

The notorious Monaco-conditions with light winds and a massive swell from the South marked the race day yesterday, and only one regatta by class could be completed. The Dragons even finished their race at the first weather mark, and only 10 teams reached this finish line within the time limit. Arnaud Gavairon SUI and his team (among others with the Swiss 470-Olympian Anne-Sophie Thilo) could defend the first place with the Esse 850 with a 2nd day rank, followed by Sandro Fuchs SUI and Alain Marchand SUI, winner of the day. The light Melges 20 boats had the least difficulties in these condition. In the all-Italian fleet (15 teams), Benedetto Giallongo ITA and Luca Domenici ITA are on the first position at equal points. Despite of a DNF, Vincent Hösch GER and his team defended their first place with the Dragons, followed by Christian Boillot FRA and Anatoly Loginov RUS. The official Communiqué in French and a short report in Englisch.

Today is the first day of the World and European Championships of the DN-Ice-Sailors. The Swiss DN-Association is in charge of the event organisation this year. Originally, a Polish venue had been in mind, but the best conditions this winter seem to be on the Balaton in Hungary. The almost 200 participants did already arrive, and yesterday, the opening ceremony took place. Here the gallery and a short report.

After a crossing of the doldrums without too many difficulties - Franck Cammas and his team could find a 80 miles gap in the infamous light wind zone - the maxi-trimaran has already passed the equator this morning in less than 6 days after the start ! The average speed is over 22 kn up to now, and the advantage over the record of Bruno Peyron FRA is 657 miles or roughly one day. The report and the race-tracker.

In two days from now, the start to the much awaited first match will be given. Since yesterday, the Race Village at the Darsena Harbour is open, but of course reduced compared to the 2007 sitution.
Yesterday, the strong winds did not allow further trainings, and both teams had their media conferences. Paul Cayard USA is also in Valencia, this time as a TV reporter, co-commenting the Cup on Eurosport. Yesterday, he had explanations about the functioning of the wing by Dirk De Ridder, the wing trimmer of BMW-Oracle. Here his report.
The third and most important participant on Monday at 10 a.m. CET will be the wind. Most forecasts predict a light westerly wind from the land of 6 to 8 kn, such as BBC or Weather.com.
This means that the starting line will be far out on the open sea. Malicious tongues pretend that Ibiza will be the better place to follow the race than Valencia ! We at www.sailing-news.ch will make sure that you at home or in the office have the best links for the full realtime information on the event without searching around with the many more or less reliable providers.

Ernesto Bertarelli, skipper Brad Butterworth NZL and design-coordinator Grant Simmer AUS presented the actual situation and answered questions of the media. The report.

The Challenger inaugurated its Internet-Video-Channel yesterday with the Press Conference, held by Larry Ellison, Russell Coutts NZL and James Spithill AUS. Here the BMW-Oracle Live-Stream and the BOR-website.

Much wind (25 kn) and high waves (2-3 m) on the first day of the Laser Radial Midwinter's of Fort Lauderdale. Winning the three races, Marit Bouwmeester NED confirmed her reputation as a big-breeze-sailor, and equally solid in her comeback was Anna Tunnicliffe USA with three 2nd positions, holding rank 2 overall, ahead of Alicia Cebrian ESP, a new name among the best Laser girls on 3rd, tied with Nathalie Brugger SUI who had also an excellent first big-breeze day just restarting her Olympic campaign after a one year's break. Being 4th overall, she is actually ahead of the last World Cup winner Paige Railey USA. The results.

Winning the last regatta with double points, 'Oman Sail - Masirah' with Pete Cumming GBR got on top of the Oman Xtreme-40 event, the third victory of the Asian Series after Singapore and Hong Kong. But the advantage on their sister ship 'Muscat - The Wave' with Paul Campbell-James GBR is only 2 points. In the overall classifications, 'The Wave - Muscat' and 'Team China' share the 2nd place behind the superior winners 'Oman Sail - Masirah. The report, all results and the video of the final day.

Cool temperatures, rain and a light, shifty breeze prevailed on the first weekend of the Primocup in Monaco. Two races could be sailed in all classes. In the Esse 850 class (11 teams). Arnaud Gavairon SUI is first, with the Dragons (21 teams), which started racing on Thursday already, having completed 5 regattas already, Hösch/Liebner/Listl GER are on the first position. The daily report and all other results.

Pushed by the trade winds, 'Groupama 3' is chasing southwards at a 30+ kn speed. This evening, Franck Cammas and his team will reach the doldrums with its thunderstorms and lulls. The crossing of the equator will be tomorrow Saturday. This morning, the maxi trimaran has a 440 miles advantage on the previous record holder 'Orange 2' five years ago. Here the report with a video clip and the race-viewer.

Never before, an Xtreme-40 regatta has been sailed in a fresh breeze over 25 kn as prevailing yesterday on the Gulf of Arabia waters. All teams had reefs in their main sails. Despite of this, a severe accident happened in the 5th race. The Austrian catamaran of the 'Red Bull Team' could not lower the gennaker in time when rounding the leeward mark and capsized. The helmsman Roman Hagara AUS fell from 5 meters onto the leeward hull and had to be hospitalised. His injuries are not too severe. The video of the capsize.
The new leader is now 'China Team' with Thierry Barot FRA, followed at one point by 'Oman Sail - Masirah' and 'The Wave - Muscat'. The rankings, the daily report and the video of the day.

Most probably, the forecasted strong winds of 25-30 kn will force both teams to take their multihulls off the water and the race committee to call off the scheduled practice race. If conditions are favorable on Saturday, we might get to see the final official training session before racing starts on Monday. Both teams have announced that media conferences will be held. A report by Valencia Sailing.
Yesterday, both teams were on the water in light winds near the coast freshening to 15-18 kn on the open sea. Little news frome BMW-Oracle, and no news from Alinghi on these trainings.

The New York Supreme Court has scheduled the hearings concerning the motion of BMW-Oracle re the Alinghi sails 'constructed in the USA' on February 25. However, should BMW-Oracle win on the water, the claim would be withdrawn. The report.

Today, the Laser Radial Midwinter's Regatta begins off Fort Lauderdale. Once again, there will be another edition of the eternel duel between the two Miami-OCR winners Paige Railey USA, first with the Radials, and the Olympic Laser Radial Champion Anna Tunnicliffe USA, first in Women's Matchracing two weeks ago. A preview on the high-quality event.

In a 30-35 kn breeze, a bunch of Australian Laser sailors surfed the approx. 30 km from Rockingham (where the 1979 Laser Worlds were organised among others with, Ed Baird USA and your humble www.sailing-news.ch editor) to Fremantle. A long and wild ride. See the onboard-video.

The wind and wave limits (15 kn / 1 meter) in the Sailing Instructions are not applicable. The Jury gave Race Office Harold Bennett NZL the discretion to use his experience and judgment on what constitutes fair and safe conditions for racing. GGYC’s yacht USA has also been cleared to use onboard wind-detection equipment (Laser) as well as fast and green friction-reduction technologies. Only the 10 a.m. (CET) start-time in the SI has been confirmed by the Jury. An article in Sail-World, and the usual comment by the spokesman of GGYC Tom Ehman. Alinghi noted the decisions with more or less reluctance.

The maxi-trimaran 'Groupama 3' slowed down slightly only when reaching the trade-winds, and actually, Franck Cammas FRA and his team are already on the latitudes of the Cape Verde Islands. The navigator's Stan Honey's next challenge is to find the quickest way through the doldrums. According to the weather team, 'Groupama 3' will cross the equator in about 6 days, that is the second best time ever. This morning, 'Groupama 3' has a 130 miles lead on 'Orange 2'. The report (in French and English) and the race-tracker.

The rumours existing since quite some times - we reported about last fall - seem to be confirmed. Ernesto Bertarelli will steer his Alingh 5 during the Cup races.
In an interview with the Spanish journal 'Las Provincias', he confirmed his ambitions. Here the report. As multiple winner of the D35-catamara annual rankings on Lake Geneva, Bertarelli has a vast experience in catamaran racing, and the message came out that he had been the fastest in the internal speed tests with the other candidates.
Yesterday in a very light 7 kn breeze, Alinghi emulated a full race on a course moored by the official Race Committee. They needed 2 hours and a half for the 40 miles up-and-down course. The report.

Just in time with the upcoming 33rd America's Cup, the X40-catamarans organised a match-race-day in their circuit. And matchracing on catamaran works ! Only 500 meters from the shore, the matches have been extremely intense. The final winner was the double Olympic Champion Shirley Robertson GBR on the 'Rumbo Almeria', defeating 'Oman Sail - Masirah' in the final. Both teams have been back in the overall series rankings, so that Roman Hagara AUT with his 'Red-Bull'-team maintains his lead. The report and the video of the day.

BMW-Oracle continued its training with short races, improving the teamwork and manoeuvre according to a short, illustrated report. With the elimination of the wind limits by the International Jury, the US-Team sees increased opportunities See the statement of the Golden Gate YC. However, the preliminary weather forecast for the next week predicts only light winds between 3 and 8 kn.

As previously announced, we shall continuously report about the match over Twitter during the race days. The gun will start the races off Valencia on next Monday, Wednesday and possibly Friday (if a third match is needed) on 10.06 hrs CET. Considering the wind forecasts, postponements of the start are not unlikely, as also during the past days the breeze filled in only around noon.
Consult your local TV schedules re the individual AC coverage.

The latest IFDS-Bulletin reports on the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta of last week with a record participation in the three Paralympic classes. The Bulletin.

The weather strategy of Franck Cammas and his team seems to fit perfectly. The forecasted beam wind has pushed the 105-foot-trimaran southwards with an average speed of more than 30 kn. The deficit on the existing record of 100 miles during the Gulf of Gascoigne passage has been transformed in an advantage of already 132 miles this morning. It shall increase until the equator as the wind conditions will most probably sustain. The report, the race-viewer and the first onboard-video.

The ISAF appointed international jury denied BMW Oracle's request for redress regarding measurement of the competing yachts. It issued an interim decision late Tuesday night rejecting the challenger, BMW Oracle's latest complaint regarding the position and volume of the water ballast onboard the racing yachts during measurement. It puts the onus on the measurer to guarantee that the amount and location of ballast aboard for measurement is solely to enhance performance, not circumvent the waterline requirements of the Deed of Gift. In a first comment, Alinghi was very satisfied. GGYC' spokeperson Tom Ehman accepted the decision on behalf of BMW-Oracle without agreeing. Today, the decisions re the other redress cases will be published by the Jury. The report by Valencia Sailing.

Yesterday afternoon, both teams continued with their trainings in light winds. BMW-Oracle did add some more photos to their weblog. No training news however on the Alinghi-Website, but new articles on the design team and the physio training.

Yesterday, six races were sailed in a 12 kn breeze, and Roman Hagara AUT with his 'Red Bull'-Team could defend his overall lead. However, The Wave - Muscat' with Paul Campbell-James GBR as best of the day could reduce the points gap on the Austrians. The Muscat Regatta lasts until Friday and nothing has been decided so far. The daily report and the video of the day.

The first 24 hours of the circumnavigation of the maxi-trimaran 'Groupama 3' was according to plan. Just in time before the slackening of the Gulf of Gascoigne breeze, Franck Cammas FRA and his team reached the Cape Finisterre on the most Northerly point of Spain. In fact, the multihull did loose 100 miles on the existing record, but as predicted by the weathermen, 'Groupama 3' can now take advantage of ideal downwind conditions. During the day, the wind will freshen to up to 30 kn. This morning at 3 hrs GMT, the backlog has been reduced to 86 miles already. The speed is actually 23,7 kn. The report and the race-viewer.

The hearings re the issues submitted to the Jury by BMW/Oracle lasted over six hours, and the findings will be released this afternoon. The question whether the Defender can unilaterally select wind and wave limits is important for Alinghi, as their catamaran is more suited to light winds than the allround trimaran of BOR. In his statement, the BMW-Oracle-spokesman Tom Ehman appreciates that 'the issues being considered are significant and that the Jury gave the challenger and defender full opportunity to present their cases'.

Moderate conditions yesterday off Valencia with another training session for BMW/Oracle, without any details, but more photos by Gilles Martin-Raget from the helicopter and a new onboard-video have been published.
No news from Alinghi so far concerning yesterday's activities.

Already in March, the Moth World Championships will be organised in Dubai. The favorites are inmidst of their preparations such as the World Champion Bora Gulari USA, who was the superior winner of the Pacific Coast Championship off Coronado/San Diego with 11 race wins in 14 regattas. The results and a report in Scuttlebutt.

Light winds of 8 kn at the utmost prevailed during the first four races during the first day. The 'Red-Bull'-team with Roman Hagara AUT demonstrated their skills in these conditions, taking the lead in the interims rankings with the day results 1/2/2/1. The Asia-Tour leaders 'Oman Sail - Masirah' with Pete Cumming GBR are until now on the 5th place only in their 'home regatta'. The report, the rankings and the video of the day with among other topics shows also the 'Jewel of Muscat', the replica of a 2000 year old sailboat, to demonstrate Oman's history as a seafarer nation.

As announced, the new official America's-Cup-Website was released yesterday. Much more animated than the website of the last Cup, it contains among other features an overview on the history of the America's Cup and a number of videos, the latest one a 10-minutes interview with the Principal Race Officer Harold Bennett NZL.
On Saturday, February 6, the America's Cup-Park opens its doors for the public. A daily program, food and beverage and of course the races displayed on a wide screen are provided. Some details on the program.

A 2nd place in the 5th regatta was sufficient for the defending champions form 'Gotta love it 7' with Seve Jarvin/Sam Newton/Tom Clout AUS to claim the Australian Champion's title 2010 on the last weekend. With this new achievement, the young Australians will without doubt be the declared favorites for the inofficial Worlds title, the JJ-Giltinan-Trophy, that begins on February 12. The report and the gallery of photos.

The success story of www. sailing-news.ch began on February 1, 2006. Within 4 years, this most important Swiss platform ever for the sport of sailing has grown to a key information medium, and the interest in these pages has crossed the borders, as there is rarely another Internet portal as up-to-date and complete when it comes to sail racing. During the last year, visitors from over 140 countries have contacted our website !
Up to 2'000 readers per day access our pages at present. With an increase in readers of 62% compared to last year, the 2010 start has been highly successful. The number of 'unique identifiable visitors' in January did almost double to 9870 (+92%) - here the statistics (PDF).
High time to share the success of our early morning endeavours with an advertising banner - the best approach to reach the target group of sailing addicts !

In view of the coming America's Cup races, our service has been extended to Twitter. As from 8 a.m. GMT, all news will be available on Twitter and during the match races, a live ticker will run over the handy network. Registration as a 'follower' on Twitter with the indication of the Handy phone number enables this service.

Apparently, Frank Cammas FRA and the 9 members of the team - 8 Frenchmen plus Stan Honey USA and Stève Ravussin SUI - took a spontaneaous decision yesterday afternoon to start their round-the-world record attempt with their 105-foot-trimaran 'Groupama 3', taking profit of a small weather window. A frontal system off Spain should help to ride at full speed close to the equator. However, it has been crucial to reach Cap Finisterre at the most Northerly point of Spain during this night. With 100 miles in 4 hours, the maxi-trimaran had a good take-off yesterday evening. More news will without doubt follow during this morning. The official report from the start with a video.

We did already inform on the results of the Miama Olympic Classes World Cup Regatta, sailed in light winds, in our Sunday news (scroll down). The most impressive performance from a Swiss standpoint was the 5th final position of Nathalie Brugger in the Laser Radial class. Coming back after a year concentrating on studies, she was the only representative of the Swiss National Team in Miami. In the meantime, a video of the last day with the Medal-Races has been published.

In one week from now, the start to the first race of the 33rd America's Cup challenge will be given. There are no news about yesterday's trainings sessions on the web. Alinghi opened its base for spectators and over 10'000 visitors observed the team preparing th multihull before leaving the port. The report.
If and when BMW-Oracle was out cannot be seen from their Weblog. Last Saturday, the Americans had a training in ideal conditions during 9 hours - we reported yesterday.
Today, the Jury hearings concerning some paragraphs of the Sailing Instructions are on the program. Technical questions such as the ban of ther Laser wind gauge, and the skin friction rule (injection of substances into the water of the race course), but also the fix 10 a.m. starting time are at debate. The American lawyer Cory Friedman predicts in his 55th comment re this legal case, that the technical restrictions in the SI will be eliminated, in line with the NY Court decision - based on a request by Alinghi - that all respective ISAF Racing Rules be suspended. Sail-World.com presents also some guesses on the outcome of the Jury hearings.
Today, the new official Internet-website of the 33rd America's Cup shall be launched. At this very moment on Monday morning, the pages have not yet been opened.

Today, the third and last round of the X-40-Asia Sailing Series begins on the waters of the Gulf of Arabia. Yesterday, three training heats have been sailed in ideal weather conditions with a steady seabreeze. The 20-miles race has been won by the Austrian Olympic Champion Roman Hagara AUT with his 'Red-Bull'-team. The report.

The Medal Races of the 470 class were the most thrilling ones yesterday. With the close ranking, the fights for positions during the races were very intense. Winning the Medal Race of the 470 men, Anton Dahlberg/Sebastian Östling SWE climbed back on rank 1 again and celebrated their first big international success. Belcher/Page AUS and Kliger/Sela ISR finished on the 2nd and 3rd position. Winners of the Medal Race of the 470 women were Emmanuelle Rol/Héléne Defrance FRA. The former Swiss Olympian advanced to the 4th place and missed the podium by one point only. Amanda Clark/Sarah Chin USA were the overall winners, followed by Petitjean/Douroux FRA and Koch/Sommer DEN. In the 49er class, Emmanuel Dyen/Stéphane Christidis FRA could defend their big lead as expected, finishing ahead of Delle-Karth/Resch AUT and Karstoft/Bay DEN. Ed Wright GBR and Giles Scott GBR could celebrate an English dooble in the Finn class. Gasper Vincec SLO finished on the 3rd rank. Horton/Lyne USA, leaders in the Starboat class during the whole week, were finally defeated by Melleby/Pedersen NOR. Mendelblatt/Von Schwarz USA finished on the 3rd place. No changes occurred with the RS:X-male windsurfers with Dorian Rijsselberghe NED winning in front of Ivan Pastor ESP and Julien Bontemps FRA. The Spanish duel in the RS:X-female class had Marina Alabaus as final winner one point ahead of Blanca Manchon. The four-times ISAF-Youth World Champion Laura Linares ITA finished on the 3rd place tied with Charline Piccon FRA. The final report and all videos of the second Worldcup event 2010.

Being the overall winner with a huge advantage already before the Medal Race, Paige Railey USA added another bullet to her successful series winning the final race of the Lasers Radial, extended her lead to 39 points!. Alicia Cebran ESP finished as solid 2nd and also Allison Young could defend her 3rd place. With a 7th position in the Medal Race, Nathalie Brugger SUI terminated the regatta on the excellent 5th place, winning her first Worldcup points.
In the Laser Standard class, Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA succeeded to pass Kyle Rogachenko USA in the final race terminating 2nd behind the superior Nick Thompson. The daily report and the videos of the week.

Anna Tunnicliffe USA and her team succeeded to recover from a 0-2 backlog and defeated Lucy MacGregor GBR 3-2 after a very tight last race of the Miami Worldcup event final. Claire Leroy FRA was the winner against Nicky Souter AUS with 2-1 in the Petite Final for rank 3. The results.

The good sailing conditions yesterday enabled both teams to continue their trainings on the water. In the daily report of Alinghi, the headsail trimmer Simon Daubney NZL explains his job aboard. With a headsail of 1100 m2, the largest one ever built, Alinghi 5 has extreme loads on sheets and winches. Compared to the previous Cuppers, the interaction between mainsail and headsail has substantially changed. The report.

The American team spent 9 hours on the water yesterday. With a breeze in the high 20 kn at the beginning, several points on the 'to-do' list could be ticked, among others manoeuvres around the marks and changing sails. The report by the BMW-Oracle-Coach Glenn Ashby AUS.
The US media team accompanied the multihull by helicopter during the day, providing some photos by Gilles Martin-Raget and two videos worthwhile seeing. Check it out on Sail World.

In a telephone conference, Judge Shirley Kornreich did inform the two parties yesterday that due to lack of time, the decision whether the Alinghi sails are "Constructed in Country" will not be made before the first match date February 8. This means that there will be racing, provided the weather is favorable on that date. Alinghi welcomed in its communiqué this decision, whereas the Golden Gate YC deplores that legality of Alinghi’s sails probably will not be decided before the Match.racing will happen. Still pending is the decision of the International Jury regarding some paragraphs of the Sailing Instructions, such as the ban of the Laser wind gauge. A decision on those points will follow next week. In a video, the BMW-Oracle-weather team explains their work.

After two more races in light to medium winds, the Olympic Classes Regatta ended for most of the participants yesterday. Today, the ten best by class will sail the Medal Races to determine the final winners and acquire their Worldcup points.
In the 470 class, the situation is thrilling: Four teams of the men's fleet are separated by 2 points only. Kliger/Sela ISR lead 1 point ahead of the duo Belcher/Page AUS and Dahlberg/Östling SWE, followed by Asher/Willis GBR another point behind. Even Leboucher/Garros FRA have chances to advance to the medal ranks. With the 470 women, the top-3 are also very close. Koch/Sommer DEN, Petitjean/Douroux FRA and Clark/Chin USA will probably race for the victory. The 420 ISAF Youth World Champion 2009 Martine Grael BRA (with Bronze medalist Isabel Swan), sailing for the first time an international 470 race, is on rank 7, even ahead of the 470 World Champions Westerhof/Berkhout NED who just made the Medal Race qualification.
In the 49er class, Emanuel Dyen/Stéphane Christidis FRA have an 11 points lead on Delle-Karth/Resch AUT before the Medal Race. Also with the Finns, the winner is most probably already known, as Ed Wright GBR has a 14 points adavantage over Giles Scott GBR. The man of the day however was Jonathan Jobert FRA with two bullets, but as 6th overall, he does not have any chances for a medal. In the Starboat class, the victory will be decided between Horton/Lyne USA and Melleby/Pedersen NOR, and a duel for the first place will also happen with the RS:X-male windsurfers between Dorian Rijsselberghe NED and Ivan Pastor ESP 2 points behind. With the RS:X-female surfers, Blanca Manchon ESP and Marina Alabau ESP will once more fight for the title, ahead of Charline Picon FRA on rank 3. The daily report and the video of the day.

Nick Thompson GBR and Paige Railey USA have already been crowned as superior winners of the Miami-Worldcup, as their leads have record-like dimensions with 44 points for Thompson and 33 points for Paige Railey USA ! The race for Silver and Bronze with the Lasers Standard will be between Kyle Rogachenko USA (day win yesterday), Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA and Bruno Fontes BRA.
With the Lasers Radial. the 2nd place is also already allotted to Alicia Cebrian ESP. Allison Young GBR has good chances for Bronze as her lead on Nathalie Brugger SUI on rank 4 is 13 points. Surprising the the normally strong French Radial team with Sophie de Turckheim (13th), Mathilde de Kerangeat (14th) and past World Championne Sarah Steyaert FRA (22nd) and other top sailors of the previous seasons such as Sari Multala FIN (11th) and Evi Van Acker BEL (20th), who could not qualify for the Medal Race. The day report and the video of the day.

Lucy MacGregor GBR, defeating Claire Leroy FRA clearly 3-0 in the semi final and Anna Tunnicliffe USA winner of the other semi final in a tight duel with Nicky Souter AUS with a score of 3-2 will dispute the final today. The results.

The three Paralympic Classes terminated their Worldcup yesterday without Medal Races. Scott Whitman/Julia Dorsett USA in the Skud 18 class added another win in the first race and did not have to start to the final race afterwards. Alexander Wang-Hansen/Per Kristiansen/Marie Solberg NOR defended their first position in the Sonar class.
In the 2.4 m class however, the very last race brought the decision in favour of the Paralympic Champion Paul Tingley CAN who climbed on the first place after a rather slow start in the Miami series. The positions 2 and 3 went to Thierry Schmitter NED and John Ruf USA. The daily report.

Yesterday, Alinghi has been on the water for almost 9 hours. In a 12-15 kn breeze, the Swiss team completed an entire race course to the full satisfaction of the team leaders. The report.

Our daily updates contain also the latest news in some special sections. The blinking yellow stars with the index items in the left column indicate whether news have been added, today for instance in the sections Sailing Switzerland, Cruising, Publications & Books and Environment.

Yesterday, both teams had their tests and trainings on the water until sunset. Here the report of BMW/Oracle.
Mario Caponneto, responsible for the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calculations for the American wing-mast gave in an extended (marketing-oriented) interview some interesting information on the construction and the functioning of the largest wing ever built. The interview.

Thursday was another day with light and shifty winds and therefore tactically challenging races. In the much disputed 470 male class, Dahlberg/Östling SWE came back on rank 1, closely followed by Asher/Willis GBR. In the 470 female class, the veterans Petitjean/Douroux FRA have taken the lead tied with Clarke/Chin USA. Dyen/Christidis FRA defended their first place with the 49ers and Ed Wright GBR clearly extended his lead with the Finns. In the Starboat class, Melleby/Pedersen NOR did come closer to Horton/Lyne USA who had a premature start yesterday. In the fleet of the RS:X-men, Dorian Rijsselberghe NED remains on top, and with the RS:X-women, Blanca Manchon ESP is back on the first position after the drop of the worst result. The daily report and the video of the day.

Thursday was another day with light and shifty winds and therefore tactically challenging races. With two bullets yesterday, Nick Thompson GBR clearly extended his lead on Bruno Fontes BRA, Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA and Andreas Geritzer AUT in the Laser Standard, as they all had their weakest day so far. As from today, the regatta continues with a Gold and Silver fleet.
Paige Railey USA continues to control the Lasers Radial, and - finishing 1 and 3 - she could extend her lead to 18 points. Alicia Cebrian ESP on the 2nd place has also already an advantage of 19 points on the 3rd Allison Young GBR. The daily report and the video of the day.

Yesterday, the qualification flights were completed and two rounds of the best-of-five-quarter finals were sailed. Lucy MacGregor GBR (2-0 vs Lotte Meldgaaard DEN), Anna Tunnicliffe USA (2-0 vs Lucinda Whitty AUS) and Claire Leroy FRA (2-0 vs Sally Barkow USA) are all one win before the semi-finals. The forth pair between Nicky Souter AUS and Samantha Osborne NZL however is open with a 1-1 tie. The results.

Whereas the Skud 18 fleet with Scott Whitman/Julia Dorsett USA and the Sonars with Wang-Hansen/Kristiansen/Solberg NOR had no change on top of the rankings, the much disputed 2.4 m fleet has a new leader since yesterday with Thierry Schmitter NED on top, followed by John Ruf USA. Also progressing is the Paralympic Champion Paul Tingley CAN on the 3rd position. The daily report.

Both teams restarted their trainings after the storm break of the past days, but only a very light breeze - between 3 and 8 kn - prevailed. BMW-Oracle had to return to the harbour after a few minutes, as a minor damage ocurred with the wing. During the evening the repair was executed without lowering the mast. Alinghi sailed during three hours in the afternoon without problems. Today, both teams plan to continue their trainings. Check out also the report by Pierre Orphanidis, Valenciasailing, who on board of the Race Committee boat had an insight in the not easy operation to run the races.

The production of legal papers continues. Tom Ehman, spokesman of the Golden Gate YC, repeats once again their position on a number of points, especially the 'Constructed in Country' clause relating to the Alinghi sails. Here the statement. The Americans comment also the Sailing Instruction paragraph re the use of environmentally-safe friction-reduction technologies on behalf of the Jury in another statement.
Fred Meyer SUI of the SN Genève complains once more about BMW/Oracle's latest legal activities in a communiqué, announcing that Alinghi would retire from the race if the NY Court banned the Swiss sails. However, it is doubtful that the Court will publish an order before February 8.

'D’Altaïr à Alinghi - La saga des multicoques du Léman' , that's the title of an exposition opening today in Geneve. With Alinghi 5, the development of catamarans on Lake Geneva has come to a peak. To be noted, that the story of high-performance multihull started already 30 years ago. The report (PDF).

Typical Miami conditions with a 8-10 kn shifty breeze allowed for the full program of the Olympic Worldcup Regatta yesterday and the discards to be considered for the overall rankings. With two race wins, Nic Asher/Elliott Willis GBR have taken the lead in the 470 male class, followed by Panagiotis/Kagialis GRE and Kliger/Sela ISR. In the 470 female fleet, Amanda Clarke/Sarah Chin USA are now on the first place ahead of Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Geron FRA. A French boat is also on top of the 49ers with Emmanuel Dyen/Stéphane Christidis FRA, advancing Delle-Karth/Resch AUT by 11 points. With two race wins, Ed Wright GBR has replaced Giles Scott GBR on the first place of the Finns. Zach Railey USA follows on rank 3. No change with the Starboats: Horton/Kyne USA and Melleby/Pedersen NOR stay clearly in front. With the RS:X-men, the winner of the day Ivan Pastor ESP did progress to the 2nd place overall behind Dorian Rijsselberghe NED, who remains on top. The leader in the RS:X-women's fleet is now Marina Alabau ESP, closely followed by Charline Picon FRA and Laura Linares ITA. The daily report and the video of the day.

Three races were sailed yesterday in light and shifty winds. In the Laser Standard class, Bruno Fontes BRA replaced Nick Thompson GBR on the first place, and best of the day with two race wins, Andreas Geritzer AUT progressed on the 3rd position. Another race winner was Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA, who is now on the 4th place.
In the Laser Radial fleet, Paige Railey USA extended her lead. With a race win each, Allison Young GBR and Alicia Cebrian ESP advanced to the positions 2 and 4, with Cecilia Carranza ARG in between. The daily report and the video of the day.

Yesterday, the Opening Series of the Women's Matchrace (sailed on the new Elliot 6 m Olympic Keelboats, selected two years ago) continued split in four groups (Gold, Repechage, Silver and Bronze). The 6 teams in the Goldfleet - Claire Leroy FRA, Lucy NacGreor GBR, Samantha Osborne NZL, Nicky Souter AUS, Sally Barkow USA and Anna Tunnicliffe USA are already qualified for the Quarterfinals. The two best teams of the Repechage will complete the final fleet. After three of five flights, Lotte Meldgaard DEN leads with 3-0 wins followed by Silke Hahlbrock GER, Gerry Tulloch USA and Lucinda Whitty AUS 2-1 each, all fighting for one of the two places in the final Goldfleet today. The results.

In the three Paralympic Classes, the leaders could defend their first places, but John Ruf USA, 2.4 m keelboat, had to let Thierry Schmitter NED come close to one point. The Paralympic Champion Paul Tingley CAN follows on the 3rd place. With the Sonars, Alexander Wang-Hansen NOR and his team remain on top. Bruno Jourdren FRA - co-skipper of Bernard Stamm SUI during the Class 40 Transatlantic Regatta 'Solidaire du Chocolat' - progressed on the 2nd position, being the best of the day. Scott Whitman/ Julia Dorsett USA did add two more race wins in the Skud 18 class. The daily report.

Sunshine and very shifty winds around 10 kn now for all Olympic and Paralympic classes on the Biscayne Bay yesterday. After three races of the 470 men, Gideon Kliger/Eran Sela ISR took the lead followed by Dahlberg/Östling SWE and Patience/Bithell GBR. With 7 teams within three points, the rankings of the 470 women is very even: Petitjean/Douroux FRA are ahead of Maxwell/Kinsolving USA and Lecointre/Geron FRA. Less convincing than on the first day Will and Sam Phillips AUS with the 49ers. However, they just could defend their first place against Dyen/Christidis FRA and Lehtinen/Bask FIN. In the Finn class, Giles Scott GBR and Zach Railey USA pulled already clear of the rest of the fleet. Despite of the fact that the Starboat Worlds just finished last Friday, some teams just made it in time for Miami. The actual ranking is Horton/Lyne USA ahead of Melleby/Pedersen NOR and Mendelblatt/Von Schwarz USA. Dorian Van Rijsselberghe NED was the winner of the two RS:X-board races yesterday ahead of Kevin Stittle CAN and the World Champion Nick Dempsey GBR. With the RS:X-female windsurfers, once again the Spanish women dominate with Blanca Manchon ESP leading after two race wins ahead of Marina Alabau ESP and Charline Picon FRA. All results and the daily report.

The Lasers Standard could sail three, the Radials two races yesterday in shifty winds around 10 kn. With two race wins, Nick Thompson GBR has now a clear lead with the Standards, and Bruno Fontes BRA is also on a very solid second place, followed by Gijs Pelt NED on the 3rd position. Malo Leseigneur FRA on the 5th rank and Simon Grotelüschen GER on 6 are the best of their national teams.
Paige Railey USA is the well established Laser Radial leader, followed by Marit Bouwmeester NED and Cecilia Carranza ARG. Matilde de Kerangeat FRA on 5 and Nathalie Brugger SUI on 6 are the best of their countries. Surprisingly, some of the dominators of the past year have their difficulties. Sari Multala FIN is 11th, Veronica Venclova CZE follows on the 20th rank. The daily report.

The 24 female matchrace teams sailed their qualification matches till sunset yesterday, and their is now only one flight in group A missing. The best four by groupe qualify for the final series. In group B, Lucy MacGregor GBR (7-0), Sally Barkow USA and Renée Groenveld NED (5-2), as well as Anna Kjellberg SWE (4-3) are through. In group C, the sequence is Nicky Souter AUS (6-1) ahed of Samantha Osborne NZL and Silke Hahlbrock GER (5-2 each) and Genny Tulloch USA. Despite the missing flight in group A, Claire Leroy FRA (6-0) is already qualified. Lotte Meldgaard DEN, Anna Tunnicliffe USA, Lucinda Whitty AUS (4-2 each) and Jen Provan CAN (3-3) will fight for the remaining three slots. The results.

It is a tradition that the Laser Masters start their busy season in Antibes in the South of France. 78 participants from 8 nations sailed 5 races over the past weekend mostly in light winds. Xavier Leclair FRA was the winner in the Laser Standard class with a marginal advantage on the double (470/Tornado) Swiss Olympian Charles Favre SUI (photo), back in an international Laser regatta after 30 years. Fausto Vasallo ITA finished 3rd. In the Laser Radial class, the Great Grand Master (60+) Wolf-Peter Nissen GER was first ahead of Henk Wittenberg NED and Tomaso Ambrosi SUI. The results. The next Laser Masters' event will be organised at Calella ESP in March.

As the majority of the Olympic classes, the Paralympic classes 2.4m, Sonar and Skud 18 stayed ashore on the first day because of the passing thunderstorm. Yesterday all three classes sailed three races. John Ruf USA is the clear leader of the 2.4m with the day ranks 2/1/2, followed by Thierry Schmitter NED and Megan Pascoe GBR. Damien Séguin FRA follows on the 4th place of the 28 participants. Alexander Wang-Hansen NOR and his team are on the first position of the Sonars, ahead of Kroker/Prem/Mainka GER. The Olympic Champion Bruno Jourdren FRA and his team are at present on the 4th place, despite of a race win. The leading Skud 18 team are Scott Whitmann/Julia Dorsett USA. The daily report.

Looking for a new challenge in the coming season? There is now a unique opportunity to join the famous exclusiv J-Class. The American Ranger', a replica of the America's Cup yacht from the 30ies is for sale or charter. Price information upon request. The report.

The Race Committee of the Olympic Worldcup reduced yesterday's program in view of an upcoming thunderstorm. Only the 49ers and the matchracing women with courses close to the shore were on the water during the whole day. After the thunderstorm, the Lasers Standard and Radial sailed a regatta each. In decreasing winds, the favorites did finish on top with Nick Thompson GBR and Luke Ramsey CAN as leaders of their Laser Standard groups, followed by the duos Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA / Chris Dold CAN, and Diego Romero ITA / Rasmus Mygren SWE on the 2nd and 3rd place each. With Paige Railey USA, the key favorite is on rank 1 with the Lasers Radial, followed by Alberte Holm DEN and Alison Young GBR.
In Women's Matchracing, two of the three groups were sailing: With a 3-0 score each, Claire Leroy FRA and Anna Tunnicliffe USA are on top of group A, in group B, Lucy MacGregor GBR, Anna Kjellberg SWE and Renée Groenveld NED lead with a 4-0 score. The results.
Three races were sailed with the 49ers: In absence of the top teams, Will and Sam Philipps AUS took the lead ahead of Dyen/Christidis FRA and Delle-Karth/Resch AUT. The daily report.
All other classes will have their first race today The wind forecast mentions moderate winds aroung 10 kn.

The incertitudy created by the legal dispute delayed the organisational preparations of the America's Cup event, and as a consequence, the TV stations did make their plans well before without considering a live transmission. For the first time, the Internet will therefore be the prime live coverage medium. At present, the organisers try to install the respective infrastructure within a very tight schedule. This will include a large screen for public viewing in the Valencia harbour area. A report.
www.sailing-news.ch will cover this event thoroughly including real-time presence during the race days, to act as your one-stop-shop extracting and digesting all key information available and linking to the addresses of preference to get the most accurate first hand information.

Whereas Alinghi tries to have a control of the wind situation by means of two ultra-light-airplanes, BMW/Oracle plans to use a new laser wind measurement device to detects wind speeds and directions. The previsously used wind spotting on top of the mast has become obsolite with the high boat speeds. The laser gauge used by BMW-Oracle works precisely up to one kilometer. But this equipment gives cause for another complaint, as it is forbidden in the published Sailing Instructions. In an article of Valenciasailing.com, the functioning of this tool, developped by the aerospace industry and used for the first time in yachtracing, is explained.

Yesterday, ISAF did publish the list of the nominated four Umpires. They will have the unique and not easy task to follow and supervise the two multihulls speeding at 20-40 kn. A report.
In an interview, Harold Bennet NZL (Regatta Director and Principal Race Officer) and Niccolo Porzio ITA (Race Operations Manager prior to the races and Course Marshal during the races) explain the details of the race management organisation. The report.

Dieter Loibner, an Austrian yachting journalist living in the US recently published a book with the title 'Sustainable Sailing' about the increasing impact of sailing on the environment. He explains how sailors can be a positive force for change. An interview with the author.

OceansWatch is looking for an experienced skipper to run their flagship, 'Magic Roundabout'. This is an exciting opportunity for someone with a lifetime of sailing behind them, a love of the ocean and a proven conservation background.The sailor can be currently located anywhere, but needs to be able to travel to New Zealand to join the expedition to the South Pacific. An article in Sail-World.

Today with an overcast sky and a breeze aroung 20 kn, the second event of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Classes World Cup will begin on the waters of the Biscayne Bay off Miami. As from tomorrow, the wind will change to a Norhterly direction and the temperatures will be lower according to the forecast. With 640 participants from 44 nations, the fleets are as large as never before. The official preview.

A cold front with winds of up to 25 kn and high waves prevented both teams from sailing yesterday. The unfavorable weather condintions shall prevail during this Monday. The report.
In the meantime, 'Scuttlebutt' has published the comments of Cory Friedman explaining the latest situation re the legal dispute on 'Constructed in Country'. It is wide open whether a Court sentence will be available before the date of the first match, February 8. The comments.

The Optimist team of the SN Geneva (America's Cup defender) was the winner of the Optimist-Monaco-Team Race, disputed for the first time defeating boats from 8 nations after 96 races sailed. The final win was against the team of St. Petersburg RUS. The report with a video.

During the media briefing last Wednesday, Russell Coutts explained the functioning of the wing on site. See the video on youtube.

Last Friday, the weather pattern prevented the 140-foot-trimaran 'Banque Populaire V' from starting, but during this week, a new more favorfable weather window could open allowing a departure for a round-the-world record attempt. Franck Cammas FRA with his 105-foot-trimaran 'Groupama 3' is waiting in the same harbour in Brest for ideal conditions to start.

Whether results nor any other information about the Masters Europacup at Antibes are currently available. We shall inform asap.

For the coming day, the weather forecast announces again a stronger breeze, and both teams will most probably have another interruption of their trainings. Yesterday morning, when BMW/Oracle was out early, the wind increased to finally up to 22 kn. After a long upwind leg - the chase boats could hardly follow - the training had to be discontinued on the down-wind leg, as the servince engin for the winches broke down. The report.

At the end of the media-day of Alinghi on last Wednesday, BMW-Oracle took advantage of the presence of many journalists to present their view of the situation with a briefing on short notice. We informed in our news. Now, the full presentation of Russell Coutts is available in writing. The report.
The position of Alinghis in the legal dispute will be deployed once again tomorrow at 22:20 CET during the Swiss Television sportlounge with Fred Meyer, Vize-Commodore SNG, as well as the ex-Alinghi-team-member Christian 'Blumi' Scherrer and the former Swiss sailor Tom Rüegge.

Tomorrow Monday, the second event of the 2010 ISAF Olympic and Paralympic World Cup will begin on the waters of the Biscayne Bay off Miami. 640 participants form 44 nations are on the entry lists, with strong fleets in both Laser classes, the RS:X windsurfers and the Women's Matchrace. A preview and the event-website.

Preparing the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta, the 470s sailed the North Armerican Championships during the past weekend with a high-qualitiy international fleet. 45 teams from 15 nations were present. The winners were uke Patience/Stuart Bithell GBR in the men's fleet and Emmanuelle Rol/Hélène Defrance SUI/FRA ahead of Amanda Clarke/Sarah Chin USA and Lecointre/Geron FRA in the women's fleet. The report and the rankings..

The Greek Icarus - Olympic Sailing Media has the objective to present Olympic and development classes sailing in high-level film reports. With live shots, 3D-animations, onboard-cameras and GPS-tracking, races shall be covered "as never before". An example, using some of these approaches, is on the www.sailinganarchy.com website (scroll down to 'vid - A new View', 01/21/10) with a 30-minutes report on the Byte CII-Europeans in Imperia.

No changes happened in the last two races of the event yesterday: In the Melges 24, the two leading boats dominated the fleet again both with rankings 1 and 2 each. 'Uka-Uka', owner Lorenzo Santini ITA, remained 3 points ahead of 'Blu Moon' of Franco Rossini SUI. Also in the Farr 40 class, the victory was Italian by Giovanni Maspero ITA and his 'Joe Fly'. In the largest fleet with 22 teams, the Melges 32, 'Samba Pa Ti' of John Kilroy USA was the winner. The final report.

At a press conference yesterday in Paris, the double Vendée-Globe-winner Michel Désjoyeaux FRA announced his plans for the coming years. Assisted by his sponsor 'Foncia', who renewed the joint partnership, a new IMOCA Open 60 will be built that Désjoyeaux will use at the 2012 Vendée. As from 2011, he will be engaged in the newly created Multi One Design 70-Circuit. These 70-foot-one-design-trimarans will also be used in a later round-the-world race. A report in French and an article in English in Sail World. In addition, there is a video-presentation on the Désjoyeaux website.

The departure of the 140-foot-trimaran 'Banque Populaire' has been delayed yesterday because of the unfavorable weather conditions. There has been a plan to leave last evening. Pascal Bidégorry FRA and his team will stay on 'stand-by' until February 20. After their fabulous transatlantic record last summer (3 days and 16 hours), expectations are high for a new circumnavigation record. Together with 'Groupama 3', 'Banque Populaire' is waiting in Brest for a better weather pattern. Could even become a 'matchrace' around the world if both start almost together. Fortunate enough, they dont need to go to Court to win the race. A report (f).

Until yesterday, the SN Geneva hat to submit its opposition arguments to the New York Supreme Court in response to Golden Gate Yacht Club’s (GGYC) ninth lawsuit. In parallel to the opposition papers, SNG has presented a counter motion stating that, should GGYC’s interpretation of the 'Constructed in Country'-rule (CIC) in the Deed of Gift be validated by the Court, then its own boat would be illegal. With a series of supporting documents, the Swiss want to prove that the sails have been "constructed" in Switzerland, including one by Tom Whidden USA, president of North Sails.
The reaction of BMW-Oracle was immediate, as a summary in Sail-World explains. It is obvious, that the Deed-of-Gift, 130 years old, leaves much room for legal interpretations, as explained in a detailed article. It will be inevitable that most probably the legal case goes on during and after the America's Cup-races of February, provided the regatta takes place. One scenario could be that the NY Court declares both multihulls as illegal forcing the parties to look for a mutual agreement.

Yesterday, the BMW-Oracle-Team continued with its trainings again in light winds as the photos and a video in BORs weblog shows.

As reported yesterday evening, the Olympic Champions Iain Percy/Andrew Simpson GBR are the winners of the 2010 Star World Championship, Percys's second after 2002, finishing a difficult last race in a light, shifty wind and currents on the 18th position to be dropped. They were close to loosing the title race against Flavio Marazzi/Enrico De Maria SUI, who were on the second place after the first round, that would have been sufficient for the overall victory. But the conditions were such that the Swiss could not defend this position and finishing 12th, they remained on the Silver Medal place, their second Vice-Worlds-title after 2004. The strong Brazilian team with Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira BRA 3rd, Lars Grael/Ronaldo Seifert BRA 4th and Alan Adler/Guilherme Almeida BRA, relegated from rank 3 to 5 after an OCS-restart, occupies the next positions. The final results and the daily report.

After a break on Wednesday - due to "too much wind" (20 kn) - both multihulls were sailing in very light winds yesterday. For a short moment, they even posed for a photo together. The reports by Alinghi and by BMW-Oracle.

The last two races of the KWRW by class will be sailed today, but the most final results seem clear, except in the Melges 24 class. Lorenzo Bressani ITA on his 'Uka-Uka' finished 1 and 2 yesterday, but the eternal rival 'Blu Moon' with Franco Rossini SUI stays in contact only 3 points behind. Undisputed leaders are Giovanni Maspero ITA with the Farr 40s and John Kilroy USA with the Melges 32. For the first time during the 2010 Week, the breeze was fresher (14-16 kn) and there was more action on the race course, as the video of the day shows. All results and the daily report.

The 140-foot-trimaran 'Banque Populaire V' has been ready to start to the round-the-world record attempt 'Trophée Jules Verne' for crewed boats since Wednesday. Yesterday, the weather forecast was not yet convincing, and the go/no-go decision will be taken today around noon. In a positive case, the multihull would depart this evening. The report.

The routing-team of 'Groupama 3' is more sceptical about the weather situation, looking ahead to the weather development of next week that seems to offer more options for a good start. Franck Cammas FRA and his team arrived yesterday in Brest. The report with a video presenting the sailover from Lorient to Brest.

In the ancient times of Laser racing, John Bertrand USA succeeded to win two Laser World titles in a row 1976 and 77. Age 50+ now, he gave a comeback on the Laser at last year's Miami Olympic Classes Regatta (MOCR) after just one training hour. For this year's edition - the MOCR begins next Monday, a preview follows tomorrow - Bertrand has been preparing his participation more carefully. He gives some interesting comments and comparisons on the development of Laser sailing during the past 40 years in his weblog. Btw, Bertrand was racing in the famed legendary 1974 San Francisco Laser-Slalom. Here as a revival the video thanks to Youtube for everybody. Times to remember, when we wrapped the sail around the mast to reduce the sail plan in strong winds !

In a race full of excitement in a light and very shifty breeze, Iain Percy/Andrew Simpson GBR finally had their World Championship victory, the second one after 2002, but contrary to the expectations, they were almost about to loose the title, as Flavio Marazzi/Enrico De Maria SUI were on the 2nd place and theoretically World Champions, whereas the Brits were in the middle of the fleet after the first upwind. But after the first of three course changes, Marazzi/De Maria were down on rank 10 and could not recover until the end, finishing on rank 12. The new World Champions never had a chance to influence the outcome of the race, after failing to cover the Swiss shortly after the start. The live-coverage and the event-website, where the final results will be published within a short time.

With another good 6th place yesterday, Flavio Marazzi/Enrico De Maria SUI remain the only ones to challenge Iain Percy/Andrew Simpson GBR for the Worlds title today in the last race of the championship. However the Swiss would have to finish on the ranks 1 or 2 with Percy/Simpson not worse than 8th to compensate for the 8 points backlog. The fight for the Bronze Medal will be very tight as Alan Adler/Guilherme Almeida BRA, 3rd, have only a one points lead over Johannes Babenderede/Timo Jacobs GER, and even Xavier Rohart/Pierre-Alexis Ponsot FRA, 11th, are only 15 points behind Adler/Almeida BRA, which is not too much in a 80+ boats fleet. In the daily report, the Olympic Champions Percy/Simpson GBR don't reveal their tactics for today. With an aggressiv matchrace covering Marazzi/De Maria - Percy together with Ben Ainslie GBR with their the Team Origin had some excellent results during the World Match Tour in this year -, the Swiss could even drop out of the medal ranks. The rankings. As from 16 hrs GMT, the event-website presents a live follow-up about the race.

In a well attended press conference, the key persons of Alinghi made presentations and replied to questions of the media yesterday. Ernesto Bertarelli stressed again that Alinghi will be on the starting line on February 8, independent from the outcome of the legal disputes. He considers the latest motion of BMW-Oracle about the 'Contructed in Country' clause as inappropriate, as the US trimaran is French, designed by VPLP Paris (every construction starts with a design), and the BMW-engin aboard is German, so that their boat could be attacked on the CiC clause as well. The report with a video.
Due to the strong wind, there was no sailing yesterday, but the journalists had the opportunity to see the Swiss catamaran closely ashore. The report by Valencia-Sailing with an audio-link to the press conference.

Being ashore due to too much wind, BMW-Oracle took profit of the presence of many journalists at the Alinghi press conference to invite them on short notice to a guided tour around the improvised BMW-Oracle base at the Commercial Port of Valencia. Russell Coutts himself presented the wing-mast, the show-piece of the American challenger. Coutts is of the opinion that the Swiss cat will be very fast in light winds, whereas their trimaran would be superior in heaviers winds. BOR rejects therefore the wind limit in the Sailing Instructions, also for practical reasons, as nobody could give reliable measurements on top of the mast at 60 meter, and postponements or cancellations would be manipulated. As during the Alinghi press conference, politics around the legal conflicts were the main issue during the BMW-Oracle press briefing. Coutts complained about the ongoing personal attacks on his team, especially on Larry Ellison. Indeed, the cartoons on the Alinghi-website can be questioned.
The short report and the press conference as an audio-file.

After 6 of the 10 planned races, the ranking lists are now clearly structured. With the day ranks 1 and 3, Franco Rossini SUI and his 'Blue-Moon'-team have come closer to the still leading Lorenzo Bressani ITA in the Melges 24 class, who is still 3 points ahead. With the Farr 40s, Giovanni Maspero ITA with Francesco Bruni ITA calling tactics did further extend his advantage. John Kilroy USA with his 'Samba Pa Ti' is also the clear leader in the Melges 32 fleet. The report.

As for the ISAF Olympic Classes World Championship 2007 in Cascais, the competition in Perth AUS from December 3 to 18, 2011, will again be an absolute top event with participants' limits. This week, ISAF has published the number of boats per class and the selection system. Every ISAF member national authority (MNA) can delegate one boat per class, additional places will be allotted based on the results at this year's World or European Championships. The ISAF report.

As the maxi-trimaran 'Banque Populaire' has been on 'Code Orange' since Tuesday - we informed yesterday about a possible start tomorrow Friday - 'Groupama 3' has now also left its base at Lorient to approach the starting line off Brest, waiting for favorable conditions. The report.

Julien Di Biase from Geneva is actually the coordinator of the BMW-Oracle sailing team. His first professional involvement in sail racing happened with the CER, first as sailor and then as head. He assisted Russell Coutts to organise the RC44-class, and Coutts hired him for the American team. In an interview (f), he explains his career.

The harbour at Zurich-Tiefenbrunnen, in a planning stage since years, is finally making progress. Last Tuesday, the City authorities informed about the status of the preliminary project designed by the architect office e2a of Piet Eckert, FD-Olympic Diploma 1992 Barcelona). The realisation will be started in 2017 at the earliest. An article in German.