A “Wrong Way Around” race wrapped up sailing today at the four-day St. Barths Bucket Regatta, and it was more colorful and full of goodies than a child’s Easter basket. Thirty six superyachts in four classes (Grandes Dames, Mademoiselles, Gazelles and J Boats) circumnavigated the French West Indies island of St. Barths, giving Bucket fans on shore and at sea an awe-inspiring view of some of the largest and most beautiful and technologically advanced yachts sailing in the world today.

 

The race course, which covered 21 to 26.4 nautical miles (depending on the class), reversed Friday’s “Around the Island” journey and put boat handling skills to the test right off the bat with a downwind start. All but the J Boat class adhered to a “pursuit-style” racing format, requiring each yacht to time its run to the gun for a separate pre-determined start time and hoist a spinnaker as soon as possible after crossing the starting line — the theory being that if all crews in each class sailed equally well, aboard their varied yachts of different speeds, they would meet at the finish line all together.

 

The theory worked especially well today in the 18-20 knot breezes, with yachts barreling down on the finish line, drawn again by their giant spinnakers, within minutes – sometimes seconds — of each other.

 

In the Mademoiselles class, the 55 meter schooner Adela, built by Pendennis and helmed by Dennis Conner, maintained her regatta-long position at the top of the scoreboard with a second-place finish today. Adela was presented with the St. Barth’s Bucket trophy as the regatta’s overall winner. The 45 meter Dubois designed Salperton IV, skippered by Shirley Robertson with Cameron Appleton in the afterguard, won today’s race to claim second overall, while another Dubois design, the 50 meter Zefira, took third overall.

 

In the Grandes Dames class, the 48-meter Georgia, built by Alloy Yachts, claimed overall victory by crossing the finish line first in her class today. Georgia’s Captain Brent Daw said that his yacht, conceived as the ultimate family world cruiser, has seen many ocean miles since she splashed in 2000, thus she is going into the yard for a refit after the Bucket.

 

 

“We sailed steady and cautious like the hare and the turtle, and we were the steady turtle,” said Daw, who came aboard as skipper of the yacht only three months ago. He added that the crew had to sail intuitively, since the majority of them are new to the boat. “The team is more of an organic group, a mix, nationally, of South Africans and Kiwis,” he said explaining that Chris Dickson, of America’s Cup fame, is helming. “The owner lives on board and loves a great day on the water. He is thrilled!”

Claiming second place overall in this class, with a fourth today, was the 54 meter Perini Navi Parsifal III, while the 38 meter Axia, which was presented with both the All Star Crew Award and the Wolter Huisman Memorial Spirit of the Bucket Trophy at this regatta, finished third overall after posting a third for today. The winner of the Vitters Shipyard Seamanship Trophy was also from this class: the Perini Navi Zenji.

 

One of the biggest stories on the water today was in the Gazelles class, where the 45 meter Visione, the 38 meter Perini Navi P2, and the 30 meter Cape Arrow were all tied with six points going into today’s race. Trailing only one point behind was the Royal Huisman-built Unfurled, which won today’s race to upset the apple cart and claim overall victory in the class. P2, which took home the Perini Navi Cup, took second today to claim equal points (8) with Unfurled but conceded for a second-place finish overall, after tie-breaking rules were applied. Visione and Cape Arrow finished third and fourth overall, respectively.

 

This was a historic event for the J Class, as it was the first time five of them have graced the same starting line since 1937. Hanuman, built by Royal Huisman, proved unbeatable throughout the three days, winning handily over the line and on corrected time in the first two of three races held here. Today, Lionheart edged out Hanuman by just two seconds at the line, but Hanuman still prevailed on corrected time to leave Lionheart in second overall. Velsheda, Ranger and the Holland Jachtbouw built Rainbow followed in third through fifth places, respectively.

 

Winning the King’s 100 Guinea Cup for Thursday’s “extra day” race for J Boats at the Bucket was Hanuman. The top Corinthian J with an amateur owner/helmsman to win the Corinthian King’s Cup was Lionheart.

 

“The owner was thrilled,” said Bouwwe Bekking, who called tactics on Lionheart. “This was his fourth regatta ever, and he has done remarkably well. For today’s race, it was neck-and-neck with Hanuman after 26 miles. We knew that with them that close to us they would win, but we had to get our nose out there to win line honors. We loved that we got the gun.”

 

Bekking said that having the J Boats sailing fleet-style in their own group in the same regatta as the superyachts, which were sailing pursuit-style, worked perfectly. “It was great that we had our own start procession, it wouldn’t have worked any other way. To maneuver these boats is way harder, so the emphasis on safety is good. It was really incredible, and we owe a great thanks to the Bucket Committee and the J Class organization.”

 

Every year the Bucket Organization devotes a portion of its entry fees for a worthy cause in St. Barths. This year, a donation in the amount of 18,000 euros was made to the St. Barths Yacht Club Youth Sailing Program.

 

Next year’s event is scheduled for 27 – 30, March 2014

 

Results, Photos, Barby’s Blog and more http://www.bucketregattas.com

 Media Pro International’s Barby MacGowan is reporting daily from St. Barths.

Complete results, photos, Barby’s recaps and more: bucketregattas.com/stbarths/

Special Awards 

OVERALL WINNER of the 2013 ST BARTHS BUCKET          ADELA

 

 

SKULLDUGGERY CRAVAT WILD HORSES

ALLOY YACHTS TROPHY GEORGIA

ALL STAR CREW AWARD presented by Holland Jachtbouw AXIA

WOLTER HUISMAN MEMORIAL SPIRIT OF THE BUCKET TROPHY AXIA

PERINI NAVI CUP    P2

VITTER’S SHIPYARD SEAMANSHIP TROPHY     ZENJI

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“Main-mast staysail up. Do not unfurl. Raise your hands if you hear me.” Captain Tony Brookes calmly called his instructions into a hand-held from one of his dual on-deck navigation stations near the aft quarter of Athos, the 62 meter Hoek-designed Holland Jachtbouw that he commands. His crew with headsets faithfully obeyed, shooting their hands in the air before quickly jumping into action. So went the day that started with pouring rain and segued into one of the windiest here yet, taking the wind gauge to 28 knots and Athos to speeds as high as 15.8.

 

The owner and his rep Gary Veenman from Holland alternated at the helm, giving each other much-needed breaks from the giant wheel that played tug of war with them. Three trimmers scooted among the 40-some-odd crew, working the joy sticks on their remote control “God boxes” that controlled the hydraulic operations of winches for hoisting and dropping sails as well as sheeting them in and letting them out. For someone who normally sails 40-footers, it surely would have been something strange and wonderful to behold, but for those who regularly sail in this rarified world of superyachts it was just another approach to racing one of the most magnificent sailing yachts on the oceans today.

Athos’s closest competitor today in the Mademoiselles class at the annual St. Barths Bucket was the 55 metre twin-masted Adela, the steel hulled Dykstra designed Pendennis build that represents a historically significant salvage and rebuild of the 1903 original. Adela had won this 10-boat class yesterday, the first day of racing, and won again today, crossing the finish line first, after the traditional pursuit start had the smallest and slowest boats starting first and the larger and faster boats starting at specific time intervals afterward to try and catch up. Athos, which had finished seventh yesterday, was quite pleased with a second-place finish after being fifth in the pursuit-start lineup. That moved them to fifth overall behind Zefira, Salperton, and Lady B.

 

“No one caught us from behind and we passed two others, so we must be doing something right,” said Athos’s Brookes. “It was a hard-work race today. Windy and wet, and everyone’s uncomfortable but they still have to concentrate on the job they are doing. We had some problems (with the spinnaker hoist) but we dealt with them. It was more like the North Sea instead of the Caribbean there for a while.”

 

Aboard Adela, Kim “Shags” Morten conceded that the Adela team can sail well in any direction and in any conditions because they have the choice of sails to make the right calls in any given situation. “Our biggest competition is Athos; we think it comes down to the crew performance,” said Morten, adding that he has competed in every Bucket to date, the last three on Adela. “We now have top-of-the-line sails, a carbon fiber mast and a team that has sailed together in the last three superyacht regattas.”

 

In Grand Dames class, Georgia rose to the top of the scoreboard after taking today’s race. Blue Too, which was leading going into today, retired after a crew was injured and fell to seventh with a finish score today of 13.

 

In the Gazelle class, Visione maintained its first position overall with a fifth-place finish today. However, they are tied on point score (6) with both P2 and Cape Arrow, with Unfurled only one point behind.

 

Hanuman claimed another bullet, its third, in the J Boat class today. When asked what was different about today, tactician Kevin Burnham joked, “Nothing, we won the race!” But in all honesty, the win didn’t come easy. “The biggest challenge in pushing that type of machine around the race course (in today’s conditions) is that stuff gets shocked-waved,” said Burnham. “We blew up a kite — it just exploded into a million pieces.”

 

The crews on all 36 Bucket boats are glad to be back on terra firma for tonight’s pirate-themed “Bucket Bash.” The party should do its part to prepare them for tomorrow’s Wrong-Way Around (the island) Course.

Results as of Saturday

PRELIMINARY PURSUIT as of 30 March, 2013 – UPDATED MARCH 31 0800
Race 2: Not So Wiggley Course

Saturday     30-Mar-13             PRELIMINARY

Start Sequence: B
Results: Race 2                     Results: Cumulative

GRAND DAMES     (Long Course 27.2 nm)
Race 2     FINISH     TIME                     Race 1     Race 2     Race 3     Total
Points     TIME     Delta                     Points     Points     Points     Points     Rank
GEORGIA                      1     2:36:58 PM     0:00:00         GEORGIA           3     1           4     1
PARSIFAL III*           2     2:39:25 PM     0:02:27         PARSIFAL III           4     2         6     2
AXIA                               3     2:46:15 PM     0:09:17         PANTHALASSA           2     8         10     3
ZENJI                            4     2:48:42 PM     0:11:44         AXIA               7     3         10     4
ANDROMEDA LA DEA     5     2:51:48 PM     0:14:50         ZENJI               8     4         12     5
PANTHALASSA* **     8     2:54:09 PM     0:17:11         SALUTE           6     7         13     6
SALUTE           7     3:13:48 PM     0:36:50         BLUE TOO           1     13         14     7
LUNA               8     3:15:05 PM     0:38:07         ANDROMEDA LA DEA     9     5         14     8
ROSEHEARTY           9     3:15:51 PM     0:38:53         SILENCIO           5     13         18     9
MALTESE FALCON     10     3:22:00 PM     0:45:02         LUNA               10     8         18     10
BLUE TOO           13     DNF     N/A         MALTESE FALCON     11     10         21     11
SILENCIO           13     DNF     N/A         ROSEHEARTY           13     9           22     12

MADEMOISELLES     (Long Course 27.2 nm)
Race 2     FINISH     TIME                       Race 1     Race 2     Race 3     Total
Points     TIME     Delta                     Points     Points     Points     Points     Rank
ADELA                 1     2:46:45 PM     0:00:00         ADELA                 1     1           2     1
ATHOS               2     2:51:57 PM     0:05:12         ZEFIRA               4     3         7     2
ZEFIRA               3     2:54:32 PM     0:07:47         SALPERTON           2     6         8     3
KOO               4     2:56:12 PM     0:09:27         LADY B               3     5         8     4
LADY B               5     2:57:36 PM     0:10:51         ATHOS               7     2         9     5
SALPERTON           6     3:04:39 PM     0:17:54         KOO               10     4         14     6
WILD HORSES           7     3:08:22 PM     0:21:37         SARAFIN’           6     8         14     7
SARAFIN’           8     3:08:40 PM     0:21:55         PRANA               5     10         15     8
SYMMETRY           9     3:11:55 PM     0:25:10         WILD HORSES           8     7         15     9
PRANA                 10     3:21:03 PM     0:34:18         SYMMETRY           9     9           18     10

GAZELLES         (Long Course 27.2 nm)
Race 2     FINISH     TIME                     Race 1     Race 2     Race 3     Total
Points     TIME     Delta                     Points     Points     Points     Points     Rank
UNFURLED           1     3:03:21 PM     0:00:00         VISIONE           1     5           6     1
REBECCA           2     3:05:24 PM     0:02:03         P2               2     4         6     2
CAPE ARROW           3     3:06:24 PM     0:03:03         CAPE ARROW           3     3         6     3
P2               4     3:07:13 PM     0:03:52         UNFURLED           6     1         7     4
VISIONE           5     3:10:12 PM     0:06:51         REBECCA           8     2         10     5
INDIO               6     3:11:44 PM     0:08:23         INDIO               4     6         10     6
LEOPARD3           7     3:16:27 PM     0:13:06         CHRISCO           5     8         13     7
CHRISCO           8     3:16:42 PM     0:13:21         LEOPARD3           7     7         14     8
BAIURDO VI           10     DNS     N/A         BAIURDO VI           9     10           19     9

* 5 MINUTE PENALTY FOR OVER THE LINE EARLY
** PANTHALASSA TOOK A 20% SCORING PENALTY IN ACCORDANCE WITH SI 18.2

Race 1: Around the Island

Friday     29-Mar-13

Start Sequence: C
Results: Race 1

GRAND DAMES     (Short Course 17.0 nm)
Race 1     FINISH     TIME
Points     TIME     Delta
BLUE TOO           1     2:06:51 PM     0:00:00
PANTHALASSA           2     2:17:46 PM     0:10:55
GEORGIA           3     2:18:20 PM     0:11:29
PARSIFAL III           4     2:22:08 PM     0:15:17
SILENCIO           5     2:22:25 PM     0:15:34
SALUTE           6     2:24:35 PM     0:17:44
AXIA               7     2:24:48 PM     0:17:57
ZENJI               8     2:31:45 PM     0:24:54
ANDROMEDA LA DEA     9     2:33:55 PM     0:27:04
LUNA               10     2:38:20 PM     0:31:29
MALTESE FALCON     11     2:42:43 PM     0:35:52
ROSEHEARTY           13     DNS     N/A

MADEMOISELLES
(Medium Course 20.8 nm)
Race 1     FINISH     TIME
Points     TIME     Delta
ADELA                 1     2:15:18 PM     0:00:00
SALPERTON           2     2:18:07 PM     0:02:49
LADY B               3     2:23:35 PM     0:08:17
ZEFIRA               4     2:27:51 PM     0:12:33
PRANA               5     2:28:10 PM     0:12:52
SARAFIN’           6     2:29:28 PM     0:14:10
ATHOS               7     2:31:01 PM     0:15:43
WILD HORSES           8     2:33:05 PM     0:17:47
SYMMETRY           9     2:35:40 PM     0:20:22
KOO                 10     2:37:35 PM     0:22:17

GAZELLES
(Medium Course 20.8 nm)
Race 1     FINISH     TIME
Points     TIME     Delta
VISIONE           1     2:29:51 PM     0:00:00
P2               2     2:31:55 PM     0:02:04
CAPE ARROW           3     2:32:04 PM     0:02:13
INDIO               4     2:34:02 PM     0:04:11
CHRISCO           5     2:34:29 PM     0:04:38
UNFURLED           6     2:36:47 PM     0:06:56
LEOPARD3           7     2:37:43 PM     0:07:52
REBECCA           8     2:39:32 PM     0:09:41
BAIURDO VI           9     2:41:04 PM     0:11:13

FOLLOW THE J CLASS ON THE WATER: tractrac.com

J Class – PROVISIONAL as of Saturday 30 March
Race 1     Race 2     Race 3     Race 4     Total
Points     Points     Points     Points     Points     Rank
HANUMAN           1     1     1           3     1
LIONHEART     2     2     4           8     2
VELSHEDA     5     3     2           10     3
RANGER     4     5     3         12     4
RAINBOW     3     4     6           13     5

Saturday     30-Mar-13
Results: Race 3             Course Type:     CR
Wind Range:     Heavy
Start Time:     11:00:00 AM     Approx Dist:     29.4 nm

FINISH     ELAPSED     CORRECTED
Rating     TIME     TIME     TIME     Rank
HANUMAN           1.017     2:01:44 PM     3:01:44     3:04:49     1
VELSHEDA     1.013     2:05:22 PM     3:05:22     3:07:47     2
RANGER     1.018     2:04:59 PM     3:04:59     3:08:19     3
LIONHEART     1.021     2:09:03 PM     3:09:03     3:13:01     4
RAINBOW     1.018     8:00:00 PM     9:00:00     DNF     6

Friday         29-Mar-13

Results: Race 2
Course Type:     CR
FINISH     ELAPSED     CORRECTED
Rating     TIME     TIME     TIME
HANUMAN           1.018     1:31:04 PM     2:31:04     2:33:47
LIONHEART     1.020     1:31:48 PM     2:31:48     2:34:50
VELSHEDA     1.014     1:32:50 PM     2:32:50     2:34:58
RAINBOW     1.020     1:34:24 PM     2:34:24     2:37:29
RANGER     1.015     1:35:14 PM     2:35:14     2:37:34

Thursday     28-Mar-13

Results: Race 1
Course Type:     WL
Wind Range:     Light
Start Time:     12:10:00 PM     Approx Dist:     12NM
FINISH     ELAPSED     CORRECTED
Rating     TIME     TIME     TIME
HANUMAN           1.028     2:21:59 PM     2:11:59     2:15:41
LIONHEART     1.029     2:24:42 PM     2:14:42     2:18:36
RAINBOW     1.034     2:28:09 PM     2:18:09     2:22:51
RANGER     1.012     2:31:38 PM     2:21:38     2:23:20
VELSHEDA     1.018     2:31:39 PM     2:21:39     2:24:12y

 

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The 2013 St Barths Bucket Regatta action starts on March 28. This annual yachting spectacular will feature the latest in superyacht designs along with true classics. Thirty-five yachts are ready to join the festivities and racing.

Racing begins on Thursday March 28 when five J Class yachts head for the starting line. This will be the first gathering of five or more J’s since 1937!

Three more races are planned, with all yachts racing in four separate classes -Les Mademoiselles des Mers, Les Grandes Dames des Mers, Les Gazelles des Mers, and the J Class.

The largest yacht is the 88m Perini Navi built schooner Maltese Falcon. Eleven of the current entries are 50 meters or larger. Among new boats to the St Barths Bucket is the 31m Dubois Naval Architects designed Sarafin and the 31m Newport Bucket winner Indio.

The around the island courses create spectacular opportunities to view these breathtaking vessels under sail. The racing format has been modified somewhat, with the start times set so that the classes should finish together. This change is designed to make the racing both more competitive and safer.

Now in their 27th year, the Bucket regattas attract the crème de la crème of yacht builders from every sailing nation, with several builders boasting multiple entries. The “Big Five” sailing yacht builders (Perini Navi, Royal Huisman, Holland Jachtbouw, Alloy Yachts and Vitters) have for many years supported the Bucket Regattas, playing a meaningful role in growing the Bucket and helping maintain the non-commercial atmosphere, another significant hallmark of Bucket races.

One of Executive Director Tim Laughridge’s goals is to ensure that the renowned Spirit of the Bucket is retained while providing participants with great class racing. He’ll be helming Parsifal III and racing to win, but reminds everyone that the overriding theme is to sail safe and win the party!

The four class winners of the 2013 St Barths Bucket will each receive a Ship’s Bell Clock from Chelsea Clock.

J Class
Yachts (5)	LOA(m)	Type	Builder	Designer
Hanuman	42m	sloop	Royal Huisman	Dykstra Naval Architects
Lionheart	43m	sloop	Bloemsma/Claasen Jachtbouw	Hoek Design
Rainbow	40m	sloop	Holland Jachtbouw	Dykstra Naval Architects
Ranger	41m	sloop	Danish Yacht	Sparkman & Stephens
Velsheda	40m	sloop	Camper & Nicholson	Nicholson
les Gazelles des Mers
Yachts (9)	LOA(m)	Type	Builder	Designer
Baiurdo VI	35m	sloop	Abeking & Rasmussen	Gilles Vaton
Cape Arrow	30m	sloop	Southern Wind	Farr – Nauta
Chrisco	31m	sloop	CNB	Luca Brenta
Indio	30m	sloop	Wally Yachts	Frers Naval Architecture
Leopard3	30m	sloop	McConaghy	Farr Yacht Design
P2	38m	sloop	Perini Navi	Philippe Briand
Rebecca	43m	ketch	Pendennis	Frers Naval Architecture
Unfurled	34m	sloop	Royal Huisman	Frers Naval Architecture
Visione	45m	sloop	Baltic Yachts	Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design
les Mademoiselles des Mers
Yachts (10)	LOA(m)	Type	Builder	Designer
Adela	55m	schooner	Pendennis	Dykstra Naval Architects
Athos	62m	schooner	Holland Jachtbouw	Hoek Design
Koo (non spin)	43m	sloop	Vitters Shipyard	Dubois Naval Architects
Lady B	45m	sloop	Vitters Shipyard	Dubois Naval Architects
Prana	52m	sloop	Alloy Yachts	Dubois Naval Architects
Salperton IV	45m	sloop	Fitzroy Yachts	Dubois Naval Architects
Sarafin’	31m	sloop	Oyster/RMK Marine	Dubois Naval Architects
Symmetry	29m	sloop	Yachting Developments	Frers Naval Architecture
Wild Horses	24m	sloop	Brooklin Boat Yard	Joel White
Zefira	50m	sloop	Fitzroy Yachts	Dubois Naval Architects
les Grandes Dames des Mers
Yachts (12)	LOA(m)	Type	Builder	Designer
Andromeda La Dea	48m	ketch	Perini Navi	Perini Navi
Axia	38m	ketch	Palmer Johnson	Sparkman & Stephens
Blue Too	34m	ketch	Alloy Yachts	Ron Holland Design
Georgia	48m	sloop	Alloy Yachts	Studio Scanu Sri Butch
Luna	52m	sloop	Perini Navi	Perini Navi
Maltese Falcon	88m	schooner	Perini Istanbul	Dykstra Naval Architects
Panthalassa	56m	ketch	Perini Navi	Ron Holland Design
Parsifal III	54m	ketch	Perini Navi	Ron Holland Design
Rosehearty	56m	ketch	Perini Navi	Ron Holland Design
Salute	56m	sloop	Perini Navi	Ron Holland Design
Silencio	50m	ketch	Perini Navi	Perini Navi
Zenji	56m	ketch	Perini Navi	Ron Holland Des

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The 28th of May 2012 heralds the start of the Pantaenius Rund Skagen race, part of the North Sea Week 2012, the only German race series that takes place on the open sea and is so testing that it attracts international participation. Each yacht will set off with a Yellowbrick aboard, a satellite-based tracking system that has already proven its worth in many regattas and rallies.
Approximately 80 yachts are expected to participate in this year’s Pantaenius Rund Skagen regatta, and each yacht will be fitted with a race tracker system from Yellowbrick, enabling live, real-time race coverage on the Internet.  All that viewers need to follow the fleet online is Adobe Flash.  The Yellowbrick race tracker provides positional data, yacht names, yacht information, crew details, course and route, waypoints and much, much more.

The Pantaenius Rund Skagen is held every two years as a part of the international North Sea Week yacht racing event and is considered to be one of the most challenging open-sea regattas. The route crosses through three very different areas of sea: the North Sea from Heligoland to Hanstholm which is a shelf sea, with heavy sea and ground swells accompanied by prevailing westerly winds, then comes the Skagerrak, an Atlantic strait with water depths of up to 1000 metres and flat bays on Jutland’s coast, such as the Jammerbugten (loosely translated as the “Bay of Lamentation” for good reason), and finally, after rounding the Skaw buoy, the yachts enter the Baltic Sea, a body of water that is temperamental but never boring, with many opportunities to employ clever tactics before finally reaching the finishing line in Kiel.
The demanding regatta lived up to its expectations in every respect in 2010: of the 87 registered yachts, only 54 crossed the start line due to a forecast of inclement weather.  Of these 54, only 30 reached Kiel.  With Beaufort Force 7 gales gusting to Force 8 from the North, an air temperature of around 12 degrees Celsius and water temperatures of between 4 and 6 degrees, Mother Nature was harsh and uncompromising as she separated the wheat from the chaff.  It remains to be seen what the Pantaenius Rund Skagen 2012 has in store for its participants, but whether it be storm or calm, it will definitely be exciting. 

Follow the action live at http://www.pantaenius.de/tracking

Every year at Whitsun around 1500 yachtsmen and several tourists gather at Heligoland to be part of the “Nordseewoche“ event. The North Sea Week is the biggest offshore yacht racing event in Germany. The Nordseewoche also offers the less experienced yacht’sman a fantastic opportunity to get into the race scene. Next to the ORC races the “Family-Cruiser-Cup” offers a relaxed atmosphere – sailing and winning without a rating certificate and without spinnaker or gennaker. And all sailors will catch up at the “boot Regattaparty” afterwards to celebrate together. The main sponsors are the international boat exhibition “boot Duesseldorf” and the SE Spezial Electronic AG. In 2012, the Nordseewoche is again organizer for the International German Championships for offshore sailing!

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As the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia gets off to a successful start in Hong Kong (20-24 November), OC Events, organisers of the Extreme Sailing Series, take a look back at the highlights of the 2009 iShares Cup, revealing the key statistics from the series third season, and preview the 2010 European Extreme Sailing Series.
 
For the planned six events in 2010, four countries are already confirmed, with events taking place in the UK, Germany, France and Spain. Venue announcements will be made over the coming months, but it can be confirmed today that the final round of the Extreme Sailing Series 2010 will take place in the region of Andalucia, Spain, at the port of Almeria over the national holiday weekend in mid-October.

Almeria hosted the 2009 finalé and recently published the results of an Economic Impact Report produced by the Council of Tourism, Commerce and Sport for Andalucia confirming that the event had generated 2.7m Euros of return on their investment. Over 75,000 spectators attended the Spanish event in October this year. A total of 15,000 tourists visited the city, 92% visiting because of the event and 80% of visitors expressed their intention to return. Hotel occupancy was up by 19.2 per cent compared to the same time in 2008, with more than 606,000 overnight stays. The visitors scored the event 8.1 points out of 10, considering the event to be ‘well organised’.

Seven teams who competed in the 2009 European series have already expressed their commitment to return in 2010 ahead of the publication of the official Notice of Race.

The full media evaluation report of the 2009 iShares Cup will be published shortly by independent agency Havas Insight. In the meantime, enjoy some of the key statistics from the highly successful 2009 circuit that saw 48 of the world’s best sailors compete in 108 races across six European venues with only two capsizes, compared to five in 2008, but six collisions…!

To find out more about the current Extreme Sailing Series Asia, CLICK HERE…

2009 FACTS AND FIGURES:

Entries:

BT (EUR) – Nick Moloney (AUS)
Ecover (EUR) – Mike Golding (GBR)
Holmatro (NED) – Carolijn Brouwer (BEL)
iShares (EUR) – Shirley Robertson (GBR)
Gitana Extreme-Groupe LCF Rothschild (FRA) – Yann Guichard (FRA)
Groupama 40 (FRA) – Franck Cammas (FRA)
LUNA (FRA) – Erik Maris (FRA)
Oman Sail Masirah (OMA) – Pete Cumming (GBR)
Oman Sail Renaissance (OMA) – Loïck Peyron (FRA)
BMW ORACLE Racing (USA) – James Spithill (AUS) (Venice/Hyères only)
WIRSOL Team Germany Kiel Sailing City – Roland Gabler (GER) (Kiel only)
Rumbo Almeria – Fernando Echavarri (ESP) (Almeria only)

Sailors:

48 sailors across 12 teams
52 World Championships
17 Olympians
7 Olympic medalists (4 Gold)
27 America’s Cup participations
17 Round the World navigations
11 different nationalities

Racing:

108 races: Venice 17; Hyéres 19; Cowes 20; Kiel 19; Amsterdam 17: Almeria 16

Regatta wins: Oman Sail Masirah 4 (Hyéres, Cowes, Kiel, Almeria); Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild 2 (Venice, Amsterdam)

Number of 1st places: Oman Sail Masirah 36; Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild 19; Oman Sail Renaissance 16 (9 out of the 12 teams, all scored 1 or more race wins during the season)

Best number of race wins per venue: Oman Sail Masirah 11 (Cowes); Oman Sail Renaissance 5 (Kiel, Amsterdam); Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild 5 (Almeria)

2 capsizes: Holmatro at Cowes (practice day); Ecover at Kiel, day 1 (5 capsizes in 2008)

6 collisions: Oman Sail Renaissance hit Ecover (Hyéres); Team iShares hit spectator boat (Cowes); Oman Sail Renaissance hit WIRSOL Team Germany (Kiel) and Gitana Extreme hit WIRSOL Team Germany (Kiel); Oman Sail Renaissance hit Ecover (Amsterdam, practice day); BT hit Oman Sail Masirah (Amsterdam)

7 disqualifications: Groupama 40 (Venice); Oman Sail Renaissance (Kiel); Holmatro, Team iShares and BT (Amsterdam); LUNA and Team iShares (Almeria)

Venues:

Venice, Italy
Hyeres-TPM, France
Cowes, England
Kiel, Germany
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Almeria, Spain

(2007 x 4 rounds / 2008 x 5 rounds)

Spectators (estimated):

2009 200,000

(2007 57,000 / 2008 150,000)

VIP entertainment:

2,124 VIP guests were entertained in the VIP facilities at the six events in 2009

93% of VIP guests agreed that the iShares Cup fell within the top three events they had ever attended.

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Oman Sail Masirah has won the iShares Cup 2009, but it came down to the last leg of the last race on the last day of the last regatta at the iShares Cup Almeria in Spain, with Gitana Extreme-LCF Rothschild pushing Oman Sail Masirah right to the very last minute with a superb final performance. Pete Cumming and his crew held their nerve despite the strong comeback of Yann Guichard and the Gitana Extreme crew who took 2nd overall with Loick Peyron’s Oman Sail Renaissance completing the 2009 podium. Tens of thousands of spectators, the biggest stadium audience of the year, packed the port of Almeria to witness the heart-stopping tension of the final race of the season. No hull flying today, but heart stopping it still was!

Masirah completed a six-month trail of glory with a double victory in Almeria as thousands watched. All crew members put in a performance which overshadowed all efforts from other teams to not only take the victory in the Almeria leg of the iShares Cup but the title of 2009 iShares Cup champions!

Renaissance also battled hard until the last minute to take an admirable fourth overall in the Almeria leg ensuring a double Oman victory as they took third place in the 2009 iShares Cup series.

The culmination of six venues and 118 races all boiled down to the last race on the last day of the last venue as ten boats all lined up, but only three were in contention for the 2009 iShares Cup title.  The electricity in the air from the 40,000 spectators, including Her Excellency Dr. Rajiha Bint Abdulameer Bin Ali, Oman’s Minister of Tourism, His Excellency Eng. Sultan Hamdoon al Harthi, Head of Muscat Municipality and the Municipal Council as well as His Excellency Oman’s Ambassador to Spain was flowing as the start gun went for the first race. Masirah got off to a near-perfect start and led all the way and maintained their lead throughout the day. In the final race Masirah had a marginal lead, but not enough to rest on their laurels. In the last race Masirah wisely opted to keep the only other contender for the top podium position at this stage, Gitana Extreme-Groupe LCF Rothschild, in their sights to ensure their overall win.
As the finishing horn was sounded for Masirah’s finish a huge cheer went up from the crowded waterfront as the new heroes were given a standing ovation and applause.

Renaissance sailed on the edge all day to score an equally credible third overall to bookmark the podium with the proud colours of the Oman flag. To have not one, but two teams, on the podium in such a high profile international event is testament to the support in Oman given to the teams and the aspirations of reigniting the maritime heritage of Oman. Her Excellency Dr, Rajiha Bint Abdulameer Bin Ali, was incredibly proud of both teams, “I am so proud to have been able to watch Oman Sail’s Masirah winning the series in front of thousands of spectators in Spain. I dedicate this victory to the wise leadership of His Majesty and his vision in bringing this project into fruition. I want to thank all the team in Oman sail and in particular the team on Masirah for reaching first place – it was not an easy victory. I didn’t realise how difficult this was until I came to Spain and watch Oman racing myself. My congratulations to the team.” His Excellency Eng. Sultan Hamdoon al Harthi was just as impressed by the victory that unfolded in front of him, “It is a matter of pride for Oman that Masirah and Renaissance dominated the iShares Cup, not just in Spain but also the entire series. To win first and third overall is a result of unprecedented performance.”

 
Two Omani trainees have supported the teams during the summer, both of whom will now be sailing for Oman Sail in the next series themselves. Masirah team member Khamis Al Anbouri summed up the mood of the team  “Winning the iShares Cup is just one of Oman Sail’s steps in encouraging young Omanis to start sailing and showing them the hard work required to achieve success. I am very proud to be part of this team and I look forward to competing now in the next series as a full crewmember. I would also like to thank my wife for all her support and encouragement as I strive to become the very best and to make Oman a household name. Congratulations also to Ahmad Al Harthy for his result this weekend- a truly proud weekend for Oman!”

 
Oman Sail Masirah has won the iShares Cup 2009, but it came down to the last leg of the last race on the last day of the last regatta at the iShares Cup Almeria in Spain, with Gitana Extreme – LCF Rothschild pushing Oman Sail Masirah right to the very last minute with a superb final performance.

Almeria’s usually strong winds never materialized, with light winds adding to the nerves of the 10 teams challenging for the Andulician final event of this benchmark season for the Extreme 40 Sailing Series.

Tens of thousands of spectators, the biggest stadium audience of the year, packed the port of Almeria to witness the heart-stopping tension of the double points final race of the season. No hull flying today, heart stopping it still was!

iShares Cup Almeria:
1. Oman Sail Masirah 132 points
2. Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild 129 points
3. Groupama Extreme 112 points
4. Oman Sail Renaissance 96 points
5. LUNA 96 points
6. Team iShares 83 points
7. Holmatro 82 points
8. BT 79 points
9. Rumbo Almeria 73 points
10. Ecover 89 points

iShares Cup 2009 overall:
1. Oman Sail Masirah 53 points
2. Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild 52 points
3. Oman Sail Renaissance 42 points
4. Groupama Extreme 41 points
5. Team iShares 27 points
6. BT 26 points
7. LUNA 26 points
8. Holmatro 24 points
9. Ecover 10 points

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The best breeze of the day filled in for the final three races today producing some extreme racing – close calls, collisions, penalties and a nail-biting, final double-points race – entertaining the 10,000 strong crowd lining the IJ-Haven. There were seven different race winners in this penultimate event, that was more about tactics than boat handling. Gitana Extreme sailed brilliantly under pressure to win the penultimate iShares Cup Amsterdam event ahead of Oman Sail Renaissance, whilst Groupama fought back to win the final race and fill the last spot on the podium in third. Overall series leaders, Oman Sail Masirah, put their day 1 disaster behind them, finishing 5th in Amsterdam to retain their overall lead, ahead of Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild and Oman Sail Renaissance, going into the final iShares Cup event in Almeria only two weeks away…

The nine-boat Extreme 40 fleet saved the best till last at the iShares Cup Amsterdam event today to produce a thrilling three-lap finale that had the 10,000-strong crowd of spectators cheering the boats home all the way. The penultimate round of the six-stage European iShares Cup series, held on the confined IJ-Haven canal in Amsterdam, saw predominantly light airs but finally this afternoon, a good 8 knot breeze filled in to see the 40-foot catamarans lifting their hulls. It was perfect catamaran sailing – the excitement levels going into fifth gear for both sailors and spectators. As the breeze increased the size of the IJ-Haven racecourse seemed to decrease! The boats accelerating faster round the tiny racecourse and, not surprisingly, a number of collisions ensued.

For Oman Sail Masirah skipper, Pete Cumming, the team did the job they needed to do to keep the overall series lead, despite the unsettling experience of being seriously holed on the first day:
“That was a good day for us, we won the first and the fourth race and had average results in the three others. We have been up and down during the all events but I have to say that it’s hard to keep positive and motivated after the big crash we had on Friday. Our shore team did an amazing job to fix the boat. Tonight we are on equal points with Gitana in the overall series which keeps the pressure on for the last event in Almeria. The conditions will be very different to here, more like Cowes or Kiel and it’s what we like. It’s going to be a fantastic battle for the overall iShares Cup!”

The stage was set for the showdown between Gitana Extreme skipper, Yann Guichard, and Oman Sail Renaissance supremo, Loick Peyron, with Guichard coming out on top. “Since the first start today we were in the game and we sailed well despite the pressure of those last races. Once again, our teamwork was key to our success. That final race was under a lot of pressure, we knew that we could not let Loïck put more than two boats between us, and we finished right behind him! It was an ideal scenario, and we’re really happy with that new victory. As we foresaw, everything will unfold in Almeria. We really wanted to win in Amsterdam not to regret anything, and to fight for victory, The top three boats are now one point apart, and the fight between Masirah, Renaissance and ourselves will be amazing. I also wanted to congratulate the Oman Sail Masirah team, who came back strong despite their incident.”

Erik Maris’ crew on LUNA showed flashes of brilliance during round 5 scoring a race win and a second place that left them in 7th place; whilst Nick Moloney’s BT team struggled with boat speed and had to settle for 8th. Britain’s Mike Golding, who is gaining confidence in this extremely aggressive class, thrilled his supporters with a second place in the final race – Fraser Brown leaping to his feet rousing the crowd to cheer more! It was a great finish for this team who had such a traumatic time in round 4 in Kiel suffering an aggressive capsize that left their regular crew Bruno Dubois with a serious head injury.

The final round of the 2009 iShares Cup is only two weeks away, taking place in the Andalucian city of Almeria over the 10th-12th October. The finale promises to be best yet – read the story online.
Oman Sail Masirah and Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild are on equal points (43), Masirah in pole position based on winning three of the rounds so far compared to Gitana Extreme’s two victories, but Oman Sail Renaissance are just 1 point behind them and Groupama 10 points behind the leader. And there will be a big fight over the middle-ground with less than 3 points separating BT, Team iShares, Holmatro and LUNA. Don’t miss it!

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Today, Groupama won the last race hands down, enabling the skipper from Aix en Provence to regain his smile as he snatched third place behind Yann Guichard and Loïck Peyron, who take first and second place respectively. As was the case in Kiel, the French sailors are at the front of the pack with a French triple in the top spots once again!

If we look in detail at the points separating the top five competitors in the final ranking, it is easy to understand the tension which was palpable throughout the day! With the wind still a little undecided as to whether it was going to fill their sails, today’s five races were rather convoluted to say the least and rather reminiscent of the four race yesterday. Franck Cammas: “One thing for sure after these three days racing in Amsterdam, is that with Groupama 40, we still haven’t worked out how to deal with light conditions. In light wind we’re not so at ease. We aren’t able to follow the others. This was my first participation in the light stuff on such a narrow race zone. We unquestionably need to make progress! The minute the wind kicked in, things went better. In fact on Friday, thanks to the breeze, it was a good day for us!”

The famous quote by competitors that says that “anything can happen in a race prior to crossing the finish line” is something that certainly applies to Franck’s crew this weekend: “With Groupama 40, we won the lottery in the last race. Our rivals weren’t as strong which enabled us to overtake two of them and make it to a podium finish, which certainly wasn’t something we could have envisaged at the end of the previous race!”

The skipper from Aix en Provence clearly already has his mind geared towards the last event of the season: “In Alméria, it’s likely to be windy and it will be a whole different ball game! Roll on Spain!”

Finally, it is important to salute the performance by Yann Guichard and his men, outright winner in this Dutch stage. Bagging three victories of the 17 races contested, Gitana Extreme- LCF Rothschild Group climbs to the highest step of the podium and above all is tied on points with Masirah in the general championship ranking.

Suffice to say that the next meeting for the Extremes 40s will take place in Alméria, Spain, on 10th, 11th and 12th October and it is going to have a decisive role in this championship! This sixth event will round off the iShares Cup 2009.

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