.

Multi One Design (MOD) announced today that US-based Orion Racing has purchased MOD nr.02.  “MOD is delighted to welcome an American boat-owner as it increases the number of nationalities in the circuit”, said Marco Simeoni, President of Multi One Design.  “Orion will bring a new dynamic to the development of the circuit and promote the MOD70 series in the American Market.”

Cam Lewis, one of the top American multihull sailors and longtime and ambassador for multihull sailing in the US, is a principal in the formation of the Orion Racing team.  Cam Lewis is regarded as one of the top multihull sailors in the US having won the 1988 America’s Cup on the Wing Powered Stars and Stripes and skippered the Maxi-catamaran Team Adventure in The Race in 2000. “This is a great opportunity for sailing in the United States,” Lewis said. “The MOD 70 trimarans are at the cutting edge of the sport. They are purpose designed and built for close inshore racing as well as transoceanic racing. The conditions for racing the MOD70 between California, Hawaii and Mexico are incredible. I can’t wait to show American sailors how fantastic and fast these amazing machines are.”With 2013 being a transition year for the MOD70 circuit, Orion Racing will be training in the Pacific to fully discover this latest generation of racing multihull.   The boat and team will set up a training camp in Puerto Vallarta Mexico in May then move to San Francisco for the summer and fall season.  Orion Racing Team preliminary  race planning for 2014-2015 includes the MOD70 circuit and the Krys Ocean Race (from Brest to New York).

Share on Facebook

Newport, Rhode Island – 5 February 2013 – Newport, Rhode Island will host the Volvo Ocean Race for the first time after winning a place on the route for the 12th edition of sailing’s premier round-the-world challenge in 2014-15.

The Race will reach Newport, one of the world’s sailing capitals, around May 2015 after a stop in Itajaí, Brazil. From Newport, the teams will sail across the Atlantic for the final legs around Europe.

The Volvo Ocean Race has visited the United States in every edition since 1989-90 but despite Newport’s great sailing heritage, it has never before had Host Port status.

“I’m delighted to announce that we are bringing the world’s greatest offshore sailing event to one of the world’s great sailing cities,” Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad. said at a presentation at Rhode Island State House in Providence.

“It’s about time the Race came to the city of Newport and we are looking forward to a real festival that will delight and inspire sailing fans and those who are new to the sport.”

Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State and for over 50 years Newport was the home of the America’s Cup. The city hosted a hugely successful stop on the America’s Cup World Series in 2012, with 65,000 people visiting over the four-day racing period.

Frostad was joined at the presentation by Rhode Island Governor Lincoln D. Chafee, Newport Mayor Harry Winthrop, Sail Newport executive director Brad Read and other local and state officials. Volvo Ocean Race COO Tom Touber was also at the presentation.

“It gives me great pleasure and pride to welcome the Volvo Ocean Race to beautiful Rhode Island for the first time,” said Governor Chafee. “We have made significant strategic land and marine infrastructure improvements at Fort Adams State Park, paving the way for a new era of racing in Rhode Island and setting the stage for the world-class events we continue to host.

“We had a positive experience with the America’s Cup World Series last summer, and I look forward to welcoming the Volvo Ocean Race to Rhode Island. These large-scale sailing events draw impressive numbers of visitors to our state – visitors who make valuable contributions to our economy.”

Newport, a popular tourist destination, is the sixth Host Port for the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 to be revealed so far. The Race will start in Alicante, Spain and visit Recife in north east Brazil. Later in the Race, the teams will race to Auckland in New Zealand before rounding Cape Horn and making a second Brazilian stop in Itajaí and then heading to Newport.

The Race will finish in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. The remaining stopovers on the 2014-15 route will be revealed over the coming weeks.

 

The upcoming edition of the Volvo Ocean Race will start in autumn 2014 and will be the 12th edition of the 40-year-old event, which started in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race.
The next two editions of the Volvo Ocean Race will be contested in a new high-performance yacht, the Volvo Ocean 65, designed by Farr Yacht Design in the United States and built by a consortium of boatyards in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Switzerland.
The new 65-foot (19.8-metre) monohull racing yachts will be strictly One Design and delivered “ready to sail”. The boats incorporate the latest video, satellite and content production facilities to further enhance the Onboard Reporter programme that has been in place since 2008-09.
The all-female Team SCA were the first to announce their participation in the 2014-15 edition. Backed by SCA, the global hygiene and forest products company, they will be the first all-women’s team to compete in the race since 2001-02. A team from the state of Pernambuco, Brazil has also been announced.
The previous edition of the Volvo Ocean Race started in October 2011 in Alicante, Spain and was won by Groupama sailing team, skippered by Frenchman Franck Cammas.
The last race took the teams over 39,000 nautical miles (45,000 miles or 72,000 kilometres) and started in Alicante. The route featured stopovers in Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Sanya (China), Auckland (New Zealand), Itajaí (Brazil), Miami (USA), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lorient (France) before the finish in Galway (Ireland).

Share on Facebook

The 31^st biennial Pineapple Cup – Montego Bay Race Presented by Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum is living up to its reputation as one of the marquee offshore sailboat races in the world by, once again, welcoming a fleet of high profile boats, both newcomers and veterans, to compete. Starting on February 8, just outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Port Everglades, this ocean racing classic will take competitors on a challenging all-points-of-sail course, stretching 811 nautical miles to the legendary destination of Montego Bay, Jamaica.

“This has been called the most interesting race because you are almost never out of sight of land the whole time,” said Race Chairman Ken Batzer (Lighthouse Point, Fla.), adding that the iconic race was established in 1961 and has been running either annually or biennially ever since. The current race record was set in 2005 by Titan 12 with an impressive elapsed time of 2 days, 10 hours, 24 minutes and 42 seconds. “We have a real quality fleet once again this year and are hoping to have good weather.”

Past winners of the event include some of the most world-renowned skippers; Ted Turner won three times in Vamoose (’67), Lightnin (’73) and Tenacious(’79); the Johnson family won in Ticonderoga (’65); John Kilroy won twice in Kialoa (’75 and ’77); and Jack King won in Merrythought (’91). Past competitors taking line honors include Sir Peter Blake on Condor (’79), Larry Ellison on Sayonora (’97) and Roy Disney on Pyewacket (’99).

Return contender Tom Slade (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) took second place in the PHRF 1 class in 2011 with his Santa Cruz 52 Renegade and marks this year as his fifth Pineapple Cup. “It’s got to be one of the best ocean races in the world. Not only is it challenging but also the scenery is just unbelievable, and when you get to Jamaica, it’s like no other place.  This race always has a very impressive fleet with a lot of great boats. We are going to try to sail well again this year, but more importantly, have fun.”

Event rookie, but veteran in the world of ocean racing, Michael Hennessy (Mystic, Conn.) will also be competing in his Class 40 Dragon. “We’d like to be competitive, have a lot fun and enjoy a new course with new surroundings,” said Hennessy, who already has an impressive resume when it comes to offshore sailing, including racing double handed aboard Dragon in the Transatlantic Race 2011.

This year, Hennessy will be sailing with a team of five. “We’re looking forward to matching up against the other Class 40 (MacKenzie Davis’ AMHAS) and racing handicap against the rest of the fleet.,” said Hennessy.  “Our boat is pretty well dialed in right now and moving fast.”

The president of the USMMA Sailing Foundation, Ralf Steiz (Kings Point, N.Y.), sailed onboard the Pineapple Cup’s IRC Class winner, Genuine Risk, in 2011 and will be returning again this year with a new program, All American Ocean Racing, which prepares sailors, age 30 and under, for offshore racing. The team, which will be sailing the IRC 52 IceFire, hopes to race in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015 and includes Mark Towill, Charlie Enright, Chris Welch, Chris Branning and Jesse Fielding.

The largest boat in the IRC Class is Jim Muldoon’s (Washington D.C.) new Andrews 80 Donnybrook. “This boat is definitely a racing boat,” said Muldoon who has raced in the event six times in the past on his other boats of the same name and this year will have 18 crew members onboard during the distance race. “Donnybrook is bigger than any of my other boats; it has a canting keel and is very racing oriented.”

His most matched competitor is George Sakellaris (Framingham, Mass.) with his 72-foot mini maxi Shockwave, which came off a great year in 2012, winning its class at the Newport Bermuda Race, the NYYC 158th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex and the Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week. “They will be a true competitor for us,” said Muldoon.

The Pineapple Cup – Montego Bay Race presented by Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum is endorsed by the Jamaican Tourist Board and managed by the SORC. Sponsors include the Montego Bay Yacht Club, Storm Trysail Club, and Lauderdale Yacht Club. Immediately after the start the racers cross the Gulf Stream for the Northwest Providence Channel. The middle of the race usually offers a fetch down the eastern side of the Bahamas Island Chain towards the tip of Cuba.  The final stretch is a sailor’s dream:  a 240 mile downwind sleigh ride from Cuba’s eastern tip known as Windward Passage to the finish at Montego Bay.  At the finish, sailors are treated to a week of fun with cocktail parties every night, steel bands, limbo dancing and other fun displays and competitions, ending with a superb dinner and dance along with a prize giving ceremony on Friday, February 15.

For more information, visit http://www.montegobayrace.com/

 

2013 Pineapple Cup – Montego Bay Race
Current Entries
——————————————————————————–

Sail Number Yacht Name Owner’s Name Home Port Yacht Type Length

——————————————————————————–

1. USA 39 AMHAS MacKenzie Davis Mill Valley, CA, USA Class 40 40
2. USA 1253 Catapult Marc Glimcher New York, NY, USA Ker 40 40
3. USA 84001 Decision Stephen Murray New Orleans, LA, USA HPR Carkeek 40 40
4. USA 66 Donnybrook James Muldoon Washington, DC, USA Andrews 80 80
5. USA 54 Dragon Michael Hennessy New York, NY, USA Class 40 40
6. USA 60292 Icefire Ralf Steitz USMMA Kings Point, NY, USA IRC 52 52
7. USA 52152 Lucky Bryon Ehrhart Chicago, IL, USA TP 52 58
8. USA 145 Rebecca Glenn Gault League City, TX, USA J 120 40
9. USA 52422 Renegade Tom Slade Ponte Vedra, FL, USA Santa Cruz 52 52
10. USA 60272 Shockwave George Sakellaris Framingham, MA, USA Mini Maxi 72

 

 

Share on Facebook

The defining feature of the third day of the regatta was a gusty and shifty southerly wind that varied from less than 10 knots at times to gusts of more than 20. After a bright morning, a band of cloud with showers on its leading edge was moving eastwards towards Cowes, with very light winds forecast to follow in its wake. As a result, relatively short courses were set to make good use of the day’s best winds.

Testing conditions
The Quarter Ton fleet started on a spinnaker reach, heading east from the Black Group line off the Royal Yacht Squadron. Yesterday’s winner, Louise Morton’s Espada, together with Eric Reynolds’  Magnum Evolution, were a couple of lengths ahead of the rest of the fleet at the gun. Lincoln Redding, Led Pritchard and Cat Southworth?s Whiskers was next, just ahead of Dutch boat Theo Bakker’s Freres-Sur-Mer.

Morton extended her lead on the first leg to Fastnet Insurance, but lost out to Whiskers and Olly Ophaus’s Cote on the following two laps around windward-leeward marks. “There were really fluky and tricky conditions,” said Morton, “but I had some really good brains on board, including Andrea Brewster, Nicky Macgregor and Mary Rooke. It was really helpful to have their expertise to spot wind shifts and identify which boats to cover”‘ Espada’s crew worked really hard to regain the lead on the last windward leg, and crossed the line nearly three minutes ahead of Cote to take their second win in three races

In the Sigma 33 class Allan Fraser’s Prospero of Hamble and Mark Watkins’ Spirit of Kudo led away from the start. Spirit of Kudo hoisted her spinnaker at the gun, losing a couple of lengths in doing so. Two minutes later Prospero also hoisted and soon every boat was flying a spinnaker. Prospero then pulled out a 10-length lead, with Stuart Brand and Emma Gage’s Ephesian, the winner on the first two days, a further 10 lengths behind in third.

Ephesian eventually overhauled both Prospero and Spirit of Kudo, but was denied a third win by Jeff Worboys’ Workout, which finished with a lead of almost three minutes. Prospero was third, finishing 81 seconds behind Ephesian.

One of the more crowded starts on the RYS Black Group line today was for the 31 yachts in IRC Class 6. Starting towards the northern end, Ed Browne and Nick Daniels’ First 32 Gravity Boots initially led the fleet away. A few lengths behind her was Simon Cory’s Cory Yachts 290 Icom Cool Blue, she already had the spinnaker up on the tight reach, but at this stage it was only filling intermittently.

Next was Ian Braham’s MG346 Enigma, again with her spinnaker hoisted, but unable to get it filled in the disturbed air around the fleet. Having extended her lead on the boats struggling with spinnakers, two minutes in Gravity Boots hoisted her kite, but it filled in a gust and she rounded up in a spectacular broach that allowed Icom Cool Blue to get past.

At the same time another boat, Mark Brown and Justin Leese’s Figaro Black Diamond, was quietly pulling through to leeward of the fleet. For a couple of minutes she and Icom Cool Blue were neck and neck, but then Black Diamond pulled ahead and continued to extend into a useful lead on the water.

She was ahead at the finish, taking line honours more than a minute and a half ahead of Enigma. However, on handicap Black Diamond was unable to save her time on either Enigma or on one of the lower-rated yachts in the fleet and the oldest yacht at the regatta, Sir Michael Briggs? Clyde 30 linear rater, Mikado, which dates from 1904.

Battle of the dayboats
White group competitors had another day of intense competition, with two classes standing out among the many close races. In the Flying 15 fleet Paralympic sailor Andrew Millband and Tony Hastings’  Fifty Fifty was the only boat to record two podium scores in the first two days of racing and today proved just as tight, with the first four boats just 63 seconds apart at the end of their two-hour race.

Mike Boll and Gil McCutcheon’s Ffuraha notched up their first win, finishing with a 47-second cushion ahead of Alex and Mike Tatlow’s Affore the Weak. Five seconds later Fifty Fifty was next across the line to take third place, with Nick Clarke’s Black finishing 11 seconds later to take fourth place.

In the Squib class start, Jim Holdstock and Ray Prime’s Jess looked clear ahead of the fleet on port at the outer end of the line, although Martin and Anne Harrison’s Hussar was also very well placed, as were Peter Wilson’s Crazy Diamond, and Duncan Grindley and Dave Ross in Surprise. A few boats tried spinnakers on the tight reach across the Solent to Lepe Spit, but quickly realised it was not a speed-enhancing decision.

Hussar rounded the first mark with a five-length lead over Jess at the start of a long downwind leg into the eastern Solent, sailing as close as possible to the north shore to gain relief from the ebb tide. “There was a Redwing that went aground twice in front of us,” says Harrison, “so we knew where the edge of the bank was. But even then we scraped the bottom and heeled hard over to get off.”

As soon as the boats behind saw this, the entire fleet headed for deeper water, simultaneously changing direction like a flock of birds. On the next leg, a windward one to East Knoll buoy, Hussar initially stayed slightly to the right hand side of the course and lost a couple of places to boats on the left. On the last windward leg to Seafarer Ale, Hussar stayed to the right, waiting for a big wind shift before tacking onto starboard. The strategy worked and she rounded the final mark, Seafarer Ale, with a 50-metre lead.

“It was really hard work, one of the hardest races I’ve done in a long time,” said Harrison. “The wind was all over the place, so we were always looking at the numbers [compass heading] and constantly trimming the sails. But it was very rewarding for us.”

Today was also a close race for many others in the class  six boats rounded the second mark simultaneously, and three boats  Jess, Chris Gear and Andy Faulks’ Osprey, and Kevin and Marney Gibson’s Satu  rounded the last mark together and were only 32 seconds apart at the finish. Places eight to twelve were then decided by just 51 seconds.

Report by Rupert Holmes

Share on Facebook

Bright sun and a brisk east to south-east wind averaging 15-20 knots, but with gusts above 25 knots, provided exhilarating conditions for the first day of racing at this year’s Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week.

With the strongest gusts forecast to be in the Eastern Solent, the dayboats in White Group classes starting from the RYS line were sent on a downwind leg to a course in the western Solent, before beating back to finish on the RYS line.

The early White Group classes to start had the last of the ebb tide sweeping them over the line, with most competitors taking a very cautious approach. In the Daring class almost the entire fleet was heading away from the line with only 20 seconds to go. Roger Marwood and Mike Bilbo’s Audax, skippered by Steve Sleight, looked as though they planned to make a break from the pack, starting to hoist the spinnaker early, but were forced to luff by a boat below.

At the gun, David Christie and John Mulcahy’s Finesse, Robin Richardson’s Division Belle, and Giles Peckham’s Dauntless were almost abreast of each other at the outer end of the line, just ahead of the pack. The fleet soon spread wide across the racetrack as they headed towards Cowes Radio, their first mark, off the Beaulieu River.

Division Belle was unable to maintain her initial advantage, but it was a good opening day for Peckham, who has won the class four times in the past five years. He took the winning cannon, more than two minutes ahead of Finesse, while Jeremy Preston and Mark Fear were third in Defender, another 32 seconds later.

Close competition

The Dragon fleet includes a number of world-class sailors and the leading boats were pushing as hard as they dared at the start. Although already close to the line, Gavia Wilkinson-Cox’s Jerboa was first to hoist a spinnaker, 10 seconds before the gun, and was swiftly followed by Graham and Julia Bailey’s Aimee. Sandwiched between the two was Chris Brittain’s Bear, which gybed onto a parallel course between them before hoisting, but a wrap round the furled genoa cost a few valuable seconds.

Initially the advantage went to Jerboa, who led round the first mark, Cowes Radio. However, she overstood the layline on the approach to the Gurnard Sailing Club mark at the end of the first windward leg, allowing Brittain to get through.

At that stage Graham and Julia Bailey’s Aimee was very close behind Bear, but their spinnaker was damaged on the drop and exploded on the next run, giving Bear an easier run into the finish. Yet she crossed the line only 16 seconds ahead of Eric Williams’ Ecstatic. 80-year-old American Edward Sawyer, who’s back in Cowes for the first time since breaking his neck during the Dragon Edinburgh Cup six years ago, took third place in Clairvoyant, crewed by Martin ‘Stavros’ Payne and Pedro Andrade.

It was an intensely close race throughout, with only 86 seconds separating the first four boats. Brittain, who now lives in Bermuda and was sailing a chartered boat with his wife Jilly, said afterwards: “It was a really great race  a bit more hairy than we were expecting, but really exciting. It was also fantastic to finish on the RYS line and get a gun  that’s what Cowes Week is all about.”

Thirteen RS Elites are racing this week in advance of the national championship that will be hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron. Although the fleet was all clear at the start, a fraction of a second before the gun Martin Wadhams’s Kiss swerved away from the line to be sure of not being over, allowing Jono Brown’s Aeolus to take an early lead. Chris Preston’s Limelight, just to leeward of Kiss, also pulled away as the fleet sped downwind under asymmetric spinnakers.

This class has often posted some of the closest racing at Cowes Week and today was no exception, with five boats, representing places three to seven, crossing the finish within 50 seconds. Crauford McKeon’s Kandoo lll was first home, one minute 42 seconds ahead of Wadhams. Third place was taken by Freebie, sailed by Tom Montgomery, Sonny Mallet and 1968 Olympic gold medallist Iain Macdonald-Smith.

High speed rivalry

There were spectacular conditions in the eastern Solent for the yachts in Black Group, with even the smallest boats surfing downwind at double-digit speeds, aided by the wind against tide induced short, but steep, waves. The big boats saw much greater speeds, with the TP52 Toe in the Water that’s crewed by traumatically injured servicemen hitting 21.9 knots.

Classes starting from the main Black Group line started heading east from a much shorter line than in previous years. With the tide in the deep water still ebbing, the northern end of the line appeared slightly favoured, offering useful tidal relief on the south side of the Bramble Bank as they beat upwind to the eastern Solent.

At the start of IRC Class 1, Jamie McWilliam’s Ker 40 Peninsula Signal 8 appeared to be in pole position close to northern end of the line, followed by Mike Greville’s Ker 39 Erivale lll, and another Ker 40, Nigel Passmore’s Apollo 5, and Michael Bartholomew’s King 40 Tokoloshe.

These were also the top four boats on corrected time at the end of the three and a half hour race. Apollo 5 took line honours, just over two minutes ahead of Peninsula Signal 8, with the two boats also taking first and second on corrected time, with Tokoloshe third.

In IRC Class 2, Duncan McDonald and Phil Thomas’ J/111 Shmokin’ Joe, Andrew McIrvine’s First 40 La Response, Richard Göransson’s Corby 36 Inga from Sweden and Joe Bottomley/Oliver Heer’s First 40 Sailplane led the fleet away, all starting towards the northern end of the line.Shmokin’ Joe, Sailplane and Inga from Sweden were the first three boats to cross the finish line, but all had been among the seven in the class that were OCS at the start.

This left Peter Rutter’s Grand Soleil 43 Trustmarque Quokka to take line honours, 58 seconds ahead of Steve Cowie’s First 40 Zephyr. However, Rutter was not able to save his time on Zephyr, who took first on handicap, with Rutter second and another First 40, David Vines Carpe Diem third.

The strong winds meant some gear damage was inevitable, including torn sails and at least one dismasting, however few classes saw more than one or two retirements. The main exception is the 83-strong 101-year-old XOD class, which struggled in the strong wind against tide conditions. Competitors will remember the opening day for sun, the exhilaration of fast downwind sailing with the occasional spectacular broach, and some really close racing.

Report by Rupert Holmes

 

 

Share on Facebook

 

The overall lead of the Copa del Rey IRC 1 division hangs in the hands of the International Jury on Thursday, after a collision between longstanding regatta leaders Audi Azzurra and provisional leaders Audi All4One resulted in counter protests. The pair protested each other after their boats collided during an incident that relates to buoy room during a crucial race on day four of the six-day regatta at Palma, Mallorca.

The pair was neck-and-neck on the approach to the mark when All4One narrowly passed on the inside of Azzurra and their yachts collided. The Italian/Argentinean team paid a penance, a 720 turn, and dropped from first to fifth.

At the race’s end each team notified race management of their intention to protest the other. The protest will be heard by the International Jury at the Real Club de Náutico later tonight.

The outcome could cause a major shakeup of the overall leaderboard on what was otherwise a victorious day for Audi All4One.

The team scored back-to-back wins thanks to the powerhouse partnership of America’s Cup and Olympic gold medallists Jochen Schüemann and Jordi Calafat, who proved invincible.

It is the third line honours win in two days for the on-form team, having won Wednesday’s coastal race.

The trifecta of victories provisionally moves the team to the top of the overall leaderboard on 19 points, edging them to a three point lead over longstanding leaders Audi Azzurra Racing Team with just two-days racing remaining.

But, with a protest pending and more racing to come All4One strategist Pascal Rambeau said it was too early to take too much confidence from the victories.

“There is still a long way, four races to go,’’ he said. “We have to take it one race at a time and stay focused and keep the momentum we have. It is competitive racing, today proves that.”

It should have been a day of celebration for Azzurra, as July 19 marks the 30th anniversary of the launch of the first Azzurra yacht. Instead the team were commiserating their worst results yet, sixth and fifth on corrected time.

The bad form could see Azzurra lose the lead they have held for two-days and slip from a 5.5 point lead, to three point deficit in second place.

Provisionally Audi Sailing Team powered by All4One are the Copa del Rey IRC 1 leaders on 19 points, followed by Audi Azzurra Sailing Team on 22, Gladiator, 24.5, PowerPlay, 27.5 and Paprec Recyclage, 29.

More than 1,100 sailors are competing on board about 119 yachts, across seven divisions in the 31st Copa del Rey.  A maximum of 12 races will be contested across the six-day regatta that concludes on Saturday July 21. Copa del Rey does not count towards the overall 52 Super Series.

The penultimate day of racing will begin on Friday at 1300 local, 1100 UTC.

Share on Facebook

 

Rán Racing claimed the Royal Cup and their first overall victory in the inaugural 52 Super Series in a testing day’s racing at Palma, Mallorca on Saturday that victorious skipper Niklas Zennström described as being “as good as it gets”.

Zennstroms’s team surged to victory in a 30-plus northeaster at speeds in excess of 24 knots, finishing second across the line in the final race of the day to clinch the overall win.

World champions Quantum Racing finished second in the cup after they were forced to retire from the first of two races on Saturday, when they broke their headstay ram, headfoil and jib in the near gale force conditions.

The team’s shore crew sent an urgent dispatch of supplies to effect on water repairs between the two races. The crew successfully raced the clock and returned Quantum to the second race, but it just wasn’t their day.

Audi Sailing Team powered by All4One rounded out the Royal Cup’s podium, a result that pleased four-time Olympic medallist and twice America’s Cup winner skipper Jochen Schümann despite having entered the final race with a one-point lead.

 

Having won the first race today, All4One entered the final race at the top of the leaderboard with a total of 20 points, while both Quantum and Rán were just one point behind on 21.

Each team had crunched the numbers and knew exactly where they needed to place to clinch the coveted Royal Cup Challenge Trophy, but only Rán were able to execute their plan with success.

Zennström said the conditions in Palma Bay were challenging but very rewarding.

“These conditions are fantastic, you’re going downwind doing 24 knots, you’re doing nine knots upwind and still you’re doing boat on boat racing,” he said.

“Crossing the finish line and seeing Quantum ahead of All4One was just awesome, it’s as good as it gets. Quantum are really the class act, beating them today was really, really awesome. They’re hard to beat and that makes winning even sweeter.”

It was more a bittersweet day for Quantum’s crew, having entered the final day’s racing with a six point buffer and a lead they had held since the four day regatta started on Wednesday.

Tactician Andy Horton said the crew knew that their chances of clinging to their lead was compromised the minute they heard a massive “bang” when their headstay ram broke and they saw their jib tear in the opening nine minutes of the day’s first race.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,’’ Horton said. “But this is a great group of guys, there wasn’t anything said, it was just a freak accident. This is tight racing. You have to be good enough to win despite something like this happening.”

There was a surprise of a different kind for the crew on board Audi All4One, who exceeded even their own expectations to score third in the Royal Cup.

Schümann said being the “underdogs” helped his crew race under the radar, uninfluenced by the other teams’ intentions.

“We’re quite happy, finishing third is more than we expected coming here, but that’s what we dreamed of,’’ he said. “This is our first regatta together as a team. We really enjoy racing together and I think when you see the results getting better and better that reflects it.”

Audi Azzurra Sailing Team finished fourth in the Royal Cup, followed by PowerPlay, Gladiator, Provezza and Aquila.

In the overall 52 Super Series Quantum Racing leads with 53.5 points, followed by Audi Azzurra Sailing Team, 59.5, Rán Racing, 69.5, Gladiator, 93, Audi Sailing Team powered by All4One, 111.5, PowerPlay, 121.2, Provezza, 131.5, Aquila, 140.5 and Paprec, 150.5.

The teams are now turning their sights on 31^st Copa del Rey where eight 52 teams will have a chance to race their grand prix yachts in a highly competitive event that won’t count towards the 52 Super Series points.

The next 52 Super Series point scoring event is the Valencia Cup, from September 19-22.

Ranking

1. Rán Racing 23pts
2. Quantum Racing 24pts
3. Audi All4One 24pts
4. Audi Azzurra Sailing Team 27pts
5. PowerPlay 41.4pts
6. Gladiator 44pts
7. Provezza 47pts
8. Aquila 56pts

Share on Facebook

After a tough tussle with light winds the final push for a podium position went down to the wire this morning and crossing the finish line off the coast of the Netherlands at 0724 UTC, Singapore, sponsored by Keppel Corporation,  secured its first win in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race series with victory in Race 14 to Den Helder.

Hot on the Singaporean entry’s heels, Visit Finland secured its seventh podium success a mere 17 minutes later in second place and Gold Coast Australia completed the podium trio, a further17 minutes after its Finnish rivals. However, Singapore’s win spoilt the Australian entry’s chances of matching the record for consecutive Clipper Race wins.

Speaking of its first victory, Singapore skipper Ben Bowley says, “It feels absolutely fantastic we’ve been waiting for this for a long time. It’s been a hard race and very challenging. It was neck and neck all the way through right down to the wire with only 17 minutes in it in the end but we are absolutely ecstatic and I am so please for the crew.”

Meanwhile, positions on the leader board continue to change frequently for the rest of the fleet, as the remaining competitors attempt to make up miles in the immobilising conditions. New York’s tactics to stay close to the coastline has paid off and the U.S. entry has shot up from the back of the fleet to fourth place overnight, whilst Welcome to Yorkshire has fallen victim to another wind hole, slipping further down the pack.

The remaining fleet is expected to arrive throughout the day; regular updates will be posted here and on the Clipper Race Facebook and Twitter pages.

A festival will be held in Den Helder over the weekend which includes an international food market, street theatre, music and more. The Clipper Race Roadshow will also be there, with presentations for anyone interested in taking up the adventure of a lifetime on a brand new fleet of yachts. For a full programme of activities during the Den Helder stopover please click here.
 

Share on Facebook